I didn 't even open the patio door to the screen porch to let Bobcat out this morning , it just looked too chilly . MaeMae just ran quickly part way up the pathway to do her thing , as the north wind was blowing in the back yard . I had some food that I wanted to give the ducks and catfish at the lake , so I took MaeMae with me so that she could run around the field at the lake . I had a container of watermelon that Jay had left here a few days ago , and he knows my hands won 't open that brand of container , so I stopped there to get him to open it for me . He wanted to keep MaeMae for the few minutes that it would take for me to go to the lake and back , so she got some play time with him . She absolutely adores him as he feeds her people food . The minnows at the boat dock were waiting for me , and they enjoyed the watermelon and scraps . Part of the food chain , as I guess the catfish and ducks will eat the minnows . The rest of the day it just got windier and chiller , so we just stayed indoors and I researched some more things on the computer . I wanted to buy an external hard drive , as I thought that would be the best way to store the pictures that I have on AOL 's Picture Storage , which is closing down . My pictures were transferred to the site that AOL recommends , American Greeting 's Photoworks , but if it is like Picasa , I can only see them on this computer and not the laptop , too . With AOL Picture Storage I could see them on either one . So , in my feeble computer illiterate mind , I thought that would be one way to see them on either computer . I hope I am right , and that I can figure out how to work it . A quiet day . It was almost 60 ° on the screen porch at 6 . 00 this morning , I let Bobbiecat out there , but left the patio door open so that she could change her mind . I hadn 't looked at the forecast butI knew that I would have to make my weekly trip into the next town . The stores that I needed to go don 't open early , so I just did a few odd jobs before I left . I brought Bobcat in so that I could lock that patio door , and made sure that MaeMae went out for a last call . I couldn 't get what I wanted when I was in town on Thursday as everywhere was closed for Thanksgiving . I couldn 't believe the difference as I was driving down the freeway . Last Thursday all the mall parking lots were empty . I pass three on the way . There was plenty of space to park in front of stores everywhere in town , but today the whole town , and freeway , teemed with traffic . Some drivers were acting really crazy and racing along weaving in and out of the traffic . One just absolutely ran right across in front of me through a red light . I guess it will get worse before Christmas , with more Christmas ' spirits ' . Jay 's mother is going to stay in Houston at her daughter 's house so that she will be closer when they beep her that they have a liver for her . She is getting weaker and there might not be anyone around to drive her into Houston when the time comes . So that meant that I had to be prepared to take care of MaeMae for a while . I went to a pet store and bought her some really good dry food , " Royal Canin for Mini Dogs over 8 years old " . She is 5 lb . and 11 years old . Bobcat is doing so well on the " Royal Canin Cat Food for Cats over 10 Years " , and has had no more digestive disturbances since she has been on it , so I am trying it on MaeMae . I had bought her some really good canned food the other day , and she likes it , but she needs to have some dry to scrunch on , just like Bobcat , and the foster cats . It is good for their teeth . They all have a little canned food morning and night . Mostly just to show them that I care . A stop at Lowes to get some tiny dowel for a littPosted by Yes , that is a strange title isn 't it ? I was looking up some medicine that I have , on a health site . I wanted to make sure it was for my symptoms . My cold has settled in my chest , and I wanted to make sure it was a decongestant , before I took it . I happened to see someone mentioning the show that Dr . Oz did on Oprah called " Everybody Poops " . I hardly ever watch Oprah , but I had seen that show , and it was informative . http : / / www . oprah . com / slideshow / oprahshow / slideshow1 _ ss _ yourbody _ digestion / 1One thing link lead to another , and I was on Oprah 's site . I had never seen Oprah 's site before , but there in " What Everyone 's Talking About " was the subject " Jesus Was not Born on Christmas " , and that intrigued me . I was amazed that so many folks really think that they are celebrating Christ 's birthday at Christmas . He was 33 1 / 2 years old when he was put to death , so that made him born around September or October , when the shepherds could watch their flocks outdoors . If they had the census in December , no - one would have shown up , as the traveling conditions would have been too harsh . The only birthday celebrations that are mentioned in the Bible are not Jesus ' , as it was considered that the day of one 's death was more important than the day of birth . Then there is Santa Claus , or Father Christmas , or St . Nick , who was dressed up in the modern red and white clothes by the Coca Cola Company . http : / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Santa _ Clausand this custom doesn 't seem to have anything to do with the birth of Christ . Then the Christmas trees . They were cutting down a tree out of the forest and decking it with gold and silver back in Jeremiah 's day . Jer : 10 . 