2008 has been quite a year! I suppose every year is eventful in retrospect but it sure seems like 2008 will go down as something to remember - like 1492, 1776, 1929, and 1968. No - not like 1968 - now that was a really special year!
Looking back now we (Peggy and I) certainly had a lot of fun and positive things happen. We got to visit the Florida Everglades in January, got to play in the snow with our granddaughters in New Jersey in February, managed to paint the first floor of the house in March/April, visited the Great Smokeys and Tennessee in general in May/June, spent July in Maine catching up on yardwork and more house improvements, back on the road in August/September seeing the USA and visiting lots of relatives, got to visit Acadia National Park in October with Nan, had all the kids here in Maine for Thanksgiving in November, and had a white Christmas. Now that's a pretty good year in my book!
In spite of all the negatives brought on by the national economic calamities we managed to have a pretty good year in 2008 and we plan on having at least as good a year in 2009 - why look forward in any other way!
Now that 2009 is here (well almost) it is time to start really planning the Winter 2009 Snowbird Experiment. Although we will be making a very late start as compared to real snowbirds - I am looking forward to heading south and warming up a bit for several weeks at least. As Peggy will tell you - Mikee has been chomping at the bit ever since the last leaf was raked to get back in the motorhome and look for warmer weather. Peg has some Church related commitments to take care of in January and early February so we are holding off until those are satisfied. Meanwhile Mikee will start making his pre-trip checklist(s) and then start checking off the chores one-by-one!
The early plans include heading south somewhere around the 17th of February plus or minus the weather. I will be looking for a window of opportunity with decent weather forecasted for enough time to get the motorhome out of storage, throw our "stuff" inside, and get far enough south before having to deal with any major east coast winter storm. This could be an interesting challenge in mid-February.
Depending on the weather we hope to spend some time visiting Brian, Nicky, and the girls in New Jersey before heading further south. Since we will be traveling in February I plan on keeping relatively close to the coast as we head south hoping to avoid any snow/ice so we will probably travel on I-95 for much of the trip. We haven't gone this way during our past trips because I think I-81 is a much nicer road/route but I would rather minimize the potential for slipping and sliding. The other important rule for this trip will be - If it's gonna snow - don't go! So we may need to park for a day or two if we happen upon some nasty weather.
The initial itinerary will be to visit Florida for about a week, probably staying at an "Escapees" RV park in Bushnell, FL. "Escapees" is an organization catering to the crazy RV lifestyle, especially those full-timing gypsy type Rv'ers. After warming up for a bit in Florida we plan on heading west to visit our full-timing friends Darrell and Judy Patterson who spend their winters at another "Escapees" park in Summerdale, AL not far from the Gulf of Mexico. After seeing how those full-timers manage to survive wearing their shorts and sandals all winter we are thinking about heading to central Georgia to attend a national RV Rally. We have not had that experience so we thought it might be fun to give it a try.
After that - who knows? Somehow we will manage to make our way back to Maine - but only if the snow is gone!! (So says Mikee anyway - Peggy wants to be back around the 1st of April so that's probably what will happen).
In the meantime - gotta get working on that checklist ...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Christmas in Vacationland
Peggy and I hope you all had a great Christmas celebration in whatever form(s) you celebrated!
We spent Christmas eve day shoveling a bit more snow from the deck in the backyard, reading, and relaxing. In the evening we joined Stacy and Kaj for the Christmas eve service at church and then came home the three of us joined Eric and Jen for some snacks and gift giving. We both got some great gifts from the kids including new socks for Peg and a new wallet for me ... and then there was the battery powered bug zapper paddle from Eric and Jen. I think those two saw the joy that Uncle Don and Uncle Ernie got out of bug zapping in Yreka earlier this year and figured dear ol Dad needed to join in the fun. Since there are no bugs to Zap in Maine this time of year - we will have to carry the new Zapper with us down south and see how much trouble we can get into by using a Yankee bug zapper on Confederate bugs. They are probably laws against such activity - I'll have to check.
We had a nice Christmas day with temps approaching 50 degrees. Stacy joined us for a great Christmas dinner and Peg outdid herself as usual with a fantastic rib roast, twice backed potatoes, and salad. I'm really looking forward to the leftovers!
