Am I Wrong to Feel Slighted?

 I think I am. But it still bothers me.

I belong to a group on FB about Congenital Degenerative Myelopathy.

And all these people post about having to euthanize their animals. And yes, I cry at each and every one I read but I still cant leave the group. 

But then I see how lovely their vets treated them afterwards - flowers, foot prints, candles, etc.

Our old vet in Livermore send a footprint ..... and we got a card from the crematorium where the ashes were buried.

So yes, we got a card from the vet.

And we got a card from the pet insurance company.

But that is all. 

And it makes me feel sad that Bella wasnt better memorialized. 

Last Camping Trip of 2021

 It was a lovely trip. Even with all the (minor) issues we ran into! So relaxing!

Drove to Paso Robles RV Living in California - Wine Country RV Resort (sunrvresorts.com) on Wednesday - and yes, our brand new Passport America worked on 2 of the 3 nights stay - saved much more than what our 2 year subscription cost us!

It is not Cava Robles | Sun RV Resorts but it is also definitely NOT 49er Village RV Resort | Sun RV Resorts nor is it Paso Robles RV Ranch - 7 Photos, 7 Reviews - Paso Robles, CA - (roverpass.com).....our pull through site was up near the wall that is also close to highway 46 so there was the sound of cars and trucks but in the night it became background noise....the site was small, we became VERY FRIENDLY with out next door neighbors! LOL. But the swimming pool and hot tub was nice, and very close to us was the adult only hot tub. The store was nice too, even though we did not buy anything there (the hours were kind of inconvenient). And on Friday nights they have free wine tasting from local wineries. The 2 that we tasted were very good! They also had a food truck there that night.

So our first stop after hooking (partially) up was Walmart! Our black sewer dump hose brock! So we had to go buy a new one! But I found my Halloween popcorn balls while we were there so I was especially happy.

We have also had a recent issue with the big window over the couch not staying closed. It came open again on our bumpy way (gotta love California roads!) down there and somehow the string for the blinds broke - or frayed - or was cut....

Thursday IT WAS COLD when we got up! Down into the 40's! And of course, I thought I packed sweatpants but they were apparently at home nice and clean....Took our time with breakfast and showers. And then we went to Award Winning Paso Robles Wines | Eberle Winery. We had been there once before. This time the weather was perfect for sitting out on their deck! And the view over their vineyards was lovely. We really enjoyed all the wines we tasted - and found out that the owner offers discounts to military and law enforcement - as he says "anyone who has to duck bullets" - which we thought was awesome. So, surprise to me, husband decides we need to join their wine club (after complaining we never drink all the wine we already buy!) so we joined a twice a year shipment club...

Back to the campground, and hit the pool. Then got dressed and drove to Cambria for dinner. Once again Ball & Skein & More (cambriayarn.com) was not open - and there was a group of about 5 or 6 women outside the store that made me think of the old Mervyn's ad....open open open! So we visited an antique store, bought 2 slices of pie at Lim's, and had a margarita at Hours & location – Las Cambritas while we watched some Halloween bake off show - never got to see who won!

Last time we were here we ate at www.seachestrestaurant.com, so this time we ate at Home (thesowsear.com). These 2 are our favorite restaurants in Cambria. As always, the food and service were wonderful - but this time the ambience sucked. Very near to us was a table with 3 couples. And one of the women was VERY LOUD.....and the talked incessantly....even taking a phone call while eating at the table! You can tell that all the customers in the restaurant, not just us, were very irritated by her (the people at the table next to us chose not to have dessert because they just wanted out of there). The host was young, and I am sure since this was mid week and in the off season, he didnt want to take a chance of ticking anyone off....so no one said anything to them....AND THEY WOULD NOT LEAVE. They were there before us....they were there after us. It ruined the experience for us.

Friday we again took our time with breakfast. Went into Paso Robles and went to several stores: my favorites Spare Time Book Store and Reminisce Antiques in Paso Robles (reminiscepasorobles.blogspot.com). Got some Christmas shopping done! And also visited a Goodwill store and another thrift store - got myself some socks and some items for the garden.

