Dawns bloggy blog

This is how we do it~Packing up da Homey

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:23:25 PST

Howdee all,

A few posts ago~I mentioned that I would show you what I have to do to pack up the interior of Homey before we travel.

After living 10 years of fulltime living in Homey..we kinda like to think we have the packing thing down..I am always tweaking things to make it easier.

Recently we were parked in Sicksta side yard..for a few months..

As you can see I have things on the walls and counters. Both the driver and passenger seats can move to face the interior of Homey. I turn them around to face the front windshield.

Some of it gets packed away..other items stay as is..

Under this make shift table is the steering wheel.

All of this gets packed away, as well as all of the plants in the front window.

The plates on the wall are fastened securely with 3m command strip picture holders and mounting tape…so they stay where they are.

In the kitchen I take down the coffee pot,and any items that aren't secure.

All of these items on the desk are packed away except for the basket and flat tray.

The tray and basket don’t move while traveling…they both have non slip fabric underneath..

The white lines you see on the window is soap~I put it there because our windows are reflective and the birds think the yard continues thru them…the white marks show them there is something to avoid..works pretty good!

Everything in the curio cabinet stays as is…all secured with museum wax or putty.

All the pictures on the wall are secured and stay up while traveling.

I pack away the hanging crystal chandelier and everything on the dining table.

The plant is packed away..the pink frog candle holders, little blue bird and rock pyramids are secured with putty and stay.

All dishes are put in the cabinets with a non slip fabric between them so that they don’t rattle and annoy us as we travel. Same goes for cups, glasses..all wrapped or placed in the cupboard between cardboard separators.

Assortment of knick knacks that get wrapped up and stored in the bathroom cupboard.

The cupboard before ~I wrap the chandelier in a flannel pillowcase.

The cupboard full ~Plants are put in bins and stored in the shower.

I roll up the carpets to allow for the slide room to come in.

The slide room in~notice the difference?

The bedroom pretty much stays the same..the chandelier comes down ~otherwise everything else you see is secure.

The bedroom slide comes in and the bed just about fills the whole room.

The bathroom items are packed away..the silk plant stays..it is secured with putty.

Bathroom packed..

See my cool Birdie mirror stick ons from Home Goods?

I make sure our sliding pocket doors~We have three of them…are locked so they wont slide back and forth as we are driving. All cupboards and closets are checked to make sure they are secure.

I check the refrigerator to make sure items are secured by the sliding bar that holds them tightly in, so that they don’t fall out when we open the refrig. door after traveling.

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The inside is ready to roll…I wonder if Jeff is finished with his outside packing chores?

Jeff unhooks the electricity and water. He packs away the bird feeders and outdoor patio carpet. He makes sure the TV antenna is lowered.He attaches the car to the back of Homey.

I start Homey while he is outside and Jeff checks the car and Homeys lights to make sure they are all working correctly when I press on the brake, hazard lights etc.

I pull the Homey forward to make sure the cars tires are rotating.

We say our Goodbyes…

Off we go….Jeff in the driver seat.

I have a license to drive this massive vehicle but choose not to... I know enough to get us to safety if anything were to happen to Jeff.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We may forget one or two items and have to pick up a broken something or secure something that is making noise in the cupboard.

We know people that have driven away without unhooking their electrical cord.. others who forgot to unhook their sewer lines…Some who's antenna was still up..the scary list goes on and on..Yikes..

I'm not telling who!

Here we are…Silver Springs, Florida

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:54:42 PST

Howdee all,

We arrived safely in Florida with a few minor mishaps.

Last night while looking for Camp Walmart, our trusty GPS took us the wrong way. Jeff turned into a shopping area to turn around..while doing so he turned into the wrong drive to the shopping plaza and couldn’t drive any further as what he thought was a road was just a small patch of gravel turning into very wet grass. He couldn’t back up because the car was attached to the Homey…Luckily it was a side street and not busy. He had to straighten out the Homey and unhook the car so he could back up Homey. We then drove to Camp Walmart.