2 - 5 http : / / kjv . us / jeremiah / 10 . htm which was written 600 years before Christ 's birth . Just a lot of traditions that have no Christian basis . A researching day . Injun and Pilgrim for Thanksgiving Day . It was warm when I got up this morning , and Bobcat was out on her screen porch at 6 . 00 am . It was lovely all day , and I could keep the windows open . I read my mail and drank coffee , and then thought I would do a free ' Microsoft OneCare . Live ' scan like Chris of Geeks on Tour suggests doing every month or so . That turned out to take about all morning . It said I had to un - install my McAfee , or they would conflict . I did that , and then the OneCare scan takes quite a while , but it is supposed to fix things , too . Then I clicked on another place , and it checked some other stuff in my computer , then it started the scan all over again . There was no way to stop it without it checking some other stuff on the list , that I wanted checked after the scan , so I let it run it 's course . Then I had to un - install the OneCare , so I could get my McAfee back in here . But at least I know that it is all checked out now . I nearly put AVG in here instead , but the McAfee has been doing alright and comes free with AOL . Mindi , the flight attendant who I have been babysitting her dogs for 10 years , called last night and said that she had been working too many hours and just didn 't feel like making the trip to her deceased mother 's family , so I wouldn 't be taking care of her dogs today . She invited me to eat with them in Conroe , and we settled on Golden Corral at 2 . 00pm . About 5 months ago Mindi and her husband had adopted her 16 month old 2nd cousin , Noah . The baby had been put in permanent foster care because of some trauma with the birth mother and father , prison and / or drugs , I think . Mindi had always wanted to have a people baby and never had one . Her 5 poodles are her babies . I had seen Noah in their truck when they picked up the poodles , but I had never really been around her with Noah until today . He was a joy to be around , not like some of the screaming brats that one encounters in restaurants . I should have known that the baby would behave . Her poodles are loved to pieces , but they are all voice traiPosted by Today , even though it wasn 't really cold , I couldn 't get warm . I didn 't do much except research stuff on the computer , and normal everyday tasks . Like feeding the animals , and me and cleaning up the house . Little Sheba , Mindi 's very old little poodle with the collapsed trachea will be here tomorrow , and I hate to hear her coughing all the time . I can still hear her coughing after she has gone home ! I thought I might find out how to relieve her a little bit . I feel so sorry for the little thing . I was asked about the Class A Airstream that I had . It had been a mobile X - ray unit , and even though the front was left intact and used as a waiting room , the rear bedroom had been gutted and made into the exam room . The shower had been made into an other vanity , so that the staff would have a separate place to wash their hands , away from the regular toilet and vanity . When they took all their equipment out to sell it , they really marred up the oak floor . Because of the way it had been made originally , I could see that it had been a twin bed arrangement by the way the tanks , water pump , etc . were laid out , so I had to go back with that . This is what we did to the bedroom , but we also made it so that the twin beds could be made into one king size bed . We added a computer desk at the foot of one bed , and a chest of drawers at the foot of the other . We tore out the extra vanity that they had installed , and I bought a shower pan the right size , shower surround and a concertina shower door , gold faucets to match the other part of the bathroom across the aisle , and made it made back into a shower . The outside was covered in purple vinyl , with a bit of white , and the rose swooping graphics in the front . There were letters allover it advertising their clinic , and this was the best we could do with the outside . The whole back part was purple with white writing , but we managed to steam most of that off , and at least make it mostly white . We refinished the oak floors and changed all the drawer pulls and closet handles to match . Put a door oPosted by It was chilly again this morning , when I went to get Jay . I bundled up in a scarf , coat over a cardigan , over a T - shirt . Optimistically I had a tank top under all that , hoping that it would get that warm , but it didn 't . One of the first things we did