Greys & Things

I learned some news this morning that upset me.  I guess I could be one of the last to know.  I learned a big Guiding Light spoiler.  Have you heard?  The show is going off the air in September!  I’m really upset.  I love that show.  I have only watched for maybe the past two years, but I’m in love with Lizzie, Daisy, Reva, Bill and several others.  I went to town this morning so that I wouldn’t miss this afternoon’s show.  There is a story line right now that I just can’t miss.   As you may remember, we do not have a DVR and our VCR is eating tapes. While at the store, I saw the headline on Soap Opera Digest that Guiding Light was going off the air. I came home and checked it out on the Internet and it is true.  I will have to find something else to occupy my time from 2 pm to 3 pm.  I guess I could exercise.  Nah!  LOL

The only other soap that I watch is As The World Turns.  I am not happy with the story lines on that one right now and have switched to watching Ellen many afternoon.

Life is about change and this is just another change in my ever changing life.  I have decided that I will not be posting daily on this blog.  I know I do have some regular readers, so I wanted to give you a heads up.  I didn’t want you to think that I fell of the face of the earth or anything like that. I would like to thank you for reading my blog, learning about my life and leaving comments.  I enjoyed meeting all of you.  I will pop in from time to time to tell you of my latest camping adventures and also any important updates on the lives of the greyhounds, Jack and Scout. You can also visit them at their own blog, Two Greyhound Town . They are pretty good at keeping their blog updated with photos and their latest adventures.

When you see a motor home traveling down the highway, I hope you smile and think about me, my camping obsessed husband and our greyhounds.  I would say to honk, but you might scare the driver.

Bye for now,

Patty and the greyhounds, Jack & Scout

My back is better today.  It is still sore, but I haven’t had any spasms for about 24 hours.  That is a good sign.  I am walking upright again.  That is always good.  LOL

Jack survived his vet visit, but it was very stressful for him.  The vet was 20 minutes late due to emergencies.  He said he had seen 22 pets yesterday and that put him behind.  He had to keep running in and out during Jack’s visit which added to Jack’s stress.  I think in the future, I will schedule my appointments in the morning.  However, I have been going to this vet for over a decade and this was the first time that it was like that.

Jack received his two shots yesterday and had his exam.  The vet was pleased with his teeth.  I was a little concerned because I went through a time where I wasn’t brushing his teeth and it shows.  Greyhounds are known for having very bad teeth.  Jack just had a teeth cleaning two and half years ago and I really don’t want him to go through that again. Greyhounds are very sensitive to anesthesia and they don’t always come out of it.  I have known several greyhounds that have died during a dental, so it’s really something I don’t want him to go through again.  I have been brushing his teeth daily for the past month and his teeth look better. The vet said he can see that there is an improvement and if I just keep it up, we should be fine.  He does not recommend that we clean Jack’s teeth.  He said it is just not worth the risk.  It was a relief to hear that.  It’s much easier dealing with a vet who shares my views instead of battling one who doesn’t.   I’m wondering if he recently lost a grey while doing a dental because last year he was not so against it.

Jack and I are both glad that yesterday is over.

Yesterday, I decided it was time to start loosing weight.  I think about it all the time, but I have a hard time motivating myself.  I decided yesterday was the day.  I started watching what I put in my mouth and in the afternoon, I used my Total Gym.  I purchased my Total Gym in 2001 and really like it.  I haven’t used it regularly in quite a while.  I only did leg exercises yesterday and felt fine when I was through exercising.  I sat back down in the office and went back to work.  When I got up from my chair I realized that I hurt my back.  It was that familiar pain.

I’m not sure why I didn’t immediately soak in the tub yesterday.  It was probably because I was having trouble with my Internet connection and spent an hour on the phone with a representative trying to fix it which was a priority to me over my back.  My Internet is very important to me since I work at home.   I have been very happy with AT&T as my Internet provider.  The representative put in a work order on the issue.  I’m concerned because she doesn’t think it is my problem, but a tower’s problem.  I would rather it be my problem because I think that would be easier to fix.  I’m somewhat worried about it, but after working at home for 14 years and facing many computer problems, I am realizing that stressing over it does not help.  It seems to be somewhat better this morning, but it was better yesterday morning too and then got really bad as the day went on.  I have a strong signal, but we couldn’t even do a speed test on it because it was timing out.

Back to the back… This morning when I tried to get out of bad, I had spasms.  That’s what I call them. I can deal with a sore back, but the spasms are very painful.  I couldn’t stand up straight and it was very difficult to walk.  I took a pain reliever and then a long hot shower.  I then put a pain killing cream on it.  I am now able to walk almost normal, but still very slowly.  I have to take Jack to the vet later today for his annual check up and I just hope that I am able to do that without having spasms.   I really do not want to scream out in pain while I’m at the vet’s office.

