Turkey Day Gone To The Cows, Football Gone To The ….

While most people are feeling stuffed from turkey….

Some of us are stuffed from beef.  

There it is….Loin Roast (cooked perfect just like we like it, medium rare, even the end piece was medium rare that you see on my plate), Greek Potatoes, Asparagus, Beats and Sweets (Sweet Potato, Beats, Onions and Parsnips), Cranberry Conserve and a Marshmallow Salad that my family named after me, David’s Salad.

Marcia’s dish on the left, my dish on the right…..now you know WHY they named it after me.  Not after Patti, my sister, after ME!  (With me not living in Sacramento Area anymore, Patti has tried, unsuccessfully, to hijack the name of MY SALAD.)

The BEARS lost….didn’t make Marcia very happy.

The NINERS lost….didn’t make me very happy.

And remember that Garbage Disposal I put in…well, I missed one little step.  Forgot to knock out the Dishwasher Plug to allow for the dishwasher to drain.  At leas I was able to knock it out and pull out the plug that got knocked out without taking it apart.  Dishwasher did not drain, dishwasher had a small leak which we are hoping won’t show up again….if it does I’ll just have to hunt it down and fix it.  At least the disposal and the pipes under the sink are drip free.       

I almost forgot…..a fourth sinkhole has opened up, right in the area they thought one was going to open up at, near the first sinkhole.  So far this has been much smaller than the first, about the size of the second one, and they expect a few more to open, unless they open them first to fill them in.

Thanksgiving 2014

Last year I posted my Thanksgiving blog and told the story of my Mayflower Ancestry and how I found out about it.  You can read that blog here if you wish (will open in a new window).

This year I am going to give a recap of some of our memorable moments of the first eight months of 2014…..and remember, memorable does not always mean “great moments”.  Above is Fountain Hills near McDowell Regional Park near Phoenix where we opened up our new year.

   

After getting back to Florida we visited a few places such as Hillsborough State Park, and we also enjoyed many a wonderful Florida Sunset, like this one setting over Honeymoon Island.

Of course we were getting ready for Alaska, and I put a timer up on our website 110 days before we were planning to leave.

   

Then our plans were changed as our Jayco Melbourne (top left safely in storage) turned into ashes after the storage lot fire (top right), and we got another Class C, our Dynamax Isata (bottom picture parked at a rest area on our way back to Florida from Houston where we bought it.)

On our way out to California we stopped by Fayetteville to see my son Ryan and he and I did a tour of the campus of the University of Arkansas where both he and Michael graduated.

We also stopped at Salt Lake City to see Stephanie, but not only did we see her, we brought her to California with us for my mom’s big BBQ on Saturday, May 10th.

   

   

Lots of family were there, around 60 or so. Upper left is me with two of my brothers, Roger and Bob.  Upper right are my two sisters Sandy and Patti.  Bottom left is my dad with Patti.  Bottom right is my son Michael, who lives in Oakland and attends the University of California Berkley, Stephanie, me and Marcia, who is sitting in her GoGo.

     

The BIG reason we decided to stay in California for the summer is that mom had hip surgery in early June (upper left).  But nothing keeps that lady down because she came home for two visits (upper right and bottom left) before making it home for good in less than three weeks…not bad for a 84 year old.

   

   

Over the summer we did get some work done on the new to us motorhome.  First, if you are in the Sacramento Area and have a Ford Motorhome and need work done on the motor, breaks, drive train, etc., take it to Future Ford Truck and RV Center.  They are GREAT! If you need work done on anything to do with the living portion of the RV, be sure to check out McColloch's RV Repair. Randy put on our Awning, got the parts to properly hook up our Propane Tanks, and fixed our Vacuflush Toilet.  Last year he fixed an electrical problem that we had with the Jayco.

So despite the major set-back with the RV Storage Fire, we feel very blessed and very, very Thankful.  We turned sour grapes into a pile of honey by spending the summer in California where we were able to help mom and dad, give the sisters and Arny a break, and see and spend so much time with family.  We have another Class C, and we plan to go to Alaska in 2015, Lord willing.  And this Thanksgiving Day, as we ponder our memories, think about family, and enjoy the warmth of Florida (around 70 degrees Thanksgiving Day), we are going to have BEEF instead of Turkey for the first time in many, many years.  We will still be with family in that Grand-daughter Alissa and her fiancée Chris are coming over to help us eat our dessert, Skruffy will be here with us, and I plan to take Bubba and Skruffy over to the Doggie Park too.  And, of course, there is Football....the Bears play the Lions (Marcia is a Bears Fan) and the Forty Niners are playing the Seahawks for a night game! (I am a Niners Fan)

That’s enough to put a smile on all of our faces….even bigger smiles if the Bears and the Niners pull off wins.

Not A Virgin Anymore

Nope, nothing to do with Virgin Airlines…..I don’t fly anymore, haven’t for well over a decade now.  Certainly wouldn't be interested in getting up above the atmosphere, that's for sure.

Nope, not talk about the Virgin Mary either, that would be a bit sacrilegious.  

Nope, has nothing to do with love or with animals, and I surely don’t mean that in any kinky way either.

Ok, I guess you are all done guessing, so here it is.   After nearly 6 decades, I have finally installed.....

