Day 61 - Lug Nuts and Picnics

Day 61 -  Yesterday, Flowergirl asked if our outing to the greenhouse ended our quarantine.  I don't really think so. We didn't have any physical contact. The young gal glanced over our cart to add things up. We left a check with the total on the open countertop at the doorway to the greenhouse, while we loaded the plants into our car.

Actually for the last 2 months, we didn't go indoors to any public places or into any peoples houses, or have people into our home. We didn't go shopping or to any social events.  Just going to an outdoor setting of a green house where nobody else was around.  So I think we are still quarantining in my mind.  We are socially distant and not touching others or being inside their buildings or homes.

Anyhow, Saturday we had a neato adventure. It started out at 7 am with Steve turning on the furnace in the motorhome to warm it up. It was only 28 degrees... brrrrr but soon the heat was warming up the motorhome and we loaded up some supplies and headed on out for our adventure.

Our first stop was at Oconto Truck and Power Center, a mile or so away. This business is owned by Nick Badendick, the husband of the realtor, Amy, who sold us our home.  Since Steve had the wheels off to do the calipers, he put them back on as tight as his torque multiplier tool could go, but he wanted them to be correct and safe.  So they needed to be torqued to the proper specs before we could safely travel anywhere. Nick said he could torque up our lug nuts on the motorhome for us.

We were parked outside and didn't go in... Nick came out and took care of things right in the parking lot.

While the guys were doing that, and checking the tire inflations, I baked some scrumptious apple turnovers in the little oven in the motorhome.   Once they were done conducting their business, I had coffee and turnovers ready for our early morning.

Steve fired up the rig and off we went...  

just look at the Happy Motorhoming Man!

It's been a long long winter,

and he needed to "break free"! 

We needed to test out the brakes and calipers and some new brake lines Steve installed last week. We are happy to report that everything is working fine and up to snuff.  I knew Steve did a great job, and its nice to feel secure in knowing the brakes are fully functioning and reliable. 

We drove over to a nice secluded little parking lot we knew of, about 10 miles away.  It was just below the hydro-electric dam on the Oconto River.  This is a small co-op owned power company. We used to be shareholders in the co-op when we lived down the river years ago.  It's nice to see it still operating today. 

We found a nice little quiet spot to park and enjoy our coffee and apple turnovers.  Ahhhhh  It was all warmed up and comfortable in the rig. Our great smelling coffee sure made the morning. 

Of course,

the dogs were along for the ride! 

We got out and walked around, and although it was sunshiney, the wind was bitterly cold!  We were wearing our winter coats and mittens and hats.  I can not believe this is MAY?

The trees were dipping and swaying, and the fishermen were huddled on the opposite shore.  I guess they were out of the wind over there, and I hope the fish were biting.  Do you think they are 6 feet apart?

We went back in and Steve started cooking up a nice breakfast.  We had brought along bacon, eggs and bread, along with our carafe of coffee.  The sunshine streaming in was so pleasant.  We were "camping" in our minds, even if we were only 10 miles from home.  The motorhome smelled like rich bacon, fresh coffee and frying eggs and scrumptious toast.  It don't get much better than that.

The view out the front windshield was pleasant. We could pretend we were somewhere wayyyy out in the woods, up north some place.  Getting away and getting some relaxing camping for the weekend.

After breakfast, we took a little walk with the dogs. The winds had not let up yet, but it felt good to get out and about.  Two cars came into the parking lot, so we retreated back into our motorhome, to stay out of the way. 

Brrrrrrr we went back in to the inviting warmth. We actually curled up together on the loveseat and took a little nap!   It was such a good time to get away, forgetting about all of the stress in the world, and all the crazy negativity. This was such a nice escape.


All too soon, it was time to get back home.  We stopped on the way back to fill the motorhome up with fresh premium diesel fuel. The price was amazingly $1.95 a gallon.  It was good to top off the tank, and mix it with the current fuel from last fall (when it was probably over $3.00 a gallon!)


The weather reports were full of gloom and doom about freezing and frost and awful predictions of *S*N*O*W*!!!   After spending all that money the day before at the greenhouse, I was not about to put my plants in danger by leaving them in the garage.  Yup, into the She Shed they came!  All of them. Safe and sound.