was to get out a jack and straighten the front bumper on the front of " Pugsy " . Pugsy is a 1968 19 ' Venture , made in Banning CA , molded fiberglass Class A that I have owned for years and years . Being molded fiberglass it has stood the test of time , and doesn 't suffer from roof leaks , like most RV 's , which is what usually ' kills ' them . It has a side door , and a rear door , and a wheelchair can turn around inside , the aisle is so wide . My son borrowed it for an extra bedroom , and I only just got it back . The bumper is on an adjustable vertical slide , I don 't know why . We had to jack up the bumper to get it straight , and then tighten up the bolts . That meant getting out the ' big guns ' = the half - inch drive deep sockets , ratchet and a cheater pipe . Now it doesn 't look lopsided any more , so I need to take a new picture ! ! It has more cabinets , closets and drawers than you can ever imagine in 19 ' . I will take pictures of the inside , too . I won 't drive it , as it doesn 't have a driver 's door , so I need to sell it next . It runs like a scalded cat with an Industrial Wide Block 318 V8 in it . I have had the transmission and brakes rebuilt . We also sprayed the motor on the Puddle Jumper with engine cleaner , so that the mechanic might be able to find the water leak easier . We strung all the hoses out to the burn pile and set it alight , and raked up most of the pine needles on that lot , too . My cold is making me short of breath , and I can 't do much today . Posted by It started out in the windy 40 's , and several of layers of clothes were in order . I couldn 't keep warm , even in the house , wrapped up in turtleneck and cardigan , and then I felt like there were goosebumps of cold all over me , I guess that is the effect of this head cold . I spent the morning doing some odd jobs , cleaning , laundry , searching the web for the ' perfect ' RV , answering emails , etc . It was too dreary and cold to work outside . After lunch , with the sun shining it had warmed up into the 50 's , so Ray and I tackled the RVport . We got all the door slabs , buckets , and yard sale boxes put away , and got the RVport ready for the motor home to come back in . With finding the gas cap off it and thrown on the ground the other day , we looked for signs of sugar , or something , having been put in the gas tank . No signs . I still haven 't climbed up in it , and turned on the ignition to see how much gas is missing . Maybe it won 't be so upsetting , if I do it on a nice , sunny , warm day . Just another chilly day , it didn 't even crawl out of the 60 degrees , today . Bobcat went out on the screen porch this afternoon as the sun was shining in there , but she didn 't want to stay out there long . I picked up Jay at 8 . 00am . He had an appointment at the beauty school to get his hair cut at 10 . 30 . His son is coming from Houston to pick him up for a weekend visit . His mother is still in the hospital , and MaeMae is still here . Ray came over and asked if I had some Great Stuff , ( expanding foam insulation in a can ) as he had found a place behind his toilet where a mouse had got in the guest house . His cat had it corralled in a closet . I found a mouse trap , loaded it with peanut butter , and we snuck it in the closet . Jay and I loaded the Puddle Jumper and took off . We stopped at WalMart to get some Great Stuff , and I bought a humane mousetrap , the kind that catches it unharmed , and then you can take the mouse and re - locate it . Catch and Release , but in a different location ! I bought a wax ring , too , in case we had to pull the commode to fix the gap , as it is in a very tight space . We had lunch courtesy of Sam 's Club , next to WalMart . They had a bunch of demos there today . Beef , shrimp . salmon , cheesecake , etc . , just a lot of lovely samples . As it was still in the 40 's when we got on the freeway to go to the next town , I had the heater on , first time this year . When we got off at our next exit , after stopping at WalMart , and Sam 's , the car had steam coming out from under the hood . I pulled into a gas station , but they had no hose , so we had to use three vases that were going to be donated , to put water in the car . We filled them up and went on to the beauty school very carefully , so as not to spill them . While Jay was getting his haircut , I went into the Goodwill Store close by to see if I could buy something with a lid for carrying water . They said they had a little jug without a lid , and I could use to put water in , but they had to have it back . There are no grocery stores in that area , so I couldn 't just go buy galloPosted by I picked up Jay at 8 . 