Let's Get This Party Started

Well here I sit on New Years Eve morning. The foot or so of snow we received over the past week has mostly been cleared from the driveway and walkways, the outdoor Christmas lights have been taken down, the temperature this morning is around 18 degrees, and we are hours from going over the fiscal cliff. What a wonderful way to start 2013. 

As I wrote several posts ago - I was, and still am, a fan of going over the fiscal cliff. We, the American people, will continue to vote for larger government, larger deficits, and less freedom as long as it continues to cost us nothing today. If we in the "middle class" don't feel the pain of our decisions we will never change. We seem to want those lower tax rates for us and all the free stuff the government can provide as long as those mean old rich people foot the bill. But the truth is - there aren't enough rich people with enough money to pay for our excesses so instead - we pass the bill along to our children and grandchildren. Notice that I'm not complaining about Congress or the President here. "We" are the root of the problem folks. Until "we" change - we continue down the slippery slope. 

Now that I have that somewhat negative thought behind me ... on to "looking forward" to a happy and prosperous new year!

In spite of some not-so-good events that happened - 2012 still turned out pretty good for us Maineiacs. Early in the year we had some interesting travels through the southeast, 

some fun with our RVing buddies down in Alabama for Mardi Gras,

and a nice trip out to the Hill Country of Texas with Darrell and Judy Patterson.

On the way home we got to experience some beautiful scenery along the Natchez Trace.

We spent the spring months at our Summer Home in Maine enjoying our visits with kids and grandkids and then hit the road again ... 

this time for visits with Darrell and Judy again in northern Michigan and then family on the left coast. 

On the not-so-good side -- most of our time in California and Nevada was spent in a care-giving role tending to the recoveries of Nan from her broken hip and Jamie from her broken kneecap. On the good side -- we were there and able to help!

We did manage to enjoy some beautiful scenery on our way home as we traveled through some new territory in Monument Valley and Mesa Verde National Park.

We arrived here at our Fall Cottage in Maine in October ... and although we have enjoyed more time with family and Maine friends -- it is looking an awful lot like winter here in our Maine Chalet.

So ... it's time to move on to 2013. We have lots to do this year - including welcoming a new grand baby - so let's get this party started!

Early Reports on Samantha

Christmas Day is behind us ... but hopefully the holiday is not. Peggy and I had a busy-fun day yesterday as we hosted a very non-traditional family get together. At least it was non-traditional in the meal served. Instead of the more traditional heavy meal feast we opted for some homemade shrimp and sausage gumbo and/or homemade minestrone soup, added in some just baked popovers, and had store bought cheesecake for dessert. Stacy, Kaj, and Taylor Anne joined us from Richmond and Eric and Jen drove over from Auburn to help us celebrate the day and open a few gifts. It was a great day and it was fun having a little one in the house again on Christmas. Taylor didn't get her afternoon nap and was pretty wore out by the time she went home - but she seemed to have fun while she was here. It started snowing big puffy flakes around 10:00 AM and continued for a couple of hours so we had a white Christmas after-all. The snow prettied up the countryside but I was glad to hear everybody made it home safe and sound as that kind of snow this time of year can be pretty slippery.

Speaking of slippery - the weather guessers are telling us to get ready for a big snowstorm over the next couple of days. Here near the coast we are supposed to get 2-4 inches with sleet and freezing rain mixed in but those folks a bit more inland may get near a foot! Only 29 days and a wake-up before we head south!!

I guess Santa forgot or forgave my 2012 naughtiness since he brought me a new Rand McNally RVND 7720 GPS for Christmas! The RVND 7720 is the latest and greatest Navigation Device made specifically for RV travel. It has a huge 7" display and has lots of "bells and whistles." It is supposed to provide routing for RVs that avoids some of the more common RV travel issues - like low clearance overpasses. We'll have to see how that works - but I'll keep watching the clearance signs anyway! Some of the new features are pretty cool - but may be annoying - the jury is still out.  

Peggy and I went out to run a few errands today so we put the new gadget in the Vue to see what we thought. Here's a few of our first impressions:

• Did I tell you that the display is HUGE. It probably won't look so big once it's in Winne but it is way too big for a car.
• Since the gadget is huge - so is the provided suction cup mount. The mount works fine if attached to the windshield but doesn't stay put if you try and mount it to the dash. Finding the best place to mount it in Winne may be interesting.
• The "voice" provided sounds a little distorted to me but that may be the speaker. The device has the capability to output to a separate speaker so I may give that a try and see if I like it any better. The default voice is a female voice named Samantha. I may have to try the other voice "Tom" to see if he sounds any better. We have gotten used to calling our GPS "Lola" and Lola will still be going with us for use in the Vue. Should we call the new one Samantha? Maybe -- but I know I wouldn't name "her" Tom!
• One new feature that we didn't have in Lola was "Speed Limit Warning." Samantha (we'll call her that for now) knows what the speed limit is where you are - and will even warn you in advance if the speed limit is about to change up ahead. Unfortunately it will also compare your present speed to the speed limit and tell you if you are speeding. Fortunately that feature can be set to actuate at a user modified amount over the limit - or better yet - can be turned off. If I want to be warned that I'm speeding - Peggy is more than capable.
• Since the RVND 7720 is made specifically for RV use it has some pretty useful "Points of Interest" built in. You can find the nearest campground, rest stop, or Wal-Mart that allows overnight stays at the push of a couple of buttons. Push another few and you can find the nearest RV Dump Station or repair facility. The icon on the screen that shows your location can even be changed to look like your RV - motorhome or trailer!
• Most Rvers have a checklist to go over before they travel. Things to remember like "Did you lower the TV Antenna?" or "Remember to fold up your steps?" Samantha will display your customized checklist and you can check items off as they get completed. What will they think of next? Pencil and Paper?
• One of the things I like best about Samantha is that you can get a weather report for your present location, your destination, or any other place that you want. You can also overlay a weather map on your normal highway map screen! This feature requires a WiFi "hot spot" internet connection - but we travel with one all the time anyway so this feature will be useful - at least to me!!
• Oh yeah - Samantha even has a camera connection so you can monitor some remote location.

