New Improvement

Cullman,   AL


We enjoy having a front porch and a back porch.   Only problem....  they have three railings and when seated the top railing is eye level.

Solved the problem on the front porch.   First we slid top railing down to sit on middle railing.

Then we installed shelving on top railing.

The shelving is stained to contrast with the railings.  It is the perfect height to place my morning coffee when porch sitting.

Our plans are to sand the porch decking and steps and stain to match the shelves.  It currently has two coats of paint which is in the process of peeling.

We are only working on the front porch at this time.  Our plans are to eventually screen in the back porch.

I read somewhere that hummingbirds arrive in this area around March 15.  A few days ago I put out a feeder.    Yup..... two of them were feeding and buzzing by our heads as we were working on the porch.   Only one feeds at a time.   Whichever one is the meanest.

Until next time.....

You're always welcome here.

Cullman,  AL


As I have often said, we love having guests.    That's why we put in two RV sites. 

It's been a wonnderful few days.  This is Darlene and Jim.

We met this nice couple a few years ago when we were in Pennsylvania to visit daughter Terri and SIL Steve.   We were parked at a nearby campground for a few weeks.   Darlene had been reading this blog and saw we were near where they lived.  She contacted me thru the blog, we arranged to meet and rest is history.   We've gotten together many times since.  Often staying at the same campground... Hershey Preserve Thousand Trails.  And once at Sea Pines near Cape May, NJ

At that time they were planning to go fulltime.  Then the time came.  They sold their older model Cedar Creek and bought this beauty.

Last year they sold their home in Pennsylvania.   As they were still working, they continued to live in the area.  Then the time came and, like many, headed south for the winter mostly in Florida.

They are fortunate that both their employers agreed to employ them on a seasonal basis.  They start back to work on April 9 and will work until November and take off again.  What an arrangement.

Darlene and Jim arrived in Cullman on Saturday and left this morning..... amid a few tears.  We will miss them.

On Sunday we took them to a spot where we take most visitors... Clarkson Covered Bridge.

As they are also Thousand Trails members, we took them on a tour of Hidden Cove TT Park.  This is one of our favorites.  Our first outing in our new trailer will be there next week. 

They took us out for dinner that evening.   There is a BBQ place we like in town.... Jim and Nicks.  While there we learned something new.  As we left the fun waitress asked if she could refill our drinks to go.  Jim teased to change his to a beer.  Sorry.... no alcohol served on Sundays in Cullman.  Now that he talked about having a beer he and Len decided to go into Wal-Mart and get a 6-pack.  Jim picked up what he wanted and they walked to the self check-out aisle.   Sorry... no alcohol sold on Sundays in Cullman either.   Reminds me of when we first moved to Alabama.  Len was getting fuel.  He asked me to go inside and get a lottery ticket.  The clerk just laughed.   Not in Alabama.  Ok then.

Sunday gave us nice weather, not so yesterday.  Cold and windy.  I had physical therapy in the morning and on the way dropped Darlene at Wal-Mart and picked her up on the way back.   We spent some time visiting in the afternoon and then Darlene made a Zucchini pie and salad, Len grilled pork chops and I did the hardest part.... I opened two cans the green beans with potatoes.   Oh, Darlene had bought a cheesecake while at Wal-Mart.

Darlene gave us a beautiful gift.  Her father made the frames and she stitched the designs.  She kept them with her when they moved into their RV.   She wanted them to go to some place special.  This means so much to me.  They were meant to be here.  Our second bathroom:

It is decorated in red, white and blue.  I have two wall hangings (you can see one of them reflected in the mirror.  It is a patriotic angel.  On another wall is a primitive wooden Uncle Sam.   Darlene's gift is perfect.  The wooden frames match the vanity.  The stitching matches the motif.   Perfect!!

So this morning we said our so-longs.   The visit ended all too soon.  We are reasonably sure they will return.    To read their blog, look for Darlene and Jim listed under the blogs we read on the list to the right.  

Safe travels... dear friends.

Until next time.

Tornado or Hail, which would it be?

Cullman, AL


We knew when we settled here that tornadoes come through this area.  We well remember the April 2011 tornado that hit the town doing major damage.   When we came to visit son Lennie and family we drove through the town and saw the mass destruction.   Google Cullman AL tornado 2011!