Here are photos of things I did NOT buy!:

Oh I wanted this pumpkin basket so badly! And the price wasnt bad either (neither were the prices on 2 picnic baskets I walked away from...) but I talked myself out of it....darn it!

And, except for the books, the wine, and Christmas presents here is what I did buy:

Isnt this sweet? I restricted myself to ONE even though there were quite a few, different sizes. different materials, that were darling!

I thought this sign was sweet even though the grammar stinks!

Then on to our favorite restaurant in Paso, www.cowgirlcafe.net and had lunch. Do you see this cookie? These are cowgirl sized cookies! I bought one, and hubby bought one, to snack on on our trip home on Saturday. THEY ARE HUGE! I think they were 2/$3 or 2/$5....it took me days to eat mine (snickerdoodle; hubby had an oatmeal raisin and never even offered me a bite...)

After lunch headed over to what was a gamble, and ended up that we loved it, https://www.tincitydistillery.com/. We thought we were not going to get there in time. First of all, it is difficult to find some of the places that are tucked into the back, or inside of other places.....and there was a large truck unloading in the middle of the street. Told hubby to go around again, and we would park in one of the nearby parking lots - he refused to do that - we will get towed! - and when we came by again we could not squeeze by because now next to the big truck was a Global delivery truck totally blocking what little space there was left....

But the truck driver - delivering cans of hard cider to TIN CITY CIDER CO. - and he told us to pull into their parking lot - that there was a parking place just for us there! And there was! So this place is on our list to check out the next time we are down there.

So we made to it the tasting. And it was wonderful! First of all, they make a canned lemonade/vodka that is SO GOOD that I had to buy one of their last 4 packs.....I am not a gin person but it was pretty good. We were there primarily to try their brandies and we came home with a bottle of their hibiscus brandy AND a bottle of their apricot amaretto! Then husband tried their bourbon (I am not a hard liquor drinker) and I took a taste - oh my that was smooth! Got home and was looking at their site and I saw that a lot of their stock was sold out so I splurged on a bottle of the bourbon (and paid the shipping) to give to hubby for Christmas!

Back to the campground - it was hot today - and we turned the AC on in the trailer - and hit the pool again. Came back, changed clothes and went to the wine tasting. Tried wine from Sculpterra Winery and Sculpture Garden – The Top Paso Robles Winery and Museum - their viognier was very good. And then the other winery had good wine too (I have forgotten the name of that one!) and we found out about some wineries in San Miguel we will be checking out too....

And then to the main reason for our trip to Paso Robles. The members only BBQ at Castoro Cellars | Homepage - our first time going to the BBQ. The first year we joined we heard about the BBQ too late to go - and then of course there was the year-that-wasnt.....We had a nice time. It was a lovely evening to be outside and the music was good - the food was good - and the wine was very good!

See, I can and do drink red wine! This is Pasofusion and I love it!

I never remember the names of all the big bottles (and this guy told me he had to look up the name before serving it!) but this is called a Methusala -  full of Pasofusion!

I told you it was a beautiful evening! We left about 8 PM (after not winning any of the 4 raffles) and there still was no reason to put a sweater or jacket on!

Saturday dawned chilly again! But we got up and went back to Cowgirl Cafe for breakfast. Which was good. And then time to pack it up and leave.....and found that we had to handle for the valve to pull to drain the black tank! What makes it funny was that just that week I was reading something on a forum for our trailer about checking the screws because the poster had lost his.....so hubby was able to get it open to drain (and he tightened the screws on the grey water valve handles before we left.....).

Home again, home again, jiggety jig....to a dog on a hunger strike....not sure if it was because we were gone AGAIN so soon after the last time....whether it was the loss of his big sister.....or he is just on a food strike. When we went to the store I got a couple of cans of wet food and mixed a little into the dry food and he has been eating very well since we got home. He is such a brat! And enjoying his walks too!

September 13, 2021

 We said goodbye to our Bella today.

It was time.

