What a historic day...

We spent a lot of time in front of the TV today watching the momentous swearing in of Barack Obama. It was very emotional to think about what this meant to our nation. When you think about how far our country has come.....to elect an African American within 50 years of segregation, blacks pitted against whites in violent riots, and the march in Selma. To think that, as a nation, we could have matured this much in so little time is amazing to me. When I think about the significant events of my lifetime, as a 48 year old woman, a lot of them are very dark in nature. Countless wars, beginning with the Vietnam war,the 80's with long gas lines and outrageous interest rates, the 90's and the beginning of the "Me" generation with self indulgent lifestyles, terrorism as a world wide threat and another war that has been going on for seven, long years. Today gives a wonderful sense of hope and of a coming together as a nation. A nation, united in a common purpose, without regard to the color of someone's skin. I think that there is no one better suited, at this point in time, to lead us to a brighter future. His vision of hope for our nation is as strong as his conviction for fiscal responsibility. It makes me wonder what wonderful things we can accomplish in the next 48 years of my life.

On the right side of our blog is a recorded message from President Obama. In this speech, as well as in other countless speeches he has given, he talks about how important it is for the American people to take back their government to make it work. He encourages all of us to give service to our country in some manner. Go to usaservice.org and see what events are in your community that you can lend a hand to. Tonight Linda and I went to Hagarstown, MD and worked in a soup kitchen there that has been providing a valuable service to their community for the past 10 years. On Thursday night we'll go to another church, in Hagarstown and help them feed their citizens. It is so rewarding to help out those who so desperately need our help. You get back so much more than what you give !

Let today be the start of something wonderful for our nation. A chance to regain our status as a respected world leader.....a nation who gains its strength not by bullying those weaker than us or by going it alone but by the unity of our collective spirit. Yes We Can....

A smathering of this and that.....

Has been a great weekend for us. Linda's brother and wife came to visit and we had a great time catching up. Saturday morning we went to "The Tracks" for breakfast (it's not really called that but somehow was given that nickname by area folks). Its' real name is "Historic Texas Lunch" and before that it was the "New Texas Lunch". Apparently the Texas part has something to do with hot dogs since we are obviously in Pennsylvania and not in Texas. I guess after a certain number of years it ceased to be "New" and became historic.....maybe the way that cars become an antique when they reach a certain vintage. Anywho....Linda had blueberry pancakes which were scrumptious and I had a veggie omelet with home fries and wheat toast. Everything was delicious !
Had dinner Saturday evening at The Cottage Pub and Restaurant, here in Chambersburg and it was also very good. Linda and I shared Seafood Alfredo and Spinach and Garlic Ravioli entrees. It was very slow at the restaurant (only a couple of tables full of people). First quarter of the year is always a tough time for restaurants and I imagine that this year is even tougher; in light of the recession.
Linda is on a tear putting puzzles together this weekend. So far today she has completed four of them. While she's doing that I'm watching the Eagles and Cardinals game. Is in the second quarter and I'm not getting a good feeling about the Eagles ability at this point. The Cardinals are REALLY tough. Earlier today, after saying goodbye to Linda's family, we went to the mall and walked for close to an hour. Seemed to be sidewalk sales going on there as I had to put blinders on Linda every time we'd lap past Penney's or the other stores with racks out in the aisleways. Those 70% off signs were calling to her and it was a major distraction...LOL...
Lots of things going on in this area over this past year. According to a publication called "2008 Year in Review" here are some tidbits about Chambersburg and/or Franklin County.

* Franklin County was 2nd in number of births for the state of PA and is also number 2 for dairy production. (Guess we know what all those farmers are doing in their spare time)

* Letterkenny Army Depot is working on a new prototype vehicle. It's a Medium Mine Protected Vehicle. It will help protect convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan..

* Waynesboro Hospital was ranked as the #1 place to work in healthcare for the entire country....very impressive.

