North Little Rock, Arkansas

We are staying at the Downtown Riverside RV Park.  It's a very nice place.  We have a foot bridge right next to the park (which we walked this morning) that goes across the river and winds up at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. 

We took a nature trail close by.  The water was full of turtles and alligator gar fish.

This is the largest bat house in Arkansas.

 

 

Part of our walk taken from the river walkway bridge.  North Little Rock is a beautiful city.  We drove all through it.  Also, if ever in this area, stop at David's Burgers.  Wonderful experience and a great burger.

We will be here until Wednesday when we drive to Oklahoma. 

 

 

 

First Day of our New Lifestyle

This is the first day of our new life living on the road.  We packed up everything that we absolutely thought we couldn't live without and said "adios Viejo amigo" to our home and farm.  We thank the Lord for allowing us to live and work there for all these years.  It's been most excellent!  After working our entire lives, we are able to retire comfortably and live a different kind of lifestyle--and by "different kind of lifestyle" I mean owning nothing more than a motorhome and a jeep!  Yeah, you thought I was going to be all "uppity" didn't you.  No, my friends, as Mike and I try to tell our family, stuff is way over rated.  When you die, what's going to happen to all that stuff you have accumulated?  That's right, your kids are going to have an estate sale and get rid of it all.  They don't want that stuff!

So we sold everything we own except for the motorhome and the jeep.  We have most generously donated to Portland Cares over the past couple months.  (All those "church clothes"--gone! )  We don't dress up anymore.  We wear shorts and jeans--mostly shorts--and tennis shoes and flip flops.  That's our wardrobe.  It's cheaper to dress that way too.  We aren't cheapskates but we don't waste money on unnecessary things, either.  We cut out unnecessary expenses in order to live as we do.  WE LOVE OUR LIFE!  We're happy!  We're living our dream and we're having a ball doing it.  We laugh a lot.  We don't have to get in a hurry, ever.  We can take our time and stay as long as we want wherever we want.  For instance, today we left the house (for the last time) at 9:30 this morning.  By 2:00 PM we were finally on the other side of Charlotte Pike in Nashville.  For real!  There was a bad wreck that totally shut down the interstate for hours.  We sat there for over 3 hours then had to be detoured off and around.  I feel for the people in the wreck. 

It was around 8:00 PM by the time we arrived at our first rv park.  We are all set up and showered and kicked back in our recliners.  The name of this park is Tom Sawyer RV Park.  We are in West Memphis, Arkansas.  This is a very nice park with 100 rv slots.  We had a pull through which makes it easy to park.  We are not on the water but we're only here overnight.  This place is full!

Tomorrow, we will be going to Little Rock, Arkansas where Mike was stationed while in the Air Force.  We will be there a few days.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Our Last day and night in our home

Well, we did it!  We put our farm on the market and we have a buyer.  One thing I love is that a local farmer bought it.  This is a great farm and I'm glad someone will continue to grow crops on it.  That was a blessing from God.  Another blessing was, we can take our clothes and walk away.  They wanted everything in the house and on the farm!  YAY!  We don't have to have an estate sale or auction.  We can get in our motorhome and drive away.  God has blessed us in so many ways this week and yesterday was one blessing after the other. 

We are tired!  We have worked so hard to clean out our personal stuff (tax records, files, clothes, etc.) and giving our kids all the family pictures.  Man,  we accumulate so so much over the years.  We have learned that "stuff" is over rated.  Who needs all that stuff!  Do you know what's gonna happen to it when you die?  Yeah, that's right.  Your kids are going to throw it away.  They're going to have an estate sale or auction and sell it all.  Less is best.  That's our motto, now. 

Today, we will empty the house of our most personal belongings and leave it for the last time.  Our home from now on really will be wherever we park it.  We will take our time heading west to California to visit Mike's uncle.  Then we will head south to El Paso, Texas to visit our daughter and grandsons before going to Florida for the winter.  We are on no time schedule.  We will get wherever, whenever.  We are taking our time and taking the time to "smell the roses" or see that "largest ball of twine".  We will own our motorhome and a jeep.  That's all.  One of these days in the future, we may decide to settle back down and at that time, we will buy a permanent dwelling but for now, we are gypsies. 