Today while on our way to Silver Springs Jeff hit an animal, he had no time to stop the Homey…The animal was all black and shaped like a weasel~small head, large belly and elongated tail. Don’t know what it was. Jeff was flustered after hitting the poor creature and missed the turn…We we had to go 4 miles out of our way before we could turn around.

But look~Here we are safe and sound…wish I could say as much for the poor animal.

The view from Homeys front window…

It was hot when we arrived..Homey heats up in the sun quickly..I had to turn on the air conditioning…to cool it off.

I also had to change into shorts and a tee shirt..Oh the trials and tribulations…Such is life in a warm climate. :)

So ..anyway~here we are…

In warm and sunny Silver Springs, Florida.

Jeff is washing Homey in the photo below.

I went for a walk ~staring at the magical clouds..

And looking for birds..

We are a short walk to the Silver River.

I looked for birds near the river..

I found what I thought was a Blackburnian Warbler…I was wrong, it was a Yellow throated warbler. Oops!! ~time to go back to Warbler school.

Nice places to sit along the river..

We are here for three nights, then travel to Brooksville for an RV rally.

Its lovely~~sigh..

Birds at the feeders~NC~packing up..

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:10:00 PST

Howdee all,

Leaving NC tomorrow..

Always Bittersweet…I took my fleece sheets off the bed in preparation for Florida.I will miss those sheets!

I am packing and taking photos of how and what gets packed to blog about later..

I will miss my feeder birds here in NC.

The Bark Butter gets allot of visitors!

A Brown Creeper! It has been visiting daily since it discovered the Bark Butter.

Two funky looking birds at the tray feeder..This Cardinal has a strange black band around its head..lost feathers?And this poor finch has a growth on its cheek..

There seems to be many Cardinals this year…We have been seeing about 6 males and 6 females..allot of chasing going on…

Besides these birds in the photos, we have…

Juncos, Carolina Chickadees, Brown-headed and White-breasted nuthatches, Tufted titmice, White-throated and Song sparrows, Downy, Pileated and Red-bellied woodpeckers. House and American Goldfinches ,Red shouldered Hawk, Eastern Bluebirds, Morning doves, Eastern Phoebe.

I will set out some food for the birds before I leave…and hope that Sicksta and Craigy fill the feeders and put some Bark Butter on the tree..for the birds while I am gone.

I will miss Sicksta, Craigy and the pups…

Be back in April~

Don’t rent out our spot!!

Nick’s creek Trail~

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:54:25 PST

Howdee all,

Yesterday, Sicksta, Jeff and I went to Nick’s Creek for an hour fast walk.

I stopped just a few times to take photos.

I took only three photos and only on the last half of our walk…

I stopped when saw these beautiful grasses….

How could I not take a photo of them.

I stopped again when I saw the same type of grasses glowing on the right side of the road.

It started to sprinkle so I didn’t stop long.

All photos take with my ipod Touch

At the end of the trail I took one last photo of the dam and…More grasses..

I was told on one of my previous posts that they are a type of sedge grass…

We made it back to the car and home before the rain.

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We have decided that we will be leaving here on Tuesday for our journey to Florida.

I will start packing up tomorrow. Maybe I will show a few photos of how I pack things up..if I don’t get too lazy.

Almost time to pack it up~

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:04:58 PST

Howdee all,

We have been in NC at Sickstas and Craigys for close to two months now.

Our Homeys black water tank is telling us we need to leave…FULL FULL..We have been using Sickstas Rest room for the past few days.

We use a bucket bucket or go outside in the evening..Is that too much information?..ha ha~I feel like we are camping.

We will leave either Monday or Tuesday and travel south to Florida for an RV rally in Brooksville. We plan on staying on the west coast of Florida for two months then heading north again.

The weather has been nice in NC this winter, which has kept us here a bit longer than normal. Just a few cold days.

Sickstas garden is in its winter holding pattern….

Grasses do pretty well here and Sicksta has planted many different types … pretty in winter..

There are some winter flowering plants.

