Our First Tropical Storm

Should I be scared?

We are under a tropical storm warning.  The people on the news keep telling us to prepare.  Mom doesn't really know what that means since it is just supposed to be rain. They are saying now that the wind could get up to 45 mph. She did buy us some water and we have plenty of food.  We have a generator if we need it.  She asked the office if there was a chance we could flood because the news was originally saying we could get 6".  There is a guy who is staying here who happens to be an environmental engineer and he was in the office.  He told her that we will be fine.  He said the lake is a retention pond and it will keep us from flooding. He said that we may be trapped inside the park because the roads outside of the park will most likely flood, but we won't. That was a huge relief. Dad may not be that lucky since he will be at work.  It sounds like the storm is weakening, so we may not even get much rain.  I think they are saying 3" now. It will, of course, start in the middle of the night so going outside in the morning may be tough. I guess we will just get wet.

I talked Mom into taking me to Petsmart today.  How did I do that?  Well, she took the trash out and when she got back, I got all excited.  She took me outside and I kept going to the Jeep and crying.  She decided that we could go for a ride.  She didn't even realize that she was wearing her old shoes and old clothes.  We drove past a dog kennel and the dogs were outside.  I cried with excitement.  She then asked if I wanted to go to Petsmart.  What kind of question is that?  Of course!  Petsmart is the ultimate place to me.  We walked through every aisle several times.  It is hard for me to take it all in.  We then headed to the car and then I pulled my famous stunt.  I did my business.  Mom had to pick it up and take it to the trash can which is at the front of the store.  Well, since we were at the front of the store, we may as well walk through it again.  I always go back a second time.  The second time in the store, I can relax and really shop.  Mom found some treats and asked if I wanted them.  They smelled good, so I said sure.  We got in line to pay and then I gave Mom the most adoring looking that told her that I think she is the best.  She gushed at me.  Do I know how to work her or what?  I didn't want to get back in the car, but I didn't want to upset Mom, so I jumped in and we headed home.  Mom told me I was a good boy and now we are relaxing.  Actually, I think we need to take another walk because while windy out, the temperature is nice.  It is cloudy, so it is not hot.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Ready To Meet Tropical Storm Cindy

I Saw Santa!

It is another chilly day here.  The sun was supposed to come out, but it has been MIA all week.

Today was pretty exciting.  Mom said I was going to Petsmart to see Santa.  We had to get the oil changed in the Jeep first.  Let me tell you, getting the oil changed is boring!  Yes, there were lots of people and there was another dog there, but I wanted to get to Petsmart.  Finally, we were on our way.

When we arrived at Petsmart, it was just like you see on the commercials.  There were dogs all over heading inside. I was so excited!  I love going to Petsmart. I thought the line would be really long to see Santa, but there were only a few dogs ahead of me.  One dog surprised me by coming up from behind and he sniffed my stuff.  Mom said I jumped two feet off the ground. I doubt that was true, but my feet did leave the ground.  His nose was cold.

Santa didn't ask if I was good. He didn't ask what I wanted.  I think it was one of those "Don't ask, don't tell" things.  I was okay with that.

This is the official picture from Petsmart.

 The pictures are free and they didn't mind Mom taking her own photos.  She put her camera on continuous mode and shot about 30. The following are her favorites.

After we took the pictures, I did a little shopping.  I told Mom I wanted a guinea pig for Christmas.  She said that was probably not going to happen.  I then said a bully stick.  I heard the folks discussing it, but it doesn't sound good either.  They think I will cut my tongue again.  I didn't see any toys that I wanted.  Petsmart is just too exciting to pick out a toy.

We stopped at Wendy's on the way home for lunch. Yum!

I am now settling in for a long nap.  It has been a good day!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Saw Santa

Toys R Us Is Not Just For Kids

About  a week ago, "Aunt Lisa" bought her greyhounds a Toys R Us educational toy designed for dogs.  Mama had seen it at Petsmart but didn't think we would like it.  We have been quite bored though, so Mama decided to give it a try.

The object is to get the treats out of the compartment.

 

Scout says it is "Easy Peasy"!

Yep, pretty easy.

You just have to lift up the lid.  I usually use my nose, but the mouth works, too.

 

I'm smarter than I look.  BOL!

It can be adjusted to make it harder.  I think we are ready for that level.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is A Toys R Us Kid ~  BOL!

Loving This Small Town

We are really enjoying the area we are staying.  The town seems to have a lot of events for being as small as it is.  Saturday, they had some sort of a food event. Sundays, they have a farmers market.  We were told that the Pumpkin Fest in October is huge.  The town next to us is having a Corn Festival next weekend and the folks are thinking of going.  Dad said he wouldn't mind living here except there are snowplows all over.  Yep, the snowplows are a reminder of what is coming in a few months.