00am . I hadn 't slept much last night . I had this tickley feeling behind my nose , and I just knew that I had caught a cold . All this changeable weather , I expect . Also I had gone out in the cold one day , without a headscarf on , and that will do it to me . The draft goes in one ear and out the other , as there is nothing to stop it ! ! LOLWe unloaded the clothes off the racks , and put a bunch of them in the donation depts . , again different items to different charities . We dismantled the racks , and Jay took them up to the storage attic . Some of the clothes were hung up in the attic on a rod up there , as they will be OK for the Spring sale . Many are just too nice not to have one more chance of getting some money back on them , and they will be great items to attract customers . The last big yard sale table was relieved of it 's burdens , folded and put up , a chest of drawers and some tables that are for sale , were stacked on top of each other . The mesh playpen full of what is left of the blankets and comforters that are for sale , were taken upstairs and packed away in big boxes , the playpen folded up , and put up . Thank goodness the wooden playpen got sold . Now all that is left is the tables made out of door slabs on buckets all along the right side of the RVport , and that is where all the donations boxes are right now . Another run into the next town tomorrow . This morning , Jay 's mother was taken to the hospital as she has been in such terrible pain from her gall bladder . They were going to take it out when she had the liver transplant , but they didn 't know when that would be . She has to carry one of those beepers to alert her when one will be available . That must be terrible waiting for someone to die , so that you can live . Little MaeMae was all alone in Jay 's mother 's house , and she came out of her doggie door whining to come with us , so we brought her up here . She is used to being here , because she was my late DH 's dog . She hadn 't been groomed for a while , and her hair was getting quite long , poodles donPosted by We didn 't go back to the Conroe to pick up the Puddle Jumper from M & P Alignment yesterday afternoon , so that had to be done today . I called and found out how much the two vehicles were , and Pete , as honest as the day is long , was not charging me for parts that they didn 't need . Just the two alignments . That 's why I have been going there for so many years . If they had needed anything , he would have told me , not like some places that charge you for all kinds of parts , and labor , that are not needed . I picked up Jay in the truck , and we loaded his dryer that needs repair , came back here , and loaded more boxes . These boxes had to be taped shut , so that clothes and things wouldn 't fly out on the way . Ray , who has a license , Jay and I , all piled in the truck , and Ray drove the Puddle Jumper back home for me . Jay and I dropped off the dryer , and saw Valero gas for $ 1 . 76 , so I filled up the truck . Then on to St . Mark 's Thrift Shop to donate the boxes . They are only open Wed - Sat . Of course we had to browse while we were there , and I found something I have been wanting for quite a while . The top picture is of a little thing that I have had for years . It clips on the side of a 10 " frying pan or pot to keep things drained , or warm , while you are cooking something else in the same pan . It is really supposed to be a bacon drainer , but I hardly ever eat bacon . But I do like to sautee onions , and tomatoes , and they can drain , and keep warm , while I cook something else , like salmon patties , or what ever . I wanted one for the RV , and even posted a picture of it on eBay 's " Want It Now " . But this one on the bottom will be better , as it will elimate carrying around a 10 " skillet in the RV , which is too big for lil ole me anyway . The pan part of it is only 6 - 1 / 2 " , and even though it is sturdy , and Teflon - coated , it isn 't that heavy . The handle is missing , but they let me have a skillet back that I had donated , so I can attach that handle . OK for 50 cents ! After lunch , Jay and I took more packed boxes up to the attic over the store room , Posted by I started out all bundled up in turtle neck and coat , but down to my t - shirt by 2 . 00 pm . At 7 . 30 am I was outside loading more boxes to go the second charity thrift shop , this one is closed on Mondays , but it could be donated today . Both the Dakota truck and Puddle Jumper were going to get their Front End Alignments checked today . Ray is used to driving the Puddle Jumper , so I drove the truck to the front end mechanic in the next town , and Ray followed me . We dropped off the truck , but the thrift shop didn 't open until 10 . 