Rosemary bush…blooming now..

The old shed in the backyard is still standing…its slowly being eaten up…

I wonder how many years before the termites eat it all..

All kinds of critters in Sickstas Garden..

She likes Garden Art..The old shed is garden art at its best..

So is Craigys truck..

The ole blue truck fits in nicely with the critters and plantings..

Well~~

That’s all for now..I need to go fill the feeders and put out some bark butter…

The birdies here are piglets.

We were~~The first ones…

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:30:18 PST

Howdee all,

A Western Tanager has been hanging out and visiting a feeder in Pinehurst, NC.

We are just a 15 minute drive from Pinehurst…so we gave the Hostess Marjorie Ludwig a call and set a time to sit and wait for the tanager. Sicksta Dell, joined us for the fun.

Marjorie was a wonderful hostess she invited us into her home. We sat at her kitchen table overlooking the feeders. Marjorie set out some goodies for us to nibble on while waiting for the tanager.

Marjorie also puts goodies out for the birds.

Not a Tanager

Not a tanager..

Nope…still not a tanager..

Definitely not a tanager…

No..your not!..

Still not a tanager..

Did I mention the feeders overlook a golf course?

Not a tanager…

Nope..not tanagers..

Your not a tanager either..

No your not…

Neither are you…

Yeah..I saw you..You are NOT a tanager..

Neither are you..

OH NO YOU NOT!

Long story short..

but many photos later….hee hee

After almost two hours of watching and waiting…..

We did Not see the tanager …

And to make matters worse Marjorie said..

We were the first ones that did NOT see the tanager…Boo hoo..

Scott Winton and Ali Iyoob saw the Western Tanager.

Check out Scotts post here.

My photo as a Painting~

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:13:12 PST

Howdee all,

Lee Smith from Lee Smith Paintings blog..

has painted My photo of a Tri-colored heron.

I took this photo last February while in Green Cay Wetlands in Florida.

I love his painting of the heron…

Check it out on his blog and see for yourself.

Also..

If you want to be on my blogroll and fit the categories on the sidebar..Please add your Blog URL and state or country that you are from.

Thanks to everyone who responded already!

Do You want to be on my Blogroll?

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:51:16 PST

Howdee all,

My blogroll is getting old and outdated…I haven't been adding all the new blogs that I read. So~I am going to try something.

If you see that you are not on my blogroll and want to be added to it and you fit in one of the categories I have..

then…

Comment below with your Blog URL and the state that you are from.

Thanks!

Sandhills Horticultural Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:22:12 PST

Howdee all,

We've been having some fine weather here in NC. Tee shirt weather for a few days… We are not in any hurry to head to Florida. We do have to be there for RV show at the end of the month. So..unless it gets to cold here..we will hang out with Sicksta and Ghetto boy a bit longer.

So..what to do on a not so warm and a bit overcast day?

Sandhill Horticultural Gardens

Sandhills is a small community college not to far from Sickstas..

This was garden art in progress..What do you think?

There are a few formal gardens.

Click here for an interactive map of the gardens..

Crape Myrtle..trees in the formal garden..

I really love the bark of the Crape Myrtle..

A nice area to sit and read…though a bit to chilly yesterday.

The formal garden was lovely from just about any angle..

Leaving the Formal gardens we then took the path to the…

Japanese Garden

Sand and Rocks..

The walk meanders thru the forest ..

A small hut..

A stone resting place…I think we will come here and sit when its warmer.

Follow the pathway..

To the bridge..

And over..

Camellia in bloom..

The path changes to asphalt..Sculptures are placed thru-out the gardens..

Camilla

The path meanders past this very cool rock statue

Called Sleeping..

I thought this was beautiful

Little boy and his treasures..

A Mayan type stone sculpture..

I liked these ruffled Camilla flowers

A bird bath..Holds reflections..

A close up of…

Daphne Odora

Beautiful gardens..any time of the year..

Birds too..We saw more Cockaded woodpeckers, Brown-headed nuthatches, Brown thrashers and lots more on our stroll thru the gardens.

