Day 60, We Laughed At Mama And She Got Us Back

I am going to start off our post this morning and then let Joey takeover.   Last night, I fixed Mushroom Bagel Melt for dinner.  It is from our Emeals plan, of course.  However, I forgot to buy mushrooms. It was on the list, but I missed it. That's sad because I have another recipe this week that calls for mushrooms.

1 chicken breast, cooked and thinly sliced
2 bagels, cut in half and toasted
(¼ c Dijon mustard)
4 tomato slices
1 T diced onion
¼ c mushrooms, chopped
½ - 1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat broiler and place toasted bagel halves on baking sheet. Evenly spread each half with mustard,
sliced tomato, onion, mushrooms, chicken and cheese. Broil until cheese is melted.

Mushroom Bagel Melt without mushrooms

I really liked it.  I added Provolone cheese to it since we had some and I didn't want it to go to waste.

I just realized last night that my oven has a broiler. Duh!  I was pretty excited over my discovery. LOL


I also fixed Blackberry Cobbler.  This was good, but be careful when heating the oatmeal. I burned it in the microwave and the smell was worse than burned popcorn.

(¼ c brown sugar, 1 T cornstarch)
1 cup blackberries
(¼ c flour, ¼ c brown sugar, ¼ c quick oats, 2 T soft butter)

Using a microwave safe bowl, mix brown sugar with cornstarch then stir in berries. Microwave uncovered on high until berries are thick and bubbly, about 3½ minutes, stirring halfway through. For topping, mix flour, brown sugar, quick oats and butter on a plate. Microwave on high, stirring once, until lightly golden and crumbly, about 4 minutes. Spoon over the blackberry mixture.

Blackberry Cobbler

Burned Oatmeal - it even burned the plate

I am going to call the vet today and discuss my findings with him on Joey. I think he has arthritis.  He had it before his surgery and that is the reason he had the surgery. His bone was fused together to help it. The vet said that it might come back.  We tried the Tramadol for four days and it did nothing for him except make him stubborn and vocal. I tried wrapping the foot, no improvement. Jeff and I have both examined the foot closely with a flashlight.  We have touched and squeezed the entire foot and leg many times. There is no hint of pain when we do that. I have used ice packs. Sunday, I gave him a Previcox and he seemed to improve. I gave him another one yesterday and he is walking much better. He hopped a few times yesterday and this morning, but he also walked a very long time on the pavement and he seems to be putting weight on his foot. He was not doing that on Sunday.  However, the boy will stand on that leg when he pees and that is putting full weight on it.  He confuses the heck out of me.   I think the Previcox is what he needs, I hope.  I feel sick when I see him hop.  I just don't want him to be in pain. If it is arthritis, it may not bother him every day. I guess we need to move to Arizona. LOL

Here's Joey...

Last night, Dad was late getting home from work.  He didn't get home until 9 p.m. We were bored. Mama went into the bedroom and came out wearing a hat.  She looked really funny.  I laughed. I shouldn't have done that because she put the hat on me.

How do I look?

Scout was laughing at me, so Mama put a hat on her.

She was not amused.  LOL

Mama and Dad put the awning away for the day because we might have storms.  Dad told Mama that we should get some of those noodles so that it doesn't hurt as bad when she hits her head. Grandpa used to put those on his fifth wheel.  They look funny, but I guess they do the job.

Mama did laundry this morning. There is now a big sign saying that some people are being rude leaving their clothes in the machines overnight and clothes must not be left unattended.  I bet the offenders still do it. Mama did not have any problems with morning and was back home with clean clothes by 7:30 a.m.  She is a morning person.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Like Wearing A Hat

Day 59, Goodson's Cafe

Can you believe we have been on the road for 9 weeks?  We have having a great time even though our debit and credit cards were stolen and our air conditioner broke.  Those things could have happened even if we had been at home.