00 , so after a quick visit to Home Depot to get a new little bell battery for the outside part of my wireless door bell , and some more door seals , we just came home . There was a message from Jay that he wanted to work , and also needed a ride to the next town to do some business , so I picked him up . I told him that I would be driving back to the next town to switch out the Puddle Jumper for the truck , so he could go with me then . First , Jay fixed a drawer on a wooden chest of drawers that I use for office stuff . The back of the drawer wasn 't as tall as the front , and papers kept on falling behind the drawer so that I had to remove it to find papers that I just knew were in there . Jay added a strip of wood to the top of the back of the drawer . The marmalade tabby cat , " Orange Glow " , who has made his home here , likes to sleep under a desk in my storeroom , which is joined onto Ray 's utility room . The storeroom doesn 't have a door on it , but it is at the back of the left side of the 42 ' RVport , so no rain gets in there . But it is on the north side , and I found a place that could be drafty in there , so Jay screwed on some boards to fill in the gaps . I am going to make Orange Glow a nice bed under that desk for the winter . I hate drafts , I always say that if a mouse twitched his whiskers in Ruby 's yard , ( my neighbor across the street ) , that I would feel the draft ! Jay and Ray helped me move some stuff around , ( a dryer , stove , and cabinets that I have for sale ) , so that we can stand up all the folded big yaPosted by It was chilly , but not cold when I picked up Jay . But too cold to let Bobcat out on the porch , until the afternoon . We loaded up the Puddle Jumper , ( little station wagon ) and packed it to the gills , and off we went to the Angelic Thrift Shop to donate our load there , when they opened at 10 . 00 am . Then to Lowes , to buy some door seals , and plumbing parts . Of course they are at different ends of the store . Off to Walmart for quite a list of stuff . I just can 't find anything since they re - organised , so I am always at the wrong end of the store for what I need , and have to go back looking for where they have moved that dept . I still have folks coming to buy stuff they had seen during the yard sale . I walked a lot of miles today . When I picked Jay up I was all bundled up in a T - shirt under a cotton turtleneck , then cardigan , scarf and coat . But as soon as we started clearing up and sorting the yard sale stuff , off came the coat . I even took the cardigan off for a while , but I still needed my turtle neck . Bobcat did go out on the screen porch later , and laid out there in the sunshine for a while , but she didn 't want to stay out there long , as it wasn 't very warm . We got the front yard cleaned up , and got all the buckets and door slabs that we had used for tables , put up . The RVport still has three 7 ' tables full of stuff , and 4 long racks of hanging clothes to go through . All the stuff that got sold , but there is still so much here ! Tomorrow we will go to the one charity thrift shop that is open on Mondays to drop stuff off there . It will be back in the 70 degrees then . Like they say " If you don 't like TX weather , just wait a while " . We made a quick trip into town to the bank that is open on Sundays in the grocery store . I wanted to get the yard sale money deposited . They asked me to put the change in that machine that counts it . It came up 10c short of the $ 200 that I had counted out and rolled up last night . I knew that I had counted it right , as I have worked at two major banks , then I found a dime under my desk chair when I got back ! So my faith is re - newed in the machine , and me . Then a lazy Sunday . I picked Jay up , we untarped the yard sale tables , and folks came alookin ' early . It was a nice day , but chillier , than yesterday . Didn 't get over 60 deg . Bobcat wanted to stay warm in my bedroom , and was only on the screen porch for a short while . We had some high winds during the night , but all the tarps stayed put . Just a steady stream of folks all day . You never know what they will buy . Thank goodness I won 't have to contend with the old wooden playpen , and the big jogging stroller any more . They went to new homes . I sold a lot of comforters but strangely , no blankets . As always , there is a bunch of stuff left over , so I started sorting it out into boxes to go to the different charities . Each charity has things that they seem to specialize in . At about 3 . 00PM Jay and I put the tarps back over everything as it was getting colder , and folks had stopped coming . They wanted to get home before it got cold . It is supposed to go down into the mid 30 's tonight . We quickly drove the rounds of the surrounding streets , picked up all the yard sale signs . When we got back we carried the loaded tables back into the RVport , condensing the contents as we went , so we could fold up some of the tables . Tomorrow will be a packing up day . I drove the truck down to Jay 's before 7 . 