I enjoyed the combination of man and nature…

We will be back~

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~John Muir

Walkin Weymouth Woods and Wonky tree

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:25:03 PST

Howdee all,

Finally got Jeff off his Vampire butt and out for a walk….well, he has had a bad back lately..so he has an excuse for not walking..

He was slow on this walk..

We went to one of our favorite close by places to bird.

Weymouth Woods..

Home of Long-needled Pines and the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers

We saw a few..I didn’t bring my big point and shoot so I didn’t even try to take a photo of the Cockaded way up in the pines…instead I just used my bins and enjoyed them.

Most of these photos are taken with my ipod Touch.

We came across this Wonky barked tree…that’s not the real name..Anyone know what it is?

Anyway, I took these pictures from different angles..

So you could see how Wonky the bark is..

On the way back we saw this burned out tree, It looked like it was going to yell at me..So I snapped a quick photo and ran away..

It was a nice afternoon walk in the pines…

The late afternoon sun was lighting up the grasses..

A pine cone…sits on the edge of the sandy soil path..

And Jeff heads back to play Vampires…as I snap a few more photos with my ipod Touch.

Damn Sunset at the Homestead…

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:01:18 PST

Howdee all,

There I was cooking again…and the damn sunset made me go out and take some pictures…hee hee

I was oven roasting root veggies, broccoli and green beans. I didn’t mind if they got a little blackened.

So out I went..to look at the damn sunset…

It got pinker…

And then the color purple came to say hello..

Thanks damn sunset!

Dinner was good and just slightly blackened…just the way I like it.

All photos taken with HDR app for Ipod Touch

Evening light~Carthage, NC

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:11:25 PST

Howdee all,

I was inside Homey making dinner yesterday, when I noticed the light changing outside…

I thought it might be a great time to capture a few photos.

I brought my ipod touch, and both point and shoot cameras.

This first photo was taken on HDR with the ipod.

This taken with one of my point and shoot cameras…wide angle

Tree tops being lit up across the street..

I turn back and

I noticed the sun shining thru from the field next door…

So I walked to the field and shot a few photos..

Ipod photo

As the sun lit up the grasses..

ipod photo

The lighting was lovely..

This field next to Sickstas home is for sale..

We secretly hope that it is never sold..

Or that we can magically come up with the xtra cash to buy it..

You cant tell by this photo..but, I was wearing my leopard print flannel PJ bottoms..

Wild animal that I am..

We are here in Sicksta and Craigys side yard in NC for a bit longer..either until the cold drives us away or when our black tank fills…

Jeff has a sore back and wants to heal before we head south.

That’s ok with me…its pretty here and the Birds really appreciate our home made bark butter.

Happy New Year~2012~from North Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:34:15 PST

Howdee all,

2012

Wishing you and Yours a Happy Healthy New Year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yesterday Jeff, Sicksta Adele and I went to Southern Pines, NC. for the annual Pinecone drop.

The event started at 6pm with music, clowns, magic and food.

Check out the scene in the short video below.

The festivities ended at 8pm with the Pine cone drop..

Fun! Check out the short video below

2011 was bittersweet…

We had great times with family and friends.

Fun traveling.

I lost my precious Balliecat in June.

Here's a picture of silly Ballie caught with the evidence after tasting my salad.

I miss my boy…

We had A big scare with nephew Colin in October..

Thank goodness for those who responded quickly and got him to the hospital.

and Thanks again to all of you who sent prayers and caring his way.

Colin is doing amazingly well. After Christmas in Connecticut we brought Colin back to Pittsburgh and his last appointment with his surgeon. He was given a clean bill of health..with just a lingering minor hearing issue.

A fun Iphone photo taken of Colin, Sicksta and I at Foxwoods casino..

I want to end this post..with Colin's heartfelt words and thanks from his facebook status…to all that helped him thru this ordeal.