But it hurts so badly.

Grand Design Rally Part II

 Saturday we took a trip to Amador City. The smallest (land mass) city in CA! It was darling - and did some great Christmas shopping there. They have an AWESOME small museum - all about women in the Old West - the typical wives and ranchers, teachers, but also prostitutes! Very interesting. They were just closing so we rushed through it - I definitely want to go back and go through it again

And I found out something new - the brothels (at least in this city) used TOKENS!

Then we went to a winery - I picked it only because I thought the name was ironic - Drytown Cellars in Drytown CA: "Drytown is the oldest community in Amador County, and the first in which gold was discovered. It took its name from Dry Creek, which runs dry during the summer. However, it was certainly not "dry", as stories tell of there being up to 26 saloons...". 

Drytown Cellars is lovely. Tasting are $5 - and you can get food - lovely charcuterie tray for one....and the bottle prices are SO REASONABLE! And we enjoyed several of their wines. And the people there are so nice and friendly

The best were the dogs. Many were old and just liked to sleep....but one was a true rock hound! We were so slow and it took awhile before we realized what he wanted to do when he kept coming to us and dropping rocks at our feet....yup. pick the rock up, throw it, and he would find that exact rock, bring it back, and drop it again and again and again....he was the youngest dog there!

It rained! From about 0200 - 0630 - nice and steady, not hard - but a sound we havent heard in awhile!

And Sunday got sunny but it was cooler ....mid 70's not mid 80's.....a perfect day to go drink more wine. At a winery that Drytown Cellars recommended because of its location - and what a beautiful location it was !

Iron Hub Winery and Vineyards (ironhubwines.com) - the winery is lovely - the people are so friendly - tastings are $10/person and you dont pay if you buy a bottle of wine. They too have food but we ate lunch before we went. We also did not know there was going to be music there - a gentleman who played guitar and sang - much better than the group at the campground the night before (the music was fine but the singer....well...). But we could just have sat there all day looking at the view:

We left Monday morning - surprisingly AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! So we went home a different way. Stopped at Bass and hubby found a vest to replace the one that has "disappeared" (AKA he left it somewhere and has no idea where). And then we stopped here to eat lunch:

Growing up I would HATE when we stopped there - because of course dad wanted all of us to order the soup because it was the quickest meal - but YUCK pea soup???? And as an adult I have grown to love it! But this was the first time in a long time and what was disappointing was they dont serve an assortment of bread and rolls now, just one type.

And that was our trip!

5th Annual Northern California Grand Design Rally AKA Our First Rally

 Back in July, while camping at Home - Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort (jacksoncasino.com) we met several people while at the pool. One, who also has a Grand Design, told us about the Rally. Who knew! Never heard of such a thing! He told us it was probably booked but go ahead and sign up on the waitlist.

So we did. And just a couple of weeks later we heard we made it into the rally - and confirmed our reservation and paid our money.

So on Thursday September 16 we hitched up and traveled to Plymouth Ca to the 49er Village RV Resort | Sun RV Resorts. What a shock that was. See that part of the name - Sun RV Resorts? Well, the other Sun RV Resort we stayed at was Cava Robles | Sun RV Resorts. These two resorts could not be more different.

The one in Plymouth - well, I am surprised that Sun puts their name on it. What. A. Dump. So we did find that it was a campground built back in the 1960's (maybe) and was family run. And Sun bought it oh 3 - 5 years ago. And they have lots of plans for it. Apparently they have done a lot of work already - there are 3 very big banks of solar lighting they have installed, and I guess a lot of work on the sewers and all.

I have to admit the pool area was beautiful - 2 big pools and a largish hot tub - lots of chairs etc.

We were in site 193. Looks good on the map doesnt it? FAR_SiteMap_2018_Rebrand_Web (netdna-ssl.com). HA HA HA. It is stuck right next to the dumpsters - on a sharp corner - and there is not one part of the site that is level. And we could not get our travel level at all. Did our best...And there was an eroded part of the roadway at the front of our site that was a little mini pond the whole time we were there. 

