Santa, We Are Ready!

We are ready for Santa to visit us.

It doesn't look like Christmas time outside though.  Just look at all those flowers.

Palm trees don't make you think it is Christmas time when you are pups from the Midwest.

  

Mud instead of snow?  Mama is not complaining.  Scout and I like snow though.

The recreation room is ready for Santa.

Are you ready to see our decorations?

Our tree has smaller lights this year and it looks cute.

 

We have our snowflake lights hung on the windshield.

  

The mirror behind the stove is decked out in lights.

 

We have two trees this year!

Gingerbread man and woman are in our kitchen window.

A few people have decorated their rigs. We will try and get photos at night.  We enjoy walking at night and seeing all the lights  It seemed like more people decorated last year.  We hope more people get into the spirit.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Forgot To Make A List For Santa This Year

Passing Time In Texas

We haven't updated much because there is not much exciting to tell you.  Our weather has been gloomy, but we will take gloomy over ice and snow.  We are so glad we came here instead of Dallas.  Mama is not sure how she would have handled us with all the ice. We are happy we are here.

Yesterday, Mama got her new slow cooker.  She decided to order the Ninja  It gets good reviews.  She found it online at a good price. There was a mix up and she ended up with the "deluxe model".  It has a lot of nice features such as the browning of meat and it even bakes.  She is pretty excited about it. She is trying it out today with a roast.

Scout got a new leash yesterday.  It is a four foot leash.  Mama says she has better control now with both of us on short leashes.  Scout sometimes gets a little nervous when other dogs approach and a shorter leash helps keep her closer to Mama.

 Joey,
The Greyhound Whose Dad Calls Him Buckaroo

Fun Police Is Out Of Town

Yep, that's right, we call Dad the fun police.  He likes to break up our fun.  Well, he is back in Kansas City for 19 days, so Mama says we are on "vacation".  Vacations mean fun, right?   BOL!

Here I am watching Dad pack yesterday.  I was sad.

Scout and I were sad to see Dad leave yesterday.  Mama drove him to the airport in rush hour, Houston rush hour.  Yikes!  She said it wasn't as bad as she expected.  They did a test run the day before because she had not been to that airport. She doesn't like driving at night or in heavy traffic and she got to do both yesterday.

Mama tried to get a picture of me in front of the flowers today, but this is all she got.  BOL!

What? Look at the camera?  How is this? BOL!

I feel more comfortable not looking at the camera.

Mama went shopping this morning.  She bought a crock pot cookbook that she has been wanting.  She switched her Emeals plan to the crock pot plan a few weeks ago and has enjoyed it  She is finding that she can fix just about anything in the crock pot, even spaghetti.  It is less dirty dishes which is an added bonus. She wants to get a crock pot that browns the meat so she doesn't have to use her electric skillet.  The one she really wants is really pricey and she hoped to find it on sale for Christmas, but so far it hasn't been.  She is thinking she may buy one that Walmart sells.  It gets really good reviews and is less than half the cost of the Cuisinart that she wants.  It probably makes sense to go cheaper in case she grows tried of cooking that way.

Can you believe the weather that is sweeping across the country?  We got here just in time.  It is even going to get cold here, but not nearly as bad as other places.  We are happy to be here even if it will be colder than normal. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Whose Sister Is Happy That A Cold Front Is Coming Through Texas

Feels Like Home!

We have been busy traveling this past week.  We traveled to our hometown last week to spend Thanksgiving with the family.  Scout and I didn't see any family though.  We just stayed in the motor home while the folks visited.  We did visit the state park that is nearby.  We took a long walk on Thanksgiving morning. We enjoyed that.  We did partake in a few bites of ham and turkey.

