Day 47, It's Been A Long Week

Mama says it has been a long week.  I guess she feels that way because she didn't really get to do anything fun last weekend and then we had to "suffer" through three days with only one air conditioning unit.  Tomorrow, the folks are going to Galveston for the day, so that should cheer her up.

Not much is going on and I guess that is good.  Yesterday, Mama cleaned Goldie.  She also dumped the tanks. Daddy said we should explain to you about dumping tanks, but Mama said she didn't think anyone wants to hear about that. He thought you all would, but he is obsessed with camping, so....... Basically, you have a grey tank which holds shower water and sink water.  The black tank holds the toilet water.  See, we told you it wasn't something you would want to read about. Anyway, when you are staying long term, you have full hook ups which includes your sewer. There is a hose that goes from the tanks to the sewer.  We leave our grey tank open until it is time to dump the black tank and then we close up the grey tank for a day before to collect water so that there is water to rinse out the hose after opening the black tank.  There is only one hose for the black and grey tanks.  When we are ready to dump, we open the grey line slightly just to put a little water through the line and then we close it and open the black tank.  Now, you want to do it slowly because if there is a leak, well, it will make a mess that you do not want on you.  After it is done, the hose kind of shrinks up and then you close the valve.  Then, you slowly open the grey tank and then open it all the way and it stays open again until the next time.  If you are dumping at a dump station, the process is different because the hose is not attached and you have to attach it.  It can be a little messier and you should wear gloves for that.   Daddy used to do all the dumping, but he thinks Mama needs to learn to do that sort of stuff, so she started doing it. 

Mama thawed out the freezer yesterday. Our freezer is not frost free and it was shrinking in size due to all the frost and ice.  Mama turned off the freezer and used a hair dryer to melt the ice.  She is not sure that is the proper way to do it, but it worked. 

My foot has been bothering me.  Mama is concerned, of course.  It only bothers me when I walk on pavement or gravel.  At first, Mama figured the pavement was hot, but it bothers me all the time even when it is cool.  She has looked at my pads and touched it all over. Nothing hurts.  The pain medicine doesn't seem to help, but again, I don't hop when I am inside or on grass.  Maybe the pavement just feels strange?   She has talked about buying me a boot.  I am not thrilled with that idea.  She is doing the ice pack treatment and said she wants me to take medicine for a few more days to see if it helps at all. 

Wednesday night, Mama fixed the Ham & Asparagus Casserole.  The folks both really liked it.  Mama was surprised that she liked it because it was like a quiche. Mama really liked the ham and onions in it. She didn't get a picture of it because she wasn't sure it was done and she messed it up checking on it. 

9 oz pkg shaved ham
¼ c chopped onions
½ bunch asparagus, chopped, save ½ for Meal 7
4 eggs
1 c milk
(Cooking spray, ½ c flour, ¾ t salt, ½ t pepper)
1¼ c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided. Combine ham, onions & asparagus and put into an 8x8"
sprayed baking dish. Beat together egg, milk, flour, salt, pepper, and ¼ c mozzarella until smooth. Slowly pour  over ham mixture. Bake 20 min at 425º. Sprinkle with 1 c mozzarella and let melt.

Last night, she fixed Italian Casserole.  She liked it.  Dad didn't comment, but he ate it all. 
½ lb ground beef
½ chopped onion
½ 23 oz jar spaghetti sauce
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz sour cream
1 can crescent rolls
(2 T melted butter & grated Parmesan)

In large skillet, brown beef and onion; drain. Add spaghetti sauce to meat and heat. Spread mixture into
bottom of square baking dish. Mix together cheese and sour cream. Spread over meat mixture. Lay crescent
triangles on top to form crust. Drizzle butter over top and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake uncovered at 350°, 20 minutes, or until top is done.

Italian Casserole

Mama added cheese to the top because she thought it needed something more.

Tonight, she is fixing Loaded Bacon Baked Potatoes.  That should be a quick and easy meal.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Like Cleaning Days