30 am . He loaded his sawhorses , plywood , and more stuff on it , and we got it set up at my place . He was in charge of his own stuff , as I had enough to do getting the rest of my tables all ready . Jay was peeved because he thought that his stuff was what people wanted , and hardly sold a thing . I had a lot of little cheaper " junque " , and did a lot better , as mine is really priced to move . Ray helped me move some more of my loaded tables out in front of the RVport , and he finished the stove - top , so that is done . It was perfect T - shirt weather , a bit cloudy , but not hot or cold . Tomorrow , it starts all over again , but it will be a colder , windier day . Another nice sunny day , but we will be putting away our tank tops and shorts again on Saturday . It is supposed to go down to 34 deg . on Saturday night . Then it will warm up to the 70 's again . Ray got on a step ladder and got the criss - cross of Ike tape off one of my bathroom windows . I was able to reach all the rest of it a long time ago . Then he worked on the stove - top , in between helping me move the loaded tables back out of the RVport . A whole bunch of different stuff to sell , as well as some of the old stuff , this weekend . Starting it on a Friday makes a big difference , as that seems to be the busiest day for yard sales . On Saturdays everyone is running around doing things with their families , but last Saturday 's sale wasn 't too bad . I can only have 2 a year , and this is it , until next Spring . Jay was cleaning out his mother 's shed that had a tree fall on it during Ike , so we have brought two Puddle Jumper loads of stuff to put in the sale . He will have to bring his own saw horses and plywood for his stuff , my tables are all full . We just put out the signs along the roads coming to this area , so I hope tomorrow will be a busy day . " Be warned . The USA has so much to offer that only the foolish would expect to see it all in a single life time . " The RV Fulltimers have so much to see , and I like to look at the pictures of all the places that I will never visit . Thank you Fulltimers . Now let me think , what went on today . . . . I emptied all the trash cans in the workshop and put it in bags in the Puddle Jumper and took it to be picked up down at Jay 's , as I had missed ours on Monday . Some things had to be in those expandable , stretchy trash bags , like they used for the piano on the commercial ! So then the puddle Jumper was vacuumed . We raked up a bunch of pine needles and tree twigs from last night 's hard rain , wind , thunder and lightening , and had to start a burn pile all over again . I hate that . The guy across the street starts up his gas blower early in the morning if he has a pine needle in his yard . Against Property Owner 's Rules , before 9 . 00am ! Gee , we are in the country , right next to Sam Houston National Forest which is full of pine needles . I like to keep them raked up , and I am not that fanatic about it , but then I have other things to do . Jay and I both had some sacks of Ready - Mix cement that were getting old , so he buried them in the ruts that the cars and motor home had made going into the RVport , that might save a twisted ankle during the yard sale . Jay remembered where he had put my folding clothes racks , and we moved all the pants and jeans on to them , as they are easier to see . The rack they were on , was too high up . We went into town to get more stuff for Ray to work on the stove top tomorrow , and picked up some Anti - Seize and an Easy - Out while I was at it . You always need them when you don 't have them . Then mailed a package at Post Office , and bought some Anti - Freeze for the vehicles . Very rarely that we need it here , but better safe than sorry . We did have a couple of days in the twenties one year , you never know . This afternoon I spent a lot of time researching a couple of Agave plants that I have , as don 't know much about them . Posted by A lady with a dog , Benji , that I haven 't groomed for a while , had called me last week about getting him groomed . She was supposed to arrive at 8 . 30 today , so I picked Jay up at 8 . 00am , as he wanted something to do . He knows there are lists of stuff to do here , held up by magnets on the fridge . Jay and I were moving the big work table that Kenya had borrowed , back out into the yard outside the side door of workshop , when he noticed a gas cap laying on the ground behind the TransStar motor home . Yup , it was from it . I assume someone syphoned gas out . I haven 't turned on the ignition yet to see how much . I didn 't need to be enervated today , grooming some dogs does that to me enough . We needed that work table back in it 's place , as yesterday we had made a template for cutting up the big boxes that cat litter comes in , into triangular tubes for shipping the aloe . It hurts my wrist to do that much cutting with a utility knife , so Jay cut out several of different sizes for the various lengths of aloe that I sell . Benji 's " mom " didn 't show up , and Ray did , so we all got busy with different things . Ray was working on a camper stove top in front of the workshop . Jay dug up and re - set the landscape timbers that border the walkway down the side of the house to the dog 's back yard . All that rain and turmoil from Ike had made a couple of them lift up above the level of the walkway . All I needed was to stub my hurt foot , or any foot , on them . I checked out the upright Bissell vacuum cleaner Jay had brought for me to sell in the yard sale . Found out it needed a belt and a bag , which I had in my vacuum parts dept . Jay tried it out in my house , and I think I like it better than my Panasonic . I vacuumed the workshop with my Commercial Upright Hoover that we keep in there for the big rubber - backed