What A Week!!!

We have been in Marksville Louisiana enjoying the casino and too much buffet.  Kids I am happy to say we did not lose the farm, so to speak.  We decided to up the amount to $60 for mom and $60 and for me, we usually do $40 a piece.  We only lost $50 so blowing $70 for a week’s worth of fun isn’t bad.   We did see the latest Harry Potter movie and it was quite interesting.  I have never seen Harry Potter in a theater and the special effects was fantastic.  We also found a cemetery and did a little wandering around town. 

OH CRAP

The biggest issue I have with the van is when I check the grey and black tank levels it always reads full.  So every three days I empty and then I flushed the tanks.  When we arrived in Marksville the weather was warm and a couple of days later the temperature plummeted.  One night the temperature dropped below freezing and it was that day I decided to see if I can empty the tanks every four days.  To keep the water from freezing I let the water in the kitchen drip.  I also decided not to run the furnace but to use the electric heater.  That meant I needed to stay up until the wee morning hours because I don’t like running an electric heater unless I can keep an eye on it.  For those of you that live in a RV I know you know where there is going but bear with me.  I am curled up in bed watching a wonderful classic movie and I decided I needed a glass of chocolate milk.  I stepped into the kitchen area and the floor was unbelievable wet.  Oh yeah.  I immediately thought “leak” and looked under the sink but it was dry.  I thought to myself “Oh Crap, it is the toilet.”  So managed to look under and around the toilet and it was dry.  Now the water is getting deeper and the rugs couldn’t soak up anymore so I grabbed the two towels and two washrags I had.  The whole time I was thinking what is it?  Then it dawned on me that I needed to stay with the every three day plan.  My grey tank was overflowing.  I couldn’t run out and empty my tanks because of the noise the Macerator Pump makes.  So I turned off the water, finished mopping up the floor and just hung up all the wet stuff outside then I went to bed.  The next day was Laundry Day.  Never a dull moment around here, I will tell you.  I am thankful it was the grey tank. 

DysFUNctional

I am so excited about Christmas not because I finished all of the calendars but because of the gift I am receiving from my daughter, Hannah Jane.  When she was a teenager she was curious about my decision to remain single.  I told her that if she could find me a man that looked like Leon Russell I would give up my single ways.  As a family I never claimed that we were normal.  Well she found a CD by Elton John and Leon Russell (be still my beating heart) and then she asked me if I wanted it.  I was drooling and I said yes and I want it now!!!!  She is making me wait but I have been busy on youtube listening and is a fantastic CD.  Hannah why are you torturing me and making me wait?

Memories

A fellow blogger is building a home in Jamestown Tennessee and that is where the Peavyhouse family resided.  George Washington Peavyhouse, after the death of his first wife, married Melvina Jane Wright.  Melvina’s husband, Samuel Houston Albertson died young and she brought to the Peavyhouse family her 4 children.  One of her children was Hannah Elizabeth Jane.  When Hannah was 16 she married her step brother, Francis Marion Peavyhouse and they moved from the hills of Tennessee to the hills of Kentucky.  They are my great grandparents.  About 6 years ago mom and I traveled to Jamestown searching for the gravesite of George and his first wife, Rachel.  All I knew about the gravesite was the name of the cemetery, Jay Evans.  The librarian told us to go down the road to Forbus Tennessee and talked to the folks at the general store.  I asked where the general store was located and she said it was the only building left standing.  Mom and I drove to Forbus, located the general store and went inside.  We asked the clerk about the cemetery.  She said “if you want to know anything about this area you need to ask this gentleman.”  When I turned around I was face to face with a tall lanky man who was probably in his 80’s and all he said was “follow me.” 

Mom and I are very cautious people.  We know not to follow strangers but it all happened so fast. He walked out and we were running for our car.  We got in it and got it going just in time to see him take a turn out of the driveway.  It wasn’t “follow me” it was a chase.  We caught up with him and turned on a dirt road and drove about 5 miles before he took another turn down another dirt road.  There we drove for another good 5 miles.  He was in a pick up truck and we were in a car and he was hauling butt.   Then he slowed down,  pulled over, and got out.  Before we could get stopped, unbuckled, and unloaded he was was already in the woods. 