It brought tears to our eyes when we read it…

Colin Dixon

So this is a start to my epic. Some would call it a chapter in my life that I bookmarked, something that should be continued. I look at it like the book series 'fellowship of the ring' in almost certain death I found life, new friends, old friends, companions, and most of all... family. Old family and new. But like an epic story it has only begun. The rest of it will be filled with ups and downs conflict and hatred but most of all love and longing. Just know everyone out there that your thoughts, as small or great is it was, or love as pure, and prayers as strong as you made them helped me through this ordeal. I feel bad that it took me to get close to dying to get me back to what I now know is pure. My injury didn't make me realize this, my friends and family did. My aunt dawn and my uncle jeff helped more than i could have ever asked for. Not because i am my mothers son, but because they care for me. As it pained me to leave my father, and how it pains me now to know my mother is leaving, I know they love me dearly and I hope.. although I don't say it much.. that they know I feel the same for them.

A peek into our ~Christmas in Connecticut~

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:26:03 PST

Howdee all,

Christmas Day 2011

We used to have our Christmas get togethers at Mom and Dads..

Last year, Sicksta Lori and hubby Attillio started to host the family gathering

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are a few photo highlights from our day………

~Christmas gathering at the Diloretos~

Afternoon potluck meal held in the three car garage and Attillio’s guy pad.

The dessert hit of the day made by Nidya.

Carrot cake

Sickstas..

Adele, Lori, Tammy and Me..

We are missing just one Sicksta..who didn’t make it here this year…Charlene from Montana.

Mom and Dell, Tink and me..

Brother John with Dad and Jeff C.

Our devil of a host…Atillio

Coin head Colin with Piero, Ati and John

Upstairs for the Yankee swap..

Sicksta Tink wants them all!

Daughter Samarrah and Jeff C.

Julia gets her first phone…She was extremely excited and teary.

Evening Bonfire

Only niece Tara can pull off this plaid PJ and coat attire with glam style.

Jeff and his aperitif of Grappa~Jeff and Sicksta Dell say no sipping…just let it hit your lips to taste.

It was a wonderful day that passed much to quickly…

We ate too much, laughed allot..

PS~I didn’t take any of these photos..I stole them from my Sickstas and niece Tara..ssshhhhhh don’t tell.

Leaving Connecticut sunrise~

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:45:30 PST

Howdee all,

On the road again.

This is the sunrise we saw this morning as we left Connecticut.

Our week visit with the family zipped by so quickly..and here we are on to the next destination.

Pittsburgh, Pa

We are bringing Colin back for his follow up appointment with his surgeon and he will go back to his apartment. He needs to work again and is looking for a good bartending job in the area..If you happen to know of any..give me a shout.

After our two day stint in PA, we return to NC and our Homey.

We will stay there to celebrate New Years and then head our wheels south.

Warm weather and sandy beaches await.

Wishing you Light and Love

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 04:39:19 PST

Howdee all,

Wishing all of My family and friends who celebrate Christmas..

A Day filled with Light and Love.

Family and Fun..

Jeff and I will celebrate with my family today…

We are in Connecticut..

We will all go to my Sickstas for a family get together..

Potluck..and Yankee swap

What are you doing today?

Whatever it is..I hope you have a Wonderful Day!

Tis always the season…for kindness

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:43:51 PST

Howdee all,

I loved this video…I think you will too.

Wishing you all

A Peaceful Winter Solstice, Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas and

Happy Holidays!

Winning!

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:29:20 PST

Howdee all,

Jeff, Sicksta Dell, Colin and I are giving Mom and Dad a two night break from having four extra people and five stuffed dogs in their two bedroom home.

We drove a few miles to
Foxwoods Resort and Casinos

The view from our room this morning.

I gambled last night..and left with this... :)

Ha!

I am not a gambler~I put five dollars in the penny slots..

At least I didn't loose it all.

WINNING!

Christmas morning~2001

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:09:23 PST

Howdee all,

More of my dusty cyber photos to go thru..

Here we are

Ten years ago..

Christmas morning

Our forth month in our Homey on wheels.

