Got my Christmas goin’ on.

My Merry ChristMoose lighted tree…

Yep, got the Lava Lamp going too…hey, after all, I am a child of the 60’s…

 

Gotta love my Moose/tree…I had to do something different this year…I am in the process of hanging garland…more later.

Well….we THOUGHT we were heading South!!

A quick thrown together blog (what else is new?) to let you know the Cave Dwellers finally got their act together and took it on the road.  We loaded the Hiker on Tuesday, and it sleeted that evening and the temp dropped to 19 degrees.  Needless to say, we had a little trouble with icing on the slides,…and the locks were iced up.  Not to be deterred, MacGyver and I got up at 6AM Wednesday morning and did the few last things before we pulled out of the driveway.  One funny thing (well, NOT funny to Den) happened. We learned to turn off the water in the house before leaving for the Winter…Dennis did that about 7AM…and about 7:10 AM he attempted to fill our fresh water tank…hmmm. Thinking that the water was frozen at the outside faucet, he even used a little torch on the faucet. That was when the light bulb went off in his MacNoggin…DUH..The water was turned off. As you can see, we were a little discombobulated and disoriented before we finally got the rig on the road.

Our first night was to be spent at Rend Lake in Southern Illinois.  We got in about 1PM and got all set up, cozy and ready for cocktail hour…

Just look how cozy we are!! Relaxed and enjoying our first night “on the road”…and the it began….

WHAT THE HECK????? Who predicted this??? We checked Weather Bug and THIS was NOT in the forecast!!

So, this put a bit of a damper on the celebration of getting out of the snowy and frigid Northern Illinois.  We watched our outdoor thermometer continue to plummet…We have one of those clock/thermometers that projects the bad  news on the ceiling of our bedroom…and by 6AM it was 20 degrees. Yikes.

Our plans were to get on the road early..Dennis was determined that if we could get the slides cleaned off of ice, the interstates wouldn’t be very bad..So, he climbed up on top our Hiker roof (while I stayed inside and prayed to Murphy not to slap him to the ground).  Our broom wasn’t cutting it, so I handed him a long thin piece of wood from the back of our truck. We always take some to help level from side to side. He used that as a giant“camper slide scraper” and managed to get them clean enough to pull in.  And after prying, kicking and crunching the ice off our Direct TV setup, steps, and electric cord, we pulled out about 7:45AM…

Above is road leading out of the camping area to the highway….If I hadn’t been so scared I would have considered it very pretty….We came from Northern Illinois with no snow to Southern Illinois and icy, snowy nastiness..However, Den was right, I-57 S was clear when we got on it , and clear all the way..We ran out of snow after about 30 miles.

So, our first couple days of returning to the RV life was, as it usually is, a tug of war between Murphy and us…and we finally won. We arrived here at Grenada Lake, MS, North Abutment about 1:30PM and lovely site it is!!

That would be us…right on the lake…aaaahhh, yes.

They are predicting almost 70 degrees here this weekend, and our first reservation is not until Dec. 7th, so we decided to stay 6 nights to “shed the stress and decompress”…in a lovely spot..FYI, this is and Army Corp campground, so it cost us old farts $10 a night..Looks like we have a plan..and Murphy can take a flying leap!!!

Forty-five years…when the Heck did that happen?

Short blog…Dennis and I celebrated 45 years of marraige Saturday, November 22nd.  Time has a way of getting by too fast!!

Me and my Dad, left….middle is me and my sister, Darlene…and right, well…the whole damn wedding party…oh my!

 

Dennis was sporting his “Dracula hairline” back then, complete with  Brylcreem…”a little dab ‘l do ya!”

…yep, we had the traditional wedding and the throwing of rice..In that right photo, I just realized Dennis IS Dracula..check those canines!!

Anyway…our  kids were all home for the weekend to celebrate with us and I will post photos later..As for right  now, Dennis and I are packing the Hiker. We have to go up to our elders tomorrow and make sure they get some groceries. Our cousin is going to take over while we are gone..and by gone, I mean Wednesday  morning..However, the bombastic bumpkin weather forecasters are looking their crystal ball and seeing 3-5 inches of snow coming tomorrow night!…SAY WHAAAAAT??? We shall plan on leaving Wednesday morning unless it is just too bad, in which case my evil twin will take over and I will become the Wicked Witch of Center St. yet again…Stay tuned!!

Freedom Isn’t FREE!

