Saturday March 19, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

I'm still having some recurring problems with the cold/allergies attack illness that I have had. Although I feel much better, I still have the really bad cough and headaches. I felt well enough this morning to go down for coffee again and stayed down there for the park breakfast. Diane had volunteered to make English muffins with fried eggs, ham and cheese sandwiches with fried potatoes. It turned out very well and everyone enjoyed the breakfast. The best thing was that Diane had correctly guessed how many sandwiches she would need and she had no leftovers.

Cameron and Zack went out this morning to make some money by washing trucks, cars and trailers. They need some lessons in setting their prices. They began by charging $5.00 to wash and dry trucks, but later told me they had washed one lady's trailer for $2.00 and her truck for $5. At the end of the day, they had made $83.00 together, so of course, they went shopping! Actually, Zack and his grandfather went shopping and they bought an air soft gun for Cameron. Now he's back to about $5 again. I think I'd have saved my money, but thats just me...

Tommy and Susan invited us down to their site for supper of hamburgers and sausage. We had a very nice time visiting with them and all enjoyed our food. When we got chilly outside, we went inside to watch a movie. I soon began to cough again and had to go back home to watch the end of the show. I hope I am over this illness, but it seems to be coming back. Time will tell.

So long.

Friday March 18, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

I purposely left off Wednesday and Thursday because I was so sick those days, I never left home. I had been feeling poorly on Tuesday but had gone about my normal business and got gradually worse through the day. By Wednesday I was so bad, I couldn't even go down for coffee and stayed in my recliner all day, sometimes alternating onto the couch. The dogs and Tyler took good care of me but I didn't have any appetite and didn't eat all day. Thursday night was also bad, with my being up all night, coughing. In the morning, Stella made me eat breakfast, but I still had no appetite and only ate a small amount. I again stayed home all day and by the evening, I was feeling a little better and managed to eat coneys with the boys.

Friday morning I went down for coffee, still sore from coughing but I made it. It was good to get back in the groove, although I came back home and continued to recover in my recliner. I felt much better by the afternoon and we made plans to meet with Tommy, Susan and our friend Bill at Mel's Diner in Tomball. The boys and Bill had never been there, so it was a treat for them and we all had good food and a good time together. We missed bingo night but sat out at Tommy and Susan's motorhome site until I got sleepy and turned in. I am still having the coughing fits, but they seem to be getting better. I only hope it continues because I am ready to be well again!

So long.

Tuesday March 15, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

Our old friend Carl and his wife Faye have been packing up for the last couple of days and today they pulled out. Carl had told me and some of the other guys that he might stop by this morning for a cup of coffee but would at least stop and tell everyone goodbye but he didn't. I guess he wanted to get on the road and he just drove right on by us... He told me that he is taking about an 8000 mile trip this summer and I envy him. We are planning a nice trip but it probably won't be that many miles. Carl's leaving is just the beginning of the end for our group here at Rayford. By the end of April most will be gone but we will be here until the middle of May.

I let Stella drive the truck to Timber Ridge this morning. It was very hard to watch her drive away but it will save us a lot of money in the long run. She called to tell me that she had made it to work okay and I appreciate that. I have plenty of friends here if I need to go somewhere during the day.

We had our last potato bar tonight. The park furnishes the potatoes which volunteers wrap up and cook and then we bring toppings and it is a delicious meal. We only have a few more get-togethers for this season, and it will be sad to end it. Oh well, there's always next year!

So long.

Monday March 14, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

We had a pretty uneventful day here at the park with the boys. Cameron played outside this morning after the rain stopped, and in the afternoon we went to Wal Mart and the grocery store to stock up for their visit. These two guys eat an amazing amount of food and absolutely LOVE to eat out. They made me take them to Red Robin for supper. They serve a good burger with several varieties available and rather spendy prices, but the boys like them and thats what counts!

When we came back home, Tommy called to tell us that our friend Keith and his wife Connie were having a campfire tonight and their son in law was singing. We went down and listened for awhile and had a very nice time with several of our friends.

