Wet Feet Equals Wet Boot

The ground is still a sloppy mess here.  Water continues to just stand on the ground.  Mama says she is tired of  her socks getting wet when she walks us.  I don't mind my feet getting wet, but it feels strange to have my foot in a wet boot.

Yesterday, we had a bad storm.  There were 490 lightning strikes in just a half hour.  According to the news, four houses caught on fire due to the lightning.  Mama couldn't believe that a man in our park was fishing during the storm.  He definitely doesn't have his head on straight.  Two people died in Houston on Sunday due to being struck by lightning. 

The park manager came by yesterday afternoon and told us we were getting a new neighbor.  We haven't had a neighbor on our right side the entire time we have been here.  We thought maybe they couldn't put anyone next to the propane tank, but the manager said it is because no one wants just a 30 amp site.  She told us the guy had his motor home in storage and plans to rehab it. She said we might hear some hammering noises.   He dropped it off last night and then left. He may not be living in it for a while.

Our view before our neighbor.

We really only see the neighbor's motor home when we go outside.  We rarely look out the kitchen window.  We have been lucky not to have a neighbor for so long.  It definitely will not be like that in other parks.

Mama has been busy making dish cloths and pot holders. 

She actually used the one in the middle and washed it.  It didn't fall apart.  Victory!

This one turned out a little big.  It is her first attempt with a "fancy" border.   She needs practice.  It doesn't seem that practical for a dish cloth.

Most of what she has made.

She likes this one because it matches the RV colors.  It is a pot holder. It is made with half double stitch.  The back is dark brown.

Last night, she made Chicken and Rice Taco Fiesta. 

1 boneless chicken breast, cut in small pieces
(1 T olive oil)
14 oz can chicken broth, 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
15 oz can corn, drained
1½ c uncooked minute rice
¼ to ½ bag tortilla chips
Sour cream

In large saucepan, sauté chicken pieces in oil until barely done. Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, taco seasoning; bring to boil; simmer covered 5 min. Add corn and rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 min. Fluff and serve on crunched tortilla chips. Top with sour cream.

The green sauce is that green salsa she bought at H.E.B.   She thought it was good.  Dad didn't comment, but he ate it all.

This is us this morning.  Really, it is not just another photo taken yesterday when we were sleeping.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Happy That The Space Bar Is Working Better On the Laptop

Houston Museum of Natural Science

I am going to start off the blog this morning telling you what we did yesterday and Joey will finish up with his thoughts.

Yesterday, we visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science. It is located near downtown and is about a 45 minute drive from our RV park.  There is a parking garage that is attached.  It is $10 to park.  It was very nice to just park in the garage and walk directly into the museum. We did not have to walk outside.  The museum has various prices.  If you want to see the permanent exhibits, the price is $15.  They have a Titanic exhibit which is $27.  We decided not to see that one since we visited the Titanic Museum in Branson, MO and saw a lot there. Jeff surprised me by adding the butterfly exhibit onto our tour. It was $8 a person.  I thought it was a little pricey when we were already spending $15 a person for the main exhibit, but I did really enjoy it.  You are able to watch butterflies hatch and then walk out into an area where they are flying all over. There is a McDonald's inside the museum which I was very happy about for a few reasons.  1) I have not had McDonald's in eight weeks and I had been wanting it.  2) The food prices were about $.50 more than other McDonald's, so they were not inflated by much.  3) The food was good, unlike the food we had at NASA and McDonald's cost less.

I really was not looking forward to seeing the museum, but we heard many good things about it.  There were things that I enjoyed seeing such as gems, shells, butterflies and I found some of the items from the Arctic and Indians interesting.  Jeff enjoyed the dinosaurs and there were a lot of them, 30 to be exact. I thought we would never get through that exhibit.  It was the size of a football field.

Termite mound.  Jeff said he saw these in St. Thomas

A chart that we were given as we entered the area with the live butterflies.

Waterfall in butterfly area

Ceiling in butterfly area.

One of the many gemstone carvings of Harold Van Pelt

One of the 30 dinosaurs in the Hall of Paleontology

...and another one

Giant Armadillo - supposedly like were quite large at one time.

Largest snail shell in the world

Another view of the shell

More shells

Gold nugget

Another dinosaur as seen from the second floor.

There is a room with jewelry and very large gem stones.  It was dark inside with only lights on the gems and jewelry.  I did not take photos there.

We arrived early around 10 a.m. and left at 2 p.m.  There were large lines to get in as we were leaving, so I am glad we arrived early.

