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

Day 55, Things Are Finally Drying Up

Mama laughed and laughed over the comments about me being naked and drugged.  I feel empowered while on these drugs.  Today, I barked and barked when Mama came back from doing laundry.  Scout joined in and we had a nice time, but Mama was not happy with us. She said we were going to get thrown out of the park.  I am not worried about it.  I am on drugs under doctor's orders. 

It doesn't seem like the drugs are doing anything to help my limping on the pavement which Mama thinks means that I just don't like the pavement. She needs to follow up with the vet either today or Monday.

The ground is finally starting to dry up.  We still have water in the gully though.  We are going to hit triple digits next week. We should find out tomorrow if we need to worry about a storm that is forming in the gulf.  A flight was supposed to made today to tell us more, but it has been canceled because right now the storm is just too disorganized.  We are getting mixed thoughts on it from the weather people here. It could hit Florida, Louisiana or Texas.

The elderly couple that Mama has been worried about are fine.  She asked the park manager last night and she was told they are in Alaska. They are just leaving their rig here.  It's a pretty expensive way to store their rig, but that is their business.

Mama does laundry twice a week.  She likes to do it at 6 a.m. before anyone else is there. Today, there was only one washer available because someone left their clothes in the other three. Mama thought about emptying the washers out, but decided not to do that. Another lady came in and said she was going to empty them out because they had been there for at least an hour.  It turns out that they had been there all night and the offender does this all the time.  The park manager came in to the laundry room and told Mama if it happens again, to just take the clothes out and use the machines.  She said she has told this tenant numerous times not to leave her clothes in the machines. Mama and the other lady decided to claim all the dryers before the offender showed up and took them.  Mama kept the dryers going until the other lady's clothes were ready for them.  The offender showed up and apologized, but according to the manager she has been rude to other people about it previously.  She admitted she put the clothes in last night, but this morning she couldn't come to get them because she had to have her coffee, take a shower and walk the dog.   It took Mama an additional 30 minutes to do her laundry, but she met a nice lady in the process.  By the way, the laundry offender also doesn't clean up after her dog.  She may end up getting kicked out because her dogs run free quite a bit and actually went in someone's camper once.  We just saw the dog running around and he was bothering someone. The dogs likes to bite at people's legs. The man did not look happy about it.  Most of the people are really nice here, but there are a few bad eggs.

Last night Mama fixed Pepper Steak in the Crock Pot. 

½ lb top sirloin steak, cut into strips
(Garlic powder- to taste,1½ T vegetable oil, ¼
cup hot water, 1 bouillon cube,1 T cornstarch)
½ c onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut roughly
14 oz can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
(3 T soy sauce,1 T white sugar,1 t salt)

Season beef with garlic powder. In large skillet, heat oil to medium temp and brown beef strips. Transfer to slow cooker. Heat water and add bouillon cube and cornstarch, stirring until dissolved. Add to cooker. Stir in onion, green pepper, tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hrs or on low for 6-8 hrs. Cook rice according to package directions. Serve pepper steak over steamed rice.

Pepper Steak over noodles

Yes, the recipe calls for rice, but Mama decided to fix hers with noodles and Dad's with rice.  She really liked it. Dad said it was good, but he didn't eat it all.  Hmmmm......makes us wonder if he really liked it.   We didn't get to try it due to the onions and peppers.

The folks are going out for a quick dinner tonight before grocery shopping.  They were supposed to have a chicken/bacon sandwich for dinner, but the bread has gone bad and Dad ate all the bacon. Mama offered to go to the store last night, but Dad said they could eat out instead.

The folks haven't decided for sure what they are doing this weekend, but will be sticking a little closer to home since it is going to be so hot.  They want to be able to check on us more due to the heat in case something happens to the air conditioning.  You just never know.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Will Probably  Be Off  Drugs Soon

Day 54, The Ground Remains Soggy

I have been back on the Tramadol for almost 24 hours and so far no change in my hopping. I think that is good. It means that I just don't like the pavement.  I took Tramadol after both of my surgeries. It makes me tired, but it also makes me very stubborn according to Mama.  I don't listen as well because well, I really don't care.

Life is good!

I'm drugged and naked!

 Mama noticed my collar was around my ears and said I really looked drunk. She took it off of me and tightened it up.  I wasn't naked long.  I look pretty cute naked though.

The missing neighbors have not returned.  They are an elderly couple. We hope they are okay.  It's possible that they are sightseeing somewhere and didn't want to take their Class C with them.  We hope that is the case.