Last week, our granddaughter Chelsea had taken part in planting a little garden at the daycare, and fencing it off from the other kids and yard toys etc.  The day care director sent me these photos.  My oh my, what a little green thumb.

Because the weather report was awful, and she was worried about her little garden.  They were out of town for the weekend.  Awwwwww So it was Grandma and Grandpa to the rescue!  We went over to the little daycare yard and covered the plants up for the night, and then uncovered them for the day, once things warmed up.

Let us hope the plants grow and prosper and they can harvest their bounty come this fall.

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Today is Mother's Day! 

Here are our lovely two daughters,

Erin and Heather...

Since I haven't been out shopping or spending a lot of money, I decided to do something for them as a gift, something that was of my time. Something that would give them time.  Time to be with their families!

This morning, I started simmering up a pot of spaghetti sauce, and boiling up some lasagna noodles on the stove.  The house smelled great, and it felt good to create something that would bring smiles to their faces.

While the traditional italian tomato type sauce was simmering, I got out shredded chicken from the freezer, and some jars of alfredo sauce.  This is my setup for making my special rolled up lasagna pans.

I use a plastic tray drawer organziner that is just the right size for the lasagna noodles.  I only cook them about 3/4 of the way, so they are still firm enough to not rip or tear.  I rinse them well and cool them a bit, so they can be handled with the fingers.

I put the noodle in the bottom of the tray, and add the shredded cooked chicken, some parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and some dollops from a jar of alfredo sauce.   Then I carefully roll them up in the tray, which keeps the filling from falling out the edges.  Quickly I lift them up and transfer them into a glass casserole pan, which has been sprayed with some non-stick cooking spray and a little sauce in the bottom to keep the noodles from sticking.

Rolled up noodles are easier to serve, and seem to bake better than flat layers of lasagna in the more common way. I saw this trick on tv a long time ago, on Cooking with Amy on WLUK channel 11.

I top off each pan with more sauce and mozzarella and then some bread crumbs, along with some extra italian seasoning and dried parsley for color.

Once I had two pans of the chicken alfredo completed, now the other sauce was ready for the traditional tomato italian type of lasagna.  To these, I add a few dollops of ricotta cheese to each roll-up. Not too much, just some for flavor.

In no time, I had four pans all ready. 

 Two of the traditional 

and two of the alfredo. 

I added a layer of tin foil for baking later,

 and then these labels 

underneath the lids. 

I had also baked up a pan of toffee bars, with fun colorful sprinkles on top.  I promised granddaughter Whitney that I would put sprinkles on them. These I cut into squares and set into the little boxes to deliver with the pans of lasagna and a couple boxes of frozen garlic bread toasts.

Steve helped load up the treats, and we called ahead to each of our daughters' homes.  Items were delivered onto their porches with social distancing, and we were happy in knowing that we gave them a bit of time, a bit of love, and a bit of nourishment. 

I got giggly silly phone calls and text messages and video clips and sweet gifts and flowers from the grandkids, along with heartfelt thanks and love from our girls.  That is what being a mother is all about. 

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Mothers Day - Gushy Grandchildren Post

Yes, this is a Gushy Grandchildren Post! 

I get to post it because it was Mother's Day and I earned it. 

LOL   

Sorry to all my RVer blog readers looking for a gem or nugget of RV stuff.
Sorry to my Fiber Fanatical Friends looking for weaving or knitting or spinning.  
Sorry, it's Grandmuddah Pfun Post Time!

I woke up on Sunday morning by getting a nice Mother's Day back rub, then my coffee delivered to my bedside.  Perfectly cooled with exactly three ice cubes and big dollop of French Vanilla creamer.  What luxury!   After some lay-around time, opening cards I had gotten in the mail, my sneaky guy un-hid the hidden planters he had gotten me!

