The McClure's

Monday, July 1, 2013

June 2013

Does anyone know how May got by us so fast?? I didn't realize we didn't have a finished picture of the birdhouse Lee and I painted for Deb. I mentioned it in last month's blog. The picture we included didn't have the red stars on it. See the pictures for the "final". We thought it turned out great!! Today (June 1st) is going to be a workday cleaning vents. When you have to hold your head back for eye drops (12 times a day) you get a good look at the dirty vents in the ceiling of the rig. Lee got them down and I washed them. Will keep a better watch on those going forward. The air is FINALLY clearing up (the smoke from Mexico). They have had a lot of rain in the area of the fires thank goodness. All that smoke reminded me of the smog when I lived in California....real nasty! Tuesday we went shopping for Ryder's birthday. Debi is getting him a bicycle and we're getting the helmet and pads. His birthday party is Sunday the 9th (he will be 2 on Monday the 10th).

Thursday the 6th was another eye checkup. GREAT news!!! Taken off all restrictions except lifting heavy stuff and swimming. Chasing Ryder around is a no-no also. I was really glad to get rid of the eye patch that I had to wear at night. Should know soon when he plans on doing the right eye. Really cool surprise this afternoon.....3 beautiful deer beside our rig. Got some great pictures.

Sunday the 9th we headed to Austin for Ryder's birthday. Beside the bicycle he got a Cadillac Escalade like his dad's. OH MY GOSH it was adorable. Even has a radio. Got lots of swimming pool stuff, a scooter, etc. etc. In other words LOTS of stuff.

On Monday the 10th the deer came back. Lee had put some dried corn on the ground, which they love. Figured out they were chewing on my plants and that's a NO NO. Found some spray for the plants. Doesn't hurt the plants at all, but keeps the critters away from them. Also had a run in with a new cat that attacked one of our birds. He got this one on the ground. The cats cannot reach the feeder and finch sock due to an extended hanger Lee put up. I know this is all a part of nature, but I DO NOT LIKE IT!!! The cats around here are going to learn to not come near our pets!!!

On Saturday the 15th we took a trip into Gruene for Market Days. Sunday we drove up to Debi's. She treated us to Father's Day breakfast at one of our favorite Mexican restaurant. Lee drove her rig back. She was going to let Lee's daughter, grand kids & friend (from Tennessee) stay in it for a week. After getting her rig set up we ran a few errands. As we pulled up to the rig ---- a road runner! Beautiful creature!! Behind him was one of our resident cats. I told Lee to concentrate on getting a picture of the road runner and I would take care of the cat. The cat was stalking the road runner and was just about ready to pounce on it when I interrupted his thinking. Ain't hurt one yet....but they're pushing their luck.

Company arrived late afternoon on Monday the 17th. Once they got the car unpacked and rested for a few, we took them on a tour of River Road and Gruene. Tuesday we went to the Alamo and the River Walk. Stopped in a Mexican restaurant for a late lunch. I was scanning the wine list because it was huge!!!! Talk about sticker shock.....prices run up to $600.00.....water please! Wednesday we went to a place called Enchanted Spring Ranch in Boerne. Oh what fun!!! It's an old western town, with a carriage ride through the back acres where they have exotic animals. Also had longhorns, huge buffalo, zebras, sheep, horses, etc. etc. There was a show by Pistol Packin' Paula. She puts on a great show with her guns and whips. On Thursday Lee, his daughter and grand kids floated the Guadalupe river. I couldn't go (because of the eye surgery), so I prepared a going away dinner (pot roast) and baked a cake. I thought they would like to have a home cooked meal. Her friend has family living close by, so she met them for lunch. On Friday morning our company left heading back to Tennessee. Lots of fun had by all. We were on the go constantly which made the week go by rather quickly. But - vacations always go by too fast. We then left for the laundromat. Had our laundry, plus the sheets and towels from Debi's rig. She and a friend are heading this way tonight for the weekend. Saturday was a really relaxing day. We made pulled pork and homemade potato salad. Delicious!!! Sunday we prepared homemade breakfast tacos. Another leisurely day until it was time to help Deb unhook. She was heading back to Austin.