Sedona, Arizona

I am in the front of Homey speaking to my family in Connecticut via our old Nokia brick cell phone hooked to hands free speaker. Very high tech for the times.

Samarrah, our daughter was visiting with us for the holidays.

Some of my favorite (small) decorations I brought with me from our home.

Collection of Santa's and snowman and our Stockings…

Our tree…

Santa and SnowmanMore Santas..

My Sweet Balliecat… :(

We spent the day hiking..some of Sedonas Vortex areas

Trying to capture some earth energy..

Or feel the vibrations..

It may have been my imagination..I felt the energy

It certainly is a special place.

It was also a little like New England..

The chilly and snowy part…:)

It was a wonderful first Christmas in Homey..

Where were you 10 years ago December 25th?

What do you think?

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:07:30 PST

Howdee all,

I found this background today and added it to my template blog to test it out..

What do you think?

Click on the link to see it in full version..

Dawns Template Testing Blog

Let me know how it loads for you..seems to load oddly.

Doesn’t show on Ipod or iphones…you need to use the mobile version in order to see my blog.

This would be so very different than my current blog.

Wordpress.com vs Blogspot ~Help me decide

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:17:35 PST

Howdee all,

A few days ago I had a blog scare. I went to log onto my blog and the browser said that Dawns bloggy blog does not exist. I had Jeff try to get to my blog and he had the same message..

Ugh…my heart started racing..My travelogue gone?

I quickly wrote an email to Blogspot and Google. I noticed Google has been going thru some changes lately and thought it could be related to that.

I tried signing into Google and got a message about suspicious activity. I then had to go thru a sign in process which included them calling my phone number and giving me a code in order to get back to Google. Long story short. My blog magically appeared again.

Lesson learned~Back up my blog weekly

How to Backup a Blogger Blog

Then I started toying with keeping another back-up of my blog at Wordpress.com

I imported my blog there and played around with templates.

I wanted to keep my birdie and the brown background..make it similar but a different look than what I have now.

I also played around with Blogspot templates on my Template testing blog to see what I could come up with.

I don’t know if I want to switch to Wordpress…

I know those who use it love it. In order to have better control over themes etc. you really need to have a Wordpress.org account. From what I understand that means having the blog hosted and other yearly fees…something I didn’t want to do for my little blog.

I am not sure about Wordpress.com, I think there is a limited amount of storage for photos etc. then you pay for extra storage. I am paying 5 dollars a year storage for my current blog.

I also think that there is advertising inserted in Wordpress.com accounts.

Any wordpress lovers out there please chime in.

Anyway..

I have come up with two other templates.

They are not finished.

I will have more in the sidebars~similar to what I have here at this blog.

Let me know what you like the best.

Click on the Links to get a better feel for each template and let me know what you think.

1-Current blog

I have started to add link pages up top to get rid of some of my sidebar clutter.

2- New Blogspot blog

Not sure why I am getting a white square around the pictures on the sidebar and on the photos in the blog post.

I like the fonts..and you can change them for no cost at anytime.

3-Wordpress blog

Kind of like that I can insert a photo..

Not sure if I like the text without a background color.

Cant change fonts at Wordpress.com unless you pay a fee.

Ok..let me have it!

Its almost Christmas 2001

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:59:07 PST

Howdee all,

Looking back into the dusty cyber archives…

Its near Christmas of the first year of full timing in our Homey.

We are far from our east coast families.

Where are we?

And who is the special Christmas guest sitting on the distant rock with me?

Sedona, Arizona

Boynton Canyon

Our daughter Samarrah came to spend some time with us.

It was much colder in Sedona than in Phoenix..

We had some snow!

A beautiful place to spend our first Christmas.

We went into town to look at the Holiday lights..

Southwest style..

Stay tuned for more nostalgia..

Prelude to a Christmas~2001

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:27:15 PST

Howdee all,

Back to December of 2001

We left Las Vegas in our new motorhome *Homey* and drove to Phoenix, Arizona to be with our Motorhome Mentors Dave and Jackie Daniels..