I would like to thank all you brave souls who served proudly in our military through the years…You are ALL heroes and so,so many made the ultimate sacrifice..I would especially like to acknowledge some family members who stood side by side to protect our freedoms….

Our son, Kelly and my beloved “MacGyver” Dennis…

 

Den’s Uncle Clarence Bark (Uncle Jr.) and my Uncle Walter Fry…

 

My Great Grandfather, William Harnish (I have no photos, but he served in the 23rd Indian Battery during the Civil War…)

 

 

Though I have no photos of him in uniform, my second cousin, Eyles Harnish who served in WWII….and his father ,my Great Uncle George Harnish, who served in the Phillipine- American War 1899-1902..Nope, I had never heard of this one either, but it was nasty..see the link.

There could be more who served in our family, but these are the ones of which I am certain.  To All OF YOU who served, I humbly thank you for the life we enjoy today…

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.”   ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving…time for reflection

   Well, MacGyver is still a farmer..Hopefully this will be the last week.  In the past years, our family has usually celebrated Thanksgiving early with a BIG Cave-A-Palooza.  Den and I tried to get “on the road” before the snow began to fly here..and that meant throttle down before Thanksgiving Day.  I was surfing through our photos of Thanksgivings in the past few years and decided to share a few from 2006 until present.  For those of you who are cringing at the thought of yet MORE old family pictures, I suggest you prop you eyelids open to stay awake through my nostalgia fix, or just go about your business of whatever you were doing..and as for this blog… “fogetaboutit”.

 

This would be Thanksgiving 2006..in Clear Springs CG, Wright Patman Lake, Texarkana, TX. Yes, I did decorate early..get over it.

 

Year is 2007..Ter and Tim’s 3 kids above. We were home that year and had a family get together..Jr. and Jeanette came for it. Chris and John had no kids yet.

 

2008..We were on the road this year. This is Grenada Lake, MS..nice park and very quiet. We stayed 5 nights here.

 

 

Turkey Day, 2009..Home. Our nephew,Scotty, was still with us..Photo on right is Jr., Jeanette, and Juanita, Jr’s  sister is to his left..

…More 2009..Our niece, Leanne( in the red vest right picture) was always a big part of our Cave-A-Paloozas.  She will be missed so very much this year.

 

Thanksgiving, 2010…Home again for this one…Obviously, our son is a  huge Bears fan..If memory serves, we had left the slides out on our Hiker and before we could leave, Den had to take the garden hose and melt the ice on top so we could pull them in..They give you real funny looks on the interstates if you drive with your slides out…and we had no “wide load” pilot car to go with us.

 

Thanksgiving, 2011 was spent at Tickfaw State Park, Louisiana.  We had fried oysters from the little stand for our dinner a couple times.However, on Thanksgiving Day, I made the usual turkey with all the trimmings..But this year it was legs and wings in the crockpot, Stove Top stuffing, and Ore Ida mashed potatoes with instant gravy. MacGyver’s palet is pretty tolerant.(.I actually made the green  bean casserole from scratch though!)..

 

In 2012, we did have an early get together the weekend before Thanksgiving …That next Monday before Thanksgiving, I had surgery on my “turkey waddle”..This would assure me that I wouldn’t have to wear Blaze Orange this year to avoid getting mistaken for dinner..and getting shot at.  This particular year, on Thanksgiving morning, MacGyver took me to the Olde Tyme Inn for their annual Thanksgiving Day open Bloody Mary Bar and hors de vours snacks. Note my festive hair bow..As you might have guessed, NOTHING embarrasses Dennis.

This last batch of 9 photos is from last year, Thanksgiving 2013.  You know what they say…9 pictures are worth 9,000 words…Do ya think we had a great Turkey Cave-A-Palooza???

 

You’re DARN RIGHT  we did!!!

Ok, those who left the room ad nauseum can now return.  I promise the family photos are over …for now.  This year, the Cave Clan is planning an early Thanksgiving party here on Nov. 22nd..and then Den and I will get out butts in gear to get as far South as possible as SOON as possible…Lift off could be anytime from November 25th on…I’m shooting for ASAP!!! Florida is the ultimate destination this year, with a possible stop in Ridgeland, MS to visit Bridget and John on our way…WOOT! WOOT!..But don’t get in the GMC just yet..I have more family photos to post of our next Thanksgiving Cave-A-Palooza!!! If you are lucky, I won’t have time right away! tehee.