Could not back up into it, so we went to drive around the campground and come in a different direction. Well, these sites were built for 1960 - 1970 size trailers. Not trailers from the 2000. Not only were they narrow and packed together(think of a can of sardines - over filled in the can) but they are so short that it was very difficult for anyone to park their tow vehicles at the site. So you could not easily get around the campground because of trailers trying their darnedest to get into their sites, and  you had to maneuver around vehicles parked partway into the very narrow street. So we finally made it all the way around when hubby said f*** it - looked at the fact that the campsite behind us was empty and he pulled around and drove through that campsite into ours just as though it was a pull through!

And flies! Oh my - the only other time we have ever dealt with so many flies was when we would walk past or through cow pastures! Everyone was complaining about them - we thought it was because we were next to the dumpster! Wrong - they were EVERYWHERE! Finally went to the store and bought fly strips, which did their job but didnt really help....

The best part of the rally? The seminars - able to get our recall fixed there at the site rather than waiting 8 weeks for an appt, hitching up, driving an hour, 5 minutes of work, driving home an hour, parking and unhitching - getting our tanks flushed and cleaned out - having the guys from Happy Daze stop by the trailer and answer questions....The swag bag was nice. We did not win any prizes - not even the 50/50 prize or the grand prize (the return of your registration).

Apparently this rally had the largest number of first time Rally attendees ever....

The Camp Crawl was fun - even tho we are not huge drinkers. And with our swag bag we did get 1 ticket for a free meal at the caterer on site - and we used it the night of the Camp Crawl (they need to chose a different caterer - the trip tip was over cooked and dry, the chicken a little undercooked, the ranch beans were the most disgusting beans I have ever tasted, the potato salad was little chunks of potatoes and mayonaise and that was all, nothing else. The coleslaw was good - no comment on the rolls, because we didnt get any.....) so the only food we tried were the ELK TACOS and they were TO DIE FOR! Most of the drinks were tasty - there were a few we dumped...

This was awesome! It was a creamsicle! A perfect dessert!!

This is a perfect drink for mid winter.....it will definitely warm you up!

I actually had 2 of these....the "bartender" mixes the lemonade with club soda....

This was just a neat display

For whatever reason, things posted twice and now it will not let me trash the duplicates....Sorry about that!

Saturday we took a trip to Amador City. The smallest (land mass) city in CA! It was darling - and did some great Christmas shopping there. They have an AWESOME small museum - all about women in the Old West - the typical wives and ranchers, teachers, but also prostitutes! Very interesting. They were just closing so we rushed through it - I definitely want to go back and go through it again

Spoiler Alert - Questionable Language Ahead

 So, taking hubby to his "job" and running an errand first, had to go the way I do not prefer.

And sure enough - ass**** were out. I was at the merge part of the two lanes prior to entering freeway, and this car that was 3/4 of a block behind me decided to floor it to pass me.......which he barely did.

There were cars behind me, so coming to a stop was not an option.

Well the driver of the red SUV decided to have a very mature response - to my very mature response to his/her behavior. Yes I laid on the horn - and yes I flipped him/her off.

So he/she decided to slam on his brakes - on the freeway entrance - not once - but twice......remember there was a line of cars behind me.

So he/she finally took off and took the next exit off which I was taking also......and pretty soon due to traffic and traffic lights - guess what? He was only 2 cars ahead of me!

He got to his left hand turn into JACK IN THE BOX just as I got to my right hand turn to get to the street I needed to be on to drop off library books, and then drop of my husband.

I guess he was hangry.

Dont tell husband - but in the midst of all this I realized I had left my phone at home!

Sad Not Sad

 Well, we cancelled our camping trip for next week.

I would like to think husband FINALLY listened to me saying that camping with a pinched nerve is not a good thing......BUT.....although that was 1 of the 3 reasons he mentioned, I think it was more talking to tourists from Sonora and them telling him how very bad the smoke is up there.

I must say I was also worried about the fires, and the potential for more. After seeing how quickly the Caldor Fire raged out of control, it worried me. Now hubby has me wondering about the trip in September to Plymouth....