Last night, we decided we wanted Mexican for dinner.  There are many restaurants near us, so I decided to check the reviews. We finally decided on Lupe Tortilla.  The reviews said that they had the best fajitas in Houston and also their tortillas are homemade and paper thin and just the best.  I decided I had to see for myself.  They serve a salsa that is not traditional. I am not quite sure how to describe it. It has tomatoes, onions and maybe a few peppers.  It is not a red base though.  It is clear. They also bring a hot bean type of dip with the tortilla chips.  I really liked both of them.  I ordered the The Original “Beeg Sucker” Burrito Flour tortilla filled con beef, frijoles, covered con chili gravy queso. Served with tomatoes, onions and shredded lettuce. I chose to upgrade it to the fajita beef instead of regular ground beef for $3 more.  It was really good.  I loved the fajita beef and the chili sauce was really good.

Burrito

Jeff ordered the fajitas with chicken, beef and shrimp. He also ordered a side of grilled corn on the cob.  His food took up half the table. I asked him if he thought they were the best fajitas he has ever had and he said they were good, but probably not the best. We have found that in Houston, fajitas are not served with green peppers like we are used to in Missouri. This one had one pepper.  It is interesting to see the differences in food here compared to at home.  Most of the Mexican restaurants here serve two types of salsas with their tortilla chips and I like that. 

My attempt at showing Jeff's food.  It is not all in this photo. 

The hats are the lights.  First time I have seen that.

Here is Joey's report:

I am doing really good wearing my boot!  I love that I can go wherever I want now.  I can walk on the gravel and the asphalt.  It's very likely that the next place we stay at will not have as much grass, so I'm glad I can walk on other surfaces without hopping.  You should have seen me this morning. I walked to the far lake and then we walked all the way to the other end of the park and to the firehouse.

How do I look?  Mama says I look pretty spiffy.

Walking with Dad yesterday.

That's all I have to say today.  Mama seems to have talked enough for both of us.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Likes Being Booted

Day 21, Ironman Competition

An Ironman Competition is being held today near where we are staying.  A few of the competitors are staying in our campground.  They swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles.  Can you imagine doing that?  I'm an ex-athlete and I can't imagine doing it.

Speaking of being an ex-athlete, Scout and I were walking by a little boy yesterday. I heard him tell his Dad "The white dog is definitely faster than the tiger dog."  That kids definitely knows what he is talking about.

Scout is fine.  Mom checked her over yesterday just to be sure.  She went out a lot more yesterday, but when it came time for our last walk, she didn't want to go.  This morning, we took separate walks and she walked for a long time. She is eating fine.  She is just lazy.  Daddy says she just likes doing what she wants and that is laying around.

Yesterday afternoon Mom (if you just noticed I sometimes call Mama, Mom), Scout and I were sitting in the RV.  All of a sudden we heard BANG and the RV shook, then BANG and and the RV shook again.  Mama thought someone ran into us.  She went outside to look and our awning had broken free of the RV. The rod that holds it to the RV was dangling down. A gust of wind must have taken it.  Now, we are very well aware that an awning should be taken down when it is windy, but it wasn't.  Mama thought it was completely broke.  She had lessons in how to put it away, but did not have lessons on what to do if it came loose from the RV.  A  lady stopped by and asked if she needed help.  Mama didn't think she could help, but it turns out she knew what she was doing. Anyway, with her help, they were able to re-attach the awing to the RV.  Mama was so grateful that the lady stopped to help her.  A little later on, we were walking and ran into the lady and her husband.  The husband said that his wife does all the stuff around the RV. Mama is always impressed when she meets a woman like that.  Mama would like to be like that one day.

We were asked if our Mexican casserole needs to go in the oven.  Yes, it's supposed to be in a 13x9 pan and heated for 30 minutes at 300 or until bubbly.  We only have an 8x8 pan and it did fine in that.

The folks are going to do some tourist things today.  Scout and I will be left behind. Boo!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Knows He Can Run Faster Than His Sister

The Calendar Is Here!

We received the calendar that my picture is in. It is the wall calendar. Last year, I was in the desk calendar. The picture that was chosen is one of Mama's favorite. It was taken last year when I was playing in the snow.

The picture is a small one. We had hoped it would be the big one, but then we wouldn't have anything to shoot for next year.

Are you ready to see it?



Do you see me? I'm at bottom on the right. Here's a close up of me.



Mama says the red background really makes my picture "pop". It scared me when she said that, but she said it was a good thing.

Thanks for looking!

Scout
The December Calendar Girl

Football is back! Update - Rams are loosing BIG time!

We have our Ram's gear on and we are anxiously awaiting kickoff at 3 p.m. cst. We love football Sundays because it's also "Family Day" at our house!!!

Go Rams!!!

Update: Rams are loosing big time. We thought we scored once, but there were too many Rams on the field.

Here I am after we scored, but then they took it away from us.

Here's another shot of me. It's not flattering though. I look really loooong.