Then a few days before we moved into the house in December 2016 one came through about 15 miles from our house over in Arley where we often camp.   We stayed at that campground not long after the roads there were hit.   We saw wide swats of woods wiped bare.  We saw the damaged homes and businesses.   Some houses so damaged they were beyond repair.

Then last Spring we were under Tornado WARNING two times.   We receive alerts on our phones to take shelter immediately.

When we bought the house we did not consider that we had to have one with a basement.  We are really glad we do. 

Yesterday once more it was time to be thankful for that basement.   As the day went on and we watched the weather station, it was clear Cullman was in the path of something.  Most of the day we were under a tornado WATCH.    That we did.   We watched. The skies became dark and foreboding.

Lets get prepared.   We took blankets, water, charger, change of clothes, flashlight, candles and matches to the basement.   They will remain there.   We have a sofa, chair, table, lamp,etc in the basement.

We continued to watch the weather channel.  Then we received phone alerts.  Tornado WARNING. It was time to move ourselves to the basement.  I took my camera and computer.  (yea, my whole life is on the computer!)

For about ten minutes we wondered if we had anything left upstairs.  The winds seemed fierce.  It sounded like things were moving around.  But we heard no glass break.  Once the racket stopped we came back up.   Everything was fine but some furniture on the front porch was re-arranged.  Not even a tree down.  A tomato plant we have in a pot on the back porch was just fine.

The TV situation was in and out as we have DirectTV and kept losing a signal.  Then the hail started.  It would hail, stop, hail, stop etc.    I went to the back porch.  There was hail the size of a ping pong ball.  As it was dark out, nothing else could be seen. A friend up the road told us via Facebook that parts of Cullman were hit with baseball size hail.

This morning we drove through town (about 8 miles away).  My sister called from NJ after she saw a report of the damage on TV.

This is just some of what we saw.

This first picture is taken at the lot of the pest control company that we use.  Just now I looked outside to see we were being serviced.   I talked to our tech.  He said the truck he is driving was brought down from Decatur.  Every one of the trucks at the Cullman lot were destroyed.  He said one truck was so damaged it looked as if a large log fell on it.  Several of the trucks were parked out in the front were for sale.   He also said their office is destroyed.  When we went by we saw people working on the roof.

Every car at this dealership was destroyed.  You can see the damaged windshields. Less than a quarter of a mile away is another dealership. No damage at all!

Wal-Mart is closed due to hail damage and water as are some other businesses.  Some homes also damaged by the hail.

Once more we dodged a bullet.   All is good.   For us.

Until next time......

Downsized to new RV

Cullman,   AL

Ever since we came off the road as fulltime RVers we have talked about not needing a 43' Fifthwheel.  One that size was ideal when we lived in it.   Now for the occasional weekend, NOMADS project or a week or two at a time we felt a 28 to 32' travel trailer would be just fine.

But first...... repairs had to be made on our Open Range.  All under warranty.  Good thing.

The repairs were such that it had to go back to the manufacturer in Indiana.  While there they had to replace flooring due to 3 leaks caused by loose fittings.  In addition they had to remove the entire drivers side walls and replace.  There was a crack in the shell that was fixed twice but then cracked again.  Also we had 2 spring hangers break.  So they picked up the rig back in November and took it to north Indiana. The repairs were done in December but the weather was such that we were not about to tow on ice or snow.  Since we had to inspect it, we had to pick it up.

It appeared we would have some better weather last week.  So we took off on Wednesday.  It rained all day.  As it was a 606 mile drive we spent Wednesday night in a motel.    We finally arrived at the manufacturer Thursday morning.   In rain, then sleet, then a little snow.  But turned back to rain.

Len was drenched, cold and a little cranky by the time he hooked up and we could get back on the road.  After going a few miles the sun came out.  Whew..... this is good.  We thought.  Two hundred miles down the road on the busy Interstate in Indianapolis...... smoke.  Tires were rubbing together.   ANOTHER SPRING HANGER BROKE.   Talk about unhappy campers.