But I will miss out on the ,yes I am drooling as I write this, cookies and pies at Cover's Apple Ranch - Home (coversappleranch.com) but you know, safety first.

We are also waiting to hear from the vet whether or not Bella needs 2 more weeks of antibiotics. I am betting the answer will be yes. That means 2 more weeks of torture, and we just could not ask the dog sitter to do that for us....

And we heard today that husband's 50 + 1 Class Reunion was cancelled. I am of two minds about this. It was a 3 day event - Friday is a golf tournament, Sat was an outdoor picnic and games, and Sun was an outdoor catered picnic. Although he graduated from  a really large class (well, really large compared to my high schools!!) - I think the last one we went to the indoor dinner had maybe 100 or less people total, and the outdoor picnic maybe 50. And if we havent learned how to social distance, wear masks, and wash hands by now....shame on us! I think the outdoor venues were perfect for this!

So they are going to have an unofficial, bring your own picnic, on one of the days. So maybe the caterer cancelled? Who knows. I get it - we all should be very worried about the Delta variant - and what other variants are evolving.

But that same weekend is the Festa Italia downtown....how many of the members of this HS class will be there? And that will be much much larger number of people....

We have been planning what should have been the 50th Class reunion for the HS I went to for 3 years. Should have been because the Bishop closed the HS at the end of our junior year......so 3 of us decided to plan an outdoor get together at a class mates house. With a catered menu - but we would serve it ourselves with a couple of us as dedicated servers. So far we have had 2 enthusiastic yes responses - and 1 who has said no because of the Delta Variant....another who is returning home (Spain) this year after being in the states since December.  So we will see what comes of this.

A Mixed Bag

 So far this week has been quite the mixed bag. And so I am writing this on Friday the 13th, but early before I see what the rest of the day brings!

Husband's shoulder and neck are no better. He called the ortho that he saw a year ago - and the earliest he can get an appt is in September! So he called his MD, and the earliest he could get in to see him is Sept! But he was able to snag a video appt yesterday. And so the MD has ordered PT for him and a prescription for gabapentin to try. 

Took him to work Wednesday; went back to pick him up and even though I felt like I was running late I got there a few minutes early and scored the handicapped parking place for him. So I got out and went into the Custom House to tell him where I was parked and then wandered around a bit....We stopped and looked over the fence at some of the cars coming up for auction. And then went to the car.

And there was a suspicious envelope on the windshield. Yup. A Ticket. Because - neither of us noticed this - husband's handicapped placard is expired! Now the parking police down there are not very friendly - I wish I had stayed in the car - maybe he would just have let me move - but no - now we owe $350 for the citation!

And came home and looked everywhere and realized he had never recieved his new one! So filled out the paperwork and yesterday got the notice that he should recieve it in about 7 - 10 days. The only scenarios we can figure is #1 it was stolen or #2 it was never sent. But when we got our DL changed and our real ID the clerk told us that all our addresses  had been changed in the system....

Now the fun news. When we were camping at Jackson Rancheria we met several people who owned Grand Design trailers. And we heard there was to be a Northern CA GD Rally in Sept, The guy told us he thought they were all booked, but he said there is a waitlist. So when we got home we put ourselves on the waitlist, not thinking we would get in.

Yesterday we recieved an email that we had gotten in! And so we booked it and got our ticket (which also includes a site reservation) - and paid for it. This should be fun - and hopefully we will be able to get some answers to some questions we have while we are there! 

BUT....when we talked to our wonderful dog sitter, turns out he is going through the hiring process for a position at the County Jail. Which is absolutely wonderful for him.....but not so sure it will be wonderful for us....

Husband just came home from his chiropractor appt. The chiropractor told him he can tell that the pinched nerve is getting better.....which is good to hear.

Blessed

 I was looking through photos on my phone the other day - trying to find the elusive photo, you understand.

And I came to realize how blessed we have been this year. At any time it would be blessed, but especially after The Year We Shall Ignore (LOL).