Day 45, Stormy Afternoon

Yesterday afternoon was very stormy.  Mama was nervous because reports said there were wind gusts that were up to 70 mph.  She asked me if I thought Goldie could handle that.  How the heck am I supposed to know?   Mama was amazed that the local stations didn't report on the warnings.  At home, they put a ticker at the bottom telling you about it and then they break in and tell you about it.  Sometimes they are on the air for hours.  She tuned into the Weather Channel because that is the only place that was reporting it.  There was a warning for us.  We had a lot of lightning, thunder and rain.  Lots of rain.  We did not have the wind though. We were so happy about that.  Scout was a little scared and left the comfort of the bedroom and laid on the couch next to Mama.  I wasn't scared.  I played with my toys.   It was so loud in here with the rain pounding on us.  Mama turned the AC blowers on to try and drown out the noise.  She called Dad to tell him to get ready for the storm at work.  It was about time for him to leave and she told him it was going to get bad.  He misunderstood and didn't realize we had already had the worse of the storm here.  He was very concerned when the storm hit his area because he did have the full force of the wind.  He said trees were down all over along with billboards along the road.  He said that all the campers were standing at the RV sales places that he passed, so I guess they can stand up to really high winds.  Dad didn't get home until about 8:15 p.m.

We ended up having about 3" of rain here.  Some of the sites flooded.  People had to move their cars.  Our site was fine.  It's a good thing we didn't have our awning out.  LOL  The whole place is a soggy mess today and we might have more storms this afternoon.    Mama says we will be fine though.  She is always nervous with storms.  She was alone a lot as a child and went through several bad storms by herself and she thinks that is why she gets so nervous.  Maybe she is scared because the weather people at home made her scared by reporting on storms constantly.  It doesn't seem like it's a big deal here.

We have a bonus for you today.  Mama made a dessert yesterday and it is so easy and good.  It is called Magic Peach Cobbler.

1 stick butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
1 3/4 c. sliced peaches, use juice and all 

1/2 c. sugar for topping

Melt butter in a 9x15 pan. Mix sugar, flour, baking powder and milk and pour this mixture over the butter - don't stir.  Add peaches on top of this.  Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or brown on top.
It tastes great served warm with whipped topping or ice cream.

Magic Peach Cobble

 Mama realized that she used her only casserole dish for the peach cobbler, so she couldn't fix what she had planned for dinner. She had to fix something in the electric skilled instead.  She chose a recipe from her Campbell's Kitchen Recipe Collection.  This is one of her favorite cookbooks and the only cookbook that she brought with us.  The recipes are so easy to make and they are good.

She made Cheeseburger Pasta. Recipe and picture taken from Allrecipes.com

Cheeseburger Pasta - photo from Allrecipes.com

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular, Healthy Request® or 25% Less Sodium)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups uncooked medium shell-shaped pasta

Preparation

Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soups, water and pasta in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender, stirring often.   

Mama usually has to cook it for much longer than the 10 minutes because the pasta needs to cook.  She likes to add mushrooms to it as well as Parmesan cheese, but we didn't have those last night.

Tonight, we are having a ham and asparagus casserole.  We will report back tomorrow on how good it is.  Next week's recipes from Emeals look really good according to Mama.

Joey,

The Greyhound Who Is NOT Scared Of Storms

Day 44, We Have Air!

I want to thank everyone for their comments concerning the one year anniversary of loosing Jack.  Writing the post was very difficult for me and it actually took me two days. I wrote it last week because I didn't think I could do it on the actual anniversary.  I cried and cried as I wrote it.  I realized through the comments that some of you started reading the blog after Jack died.  Here is the link to the post I wrote when he died explaining what happened to him, if you are interested.  There were no tears yesterday, but Jack was on my mind all day.  I can remember in detail everything that happened that day and I am happy that we are on the road because I think it was a little easier. It would have been very hard to be at home where the accident happened. Something strange did happen yesterday.  After the air conditioning repairmen left, I went into the bedroom to get my tennis shoes. I had placed them in a big drawer.  I noticed my purse in the drawer.  It is a purse that I have not used at all since I have been here.  Something told me to look in it.  I pulled out a wallet and a few quarters.  Quarters are like gold to me since I need them for laundry.  LOL  The next thing I found was Jack's name collar. He was wearing it the day he died.  I knew I had brought it, but thought I had it in another location.  I looked at the clock and it was the exact time that Jack had died. A sign?  Not sure, but it was somewhat comforting.

I found out through Deccy's Mum that Jack and Joey are related!  I did not know this.  It's not a close relation, but it's nice to know that Joey has a little of Jack in him. 

Joey is now going to take over and tell you about the air conditioning repair.