We set out on Sunday morning for our long journey to Houston.  We were ready to leave at 7 a.m. but the motor home had other ideas. Our air brakes wouldn't hold air.  I think that is what they are called.  We ended up having to go back to our site while Dad tried to figure out the problem. We wanted to be at our site in Oklahoma City before it got dark and as time slipped away, we didn't think that was going to happen. Finally, the air brakes started working and we left at 8:45 a.m.  We think there may be moisture in the filter or something like that because when it heated up outside, the brakes started working.  We arrived in Oklahoma City a little after 5 p.m. and were able to set up before it was totally dark.  Dad did not put our jacks down or release the air from the brakes, so everything was in working order when we took off Monday morning. We thought everything would go smoothly on Monday, but there was a dense fog in Oklahoma City.  We waited to leave until 7:30 a.m., but it was still there.  We couldn't wait for it to lift because we wanted to be in Houston before dark.  We drove for two and half hours in heavy fog.  We stopped to get gas and we had a heck of a time finding the gas station. We knew it was there, but we were right on top of it before we saw it.  The fog suddenly lifted at 10 a.m.  The rest of the drive was pretty normally. We hit bad traffic in Houston due to construction, rush hour and well, just Houston traffic.  We pulled into the campground and we were greeted warmly by the park managers.  They remembered us!  We were given our old site.  The place is full, so what are the odds of that?  Scout and I immediately walked around and sniffed everything. We recognized several of the campers that were here when we were here earlier this year.  I am excited to be here.  Scout is not as happy as me as she says it is too hot.  It will be 80 today, but it will turn cooler later in the week.  She might be happier when it is in the 40's.  40's is cool for here, but it is better than what Missouri will have later this week.

Dad flies back to Kansas City tomorrow night. He will be back in 19 days, so that is not too bad and it looks like we will be together after that.  We will provided more details later.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Happy To Be "Home"

More Babbling

We are wrapping up our time here in the Kansas City area. We enjoyed our campground, Basswood RV Resort.  It is located in the country.  We walked the trails in the woods almost every day and we enjoyed the dog park until Scout got hurt.  She is fine now, but Mama doesn't want her to run too much. Scout has turned into a walking fool here.  She loves walking in the woods and she loves the cold weather.

The folks learned a lot about President Truman by visiting his library/museum and home. They also visited the WWI Museum as well as a Pioneer Trails Museum which I guess we never got around to talking about here.  If you are interested in Jesse James, this is the place to visit.  His boyhood home as well as the house he was killed in are here.  The folks visited both of those several years ago.  There is a lot of history here and it is a nice place to visit.

Sunday, the folks went to Crown Plaza which is a shopping center in downtown Kansas City.  Hallmark Visitors Center is there, but it is closed on Sundays. The folks visited there 27 years ago on their honeymoon.  BOL!  They did some shopping at a dog themed store where Dad bought Mama some greyhound socks.  They also shopped at Function Junction which is a kitchen store that Mama loves.  They ate at a restaurant called Fritz's Railroad Restaurant.  This is a restaurant where your food is delivered by a train. Customers place their orders at their table by a phone.  The food comes by train, but the drinks are brought out by waitresses. The restaurant is probably more for children, but there were adults there without children.  The folks enjoyed eating there.  Mama said it was fun watching the food come out. She took photos, but they are with her cell phone and some are blurry.

There is a train at the top.  It goes around the track at the top of the wall.

The train drops the food off on a platform and then it lowers to the table.

Here is the food: 2 burgers, mushrooms and fries.

The burger had hash browns on it

Can you see the train in the center at the top?  Mama really should have brought her regular camera.

We will hit the road tomorrow.  We will be spending a few days with family before heading to Texas.  If you don't hear from us for a few days, don't worry.  We are going to be busy until we get to Houston next week.  Dad is flying back to Kansas City next Wednesday and we will be there (here)  for three weeks.  We don't know what the plans are after that.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Let Grass Grow Under His Paws

Pony Express Museum and Some Babble

We took a break from posting because there isn't much interesting going on here.  We will do a quick summary of what is up with us.

WEATHER

It has been cold here.  We have not been above freezing for the past four or five days. They kept telling us it would warm up, but each day we have been disappointed.  The wind did not help.  Saturday night was the worse with the temperature dipping to 14.  We are not sure what it was with the windchill.  Even though we have a nicer motor home than last year, it is still drafty in here.  The floor is cold. Since we do not have skirting around our motor home, cold air gets under it and makes the floor cold.  We have stayed bundled up in blankets and we have two space heaters going. We didn't really kick on our furnace until Saturday night because we have been conserving our propane.  Mama said if we were staying here through the winter, we would rent a big propane tank.  That is what the people who stay here all winter do.  When the sun comes out, it really helps heat up our place. It can be below freezing, but if the sun is out, it helps us a lot.  Today, it will be above freezing!  Mama is very happy. She was almost giddy that it was 30 degrees when we woke up this morning.  Mama is getting anxious to leave here and head to warmer weather in Texas. Scout loves the cold weather, but I prefer weather where my ears don't get cold. 