This is Lynn, Keith and Connie's son-in-law, who entertained us tonight singing both old songs that several of us knew and also some that he wrote. He is an accomplished musician and has recorded some songs on a CD. Perhaps this will become one of the activities that is offered here at Rayford, much like the parks in the valley that have "jam nights". It might be something for Billy and Gwen to think about...

Tyler and Cameron went down to swim with a couple of their new friends from the park. Here is Tyler yelling at me not to take his picture because he is cold and doesn't want his picture in his bathing suit on Facebook. OK Tyler, it's not on Facebook but I didn't say anything about not putting it on my blog!

Here's a better shot of him after he got dressed. He allowed this photo to be taken but still doesn't want it on Facebook.

I know that everyone has been keeping up with the situation in Japan and that all of us are concerned about the long-term effects of the nuclear reactor leaks. We must all pray for the people that have been injured and killed and I hope that we can all learn from this incident. Hopefully this won't affect any present and future nuclear plants and we can all move forward from this event. We are experiencing very troubled times, with both natural and man-made disasters, the failure of governments, including the United States. Good luck and may God Bless us all.

So long.

Saturday March 5 thru Sunday March 13, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

A group of us from here at the park went out to Luby's for breakfast on Saturday morning and I took Stella to work. Sunday, Harry and Judy came up from Texas City and Ted and Donna came over and we all went out to eat lunch at Casa Imperial. Tommy and Susan had to go to a birthday party and couldn't go with us.

It was the first time we have seen Harry and Judy up here in a long time, and we had a good visit. When we finished lunch, Stella and I came back to Rayford for a surprise birthday party for Roy Davis, one of the winter Texans who stays here in the park.

Not too much of interest happened through the next week. We went out to eat somewhere with Tommy and Susan just about every night. We played bingo Friday night, which was supposed to have been "flashlight bingo" where the game is played outside in the dark with only a flashlight used to play by, but it was decided that it was too cold and windy to play comfortably so we played in the Lone Star room. There is a large rally group, the Texas Sojourners here in the park and they were very loud, but we still had a good time playing bingo. Of course, we didn't win but everyone had fun.

Saturday was the Bon Voyage party for the Winter Texans at the park. The party was open to anyone in the park, and we had a huge turnout! As you can see in the picture (thank you Tommy) there are many of us that consider ourselves "winter Texans". There are several of us in the group that are Texans that choose Rayford Crossing as their winter home, and we are happy to be among them.

Sunday Stella and I went to Texas City and picked up Tyler and Cameron for their spring break visit with us. We came back home by way of the Stephen F Austin state park where we met with our friend A.D. Payne and old friends Warren and Kathy Feray who are also park hosting there. A.D.'s wife Dee is again in the hospital being treated at MD Anderson. We are all hopeful for her speedy recovery and return to help A.D. with his duties at the state park.

We came on back home and found our friends Ricky and Dee as they were leaving us a note that they had been in the park. We had a nice but short visit with them before they left for home.

I'm sure that everyone has been keeping up with the troubles of actor Charlie Sheen. How much cocaine did he actually take?






Enough to kill Two and a Half Men...

So long.

Tuesday March 1 through Friday March 4, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

Well, we are back into the old groove of taking Stella to work (I have received too much grief over saying WE are going to work LOL), and then coming home after work. That's pretty much what happened this week with a couple of extra things.


The check engine light came on in the truck late Monday afternoon, so after dropping Stella off, I took the truck to Tomball Dodge to have it checked. With the exception of David, the manager, everyone of the service advisors is new. The new man that waited on me wasn't very familiar with the Dodge line, but he took all of my information and complaint and said he would contact me as soon as he knew what the problem was. He told me that the dealership no longer furnishes loaner cars for service work, and that I would need to get a rental unit from Enterprise, which is at the Ford store down the road. They soon arrived with my rental car, and after going to their office to sign the papers, I was off in the dinky little Kia. I don't mind the little car for a short time, but I don't want one long term. I don't care how high fuel prices go, I'll still take my truck!


