Friday, May 22, 2009
May 22, 2009: A quick get-away.......
I was up and going by 6AM this morning......yep, I just cannot seem to sleep past 5am any more. I used to get up at 4:30 each morning when I was still teaching, but overcame that wake-up time as the years have passed....but, now......DAMN....I just cannot sleep to a normal "wake-up" time!!!!! Soooo, I finished up things around the stick and brick....had a cup of Fr. Roast coffee....and then put a few more things in the 5er.
After checking all eight tires....the RV and the truck.....I discovered for the first time that all of them were just at the exact, perfect air pressure: 110 for the trailer and 80 for the truck. I had decided to wait until 8:15 to leave........as school would then be in session and there would be less traffic where I have to pull out onto the highway. Pulling away from the stick and brick, I was a bit ahead of my schedule...and was on Hwy 67 north by 8:20AM.
It turned out to be a very pleasant drive, with the exception of going through STL which had just tons and tons and tons of traffice....seemed like Rush Hour, and it certainly wasn't the correct time for that. I arrived here at "The Landing"......a Water Park, Restaurant, and a full service RV Park with a couple of small private lakes, tons of RV concrete sites with concrete patios, free Wifi, cable tv, etc., etc.
I was escorted to my/our site and the work-camper assisted me with directions as I packed TheHowserHouse into the site.........this I needed as I don't usually have to pack it in on the right side of the street which means it is more difficult for me to see where I am turning/backing.
I was completely set up within a half hour....a bit longer than usual as the 1st Lady was not here yet and so I had to arrange things inside after the slides were put out of the main coach. She had called and said she was going shopping with Dr. Jeni....and wouldn't arrive here until early evening. Soooooo, after getting things in ship-shape, I had a bite of lunch.....read through the daily newspapers online that I read daily, and then just relaxed. The RV Park began to fill up very quickly with lots and lots and lots of people with lots and lots and lots of young children. Many of those arriving already have their RV's here on seasonal sites.....and so all they had to do was drive in and open up their rigs.
Later on, I had a small bit of supper....and at 7AM, the 1st Lady arrived. We took a bike ride around the RV Park.......stopped in the very nice office/store/cafe......and then rode by the site that Dr. Jeni and family will be using.....they won't be here until very late.
I must say that it is soooooo damn nice to look out the windows and not have to look at walls and walls of downed trees, logs, limbs, branches, utility poles, wires and cables.....all in our yards at home. I find myself not wanting to look outside at the stick and brick......it is just sooooo depressing with all of the trees gone...and such a HUGE unsightly mess!!!!!
Tomorrow Becky and Rachel will pick up Jeremy and Anne-Marie at the airport as their flt arrives from Hartford, CT at 11am.....and then they all be here shortly after lunch. We have a LARGE family BBQ tomorrow evening with the 1st Lady's sister and all of her family, grandchildren, etc., etc. as well as their brother and all of his large family. I'm sure we will be with them during the afternoon........
Tomorrow.....rain is predicted, but not with very high percentages.....perhaps we will luck out. Rain is in the forecast for the next three days......ugh.
With the time at 10:06pm.....this place is really very, very quiet for all of the people that are here. Of course, it appears that most of the families are with young, go-to-bed-early ages. Soooo, that does make a difference.....however, "Quiet Hours" do not begin until 11pm.
And soooo, we are back in our little apartment on wheels....TheHowserHouse....and it feels really, really great to be back in here for a few days, at the least. Unless something highly unlikely occurs, we are going to cancel our trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico in June.....as we will not have our stick and brick repaired by then, repairs have to be made on the truck...perhaps completely repainted with lots of new glass all around, etc., etc.......and I haven't yet dealt with the ins. on the damages to the RV.....scratched glass and a melted area on the front cap where evidently a hot wire hit it when the utility poles and wires went down. UGH!!!!!
However........as almost always.....
LIFE IS REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
After checking all eight tires....the RV and the truck.....I discovered for the first time that all of them were just at the exact, perfect air pressure: 110 for the trailer and 80 for the truck. I had decided to wait until 8:15 to leave........as school would then be in session and there would be less traffic where I have to pull out onto the highway. Pulling away from the stick and brick, I was a bit ahead of my schedule...and was on Hwy 67 north by 8:20AM.
