New Blog Has Arrived!!!

I just finished setting up the new (continued) Lovin-Our-Life Blog. It is still a work in progress and I'm thinking about making the appearance just a little cleaner, but we'll see how that works out. I try to put in sidebar info, I like to see in other blogs. If you have any input on what you like to see in blogs, please feel free to comment and we'll give it a look.

Ok, you can find the new Blog at this Address: http://lovinourlife3d.blogspot.com/ See you there!!!

Finally, Filled to the Rim!!!

We'll, Blogger has finally told me, I've used all my allotted space, so no more pictures young man, you are full!!! What does this mean?? Looks like we'll have to start another blog under a different email address. Not really a difficult task, just a little time consuming to get it just right. One good thing, it may just be time for a whole new look, so as I get the new blog together, feel free to look back through this one for a little nostalgia. I'll post back here with the new blog address before long.

Thanks everyone for following along with us on our fulltime journey and before. So check back often for the new Blog info and we'll see you there.

Hugoton, KS.

We finally left OKC this morning at 11:00 am, arriving here in Hugoton, KS at 7:30 pm. What should have been a 6 hour drive, as you can see turned out to be a bit longer. It all started by just trying to get out of OKC, an accident here, road construction there, and an unexpected detour put us out of the city an hour later. All was going well until we placed our faith in Google's hands. Our GPS led us astray (I know, blindly following a GPS is more than silly) but in our defense, we had a paper map, just not a very good one and we appeared to be heading correctly. Well as it turned out, we went a bit off course, but did end up making it safe and sound.  Now one thing, we don't really like travelling more than 4 hours at a time, but since this trip should have only been 6 hours, we didn't mind pushing it a little. However, 8 or more hours is just brutal on my bottom, not to mention I just get tired of driving after a while. All that being said, it's all part of the adventure and we do laugh about it as it's happening.

This was also our first time towing the car and it went off without a hitch. The motorhome towed it just fine and you could hardly tell it was even back there, thank goodness for the rear camera.

The last time we stayed in Hugoton, there was only one small RV Park, since then a new one has been built on the outskirts of town. The park is considerably nicer and the spaces much bigger than the old one.  Being outside of town it's also very quiet. Glad we found it.

We came here to have Thanksgiving with as many family members as we could get to come. We all met out at the old family homested, no one lives there now, but it is kept up for gatherings and such (more on the farm later)
Now it's time to go see the family and start getting the farm house ready for Thanksgiving. See ya soon!!!

The Weather, it's a Changin

 The temps are turning colder, the nights are getting longer and the pipes, they need a wrapping. We had our first freeze the other night, so it's time to protect our water supply. I had pick up all the essentials the other day, but then the wind started screaming and I didn't feel like chasing materials around the park, so it had to wait a couple of days. 

 This year, for the first time, I picked up so heated pipe tape, to protect the hose just a little better. After reading the the package, it says "Not for use on hoses", after talking with several folks here in the park, they have been using the same thing for years with no problem, so we'll see.

 I laid out the hose and the heat strip, luckily I bought the 30' strip, as it was just the right the right length for my 25" hose. Hmmmm creative packaging in these times??? I then attached the two using electrical tape as directed, about every 8" or so.

 Next was the foam pipe covers. I got the self sealing seam type which made it much easier (Walmart). The foam pipe connections were connected with good ole Duct Tape, the a few more wraps in between just for good measure.

The final product!!! Bring on the cold!!! As an added measure, I also placed a work light in the wet bay to be turned on in freezing temps.

We'll be headed to Kansas in a couple of days. The results of Sheryl's disco-gram show no need for surgery and to continue with Pain Management. We have her initial appointment with the pain management doc and hopefully her first injection on Wed or Thur. This will work well, as she will get some pain relief for the holidays and finish the last couple of procedures when we come back through OKC for the Christmas holidays. We had to change pain management doctors as the one we used here before stopped taking our insurance. Sheryl likes the new doc anyway, as he was the one who did her Disco-gram.

Ok, see you folks back here soon as we begin our first real adventure in our motorhome!!!