The one on the left is a begonia and some pretty purple flowers a bit like pansies mixed in the basket.  The one on the right is hanging roses!  I have never seen a hanging rose plant before!   Mixed in on top are some tiny blue flowers too.   Steve said the nursery lady told him the roses can be planted later to make a climbing trellis type bush!   So I think I will pass the roses on to Erin to plant in their yard once I am done with it here on the deck .  Soooo pretty and just a riot of color for the gazebo overlooking the river.

We got ready and headed on over to our son Dan and daughter-in-law Heather's house for a Mother's Day cookout!  I had my crockpot of calico beans along and they smelled so good all the way there.  Heather's family was there too.  They made up grilled brats and chicken and lots of nice salads and desserts.   We got in some fun time with grandchildren Mason and Allegra!  My goodness he is already 6 weeks old---

ALLEGRA                                        MASON

Grandfaddah got in some playtime in Allegra's new sandbox.  

She helped her daddy build it, and she even helped to paint it!

After our meal was done, we helped set up Allegra's swimming pool.  I hauled some buckets of hot water from the sink, to help offset the cold water from the hose.  She didn't care if it was ALL cold.  She was having fun and entertained us with her antics. Silly Tiger kept digging in the water, I think he was looking for a way to China.

Our daughter-in-law Heather posed under the tree by the fence for some Mother's Day photos.  The shadows were covering little Mason, and I tried to lighten them up as much as I could.  Heather said we know now for his baptism pics in a few weeks to NOT pose there.

It was a delightful day, and I got in my hugs! 

On Monday morning, daughter Erin picked me up and we drove down to Green Bay.  The grandchildren Chelsea and Clayton were in the back seat, and Chelsea said she was very happy to have her Grandmuddah riding in her car!  We met up with daughter Heather and grandson Jameson.  We all headed over to Colburn Park in Green Bay.   I used to take the girls here when they were small, and the girls nicknamed it "Squirrel Park" back then.  They have a great hill for sledding in the winter.  Sometimes I would drive over to the park with the motorhome in the evenings and let them play with their sleds on the hill.  I would heat up hot cocoa and make a pizza for the kids.  It was wonderful to have the motorhome there for bathroom breaks, drying out mittens, or changing wet boots and socks for something dry to go back out on the hill again.  We would stay well after dark, until the park closed at 9pm.  Then I would drive back the 2 miles or so to our house in Green Bay.  What fun!  So this park holds fond memories for our family.

Back to our picnic:

CHELSEA                               CLAYTON                         JAMESON       

Erin had picked up a picnic lunch from Erberts & Gerberts, my most favorite sub shop! We spread out the picnic blanket and had a great time.  That old red plaid stadium blanket was used for picnics way back before the girls were even born, and it's over 30 years old now, still going strong. The weather was perfect, a slight breeze, temps in the 70's and low humidity.  

The kids had a blast on the slides and teeter-totter.  Up and down and around they went on all the playground toys.  I can not think of a more pleasant way to spend a day. Ahhhhh

We took turns taking care of little Clayton, so everyone got a chance to hold him, feed him, burp him and even change him.  What fun.  We were all on Mommy Duty, and enjoyed the giggles, laughter and shouts of joy from the two pre-schoolers--- and the coooos from the baby!

The kids shared yogurt raisins with each other as a snack, 

and then shared hugs and kisses with little Clayton.  

And, of course, I got in my hugs and kisses too! 

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Motorohome Modifications - PROGRESSIVE INDUSTRIES EMS

It's a quiet Saturday around here... no Open Houses for this weekend.  Tomorrow I am very fortunate to be invited to our son and daughter-in-law's home for a cookout for Mother's Day!   I am actually really a "step mom" to Dan, though we never use that term with any of our kids.  I am so grateful that our son and dear daughterinlaw include me right along with the other Grandmothers for this special day.  Awwwwwww   I also get to cuddle Mason and play with Allegra!

I am bringing along a pot of Calico Beans....   got them simmering up a day early in the crock pot, and will put in the fridge overnight.  They always taste better the next day.

(before you have to ask, here is the recipe)

CALICO BEANS

**warning** I am a dumper kind of cook, not a precise recipe person!!!

First, brown up some ground beef, bout half a pound, and chopped onion, and drain. Then either fry up about 4 strips of bacon, and cut or break into small pieces.  Or use those great bags or small jars of Hormel real bacon bits already made up! 