We are very lucky that we are not having white or frozen stuff coming down on us like it is in other parts of the country. We thought we might have ice on Friday morning, but it was okay. Our step was icy, so Mama put salt on it.  We are thinking of Miss Woe (greyhound) and her family who we met when we were in Arlington.  We hope they are okay. We heard there are power outages in the area.

STREP THROAT

Dad has strep throat.  He is no longer contagious since he is taking medicine.  He went to the Minute Clinic at CVS Pharmacy.  That is really a nice option for us since we don't have a doctor here and our insurance covers it.

OKLAHOMA JOE'S

The folks were told Oklahoma Joe's is a must try restaurant.  They have three locations in Kansas. The folks went on Saturday. They said they open at 11 a.m., but the folks arrived at 11:05 a.m. and the place was full. They waited in line about 15 minutes.  Mama didn't think they would get a table, but they did. Yes, it was good.  Sorry, no photos.  When they left, people were lined up outside and it was a cold day!  Mama said it was crazy.

PONY EXPRESS MUSEUM

The folks visited after spending time at the psychiatric museum last weekend.  The museum is small, but interesting.  Mama didn't realize that the Pony Express was only used for a year.  There is a short film that shows the history of the Pony Express.  Visitors then take a self guided tour.  The museum is on the site where the Pony Express started. There are displays showing the route, the shelter they had when they changed riders, etc.  Mama didn't take many photos.  These are of a buffalo that was painted.  Mama thought it was pretty.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Learned That When He Barks Inside The Hamburger His Bark Sounds Bigger

Can I Fit Inside A Hamburger?

Yes, I  can!

 

They put this hamburger in the smaller dog park a few weeks ago.  I, of course, have to mark it every time I get near it.  I decided to check out the inside this week.  There were a lot of good smells inside it.

Scout had a nice birthday.  We went for a long walk through the woods.  She loves doing that. 

You should have heard the burps that Scout let out last night.  Mama thought for sure it had to be Dad, but it was Scout.  I guess she is taking being a senior seriously. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Can Fit Inside A Hamburger

Scout Is A Senior!

Today is Scout's birthday!  She is eight which makes her a senior!   It is a big deal to Mama because big brother Jack never got to be a senior.  :-(

When Mama was looking for a sibling for Jack, she wanted a petite, fawn girl.  As you know by now, Scout is not petite nor a fawn.  Scout's foster Mom told Mama that all Scout wanted was someone to love her.  I think that is why the folks adopted her.  Isn't that what we all want though?

Scout has always been stubborn and basically gets her way because she is so stubborn.  The folks made a deal with her this year that on hot days, she only has to walk in the morning and at night.  She took that further and decided if the sun was out and she felt it was too warm for her, that she shouldn't have to walk.  She makes up for her lack of summer walking this time of year.  She loves to walk on cool days and even enjoys a really cold day.  Fall and winter are her seasons.

Do you know what she got for her birthday?  She got a senior card.  That's right, she now has a card to show that she has senior privileges.  I bet she uses that card all the time.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Has A Sister Who Says Age Has Its' Privileges

Psychiatric Museum and Chicken Feet

Scout is doing fine after injuring herself while running last Thursday. She says she is ready to run, but Mama says "No!"  It was quite windy here on Saturday and Sunday and Scout was trying to run while on her leash.  We went to the dog park, but we were not allowed to play. Scout had to go into the small fenced area and I went into the large one.  It is not much fun just looking at each other.  We hope Mama lets Scout run later in the week.  We took a super long walk through the woods today because Scout loves walking in the woods and I needed to wear down my "battery pack".  Mama seems to think that I re-charged my batteries last night and she wanted to wear me down.  I don't think it worked because I still have ENERGY!

The folks visited the Glore Psychiatric Museum on Saturday.  Mama said it was actually quite disturbing.  She said she got a little scared when they were on a floor of the hospital all alone and she heard some strange noises. She whispered to Dad that she heard it might be haunted.  He just laughed but she was happy when they left that area and were with people again  The museum shows the history of the hospital that was known as “State Lunatic Asylum No. 2.”  The hospital opened in 1874 and closed in 1997.

Pill bottles hang down three floors of the museum.

 The museum has a lot of exhibits showing the crafts that the patients made.  Many of the patients were quite talented. The women who were said to be violent made very sweet blankets and other things for children. There are also displays showing treatments and devices that were used on patients.  Mama found that part disturbing.  She did not take photos of those items. There is also a morgue.