Peggy reminds me that I still have to pay attention to the road up ahead, all the traffic around me, all the highway signs, and most importantly -- directions from her! But I'm not sure why - Samantha seems to have all the bases covered! I'm pretty sure it can control the coffee maker as well but I haven't found that screen yet.

Dear Santa

Is it too late to write Santa a letter? Will he get it in time to bring me what I want for Christmas? What the heck - I'll give it a try - you never know - it might work!

Dear Santa,

I have been a pretty good boy this year - if you don't count all the naughty stuff I did. I generally got dressed before noon, took out the trash most of the time when Peggy told me, and combed my hair whenever company came over. Sounds pretty good in my book!

Since I should be on your "nice" list - here's my "what I want for Christmas" list:

• A new Rand McNally RV GPS unit. You know - the one that keeps from routing you under bridges that are too low for your RV to pass under, reminds you to lower your TV antenna before driving out of the RV Park, and routes you straight to the nearest Cracker Barrel at lunch time.
• A 2013 travel route free from drivers from Massachusetts or impaired for any other reason.
• A 2013 travel route free from orange cones, barrels, and construction vehicles.
• A set of RV parks along our travel path where the amenities are many, the hassles are few, and the prices are cheap.
• A new set of state and federal legislators. Not the kind that you have given me in the past. They didn't work out so well. I want the kind that pays down the debt that the last several sets managed to run up.
• While your at it - how about a new President and Vice President. I know ... I just got done electing the set I have now. But it's not my fault - honest!

Oh the heck with it .... the new GPS will be enough - I guess I wasn't good enough for the rest.

I'll leave the milk and cookies on the table.

Mikee

Could be a White Christmas!

It appears winter has arrived. As I sit here hoping the New England Patriots can whup those pesky 49ers from the left coast - it is snowing pretty steady outside. The weather guessers are saying this storm won't amount to much but the next one to follow in a day or so might make things interesting. Fortunately for us - we don't need to go anywhere early tomorrow. I suspect the morning commute could get greasy. 

We are now at 39 days and a wake-up before we plan to head south for a few months. We obviously still have a bunch of Christmas holiday activities to keep us busy and 39 days seems like a lot - but it will go by quickly - it always seems to! I really don't have any major work I need to do to get Winne ready to roll for this trip. I did go visit her the other day while the weather was still pretty decent. I  ran the generator for about a half hour and loaded it down with the heat pump system to warm up the interior a bit. Now all we have to do is keep the snow from piling up on top and in front. We store Winne over at a friends property and he does a nice job of keeping the front plowed out so that isn't typically a problem but cleaning snow off the top can be (has been) an issue in the past. I really do not like climbing up there to shovel off snow and ice before we travel - but sometimes it has to be done. It doesn't take much accumulation up there to add up to a lot of weight and who want's a bunch of snow flying off a motorhome at 60 mph going down the highway. Certainly not me! And especially not the Vue traveling behind us! Ahh the tribulations of a Snowbirding RVer who hangs around in the northeast too long!

So we'll just hang out here in our nice warm house, keep the driveway shoveled out, and hope for the best when it comes to the weather - nothing we can do about it anyway. Besides - it's New England and December!! It's supposed to Snow!

Too Much Pressure

That's it! That's all I can take!! The pressure is just too much!!!

Terry Guiler wants pictures - so pictures she gets!

Pre-Winter Thoughts

We are officially ready for Christmas. Tree trimmed, outside lights up, nativity scene prominently displayed, Peggy's snowmen and angel decorations in their spots, dancing Santas out and batteries checked, gifts purchased, wrapped, and mailed where required. Whew - only 14 days to spare!

We still have some Christmas Cards to prepare and mail - but those don't always make it out before Christmas Day.

Considering it's mid December - we have been having relatively nice weather here in Maine. We have had a couple of small snowstorms in the last several weeks - but nothing that accumulated much and any that did was gone within 24 hours. I see where we might get some accumulation this weekend. We'll have to wait and see - the weekend is still a long way away. I will sure be glad when winter finally gets here! Why - you ask? So the daylight hours can start getting longer - that's why! Right now we are only getting around 9 hours of daylight each day. Sunset at 4 PM is really unsatisfactory!

Has Mikee really lost his mind? Is he really complaining about the lack of snow and wishing for winter to arrive? Well - yes ... and then again ... NO! We still have 40 some days to survive here in the soon-to-be frozen north before we run away to warmer weather and  it would be nice to be able to escape before Old Man Winter figures out we're gone!

Speaking of running away ... Winne has been resting in storage for a bit over a month now so I guess it's time to go wake her up, run her engine and generator, and energize her circuits. I wouldn't want her to get lonely. She will be needed to carry us to that warm weather sooner than you think!

Since the end of the year is approaching it has been time for me to study the Evringham Family Budget for 2012 and start preparing the budget for 2013. I've also spent some time studying the federal budget and the process they use for managing our money ... what the heck -- if it works for them it ought to work for us - right?

So I start with what I spent last year

then I assume that we will spend a bunch more on "stuff" we want and a bucketful more to pay for "stuff" our neighbors think they want (you're welcome). I don't have to concern myself with where the money is coming from since my kids (and their kids) have volunteered to cover any costs above my present revenues. But not to worry kiddos - I am concerned about this deficit so I agree to cut spending by the same percentage as the President and his cohorts are suggesting. I figure this will come to about 35 cents.

Waiting on Santa

Only 17 more shopping days until Christmas. 17 more days to find that perfect gift for that friend/relative who has 17 more days to find one for you. Only 17 more days to get all the gifts wrapped and mailed, decorations up, greeting cards signed and mailed, and sugar cookies baked. Only 17 more days to wear that Christmas sweater and socks that only come out this time of year. And only 17 more days to catch that re-run of your favorite Christmas TV movie and/or animated special. When I was a kid waiting for Christmas - 17 days seemed like an eternity. Now that I'm "not-a-kid" - 17 days looks like tomorrow!  

Fortunately - Peggy and I have been doing a pretty good job of easing into the season. Instead of stressing to accomplish everything that we think needs to be done - we have managed to stretch out the process and do a little here and a little there. I figure that by the time we get it all "done" it will be time to "undo" it.  

I see that the news is all gaga over William and Kate expecting a child next year. I'm happy for for them but not as happy as I am for us! Peggy and I are looking forward to a new grandchild sometime in June of 2013! Our son Eric and DIL Jen informed us of the future blessed event a few weeks ago and we are very happy for them - and us! We now know what our travel plans are for this summer! 

