Christmas in June?

Yes, apparently, Hobby Lobby thinks it is time to start selling Christmas items.  Mom says that is the earliest that she has seen Christmas items at a store.

We were surprised this morning when we arrived at the dog walk and saw the farmer cutting the grass in his field.  Mom used to enjoy looking at all the wildflowers in it and now they are gone.

There were several birds that were upset too.

The folks drove to Kemah, TX this past weekend.  It a town on the water.  Mom had a coupon for a free appetizer at Crazy Alan's Swamp Shack.

Fried Oysters and Shrimp.  Dad said the shrimp was good.  The oysters were okay.

Fried pickles - their free appetizer.

Burger with bacon cooked in it.  Mom said it was okay.

They actually serve several alligator dishes but Mom has had alligator the past two weekends.  They will probably go back some day.

The following photos are the view they had while eating.  The boardwalk is in the background where the roller coaster is.

Yesterday, the folks took me to a local park.  We walked for a short distance.  It was pretty hot, so we made it short.  I think the only reason Mom took me was because I begged and begged to go when they left earlier in the day to do some shopping.  Mom took me to McDonald's earlier in the week. 😀

I am getting used to the robotic vacuum.  Mom figured out that if she uses my bed as a barricade, I don't freak out.  Although, I look a little scared in this photo.

Mom and I stay inside when it is hot out.  Last Friday night, the folks and I sat outside until well after our bedtime.  That was odd. The weather was nice and cool.

Here I am relaxing inside where it is nice and cool.

The instant pot has been busy making potato salad, mashed potatoes, pastas and even steamed veggies.  Mom still really likes it.  Today, it has a roast in it.  She is using it as a slow cooker.  It is not the best slow cooker though.  She may have to use it as a pressure cooker if the roast is not done.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Air Conditioning

Another Friend Is At The Bridge

We are very sad to say that one of our greyhound friends has left this earth. Rosie went to the bridge last night.  She had just turned 12 in May.  We met Rosie several times at meet and greets when we lived in Missouri.  She was a definite pro at those. She loved all the attention that she received and she knew there would be treats involved.  Rosie loved her treats.

Rosie wasn't a fan of the heat, so her Mom made sure she had a fan and a cooling mat.

She lived a wonderful life and her family is heartbroken that she has gone to the bridge.  She leaves behind her Mom and Dad, her brother, Hairy and her sister, Lily and, of course, many friends.

Rosie in her younger days.

Hairy, Rosie and Lily

As you can see from the photos, Rosie enjoyed a relaxing life.  She was a very sweet girl and is greatly missed.  Rosie, please send your Mom a sign.  I know she is waiting for one.

Alabama Has Bigger Gators

 When we stayed in Alabama, Mom loved a place there that served alligator.  She has been hoping to find a good place here, but she has been striking out.

This is the gator she ate in Alabama.

Look at the size of the gator bites.  Very nice!

She has eaten gator twice here.  This is the gator she ate here on Saturday.

It is so little, that you can't even taste the meat. They serve it with gravy.

I guess the quest will continue for good gator.

Mom is enjoying having a car again.  She did a few mystery shopping jobs on Friday.  She didn't have to rush out on Saturday and do the grocery shopping like she has been because now she can shop during the week.  She bought a Sam's Club membership. She used to have one but hasn't since we have been on the road.  We can't really buy much in bulk, but we do have a decent sized freezer. She doesn't go out every day because she would just be spending money.

Our lantana seems to like it here.

We have lucked out and haven't been in the areas that have been flooding around here.  Galveston has had a lot of rain.  Our site holds water really well, which isn't good.  There are several sites like ours.

This was taken after a few days of no rain.  It is really flooded now since it has been raining nearly every day.  It doesn't rain all day, but just a little rain does this.

A few years ago, Mom was sitting outside and all at once water came off of the roof of the motor home and soaked her.  I was sitting outside with Dad recently and I decided it was time to go inside. Dad said a few minutes later, water came off the roof and got my bed.  That was a close one.  Mom said if I had been outside when it happened, I probably wouldn't have ever wanted it sit outside again. 

Yesterday was a stormy day.  I pretended like it wasn't happening.

Are you ready for Fall?  Hobby Lobby is.

A pretty bush near the office.