Today, is cleaning day.  Mama mopped the floor.  She bought a mop yesterday at Dollar Tree.  She didn't think she had a place to store it, so she figured it wasn't a big deal to buy a cheap one and just throw it out after a few uses.  She did find that it fit nicely next to the shower, so next year she will bring her good mop with us.  She had been getting down on her hands and knees to scrub the floor, so a cheap mop is a nice change of pace.

Mama put the awning out on Saturday.  Dad supervised since it was the first time she had done it.  She had the "classes" on taking it down a few weeks ago.  We are using some straps to secure it better in wind. They are orange.  Mama thinks they look a little "tacky", but Dad bought the orange so that he could see the brick that he has attached the one to so that he didn't hit the brick with his car.

Mama ran right her head into one of the metal rods that holds the awning when she was walking me.  She was watching my foot and not watching where she was walking.  She said "OUCH!"  She told Dad that we need to mark those and he said it wouldn't matter because she wasn't watching for it since she was watching my foot. 

See our mat in the photo?  We have had it for a few years.  Dad thinks we will need to replace it soon. It is not holding up well with the rocks under it.  We like it because it nice to step off of the steps onto it instead of rocks. It keeps us from tracking in a lot of dirt, too.

As you may know, Mama has her own blog now, My Rving Life. She is still trying to figure out how to write it without making it too much like this one.  She wants to continue to give the food and attraction reviews here, but she also wants to include those on the RV blog because she may have a different audience for that blog. You are all welcome to visit that blog because she will try to make it different, but there will be some repeating of information.

I'm signing off now, but Mama's review of the Goodson's Cafe is coming up, so please read on.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Chicken Fried Steak

Here's Mama:

Yesterday, we thought about taking a water taxi around The Woodlands.  Jeff thought it might be like the Riverwalk in San Antonio which we loved. I told him I didn't think it was and most of the reviews I had read were not that good.   We drove around the water in The Woodlands and decided against the water taxi.  It really didn't seem like much of anything.  We did drive through Market Street in The Woodlands.  It is really a cute open air shopping and eating area.  We didn't do any shopping yesterday, but we may go back and check out the Orvis store.  I have ordered from them online, but have never been to their store.  I know they have good dog beds because I have one.

One of the things that we are doing as we travel is checking out some of the restaurants that have been featured on the The Food Network.  A few weeks ago, Jeff was fishing at the lake in the campground and a fellow camper told him about a place that they love. It is called Goodson's Cafe.  He said it is a little bit of a drive, about 20 miles, but it is well worth it.  It is actually in Tomball, TX.  They have the best chicken fried steak in Texas.  I love chicken fried steak and I told Jeff that it was on The Food Network show, Food Paradise.  It has been on my bucket list of things to do in Houston, so yesterday we ate there.

The sign even tells you that have the best chicken fried steak in Texas.

The restaurant is an old time cafe.  It was named the Goodson's Cafe in 1950, so I am not sure how old the building actually is.  It was nicely decorated.

We ordered an appetizer that had fried mushrooms, okra, mozzarella sticks and onions. It was only $5.29.  Very good!

Mixed Basket appetizer.  The picture makes it look small, but it was a very nice size.

I, of course, had the chicken fried steak.  My side items were mashed potatoes and coleslaw.

This is the small chicken fried steak.  See the bowl with the bread, that is the gravy.  The gravy was excellent.

Had to include a photo of the coleslaw. It was a huge serving.

Jeff ordered the Wurst Chicken.  It is a BBQ basted breast topped with smoked wurst sausage and melted Monterery Jack Cheese.  He said it was good. His portion looked smaller than mine.

Do I think it is the best chicken fried steak in Texas?  Well, it is the best one that I have had.  It was very tender.  I could cut it with a fork.  The gravy was creamy.  I did not come close to eating everything and brought some of the chicken fried steak home for the dogs.  I asked them if they thought it was the best and they said they needed to do more research.

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