Yesterday, Mama decided to walk to town.  It is not a bad walk, but she is having trouble with her tennis shoes.  They have split open due to walking on wet grass. She sealed them up with glue and bought new liners for them. She thought the liners would be really good, but her feet were really aching when she got home.  She looked for shoes this past weekend, but couldn't find anything she liked so I am not sure what she is going to do.  She really likes New Balance shoes but these only lasted three months.  Do shoes normally come apart at the seams when you walk on wet grass or are these just not made well?  She doesn't know but it is the second pair that have fallen apart in the past year.  She is thinking of trying a different brand.

Here are some photos of our neighborhood.

This is a bed and breakfast.

This house is being renovated.

The post office.  Ivy covers the backside.

The court house.  It was built in 1905.

Another photo of the court house.

There are many small shops in town.  Mama stopped at a dollar store.  There used to be a Ben Franklin, but now it is a shop where you make jewelry.  She wishes it was still a Ben Franklin.  She also stopped at a store with homemade items.  There is a bakery and several restaurants.  She stopped at the butcher shop which is at our park entrance. They serve food there and she had a bacon cheeseburger and a slice of cheesecake.  She said the lady who works there was super nice and showed her all around the store.  The burger was delicious and she will eat there again.  There is a pizza place across from the butcher shop and she may order dinner there tonight as Dad is going to be really late tonight.

The is the burger.  It was larger than the photo indicates and Mama was stuffed after she ate it.

Mama is all excited about something she bought for us last weekend.  Scout and I don't find it exciting at all, but Mama is happy about it. She bought us the Martha Stewart Pet Waste Dispenser. The reason she likes it so much is because it holds the big sized waste bags. We buy the big bags at Dollar Tree.  The dispenser we had didn't hold them until we used several of them and then it was still a pain to put the bags in that dispenser.  She said this one is a breeze to put new bags in and the bags don't just roll out like with the other dispenser. they are made of silicon, so they are very flexible and they don't make noise when they hit our leash.  We don't get why she is so excited, but if she is happy, then we are happy.  She bought them at Petsmart.  They were on sale for $7.99.  She would have preferred to pay less, of course, but that was the sale price. They are normally $9.99.  No, we are not receiving any type of compensation for this endorsement but if  Ms. Stewart wants to contact us about any future endorsements for her products, our ears are open.  BOL!

Our new bag holders.

This was our old system.  It was hard to load and the top fell off more than once sending bags flying out.  It didn't hold our big bags which the folks prefer.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Tried To Class Up The Blog By Calling Them Waste Products Rather Than Poop Bags

A Weekend Of Re-Visits

This was the first weekend that the folks didn't go sightseeing.  It was a cloudy and rainy weekend. We have had rain for the past ten days. Dad decided to wax the RV in between the rain. Well, he waxed one side of it.  Mama went shopping. She shopped at Joanne's Fabric and Crafts. She bought more yarn for dish clothes and hot pads. How may do we need? LOL  She also visited Petco, Petsmart and the grocery store, H.E.B.  She bought that green salsa she has been wanting to try. She is not impressed. Actually, she said she has had a dry mouth since she ate it on chips and that was two days ago. It is HOT!  She likes it on breakfast burritos though.

The folks decided to re-visit their favorite restaurants here. Saturday night, they ate at Sawgrass Steak House.   Mama ordered the same thing she ordered the last time and she didn't think it was as good. She now thinks if you think something is the best you have ever had, maybe you shouldn't go back.

Inside Sawgrass Steak House

Breaded Mushrooms - a little overdone

Rib Eye with garlic butter and Loaded Baked Potatoe

We tasted the Rib Eye and we thought it was excellent. We think Mama is a little nuts. Dad thought his was just as good as the first time.

Yesterday, they decided to go back Pappasito's Catina.  This is the Mexican place that Dad thinks is the best they have had in Houston.  Mama loved their green salsa the first time, but this time, she didn't like it. They serve their red salsa warm. She liked that one.

Salsas and Chips

Pappasito’s Famous Burrito
with sour cream & chipotle sauce - the sour cream is the white on the burrito

Dad's plate - not sure what it is . It's a combination. Mama had to snap the photo quick because it embarrasses Dad to have photos of his food taken.

Mama's burrito had steak and beans in it. Mama said the steak was awesome!   How does this compare to Los Cucos that Mama decided last week was the best Mexican place in Houston?  Mama says it is really hard for her to decide. Papa's is definitely more expensive. Papa's was almost $20 for her meal. Los Cucos was $13. Papas probably was the best, but Los Cucos is a very close second.

This is the covered outside sitting area at Pappa's. It stormed while they were there, so it's a good thing no one was sitting there since it all got wet.

Last night, they decided to try Wings N More. It is a sports bar. They decided to start out with an appetizer.  It was not breaded mushrooms. Can you believe that? It was fried pickles. Mama had fried pickles years ago at a place call Hatfields And McCoys.  They served everything fried.  It was back when she could eat shrimp and she had good memories of it. 

Fried Pickles

Mama said the pickles were different, but she wouldn't order them again.

The both ordered the combo plate which had hot wings and tenders. Mama had slaw.  Dad had potato salad.  Mama's slaw was a little dry. Dad said the potato salad was very good.  Mama liked the wings. They were fried and then dipped in hot sauce. The tenders were good. She chose honey mustard and chipotle ranch as her dipping sauces. They did not bring us any leftovers.