I can't let December 7th go by without remembering the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Although it's not a personal memory of mine - it certainly was for my parents. I do recall December 7th being a very big deal as a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s. Today's generation will remember September 11th 2001 as a solemn day - I certainly hope they do. But I hope we never forget what our national unpreparedness for the evil in the world led to on that Sunday morning in 1941. 2,335 servicemen and 68 civilians died that day. We forget such things at our own peril!

So here we sit - 17 more days until Christmas - waiting on some snow and just enjoying the season.

Not a bad thing for a couple of Maineiacs - resting up for our next set of adventures in Motion.

Don't Feed The Bears

Here we go again.

Another year has gone by - another election has gone by - and yet we remain right where we were. The Democrats want all of us (especially the successful) to pay more taxes to fund existing and additional government programs and the Republicans want less spending on these programs and less taxes in order to decrease our monetary deficit and to "stimulate" the economy. Apparently this argument hasn't been settled yet.

Just as well I say! The less laws that are passed - the less impact on us regular folks. We have a hard enough time dealing with the laws we have on the books now - we don't need any more. Just leave us alone! We'll figure out what's best for us - just quit changing the rules!!

On a related note ... I heard an interesting thought the other day that I thought I would share. On the one hand our federal government is very proud of the fact that it has increased spending on "entitlements" such as food stamps ... yet on the other hand ... the same government tells us not to feed the wildlife in our national parks ... because it makes them dependent on the handout and less able to survive on their own. 

Sounds pretty much like opposite sides of the same argument doesn't it? As for me - I'm for the side that says "Don't Feed the Bears!"

Snowbirding Plans?

As anyone following this blog knows - we have been spending our time getting ready for Christmas. Decorating and shopping. After-all - that's what we Americans do this time of year! Why? Because we must like it!

But what happens after that? 

Our Winter 2012 escape involved leaving Maine and driving south shortly after Christmas. That worked pretty well as we missed any and all significant snowstorms and the trip south was just like we like 'em - "uneventful."

The previous year didn't work out quite as well when we left Maine (the first time) on January 21st after having to dig out Winne a couple of times -- 

and then had to dig out Winne again in NJ after a major snowstorm in order to return to Maine to attend a funeral -- and then had to dig out Winne once again to head south for the second time on February 4th at -8 degrees.

Our snowbirding trip for the Winter of 2010 was not much better when we left on January 12th it was right around 10 degrees above zero! 

If we are going to leave Maine for the winter with a minimum amount of hassle - you would think that based on our past experiences we would plan on leaving Maine no later than shortly after Christmas each year. Our experience has shown that the difficulty factor really increases once January arrives!

But we just got home from our sorta unplanned west coast trip in early October! We're not ready to leave yet!! So now what do we do?

We're pretty darn sure that we've had enough of staying in Maine all winter ... so it looks like we are going to do the worse possible thing - compromise - and leave once again at the worst possible time. Right now we are planning on leaving around the 25th of January. I'm sure this will be on the coldest day of the year following a major snowstorm! I sure hope Winne is up to the task of being awoken once again in the middle of winter and expected to perform flawlessly!

I'm sure our plans will include a short stay in NJ to say Hi to the NJ Gang but then I think we will head south in a hurry! At the moment we plan on heading down I-81 to the Knoxville area where we hope to spend a couple of days resting up, warming up, and visiting with our RVing buddies Gene and Judi Curp who live nearby in Maryville, TN. After a short respite in the Volunteer State we will probably head straight to the gulf in Lower Alabama and our winter home away from home at the Rainbow Plantation - arriving just in time for Mardi Gras. 

After spending several weeks in "LA" we plan on heading back to the southern east coast and doing some serious relaxing/sightseeing in and around Savannah, GA. We may even plan a route through the Pine Mountain area of Georgia. I wonder what we could find to do there?

After that? We have lots of options and plenty of time to make a plan. 

First things first. We still have Christmas shopping to finish!

Decking the Halls

We have continued with our Christmas decorating these past few days - but not without "issues." 

As I recall - we purchased that fake, pre-lit Christmas tree some number of years ago to minimize the hassle of braving the cold weather to choose the tree, then prepare and mount the tree on the Tree Stand, then bring the tree inside and let it acclimate to the warmer temperatures, vacuum up all the needles from all the tree maneuvering, find the tree lights, hang the tree lights, repair the tree lights, water the tree for a few weeks, take the tree outside, vacuum up all the needles again, and finally - take the tree to the Solid Waste Facility. Yes indeed - that fake tree was to solve most of those issues - and it did - pretty much up to this year. 

It all started out OK. I retrieved the three tree sections from the storage box, put them together, and plugged in the lights. The top and bottom section lights worked fine. But only about half of the middle section would light up. Not to worry I says - last year I bought the magic light fixing gadget and it worked pretty well. Unfortunately it only worked partially well this year! Making a loong story somewhat shorter ... that middle section light string was "unrepairable." At least it was unrepairable by Mikee within Mikee's tolerance for repair effort!

So after several hours of repair attempts we made the big decision to remove all the pre-installed lights from the tree. Believe me - this sounds easier than it was. I wonder what child slave factory in Thailand is used to have all those lights wound around all those fake tree branches?! There we sat after a days work - with a nice looking fake tree with no lights.

Day two of the 2012 Christmas tree raising effort involved yet another trip to Home Depot to procure new Christmas tree lights. Not just any lights mind you - but the new fangled LED technology lights. These new lights will light up your tree real nice, draw much less power than those "old fangled" lights, last for 10s of thousands of hours and put out right next to zero heat. I gotta tell you - some things really are better these days!

Whew - I'm glad that project is almost behind us. I figure we still have another weeks worth of effort to complete all the decorating. We still have the door wreath, the nativity scene, Peggy's snowmen and Christmas angels. Then there are the several dancing santas that our son Eric and DIL Jen have given us over the years! 

Sometimes I am really envious of our full timing RV friends that have limited room to carry all this decorating "stuff." But then sometimes I really like having the house all decorated for Christmas with a gentle snowstorm outside the picture window, and a warm cup of coffee to sip while enjoying the season. 