We took the trip to FL before travel became so very worrisome again. 

We have been camping 3x, and a 4th is coming up in a couple of weeks.

We have gotten to see our grandchildren - at my oldest grandson's graduation, my daughter and granddaughter came down and we took them out to eat, we went and watched one of the middle grandson's swim meet since his parents were out of town, and we just came back from watching our youngest son do amazing things at the County Swim Meet.

Yes I have photos to share, but they will have to be added later.

I finally remembered to sit down and fill out entry forms for the County Fair (deadline is tomorrow!). Kept trying to find more and more things to enter because it was so sad to see what use to be a full building full of items, down to one small-ish corner in a small building. So my goal is to keep entering things to just try and keep the numbers up - not even considering if I think the items are Fair entry worthy or not - just numbers! And I think I entered 3 needlepoint items, 1 cross stitch (most of my items are finished stitching but not finished off! But they will be ready for next year!), 5 knit items.

What A Week!

 Well, the UTI got worse for Bella. So called the vet Monday and we were squeezed into a visit on Tuesday. He wrote for a stronger antibiotic since her last UTI was so recent. I was surprised the last time that she was only put on a 7 day course.....but of course the stronger the dose means TWO honking big pills to force down her throat but only once a day....for 14 days! I thought we were going to have her fooled with the first dose - HA on me! She did eat 1/2 of 1 pill before spitting the rest out and refusing to eat any more of them. The vet tech said the problem is they are pretty tasteless. Nope, the problem is she is such a strong willed dog!

But the good news is - 2 doses and her urine is already looking so much better and smelling so much less nasty!

Then yesterday Terminex came out. Keep your fingers crossed! He rebuilt the crawl space cover - changed out the sticky traps around the tomato plants because they already had 4 tomato stealing critters on them - placed some traps under the house even though he said he really didnt see much down there (which makes me wonder - then where the heck are they????? Or have we made a dent in there?) - plugged up a couple of holes in the vent screening - and put some stripped on the door into the garage which should help keep them out (since the day we were cleaning the garage we saw several run in and out through that door!!!). He is suspicious about where another nest might be - so I have to unload my storage cabinet in the garage (my husband calls it the "coffin" - so funny - he is the one who found it for me and bought it for me - and all he does is complain about it!) and move that out to check to see if the guy is right....

So husband is still on mouse burial duty but we also know we have someone to call back if we dont see much of a difference. How soon should we see a difference? Oh, in about a month...A MONTH????!!!!!

Saturday we are driving up to see grandson at a Championship swim meet. One of the first that we can go to (all of them previously have been restricted to number of spectators) plus his parents are in SoCA with the youngest at the Junior Olympics for water polo - which still has spectator restrictions. We would have loved to have been at that - but thrilled to go see the other brother swim. At first we thought they wanted us to come and spend the weekend there which would have meant husband doing that and me staying home with Bella; but mom said staying with them isnt necessary. So we will go and watch and then take the 2 boys out to dinner, and come home.

I finished my project for my knitting Summer Camp July project. And my August project is planned and ordered. Now to finish the July project for Cross Stitch summer camp. I started to panic until I realized how early I had finished the knitting project....and really there is not THAT much more stitching to do. The only problem is that the majority of what is left is all boring white......but I did that to myself so I just have to grin and bear it!

We Give Up

 Terminex is coming is coming Saturday afternoon.

My husband is the great Mouse Hunter, but we just cant keep up. And I cant do it. 

In the house, it has slowed down to one every 36 - 48 hours.

In the garage? Well, yesterday was 10.....10 plus other sightings.

Today we found 4 baby mice. No mom in/near the nest. So we dont know if we had already gotten her. But they were so tiny! But still - not in my house, mouse!

Cleaned up and around the garage - some things got thrown out that I didnt want to throw out....some we should have gotten rid of long ago (hey honey, about all those boxes you just leave sitting around the garage cause you dont want to walk all that way to the recycling bin......)

He reset all the traps = refilled the bait stations - I am sure there are more out there already.