We met Tommy and Susan for hot dogs at James' Coney Islands and came on back home. I watched NCIS and Stella went to their motorhome to have coffee. I went down there after the show ended and visited with them for awhile before we came on back home for the night.


I heard from Tomball Dodge the first thing in the morning on Wednesday. I was told that the PCV valve had plugged up which caused the turbo to malfunction. They would cover these items under warranty but they said the truck would need a fresh oil change that I would have to pay for. Let's see, a hundred dollar oil change for over five thousand in repairs? Oh yeah, I approved that one. The truck wasn't ready until Thursday, but I still had the rental to take Stella to work, so we did fine. And when I picked up the truck, I got the oil change for half price, so it was all good.


Stella went to a Pamper Chef party on Wednesday night. Although I was invited, as were all the guys in the park, I didn't go. I know it's hard to believe that I passed on a party, but I don't cook all that much any more, so there wasn't anything that really piqued my interest in cookware. I guess its a guy thing... Some of the guys that went said the saleslady was very nice and nice to look at too, and she fed them, so they had a good time.

It seemed to take all day to get the truck picked up from the dealership. I had to take the rent car back, get a ride from them back to the dealership, then wait for someone to bring the truck up to me. Wow, what an ordeal! I hate taking the truck in for service, but it was needed.

Friday, Stella made a crock pot of boneless pork ribs and rice for supper. It was hard to sit here all day smelling the delicious food and it kept me hungry all day long. I spent as much time as I could outside, to avoid eating everything in the trailer, and it was a beautiful day. It is supposed to rain and turn cold again over the weekend, but the weathermen have been known to be wrong before.

The traffic has been horrific lately! Stella was late in getting off work, so it was after six before we got home. The smells of the cooked food (which, by the way, I had helped to cook. I added more water when needed and stirred the mix during the day) but we didn't have much time to eat and still make it to bingo tonight. Of course I didn't win but Stella did win the jackpot round. It was fun and there were several new people playing tonight. We played in the Lone Star room because there is a large rally in the park that is using the Rayford room tonight. It was good to spend time with our friends.

So long.

Monday February 28, 2011-Rayford Crossing RV Resort

This is our last full day off before having to go back to work. :o( We ran a few errands in the morning and grabbed some lunch at the El Bosque mexican restaurant and went to Sam's Club before returning home to get ready to go to the street party. I had told Judy that I would help Warren put tables out and get the area set up for the party, so soon after getting home, I went over to work.

Warren had some questions about my new truck, so we used it to move tables and some other items to the party area and I let Warren drive it. He said he may be buying a new truck and wanted to check out the Dodge. He liked it and said he is considering the Dodge as his next truck. We got the tables set up and I brought over our two new folding chairs that we had bought at Sams, so we were ready. I came home and found Stella frying bacon to take as our side dish for the burgers. It took much longer than she had thought, but we thought the party was starting at 5, so we still had time. When we got there, everyone was finished with their burgers, so we grabbed the last two patties and ate. We learned that since the weather had turned cold in the evening, everyone had thrown a patty on the grill and started to eat early. Since it was getting cold, the party broke up early too, so I helped Warren fold the tables back up and we took them back to the rally halls.

I had a nice chat with several people at the party. It seems as if many winter Texans are leaving earlier this year, and Frank and Nancy will be leaving on Wednesday. Several others will be leaving in March, which will make us sad, but they will be back in the fall. When I went back home, I began working on a trip after the rally in Goshen for our summer trip. I'm still working on it, but it looks like we'll go north into Michigan, west to Wisconsin and North Dakota, and then south west into South Dakota and finishing in Colorado, probably at one of our favorite parks, Blue Spruce in the Vallecito Lake area of south west Colorado. It will be a fun trip, but the rising fuel prices may change it some, we just don't know right now. I plan to keep working on it and tweaking things to make it work for us. Please stay tuned.

So long