We are so excited and I hope all of you will be excited for us.  This is why we worked so hard all those years.  Now we are retirement age and we can live our dream life for as long as God will allow. 

We want to thank our kids for telling us to "go for it".  We will!

After the work's done . . .

Did you know you can do ballet to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone" and "Free Bird"?  You can.  Especially after mowing in this heat--you get into the pool with the stereo playing Lynyrd Skynyrd and some cool blues like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joe Bonamassa.  Before you know it, you're dancing in the water. 

The water felt so good, I danced through three cd's.  (I only did ballet on the slow songs.)  Of course, I can only do ballet in the water.  But, hey, you can dance easy in the water.  It's a lot easier and it's great exercise.  Seriously, I was river dancing to Stevie Ray Vaughn!

Yeah, that's how we roll out here.  We dance when we feel like it--wherever we feel like it.  Do you know why?  BECAUSE WE CAN!   

Okay, yeah, this may sound like nonsense, but we visit Grandmother, we work hard and then we play hard.  That's our life. 

Yesterday and today we worked really hard outside in the heat.  After work today, we played in the pool.  We have some of our best discussions in the pool.  We make plans while in the pool.

Well, boring as this may sound to you all, it was anything but boring.  Even during "life" we have to take the time to have some fun.  So after "a hard day's night", take the time to get by yourself and dance if you feel like it or whatever it takes to "cool down". 

I hope you dance.

On the Lighter Side . . .

We have two grandchildren graduating high school this year--Jacob and Leighanne.  Congratulations to you two and to their parents!  That makes four total grandchildren graduated from high school. We have one already through college and working for a living and another in tech school right now.  That leaves two in high school, one in elementary and two toddlers. 

Now, just for laughs.  I wanted to share some of my favorite Jack Handy quotes.  Those of you who know me, know I have a warped sense of humor.  That's how I cope.

"If you lose your job, your marriage and your mind all in one week, try to lose your mind first, because then the other stuff won't matter that much."

"People need to realize that every time they talk about how 'fragile' our planet is, it's just like asking outer-space aliens to come invade us."

"I think it should be a law that if you ever get sucked up  into a tornado, whatever you can grab with your hands while you're swirling around up there, you get to keep."

"Instead of mousetraps, what about baby traps?  Not to harm the babies, but just to hold them down until they can be removed."

"We're all afraid of something.   Take my little nephew, for instance.  He's afraid of skeletons.  He thinks they live in closets and under beds, and at night they come out to get you when you're asleep.  And what am I afraid of?  Now, I'm afraid of skeletons."

"When Gary told me he had found Jesus, I thought, Ya-hoo!  We're rich!  But it turned out to be something different."

"When I saw the old bum pushing his grocery cart down the street, at first I felt sorry for him.  But then when I saw what was in his cart I thought, Well, no wonder you're a bum, look at the dumb things you bought."

"People were always talking about how mean this guy was who lived on our block.  But I decided to go see for myself.  I went to his door, but he said he wasn't the mean guy, the mean guy lived in that house over there.  "No, you stupid idiot," I said, "That's my house."

"In my next life I hope I come back as a parrot, because I already know quite a few words."

"I wish I would have a real tragic love affair and get so bummed out that I'd just quit my job and become a bum for a few years, because I was thinking about doing that anyway."

"I hope they never find out that lightning has a lot of vitamins in it, because do you hide from it or not?"

finally . . .

 

 

"If I come back as a horsefly, I think my favorite thing would be to land on someone's lip.  Even if they smash you, ick!, you're all over their lip!

 

 





Where has the time gone?

What?  June already?  Man, how time flies when you're having fun! 
Fun?  How about when you're working your tail off.  Yeah, we've been pretty busy.  What with grass to cut, the pool to get opened, cars to wash, clothes to launder, house to clean, etc. etc. etc.

Yeah, right, it's not all work.  We have been busy, but hey, we're retired.  We move at our own pace. 