* Although the area has seen a 7.5% decrease in home sales, over the last year the unemployment rate is still below 5%, which is very good compared to most areas. Driving around the area there seems to be many projects underway and there does not seem to be a disproportionate number of homes on the market.

In other news, from a place far, far away (but visible from Russia)....there was some disturbing information on the radio the other day about Alaska. Seems that Alaska ranks #1 in number of sexual assaults in the nation. I was amazed and appalled at this statistic. Seems there was a big conflict of interest there the other day when a sex offender won a $500,000 lottery that goes to benefit victims of sexual assault. They weren't quite sure how to handle that dilemma. Maybe they should make him walk the "bridge to nowhere".....

PA Farm Show

Today we took a trip to the Pennsylvania Farm Show, held in Harrisburg, PA. I haven't been to the farm show since my home ec days in junior high so it was interesting to go and see all of the exhibits. One of the first events that we watched a little of was a tractor square dance....yep, you heard right. Now, I've seen regular "people" square dances and have even done some it myself, when I was much younger,but I have never seen tractors do it. There was a "caller" and by george, they did all the types of moves that couples would do. See here...

There was also the usual display of cattle, horses, pigs, chickens (with new baby chicks being hatched out in a display area), lambs, etc. Here were two critters that were on the loose and had to be rounded up and sent back to their pen...


Here was one of my favorite animals to see today.....

Samson is an alpaca...and a darn cute one. Did you know that there are 22 different colors of alpacas ? That is a pretty extensive color pallet. There were several at this display. He was very sweet.

There were also a lot of displays of fruits and vegetables, quilts, flower exhibits, maple syrup and honey products and a variety of vendors selling a whole host of things. No state farm show is complete without the largest pumpkin contest. Well, here is the blue ribbon winner.


Although it was a very bitter day, we had a great day at the farm show.

We are currently visiting in Virginia...

Had to come to Virginia for our doctor appts on Tuesday. On Monday night I laid in bed and started to think more about whether it wise to have the surgery at this time. After watching an episode of Oprah, on Monday, I downloaded the latest version of Suze Orman's book and read it Monday evening. The whole week of episodes has been about "A New Life"...in terms of nutrition, sexual well being, financially, health, etc. Didn't take long to read Suze's book since many of the chapters did not pertain to us...we no longer own a house nor do we intend to buy one...we don't have any credit card debt.....we have good credit scores.....we don't have any student loans (although I did glance over this info since several of our kids have school loans and both of us have taken out private loans for our kids). So it was a quick read. The one thing that Suze said is that a person absolutely must have health insurance. This was our biggest dilemma when we started putting together our life on the road. Even for high deductible policies, the monthly rates are ridiculously high.
The other part of consideration, on whether to have the surgery or not is the cost of surgery, since I would be self-pay. After the rocky road that investments and the stock market have taken over the last year, our investments are down drastically from where they used to be. To take a chunk of that money to pay for surgery, at this time, is not something that I'd really care to do. I would rather use some of that money, if need be, and buy us health insurance policies. So, when I went to the doctor I told her that I wanted to revisit the non-surgical options. We did and we'll see how things go for the foreseeable future without surgery.
Since I'm not going to have surgery, we are free to leave the area after I finish my training on the 25th. We are deciding where in Florida we will go for a month or two. There are several things we want to check out....friends to visit in the area and on the way to Florida. We want to look for places to stay in between deployments to disasters....we have to go somewhere once the inspections are done for an area. We also want to check out animal rescue places that I am interested in. This would be a great combination, with the disaster work, and the best possible combination in regards to "work" that we could do.
Oh, and in regards to health insurance. I do think that at some point, Obama's administration will find a way to offer affordable health care to all Americans. Until that happens, Linda and I need to get it, to avoid any costly monumental illnesses that could wipe out our retirement savings. That is our project now....to find a policy that we are happy with and meets our needs.

Cold and bleak in PA.....