It turned out to be a very pleasant drive, with the exception of going through STL which had just tons and tons and tons of traffice....seemed like Rush Hour, and it certainly wasn't the correct time for that. I arrived here at "The Landing"......a Water Park, Restaurant, and a full service RV Park with a couple of small private lakes, tons of RV concrete sites with concrete patios, free Wifi, cable tv, etc., etc.
I was escorted to my/our site and the work-camper assisted me with directions as I packed TheHowserHouse into the site.........this I needed as I don't usually have to pack it in on the right side of the street which means it is more difficult for me to see where I am turning/backing.
I was completely set up within a half hour....a bit longer than usual as the 1st Lady was not here yet and so I had to arrange things inside after the slides were put out of the main coach. She had called and said she was going shopping with Dr. Jeni....and wouldn't arrive here until early evening. Soooooo, after getting things in ship-shape, I had a bite of lunch.....read through the daily newspapers online that I read daily, and then just relaxed. The RV Park began to fill up very quickly with lots and lots and lots of people with lots and lots and lots of young children. Many of those arriving already have their RV's here on seasonal sites.....and so all they had to do was drive in and open up their rigs.
Later on, I had a small bit of supper....and at 7AM, the 1st Lady arrived. We took a bike ride around the RV Park.......stopped in the very nice office/store/cafe......and then rode by the site that Dr. Jeni and family will be using.....they won't be here until very late.
I must say that it is soooooo damn nice to look out the windows and not have to look at walls and walls of downed trees, logs, limbs, branches, utility poles, wires and cables.....all in our yards at home. I find myself not wanting to look outside at the stick and brick......it is just sooooo depressing with all of the trees gone...and such a HUGE unsightly mess!!!!!
Tomorrow Becky and Rachel will pick up Jeremy and Anne-Marie at the airport as their flt arrives from Hartford, CT at 11am.....and then they all be here shortly after lunch. We have a LARGE family BBQ tomorrow evening with the 1st Lady's sister and all of her family, grandchildren, etc., etc. as well as their brother and all of his large family. I'm sure we will be with them during the afternoon........
Tomorrow.....rain is predicted, but not with very high percentages.....perhaps we will luck out. Rain is in the forecast for the next three days......ugh.
With the time at 10:06pm.....this place is really very, very quiet for all of the people that are here. Of course, it appears that most of the families are with young, go-to-bed-early ages. Soooo, that does make a difference.....however, "Quiet Hours" do not begin until 11pm.
And soooo, we are back in our little apartment on wheels....TheHowserHouse....and it feels really, really great to be back in here for a few days, at the least. Unless something highly unlikely occurs, we are going to cancel our trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico in June.....as we will not have our stick and brick repaired by then, repairs have to be made on the truck...perhaps completely repainted with lots of new glass all around, etc., etc.......and I haven't yet dealt with the ins. on the damages to the RV.....scratched glass and a melted area on the front cap where evidently a hot wire hit it when the utility poles and wires went down. UGH!!!!!
However........as almost always.....
LIFE IS REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
May 21, 2009: WOW....warmer weather is here!! And......well, just read on.....
A beautiful day, albeit a very warm and somewhat humid one, but I certainly will not complain. I enjoyed being outside, even though I had not much time to be doing anything other than some more storm/insurance related tasks.
This morning I spent about a half hour with the auto body shop owner as he took pictures of the scratches on my truck, both the body and the glass windows and windshield. Now......the wait and see game....as to what the insurance company will pay for in the way of repairs.........wait and see.
Returning home, a new surprise awaited me.......: we received notice that there was some mail that we needed to get, but first we needed to pay for more postage for this envelope. Payng the 44 cents, I discovered that it was from the home insurance company and it was the amount they will pay for all of the damages that we received during the storm. However, this envelope was mailed from Farmington, 17 miles up the highway, and was mailed by our ADJUSTER. It was metered postage, so most likely from her office/hotel room. To tight, too cheap to pay for the postage, so what should I expect from her on my damage claims?????? I had to chuckle when i learned of this oversight......44 cents of oversight!