This weekend is the dog show. The folks already have their meals planned out.  LOL  They are going back to the place that they saw on Food Network, but was closed when they arrived.  It is on the way to the dog show. Sunday, they will try out Crabby Daddy's. The reviews are not very good, but Dad said they have been other places that didn't have the best reviews and it ended up being good.

Oh, my goodness!  There is so much to do in Cleveland. Mama already has our weekends planned. We will tell you more about that later.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Approaching His First Gotcha Day!

Day 56, The Museum of Funeral History

There is a tropical storm out in the Gulf.   Mama has been trying not to worry about it too much. The new computer models show that Tropical Storm Debby is not going to hit Houston. We are very happy about that.  We hope it doesn't change.  If we lived here in a house, we would probably stay put if Debby headed our way.  However, we do not want to face 60-70+ mph winds in Goldie.   Dad would probably stay at work and we would be left here with Mama.  Dad said it would be a very long night with those winds, so the plan was for us to stay someplace close to his work.  His hotel does not allow dogs. 

I am off my drugs. I did take some yesterday because Mama thought I was getting worse. She went to Petsmart to buy me boots, but they were way too big. We found that if I am walked slowly, I don't hop. Dad said it is back to walking me like they did when I was in rehab and I have been doing much, much better.  I just prefer to hop because I go faster.  Mama will call my doctor tomorrow and let him know what is up with me now.

The folks did the tourist stuff this weekend, but stayed close to home to check on us since it was so hot. Mama is going to take over from here to tell you about what they did.

I have been wanting to visit The Museum of Funeral History for a while now, but Jeff wasn't so sure about it.
The reviews have all been good and since we wanted to stay close to home, we decided to give it a try.  Their motto is: "Any Day Above Ground Is A Good One."

There are several exhibits.  One is Funerals of  the Famous which displays artifacts and information on a variety of political and celebrity figures.  The Presidential Funeral Exhibit displays the original "Eternal Flame" that burned at John F. Kennedy's grave until 1998. There is a replica of President Lincoln's coffin.  There is a an exhibit called Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes Exhibit which was interesting.  Visitors are able to experience the many stages of preparation for the final services and burial of a Pope.  I never knew there were so many stages to it.  One of the Pope mobiles are on display.

The museum showcases a large collection of hearses.  The oldest is an 1832 horse drawn hearse.

The only thing in the museum that bothered me were the coffins for children.  My Dad's sister and brother both died when they were under the age of 2 in 1918 and 1920 and the coffins on display were from that time period.

There was also an exhibit that talked about embalming.  I did not know that they embalmed soldiers during the Civil War.  President Lincoln wanted as many as possible to make it back home for a proper burial.  The technique that was learned for the soldiers was used on him to get him home from Washington DC to Springfield, IL.

Horse-drawn hearse

Money casket - has over $600 in unused money encased.  It used to have $1,000 but someone broke into it.

Basket used in the civil war for soldiers

Beautiful hearse with wood on the sides.

Ghana Coffins - very unusual

More Ghana Coffins

All the jewelry seen is made by human hair. It didn't even look like hair to me.

Pope Mobile

Hearse sled

Hearse Bus - The casket was put near the front and the pallbearers and family members sat in the back.  

After we left the museum, we ate lunch at China Bear. It is a Chinese Buffet.  The food was okay. There was a nice variety including sushi, and some American foods as well.  The food was well labeled which I appreciated since there was a lot of seafood items and I am allergic to those. It was $10.99 for lunch.  They had a large gift shop that included plants, clothing, jewelry and carved wood.  I almost bought a bamboo plant, but decided it might be too much trouble in the RV.  I am pretty content with not having a lot of extras while living on the road.

Outside China Bear

Koi in pond at the entrance

Lotus outside of China Bear

More Lotus

Last night we ate at BJ's Brewhouse.   It is a restaurant that had mixed reviews. Most of the reviews complained about the service. Our waitress was very nice.  Jeff said the hostess wasn't very nice and the lady who brought our food was impatient with me.  She wanted me to cut open my steak to see if it was okay.  I guess I didn't do it fast enough for her because she told me to do it twice.  I didn't really notice she was impatient, but Jeff did.  I ordered a Ribeye with horseradish mashed potatoes and a salad. Jeff had New Orleans Jambalaya - menu description says: "Our distinctive jambalaya combines blackened chicken, shrimp and chicken-andouille sausage, sautéed with bell peppers, onions and tomatoes in a spicy sauce. Served over a rice pilaf and topped with green onions."   He liked it.  My steak was good, but not as good as the one at Saltgrass.  I really want to go back there before we leave Houston.

Tomorrow, I will tell you about Goodson's Cafe - home to the best chicken fried steak in Texas.

Salad

Ribeye and horseradish mashed potatoes

It's me Joey back at the keyboard and I have to say that my taste of the Ribeye was very good, but if Mama wants to go back to Saltgrass for another one of those, I am fine with that too.  I love the doggy bags that She brings home to us.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Doggy Bags