They liked this over 55 RV park in Mesa and stayed here many years..

It is like a summer camp for old folks..All kinds of activities.

Val del Oro

Jeff was 53 and I was 45 they made an exception and let us into the park since we knew another couple there.

Ha..this year I fully qualify for a 55 an older park..

Christmas Décor in the RV parkDave and Jackie liked to hike and took us on a hike up the Superstition Mountains.

See Phoenix in the distance..

We didn’t bird then…

I took a photo of a Cactus wrens nest.

It was December and the weather was beautiful.

The scenery spectacular..

Me and our RV mentors Dave and Jackie Daniel

Sunset in the Superstition Mountains

Our first December in our Homey on Wheels..

The month was not over..we had Christmas and Hanukkah to celebrate..

Stay tuned to see where and with who.

Any guesses?

I was a Christmas Decoraholic~

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:07:11 PST

Howdee all,

I am going backward before I go forward.

Before I show you our first Christmas in our Homey…I want to show you our last Christmas in our Brookline, Ma. home.

Ever since I was a young gal, I have collected Christmas ornaments and décor.

I delivered newspapers as a young gal and saved up my Christmas tips to buy decorations…actually most of my Sickstas did the same thing…we all loved Christmas decorations.

Luckily I married a Jewish man who didn’t mind my Christmas décor fetish.

Come on in and take a look..

Christmas 2000

Our livingroom..

Nobbiecat loved sitting near the fireplace..

Our daughter Samarrah painted this picture of our Winter festival…

Notice the Menorah and Christmas tree.

A happy blending of traditions…

The Holiday tree…

Living in a condo and having no yard to plant a real tree in…I opted for a fake tree…I used the same tree for many years.

I collected antique ornaments..

Most from estate sales.

Our Holiday star…A mix of old…

And new…

I also had a collection of antique glass balls..

I put them in my antique glass vases..

This Santa, sleigh and reindeer are special. I bought these as a very young gal..

Maybe around age 12..

More glass balls..

The dining room..

Santa collection..

My sweet Ballie playing with ribbon…

I miss that fur ball!

More glass ornaments..

A new Santa and antique ceramic girl holding Christmas tree..

A new snowman..

In the den…a new Santa surrounded by homemade decorations from my Aunt Diane.

Stairway down to the bedrooms with our stockings..

I had a collection of antique birds..

Think these are in storage.

So…as you can see..I had a Christmas Décor addiction..

I am over that now…But it was so much fun back then..

I hope you enjoyed the tour…

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays..

From Dawn in December of 2000

Ten Years fulltiming in an RV!~ 2001

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:01:55 PST

Howdee all,

I didn’t start blogging until 2005..so many of the photos from when we first started RVing are in folders on my computer, collecting cyber dust.

I thought I would share some of these old photos.

Wow! These are ten years old!

Yikes! We have been living full time in a Motorhome for 10 wonderful years!

Rving was new to us~We had allot to learn.

We picked up our Homey early September in Junction City, Oregon..

~Country Coach Factory~

A Motorhome being made..Our Homey being born..

The inside of Homey being made for us..

Wow~seems like yesterday~

After taking delivery of our new Homey on wheels and spending the months of September thru the beginning of November working out the kinks and exploring Eugene Oregon and the Oregon coast, We headed to Northern California then Las Vegas to visit with friends.

Red Rock Canyon~Las Vegas

A favorite place of mine..

I love hiking amongst the huge boulders and red rocks…

You would never know the Las Vegas strip is only a 20 minute drive away.

See it in the distance?

Notice all the pictures of me?

Jeff took all the photos back then.

We spent some time in Vegas visiting with friends and checking out the hotels..the weather was warm and so different than our Decembers in New England.

I looked so much younger 10 years ago… :)

Jeff and I posing for a Christmas and Hanukkah greeting~

The first away from our families.

We did spend time with one special family member…and it wasn’t in Vegas.

Will post photos of our first Christmas in our Homey on Wheels soon.

PS~I still have that fake fur vest :)