This afternoon I did some work inside the house.....after doing some more pick up of small limbs, twigs, branches. I also pushed back some logs and big tree limbs from the curb across the street.....the area where I always have to cut the turn on the truck to get the RV pushed back into our driveway.......we'll see if they stay out of the street while we are gone.
The 1st Lady left before noon for Dr. Jeni's home so she could stay with the three little ones while Dr. Jeni and Darrel see the Card's ball game tonight. Then she will leave and go on to Mark Twain Lake to join me and her other relatives for the weekend. Becky and Rachel will also drive up for the weekend......AND....it looks like Jeremy and Anne-Marie will fly out from Hartford, CT. to spend the weekend with us. GREAT to hear that!!!!!!
And sooooo, I will close this for now. I am SUPPOSED to have wifi at the rv park there, but as has often been the case, wifi is not always stable and strong, so if you don't hear from me over the weekend...THAT is the reason.
And, as always.....usually.....
LIFE IS REALLY GREAT!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!
This morning I spent about a half hour with the auto body shop owner as he took pictures of the scratches on my truck, both the body and the glass windows and windshield. Now......the wait and see game....as to what the insurance company will pay for in the way of repairs.........wait and see.
Returning home, a new surprise awaited me.......: we received notice that there was some mail that we needed to get, but first we needed to pay for more postage for this envelope. Payng the 44 cents, I discovered that it was from the home insurance company and it was the amount they will pay for all of the damages that we received during the storm. However, this envelope was mailed from Farmington, 17 miles up the highway, and was mailed by our ADJUSTER. It was metered postage, so most likely from her office/hotel room. To tight, too cheap to pay for the postage, so what should I expect from her on my damage claims?????? I had to chuckle when i learned of this oversight......44 cents of oversight!
This afternoon I did some work inside the house.....after doing some more pick up of small limbs, twigs, branches. I also pushed back some logs and big tree limbs from the curb across the street.....the area where I always have to cut the turn on the truck to get the RV pushed back into our driveway.......we'll see if they stay out of the street while we are gone.
The 1st Lady left before noon for Dr. Jeni's home so she could stay with the three little ones while Dr. Jeni and Darrel see the Card's ball game tonight. Then she will leave and go on to Mark Twain Lake to join me and her other relatives for the weekend. Becky and Rachel will also drive up for the weekend......AND....it looks like Jeremy and Anne-Marie will fly out from Hartford, CT. to spend the weekend with us. GREAT to hear that!!!!!!
And sooooo, I will close this for now. I am SUPPOSED to have wifi at the rv park there, but as has often been the case, wifi is not always stable and strong, so if you don't hear from me over the weekend...THAT is the reason.
And, as always.....usually.....
LIFE IS REALLY GREAT!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
May 20, 2009: OH SOOOO BUSY....will it ever slow down???
The 1st Lady went to Cape yesterday afternoon to "sit" with Rachel as Becky had to be gone until very late, so she remained in Cape overnight and returned here to F'town this morning.
I was up early........as I wanted to get the truck washed early before the sun got too high.....and tooooo warm. By 10AM, I was finished with it, and while washing it.....I made a new discovery: MORE Damages from the storm, just as I said on here a few hours ago. The NEW front windshield has scratches on it, the hood is scratched, the left rear mirror is scratched and several places along the left side of the truck!! AND.....two windows are scratched. Well.......I couldn't figure what had happened.....and then.....VOILA!!! I realized that it was the gritty side of the roof shingles that had been blown off in the storm and blown all over the yard.....and from all appearances, across my truck and elsewhere!!!!
Well.....I had also discovered the back rear window of the RV was also scratched from the same thing......soooo, here I go again!!!! I called the ins. agent for the truck....and will have to call the ins. agent for the RV tomorrow. More problems!!!!!! More stress!!!!! DAMN!!!!