Deck the Halls Ya'all!

Retired Life is Definitely Easier

Here we sit ... in the post-Thanksgiving, "what do we do now?" position.  Stacy and Kaj, with the able assistance of Bailey and Kyla, put on a great feast yesterday complete with both baked and deep fried turkey, smashed potatoes, dressing, green bean casserole, hot rolls ... and all kinds of other food-stuffs. Eric and Jen joined us and contributed the sweet potato casserole, and we brought Peggy's to-die-for Vanilla Cake Corn Bread. Add in some wine, play time with Taylor Anne, and football in the background and you have a complete recipe for a traditional Evringham/Johansen Thanksgiving Day!

I did get some new outdoor Christmas lights and put those up a few days ago - so that pre-Christmas chore is complete and sometime in the next few days it will be time to erect the not-so-real Christmas Tree. Oh yeah - and we need to get in the Christmas gift buying/wrapping/mailing mode as well. 'Tis the season to be jolly afterall!

Now that "the holidays" have arrived - this is also the time of year that I tend to start getting all our year-end financial stuff together. This gets a little easier each year as we have transitioned to "retired" life as I keep track of where the money comes from and goes to on a more consistent basis throughout the year. 

I must admit that back in my "working" life I paid little attention to how much I made or where it went. I knew that I made "enough," we spent pretty much all of it, and Peggy made sure that all the bills were paid on-time. 

My "retired" life has meant a big change for us when it comes to financial planning and tracking. Peggy has had to put up with my "take over" of the financial tracking duties (although she still performs the monthly checkbook balancing) and I have had to learn all about how much "stuff" really costs.

Although we both have had to change our thinking financially these past few years, a few "truths" have remained. One "truth" is that no matter how much money you have (well this is true for most of us anyway) - you will find a way to spend it. This is also true for our government - which is why I am a fan of taking our money away from them as much as possible! Another "truth" is that although having "enough" is important - our definition of "enough" is more important. If we spend too much time and energy on getting and/or keeping enough - we tend to lose sight of the really important things in life. 

So as I watch the evening news and contemplate the future impacts of all the components of the "fiscal cliff," and "fairness" in the federal, state, and local tax codes ... I'll try and keep these (and a few other) fiscal truths in mind.

Meanwhile - exactly what income tax rate should I assume for 2013? Will I really owe that extra $850 in taxes next year? Imagine the quandry I'd be in if I was in that >$250,000 income tax bracket! Will I really owe that extra $10,000 or so in taxes next year? How the heck am I going to pay that and more for my health insurance, my employees health insurance, my house payment, and my kids college education?

It really is a LOT easier being retired!

Family Traditions

November 18th - wow - how did it get to be November 18th already? The last time I remember taking a breath it was August something. I guess it's true that "time flies when you're having fun."

It hasn't exactly been a "fun" week around here as both Peggy and I have been on the downhill side of colds. We (especially Peggy) have been pretty fortunate these past couple of years with little sickness - but these colds have hit hard and seem to want to hang on. Not to worry ... we are getting better everyday.

Not only is it the 18th day of November - it's only 4 more days till Thanksgiving! And you know what that means don'tcha? Yup - only 4 more days till Black Thursday, 33 more days till the calendar start of Winter (it's already here in Maine), 37 more days till Christmas, and 80 days till Fat Tuesday!

Stacy and Kaj are hosting the Evringham/Johansen Family Thanksgiving again this year. Apparently this has become a new family tradition that they started back in 2009 when Peggy and I didn't arrive back from a West Coast Trip until a few days before Thanksgiving. They are a great team and put on a pretty darn good feast with all the traditional foods and the traditional NFL games going on in the background. Isn't it amazing how "traditions" change over the years. This year the "tradition" is being modified as we all try out deep fried Turkey for the first time - made in Kaj's new Turkey Fryer. I understand there will be plenty of safety equipment nearby and that the homeowners insurance is paid up!

Once we get past Thanksgiving it will be time to move on to the traditional hanging of the outdoor Christmas lights. We have never really gone overboard on this annual event - but we do like to adorn the front of the house with a few strings of lights. The lights we have been using - we purchased about 10 years ago and they are getting harder and harder to keep working each year as more and more of those tiny bulbs keep burning out. I'm pretty sure I have gotten my money's worth out of those strings and it's time for an update/upgrade this year. While wandering through Home Depot the other day I noticed some new style strings with LED bulbs that are supposed to last for thousands of hours. I also noticed some cool icicle looking bulbs with multiple LEDs  that flash on and off in a "shooting star" sequence, and then there was the lighted reindeer with the moving head, and the blow up Santa Claus and Snow Globe .... OK that's over now ... I'm better. I recon I'll just pick up a couple of strings of lighted bulbs.

Don't want to start too many new traditions.

Follow Me Over the Cliff!

Leave it to me to be on the "other" side of conventional wisdom.

Now that the election is over, the big news is the "Fiscal Cliff." It seems that no politician wants to go over this cliff ... yet those same politicians are the ones that built the cliff in the first place ... and for the very reason that we are facing the cliff today.

I say we go over the cliff with glee. Let's take a look at just a few components of "the cliff."

1. The 2% decrease in the Social Security Payroll Tax that has been in place for the last couple of years is set to expire. If it expires - all wage earners will have to pay more to the Social Security Trust Fund to keep the Fund solvent for a few more years. The tax "holiday" that has been in place for the past two years was a government "good deal" designed to "stimulate the economy. Meanwhile the government was taking all kinds of other actions to slow down economic growth. I say - we will all be better off if the Social Security Trust Fund is better off. Let the tax holiday expire - it has done whatever good it was going to do. Time to fund our future.

2. The "Bush" Tax Decreases are set to expire. Once again - don't you find it the least bit interesting that these tax decreases were "temporary" in the first place. Why? Because - once again - they were meant to provide a short term "shot in the arm" to the economy ... and then be returned to where they were once the economy was "boosted." Did this tactic work? Nope! It's hard to boost the economy when the regulatory framework for doing business is so difficult. I say  - let's go back to the tax rates before the "temporary" cuts - For Everybody. It will raise lots of revenue to help decrease our debt, it was "Fair" then ... so it must be "Fair" now!