Len called back to the Open Road folks.   As we were stuck on a busy Interstate we needed a safer place.   Open Range contacted Lippert, the frame maker who arranged for a tow.  We got off the road and realized we were there for the night.   Two mechanics from Lippert drove 3 hours on Friday to do the repairs.

They replaced the broken spring hanger and noticed another one was about to break.  They also replaced the equalizers.

Needless to say... there was some frustration of our part.  We do have to admit although they didn't correctly fix the problem we sent it there to do, they did a lot of stuff we didn't expect.  There was a huge dent from when Len hit our carport.  They replaced that panel. A awning leg was damaged when winds came up in Branson last year and as we attempted to retract the awning the wind was so fierce the leg bent. They fixed that.  Screws had come loose and fallen out of valances.  They fixed that.  One shade in the bedroom had a broken string.  They fixed that.  Some trim had come loose in the kitchen.  They fixed that.   They also washed and waxed the rig.

Well this was good as our plan was to sell it and downsize.

We finally got back on the road Saturday.  We were to take the rig to our local RV dealer.  When it was in their shop last year, they ripped the roof.  As we needed the use of the rig, they patched it with plans to put a new roof on at a later time.  So we dropped it off on the way home.

While there we talked to a salesperson and told him our plans to downsize.   Today we went back and did just that.

We are now the owners of a 2018 Grand Design Imagine travel trailer.  We went from 43' to 32'.  Google Grand Design Imagine 3170BH.


Our last two RVs had huge residential fridge with ice makers.  But we can live with this smaller rv unit.   Not the counter space the larger units have but that's okay too.  Especially since it has an outside kitchen with a 2nd microwave, two burner stove, small refrigerator and storage drawers and cabinet.

A large booth dining area that can be converted to a bed.  Two recliners.  Len is thrilled.  They not only recline but have a heat and massage setting.

The bunk room.  This room closes off for privacy.  The bunks on the left with a TV.  On the right is the sofa that folds down to a bed plus another bed that folds down above the sofa.  Drawers under bunks and sofa.  Plus a closet.

Our bedroom.  Not real big but satisfactory.

The bathroom is surprisingly large.   Good size shower and some shelf space on the vanity.

Yea, some things I will miss.  The washer/dryer combo.  The huge living room in the Open Range.  The residential fridge.  The fireplace.  LOTS of storage.   What I won't miss is the stress of wondering when the next spring hanger will break.   And towing and finding sites for a 43' RV. We expect that due to downsizing the insurance and cost of tags and registration will be less expensive.  And we know we will get better fuel mileage.

Hope to pick it up by the weekend.  Can't wait to get the tubs of "stuff" out of our basement and start arranging them in a new part time home.

Until next time.

Mystery Solved but still upsetting

Culllman,  AL

My friends on Facebook know that I have been posting regarding Sunday, the cat that was left here by the previous owner.

It took over 6 months before I could get near Sunday.  Then it got to the point that when I sat on the porch swing he would walk by and I could pick him up.  He loved laying on my lap sweetly purring and slobbering all over my jeans.

Last summer we were visited with a young Raccoon eating Sundays leftovers.   It never seemed to be a threat

On Sunday February 4 while watching our Philadelphia Eagles whip New England Patriots Leonard said he heard a thump on the back porch.  Since we heard nothing more, sadly we never got up to investigate.

As per my usual routine, the next morning I walked to the back porch to feed Sunday.  I found his house pulled out about a foot from where it had sat.  And the thick padding we placed inside that kept him warm all winter was pulled out of his house another 4 feet or so.  Next to the padding lay Sundays body. 

We took a quick check of his body but saw no bites or marks.  We wrapped him in a towel and Len buried him placing a large flat rock over his grave.

What could have killed him we wondered.   I did some Internet searches.   I disregarded Coyotes, although I know we have them in the area. A coyote would have eaten him or carried him off.  Maybe a dog?  A Raccoon?  I didn't think so.  What about a bobcat.  They eat their prey and this was not the case with Sunday.

A few days later I saw footprints near the porch that appeared to be those of a raccoon.  Maybe?

It continued to play on me.  So we went to a sporting goods store and bought a game camera. We talked to the owner of the store and he believed it would have been a Bobcat. He said it happens often in this area.  So we figured the same.   We then placed the camera two feet higher than the porch floor and left it there several days. 