Mom and I are usually very cautious people and we know not to follow strangers into the woods.  What the heck were we thinking?  It was pure adrenaline, folks because we went chasing after him.  Part way into the woods an old coon hound came out and it was like something out of the movie Deliverance.  About a 1/2 mile to a mile hike into the woods we caught up with him and there it was.  A little cemetery that was slowing becoming earth.  Most of the stones were sandstone and they were just fragmented.  There in the corner stood, in perfect condition, the gravestone of George and Rachel Peavyhouse.   The man leaned against a tree and let us take pictures and pay our respect.  Then he said, “lets go” and we were off again.  He lead us out and back on the highway.

Like I said we are usually very cautious people. 

A few pictures I took of Sam Rayburn Lake, Cemetery in Marksville, and odds and ends.

Why Head East

Mom and I discussed where to spend the winter.  Keep in mind we do not settle down in one place and spend the winter there.  We spend the winter here, there, and everywhere so we try to find an area.  We decided on Texas and New Mexico.  Then my son called and everything changed.  There is a possibility that he will be moving due to his job.  That means the little house on wheels will be parked and mom will be moving into the little adobe hacienda.  So the conversation shifted to the places we wanted to see but missed.  One of the places was the Metairie Cemetery in Louisiana.  We couldn’t go last year because the weather was horrible.  So that is why we suddenly changed our plans.  After that we will drift towards Florida and then start drifting back.  We have a list of places but Metairie Cemetery is at the top of our list.

I cannot move to Arizona.  I have to remain a resident of Missouri or I will lose my health insurance.  You see my triglyceride levels are too high and I was turned down by BCBS of Arizona.  When I checked into other types of insurance I was either turned down or offered insurance that doesn’t cover as well as the insurance I have now.  So we are in a quandary.  I have my physical done in Arizona but if I need any tests ran such as mammogram, colonoscopy, bone scan…. they have to be done in Missouri.  I just got a letter from my insurance company  stating  I am now “grandfathered" in.  My health care coverage is guaranteed if I don’t make any changes.  I keep saying we are losing more and more of our freedom every day…  Take the time to talk to someone older than you either years or wisdom and you will see.

We are in Marksville.  I don’t have phone coverage and the internet here is spotty.  The lady told me they are going to turn the antenna so I could get better coverage.  That reminded me of the time when I was a youngun and turning the antenna outside to get better TV reception.  Doesn’t work for WI Fi but it did work for the television reception that is if the wind didn’t blow.

Life is good.

And My Life Flashed Before My Eyes

Beware, o wanderer, the road is walking too.

We are somewhere in the Piney Woods in Texas.  It is beautiful around here.  I found myself wandering at 60 mph instead of the posted 70 mph or even the 90 mph that the residents here drive.  I was thoroughly enjoying the scenery.   I did get the California Wave that I am now calling the Texan Wave aka digitus impudicus, on a few occasions.  My attitude is tough crunchies and if I had a finger for that I would be waving it around. 

We stayed at a very nice park last night in Huntsville Texas called Heartland.  The restrooms were cleaned, it had Wi Fi and Cable and the rates were reasonable.  I wanted to explore the cemetery and the town that Sam Huston lived in but traffic was a nightmare and being Sunday the cemetery had visitors.  So we just drove. 

The park we are in currently is ok.  Nothing fancy – just a parking lot.  After dinner mom stepped outside to smoke a cigarette and I was busy washing dishes.  I heard her talking to someone and then she said “Pepper come outside.”  She was holding the cutest dog that had no collar.  My life flashed before my eyes.  I always said the best dog is the dog that finds you.   One found us.  You couldn’t help but fall in love with the little thing especially when it cuddles up to you.  There was only one thing I could do….  I walked around the park until I found a fifth wheel with the lights on, the door open and I went to that one and said “does she belong to you?”  Fortunately she did.  I will say this a Chihuahua and Pug mix does make a cute dog.  A really cute dog. 

Tomorrow we will be in Marksville LA and we will be there for a week.   I only took one picture and that one is the picture of the moon. 