3. Last year the Congress and the President agreed that the National Debt was too high (hard not to agree with that) ... and since they couldn't come to agreement on what spending needed to be cut and what, if any, new revenues needed to be raised (remember now - they had already agreed to keep those nasty "Bush" tax cuts in place at least through the election) -- they collectively decided to put in place a Trillion $$ decrease in spending as of January 2013 - "The Sequester" (again - after the election). But don't get too excited here ... that Trillion $$ cut is not a cut to today's spending -- only a cut in the future increase in spending that might otherwise have occurred. Said more simply ... the National Debt still goes up - only more slowly - unless they change their minds and spend more anyway. I say - let the Sequester happen. Regardless of the screaming and yelling on both sides of the isle - the world will keep turning and the debt will keep rising - albeit maybe more slowly.

We taxpayers don't like paying more in taxes -- and us receivers of government provided benefits don't like seeing our benefits decreased ... but WE ARE 16 Trillion $$ in debt folks! Since our President and Congressmen seem to like to deal in temporary measures and self inflicted "Fiscal Cliffs" - I say lets call their bluff and move towards living within our means. 

I know - a novel concept.

Grandkids and Gumbo (No - not Grandkid Gumbo!)

Life has been a bit crazy-busy these last few days since my last post. After our big family get together and BBQ rib-feast on Wednesday night the weather turned a bit snowy as we awoke to a couple of inches of heavy snow in the morning. Most of the accumulation didn't last through the day as it warmed up a bit and the rain melted it away. 

The NJ Gang was busy visiting their Lisbon, Maine grandparents on Thursday so Peggy and I did a little furniture shopping locally and ended up purchasing a new Lazy Boy rocker-recliner for me and a new end table. We've only been saying we needed to replace my chair for about 2 years now - and the end table maybe 5 years now ... so we have that chore behind us. I like my new chair. It's pretty much the same model as the old one ... only a different color and this one has foam that actually cushions you!

Peggy and Emily made cookies on Thursday night and Alyssa and Peggy made more cookies on Friday morning. Not to be outdone -- I decided that Friday was to be Mikee's Maineiac Gumbo Day - 2012. The NJ Gang had not had the pleasure of tasting this fine delicacy so I and my hard working kitchen assistants chopped up and stirred up a batch. We didn't have any squirrels or 'gator in the freezer so we had to settle for the shrimp and sausage version. Based on the volume consumed I would have to say that it was a success.

The Jerzee Gang left yesterday morning for their trip back home ... right about the time that Stacy and Kaj dropped off Taylor for a day with GMa and GPa. That Taylor is walking/running all over the place now so watching her is a fulltime job ... for both of us! Add to that the colds that the NJ Gang decided to share with us ... and we're pretty beat this morning. But colds or not -- having Taylor over has been fun. She is at that age now where she is learning something new every second ... and wants to share it!

So that's pretty much the way it is here in Maine on this 30 something degree Sunday morning.

I foresee a NFL nap this afternoon followed by a bowl of leftover Gumbo. Life is indeed - Good.

Moving On

Another national election is finally passed. Free government stuff will remain free, gay marriage is OK, and pot is legal. 50% of us are ecstatic and 50% of us are afraid. More guns will be sold, more concealed carry permits will be issued, more stocks will be sold. The left gets farther left and more embolden in their leftness and the right digs in for 4 more years of resisting anything the left thinks they just received a "mandate" to accomplish. Sounds a lot like post election day 2008!

Back here in Topsham, Maine - life is good. The NJ Evringham's are up visiting from storm ravaged New Jersey. Actually - they made it through the big "Superstorm" with no real problems but they got to see several long gas lines and a few FEMA convoys as they made the trip north on Sunday. We have spent a lot of time visiting with the NJ kids and grandkids these last few days - we even spent a few hours at the local bowling alley yesterday where a good time was had by all. Grandpa was only a spectator for the big bowling match as he has been having some neck/shoulder muscle issues that I didn't want to make worse ... but I had a fun time watching anyway.

Today is darn-right wintry cold and windy with the temp outdoors right around 36 degrees. Brrrr. 

We have a big family get together planned for this evening with the Richmond gang and the Auburn gang joining us and the NJ gang here. Looks to be around 13 of us! Ought to be loud - and fun.

I think I may need to start happy hour early today!

Prognostications

Well here we are ... just a few days from the BIG election ... and guess what the prognosticators are prognosticating? Tied race for president and it all depends on the turnout. Didn't I pretty much predict that would be the case a few months ago? 

Since I'm doing so well at my predictions I thought I would throw in a few more ...

Regardless who wins there will be at least 1 and probably more lawsuits regarding voting improprieties.

If Obama wins the world will continue to turn.

If Obama wins the economy will continue to "grow" at around 2-3% per year for the next 4 years and the deficit will continue to grow to around 20 Trillion $$.

If Obama wins he will finally move towards the center and Congress will actually get a few things done. The "Bush" tax cuts will expire for those making over $1M (but not for anybody else), The amount of income that is subject to SS Tax will increase, the SS retirement age will increase to 70 over several years, the medicare income tax will increase for everyone, and the annual COLA for SS will be based on a different CPI index. This will really upset his progressive base - but he won't care - he'll be working on "his legacy."

If Romney wins the world will continue to turn.

If Romney wins the Stock Market will gain 500 points within the first week, the economy will grow at least 6% in the first year and near 10% for each of the following 3 years.

If Romney wins the deficit will get no larger than it is now after the first year and will drop by 1.5 Trillion after his first term.

If Romney wins he will move towards the center and Congress will actually get a few things done. The "Bush" tax cuts will expire for those making over $1M (but not for anybody else), The amount of income that is subject to SS Tax will increase, the SS retirement age will increase to 70 over several years, the medicare income tax will increase for everyone, and the annual COLA for SS will be based on a different CPI index. This will really upset the conservative arm of the republican party - but he won't care - he knows they will still vote for him in 2016.

Bottom Line ... The world still turns and SS and Medicare will be adjusted to deal with reality. If "O" wins we struggle along economically as Business finds ways to make money in spite of the government hassles it was to deal with. If "R" wins the pent up demand for business growth will be unleashed leading to healthy growth and a decrease in the national debt.

Take your pick and get out and vote on Tuesday!