What is this photo?  Is it a craft?  

No, this was found inside a woman.  Staff discovered she was eating these items.  Surgery was performed on her and she did not survive. There were over 1,400 items found in her.

There is another section of the building that has a Civil War, doll, American Indian and Black archives exhibits. Those exhibits were also interesting.

The price is $6 per person, but Mama had a buy one get one free coupon.

After they left the museum, they decided to eat lunch. They checked the GPS and it said there was a place called Crumbly Burger nearby.  Mama figured it would "old fashioned" burgers.  The place is small and was crowded.  Guess what? The burgers are actually crumbly.  BOL!  Mama said it was really good.  It had cheese, pickle and onions.

Crumbly Burger

We had an order of bully sticks arrive last week.  Mama surprised us with chicken feet.  Yep, chicken feet.  We know some greys eat them raw.  I really didn't care for them.  Scout thought they were good though. Mama clipped the nails for us.

We apologize for any typos.  The W, V, H are among the letters that our keyboard no longer likes.  We try to proof it, but typos still get through.  Mama says besides needing a new computer, she needs new glasses.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Prefers A Bully Stick To A Chicken's Foot ~ Not Sure What That Says About Me  BOL!

Scout Has Been Sidelined

Yesterday, we went to the dog area in our campground as usual.  Scout and I played, but then Scout stopped.  Mama thought something was wrong and checked Scout's feet and everything seemed fine.  We started walking home and Scout walked slow, but she sometimes does that.  Mama told her there was a frosty treat waiting for her at home and she smiled and picked up the pace.  That usually works.  After Scout ate her frosty, she stood up and wouldn't put weight on her foot. Mama checked it and it looked okay.  She gave Scout some medicine.  Four hours later, Scout got up and was much worse.  Mama called Dad and told him and he said to call the vet and he would start making his way home.  Mama called the vet.  Scout then decided she wanted to go outside which scared Mama because she would have to take her down the steps.  She actually did fine on the steps.  Scout did better walking outside then in the RV.  She put weight on her foot and walked pretty good.  The only problem was that Scout put her face into a rose bush and her face got stuck. She screamed. Mama had to pull the thorns from her face.  Ouch!  When she got back to the motor home, Scout did the steps just fine.  Mama called Dad and they discussed Scout's walk.  Mama decided that a vet wasn't necessary since Scout was getting on furniture by herself which meant she was putting weight on that leg, plus doing the steps showed she wasn't as bad as Mama thought.  Mama was still worried and very happy when Dad finally got home around 7 p.m.  We went out for our evening walk at 8 and Dad agreed that she walked much better outside then in the RV.  Mama figured Scout would be really sore or stiff this morning.  She took us out individually and when it was Scout's turn, she did fine.  She is a little stiff, but she is doing fine.  We are all happy.  However, Mama said there will be no running for Scout for a while.  I kind of think that Mama would be happy if we never ran again so that she could protect us from injuries.  She is always nervous when we run and now she can say "See, I told you so."  :::sigh:::

Tomorrow, the folks are going to the Glore Psychiatric Museum.  It is on the list of 1001 things that you should do before you die.  Mama ate at a restaurant that is also on that list and she said she could have skipped it and been happy.  BOL  

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Happy That His Sister Is Feeling Better Because She Was Taking Way Too Much Attention Away From Him ~ BOL!

Jesse James Bank Museum

The folks visited Liberty, MO last Saturday.  Mama wanted to tour the Jesse James Bank Museum.  This is the site of the nation’s first successful daylight peacetime bank robbery.  The robbers were never actually caught but the robbery was attributed to the James Gang. Jesse James was not involved, but his brother, Frank was.  It is misleading to call it the Jesse James Bank Museum since he was not involved.

The robbery took place on February 13, 1866.  The bank teller was completely taken by surprise since banks had not been robbed in daylight before this one.  He and his son were locked in the safe after the robbers took all the money.  Unfortunately, they shot and killed a young man who was on the street as they were leaving.  They wanted to create a distraction, but Mama thinks they brought more attention to themselves by doing that.  They escaped easily.  The bank never re-opened after the robbery. Money was not insured back in that day and they were unable to pay back the people who had put their money in the bank.

Jesse James Bank Museum

The bank counter.  The white bars were not originally in the bank, but the person who turned it into a museum thought it made it look more like a bank.