Hi everyone, it is me, Joey!  I was very excited yesterday because Dad didn't go to work until late in the day.  I love when Dad is home. He stayed home so he could be here when the air conditioning repairmen came.  They were supposed to be here at 10 a.m.  They didn't come.  Dad called them at 10:45 a.m. and asked where they were. They called back at 11:30 a.m. and said they would be there in 25 minutes.  Dad was getting aggravated because he needed to get to work.  Finally, they showed up at 1 p.m.  We thought they would need two ladders to get it up on the roof.  They just backed up their pick up truck to the RV and one guy climbed on the roof and the other pushed it up.  If Mama and Dad could have done that, they would have saved a lot of money and time.  The men then came inside to hook it up.  Guess what?  One of them had a cowboy hat on. He set it down on the counter and I sniffed it.  Mama told me to leave it because she knew I wanted to steal it.  I was so excited that we had company. I kept running through the RV. Then, Fred, the park manager came in.  He is my favorite person here because he always rubs my ears.  He calls me "Big Guy".  He knows the repairmen, so that is why he came in.  They had it hooked up in just a few minutes.  Finally, we had air and we all cheered.  Last night, we were walking through the campground and Fred asked if Scout was happy to have air in "her" bedroom again.  Mama laughed and said that Scout was a happy camper again.

The repairmen were nice enough but definitely don't have a good sense of time.  They didn't even have an excuse for why they were late. Dad said he is not sure they would have shown up if he hadn't called to check on them.  Would we use them again?  Not sure.  

Last night, Mama had another training session on how to put the awning up.  She is finally able to do it.  There is one hard part and that is probably the most important part.  She has to pull a lever and hang onto the "rope" at the same time. Once the lever is pushed, the awning goes up very quickly, so you have to hang onto the rope because you don't want it go up too fast. After all the training, Dad decided maybe we shouldn't have it out today since it might rain, so Mama doesn't have to worry about it today anyway.

Ready to see what Mama fixed for dinner last night?  She fixed Bacon Penne Alfredo.  It's not a quick meal because you have to fix the bacon and the pasta, but it's not a hard meal to make.  Mama likes to bake the bacon in the oven instead of frying it. The bacon comes out flat instead of curled up. She thinks it has a better taste to it.  Mama puts the bacon on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil.  She puts it in a cold oven and then sets it to 400 degrees.  She starts checking it at 10 minutes, but it normally takes about 20 minutes.  It can burn quickly, so it has to be checked often.


8 oz uncooked penne pasta
8 oz sliced bacon
4 oz sliced mushrooms (fresh are best)
(1 garlic clove, minced)
1 c milk
(½ c parmesan cheese, 1 T butter, pepper to taste)
¼ c sliced green onions

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain water. Meanwhile, cook bacon in skillet till crisp; drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 T hot drippings in skillet & sauté mushrooms & garlic, 3 min until tender. Stir in pasta, milk, parmesan cheese, butter, and pepper. Reduce heat to med-low & simmer uncovered until sauce is thickened, stirring often. Crumble bacon & add to sauce with sliced green onions.

Bacon Penne Alfredo

Mama really liked this dish.  However, she did not have parmesan cheese. She used colby Jack cheese instead.  I know, its not the same at all, but that is all she had.  It still turned out.  Dad said it was good.  She will definitely make this again, but will use parmesan cheese next time. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Came Close To Stealing A Cowboy Hat

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today Jack left us so suddenly. I have been dreading this day.  There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of him.  When people stop us to talk about our greys, it is rare for Jack not to be mentioned. I guess I don't want him to be excluded even though he is no longer with us.  I often think of how much Jack would have loved being on our HUGE adventure.   The boy loved camping.  He would get so excited when he knew we were getting ready for a trip.  I knew there would be a day that I would miss his excitement, but I always thought it would because he was just older and had mellowed.  I have a feeling that Jack would have never mellowed. Jack's collar is with us as well as the afghan with his photos.

As much as I miss Jack, I know that if it wasn't for him, Joey wouldn't be with us.  What would have happened to Joey?  Would Joey have landed in a wonderful group that took care of him the way that our group did?  I think not, but lucky for him, he will never know. Joey has the same enthusiasm  for life that Jack had.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of my boy.

Jack's pose for his blog.

Wearing his famous jammies.  He wore these proudly and pranced around campgrounds in them.

Here we are in one of our favorite trips - Abilene Kansas.  We met Jack's bio Daddy on that trip.

Jack showing his stuff at the fun run in Kansas.  I cried when I saw him run.  He loved it.

His final camping trip.  It was the week before he died.  This blanket appeared in so many of his photos.  His foster Mom sent this with him when we adopted him.  It is with us in the RV and is still being used by Joey and Scout.

I believe this is the last photo I took of Jack.  He is walking with his Dad at the campground.

Thank you to every one who encouraged me to keep the blog going.  My first thought was to let it die with Jack, but I am glad I didn't.  We wouldn't have been able to take you all along on our HUGE adventure without the blog. :-)

Patty,
Mama to Jack, Scout and Joey

Day 42, Houston, We Have A Problem!