This afternoon.......I took care of finishing the inside of the truck, took care of some things on the RV, begin to put some things back in the RV basement.....chairs, an OLD BBQ grill which is not gas operated, did some more walk-arounds in the yard, still picking up sticks as I looked around at the sections of trees laying on the ground killing the grass below them, and wishing they were no longer here! I've been told that it could take as long as six months before the town is completely free of all of these downed trees.
We have had a couple of estimates for the roof, gutter, etc., etc. come in this evening. The State Farm adjuster was totally off base with her measurements, as I knew she was mistaken because I remembered when we had it re-roofed a few years ago. The two contractors confirmed my figures....and in fact, I was a bit on the low side. And soooo, it will necessitate a negotiating meeting between the adjuster and the contractor I select..........
Tomorrow.....the 1st Lady has to go to Dr. Jeni's home to sit with the three little ones there while Dr. Jeni and Darrel go to the StL Card's game tomorrow night. Then she will meet me at The Landing at Mark Twain Lake around noon on Friday.....as I will leave that morning with TheHowserHouse for the long weekend. In the morning, I also have to take the truck by the auto body shop to have pictures made to send to the insurance adjuster for Shelter Insurance. What next...what next????!!!!
And sooooo, another day in the Life of this sagging hulk of Me........wonder what will occur tomorrow???? More claims from the storm was not expected when I hauled my hulk out of bed this morning..........we'll see!
LIFE IS GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
I was up early........as I wanted to get the truck washed early before the sun got too high.....and tooooo warm. By 10AM, I was finished with it, and while washing it.....I made a new discovery: MORE Damages from the storm, just as I said on here a few hours ago. The NEW front windshield has scratches on it, the hood is scratched, the left rear mirror is scratched and several places along the left side of the truck!! AND.....two windows are scratched. Well.......I couldn't figure what had happened.....and then.....VOILA!!! I realized that it was the gritty side of the roof shingles that had been blown off in the storm and blown all over the yard.....and from all appearances, across my truck and elsewhere!!!!
Well.....I had also discovered the back rear window of the RV was also scratched from the same thing......soooo, here I go again!!!! I called the ins. agent for the truck....and will have to call the ins. agent for the RV tomorrow. More problems!!!!!! More stress!!!!! DAMN!!!!
This afternoon.......I took care of finishing the inside of the truck, took care of some things on the RV, begin to put some things back in the RV basement.....chairs, an OLD BBQ grill which is not gas operated, did some more walk-arounds in the yard, still picking up sticks as I looked around at the sections of trees laying on the ground killing the grass below them, and wishing they were no longer here! I've been told that it could take as long as six months before the town is completely free of all of these downed trees.
We have had a couple of estimates for the roof, gutter, etc., etc. come in this evening. The State Farm adjuster was totally off base with her measurements, as I knew she was mistaken because I remembered when we had it re-roofed a few years ago. The two contractors confirmed my figures....and in fact, I was a bit on the low side. And soooo, it will necessitate a negotiating meeting between the adjuster and the contractor I select..........
Tomorrow.....the 1st Lady has to go to Dr. Jeni's home to sit with the three little ones there while Dr. Jeni and Darrel go to the StL Card's game tomorrow night. Then she will meet me at The Landing at Mark Twain Lake around noon on Friday.....as I will leave that morning with TheHowserHouse for the long weekend. In the morning, I also have to take the truck by the auto body shop to have pictures made to send to the insurance adjuster for Shelter Insurance. What next...what next????!!!!
And sooooo, another day in the Life of this sagging hulk of Me........wonder what will occur tomorrow???? More claims from the storm was not expected when I hauled my hulk out of bed this morning..........we'll see!
LIFE IS GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
WED: A quick discovery.....
Not time to write, NO time to write, but in washing the truck to get the leaves off of it, I discovered that I have scratch damages on the hood, the left outside rear mirror, various places on the left side of the truck/doors, and not only door windows, but large scratches on my brand new front windshield!!!! Insurance agent has been notified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ANOTHER adjuster to contend with.....
I also found scratches and a small CHIP out of the very large rear window on TheHowserHouse on-wheels!!!!!! Must call another insurance company!!
