Time to rest. . .

When I last wrote, we were at the rally and were suffering through a multitude of problems with Phaeton Place. I guess she didn't like sitting in storage for four months while we were in MinnieMee. As it turned out, the problems I wrote about were not the ONLY ones we were going to have. Later that same evening after sorting out the water leak, etc., we discovered our toilet was leaking as well! Fortunately for all, it was clean water, but parts were not available locally. Grrrr. RV Capital of the World and not really a good RV parts store in town. Whouldda' thunk? So Terry got on line and ordered everything he could and we made a trip over to Factory RV Surplus where they also didn't have the last part he needed, but offered to order it.

So now all is fixed. The solenoid was installed before we left the rally, the toilet parts and the sink faucet all arrived the same day, so Terry got all that stuff done. I don't know what we would do if he couldn't fix this stuff himself. . .  well, yeah I do. We'd be paying someone to do it. We did luck out (sort of) on the faucet. Terry called the manufacturer, Price Pfister, who told him the faucet had a life-time warranty and they would send one out. Which they did, but all the hoses, etc., that they sent with it were too short for the application, so we had to run to the hardware store. Still, a better deal for us.

Wednesday of the rally, we got up early and drove to Indy for Terry's cardiology appointments. We left the girls at the house and our manager and his wife let them out two times. They were thrilled to help out with them. They really like dogs and they even invited a friend over to see them. Terry's appointments went very well and he continues to amaze the doctors. His ICD is working well and we verified the one instance where he knew it was about to shock him, but didn't. It's always preferable for the device to pace your heart out of a bad rhythm.

Last week we went to central Indiana for our regular doctor appointments and that all went well, too. We even had a "meet and greet" for our dogs and our regular vet so they now have them in their system. I bought more of the heartworm meds they have been on, so I don't have to deal with a different vet unless they should become sick at some point.

While we were there, we visited "Baxter," the Scottie owned by friends Mark and Dave. They wanted to see our new girls, so we visited one day. We were fearful that our girls wouldn't get along. . . they don't seem to like other dogs, but they got along great. We were able to let them run around the fenced in yard while we were there. Baxter was the perfect host and the girls got in a lot of loving with Dave and Mark.

Now we are finally back in the rig over at the campground. I feel like I am at home. This is where I prefer and we are enjoying our time here. We will go to the apartments daily to work. . . we have some windows being put in and a tenant moving out, so we have to get that rented.

Tuesday we head down to Wabash to watch the Moody Blues. We have seen them twice before, but we really do enjoy their music. We are taking the girls with us down to my sister's where Mom says she will let them out while we are gone.

We will stay here till the end of the month, then we are headed south. I'm ready.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rally time!

We got ready this morning and took off for the rally. Decided to hook up and make sure everything worked like it should since it's been four months that Phaeton Place has sat in storage while we were in MinnieMee. The good news is that the brake controller worked well, bad news is we didn't have any brake, taillights or turn signals on the toad. Grrrrr. So since they are visible on the motorhome, we took off anyway. At the stop signs, I tapped the brake on the motorhome a little harder to activate the toad brake and it would turn on the toad's brakes. Terry has diagnosed a bad ground wire which he will fix pronto.

We drove around about way to get to the rally because of a bridge being out but we arrived around 10:30 and got parked. We don't like the way they parked us, but we are fine, safe and have nice neighbors, so we're cool. I then went inside to put out the slides and the two driver's side slides wouldn't work. The one had actually been out while PP sat in the drive and I just put it in this morning. Grrrrr. So we sat everything else up and ate a quick lunch. Then Terry called Tiffin. We do have a lot of literature, etc., but a call to the Tiffin guys can be much quicker. He was #5 in the que and before long he not only had a tech on line, but had an answer to our problem. It was a solenoid and the tech told Terry how to jump it and I was able to put out the slides. But, as luck would have it, as it went out, I heard a crunch. It wasn't the "slide" crunch that happens when it is breaking the mechanism, but I knew right away what it was. There is a mirror on the wall behind the slide and I keep a suction cup hook on it to pin important things up. It had fallen down at some point and was now being crushed in the slide. I actually had to bring the slide all the way back in, then free the object, then put it back out. Whew. That was done.

Some time later I was asking Terry if we had our water tank full. He said yes, why? I said the water pump seems to be running long past when I shut off the tap. Oh boy. He really wasn't happy to find this problem. The one bathroom sink faucet has failed and is leaking water into the cabinet under the sink. In fact, everything under there was now totally wet. Mostly towels, but grrrr again!

So tonight I am doing laundry and we have the solenoid on order. Later we will run to Menard's and try to find a sink faucet like the one we need to replace. And there is still the ground wire problem on the toad. . .

Rallies are sooooo much fun!