We had picked up Debi's blow up kayak boat that had a bladder problem. Took it to some folks to see if they could fix it. Turns out it needs a new bladder which has now been ordered. That's what her and I use to float the Guadalupe. Went to Camping World for a couple items. Checked out another campground on the way back home.

Got a call today (Wed the 26th) from my eye doctor's office. Surgery on my right eye is July 17th. YEAH!!!!!! I'm really excited. Our weather has been nice and warm -- heat index today of 104. Now - that's toasty. But as I've said before the humidity here is nothing like back home, so you can still breathe. To add to the heat, we now have dust from Africa. It looks so bad here -- can't imagine was it's like there. All these weather issues have certainly been a learning experience for us. But - we still love it here!! Thursday we traveled into Wimberley and Spring Branch to check out 5 more campgrounds. Two are possibilities. the deer pictures that include the babies was taken on the road to one of the campgrounds.

Saturday was our major cleaning day on the inside of the rig ONLY. No outside stuff since our heat index is 108. We're better than Death Valley at 130. Sunday morning the 30th we were awaken by thunder. OH PLEASE bring on the rain!!! Sure enough - a good rain for over an hour. Temp came down to 73!! Didn't overdo it today at all. Watched the race and grilled. Very pleasant outside tonight - cool front came in - only 85.

Hope you enjoy the pictures this time. We ended up with a lot.

Take care.....until next time

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Another month has passed -- time really flying by quickly!!! This update starts the morning of April 2nd. Set out all morning with our friends (that had surprised us over the weekend). We had to leave them for a while because Lee and I had a doctor's appointment. Once we returned to the RV park we all decided to do a pot luck for dinner. Main dish was pulled pork prepared by Dan. WONDERFUL!! The evening visit was cut short by a very heavy storm. Didn't mind though. Beside the area needed rain badly, it rinsed away a lot of pollen. Wednesday morning we were up early. Both of us were having blood work. Upon returning our friends were hooking up and loading up to leave on the next part of their journey. After our hugs and goodbyes we retired to our rig. More rain -- yeah!! Took advantage of being inside to do housework. On Thursday morning Lee headed for the firing range and I went to the laundromat. OMG!!! I don't know when my car will ever get rid of the mothball smell. We had put those around the PT before we left for Rockport last winter. I repeat -- around the car -- NOT inside!! We had joined Silver Sneakers, so we headed to the fitness center to sign up on Thursday. What a GREAT program!! We can workout as much as we want at NO cost to us. We'll start on our workout program on Monday. Left there and made a WalMart run, then to Cabelas. Lee was looking for ammunition and I was looking for my favorite candle. No luck on either. I understand the ammo problem, but they should keep their shelves stock with those particular candles -- White Swan Vanilla!!!!!

Saturday morning was spent outside...very pleasant!! Inside for the truck race. I finished up on my winter craft project so I could get it mailed on Monday. I had made over 200 "pouches" that would hold the registration card/meal ticket for the May 2013 Samboree. Since we will not be attending this year, I had to get those to my friend (Teresa) who will be working registration. I am now starting a new project called Loom Knitting.....making baby hats, scarfs, etc. The "etc." may be a long time in the making! Set outside again while Lee grilled for us. Debi and a friend (Galen from San Antonio) came by on Sunday and we all went to a marina for lunch. Beautiful weather so we were able to sit outside and not only enjoy a great lunch, but a beautiful view of the lake.