Back to 2007

So what path did Mikee choose for his next project? Well I started with the old Toshiba Laptop. My present laptop was purchased in 2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I remember the place and time because I remember the incident that brought on the purchase. There we were - parked in Winne in Park City, Utah on a somewhat snowy evening in early October when Peggy was nice enough to brew me some coffee in our under the cupboard mounted coffee maker. Peggy must have gotten distracted because she failed to place the coffee carafe in the coffee maker and the brewed coffee then made its way onto ... and into my original Toshiba laptop. Needless to say it met a sudden catastrophic failure. But I digress .... back to the laptop at hand. Since that day in 2007 my laptop has been used almost daily for all sorts of tasks including a couple stints at being a "work" computer during a couple of consulting jobs. Over all these years I have downloaded and installed lots of different software "programs", unloaded almost as many pieces of software, created and deleted bunches of Documents, Spreadsheets, Power Point presentations and managed thousands of pictures we have taken along our various travels. Needless to say ... the ol' laptop has been used and sometimes abused. The result of all this use/abuse was a machine that had become very slow to boot, slow to accomplish anything if you asked it to do more than one thing at a time, and generally more of a pain in the posterior than a useful tool.

I suppose I could have taken the easy way out and simply purchased a new one. But that just doesn't fit with my (usually) frugal ways. So I opted for the slow and painful solution.

Step 1 was to back up all my thousands of files. This didn't take too long since I do this about every month anyway. All my various documents, pictures, settings, etc are backed up onto an external hard drive. I do not back up the various software packages that are loaded on the laptop's hard drive.

Step 2 was the painful step. Painful because it is irreversible once started and takes a long time to recover from. Using the "restore" disks that came with the laptop I returned the laptop to its 2007 "out of the box" state. The process I used reformats the hard drive thus erasing everything that was there and then reloads the original software. The good news - if it works - is that you start with a clean slate ... all the various registry problems that have developed over the years and other file corruptions that had found their way in -- were deleted. The bad news is that now the work really starts.

Once Step 2 is complete you have a "clean" machine in its 2007 state. The next step is to bring the operating system up to 2012 standards. Remember all those "updates" you have been faithfully uploading the last 5 years ... time to upload them again! After downloading and then installing updates for about 24 hours and 1 gigabyte of download bandwidth later - you have the operating system up-to-date. Yippee! I thought about upgrading to Windows 8 rather than going through all this hassle but that upgrade is only good for one computer (can't be used on another computer) and that didn't make sense to me for a computer this old.

Step 4 is to load the various key pieces of software you routinely use. For me, I use Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Presentations, and Outlook) for most of my non-internet based uses. Since I had to purchase these programs originally - I needed to re-install them using their original installation disks. Once that was done - you guessed it - I needed to download all the various updates to those programs. Another half a day and half a gigabyte later and that task was complete.

Step 5 was to load all the other software that is frequently used and "free" from the internet. For me ... I needed Google Chrome for my internet browser and Picassa 3 to manage all my photos. I may want some other stuff later but that was enough for now.

Step 6 was to retrieve important "settings" including my old contacts list, internet page bookmarks, various passwords etc. A time consuming but essential task.

Step 7 is still ongoing and will continue for who-knows-how long. Loading all the various files I use back onto the laptop from the backup hard drive. Some stuff I use a lot -- mostly financial spreadsheets -- so I've already put those files back. Other stuff -- like all our old photos -- I may take my time and simply archive those onto some other media rather than back to the laptop.

So here I sit 3 days later -- with a laptop that only takes a minimal amount of time to boot and will actually do more that one thing at a time without getting too confused!

I wonder how long that will last? Hopefully a long time since I now do most of my computing using my Ipad.

Whew - glad that chore is behind me so I can get out there and pick up some more leaves!

Have a great Autumn Day!!

Sandy's Past - Now What?

Apparently we survived hurricane Sandy and the resultant "super" storm (AKA the "Frankenstorm) pretty well. We had some wind last night and a bit of rain but we never lost power and have seen a lot worse. Our son Eric - about 30 miles west of us over in Auburn lost power last night but the kids down in Jersey that took the hurricane landfall pretty much head-on maintained power throughout the night! I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be near the coast down in New Jersey, New York, or Connecticut - but we made it through fine up here in Maine.

It's still cloudy out there and I'm sure we'll see a wind gust and a rain shower here and there - but I'm thinking we're pretty much done with Sandy. Time to move on.

But move on to what?

I could get out there and get busy cleaning up the yard. But it's still too wet.

I could start getting the Chevelle ready for storage. But I'd rather do that on a drier day as well.

I could get serious about ordering/building that storage shed I've been thinking about. But I think it's getting a bit late in the year for such outdoor work.

I could spend some time backing up all the files on this laptop and then try to improve its performance by making it go stupid (including a reformat of the hard drive) and then reload all the software. Or maybe better yet - load the new Windows 8! But that's risky business and it could me days to get everything working again - and then the performance may be no better.

Or I could move on to some new - totally yet to be figured out project.

What to do? What to do?

Ready for Sandy

I reckon we are about as ready as we are going to get for the big storm heading our way. All the outside furniture, BBQ, hose reels, etc., are picked up and put in storage. Our emergency generator has been tested. We have plenty of food, water, and batteries. Yup - we are ready for the Frankenstorm! It looks like the NJ Evringham's are right in the path of Sandy's projected landfall - but Brian informs me that they are prepared as well. So we'll do what we always do during these times - keep an eye what's happening around us and our kids and adjust as necessary.

In many ways we are better prepared than most. If need be -- we have a "spare" home parked nearby complete with its own emergency power source. Hopefully we won't need "Plan C."

In between our storm preparations we got out the other day to watch Kyla and Bailey participate in their high school's soccer playoff games. The girls team won and the boys team lost a close one. Nothing like a sunny fall day in Maine watching some playoff soccer!

Alas ... it looks like our stretch of sunny fall days are behind us for awhile. Today is cloudy to really cloudy with rain & wind forecast for the next several days as the super-storm works its way through. I'd say that about 60% of the leaves on the hardwoods have fallen already and I suspect that the coming storm will rip off most of the remainder. But what about all those campaign signs that are stuck in the ground at just about every street corner? Where will they end up? I suspect we will end up picking those up as well.