Not much has been happening this week. Linda got her fingerprint cards done for her South Dakota nursing license and has sent those in. Once she gets her SD license, she will then be part of the "compact" that includes something like 22 other states that has reciprocity with each other. She won't have to get a license from any other state within the compact..they will recognize and accept the SD one.
Today we were going to have lunch with some friends but that darn stomach bug has hit them and they aren't able to get together. Guess we are going to Linda's sister house to visit for a while. Hoping that we can watch some of the football games that will be on later today. Curious to see how the Phila Eagles do since this is Pennsylvania's year for dominating sports..
In world news, I have been watching and listening to the news of the dollar figure that a stimulus package is going to cost us. Scary !!! Not sure I agree with a tax cut in the form of a reduction in payroll taxes....yes, it will make people spend the money more than a lump sum tax refund but the American people are so strapped for money and struggling on so many different fronts that they will not be making any extravagant purchases. A few more dollars in their paycheck will go to buying enough groceries so they can eat till next payday or paying the gas or electric bill during this winter season. It is very disturbing to hear how large the deficit will be. It was looking bad as we draw to the end of Bush's administration, due to poor fiscal management and a very costly war, but now it will be even higher due to a floundering economy. President elect Obama has a big task ahead of him in plotting out a recovery plan for this nation that will let us see daylight at the end of the tunnel....and that daylight will not come anytime soon. From all that I've heard, we will not see any upswing until possibly into 2010. We have a rough year ahead of us. Tighten your belts...we're in for a rough ride ahead.

Enough Already....

We have been under an ice storm warning since yesterday morning and yep, it did give us our fair share of ice. Linda and I went out for a little while this morning and took some of these shots. As we were walking down the street, behind the house, a line came down that was connected on the one end to the power lines out at the street and the other end was connected to someone's house. The only thing that kept it from dropping onto the street was a tree limb in the person's front yard. Linda called the city and made them aware of the low hanging line (we think it's a telephone line) and she also went to the neighbor's house to tell them about it hanging in their yard.
The ice is pretty to look at but has caused power outages in some areas due to downed power lines. Oddly the sidewalks and streets do not seem to be slippery...only the grassy areas and outbuildings. We're not fans of ice, black or white for that matter, and are glad we don't have any pressing plans for today. Will be a good day to lay low and curl up with a good book or play cards. Is supposed to warm up as the day progresses and turn entirely to rain.

Resolution vs. Resolve

Linda and I have never been much for New Year's resolutions so this year was no exception. A wonderful outcome of our working at Amazon was the level of fitness that we achieved from walking 10 - 16 miles every night. Without having to really "work" at it, we each lost weight. For me, over the course of the summer I lost around 24# and for Linda she lost around 20#. We both feel great and are back to weights that we haven't been at in many years. Our goal now is to keep the weight off and continue to exercise at a level where we feel good and stay fit.
Today we went to the area mall and walked around the perimeter of the mall. We hadn't planned to do this, upon leaving the house, so Linda didn't have shoes on that were suitable for exercising. We want to get out tomorrow morning, before the impending ice storm hits, and get in a brisk morning walk. Walking for pleasure is different than being required to walk for your job. A tougher challenge but one that we need to incorporate into our routines if we are to keep this weight off.
Coincidentally, today on the Oprah show, Oprah was talking about the need for everyone to get a grip on "why" they eat and the need for everyone to find that balance in their lives so that they can lead healthy and fit lives. Her January issue of "O" magazine sports a picture of her, from four years ago when she was fit and trim, and a picture of her now. The title reads, " How did I let this happen to me again." She showed her new workout routine and talked with Bob Greene about the reasons behind overeating. He said that if any of the reasons to lose weight include the phrase that it will "make them happy" then it's a set-up for unhappiness. We have to find that balance in our lives, in all aspects of our life from weight to work to family in order for us to achieve a true level of happiness. I think, for many people, that it has become very hard for them to get in touch with what they really need in their lives to make them happy. They have created this artificial sense of happiness, created out of "things" that they have surrounded themselves with. We need to love ourselves...truly love ourselves in order to take the first step in achieving this balance in our lives.
In a related news story, on the evening news, there was information about a group of women that are getting the word out on the risk of heart disease (and heart attack) among women. It is the number 1 killer of women and one of the most misunderstood for symptoms. These women, all survivors of heart attack, are going from living room to living room talking to women about this silent killer. One woman, 31 years of age, suffered a massive heart attack just a few days after giving birth to her first child. These women are sharing information about lifesaving technologies (stints and pacemakers) with other women.