The campground is very quiet.  If there is gossip, we don't know of any.  There is one lady who is a fast walker. She never talks to us or smiles. In the beginning, Mom would laugh on the inside because she said she felt like we were in a cartoon.  The lady would pass us while we were walking and the next thing we would see is her on the next street.  She would pass us several times on our walk.  She walks at 5 a.m. and then again around 7 p.m.  She has several different outfits for her walk. Sometimes she has weights, sometimes she runs.  Mom and I are not fast walkers.  We take time to smell the grass.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Does Not Like Humidity

We Bought, We Sold And We Moved

We had a very busy weekend.  It started out on Friday when Mom saw a car that looked like it would work for us.  Actually, she found it Thursday night after she learned that the new car salesman was not going to honor the price that he offered them for a car.  It was the second time that week that he had messed up.  On Friday, she looked at the car again and found that they had lowered the price by a $1,000.  Mom texted Dad and asked if they could look at it Friday night and if they liked it, they could be all ready with a certified check on Saturday.  They test drove it and really liked it.  They decided to buy it.  The deal almost fell through when the salesman added what he called a mandatory charge.  It was for $995 and he said they would fix any door dings that we got.  Dad told him we didn't want that.  He said we didn't have a choice. The supervisor came over and the folks thought he was going to try and pressure them into taking it, but he didn't.  He said he would remove it.  That was good because Dad was not going to pay for it.  The folks were really surprised when they were told they could write a personal check and take the car home with them.  It is a 2014 Ford Focus.  It only has 22,000 miles and it is Ford Certified.  That means that Ford has checked it over and now they get another year of warranty on it.  They also get six free oil changes. The oil changes just come with buying a car from them. The folks had checked out CarFax and knew the history of the car.  It was leased and never had any issues.

Dad's new car.

This is probably the cleanest it will ever be.

On Saturday, Mom decided to call the scooter salesman back and ask him if he still wanted Buddy.  He wasn't thrilled with a Buddy 50 because he said they are the hardest to sell because they don't go very fast.  Mom had sent him pictures a few weeks ago so he could see the condition, but he never responded.  Mom was going to sell it on her own but really didn't want to deal with people.  She had read that she shouldn't let anyone test drive it in case they wrecked it. She didn't want to be sued if they were injured.  So, she decided to take a little less money for him so that she could be done with it.  She was sad to sell him, but she said she wouldn't be riding him since she now has the Jeep to drive.  The folks loaded him up and took him to the dealer.  She was surprised when the dealer offered them $50 for the carrier that they used to get Buddy there.  It works fine, but it is getting rusty.  It made selling Buddy to him a better deal.  The guy sent Mom an email later that day thanking you for her business and told her he would find Buddy a good home.  BOL!

On Sunday, we moved to a different site here in the park.  The site we were in was pretty pricey and we had only planned on staying here two months because of that.  Mom asked the manager if there were any other sites we could move into that were a lower price.  She said they had a site that they had just reduced the price on and we would fit.  It is another pull through.  We are away from the propane tank and have a decent view of the lake. Mom really likes. There is currently not anyone next to us.  I am a bit confused as to why we moved and I keep going back to our site and wishing I was there.

The new robot vacuum arrived today.  Mom did a short test drive with it.  It is not loud, but I don't think I am going to like it.  The battery is charging now and it will be ready to go tomorrow.  It is supposed to clean while we are on our morning walk.  It better leave me alone.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Needs To Rest After Such A Busy Weekend

Car Shopping And A Trip To Galveston

We are going to be a two car family again!  Mom says it will be so strange to have a car of her own again.  She got Buddy four years ago so that she would be able to get out while Dad was at work.  We stayed at several places where she couldn't ride Buddy though.  The place we are at now is one of those places.  There is a McDonald's just down the street that she would like to visit but the wind here is crazy!  Even if it wasn't windy, she has not found a decent route for Buddy to go shopping.  We are located right at the highway and the route that she thought would work has a closed road.  We will have a new car soon enough and then Buddy will be sold.  Mom will get the Jeep, which now has over 200,000 miles on it.  She is not complaining about that. I am just saying that our Jeep has been good to us and Mom and I both really like it.  Dad will get the newer car because it will get better gas mileage and he needs a car more than Mom does.

The folks went car shopping on Saturday.  They are going to buy a Ford Focus because it is a car that can be towed with four wheels down like the Jeep.  Dad rented one last month and he liked it.  They test drove one on Saturday and they really liked it, but the car dealer wouldn't budge on the price.  Dad has seen some others with less miles for less money, so they passed on that one.