Now it's on to 2009.
We spent Christmas eve day shoveling a bit more snow from the deck in the backyard, reading, and relaxing. In the evening we joined Stacy and Kaj for the Christmas eve service at church and then came home the three of us joined Eric and Jen for some snacks and gift giving. We both got some great gifts from the kids including new socks for Peg and a new wallet for me ... and then there was the battery powered bug zapper paddle from Eric and Jen. I think those two saw the joy that Uncle Don and Uncle Ernie got out of bug zapping in Yreka earlier this year and figured dear ol Dad needed to join in the fun. Since there are no bugs to Zap in Maine this time of year - we will have to carry the new Zapper with us down south and see how much trouble we can get into by using a Yankee bug zapper on Confederate bugs. They are probably laws against such activity - I'll have to check.
We had a nice Christmas day with temps approaching 50 degrees. Stacy joined us for a great Christmas dinner and Peg outdid herself as usual with a fantastic rib roast, twice backed potatoes, and salad. I'm really looking forward to the leftovers!
Now it's on to 2009.
Monday, December 22, 2008
A Winter Wonderland
Do not fear. I will not break out into another fit of prose in this entry - even if a few interesting lines do come to mind.
Winter has definitely arrived here in New England. I think the high yesterday was around 10 degrees during the nor'easter that brought around a foot or so of drifting snow to the area. As you will note in the pictures - Mike has been busy this morning with the snowblower and snow shovel! Peggy tried to help but she has been having "issues" with some tendinitis in her shoulder and started to feel a few twinges so she wisely quit before she really hurt something.
Winter has definitely arrived here in New England. I think the high yesterday was around 10 degrees during the nor'easter that brought around a foot or so of drifting snow to the area. As you will note in the pictures - Mike has been busy this morning with the snowblower and snow shovel! Peggy tried to help but she has been having "issues" with some tendinitis in her shoulder and started to feel a few twinges so she wisely quit before she really hurt something.
Today is grand daughter Alyssa's 9th birthday. Happy birthday Alyssa! G'Ma and G'Pa wish they were there to help you celebrate but you will have to do it without us this year.
Only 2 more days and a wake-up and we get to see what Santa has brought! As I understand it - Santa has had a tough year. It seems that all his elves went out and bought houses on credit with mortgages that all of a sudden doubled - and then they maxed out their credit cards. Not only was Santa in trouble because he co-signed all the debt of his elves ... he also had to bail out the banks that extended the credit to the elves and the company that built his sleigh. So it looks like gifts of lumps of coal are in order from Santa this year.
But not to worry ... "help is on the way" from Santa's head elf-elect who plans on stimulating us back to the stone age.
Time to go shovel some more snow ...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Week Before Christmas
Twas the week before Christmas and all through the hovel,
not a Maineiac was stirring without pushing a shovel;
The motorhome was stored and covered til spring,
with hopes that warmth the sun would soon bring;
The Maineiacs were nestled all snug in their jammies,
while dreaming of visiting old Alabamy;
The snow was still snowing and the wind was still blowing,
and Mikee and Peggy were busily snoring;
When out in the road there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter;
The rumble got louder - "what's happening now?"
a nor'easter had come and brought - the town plow!
Enough is enough - we're outa here dear!
in the Blue and White Winny heading south in high gear.
You may have heard them exclaim as they drove outa sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
OK - that's enough for today (I have way too much time on my hands!)
My apologies to either Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston - whichever really wrote the "Night Before Christmas."
not a Maineiac was stirring without pushing a shovel;
The motorhome was stored and covered til spring,
with hopes that warmth the sun would soon bring;
The Maineiacs were nestled all snug in their jammies,
while dreaming of visiting old Alabamy;
The snow was still snowing and the wind was still blowing,
and Mikee and Peggy were busily snoring;
When out in the road there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter;
The rumble got louder - "what's happening now?"
a nor'easter had come and brought - the town plow!
Enough is enough - we're outa here dear!
in the Blue and White Winny heading south in high gear.
You may have heard them exclaim as they drove outa sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
OK - that's enough for today (I have way too much time on my hands!)
My apologies to either Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston - whichever really wrote the "Night Before Christmas."