Now dump that and all this into a crock pot:

1 can kidney beans
1 can baked beans
1 can butter beans
a big squirt of ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
dollop of molasses
squirt of steak sauce
double squirt of BBQ sauce (we like Sweet Baby Rays)

season to taste
you can heat it up quick on the stove or
let it go a few hours on the slow cooker
yummmmmmmmm
some folks add grape jelly...
some folks add mustard...
some folks add vinegar...

Next week I am going out to a planned luncheon with both daughters and their kids too.  So it's more of a Mother's Week instead of a Mother's Day.  I realize that my daughters are now Mothers of their own.   They can do things with their own families on Sunday and their spouses's moms too.  I am not one of those mothers who demand a day of honor for me on the actual day.  Anytime around the day is fine! LOL

On to motorhome things!

We have kicked around the idea of getting a hard wired in Surge Protector for our motorhome.  We have two portable Surge Guard surge protectors circuit analyzers, one for 50 amp power pedestals and one for 30 amp power pedestals.  They work fine (we will be selling them if anyone wants to buy them from us-- contact me at pfundt@gmail.com for info before I put them on Ebay)   Only used a few times each, stored back in the package each time to keep them clean. New they were about $100 each.  Will sell for $50 each including shipipng.

30 amp portable Surge Guard                            50 amp portable Surge Guard

We figured before living in our rig full time, we should invest in the more expensive hardwired-in version. We have heard of folks getting power surges or spikes from their generators or from mis-wired pedestals in parks.  We don't often camp with hookups, but for the times that we do, it's nice to have the protection.   If we run the generator, we would be protected with a wired-in version.  Something the portable one out on the post can't do for us.

We did a little research, asked a few groups of RVers and finally decided on ordering the Progressive Industries EMS-LCHW50.   Of all the places we looked, the best price was at Camping World where they had a sale going on.  $255 (saved $110)   plus I looked up a coupon code for $5 off and only $6 shipping.  Not too bad.  This was ordered online at:

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/surge-protector-with-voltage-protection-hardwired-amp/9608

(both the 30 amp and 50 amp units were on sale)

When that gets here, I will take some pics of where Steve is going to wire it in our electrical service bay.

We are still going through a few things around the house to dispose of.  Imagine keeping your financial records since 1984?  Yup, I had some of those.  Also, I used to be a Real Estate Broker, so I had customer file transactions dating back to 1990!   (supposed to keep those for 10 years)    We stood in the garage with boxes of files with the shredder buzzing along until all were disposed of.  Steve took the huge compacted pile in a big lawn/leaf bag down to the woods and burned it!   Here is the start... it flamed up and then died out fast.  Not much for a paper fire.  Sigh.

See all of the wild trilliums in bloom??

Speaking of blooms, remember the doggie planter that I repainted in a few blogs back?  Well, I found some pretty African Violets to put in him!   Got him all planted up last night.  There... sooo pretty!  His head and tail are on springs so they "wobble" when you pet his head.  The grandkids get a kick outta him.  This adorable doggie planter I will take along in the motorhome.  He can ride along on the dash between our two consoles, and be brought outside on nice days too.  

It's almost noon, and Mr. Steveio is out there doing some stuff to the motorhome, and loading up some gear for next weekend.  I better get out there and see what mischief he is up to.  I think he is putting on the two Maxxair vent covers I painted last week.

Next weekend I have a weaving workshop to go to in Beloit area, so have a few things to load up.  Time to hit the road and have a nice getaway for a few days in the rig.  He can play around in the parking lot at the studio with minor repairs and upgrades while I am in my classes.   

About 6 years ago we were at the same workshop, and we had our Coachmen gas motorhome.  Steve went for a ride on our scooter to get a new filter for our generator, and drove down to Rockford, Illinois for the parts.  While there he happened to spot a pretty shiny blue Safari Serengeti diesel pusher rig and fell in LOVE with it.   Wonder what he will find this time?

Me and my Mom

THEN 

NOW

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !!!

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