Procrastination

Procrastination was the name of the game on this minor project. When we purchased our motorhome a few months back, the original batteries were pretty weak. Of course it was getting late in the day when we discovered this, so, the dealer said he'd throw in a couple of new batteries if we didn't  mind installing them or we could come back the next day for them to do it. Well with the 109 degree heat that day, we were ready to get out of there and to the RV park for some much needed cooling off. I took the batteries, stuck them in a storage bay and of course promptly forgot about them till this week.
Since we are preparing to head out on the road again, figured I had better get them installed. Of course once I got them out, they looked a bit different than the ones to be replaced. Upon closer examination, the old batteries are 6 volts and he new ones are 12, glad I was paying attention as that cold have been a bad thing had I just put them in as the others were hooked up. Ok, so off to the store for a couple new battery cables, a little bit of elbow grease, cuts and scrapes and the new batteries are installed. Whew, a simple project that of course was made more difficult than it had to be, as it seems most all my projects turn out to be, but at least it's done.

The last couple of weeks have been filled with visiting the kids, doctor appointments and just life in general. Two things of note though, first I had my yearly (ok, bi yearly, procrastinating again) and all is well, well except for my cholesterol seems to be going up, not out of control, just higher than it was. Time to modify the diet a bit more and pry my but off the couch a bit more also. Next was new Neurosurgeon for Sheryl, he turned out to be a real jerk, but he di order a Diskogram for her. He may not have much of a bedside manner  but at least he's did something to move forward with her treatment than anyone else has. The Diskogram was done the other day, they told he she would be very sore for the next week or so, and she sure is, poor girl. Good thing is once we get the results, maybe that will lead to a more permanent solution, but we'll have to see. Good thing is once we get the results, we look for a more pleasant doctor to deal with.

Thats all for now. It's just a week and a half before we head out to Kansas for Thanksgiving at the family homestead. So, take care and we'll see you back here again before long.

Setting up for the Road

 Last post I left you wondering about what we were doing next to get us on our way. Well the above photo should give you a bit of a hint. After Camping World's outrageous quote for installing a tow bar set up, I just knew there had to be a better and less expensive way. I checked out Roadmasters web site and found a few local retailers/installers of their equipment. After a couple of call's, American Hitch, just down the street, was our answer. They ordered a base plate and installed it for just over $600.00, a bargain in comparison.

 Heres the base plate all installed, the arms that stick out can be removed for a cleaner look shouls we decide to stay somewhere for a bit.

 The next issue was to find a tow bar. After looking at new, the prices seem just crazy, so off to Craigslist to see what was out there. Low and behold there is quite a selection, seems lots of folks are selling tow bars these days. After searching for a while, one came up, that was within our price range and suited our needs. A deal was struck with the owner and $300.00 later we were the proud owners of a gently used Roadmaster Stowmaster tow bar. Nice part about buying used is, the owners usually have all the extras they don't need and include them in the deal. For us that ment the adapter plates, safety cables and light cable. One nice part about the Stowmaster, even though it it can fold up and stay on the car, it can also pop right off with the removal of a couple a pins.

Another purchase we had to make was new shoes for Dimples (our car) the tires that were on her were on there last leg. Again after a little research, it was off to Discount Tire. We were originally only going to replace 2 tires at a time, however the salesman thru in the extended roadhazard warranty for free if I went ahead and just got all 4 done at once, so all 4 it was. More cash layout, but more savings also. We are finding out, switching from a 5th Wheel to a motorhome and toad can put quite a strain on your budget, especially when both need a little TLC to get them set up and make them safe.
So that has been our fun and excitment for the past couple of weeks, we have also been spending much quality time with the kids

Scrappy Doo's 1st Birthday

 Scrappy Doo celebrated his first birthday Oct 1st. and as his gift to us, the little ragamuffin got his hair cut! He was beginning to look a little rough, so boy did he need it. We had planned a little party for him (party hats and all) with Kaileigh's dogs but work and school got in the way. Maybe next year. So our little boy is looking dashing once again.

As a birthday gift to us, we had been wanting to give these raviolis a try and we finally found them at the commissary. We have to say, it's our new favorite store bought pasta. The flavors are great along with large chunks of both the shrimp and lobster. So if you are a ravioli fan and haven't tried these yet, they are really yummy so give'm a try. (This was not a paid endorsement....lol)
We are also getting things ready for our travels in Nov, so stay tunes for what were getting accomplished. Se ya next time!!!