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Ice Storm 2008 - Post Script
Yippeeee! We were among the fortunate few who had our power restored yesterday. We got power back right around 4:30 PM and we immediately shut down the generator and got the house back "on-the-grid." Days like that surely do remind you how much we have become dependent on having instant and constant access to electricity - but then so does spending a lot of time in a RV.
It turned pretty cold last night with a low of around 15 degrees so much of the ice is still on the trees. I took a couple of pictures this morning of the trees looking like they were covered in diamonds in the morning sun. (Hint: If you click on the pictures they will enlarge and you can see the ice better)
It turned pretty cold last night with a low of around 15 degrees so much of the ice is still on the trees. I took a couple of pictures this morning of the trees looking like they were covered in diamonds in the morning sun. (Hint: If you click on the pictures they will enlarge and you can see the ice better)
Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer so maybe I can get some more of the ice off the driveway and the deck. I certainly want to get those cleaned off as soon as possible and before the next storm or they will remain pretty treacherous until March!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Ice Storm 2008
Wow - A Snowstorm in New Orleans yesterday and an Ice Storm in New England today. It looks like winter 2008-2009 is starting off pretty eventful! I understand around a million or so households in New York and New England are without power from the grid as I write this around 2:30 PM. We are included in that number and have been since around 6:30 AM this morning when I awoke to the sound of a transformer exploding somewhere nearby and noticed we had just lost power. It wasn't completely unexpected as the freezing rain was coming down pretty hard when we went to bed last night and the ice was already starting to form on outside surfaces. This morning there was about 1/4" to 3/8" of ice on everything outside - including all the tree limbs - some of which couldn't handle the weight and started coming down.
Since it looked like it was going to be awhile before power was going to be restored I extracted the generator from the storage room outside, made a lean-to out of a blue tarp, put the generator inside the lean-to, pulled the main house fuses, hooked up the generator to the dryer receptacle, fired up the generator and voila - electricity in the house! We have to be a little careful not to use too many appliances at the same time but so far - so good. The furnace kicks on and off when it needs to - the basement sump pump runs as necessary - the frig works and we have even used the microwave a few times and we haven't tripped the breaker on the generator yet. I am monitoring the voltage and it looks OK - around 130 volts with very little running and around 115 volts with the microwave and heater running. The generator certainly is not as quiet as the one in the motorhome - but it helps keep us warm and keeps a few lights on. That's more than I can say for many of my neighbors! We have invited some of the local neighbors over if they need some warmth or a cup of coffee - we'll see if they need it.
You may remember that we had a really big Ice Storm back in January 1998 (I think it was 1998?!). Since we were without power for about 3 days that time I bought the generator shortly thereafter and have only used it once since then for about 2 hours. Since it has run about 5 hours today - I guess I am finally getting some use out of it. Frankly - I was OK with letting it just sit in the storage room and never needing it - but I guess 10 years was about all the slack I got!
The word here is that the local power company will be busy making sure all the downed power lines are de-energized and safe today and will probably not be working on power restoration until tomorrow so it looks like the generator will get a good work out. All I have to do now is make sure I keep enough gasoline on hand and fill the tank once every few hours. We'll probably just turn off the power this evening and use lots of covers to keep warm.
See ... life is pretty exciting for us ... even when not in motion.
Since it looked like it was going to be awhile before power was going to be restored I extracted the generator from the storage room outside, made a lean-to out of a blue tarp, put the generator inside the lean-to, pulled the main house fuses, hooked up the generator to the dryer receptacle, fired up the generator and voila - electricity in the house! We have to be a little careful not to use too many appliances at the same time but so far - so good. The furnace kicks on and off when it needs to - the basement sump pump runs as necessary - the frig works and we have even used the microwave a few times and we haven't tripped the breaker on the generator yet. I am monitoring the voltage and it looks OK - around 130 volts with very little running and around 115 volts with the microwave and heater running. The generator certainly is not as quiet as the one in the motorhome - but it helps keep us warm and keeps a few lights on. That's more than I can say for many of my neighbors! We have invited some of the local neighbors over if they need some warmth or a cup of coffee - we'll see if they need it.