I had tossed Sundays dry food that was left out in the yard.  Birds took care of it.  So I wondered if whatever it was would return.

It did.  We got four sets of pictures.  One set was taken about 6:30 at night.   One around midnight, the other two around 4 am.   Most of the pictures had an animal in it but just a small bit of the back, ears, etc. One had a face.  And since night pictures are black and white it was difficult to determine what it was.

Well yesterday we contacted the local conservation officer.  He asked me to load the pictures on my computer and send to him.   Now the pictures were clearer.  Our first suspicion was right.

Raccoon!

The officer says a Raccoon will become very vicious if another animal interferes with a food source.   They are well known to kill small dogs or cats if challenged.  Their bites so small and often not evident.   After getting the pictures from the camera we  put it back out on the porch.... no further night visitors.  But there is no food there now. 

I regret that I would leave food out at night.  I knew Sundays habit of eating.  I would feed him in the morning and it would take him all day as he "grazed".   The food at night was always gone in the morning.  I suspected raccoons were eating what Sunday didn't but never knew they would kill for it.

I so miss our time together on the back porch on the swing.  I would go out and call him to me or he would sit on the railing looking in the kitchen window as if to say... when you gonna come out and pet me?

We had our time together the evening before this sad ending.   Now often both in the morning and in the evening I will have a quick flash in my mind..... time to feed Sunday.   Then I remember.

Old versus New

Cullman,  AL


Is there ever so much we want to do.   And we are loving it.   After putting shiplap on a wall in the dining room last week, we decided to continue it on into the living room.   So..... Lowes is loving us even more.    Our work earlier in the week.

Before:

And now.

We continued it around the next wall until we ran out of supplies.   Time to order more.

In the meantime, gotta keep busy.

A few weeks ago Leonard rotor-tilled the garden.   It took him most of the day.  Then the rains came and weeds and grass grew, as we expected it would

This morning he went out to till it again.   After one hour of pushing the rototiller he was wiped out.  Only two passes were made in the length of the garden.   He can't be doing this.

The solution?   A tiller for the back of the tractor.  Let's go get it I said.  I was surprised (sure) that he agreed so quickly.    So after shopping around and making some calls it was back to the Mahindra dealer. 

Taking it off the truck:

Getting ready:

Doing the job:

He made two passes through the earth on the right with his push rototiller.  It took over an hour and left him exhausted.  The tilled earth on the left took 35 seconds and left him wanting to do more.

We will let the garden sit for a few days as surely there will be more weeks and grass growing.  Then he will till again and repeat.   Once we have the garden planted, the push rototiller will do just fine for between the rows.    But for now, life is easier. 

Can 't wait to plant.  We do have one tomato plant in a large pot on the back porch. Love this time of year.  And the anticipation of fresh tomatoes.

Now not only Lowes loves us but also the local Mahindra dealer.  It's so nice to be loved.

Until next time......

Gotta stop watching....gives us more work.

Cullman,   AL


While Leonard watches his Westerns I usually watch some HGTV.   That can be dangerous.  Gives me lots of ideas.   Those of us who watch Fixer Upper know all about Shiplap.   Well now Leonard does too.

Our initial attempt is a dining room wall where I wanted a chair rail.

But then the idea.... Aha!  Shiplap part way up the wall.   So I think.   Lowes.  They love us at that store.  And why not?  We feel it's rude when we are in town and passing by not to stop it for a visit.  And they were so good to give us a credit card which give us a 5% discount.   Such nice people.

I sorta kinda knew what I wanted.  So last week when we just happened to be in the area we dropped on in.  Didn't have what I imagined at the store but surely their online store must.  Yup... there it is.  Just punch a few keys on the computer and wait for UPS.   Easy as that.

Today was as good as any for this latest project.

And all it took was some finishing nails, adhesive, saw, hammer and getting Leonard to turn off his Westerns for a few hours.   Don't worry.... he's watching them now.  He's a happy man.  And I'm a happy wife.   He like projects.  I like changing things up a bit.  Works for us.

The remodeled wall.

We like it so much we plan to continue the Shiplap into the living area.  All I have to do is punch some keys and get out that 5% discount credit card.

Until next time.