Which Direction?

 

We’ve been home for most of the last two months.  Had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas with family and friends.  I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading blogs, worrying with Live Writer, and trying to pick our next destination.

With all the weather events the past few weeks, it isn’t an easy decision.  Record high temperatures in the South, record cold in Arizona,  tornados, floods, ice, snow, what have you.

Originally the plan was Arizona, again.  We have a number of friends making their first visit to Quartzite this year, and we would love to be there to greet them.  It may still happen if things warm up a bit out there.

Another option is Florida.  Some friends are spending a few weeks in the Ocala area.  The only thing wrong with that is much the same as Arizona.  Only hot and humid rather that cold and windy.

We still have a few days before making a decision.  Leaving tomorrow to join a few friends in Louisiana.  Big plans for New Years!!    …..jc

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing each and everyone of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  We have crossed paths with many of you the past year, and hope to do so again in 2016.  For those we missed, our hope is that the coming year will fix that.  Also, please stop and remember; 

The Real Reason for the Season…….jc

Year End Wrap Up

 

This is really a test of the new Open Live Writer program.  Though it has been available for a few days now, some folks are having problems posting pictures.  I thought this would be a good way to see if it works for me.

One of our first stops of 2015 was Seminole Canyon SP in a remote area of south Texas.  The Shaman gave us his blessing.

Moved on the Big Bend area.  Spent most of a week sitting between Big Bend NP and Big Bend Ranch SP.  Really enjoy that part of the Country.

From there we moved on toward Arizona.  A week or two later found us in Kofa NWR.

Awesome sunsets.

We spent a few days at Dome rock with some other little trailers.

Attended the first annual Bloggerfest.

And hit the Desert Bar on Superbowl Sunday.

Too close to Slab City not to give it a looksee. 

Our little compound.

You can’t get to Slab City without passing Salvation Mountain.

We visited Fort Davis, back in Texas.

As well as the McDonald Observatory.

Made it to Alabama.

Watched towboats from our site on the Tenn-Tom waterway.

And visited the Little White House in Warm Springs, GA.

Back to Colorado in July. Buena Vista.

Zip lining near Salida.

Chilling near Gunnison.

Hiking near Silverton.

From Colorado we moved into Northern New Mexico.

We also made the Kansas Gathering, spent some time in Iowa, and spent a week in the Land Between The Lakes area of Kentucky.   We wrapped things up under the hill in Natchez, while chasing balloons the last of October. 

 

We’ve been home most of November and December.  Hope to get the wheels rolling again soon after Christmas.

Open Live Writer

 

Hopefully, you will be reading this, the latest edition of Eggrollings.  Thanks to a great group of volunteers at Microsoft, working with those folks at Google, there is now an open source version of the old Live Writer.  What that means is that you will have to put up with more of my drivel for some time to come.  Thanks to all of you for your comments on my earlier post.  So glad there are still readers out there, and hope to be on the road again, soon.

Making the most of your Dash

Somewhere, the past couple of weeks, I read something about a dash representing our time on Earth.  I don’t remember the exact wording, but it put me to thinking.

Dash definitions.   A small quantity of anything thrown into or mixed with something else:  a hasty or sudden movement: a rush or sudden onset: the mark or sign (—) used to note an abrupt break or pause in a sentence, to indicate the omission of letters or words, to divide a line, to substitute for certain uses of the colon, and to separate various elements of a sentence, as a question from its answer.

That official definition doesn’t speak to what I was thinking about.

A great place to find the dash is in cemeteries.  You know, something like John Smith,  1943-2015.  Birth year, and year of death.  Good information.  But, not nearly as important as what is represented by the dash.

That dash represented 72 years.  What things were accomplished during that dash?  Did he do the things he wanted, or die with regrets?  Was he married, have a loving family, or live the life of a loner?  Whatever the answers, they’re all represented by the dash.

You see? Our lives are represented by a dash.  Our time to do what is good, what is right, what is fun, and what makes us, and those around us, happy.

Make the most of your dash!  It’s what you will be remembered for. Not the beginning or the end.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Morning walk, last week.