You may remember that we had a really big Ice Storm back in January 1998 (I think it was 1998?!). Since we were without power for about 3 days that time I bought the generator shortly thereafter and have only used it once since then for about 2 hours. Since it has run about 5 hours today - I guess I am finally getting some use out of it. Frankly - I was OK with letting it just sit in the storage room and never needing it - but I guess 10 years was about all the slack I got!
The word here is that the local power company will be busy making sure all the downed power lines are de-energized and safe today and will probably not be working on power restoration until tomorrow so it looks like the generator will get a good work out. All I have to do now is make sure I keep enough gasoline on hand and fill the tank once every few hours. We'll probably just turn off the power this evening and use lots of covers to keep warm.
See ... life is pretty exciting for us ... even when not in motion.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Winter Wonderland
I did manage to fight my way through my cold/flu last week and have been feeling much better the last few days. I can't say I have been any more active - but I feel better anyway. Peg and I did manage to get the Christmas tree up and she seems to be finding and putting out a few more household Christmas decorations every day. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" around here!
We got our first real snowfall last night and throughout the day today. It probably only totalled about 2 inches but it managed to make everything look quite wintry and it looks real pretty with the Christmas tree up now and the Christmas lights on outside. Maybe I'll get out tomorrow and take a few pictures for those of you living in warmer climates. Come on now - admit it - you miss having snow at Christmastime.
Today is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. When you read this - take a minute to think about the national and worldwide "crisis" that followed and the tremendous effort and sacrifice made by all Americans over the ensuing 4-10 years, including the Korean "Conflict." It kinda makes our daily crisis' look pretty small in comparison doesn't it!
We don't have many WWII vets left alive these days and we lose more every day. If you meet one - say thanks.
We got our first real snowfall last night and throughout the day today. It probably only totalled about 2 inches but it managed to make everything look quite wintry and it looks real pretty with the Christmas tree up now and the Christmas lights on outside. Maybe I'll get out tomorrow and take a few pictures for those of you living in warmer climates. Come on now - admit it - you miss having snow at Christmastime.
Today is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. When you read this - take a minute to think about the national and worldwide "crisis" that followed and the tremendous effort and sacrifice made by all Americans over the ensuing 4-10 years, including the Korean "Conflict." It kinda makes our daily crisis' look pretty small in comparison doesn't it!
We don't have many WWII vets left alive these days and we lose more every day. If you meet one - say thanks.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Livin' on Dayquil
Here I sit with a miserable cold or flu or whatever. Yesterday both Stacy and I were feeling way under the weather but today she seemed to feel a bit better and I feel worse. Oh well - I'll keep taking my dayquil and nyquil and this too shall pass - eventually.
Peggy and I got our Christmas presents early yesterday. She has been wanting to get some nicer window shades in the kitchen for several years now and since the walls got painted and the carpet got replaced earlier in the year and since the bathroom project is done and since I was able to trade in some credit card points for a Home Depot gift card - we got each other a couple of Bali cordless window shades for Christmas. They arrived yesterday and of course they had to be installed immediately - who wants to wait for Christmas! The shades are way easy to install so even a sick person like me was able to have them up in no time. These shades are a double cellular design so they should also help in the heat loss department - especially on the large picture window. Easy to install, they look nice, they might help save some money on the heating bill, and Peggy likes them - Priceless!
We'll have to see how I'm feeling tomorrow - if I'm up to it it may be time to find the Christmas Tree and get it set up. Time to start getting into the Christmas spirit - it has got to be better than sitting here blowing my nose all day!
Peggy and I got our Christmas presents early yesterday. She has been wanting to get some nicer window shades in the kitchen for several years now and since the walls got painted and the carpet got replaced earlier in the year and since the bathroom project is done and since I was able to trade in some credit card points for a Home Depot gift card - we got each other a couple of Bali cordless window shades for Christmas. They arrived yesterday and of course they had to be installed immediately - who wants to wait for Christmas! The shades are way easy to install so even a sick person like me was able to have them up in no time. These shades are a double cellular design so they should also help in the heat loss department - especially on the large picture window. Easy to install, they look nice, they might help save some money on the heating bill, and Peggy likes them - Priceless!
We'll have to see how I'm feeling tomorrow - if I'm up to it it may be time to find the Christmas Tree and get it set up. Time to start getting into the Christmas spirit - it has got to be better than sitting here blowing my nose all day!
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