PS: The girls seem to love it so far. They enjoyed the ride over and got to take several walks. Weather is good, so we should have a lot of fun!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Butterscotch and Duchess!

Just a picture of each. More to come! Butterscotch is the wheaton Scottie and Duchess is the black!

Till next time. . .

Dale

News!

We spent Sunday with the kids again as that was our last day in Charlottesville. It is sad to leave this time as the grandkids are so entertaining and fun to be around. We really enjoyed our time with them. Later in the afternoon, we went back out to the camp and took Ronan with us. He wanted to ride in the motorhome. He always likes to do that and got to ride in Phaeton Place when he was younger.

Ronan and I went to the playground, hiked the nature trail to the pond and then returned to the motorhome for supper. Afterwards Terry and I took Ronan back to the ball court and bounced balls back and forth. We eventually made it back to the motorhome and were later joined by Jocelyn, Tom and Aenea. We visited more and then we said our goodbyes and they left.

This morning we were up bright and early because we had something special in store for us. Last spring I met a man at an RV Resort. He had a Scottish Terrier. We talked and I told him about our Scotties who are now gone. It happens that he has five and was looking for good homes in which to "re-home" two of them. Long story short, we met him today and we now have two Scottish Terriers traveling with us in the motorhome. It's a wee bit crowded in MinnieMee, but we are managing.

Duchess is a black female Scottie. She is a cutie and seems more assured of herself. Butterscotch is a wheaton Scottie and a real lover. I think they are a little confused about the changeover, but they are already so loved, they will hopefully enjoy their new life. We certainly enjoy having them. We had only 100 miles to go after picking them up, so we have been taking them for walks and pampering them. Tomorrow we will be back at the house so they will have a little more room to roam.

I will get some pictures posted soon. They are sleeping right now. . . on both ends of the couch. Not sure what sleeping arrangements will look like tonight, but we will manage. I do have a picture on Facebook.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Being grandparents!

We have had beautiful weather here in Charlottesville, Virginia, while we have been here and today promises more of the same.

We have spent time hanging out with the kids and the grandkids and getting in some quality lovin'. Ronan always wants to play trains, legos, etc. He beat me every game of Candyland and Chutes and Ladders the other day. Aenea is such a happy baby. She walks about happy and being cute most of the time. She fusses if she has a messy diaper or if she's hungry. She entertains herself a lot. She loves laying on Whiskey's new bed. He probably doesn't like it much, but moves when she collapses in a heap on the pillow. LOL When she was tired the other day, she went to Terry and wanted up in his lap. Within two minutes her eyes were closed and she was sound asleep. She slept for two hours.

Yesterday Jocelyn and the kids, Terry and I all went to Thomas Jefferson's Montpelier for the Harvest Festival. It seems the theme of the festival is to encourage people to buy products from local suppliers. Focus was on growing food and sharing tips on raising your own garden. There were workshops and demonstrations. We watched "nail making" which was interesting because I had never seen hand cut nails made before. Talk about tedious work! We watched log splitting and masonry demonstrations as well. They encourage children to participate in some of the activities and there was no shortage of kids! Ronan and his friend Alex played drums with some blue grass musicians. They had various instruments the kids could choose to play.

We spent some time sitting on the lawn on a blanket watching the boys and just relaxing. Monticello is a beautiful place, high on a mountain with 360 degree views. It's no small wonder why Jefferson loved this place so much. There are much larger trees here now, no doubt, that obscure some of the view, but there are plenty of views to see from up there. We didn't tour the mansion which we do need to do one of these days. It seems that whenever we go, there are school buses lined up and we don't care to visit then.

When we left there, we went back to the house and then Terry and I drove on out to the camp. The kids came out later and we had a campfire and roasted

marshmallows. It was a lot of fun and even Whiskey came along to share the evening.

The camp is super full this weekend as there was the festival and also a home football game. That is why we always have to reserve space when we want to come here.

Till next time. . .

Dale

We have arrived!

We arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia, yesterday afternoon. We are here to visit with the kids and Ronan and Aenea.

We had an uneventful two-day drive from northern Indiana. Roads were good, a few areas of road construction, but not much slow down involved. We didn't have a lot of traffic either, perhaps due to it being the day after Labor Day.

We went in after a light supper to see everyone. Aenea is much different than before. She is walking now and viewed us very warily at first. So I loved on Ronan a lot and Whiskey as well. Whiskey was SOOOOOOO excited to see us. Guess he doesn't get much attention now that there are two kids in the family. He just wouldn't leave me alone. That's okay. Grandma loves you too, fella.

He does stick very close to Aenea when she has food because he usually ends up with some of it. Aenea likes to feed Whiskey. I think it's because he's soooooo appreciative. LOL

Love, love, love those kids. Will take pictures while we are here.

Till next time. . .

Dale