Monday we started our workout at the gym. They have lots and lots of equipment. Starting out a bit slow because of all the down time we had moving from Tennessee to Texas. Neither one of us had any problems, even with our aches and pains in our joints. Stopped at the auto store to get new windshield wipers for the truck. I headed straight for those "smelly" things to hang in your car. I'm convinced there's some mothballs hidden somewhere in the PT. Tuesday I worked on my knitting. I had purchased some new yarn on our WalMart trip, so I was anxious to try it out. The first hats I made are definitely for babies born in Alaska. I used #6 yarn (not knowing any better). Turned out cute -- just thick. Reading the instructions helped me with the next batch of yarn (LOL). We had also purchased new garment bags for storage (since the one we had was broke), so we headed to storage to put them together and toss the broken one. Storage is smelling better (mothball problem also). That smelly thing is working in the PT....think I need a few for storage!! Didn't do much at all on Wednesday, except workout. Thursday we went to the Tanger Outlet in San Marcos. That place much be 5 miles long. Very nice!! Headed to Home Depot afterwards. Purchased a sun screen for the back window. GREAT addition to the rig (picture included). REALLY blocks the sun and heat. Friday we rode to Startzville (only 6 miles away) to check out a laundromat. Came back by the gym. It was packed so we rode up to the dam. You can walk the top of the dam. From one gate to the other and back is 1.6 miles. Not only good exercise, but the view is breathtaking! Later that afternoon we had a small rain shower. I commented to Lee that I couldn't believe it rained and both vehicles looked worse, like it had rained dirt. Well --- that evening the news did a segment on that particular problem.....it's actually called MUD showers. Mexico is burning thousands and thousands of acres, which they do every year. That causes the dirt we're receiving up here. They say it will only last about 4-6 weeks. OH REALLY!!! We're going to breath dust for a month and a half. Oh happy day.

Mid afternoon lots and lots of young people started showing up and pitching tents across from us (huge field). We understand a concert was being held a mile down the road. As they started lining up for a school bus, you WOULD NOT believe how they were dressed. Hope the picture I took turns out ---- bikinis with tutus and long fuzzy boots.....plus other attire. OMG -- lock the door!!! The campground was quiet until they returned close to midnight. Between the loud music, yelling, horn blowing....it put a new meaning to RUDE. Needless to say we could not sleep. Got up around 1:45 am, we had had enough by 2:30 am, so we called 911. The cops got it quiet by 3:00. Back to bed and slept until the clock went off at 5:30. Up early because Lee had to be at his gun class at 6:45. I just stayed up also and started with my major cleaning inside the rig. Took a break to watch a movie, but had to turn the volume up to 43.....that was to drown out the bass on the "natives" music. No good complaining to the office -- they are the ones that allowed them to camp for this event. Very unacceptable for an RV Resort that has quiet time from 11:00 pm to 8:00 am. Even the town of Canyon Lake has a noise law. We will follow up with management for an explanation, and to MAKE SURE they let us know if something like this happens again. We'll leave and go to Debi's for the weekend. It is now late afternoon and Lee is about finished with his class. He is worn out from very little sleep. Sitting on the couch watching the kids.....OMG....they coming out of their tents and the bath house with the same strange clothing, or I should lack of clothing. I'm too old for this.....close the blinds and turn up the volume on the tv. I'm afraid we're in for another sleepless night, but it turned out to be very quiet

.

Going to Debi's on Sunday, but got a late start. We were taking the PT back to the auto repair place. We found out a bad transmission was put in the car last year and we're getting another one (YEAH). Debi, Lee and I went to Denny's for breakfast, came back and work in the yard. Dropped the PT off at the shop on the way to our favorite Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Lee and I headed back home on Monday with a stop at Cabelas. Finally able to purchase some ammo! Once we got home we installed a sun screen we had purchased for the side windows.

Debi came down on Wednesday afternoon and we met some friends at the Gristmill for dinner. She was staying overnight with a friend (Becky) who was having sinus surgery on Thursday. Weather forecast for today was the smoke issue. WOW - this is interesting. We got a nice rain shower overnight, which helped tremendously with the smoke problem. Friday Lee and I rode over to Fredricksburg and Luckenbach to check out the blue bonnets. Those flowers are absolutely beautiful. Saturday we did some rearranging in storage. Still got a bit more to do, but we're not in a hurry. Major stuff done. There's still one area I want to work on. Stopped by the gym, then home to watch the race and bbq.