So ... we'll hunker down for a few days and then emerge from our hiding places to finish up our fall cleanup in preparation for the cold weather to follow. Bring on the hot coffee, tea, and cocoa ... throw another log on the fire ... and grab (or download) a good book.

Readying for the Frankenstorm!

Last Fall we had tropical storm Irene to contend with in September and then there was the very odd Halloween night snowstorm. This Fall it looks like we may get both - this time on the same night! They (the news media) started off calling it the "Perfect Storm" but have recently started using "Frankenstorm" as the term to be used to scare us all into getting out and buying lots of bottled water and batteries. Now don't take this wrong ... I appreciate all the modern technology that can watch these storms develop and give us plenty of time to get prepared - and I'll be sure to take advantage of our forecasted nice day today to get the deck furniture and the BBQ put away - and maybe even test run the emergency generator ... but I think we can do without the media using terms like "Snowmageddon" and "Frankenstorm" to spice up the nightly weather report.

Speaking of the news media ... don't ya just love watching the very different "spin" on the various TV channels to the same piece of political news. Or even better ... don't ya love what some media outlets call "news." I know ... most of you aren't the political junkie that I am - but this election season can really be hilarious if you just sit back and watch both sides spin the same "fact" to their perceived advantage. Hilarious that is ... except it's too serious to be funny. 

I am a believer in the pendulum theory of political science in America. As a nation - we tend to go to the "right" until folks on the "right" over-reach and push us back to the center. And then the opposite happens as we overcompensate - miss the center - and swing too far left. This has been going on for a long time - but unfortunately the pendulum swings are getting farther and farther from the center before we start moving back. I think it's past high time that we get moving back to the center. But then we need to find a way to dampen the swing in the pendulum. But how? I suggest that the pendulum is swinging farther and farther from center because we have allowed our central (federal and state) government to have too much power. They haven't just taken it - ripped it from our tightly clutched fists -- we have given it to them - one vote at a time. 

Time to move back to the center and then slow down the pendulum.  Let's take back what we gave away.

In the meantime - I'll go get ready for the Frankenstorm.

Advice From an RV Greybeard

Winne made it to her storage spot on Sunday and is resting quietly - waiting for her next opportunity to be off on a new adventure. I'm always glad to have that task behind me. Winne is cleaned inside and out, chassis lubed, oil changed, full of fuel, batteries disconnected ... and NOT parked in my driveway. Winne has had a busy year! She deserves the rest. Don't ya'll fret - she won't get lonely - I'll be over to visit every few weeks. I need to replace a few storage compartment prop rods that I have on order and exercise the generator once in awhile. 

We have owned Winne for 8 1/2 years now and have traveled all over the US - racking up over 95,000 miles of seeing America. Back when I was an RVing rookie I would read everything I could get my hands on regarding how to operate and maintain a motorhome. After all - who wants to have to deal with "stuff" that doesn't work when you are driving across Wyoming! I still like to learn about hints and tricks to keep all Winne's systems operating correctly - but I guess I have graduated from RVing Rookie to "RV Greybeard." Since I am now a Greybeard (remember - I even have my Old Geezer Card now!) I thought I would offer some sage advice on operating and maintaining your RV:

Sage Advice #1: Use it.

I am a firm believer that mechanical systems need to be exercised frequently to be kept in top working order. Remember - "A RV at rest tends to stay at rest."

Sage Advice #2: Fix it.

Intermittent problems don't tend to get better all by themselves and will become real problems at the worst possible moment. In addition -- small problems tend to become large (and expensive) problems. Fixing issues when they first come up is usually a good policy. Note: I sometimes ignore this advice and it costs me almost every time!

Sage Advice #3: Learn From The Experience of Others.

Almost every problem/issue I have had with Winne has been experienced by others before me. There are plenty of RV forums out there that can help you troubleshoot just about any problem yourself -- or at least help you deal with your RV Service Center of Choice. You do have to be able to sift through the "advice" you receive. Some is "good" advice and some is ... well ... not so good. As with just about everything else in life - your own common sense is usually your best source of advice.

Come to think of it ... those three pieces of "Sage Advice" apply to many aspects of life. You may have to modify a term here and there to make it fit your particular situation ... but I think it works.

1. Live Life.

2. Address problems head on. Don't let small ones get to be big ones.

3. Remember - there are few problems that others haven't had before you. Learn from their experience.

Enough of today's "Advice From Mikee" Column ...

Time to pick up more leaves.

Changing Seasons - and Attitudes

Contrary to what you all must have been thinking these last few days - Mikee has not just been sitting around contemplating the meaning of life. I have accomplished most of Winne's pre-storage maintenance (oil change and chassis lube), completed winterizing of the fresh water system, helped Peggy get the inside surfaces cleaned and the carpet shampooed, and given the outside a good scrubbing. I still have a few more minor items to get done and then Winne can be put to bed for a few months.

Shortly after publishing my last blog post and while sitting in my recliner watching some Celtics pre-season basketball and waiting for the presidential debate to start ... I felt the house rumble a bit and then a big THUMP. Now I'm pretty used to feeling a rumble or two when living in Winne and parked next to the railroad tracks that all RV Parks are located near -- but the THUMP was new! Whoa -- we musta just had an earthquake! According to the news the quake was a 4.0 on the Richter Scale and centered about 60 or so miles away. Earthquakes are not an unheard of occurrence in Maine - but they are pretty rare. Fortunately, I haven't heard of any damage or injuries from this unusual event. Just a few shattered nerves. But then again ... perhaps the shattered nerves resulted from the debate!

Ah - once again it is Autumn in New England. The hardwoods are ablaze in bright reds, oranges, and yellows. And so is my lawn. I generally enjoy this season in Maine - except for dealing with those gorgeous leaves that collect in our yard! I think I need a new outlook on leaf removal. I should be thinking about the healthy exercise I'll be receiving as I rake/blow those leaves into piles to be followed by the even-more-fun process of placing all those piles into bags for hauling and then unloading at the Solid Waste Facility. Or perhaps I should feel thankful that I have the opportunity to assist our municipality in creating compost for use in local gardens in the spring. 

Yessiree - that's what I'll do - I'll change my attitude - Bring on the Ibuprofen.