Why do I get so excited about football? I always end up feeling sick while watching. Rams really haven't been good since I've lived here. Mama said they won the Super Bowl in 2000, but I wasn't even born then.


That's it 28-0. Scout and I refuse to watch any more today. We aren't watching next week either. Well, if we do it will be in the camper. Yep, we will be camping.


At least we had a nice family day.

Jack,
The Football Watching Greyhound

Relaxing On The Porch

Our weather has been beautiful here. It has been in the 60's and 70's. Mama told me this morning that we were trying an experiment. She said she was going to let me lay on the front porch while she worked and if it wasn't too much of a distraction for her, it might become a regular activity for me.


See how happy I am. I'm just enjoying my morning. I have to wear my harness and a cable. The cable is tied to the bench. Mama opened her office window and I could hear her talking on the phone, so I knew she was close by. The picture is taken from Mama's office, so you can tell she is right there watching me. There is a door right behind me and Mama left it open at first so that I could come in quickly if I needed to, but then Mama said the lizards that run on the porch could get in the house and that would be scary. She also didn't want the hummingbirds to get in. There sure are a lot of rules around here about what can and cannot get in our house.

Sassy, the feral cat, walked by. I ignored her. Mama is so happy that I have a low prey drive.

When I came back inside, Scout had to check me out. She was worried about me being outside by myself. I told her that Mama was watching me the whole time so it's not like I was really by myself. Scout is such a woman. She worries about everything.

Jack,
The Sun Loving Greyhound

Snake!!!

This morning while Scout and I were outside, Mama saw something odd under our siding.

Snake!!!! Mama got all upset. She took the photo and emailed it to Daddy. Daddy was out of town. She said "What kind of snake is this?" No response from Daddy. She then emailed her best friend. She then decided to send it to the masses and put it on Facebook. She then called Daddy and said "Did you get the picture of the snake?" "It's under the siding, can it get in the house?" Now, last year when there was a black snake on the screened porch, she asked Daddy if it could get in the house and he said "if it wants to it can". Daddy took a lot of grief for that remark, so Mama didn't know if she should believe him when he said it would be very difficult because it would have to get through several layers. Mama saw this house being built with her own two eyes, so she knew all the layers, but she still felt uneasy. She described the snake to Daddy and told him she had seen it once in the zoo. Daddy laughed at her. Two friends were smart and looked up Missouri snakes on the Internet and found out it was a Red Milk Snake. Mama was trying to find it by describing it's colors and that was not bringing up the correct snake.

Here is the description that was found:
One of Missouri's most brilliantly colored snakes that is extremely rare to find. It is similar in pattern and color to the red milk snake, but instead has a red or orange color snout and a spotless, white belly. It is 14 to 20 inches (36-51 cm) long. This secretive snake spends much of its life underground, surfacing to feed mainly on eggs of other reptiles and occasionally rodents, lizards and small snakes. It is named for the red or crimson colored blotches along the back.


Mama felt better when she found out that it was not poisonous, but wondered why something extremely rare showing up in our yard had to be a snake. She checked on it several times. She even poked at it once to see if it was alive.


As soon as Daddy got home, Mama told him to come look at the snake. Daddy couldn't believe it had stayed there all day. Daddy got a storage bin and then took a long handle to try and get it to come out from under the siding. The snake decided to go further up the siding, so Daddy had to do a Steve Irwin move and he grabbed the tail of the snake and pulled it out.



They then put it in the car and Daddy sat in the backseat with it to be sure that it didn't escape. Mama was so scared that it was going to get out of the bin. She kept asking Daddy if he was paying attention to it. They came to the end of our road and released it. It slithered away happily.

Mama hates winter, but she will be glad when it's too cold for snakes.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is Getting An Education In Snakes

Back From Camping...Again

We are home from camping. We went to Montauk State Park which is a trout fishing park. The weather was beautiful. It was only in the 70's, which is abnormal for us this time of year.

Daddy, Grandpa and my skin cousin, Ryan, went trout fishing. They were gone almost the entire time. Here are a few of the fish that Daddy caught. Look away if fish scare you.


I had a great time spending time outside with Mama and Grandma.



Scout on the other hand decided to spend most of the weekend inside. Yes, she is still being strange. She did take some walks, but she preferred to be inside.


Mama says that Scout has developed a "Scout-a-tude". You know an attitude only Scout style. She says sometimes I have a Jack-a-tude. I'm not sure what she is referring to.

The main reason Mama wanted to camp this weekend was because there was a man there banding hummingbirds. I didn't get to see it, but she said it was interesting.

They also left us behind when they toured an old mill. Mama said there were bats that kept flying over her head and that scared her. Supposedly there are 400 bats that live there. Here's a picture of the mill.


Thanks for visiting my blog!

Jack
The Happy Camping Greyhound