Now, you knew we would have to use that line sometime, didn't you?  LOL   Friday morning, Mama, Scout and I were just sitting around when Mama said she smelled something burning.  She went into the bedroom and the smell seemed to be coming out of the air conditioning vent.  She then heard a POP POP. She immediately shut off the air conditioner and ran outside to see if there was smoke coming out of the AC unit on the roof. There was not.  She then came in and called Dad, but got his voice mail.  She just wanted to know if there was anything else she should do.  She kept checking outside to make sure there wasn't a fire because she still smelled the burning. Dad called back and told her to unplug the electric cord that the AC runs on.  He said he would probably be late coming home since the hotel was without water and he was having it brought in and things were a mess there.  So, we all settled in for a long day and hoped it wouldn't get too hot. We do have an AC in the living room, but a second one is really needed to keep it comfortable especially on 90+ degree days.  Dad ended up getting home around 6 pm which was earlier than we expected him.  He checked all the wiring to the AC and determined Mama to be nuts. He turned on the AC and Mama immediately said she smelled something burning.  Dad said he didn't. This conversation went on for about 15 minutes.  We then all went for a walk. When we came back, the RV really smelled. Dad finally agreed that something smelled.  It was then determined that the compressor was dying.  Dad started out as an AC guy, so he knows about that sort of stuff.  So, we went to bed not knowing when our AC would be fixed.  Yesterday morning, the folk set out to find a repairman.  Dad said there are guys who will come to us and that seemed to be the best option.  They went to a place that said the first appointment would be June 20th.  That was just too far away. They said we could bring the RV to them on Thursday and they could fix it. They would hook us up to electric and water, so we would be comfortable. The problem with that is that it is kind of a pain to pack up and drive there for the day.  Mama said that if that is what we needed to do, we would just have to do it.  The parts guy told Dad to ask our park manager for names of people that come to the park to do repairs, so that is what we did.  The park manager gave us the name of the guy they use, so Dad called him.  He had to leave a voice mail and Mama worried that he might not get back to us right way, but he did!  He is coming tomorrow, Monday.  Then, the folks left to buy the AC unit.  Dad had been wanting to visit this super center of RV parts and they had what we needed at a good price.  It was an hour away, but isn't everything?  Dad could install it himself, but it weighs 100 pounds.  The problem is getting it to the top of the RV.  He needs two ladders and another man to help him, so that is why we needed to hire someone.

Dad put the awning out yesterday afternoon.  It is not broke after all. He anchored it down this time.  It should help keep the RV a little cooler.  We received our electric bill yesterday and it was better than we expected.  However, it was about five days less than what Mama had been figuring. 

There is no sightseeing this weekend due to the air conditioning problem.  Mama doesn't want to leave us for too long just in case something happens to the other air conditioner.  It gets warm in here with just one, but we have a fan that is helping.  We keep the bedroom door shut during the day so that the AC can concentrate on the living room area.  Scout is not happy about that since she wants to sleep on the bed.  Hopefully, she will be able to freeze her butt off back there tomorrow afternoon.  It actually cools off nice in the evening and we shut vents off in the living room area and that forces the cool area in the bedroom. It's been fine so far.

Last night, the folks ate at Guadalajara Hacienda.  Mama was disappointed in the menu because they did not have her favorite, chimichangas.  They also did not have burritos.  That seems a little odd for a Mexican restaurant.  They had a lot of chicken and seafood dishes, but just a few beef.  Mama likes beef over chicken.  Actually, chicken is really big here in Houston.  There are chicken places all over the place.  Anyway, Mama ended up ordering  Mariachi's Plate which is a chicken fajita burrito, beef fajita enchilada and tamale. The fajitas are different than what they are used to since they do not have any peppers or cheese.  Mama really liked the beef fajita enchilada.  She also liked the green chili sauce they served with the tortilla chips.

Mariachi's Plate with a quail leg (from Dad's plate)

Dad's plate - Fajitas and Quail legs

They said it was good, but will not be going back.  We had some of the chicken from Mama's fajita and we thought it was very good.  It really wasn't seasoned, so it was fine for us to eat.  We had some last night and then a little more this morning.  Yum!  I definitely like doggy bags.

We are just going to chill today with the folks.  Mama said we may have some fried chicken for lunch.  It is either that or Chinese food.  I'm hoping for the fried chicken.

Hopefully all goes well tomorrow with the air conditioning repair.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Ready For Lunch