I will not be exercising today that is for sure.  LOL

I hope everyone had a nice Easter.  I tried to post my blog yesterday, but my entry kept timing out.  It was very frustrating.

Jack and Scout wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter.   They did not see the Easter Bunny yesterday even though they looked and looked.

We went to my BIL’s house for Easter.  We had a nice lunch.  I brought two desserts.  I had a terrible time preparing them and actually threw one dessert in the trash.  I tried to make my Magic Peach Cobbler and I used the wrong type of peaches.  I used pie filling peaches and even though I rinsed them off, they caused the entire dessert to turn a dark brown.  It smelled burnt.  The Triple Chocolate Cherry dessert did turn out even though I added an extra egg.  I ended up making cupcakes from scratch because I didn’t have anything else in the house.  I topped the cupcakes with butter-cream icing with almond extract.  I spent more time than I planned on the desserts and my back ached after I completed them.  I just can’t stand in the kitchen for an extended amount of time.

The kids had their Easter egg hunt.  They each had to find 23 eggs.  It was a cold day and at times, it seemed like the Easter egg hunt that would never end.  It was fun though.

How was your day?

Jack and Scout are not happy with us right now.  Unfortunately, they are not going to be happy for probably the next month.  It’s not as bad as it sounds really.  Hubby and I are working to get grass to grow in their backyard and in order to do this, we had to block off most of their yard while the grass grows.  Our plan in the beginning was to only block off half of the yard and then do the other half.  We realized that this would probably take most of the summer, so we decided to do it all at once and get it over with.

The backyard started out being our garden.  We had dirt hauled in and hubby worked very hard getting it established.  He loved his garden.  After Jack arrived, I wanted a fenced yard for him.  Our yard is basically wooded, except for the garden.  We decided we wanted to adopt a second greyhound, so hubby decided to give up his garden.  We put in a 6′ fence and we tried to turn the garden area into a yard.  It’s been tough due to a lot of ruts in the yard.  The grass never really became established before we let the dogs in the yard, so we deal with a lot of mud in the spring and winter.  Today, we finally took steps to getting the ruts out of the yard and growing grass.

Scout looks so sad when she goes outside now.  She looks through the orange fencing that keeps her from her favorite running spot.  She just doesn’t understand.  She can still run up and down the yard if she wants to.  Greyhounds run in circles though.  It must be that track training.

The yard before the new grass was planted.

Scout exploring her area of the yard.

I work as an employment verifier.  I verify employment, check education and ask questions for character references.  I am on the phone a good part of the day.  I have been hung up on many times.  I don’t understand that since I am only helping a past co-worker or maybe even a friend pass through the screening process to getting a new job.

After three years of doing this type of work, I have developed somewhat of a thick skin when it comes to rude people.  I often wonder how the rude people keep their jobs especially in this economy.  I’m sure there are some friendly people out there who need a job.

Today, I was shocked by what happened when I called a company.  I called for a character reference.  A woman answered and said “I look better with something in my mouth.”  At first, I thought she was talking to someone else and just happened to pick up the phone while she was still speaking.  She then said “Hello?”  I said “Hello, is John there?”  She said, “yes, please hold.”  She then hung up on me.  I could have noted in the file what happened and moved on, but I decided to call back. I was curious.  John answered the phone this time.  He asked if I had just called.  I said I had.  He said he owed me an apology.  He said they thought it was a radio station calling and that is how they had to answer the phone to win concert tickets.  I could hear people laughing in the background.  He said they were all very embarrassed and he felt really bad for asking the receptionist to answer that way. We both laughed about it and we completed the verification.  I wonder how many other people were the victim of the radio station’s contest.  It was funny once I found out the reason behind it, but it definitely could be loosing customers for some companies.

My husband asked me on our last camping trip why I thought he was camping obsessed.  I just looked at him and then started listing the reasons I feel this way.

1. We visit the local RV dealership at least twice a month and that includes the winter months.

2. We drive through the local state park, just to see if anyone is camping.  Hubby did this by himself one day last week on his way home from work.

3.  He reads two camping related magazines.  He reads a RV forum daily.

4.  He comments on every camper that we see on the highway.  He notes the number of slides, the length, tow vehicle or vehicle doing the towing.

5. He comments on homes that have a camper parked in their yards that are in route to and from work.  He wonders where they are when the camper is missing from their yard.  He lets me know when they return home.

6.  We camp in all sorts of weather.  We have been camping in snow, rain, tornado warnings, severe storms, hottest days of the year.  Yep, we have seen it all.  Hubby feels it is an adventure to face the weather extremes.

7.  He and Tom Tom spend their evenings planning our next trip.

8.  He wants to know every detail if I tell him someone I know has bought a camper.

9. He considered delaying our trip last week because the local RV dealer was having an open house and we might miss a good deal in the store.