We found the (dead) mouse in the trap that tried to get away. He did get farther than we either imagined....and then we heard a trap shut while we were in the garage. Saw an unmoving mouse....and then all of a sudden I saw the mouse trying to run away while in the trap! Plucky little shitters.

Dropped off a big bin (meaning, I moved 3 boxes out of the house!) and 11 golf clubs to the thrift store today. Finally remembered to call yesterday and appointments are no longer needed to donate.

And I have 2 boxes taped up and addressed - all ready to go to the PO tomorrow to wing their way to SD.

(I swear I see mice everywhere now - if it moves it is a mouse - the latest one was outside and the shadow of a bird.....)

A Mixed Bag

 Husband started off the day with a very good visit to his MD.

His lab test results are mostly the best they have been in a long time. Just need to work on improving the HDL results. And he has lost weight!

Then we took the one hour drive up to Morgan Hill. And of course I forgot my knitting.....2 hours of knitting and those socks would be so much closer to being done! Oh Well.

Picked up 2 of the 3 projects that I had finished via Madonna Needleworks, and I am very pleased. Plus I was able to get fabric that I needed and looked and saw they have (LOL) threads that I have never used before, although they do not have Sulky which everyone has been raving about and I thought I would try. She did say that several people have been asking about it...

This is a Christmas Present for a friend. I think I want to get a little fish charm (if I can find one) and add it somewhere.

Came home and added the little scissors charms - just barely can see them hanging off the hanging loop.

Stopped by Camping World and looked at new mattresses for the trailer. But now we have to measure to see what we need....

Then to El Pollo Loco for lunch....except that was a no go. The place is "temporarily closed". Looks like a remodel.

So we went to Panera's.

And then to Barnes and Noble. Spent time looking all around and walked out with spending one cent! I think I need to go to the ER!

Mice!! Meese!! OUTTA MY HOUSE!

 So no sightings or evidence of mice since we came home....until last night!

We both saw a "shadow" moving around while we were watching TV. Sure enough - a mouse was running around our living room!

We chased it bravely - with flashlight, vacuum, and swifter! (Dont laugh - they were the things closest at hand!). And then, it just up and disappeared.....

Now a few minutes later when we were really looking around we did find a dead mouse in a trap....that hadnt been there earlier. Was it the same one? Who knows!

THEY NEED TO BE GONE!

After taking hubby to work I stopped by the Dollar Tree and Safeway and got some rubbermaid style containers.....have cleared out 2 of the 4 cupboards that have food in them and I need a lot more containers!

So I guess after I pick him up from work we will have to go shopping for more......and more traps.

If we could only figure out where they are coming in from.....

I wanted to add, not sure if our gopher hunting dog is scared of mice - or if her was more scared of the crazy people running around with "weapons"! I am hoping the latter, but not convinced....

What a Lovely Week! Mostly.....

 So we were supposed to go camping at Jackson Rancheria this past week, with our friends, and one of their sons, his wife, and daughter. About 2 weeks prior we received a phone call from the RV place to tell us they had been notified by PG&E that they would be shutting off their power from Sunday through Friday (we were going Monday and coming home Friday) and offered us 2 choices: we could use our generator (sure, if we had one!), we could cancel, or we could reschedule. So we rescheduled for the end of July.

So now we had a dog sitter confirmed and nowhere to go.....so I started searching. Of course the best looking places are the most expensive....and of course many places were already booked up. But we did find space, for 4 nights, at the expensive RV resort in Paso Robles that we had been wanting to try out anyway - so we booked a stay at Cava Robles | Sun RV Resorts.

And then we found out, first, that our friends son and family were going to be down there the same week (for the same reason!) and later that day we found out the wife of our friend went with them.

We already had our excursions planned, so we really only saw them that first night. And then our friend decided she wanted/needed to come home Friday instead of Saturday so she drove home with us.