I also found scratches and a small CHIP out of the very large rear window on TheHowserHouse on-wheels!!!!!! Must call another insurance company!!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
May 19, 2009: Two days of flying.......
Hmmmmm......and I really thought that I could no longer multi-task.......until these past two days. And.....these two days have just gone by soooooo damn quickly.....I suppose because I have kept sooooo busy attempting to get everything done that we have to do....and you know what the problem really is?????? The list of "to do's" just keeps lengthening.....
Most of these two days revolves around trying to resolve the problems we currently have with the damages from the Inland Hurricane. For the past two days......and today, we now have our trees that were on the ground completely chopped/sawed into sections that can be moved.....and all of the trees are now cut and down.
We have had assistance from Disaster Teams from the Southern Baptist Convention......from Wright City, MO...and from Nixa, MO, plus team members from other towns who are assisting them. WOW....they just step in, take over, and in a relatively short period time they get the jobs completed!!!! Today.....the yard was full of gold-shirted team members......chain saws buzzing, a tractor pushing logs into place along side the street, riding mowers pulling carts full of branches, longs, etc., etc.....and they never stopped until my yard was no longer filled with just toppled trees.....the had them in those pieces and at the curb for pick-up at some later date.....probably VERY much later by the city.
Then........another couple came by.....F'town former students of mine to ask if they could have the logs, etc., etc to use as firewood next winter. And......sooo, many of these chunks and logs began to disappear into their truck. Soooooo, only one real problem still remains.....and that is the HUGE root ball that is still on it's side sticking up into the air about 9 feet. But.....we do have a price that we can work with on getting this removed.....
This afternoon I had a contractor take the measurements of the roof........and will give us our first bid on the replacement of the shingles and many of the underlayment.....the boards and plywood sheeting. Sooooo, now we are still just waiting on the ins. adjuster(ess) for the go ahead........
Yesterday I began to the clean-up of the RV.....and it is almost always a two day job, without the waxing, which it really, really needs. However, I will get that done after this holiday weekend.....Today, I finished washing the roof, the sides, and the windows all by hand. LOTS of grime, burned sugar cane gunk from Texas on the top of the RV....and some of it on the sides.
While I was on the ladder...up and down....I discovered that there are a couple of things that must have happened by the winds of the storm...and by flying debris. Our LARGE back window is scratched and a very tiny chip out of it......the front cap where the decal is on it has two indentations....about the width of a power line.....and I'm almost certain that the power lines snapped and flew up against the front of the RV which caused these marks. Also...the back window damages must have happened by flying shingles with the roofing nails in them......there were shingles all over the driveway and yard immediately after the end of the storm. Soooo, I will call the insurance company that insures the RV.....and see what I can find out. The damn policy is almost impossible to interpret by this sagging.....REALLY sagging hulk of Me....and so, hopefully I can get some assistance from them on repairing these issues.
This morning, I had the oil changed, fuel filter, and other checks made on the internal workings .....and I do need front brakes. Soooo, I plan to get them next week.......time is running out this week.
We plan to go to "The Landing" on Mark Twain Lake just west of Hannibal to meet the 1st Lady's family for a holiday weekend. We are taking TheHowserHouse on-wheels.......and I am some reservations about getting it back into the driveway....with all of the tons of logs, branches, etc., lining both sides of the street that I must use to back it into the driveway. Today helped and I think over the next two days I can get some of this stuff pushed back some more!!!
Oh.....one of the chain saw men .....after he finished, he took a section of the tree that was thick enough and sawed a small cross out and left it for us in the yard. I nice touch from these great people who did all of this all for free!!!!!!
And sooooo, while it seems like this shouldn't have taken up all of my time......it did, and it continues tomorrow and the next day and the next and so on. We have tons of things to do in regards to the damages.........it just takes sooooo much time........sooooo much!!!!
And so....you have a very small synopsis of the past days.......I/we are very tired.....but, we just keep pushing ourselves to try to get this all done so that we can get away for at least a couple of weeks in June to attend the International Cedar Creek RV Owner's Club Rally in Las Cruces, New Mexico. As of this time, we have cancelled the rest of the trip as I feel certain that we will not get our yard and home back in shape by the time we leave for those two weeks.......we just hope that we CAN get away for the New Mexico journey!!!!!