…

... my FIRST garbage disposal!!!!   

Had I of known it was going to be that easy, I would have blown up the old one a long time ago!  First, it was VERY LOUD.  Second, it was VERY OLD.  Third, it JAMMED UP over and over again.  This one is so quiet, due to its newness I’m sure, that I wondered if I really had it on when I flipped the switch.  The hardest part was that the second sink also had a bad drain connection, and I had to go out to Home Depot in this pouring rain we are experiencing.  

Get back into the car from Home Depot and the check engine light is now on.  GRRRRRR!  (that will take a much larger stick of dynamite than the old disposal would have taken.)

Yep, Another B-Day, Sinkhole Cover-up

Another step closer to Social Security and Medicare….YIKES!

  

As for the sinkholes …. the two sinkholes in the trailer park were filled in, or covered up depending upon how you look on it, on Friday and Saturday.  That’s good news as long as they don't collapse again.  The largest sinkhole was 17 feet deep … only eight feet deep when it first opened.  And the bad news, “There's more sinkholes here ….. there are three potential problematic sub-surface areas in the vicinity of the sinkhole.”  That according to the engineers working on the project.  YIKES!!!!!!  The other sinkhole, the one in the front yard of a house just east of us, has not been touched yet, and has not grown in size.  Still no word on when work will start again on the sewer upgrade along our main entry road.

Made it back to the condo Saturday around 2:30, got the motorhome unloaded and tucked neatly back in its parking place at the storage area, and I made it back to the condo by 4:00.  We attempted to grab a bite to eat at a Chili’s in Port Richey, but that did not work out so we came home ….. stopping at the local Publix Grocery Store and picking up some Ribs (already cooked), some Taters and Veggies and I cooked us up a nice quick meal.  No need it going into what was wrong, we just won’t go to that Chili’s again for a long time.

After church we ate at “The Lucky Dill”, one of our two Sunday morning favorite restaurants.  We always have a nice meal, the staff is very friendly, and we don’t have to wait for a table….at least not this time of the year.  As more and more snowbirds come down south, and as more and more of them find Lucky Dill, business will build to where in January we will have a short wait. Now though, it is very comfortable.

   

We find the interior atmosphere is real comfortable, except when they are real busy in which case it can be loud if you are in the main eating area….quieter if you are in one of the back rooms. They also have outside seating…..and I almost forgot….a bakery which will put pounds on your hips just walking by it.  I did walk by it today, but decided not to partake…now I need to walk off them pounds for just looking at them.  YUM YUM YUM

Visiting Relatives, Lake Mary Florida

Here we are tucked into the back of Marcia’s brother’s driveway, hooked into a 15 amp plug, which is plenty to keep the RV powered for our minimal use while we are visiting here for two nights.

As you can see, the driveway is very deep, we are well back from the road, and the community they live in is like one large circle, so there is minimal traffic anyway.  We did not bring our car for the first time, and that has worked out well.  

Yesterday when we arrived we quickly went over to the Istanbul Turkish Cuisine restaurant, and it was pretty good.  I had Turkish Sausage Pide (Sucuklu), which the menus says is a thick dough crust stuffed wth Turkish style sausage, topped with tomatoes and green peppers.  It was a lot like a Turkish Pizza, and was real good.  Marcia had the Lamb Shank, while her brother Dean had a Kebob and his wife Carol had another dish that I can’t remember the name of.  Let’s just say that we were all full until we had a light dinner of tacos that night that Carol whipped up.

For a late breakfast, early lunch we went over to Winter Park and at at "keke’s Breakfast Café".  This was real good too.

    

I had an omelet, while Marcia had Pumpkin Pancakes with a side of fruit and scrambled eggs.  The pancakes were huge, and I just had to help her eat about 1/3 of one of them….and she forced herself through the rest of it.  Dean had three of these pancakes, brought two home, while Carol had a Panini which she said was real good.  Our waitress, Stephanie, was very nice and attentive, and has a lovely name…reminded me a bit of my Stephanie who use to wait on tables herself, following the footsteps of her mother.

   

As you can see, the dogs have had it real tuff around here….although Bubba gave us another one of his yearly, or twice a year, scares.   When we arrived yesterday I put them in the lanai patio, and Marcia went in the house with Carol while I got the electricity hooked up while talking to Dean.  Marcia let the dogs into the house through the patio door….and Bubba went right out the open garage door, and out the garage, and Dean and I did not even see him do this.  In a bit Marcia starts calling Bubba, then calls me, and very quick we realize that Bubba Boy has escaped again!  Problem is, we had NO IDEA which way he went.  Within ten minutes as I was down the street a bit calling for him, after trying just about every directional side of the house first, I turn around and see him trot along the front of the house, and into the garage.  I walk into the garage and say, “What are you doing boy?  Did you have a nice walk around the back??”  He just looked at me like he was very thirsty, and we went into the house and calmed everyone down.  At least when he does jam, he comes back quicker now days.

For dinner Dean barbequed up a few pork loins, and their two very grown sons and two grand-kids, one of whom is nearly adult herself, joined us all for a great dinner.  It has been a wonderful visit, and tomorrow morning we head back for home to the sinkholes.  What another wonderful visit it has been.