More Understanding

Stuff I think I understand ...

Folks tend to like politicians that tear down their opponent. This must be true. If it weren't so - then politicians and their campaigns wouldn't spend enormous amounts of money on negative campaigning. Does anybody have a clue what President Obama plans on doing in his potential second term? Probably not but I suspect you all have seen an ad telling you how much of a dirty capitalist Mitt Romney is. On the other hand ... the Romney folks are constantly reminding us that President Obama has failed to improve the economy and has, in fact, implemented policies that have made things worse. Has anybody seem ads where Romney tells us what he plans on doing to improve things?  Oops - I think I have! My bias may be showing!

According to Newton's First Law of Motion - "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state unless an external force is applied to it." I'm pretty sure this applies to our RV life as well. Once we get Winne rolling we tend to stay rolling until we 1) run into one coast or another, 2) run out of money, or 3) miss our boring home lives. 

The opposite is also true. Winne tends to stay in storage unless an external force is applied to it. The force necessary is directly proportional to the amount of snow and ice that has accumulated on top and and indirectly proportional to the outside temperature. This force is also indirectly proportional to the number of days since the first day of Winter. I call this  Mikee's First Law of Snowbirding.

OK- enough of this craziness - time to get ready for some important stuff ... like the results of Dancing With The Stars to be followed by the next Presidential Debate. I wonder who gets voted off the show tonight? Will it be Bristol Palin or Kirstie Alley or maybe Hope and Change ... or Cut, Cap, and Balance?

Understanding

Things I don't understand ...

I don't understand why our cable TV company (Comcast) decided that we had to install a "Digital Converter" on every TV in the house. Supposedly it was because they were switching over to all Digital Signals and we wouldn't have been able to use their signal otherwise. The good news was that because every TV had to have an "authorized" box - they could control what you received from their offices. Changes would be so much easier! Not only that ... if you ordered new service (or a re-establishment of service following a cancellation) you wouldn't need a technician to show up. They simply send you the equipment - you hook it up and then go on the internet or use your phone to have it "authorized." Sounds pretty good - except for one small detail. When you cancel your service, not only do you have to turn in all the Set Top Boxes you needed to receive their service - they have a technician come over and physically disconnect the cable leading to the house. Soooo ... after receiving the equipment, setting everything up, and making the authorization call ... it still won't work until the technician comes out to hook up the cable. I'm sure this all makes sense ... to somebody! 

I don't understand why the Christmas season starts in October. We still have two "holidays" to go before Christmas. Not only that - but one of those "holidays" celebrates all things not-so-holy. No wonder kids are confused. We don't let them figure out one holiday before moving on to the next!

I don't understand why we buy expensive high-tech toys for small children. Give them a choice between a high tech gadget with the batteries dying and an old cardboard box with a few blocks inside and the box-and-blocks wins every time!

I also don't understand who the "undecided" voters are! At this point in the election cycle there should not be a single undecided voter. As I've said before -- I believe 94% of American voters had their minds made up months ago. The other 6% aren't "undecided" ... they are "indecisive." Assuming these folks vote at all - they will make up their minds in the voting booth ... probably based on something important - like whose name has the most vowels.

I suppose I simply have a lot yet to learn!

2012 Summer Trip Report

Well here I sit - waiting for my cable TV gadgets to get "activated" by Comcast. I'm pretty sure it will take several more phone calls to their technical support line before I get everything working the way it worked before I left - it always does. One of the downsides of being a RV Part-timer I suppose. Waiting on the cable TV folks to get it right or waiting on the Dish folks to get theirs right! Isn't technology a wonderful thing?

We are managing to get more and more moved in today - but I have a feeling it's going to be a slow process. The motivation to get everything done just hasn't set in yet. Maybe we're still recovering from all the travel days? Maybe it's the cooler weather? Whatever our excuse we better figure it out pretty soon before the snow starts flying!

Oh well - tomorrow is indeed -- another day!

As for the much anticipated travel stats - here goes  ...

Total miles for the trip - 8,015 ... I guessed 8,000 before we left and budgeted accordingly. On our winter trip we averaged about $3.50 per gallon for fuel - so I budgeted for $3.60 on this trip. It's a good thing we got home when we did since the price of fuel seemed to be rising every day during the trip home. For the entire trip we averaged $3.65 for gasoline and 7.1 MPG. Yup that's right ... just over $4,000 for the trip!

We were gone for 80 nights with a little over half of those (45) spent at either the Quiring RV Resort or the Redeker Camping Lodges and Sewing Center. Since the Quiring and Redeker spots are free from cash outlay (although payment is provided via brotherly love) we saved a bunch on nightly camping fees. If you take our total parking/campsite fees and average them over the entire 80 days - we ended up spending about $13 per night. If you don't count the our stays at my sisters places we averaged just under $30 per night ... just under the budget for this trip. 

Not counting our days spent in Yreka and Minden we stayed in 25 different RV Parks. 10 of those parks we have visited in the past. The most expensive placed we stayed was the Pittsburgh/Madison KOA at $45 for one night. We have stayed there before and it was expensive then as well. We need to find a nicer and cheaper spot to stay when in that area! The least expensive (again, not counting our stays at my sisters) was at Crossroads RV Park in Kansas. $14 for a quiet full hookup site was a great deal!

Our trip out to Yreka took 12 driving days over 15 days in total. Way too fast -- but our mission changed on day 7. The trip home from Sacramento was a bit better at 14 driving days over 18 days in total. Still too fast - but it's hard to slow down once Peggy smells the barn!

Winne ran pretty darn great for those 8,000 miles. We did have that serpentine belt issue early in the trip but after that repair she did well. Up mountains and down mountains, through 100 plus degree weather across deserts, and through some pretty impressive windy days. She did lose a small mudflap somewhere in Utah but that repair was pretty inexpensive and easy to accomplish in Yreka. Winne has now traveled some 95,000 miles and seems to be aging well. She certainly needs some TLC now to get her back into tip top shape - but then so do I!

Whew - what a year! 13,600 miles and about 180 days on the road! I think we are both ready to sit still for awhile. 

But how long? What about a winter trip? We haven't stayed home for a whole winter in several years now! All I know is that I have a lot to do to just get ready for winter - both the house and Winne. 

Ask me again in January!