And soooo,.......
LIFE IS GREAT.......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!!
Most of these two days revolves around trying to resolve the problems we currently have with the damages from the Inland Hurricane. For the past two days......and today, we now have our trees that were on the ground completely chopped/sawed into sections that can be moved.....and all of the trees are now cut and down.
We have had assistance from Disaster Teams from the Southern Baptist Convention......from Wright City, MO...and from Nixa, MO, plus team members from other towns who are assisting them. WOW....they just step in, take over, and in a relatively short period time they get the jobs completed!!!! Today.....the yard was full of gold-shirted team members......chain saws buzzing, a tractor pushing logs into place along side the street, riding mowers pulling carts full of branches, longs, etc., etc.....and they never stopped until my yard was no longer filled with just toppled trees.....the had them in those pieces and at the curb for pick-up at some later date.....probably VERY much later by the city.
Then........another couple came by.....F'town former students of mine to ask if they could have the logs, etc., etc to use as firewood next winter. And......sooo, many of these chunks and logs began to disappear into their truck. Soooooo, only one real problem still remains.....and that is the HUGE root ball that is still on it's side sticking up into the air about 9 feet. But.....we do have a price that we can work with on getting this removed.....
This afternoon I had a contractor take the measurements of the roof........and will give us our first bid on the replacement of the shingles and many of the underlayment.....the boards and plywood sheeting. Sooooo, now we are still just waiting on the ins. adjuster(ess) for the go ahead........
Yesterday I began to the clean-up of the RV.....and it is almost always a two day job, without the waxing, which it really, really needs. However, I will get that done after this holiday weekend.....Today, I finished washing the roof, the sides, and the windows all by hand. LOTS of grime, burned sugar cane gunk from Texas on the top of the RV....and some of it on the sides.
While I was on the ladder...up and down....I discovered that there are a couple of things that must have happened by the winds of the storm...and by flying debris. Our LARGE back window is scratched and a very tiny chip out of it......the front cap where the decal is on it has two indentations....about the width of a power line.....and I'm almost certain that the power lines snapped and flew up against the front of the RV which caused these marks. Also...the back window damages must have happened by flying shingles with the roofing nails in them......there were shingles all over the driveway and yard immediately after the end of the storm. Soooo, I will call the insurance company that insures the RV.....and see what I can find out. The damn policy is almost impossible to interpret by this sagging.....REALLY sagging hulk of Me....and so, hopefully I can get some assistance from them on repairing these issues.
This morning, I had the oil changed, fuel filter, and other checks made on the internal workings .....and I do need front brakes. Soooo, I plan to get them next week.......time is running out this week.
We plan to go to "The Landing" on Mark Twain Lake just west of Hannibal to meet the 1st Lady's family for a holiday weekend. We are taking TheHowserHouse on-wheels.......and I am some reservations about getting it back into the driveway....with all of the tons of logs, branches, etc., lining both sides of the street that I must use to back it into the driveway. Today helped and I think over the next two days I can get some of this stuff pushed back some more!!!
Oh.....one of the chain saw men .....after he finished, he took a section of the tree that was thick enough and sawed a small cross out and left it for us in the yard. I nice touch from these great people who did all of this all for free!!!!!!
And sooooo, while it seems like this shouldn't have taken up all of my time......it did, and it continues tomorrow and the next day and the next and so on. We have tons of things to do in regards to the damages.........it just takes sooooo much time........sooooo much!!!!
And so....you have a very small synopsis of the past days.......I/we are very tired.....but, we just keep pushing ourselves to try to get this all done so that we can get away for at least a couple of weeks in June to attend the International Cedar Creek RV Owner's Club Rally in Las Cruces, New Mexico. As of this time, we have cancelled the rest of the trip as I feel certain that we will not get our yard and home back in shape by the time we leave for those two weeks.......we just hope that we CAN get away for the New Mexico journey!!!!!
And soooo,.......
LIFE IS GREAT.......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
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