We found out this morning that someone we know from here has been kicked out because her little dog bit someone.  It doesn't surprise us.  She doesn't keep them leashed and she opens the door and lets them chase people.  They chased us the first day we were here. We have avoided her area since then.  She told Mama that they don't like being on a leash. Apparently, the dog broke the skin on a lady and she went to the hospital.  They are probably lucky that they are only being kicked out.  She told Mama that she didn't think her dog could break the skin.  Yeah, she seems pretty clueless. Our next door neighbor had told us previously that the dogs were really mean.  We are not sorry to see them go. 

It is still really soggy here.  We are going to have a real mosquito problem.

Some areas of the grass is just this wet.  Lots of standing water.

Big puddles.

The gully is full of water. The lake is beyond the gully.  There is a bridge that we cross to get across the gully.

Mama has been working on her own RV blog.  She stole a lot of material from ours, but in the future it will be different.  Yesterday, she was looking at other RV blogs and she found someone who is in Houston and not to far from us.  She was excited to read everything that they have been doing because it has been different from us.  It was nice to read some tourist tips from fellow campers.

Want to see a simple way to make a pizza? Mama learned it at a camping cooking class.   She takes pepperoni and heats them in a skillet for a few minutes just to cook them a little bit.  She removes the pepperoni.  Then, pour a little bit of olive oil in the skillet and take a flour tortilla and rub the oil on both sides of the tortilla.  Let tortilla cook for a few minutes and then turn it over.  Spread pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce over the tortilla.  Place pepperoni or whatever you want on top.  Add cheese. Cover and let cook until cheese is melted and the bottom of the pizza is a little crisp.  Mama also adds garlic power and parsley flakes to it.  It's a quick pizza that is nice for lunch or a snack.  She really likes to add mushrooms to it, but she didn't have any yesterday.

We had Sauce Topped Salmon last night for dinner. Mama is not a fish lover, but she thought it was pretty good. It was seasoned enough that it didn't taste like fish to her.  Dad liked it.  Scout and I liked it.


(2 T olive oil)
12-16 oz salmon fillets, thawed
Juice from 1 Lemon
(½ t olive oil, 1 t minced garlic, ¼ t basil, ¼ t each
salt and pepper)
½ c sour cream


 Heat oven to 200. Heat olive oil in skillet on high. Add fillets to skillet. Cut lemon; squeeze juice over fillets. Cook about 4 min on each side. Transfer to an ovenproof plate; put in warm oven. Combine ½ t olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper in skillet. Stir in sour cream until heated.Drizzle over fillets when serving.

Salmon and steamed green beans

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Plans On Sleeping Until Judge Judy Comes On

Day 53, Summer Is Here!

Today is the first day of summer.  It doesn't feel any different to us.  Actually, our temps have been cooler this week.  We had storms yesterday.  Scout and Mama were nervous because the RV was "moving" in the wind.  I wasn't scared, but I laid on Mama's feet to help her feel a little safer.   It rained a lot. The campground is a soggy mess.  We hear "squish, squish" when we walk.   Mama said we can't walk around the big lake until the ground dries up and they cut the grass there.  She is worried we will step on a snake.  It's raining again, so it will be a few days before it dries up.

See, it is wet here.

This site flooded.  Mama hopes they are okay.  They left before the rains came and they didn't come back last night.   We didn't see them take anything with them when they left.

Mama is trying to get my prescription for Previcox re-filled.  She has a call into the vet.  He had told her that we could get it at Walgreens, but they don't carry it.  She found out that there is a generic form for humans that many people use on their dogs, but she needs to get approval from him.  She is wondering if that is what he was talking about when he said Walgreen's had it. If he doesn't approve the generic form, she will ask him to send the prescription to an online place.

UPDATE:  Dr. Mike called back and said I should take Tramadol for a few days.  If I am really in pain, that will make a difference.  He said he will give us the generic drug, if I need it.  :-)   Mama feels better after speaking to him.

I took my medicine for four days straight and Mama thought I was doing better.  I skipped a day and last night I hopped in the RV and that worried Mama.  She thought maybe it could be from me playing in the rain and maybe I have arthritis in that foot again.  Dr. Mike said it could come back.   She gave me a half of a pill and I am doing okay so far today.

Last night, Mama fixed Easy Chicken Tortilla Casserole.  She liked it.  No comment from Dad, but he ate it all.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cook & dice
10 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
10 oz can Rotel tomatoes, drained
6 flour tortillas (cooking spray)

Mix together cooked diced chicken, soup, ½ cup cheese and drained tomatoes. Layer 3 flour tortillas on bottom of greased square dish, then ½ of mixture, then 3 more tortillas, then the other ½ of mixture. Cover and heat at 350° for 40 min. Top with ½ c cheese and return to oven to melt.