We loved it there. The only drawback - the beautiful drive through site we booked - was at the top of the hill and was WINDY the whole time we were there! Well, the wind would stop later in the night and not really start up until afternoon. But the wind itself was SO COLD! We never did put our awning up - but the way our site was situated we really did not need it. We did use the firepit 2 of the nights we were there (we didnt the first night because when we went visiting they already had theirs going....) and that did not even help! The only things I found surprising/not good was that, for the price we aid, there was no trash pickup (you had to walk/drive it to the dumpsters yourself) and there was such an inconsistency in enforcing their own rules....We would love to go back when all the amenities are open and maybe when we arent shivering to death every afternoon, and evening!

We had a beautiful sky every evening!

The first day we drove to Pismo Beach. It was sunny, warm and lovely, Texted a friend who goes there every year to get advice for a lunch place - she recommended Award Winning Clam Chowder | Splash Cafe  and let me tell you - it lived up to its reputation! So glad I got the bowl and not the cup - even so I was almost licking the bowl! And the hamburger that Tom had was HUGE!

We had our wine tasting at Award Winning Clam Chowder | Splash Cafe in San Luis Obispo. Bought 2 bottles of rose (only one came home with us) and a bottle to share with a friend. Also some of their very very good horseradish spread!

So glad I packed sweats and snuggly sleep socks!

He looks demented - because we are laughing about being so cold even with being bundled up and a fire going - but we are still drinking cold wine with ice cubes!

Wednesday we went to Cayucas - got some Christmas shopping done this day! And then we drove up to San Simeon State Beach and ate the lunch we packed. Then back into Cambria. And found the yarn store was closed that day and the next - only open for reservations due to "insufficient staffing". And I went planning to buy a kit for a sweater - well, I save $115!!! We stopped at Linn's Restaurant (linnsfruitbin.com) and picked up mini pies for dessert (very good pecan pie! Apple for hubby!). Then we did a wine tasting at Moonstone Cellars - some more wine was bought and another Christmas present! And then we drove to The Sea Chest in Cambria - got in line at about 4:15 PM for their 5:30 PM opening (we didnt want to drive back in the dark!!). And as always ate way too much.....I have steamed clams. Usually they are little necks and a pot of them is fine. But these were the prettiest blue shelled Washington clams which are larger - thank goodness Tom had some of them (and I had a couple of bites of his oh-so-wonderful calamari steak!)

San Simeon State Beach

Gotta start collecting driftwood - I already bought 3 star fish for the top (gotta love thrift stores!)

We werent too far back in line - but we only had our beach chairs with us and it would have been too embarrassing to try to get out of them in front of everyone - by the time they opened the line was all the way around the parking lot and heading down the driveway

Full moon!

Thursday was Paso Robles shopping day! We found a darling store on Pine Street in PR - reclaimed items! More Christmas shopping.....and a nice thrift store on Park Street - got a great denim jacket there! There was a darling store called The General Store on 12 street but boy were they over priced!

Found a bakery and picked up bearclaws for breakfast.....and had the best raspberry pillow cookie I have ever had! Then we tasted wine at Monochrome Wines – California White Wines which was a totally different experience. It is out in an industrial area that has a lot of tasting rooms - wine and food - located. They do not have a vineyard; the owner/winemaker buys his grapes? or the juice? not sure which - and only makes whites. It was a warm after noon so the AC indoors felt good. He was a very interesting man to talk with. We were the only ones there. His wines are a bit pricey but we still felt we should buy so we bought 2 bottles. This was a perfect temperature of a day to taste whites!

The drive home was uneventful. Got home and found the dogs had been pretty well behaved. But apparently we had a mouse visitor in the kitchen one night.....and the next night he came back with his whole clan. So our superlative dog sitter sit traps - got 4 of them I think - and then spent the evening cleaning the kitchen up from the mice - doing dishes, and laundry (dishcloths!) and wiping down the counters.....said the dogs were a bit freaked out so he spent the night (and then apologized for using our shower - what???? after all you did???? He is the son of a friend of ours and they are redoing their bathroom which is taking forever - we had told them they could come and use our shower whenever!)

We were so lucky to have him taking care of the dogs - and the mice!!!