They found another restaurant that they really liked.  It is called Jax Burger and Fries.  They both had the Fried Pickle Burger and shared an order of garlic fries.  The burger was spicier than they expected. It had jalapeno ranch sauce on it.  Mom said the garlic fries were fantastic. They have butter and tons of garlic on them.  Mom said they will definitely eat there again.

On Sunday, the folks drove to Galveston for lunch.  On the way, they stopped at an RV park that Dad wanted to see.  Mom said it would be wonderful to live there.  It is right on the bay.  The site that she wants has a private pier.  Dad would love to fish there. The sunsets are spectacular.  The rent is a little less than here, but they do charge $20 a month for laundry and it doesn't matter if you use their machines and there is a $15 a month charge for EMS because they are on an island.  It is about an hour drive for Dad.   It would be really nice and Dad said maybe we would move there in the fall.

We would park the motor home so that this is our view out of the windshield.

This is where our chairs would go.

Dad said these are the flowers he saw in Hawaii.  They are at the RV resort.

 The folks ate lunch at The Spot in Galveston.  It was packed and there was not any room to sit outside.

Dad had a seafood plate.

Fried pickles

Mom's dried out burger and fries.  She brought me a few fries. I liked them.

 The drove along the beachfront.

Mom said it was nice to see the beach again.  It made her happy.  She has been pretty lonely the last few weeks.  There is no one here to talk to and she can't get out on Buddy.  This week, she has been busy trying to earn money by doing surveys.  She has her eye on a robotic vacuum.  She used to have a Roomba which she really liked but it was always breaking down.  We think maybe our house was too big for it.  It worked great in the old motor home.  Mom said it was so nice to turn it on and leave and come back to a clean RV.  The vacuum she has her eye on now will probably work well in our little home.  She doesn't think I will like it, so she plans on turning it on when we go for our morning walk.  We will let you know when we get it.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Sleeping Through The Night Again

Our First Weekend In Houston

I had a good and bad weekend.  I went to Petsmart.  I love Petsmart.  However, I forgot they had vets there.  I had to get my rabies vaccine.  I was about to expire.  Expiring sounds like a bad thing.  They weighed me.  I weigh the same as I did five years ago.  They still said I was overweight.  My vet always said I was fine, but yes, I could loose a few pounds. She gave me some medicine for my corn.  Mom doesn't think it will work, but she bought it anyway.  They gave me a Benadryl shot since the last time I had a shot, I had a reaction that scared Mom.  I didn't have any type of reaction this time.  I also had a blood test so I could get my Heartguard refilled.  It was an exhausting morning.  We stopped at What-A-Burger on the way home.  I got a few fries since I was a good boy.  I know, not good for my figure, but if you had someone do things to you that I did, you would get a fry too.

Here I am resting after my vet visit.

 Mom really misses having a yard and garden.  She bought a lantana this weekend.  She used to have them at home.  Hers got really large because she brought them inside in the winter and put a heat lamp on them.  We are wondering if she will be able to keep it in the winter here if she covers it if it gets really cold.

She noticed a lot more tropical plants for sale here than at other places.

Lantana

 Saturday night, we walked to the lake and Dad fished.

I watched.

 

Happy boy!

There is a fire pit, but we didn't use it.

The folks ate dinner at Gringo's.  It is a Mexican place here.  Mom said it was really good.

Dad's meal was fajitas and shrimp wrapped in bacon.

Burrito with rice.  Mom said the rice was really good.

Dad fixed our ceiling fan on Sunday.  One of the blade brackets had broken.  Mom tried to find a replacement, but couldn't get any help on that from anyone connected to our RV.  They ended up finding something that worked at Home Depot.

A few of the RVs have left that blocked our view to the lake.  We can kind of see it now.  We would move into a lake site, but our rig is too large.  We would be sticking out into the street by about five feet.

This site is wet because kids had used chalk on the pad and management cleaned it up for the next person.

Mom is washing my bed today.  I am not happy.

We like this park, but not much goes on.  Most people who stay here are men and they leave for work at 5:30 a.m.  It is pretty quiet.

Our weather has been good.  The humidity is high today.  You can tell by Mom's hair.  BOL!  She bought a flat iron to tame it on bad days.  It is usually windy.  We have been able to put our awning out a few times, but it normally doesn't make it all day because it gets too windy for it.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Waiting For His Bed To Get Washed and Dried