Monday the 22nd we went to WalMart and Hobby Lobby. I wanted to get some books for my loom knitting. Really enjoying this project. And -- Debi has found a hospital that wants the baby hats I'm making (COOL). Thursday we headed into New Braunfels for Lee to get finger printed. This was the last step he needed in order to apply for his Texas carry permit. Saturday we headed back to Debi's. This weekend was spent cleaning more on the fence line, trim a tree and uncover the pool. Lee and I also started working on painting her birdhouse. It really needed a makeover. Not quite finished with that project so I'll include a picture of it when we're finished.

This is our April update. Until next time.....

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Hello everyone! Yes - I know, I usually have our blog updated my month end.....but I'm only 2 days late. We pick up on March 11th. We FINALLY had what we considered a normal leisurely day. Set outside enjoying the beautiful weather and got the grill going. We DID NOT want to do ANYTHING strenuous for at least 24 hours!!!! Even though the big move to Texas is completed, we'll include some more pictures. One of the pictures will be my sister and 3 really great friends (Tammy, Becky & Jim). I feel bad that we did not get a picture of the guys that helped us in Tennessee (Roger & Craig). WOW - these folks are WONDERFUL!!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!

Tuesday we went to the propane store and ran into one of our Canyon Lake friends (Charlie). Had a great visit with him. Got a new account opened at the bank, then headed to WalMart. In the afternoon we went back to storage and straightened it up so that we could find things. I started off Wednesday morning doing a major clean in the rig while Lee got things arranged outside. Took a break in the afternoon to go to Canyon Lake at the dam. Sorry we didn't take a picture. It's beautiful! The drought has affected it, but not as bad as some. Headed to Camping World and a stop at Bucees on the way back. On Thursday the 14th Chad (nephew) came down to go fishing with Lee. I got on the computer to change some more addresses and profiles. Chad took us up to Austin so we could pick up our PT (we had left it at a shop for a checkup). I drove back to Canyon Lake. Now - that was an experience!! It's only 60 miles, but if you haven't driven in months it seems a lot longer. Went straight to the motor vehicle place to get the tags for the PT. From there we met with the insurance agent to get all that transferred. GOSH there is so much to do when you change your state of residence!!! It was Granny D's for dinner......let someone else do the cooking.

The following morning we had to go to New Braunfels' Chrysler dealer. Texas requires a front and back tag. The PT had to have a bracket for the front tag. Found the "big" HEB in the area. Did a little bit of shopping since we were in the area, then back to the rig for a late lunch and off to the laundromat. On Saturday the 16th we went to Gruene Market Days. Vendors, vendors, vendors. Got some wonderful bbq sauce. Found some neat Texas stickers for my license tag. They're only issuing black and white ones, not the neat ones so I decorated mine (just a little). Lee got a Navy tag for the truck so his is really cool looking. Returned home to watch the race and ended the day with a GREAT movie -- Alvin & The Chipmunks - Chipped Wrecked (LOL). Hey - it beats A LOT of the junk on tv these days!!

On Sunday the 17th after preparing breakfast tacos we road to Cabelas. Lee needed gun stuff for a class he's taking in a few weeks to get his Texas carry license, (even though he has a Tennessee license he still has to take a refresher course here and qualify on the range) and that's where I get my favorite candles - White Swan Vanilla. Back home to finish the race and an early dinner. Monday morning we got up early to be close to the front of the line to get our driver's license. It's a bit humorous how many documents you need to prove who you are, and then you have to raise your right hand and swear to it.....OMG!! I thought I was going to have to provide them with my first (and only) born. We had a big laugh with that event. On to storage to find some things we wanted at the rig -- some of the yard art (flamingos of course) and the bird feeders. Those that helped us move will appreciate this --- the smell of moth balls is finally going away!!