Another view of the bank - definitely looks different from the banks we see today.

Desk located behind the counter.

Original stove which was in bank.

A rare Seth Thomas clock, set for the exact time and date of the robbery.

 

Bank vault

Mama said the museum was interesting and the tour guide made the events of that day come to life.  There is also another room that has a lot of photographs of the James' family.

The price of the tour is $6 a person.  Mama enjoyed it.  Dad said he did too, but we are not sure if he really did.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Was Told He Looks Like A Small Horse ~ Shakes His Head At That Comment

Roaching Squirrel

Sunday, Scout and I were walking with Mama.  We got off the road for a car and that is when we saw the roaching squirrel.  We about pulled Mama down the hill because we were so excited.  The squirrel was doing the perfect roach.  His feet were all up in the air and his mouth was opened just like Scout's when she is sleeping.  Mama told us he was not roaching, he was dead.   Ewwww!  We do not know what killed him, but he looked to be shocked.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Really Hopes Santa Brings Us A New Computer Because This Keyboard Is Getting Harder And Harder To Use

Santa Doesn't Wear A Hoodie, DAD!

We set out for our first walk of the morning this morning.  It was still dark as it was 5:30 a.m.  We started down the hill when we saw a man with a hoodie and a bag on his shoulder behind us.  He didn't look right to me, so I growled at him. That's right, I growled.  I really wanted to bark, but Mama told me not to do that because she didn't want me to wake up people.  My growl made the man stop.  Yep, I scared him good.  I growled again just to let him know not to mess with us.  I kept turning around to check on him.  Scout decided the best thing to do was to jump in a big pile of leaves. The only thing we could see was her head.  Mama laughed at her, but I couldn't laugh because I was still worried about that man.  Mama told me the man wasn't a bad man and that he was just on his way to do laundry.  I don't know about that, he looked suspicious to me.  Who does laundry at 5:30 a.m.?   When we got home, I told Dad all about it.  He told me that Santa carries a sack like that and what if it was Santa that I scared  Seriously Dad, Santa doesn't wear a hoodie!

Yesterday, the folks took us to Weston Bend State Park for a hike.  It was a nice day.  The hike was fun.  The hardest part was climbing up a big hill.

This is the lookout point.  It was probably prettier a few weeks ago.  Mama hates when the leaves are off the trees.

I am admiring the view.

Scout is ready to keep walking. She loves walking in the cooler weather.

Me and Dad

Trying to catch up to Mama and Scout.

We are tired after our walk.

The weather is going to turn cold tonight.  Brrr!  We are going to have to use our propane heater tonight and tomorrow.  Mama has been saving our propane until we really need it and tonight we will need as it will be in the teens.  We have a heat pump and space heaters that we use when it is not seriously cold.  Mama hates being cold and is counting the days until we are in Texas and warm again.  We just wish Dad could be with us.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Showed Mama That He Can Protect Her From Bad People Today

Cows?

We enjoy hiking through the woods here.  We try to do it every day because with all the leaves falling, there are new smells and the landscape is starting to look different.  Yesterday, we had a big surprise when we came down the hill.  There were cows! 

Mama told us to move along and not stare at them too long. 

We enjoy playing at the dog park.  We really like it when there are other dogs there.  Mama doesn't let us "play" with the other dogs, but since there are two fenced areas, we go into the empty one and run along the fence with the other dogs.  It's fun, but I think making actual contact would be better. Mama is scared we will get hurt.  The other dogs do seem to be pretty mouthy.  There was this one little dog that tried to get to me through the fence.  Do you know what I did?  I peed on him through the fence!  BOL!   There was a guy there this week who didn't want his dogs to "play" with us.  He yelled at them and told them they were not there to play.  He scared Scout.  They didn't stay long and Scout and I were confused as to why their Dad was so mean.  We are glad he is not our Dad.

 The other day there we saw a lady and her husband watching us play.  She said "Oh look, they are best friends!"  Us, best friends?  I am not sure about that.  I guess I don't have any other friends, so does that mean that Scout is my best friend?   The lady asked Mama if we are obedient.  Obedient?  Mama had to laugh at that.  She had never thought about it.  Mama said "Well, they don't get into anything.  Does that make them obedient?  The biggest problem is walking them.  There are times when they want to go their own way and my arms are only so long.  One on one, they are great at walking, but together, they can be a challenge at times."  Yep, that sounds like us.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wonders If Scout Is His Bestie