10. He can spend hours working in the motor home.  I think it’s his man cave.

I’m waiting for this obsession to end.  We have been camping since 2005 and it’s only getting worse, so this one may take a while to run it’s course.  LOL  At least he is obsessed with something that includes me and the dogs.

It’s hard to unwind after a camping weekend.  The dogs are itching to hit the road already.  They love seeing all the people and smelling all the new smells.  The only thing that Scout does not like about traveling is that she cannot run.  The girl loves to run.  After returning home this time, I let Jack and Scout into the fenced yard and Scout ran 4 laps around the yard, she started into the garage and headed back out for another lap.  She came in again and then did one more lap.  She then rested for the rest of the evening.  Jack is not a runner.  He could care less about having a yard to run in.

I like being able to take a long shower and I can’t do that in the motor home.  Our shower in the motor home is nicer than the one that we had in the small travel trailer, but we do not take long showers.  Unless we have full hook-ups which means the water is connected to the motor home,  we take very, very short showers.  We get wet, turn off the water, shampoo and soap up, turn the water on and rinse.  That’s it.  The worst part of camping to me is showering and sleeping.  I do not sleep well in the motor home.

Our dream for several years had been to own a motor home.  That dream came true last year when everything seemed to align correctly for us.  We camped in it 13 times last year.  This year we will probably do that many trips or more.  Hubby likes to go every other week.  We need to come home to cut the grass and earn money for gas and then we hit the road again.  We have reservations for four trips made already, but that just takes us into June.  We have only toured Missouri so far, but this year, we are heading to Kansas for a greyhound event.  Missouri really has some beautiful sights to see.  We’ve camped as close as 10 minutes away from home to as far as 6 hours.  We camp closer to home when it’s with family and farther away when we are on our own. 

The next trip will be to the Lake of Ozarks.  Hubby’s Mom and step dad will be camping with us. They have a fifth wheel.  I plan on visiting the outlet mall there one day and probably just enjoying the view of the lake on another day.  We stayed there last year and loved it.  The weather was perfect that weekend, so that made it really nice.

We returned home from camping yesterday afternoon.  It was a rough drive home in that it was very windy.  We were blown around quite a bit, but the motor home is still easier to handle than the travel trailer we used to have.  It was good to get back home.  We were all tired.  I think the wind and the cold weather took a lot out of us.  It was in the 20’s with the windchill.

I was disappointed when we arrived home and the part for Roomba was not waiting for us on the porch.  Later in the afternoon, the UPS man did arrive with the part for Roomba.  Hubby immediately installed the new motor.  It came with new brushes which are different than the ones she came with.  The brushes seem like they will be easier to clean.  After Hubby installed the new motor, I pressed the button and Rosie Roomba took off cleaning.  She looks like a brand new machine.  You should see her cleaning.  It is so nice to have her back and to her wonderful cleaning self.  I will really make her work later today.  She will clean the living room and kitchen.  Yesterday, I just had her clean the hallway and my office as we were in the living room watching TV.   She needs to clean the motor home, too.  Rosie had a long enough vacation and it’s now time for her to earn her keep again.  LOL

We will head home later today.  It has turned quite cold.  I think the high today will be 38 and that does not include the wind chill.  The wind gusts are up to 30 mph.  It should make for an interesting drive home.

Saturday night, a few storms moved through during the night.  Jack was scared.  He ended up crawling in our bed and I slept on the couch.  I slept better on the couch anyway.  Jack gets so scared during storms.  The only time we let him on our bed during the night is if he is scared.

Yesterday, we drove to Camping World.  It’s a store that we have only visited through their website.  We really enjoyed shopping there as they have a much bigger selection than the RV store we normally visit.  We bought a few things, but nothing really exciting.  It was a good time though.  Here is a photo of Hubby leaving the store.  I shopped for a while and then sat in the car with the dogs. Hubby can shop for hours.

Last night, we returned to the motor home and dropped off the dogs.  We went to the nature center and toured it.  We then ate at the lodge again.  I wish I would have remembered my camera.  The lodge is very rustic.  It was built in 1929.  I had country fried steak, mashed potatoes, fried apples and salad.  Hubby had the fisherman’s platter.   After dinner, we went to the camp store.  We found a photo frame that is in the shape of a motor home.  It holds 3 photos, so we are going to put our photo along with a photo of Jack and a photo of Scout.  It will look cute in the motor home.

We made reservations for a trip to Springfield, MO yesterday.  We hadn’t planned on it, but KOA is having a free day weekend, so we decided to go that weekend.  We really prefer the state parks, but the KOA campground is close to Bass Pro Shop and other attractions, so we decided to give it a try.  It should be a fun trip.

Our next trip is just a few weeks away.  We are going to Lake of the Ozarks.