Tuesday we went to purchase bird seed and finch socks. Within an hour the birds and finches were fighting over the feeders. Lee put up the yard art, but we haven't put up the flock of flamingos --- yet. We did a WalMart run on Wednesday, but that's all. We were in need of some down time. Wednesday we had our meeting with the Texas Humana rep. It was a beautiful evening so we rode into to Gruene for dinner at the Gristmill (OH MY - that place is great!!!) We both spent Friday morning on our computers updating more addresses and banking info. You think you've done all of them - and something else comes up. We didn't remember all the magazines, then there's Itunes and Amazon. I'm keeping the excel spreadsheet I made and kept updating. If you ever make a move like us (to another state), let us know and we'll share the list with you.

We have now added another gadget to our outside entertainment (besides the birds & finches). You nail it to the tree with three ears of corn that spin for the squirrels. That and a corona - what else do you need?!?!? Like I've said before - it doesn't take much at our age. Stopped by the mail box - another exciting event for the day. Great day though. Lee received his Texas Navy tag (WOW - beautiful). The Vet tags here are awesome. If you are a vet they will give you the tags for free. Texas also puts a designator on the drivers license to indicate that you are a vet. They do a lot more in Texas for the Vets than a lot of the states do. And - I received two beautiful butterfly pins from a very dear friend (Joe Jaynes). One is painted on velvet. It is absolutely gorgeous!!! That one is pinned in my car. Most of you know the meaning of the butterflies for our family. My mom (who passed away in November 2011) was a collector of butterflies. She had hundreds. To this day real butterflies follow us everywhere we go (my sister also). That's mom looking our for us!!!

Saturday the 23rd we were up early and headed for Austin. We were taking some items from storage to Debi and Tammy (her neighbor). Didn't stay overnight this time because we still has some more stops to make on the way home - Camping World and Home Depot. Sunday was back to storage to bring the kayak back to the rv site. Lee replaced the kitchen faucet. Down for the rest of the day to watch the race.

After having 80 degree plus days we have a freeze warning for tonight. WHAT?!?!?!? NNNNOOOO!!! Woke up Monday morning (the 25th) to temperature of 29 degrees. I'm thinking we need to change our winter in Rockport to November thru March instead of October thru February. It warmed up quickly, so I went outside and raked leaves around the rig. No - not my job - I know, but as most know I like working in the yard and it needed it. Lee reinforced the connection on the new faucet and put together some shelves I needed. Tuesday night was another freeze (30 degrees), but warmed up quickly. This is suppose to be it for cold weather!!!! We made another run to Home Depot to purchase a faucet for the bathroom. After a relaxing morning on Wednesday, I went outside to rack the leaves on the other side of the rig and Lee cleaned the windows on the outside. Since Lee's gun class is coming up soon, we ventured out to see where he'll go. An absolutely beautiful drive through another part of the hill country. From there we went to find the firing range. I was very impressed to see "older" women there practicing. I'll be going out there with him and will eventually take the class also.

Saturday the 30th we loaded up the truck with some chairs and headed up to Debi's for the weekend. All three of us (Debi, Lee & me) ended up cleaning up "millions" of leaves off the deck and the yard. Crazy - uh? But - we made it fun. Headed to our favorite Mexican resturant for dinner. Sunday we had lunch catered from a bbq place. Todd, Chelsea & Ryder were there, plus a friend of Debi's (Galen). A good time was had by all. We left mid afternoon for home.

Some of our Winter Texan friends (Dan & Karen) were leaving Rockport on Sunday the 31st -- supposedly heading to Miller Creek (north of here). They are from Michigan, but are taking the long way home since there's still 4 feet of snow in their hometown. We were going to make plans to meet them on Monday morning. As Lee and I were rounding the corner toward our rig, we both noticed we had several new neighbors. It was them!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not sure Lee even had the truck in park before I jumped out. Even Lee was speechless as he didn't even have a clue that they were coming as all of our friends from Rockport knew and kept the secret. What a surprise!!!!!! Another couple (Gene & Linda) had followed them up here also. They'll be here until Wednesday at which time they'll head up to Waco for a week. Monday we all went to breakfast at Granny D's, toured Gruene, and Canyon Lake dam. Had some down time in the afternoon before we headed back to Gruene to have dinner at the Gristmill.

Well folks that's it for now. Take care until next time.