 




We had a carport built for our motor home.  YAY!  Finally, we get to bring it home to stay.  And as you can see, I've been doing a little rock painting.  Mike is working on restoring an old boat.  It's going to be really cool when he finishes in a few years.  We've been cleaning out and getting rid of stuff.  Who needs all that stuff!  We don't!  If we haven't used it in a long time, it's out of here.  We've actually sold several items on Craig's list this summer. We haven't taken any Harley trips but we just haven't found the time yet.  Also we go check on Grandmother (Mama) every few days.  She's still having mini strokes and keeps going down hill.  She can't even carry on a conversation.  If she speaks, you have to put your ear to her mouth to hear.  She can't even feed herself now.  So sad. 
But God has everything in His control and all is well.  At least she's not in pain and she is comfortable.  What more can we ask.  Can I make a confession now?  I was by her bedside last night and she was sleeping (which she does a lot now).  I was praying for God to just go ahead and take her on to Heaven.  She's a Christian.  She just lays in a bed most of the time.  What kind of life is that?  She would hate her circumstance if she knew it.  Well, the Holy Spirit let me know that I should not be telling God how to do His job.  God's timing is not our timing.  He will take her when He is ready and not before!  So I thanked Him and said, "please keep her pain free and comfortable for however long she is here".  I was alone with her at the time.  Mike was visiting another person who lives there.  So while I was praying, I had time to listen to God too.  Here lately, I haven't been praying as I should and I most certainly haven't been listening to God.  What?  you say.  Yeah, I confess.  Sometimes I can act like a heathen.  But God and I are getting back on track.  I never want to live without God.  Been there.  Didn't like it.

Well, that's all the confessing I'm going to do.  You all pray for Grandmother and get by yourselves and lay out all your troubles before God.  Then listen to His answer.  He will guide us if we give Him the time and LISTEN! 

The End!

 

Anything but chillin' !

Our lives have changed so much since returning home from Florida.  Since being home, we have moved Mama into a very nice assisted living apartment and, this month, we moved her back out.  This week we moved her into a rehabilitation care nursing home.  Bummer!

She went from having an active lifestyle to sitting in a wheelchair or lying in bed--so quickly.  She was healthy and had always taken care of herself.  But a stroke can hit anyone no matter their health.  This last stroke has affected her left side and her brain.  She is slowing walking again (with help) but her brain has been damaged from these strokes.  She can't really carry on a normal conversation with us.  One moment she sounds okay then she takes a left turn into the twilight zone.  Right now, someone has to do everything for her.  That's pretty sad. 

Our days have been really busy.  We have this farm to take care of, our home, our vehicles, Mama's business, her laundry and whatever else our week holds.  We have been to visit her everyday that she was in the hospital, everyday before moving her into assisted living and several days a week after moving her in.  We have been everyday this week to check on her.  Yep, we've been doing anything but chillin', here lately. Maybe after this week, we can slow down on the visits to a few times a week.   She stays so confused anymore due to the brain damage.

I've never known a stroke patient and I'm learning a lot.  I'm learning to keep conversation simple.  Her brain can't process a lot of words.  No matter what she says, don't argue with her.  There have been a couple times she asked me who I was.  She takes a word from a conversation down the hall and thinks she needs to respond to it.  I tell her it's a nurse talking to someone else but she thinks every conversation she hears is to her or about her.  I feel like anymore, all I do is explain things. 

It could be any of us.  We better get our hearts right with God.  She's better off than a lot of people.  She may walk again without our help but some can't and never will.  She can speak and swallow but some can't.  I don't know if she understands when she hears a preacher speak anymore.  Can she even worship God anymore?  I don't know.  We never know what kind of shape we may find ourselves one day.  Be the best you can be now.  Tell God how much you love Him now.  

To all our children:  Let Grandmother's condition be a learning experience for you as it is for us.  Think of all the people you want to let know how much you appreciate them and love them and do it.
We are never guaranteed tomorrow.  Be kind and loving and understanding to everyone you meet.  God loves us all the same--even those running around with their pants falling to their knees--even those with tattoos all over their bodies and piercings all over their faces--even those who cuss you and treat you like crap when they don't even know you--even those who would lie to you, cheat you, rob you and kill you.  God loves them all.  (Hey, I'm talking to myself the same as you guys!)  I'm the worse to think bad of someone who appears to be a loser and living off of other's hard work. That's wrong on my part.  Who am I to judge another?  Like our pastor says, "Not everyone has signed on with Jesus yet, so we can't judge them for not living like Jesus."  There's a lot of wisdom in that statement.  So with that, I'll say
Check ya' later dude and dudettes!