Hippo Hunting

According to local legend, it was in 1915 when a circus train stopped in Hutto Texas at the depot to take on passengers, pick up and deliver mail and possibly take on water and fuel for the steam locomotive. The circus train workers also would have taken this opportunity to care for their animals. At some point, a hippopotamus got out of the railcar and made its way to the nearby Cottonwood Creek which is next to the rail line. This caused much consternation for the circus workers. Local farmers and merchants watched the commotion in amusement and with interest as unsuccessful efforts were made to extricate the hippopotamus from the muddy waters of Cottonwood Creek. It is said that the Depot Agent, who at that time would have been Hal Farley, Jr., telegraphed the communities of Taylor and Round Rock that were eight miles to the east and west of Hutto to the effect of: “STOP TRAINS, HIPPO LOOSE IN HUTTO”. After much effort the hippo was prodded from the mud and water that resembled its natural habitat and was reloaded back onto the train car. Soon afterward the Hutto School adopted the hippopotamus as its mascot and as early as 1923 the hippo appeared on official Hutto High School graduation announcements. ~Wikipedia~

Today mom and I went hippo hunting in Hutto. We had a great time locating the few that we did find, we ate a Mexican Restaurant that wasn’t very good but was interesting, and had a wonderful conversation with a couple sitting outside the restaurant. It was great way to spend the morning/ early afternoon.

I wasn’t’ too sure about the weather so we drove straight to Huntsville. Tomorrow we will explore Huntsville before we head out. Huntsville was home to Sam Huston who is also buried there. We will definitely be going to the cemetery.

We are planning to stay in Marksville Louisiana long enough to get our mail and get through the holiday. I will also use that time to create the Christmas Calendars and they will be mailed at that time.

National Mutt Day–Ode To Bernie And Surely Not

WARNING – I am on a toot!

National Mutt Day was created to raise awareness of the plight of mixed breed dogs in shelters around the nation and to educate the public about the sea of mixed breed dogs that desperately await new homes.  National Mutt Day is December 2nd.

My definition of a mutt differs from those but I am a strong advocate of what defines a mutt.  I am a mutt snob and I am darn proud of it.  Designer dogs are not Mutts.  They are bred for a purpose and that is to be sold.  If that is your cup of tea then that is fine but do not call your designer dog a mutt. 

A mutt is a question mark.  “Uhhh, I think it is a poodle, chow, basset mix.”  It is when you go to the pound and pick up a dog or a pup and you don’t know what it is but you love it anyway.  It is a wonderful blend of character and personality.  A mutt is his or hers own dog. 

My daughter and her beau bought a Golden Retriever liked her so much that they got another one.  They wanted a specific type of dog and they found it in Rose and Ella.  Mom and I wanted a dog and found Lou Lou and Fi Fi.   Lou Lou and Fi Fi are designer dogs.  When we discovered they couldn’t travel Fi went home with my granddaughter, Isabel and Lou Lou went to my son Scott.  Scott didn’t really want her, he took her reluctantly but now he wouldn’t part with her for any amount of money.  Her name is no longer Lou Lou but Louie.

Prior to Louie, Scott found a dog at the pound that he named Bernie.  Poor Bern Bern.  He was not only a mutt but he was a black mutt.  He suffered from Black Mutt Syndrome, the unadoptable…  He was also next in line for euthanasia  I don’t know what Scott saw in Bernie because I just didn’t see it.  I really didn’t want him to get Bernie because Bernie was mean.  Bernie was totally freaked out by Scott because Bernie didn’t like men and he also really hated Hispanic Males.  Scott took him out to the “lets get acquainted area” and all Bernie wanted to do was get away from him.  Scott took him anyway.  Bernie is a lab, chow, and something else mix.  It took a lot of love from Scott to get Bernie to accept him.  Then it took a lot of courage from Scott’s friends to get Bernie to accept Hispanic males.  Now Bernie is just an awesome dog.  There is nothing like Bernie kisses.  Then Louie moved in and took over.  Louie is a Chihuahua Yorkie mix and she is the alpha dog.  She taught Bernie that a kennel is a good thing especially if it is shared.  She showed him how to play.  How to share a food dish.  She also taught him that big dogs don’t fit under a coffee table as well as a small one.  She loves to chase Bernie through out the house and Bernie loves to chase her.  Mutts are awesome dogs especially black mutts.

My old friend Surely Not was a mutt puppy.  I found her at the pound and took her home.  What a wonderful and dear companion I had for almost 18 years.  I still grieve.  She is still with me because I have her cremains tucked inside of a coyote puppet along with her collar and a lock of her hair.  She is still traveling down the road with me.  When I am gone my cremains will be mixed with hers and my children will scatter our ashes together.