        

There hasn’t been much movement of the egg the past month.  I did get it washed, waxed, and back under the storage shed, ready for the next journey.  Lots of planning going on for 2016.  Watching the ol’ El Nino to see what it may bring to Arizona come January.  We have plenty of cool and wet at home, so don’t want to travel a thousand miles to experience the same.  Florida’s crowds might not be too bad, after all.

Other than that, we have been doing the routine things that come from having a home in the country.  Picking up limbs, raking pine straw, and cutting grass.  Yep, the grass is still growing down South.

You can see that I’m getting lots of help from my support staff.

November is a big birthday month for us. Lots of family members celebrating around Thanksgiving. Wanda and I both celebrate ours this week.  We gave ourselves tickets to a Cirque du Soliel show in Jackson the past weekend.  An awesome show presented by about 30 spectacular athletes.  How do they do that?

Our youngest daughter’s birthday was yesterday, and she wanted boiled shrimp as her birthday meal.  No problem.

         

Would you believe that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product?  Believe me, they were fantastic.

Tomorrow will find us at my niece’s home.  Somewhere between 35 and 50 family members will join together to celebrate Thanksgiving.  A tradition that has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.  We’ll have the usual turkey and dressing, as well as ham, and chicken and dumplings.  The sides too numerous to pick from, but will include sweet potatoes, beans, peas, corn, fried okra, salads, compotes, and who knows what else.  Pies and cakes for desert.  Decisions, decisions.

We wish everyone of you a Happy Thanksgiving Day.  If we only stop and look around, we see that we have many things to be thankful for.

Hopefully, things will pick up on the blog in January.  Stay tuned……jc

The Egg has Rolled.

 

Dealing with elderly family issues has occupied much of our time the last couple of months.  Wanda’s mom has been doing exceptionally well.  Almost scary that she may attempt something she shouldn’t, and there we go, again.

The last month or two we have been dealing with my family members.  An elderly Aunt and Uncle.  I think I mentioned the passing of the Uncle in my last post.  Since that time,  the Aunt has managed to fall, breaking her lower leg in two places and having surgery.  Let’s just say she isn’t a good patient, and leave it at that.

Before, and during all that, we did manage a few road trips.  One didn’t involve the Casita, or even an overnight stay.  My brother and I made a trip down to Biloxi.  No, not the casinos, but the shrimp boats.

 

Jumbo shrimp, fresh from the Gulf.  $2.50 a lb.  De-heading included in price.  I don’t know how these hard working folks make a living selling their product so cheap, but I’ll take it.  I got forty pounds, brother got fifty.  Just wish we had a larger freezer. 

There was a Fiberglass RV rally at the Land Between the Lakes the first of October.  We had reservations in the campground which we had made months ago.  So, why not go? The area lies on the Tennessee-Kentucky border and is a great RV destination. No pictures of the rally itself.  We did get to visit with a number of old friends, and made a few new ones.   Lots of wildlife can be easily seen.  Much or it not expected.

She turned me down!

Feathered Friends.

What is it?

Albino Ground Hog?

Back home for a couple weeks, and it was time for the Great Mississippi River Balloon Races.  Early Friday morning media flight.

Two of my hearts in that basket.  Daughter and Granddaughter.

They’re off.

We’re on top.

 

Drifting over the harvested corn fields of Louisiana.

As it turned out, that was the only flight of the weekend.  A cold front moved through mid day Friday.  Saturday morning dawned cool and windy.  Same for Sunday.

Much better days for fishing.

We left Natchez  Sunday afternoon for East Texas.  Another fiberglass RV rally.  Stopped Sunday at our favorite overnight  campsite.  Grilled some rib-eyes, poured a glass of wine, and enjoyed a quiet campfire.

                                                                

Found this sitting on my hood Monday morning.  Apparently waiting on the sun to warm  up, as he/she was gone shortly after I got this pic.

                              

The Pine Knot Rally is held annually near Crockett, Texas.  Over a hundred trailers of different makes and models.  Lots of friends.  We did a little geocaching.

                        

Heavy rains from Patricia cover much of Texas as I write this.  Hopefully, it will end the drought conditions without causing too much flood damage.  Until next time…..jc