4/1 No April Fool's joke!

I need to build an ark. Fast. I'm afraid this RV is going to float away soon. Let me start at the beginning.

Woke up at seven. After my shower I drove to Coffee Fusion (near my new home) to check out the coffee and breakfast fare. It was good. Ate a nice breakfast then went to the grocery store to stock up. As I arrived at my car it started raining and my phone rang at the same time.

The rain wasn't bad, so I said hello to my sister, Jan, as I loaded up my car. Sat in the parking lot to chat and the rain started pouring. Finally I started driving when the rain seemed to let up a bit. Got to the drawbridge over the back bay and the rain became a deluge. I was still talking to Jan and finally realized she wasn't there.

I'd been chatting about the downpour and the drawbridge and the back bay and how pretty it all was even though I could barely see, and the whole time we'd been cut off. Called her back and she was laughing. Seems we'd been talking 29 minutes already when cut off. I described the drive and how the roads were getting flooded--different from home where we have storm sewers in the streets. By the time I got to Beach Boulevard the water covered my tires halfway. I started laughing, albeit a bit hysterically.

Finally pulled off Beach and drove a little north on the peninsula to Pass Road. Thought it would be better, but it was worse if anything. Jan was laughing at me because I was still doing this excited, nervous laughter. And was afraid to stop because didn't know if I could start up again. When I got to the RV park it was deep water, but I managed to pull into the park. There was a guy--looked like he was playing in the gutter, something we loved to do as kids. Turns out he was working on clearing a small drain in the road.

My driveway is a tiny bit higher than the road, so it's not badly flooded, and the door to the RV is only about two feet from my car door. Still I got soaked unloading the car, even with an umbrella. I'm so happy to be back in my little nest. I unplugged my computer, but the connection is wireless so am still able to get online. Right now we seem to be in a little lull, but we've had several different thunderstorms pass through so I don't know if it's finished yet. Wow--what an adventure!

Got some bad news from Jan too. One of my nephews is in the hospital. Hopefully he'll go home today. I'd written up all the details and then realized they were private and I wouldn't want to do anything to embarrass him. I'm praying everything turns out okay.

3/31 I love the weekend

This morning I went to Joy's for breakfast and coffee. While there I caught up on some reading for work. Then did my laundry, which cost $10. Can't wait for my own washer and dryer again. After that I drove to Gulfport to Petsmart and bought Quincy's crate for the house. It's huge, for when she's grown, but has a panel to put in for when she's small. Nice. But it will take up about 1/4 of my RV. Funny.

I'm going to finish my taxes, put away my laundry, and then relax.

Here's what I'll miss about living in an RV park: Whenever I go outside there's always folks walking their dogs. I can pet animals and talk to their owners. It's so friendly here, and that's really neat. Even those without pets are outside a lot (heck, many of these RVs are small), and there's visiting going on. But your privacy is really respected. I mean no one knocks on your door or makes noise late at night. And this park is a nice combination of retired people and folks here to do disaster work.

Talked to Jill and Rob. Jill and her family are on their way to the Grand Canyon for a vacation while Kayla is on spring break. Rob is still really sick but won't go to the doctor. He sounds awful and I told him to consider himself nagged. It's probably a sinus infection or a throat infection. He says he's too busy to go to the doctor, but I don't think he realizes what a strept throat can turn into. His Aunt Janet had a strept throat in high school and it turned into rheumatic fever. She had to spend part of her sophomore year at home in bed, and has some minor heart issues as a result. Yeah, Rob, this is for you. GO TO THE DOCTOR. I love you.

Talked to Jan too today. She and Jane (and other relatives) are at a huge garage sale and they are raising money for our Avon Breast Cancer Walk in Chicago in June. By noon they'd already raised more tan $1200. I'm thrilled. Way to go!

3/29 No more bathroom woes

During a managers' meeting today I got called out and someone said there's a guy here who needs your RV key. Yeah I was surprised. Turns out one of the camp directors' surprised me by calling an RV plumber to fix my bathroom problem. All I can say is, "Oh, yeah!" Life is really good when you have a working bathroom.

And last night, I had to walk up to the shower building to use the restroom. Of course that was the night when I couldn't sleep and had use the bathroom all the time. But now, all is good.

It was so very busy again. I didn't get much of my planned work done because a lot of things kept popping up. Guess I just better get used to it!

I'm still smiling, though. Love it.

3/28 Black water and gray water

Ah, the joys of RV living. I'm learning the hard way about the intricacies of plumbing issues in an RV. 'Nuff said.

Today was busier than I could have ever envisioned. Didn't get any of the work done that I'd planned. One HR thing after another, and then one contract thing after another, and then one blah blah blah. You get the picture. I'm weird though--I love it.

Jill called me a few minutes ago. She's registering Hunter for kindergarten. It's so weird when your youngest goes off to school. I remember experiencing the same thing with Jill. My little one--all grown up; or at least she thought she was. Hunter is excited about being at the same school with his big sister Kayla. They are both so adorable...miss them tons.

3/18 Me and my RV

I'm nice and cozy in this RV. I really like it. Just hope I can find room for everything. It's amazing though; there are cubbyholes and storage everywhere. Under the bed, under the RV, under the couch, under the benches by the table, in the bathroom. And there are plenty of cabinets in the kitchenette. Again, I'm amazed.

This morning I went to church at Good Shepherd Lutheran which is Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Next week I'll go to Christus Victor which is ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). Today's service was so much like a Catholic Mass that I could say most of the prayers without looking at the book.

Afterwards I moved all my stuff from the hotel to the RV. In doing so I broke Rob and Beata's TV they'd loaned me. I left my big one at their house and took a smaller one with me--no room in the car for the big one. So I had to go buy a new TV today too. Plus towels and pillows--things like that. No problem because I'll use them at my new house.

I feel great...work is only about a mile down Pass Road, and the coffee shop is only a mile in the other direction. Yay.