So, which side of the fence will you be on in this new year ? Resolution or resolve ? Love yourself first so that you are a better person to love others.

Busy morning....

Got up this morning and went out to check the rig and the refrigerator was reading "Low DC" which meant that the batteries were getting low, due to the furnace needing to kick on quite a bit overnight. I got the generator out and let it run for a while. Decided that we needed to get the rig winterized ASAP so we could shut everything down and not have to mess around with it anymore. Off to Wal-Mart we went for some RV antifreeze and some hanging bags of Damp Rid for the task ahead.
The Excel manual was great at going step by step, with everything that we needed to do. Considering we've never had to winterize a rig before, I was a little nervous about "getting it right". Would not be a fun thing to open the rig in two months to find something busted or not as it should be. Linda cleaned out all the items in the rig that could freeze and make a mess. I cleaned the frig and freezer. We disconnected the batteries and pulled them out and put them in the basement so the trickle charger can keep them charged. Got the antifreeze pumped through the lines and we seem to be good to go.
Cloudy here today....currently 35 degrees. Wish that was a typo or at the least a dyslexic mistake but nooooo, it's cold as a bear's butt here. Could be worse, I guess.
It's kick-off time for the next playoff game....Go Eagles !!

Settling in....

This morning we left Williamsport and moved the rig down to Chambersburg. A nice, uneventful trip (the kind we like) on a pretty, sunny Saturday morning. After a few minutes of looking over the driveway situation we determined that there was no way we could pull through...due to a low hanging cable over the driveway so....the next best thing was to back into the field. There is an area next to the house referred to as "the field" and several family members park their pop-up campers there. As luck would have it there is a house across the street with a long driveway and it was so slick for Linda to pull in there...straighten the rig up and then back right across the road into the field. Perfect....I expected it to be way more difficult than it was. Ground was frozen solid...we put some boards down to park the tires on and we were good to go. Tomorrow we will start the winterizing process for the rig so it will be OK to sit for a while.
Seems really odd to have a whole house to live in. Took a long, hot bath (something I've missed with just a shower in the rig). The dogs have been roaming the house, not quite sure what to make of everything. They have a lot of yard area so they will love the room too.
For now, this is home and we are so thankful to have it as an option for us. We are relaxing and settling in for our stay here.

Happy New Year

We will be leaving Williamsport on Saturday and moving down to Chambersburg, PA to stay for a while. While is was nice to visit with family and friends, while in the area, it has not been fun to be sick with a bug, weather an ice storm and bitter cold temps and deal with boondocking under such extreme temperatures. I really wish I was in Florida right now. That would make for a "happier" new year.

Yesterday I drove up to spend the day with my mom, in Mansfield, PA. Once I got 10 miles out of town, you'd have thought I was in another world. It was like driving in a blizzard. Hard, blowing snow was coming down and all I could see was the path the previous car had made so I knew where the proper lane was. Took a while to get there but had a good time, hanging out with mom and talking. The drive back, in the afternoon, was much better. The roads had cleared and it was fine.

Today it is bitter cold (2 degrees in balmy Williamsport)but the sun is shining. Calling for some snow tomorrow but we're hoping it won't be enough to hamper our getting out of here Saturday morning.

Hoping all of you have a wonderful and prosperous start to your New Year.