Easy Chicken Tortilla

Tonight, we are having salmon.  It is not a favorite of Mama's, but she is making it.  I think I will eat hers if she doesn't like it, so no worries.


Scout was good last night.  She didn't even go into the bedroom and whine.  We didn't get up until the alarm went off this morning, so Mama was very happy this morning.  Mama hopes that Scout is over the whining phase.

We met a lady yesterday who used to foster greyhounds.  She said I didn't act like any greyhound she has ever met before.   I don't get why everyone thinks I am so different.  I just have a lot of energy and a zest for life. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Always Ready For A Walk

Day 49, Sunday's Activities

On  Sunday, the folks went out for a while.  Their first stop was Kohl's.  If you don't have a Kohl's, it's a department store that has clothing, shoes and kitchen items.  They usually have decent sales and then they offer savings from 10% to 30% with coupons. Mama gets excited when she gets a 30% off coupon. They even allow you to use the coupons on clearance items.  Mama received a 20% off coupon through email  on Sunday.  She was happy to find some shirts for $4.99.  They were normally $12.  She bought 4 of them.  It was a good deal and then she added the 20% off coupon.  They had hoped to find Dad some more work clothes, but no luck on this trip.  They then went to Academy.  It's a sporting goods store.  Mama said she found a bed that she wants to get me.  It will replace the quilt that I am using the floor on the floor.  It is basically a mat with some foam in it, but she said it feels like it would be pretty comfy.  It will easily fold up if we need more space.  She decided to look at a few more stores before making the purchase though.  Dad bought an adapter for our BBQ grill so that we can use a bigger propane tank with it.  It only takes the small canisters without the adapter.

After shopping, they went out to eat.  They ate at Pappasito's Cantina.  Remember when they ate at the seafood place that had the chicken pasta that Mama said was the best chicken she had ever tasted?  Well, it is owned by the same people. There are seven different types of restaurants owned by this family and they are big in this area.  When they arrived at the restaurant, Mama heard someone leaving and they said they were not waiting 1 1/2 hours.  Mama told Daddy she wasn't waiting that long either after waiting that long for Bubba Gump's the day before.  However, seating was immediately available for them since there was just two of them.  Mama said the place was packed with families since it was Father's Day. Mexican restaurants seem to serve a lot of seafood here.  There were a few items that Mama could order though.  She chose the Beef Chimichanga & Chicken Tamale.  She thought she didn't like enchiladas, but it is actually tamales that she doesn't like.  Oh, well.  She said the beef chimichanga was really good.  She forgot to take a photo of it.  It was the lunch portion and it looked more like a dinner portion.  The tortilla chips were served with a warm salsa and also a green chili sauce.  She is really liking the green chili sauces.  Dad ordered Ribeye & Diablo Shrimp: ribeye topped with grilled peppers & onions,with Diablo shrimp & choice of enchilada.  The ribeye was quite large and it was really good.  Mama tried a bite of it.  They liked this place.  We are down to about four more weekends in Houston, so they are running out of time to repeat eating at places, so they probably will not make it back there.  If they had more time, they probably would try it again.

Dad looked at the snake photo and he thinks it might be a cottonmouth.  If it is, it is poisonous.  It's hard to tell for sure if the head has a diamond shape. Mama is on high alert when we walk now.  She about jumped out of her skin last night thinking she saw a snake, but it was a pipe.  This morning, we saw a stick that was black and brown. She made an "eeek" sound.

Last night, Mama made Sloppy Joe Special.  This was really good.  We even had a small taste of it.  Yum!
1 lb ground beef chuck
½ c onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
(2 T brown sugar, 2 T white vinegar)
½ loaf Italian bread
½ c shredded cheddar

Brown ground beef and onion; drain. Add tomatoes, brown sugar and vinegar; heat thoroughly. Slice bread in half lengthwise and bake at 425° until toasted. Top each half with meat mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 425° until cheese melts and bread is heated through.

Sloppy Joe Special - Mama added mozzarella cheese to it as well as the cheddar.

This was an easy meal and one that we will repeat.  Mama served coleslaw with this and made brownies for dessert.

Want to see a photo of Scout?  Yep, she is still around.  She is doing better on our walks.  We are not having to drag her out as much as we were.  She has been bad at night though.  She wants Mama's bed and she whines and whines.  Mama got upset with her the other night and shut the bedroom door. Last night, she was much better and Mama woke us up for our walk at 5:30 a.m. instead of us waking her up at 4:45 a.m.

She is so classy, don't you think? 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Enjoying Some Cooler Temps This Week