You don’t know love until you are loved by a dog.

If you are in the market for  a dog and all you want is a big old goofy dog or even a small goofy dog go to the pound.  There are so many that are crying for a home.  If I ever get another dog I will be going to the pound and get another black mutt puppy.

To you, it’s an animal. To me she is an adopted daughter who has short hair, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak clearly.

 

We Are Not Getting Far….

We are not getting very far in our travels but we are having a great time.  We decided to spend another day in San Marcos and do laundry.  Currently we are parked in McKinney Falls State Park just outside of Austin.  It is a beautiful park.  I took a 2 miles hike as soon as we arrived today and saw the upper falls.  Tomorrow when we leave we will stop and see the lower falls.  I am not sure where we will end up…  It will be a surprise to both you and me.

Enjoy the pictures and click here to see more.

Moving On

The furnace is fixed, the van washed and we are moving east tomorrow.  I wasn’t sure about taking the van to Camping World but I was desperate.   I am happy to say I was treated fairly, they didn’t over charge me, and I was happy with the end result.  They were busy so there was a long wait even with an appointment.  Mom and I usually anticipate a long wait when getting repairs done and come prepared.

*****

I am reading “Empire of the Summer Moon” by S.C. Gwynne.  The following is from his book.  On October 1867 at the Medicine Lodge Treaty Conference, Paruasemena (Ten Bears) and other Yamparikas as well as a few other Comanches agreed to a smaller reservation in western Indian Territory of Oklahoma. At that conference Ten Bears gave this speech even though it was to late.  No free Indians were going to be allowed to wander anywhere.  Ten Bears knew the whites were not going to offer him anything better than they already had.

“My heart is filled with joy when I see you here, as the brooks fill with water when the snows melt in the spring; and I feel glad as the ponies do when the fresh grass starts in the beginning of the year…

My people have never first drawn a bow or fired a gun against the whites. There has been trouble between us… my young men have danced the war dance. But it was not begun by us. It was you who sent out the first soldier…

Two years ago I came upon this road, following the buffalo, that my wives and children might have their checks plump and their bodies warm. But the soldiers fired on us… so it was upon the Canadian. Nor have we been made to cry once alone. The blue dressed soldiers and the Utes came out from the night… and for campfires they lit our lodges. Instead of hunting game they killed my braves, and the warriors of the tribe cut short their hair for the dead.

So it was in Texas. They made sorrow in our camps, and we went out like the buffalo bulls when the cows are attacked. When we found them we killed them, and their scalps hang in our lodges. The Comanche are not weak and blind, like the pups of a dog when seven sleeps old. They are strong and far-sighted, like grown horses. We took their road and we went on it. The white women cried and our women laughed.

But there are things which you have said to me which I do not like. They were not sweet like sugar, but bitter like gourds. You have said they want to put us on a reservation, to build us houses and make us medicine lodges. I do not want them. I was born under the prairie, where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures and everything drew a free breath. I want to die there and not within walls. I know every stream and wood between the Rio Grande and the Arkansas. I have hunted and lived over that country. I live like my fathers before me and liked them I lived happily.

When I was in Washington the Great Father told me that all the Comanche land was ours and that no one should hinder us in living upon it. So, why do you ask us to leave the rivers and the sun and the wind and live in houses? Do not ask us to give up the buffalo for the sheep. The young men have heard talk of this, and it has made them sad and angry. Do not speak of it more. I love to carry out the talk I get from the Great Father. When I get goods and presents I and my people feel glad, since it shows that he holds us in his eye.

If the Texans had kept out of my country, there might have been peace. But that which you now say we must live in, is too small. The Texans have taken away the places where the grass grew the thickest and the timber was the best. Had we kept that, we might have done the things you ask. But it is too late. The whites have the country we loved, and we wish only to wander on the prairie till we die.”

*****

As most people know I love history and I enjoy walking through old cemeteries.  I have been trying not to overwhelm this blog with a lot of cemetery pictures.  I did go thru the Trinity Cemetery by President Johnson’s home and I wandered the cemetery in Fredericksburg, both were maintained – Trinity more so. 

Enjoy the pictures of Trinity Cemetery and Fredericksburg Cemetery.  Click here to view more.

Trinity Cemetery

 

Fredericksburg Cemetery