mats in there , like the mats they use at the stores . Then I cleaned and oiled it . Two shop vacs had been brought to sell , too , so I cleaned them and tried them out . I don 't need any more shop vacs . We have two in the workshop , one for wet and Posted by It was blowing and drizzling most of the day , but that didn 't stop me from packing up the aloe plants that had been sold , and getting them to the Post Office . Jay wanted to go with me as he had to pay their water bills in town , and his mother just isn 't up to driving . Then we drove to the next town so that Jay could pick up some prescriptions , and some things at Lowes . We had lunch at Casa Ole , and dropped off all the paper and cardboard for recycling . On the way home we stopped at Kroger 's as I needed to buy some more canned food for Snack and Pepper . A great big can of peaches fell off a shelf on to my foot , which is now black and blue , so I am a little shoeless gimpy . That was it for today ! The HiLo Guy arrived just about on time , at 8 . 00 AM , and I showed it to him . I was hoping that he wouldn 't take it , so that I could return his deposit , as I really could have got a lot more for it . He said it was in a lot better condition than he expected , that it was really nice . I showed him that the fridge was working , and all the original manuals for everything . I put a sewer hose in the square bumper for him , and showed him where the lever is to raise and lower the top of the trailer . I had the truck and the motor home parked in front of it , because of the yard sale , so I had to crank them up and drive them out of the way . There was one hitch , the power jack suddenly stopped working , and we couldn 't get the trailer on the ball of his SUV . I crawled into the HiLo with it in the lowered position and tried to plug in the converter , but I knew that the new battery was charged up , as I had just unplugged the trailer . As it is such a tight fit to have the converter plugged in whilst lowering it , I had unplugged it . As I couldn 't plug it back into the outlet in the trailer easily , with it lowered , I ran a cord from the house and plugged the converter into the cord . Still nothing on the power jack , never had a problem with it before . I found out it was an in - line fuse , so I had to get back up into the MH and get one from my stash that I carry in there . I just keep the new U - type fuses for the car and truck , all the old glass kind of fuses I keep in the MH , as it uses them . It blew again , so I put another one in , and got it done . I was pretty frazzled by this time , all that getting in and out of vehicles . I don 't know why , but the whole thing left me feeling very antsy and on edge all day . Jay wanted me to take him to the lake with some fish and duck food , plus he had some vacuums he wanted to put in the yard sale . I wanted to see how his mother is anyway , so I went down there . She had been back in hospital , and they can 't find out why her liver is hurting her so much . I hope she can get a transplant soon , as she is inPosted by Well , I got it done . I have hardly sat down since I opened up at 7 . 30 this morning . So I am beat . I covered up all the tables at dusk , and drove around taking up my signs . As soon as I got back I fed the cats as I knew when I did sit down , that I wouldn 't want to get up any time soon . I am just going to clean up the yard tomorrow . But while I have it all out and sorted , I might just have it again next weekend , too . This subdivision only allows two yard sales a year , but when I do have one , it is huge . Then most of it will get donated . I have plenty more summer stuff to sell for Easter , and Spring , which we left up in the storeroom attic . Maybe that attic will get empty one day . Thank goodness I had made some shrimp gumbo for tonight , as I knew I wouldn 't feel like cooking . But Bobcat is hovering around me as she wants some shrimp . HiLo Guy is supposed to be here at 8 . 00 AM , and it is all ready for him . I plugged it in and turned on the fridge so that it will be cold for him to check it . Cold this morning , in the 40 's , but turned into a sunny warm day Now that the HiLo is done , I can concentrate on my next endeavour . The Yard Sale . The weather is forecast to be sunny and mild , no rain . Ray and I unpacked the rest of the boxes on to the makeshift tables we had made out of door slabs , plywood , on buckets , milk crates , or anything else we could find . It was sorted out , hung up , and all the empty boxes are stored in the storeroom . We covered the " tables " with tarps as in the " Closed " mode , and each went to have a late lunch , while I thought about it . I didn 't know if I was up to having it this week . I am so used to having a three day yard sale , as once it gets it all set up , I might as well sell as much as I can . Kenya called to say that she was bringing back my ten yard sales tables . Then I realized that today is Friday so I really only had one day of yard sale , tomorrow Saturday . I knew I could handle one day , so I advertised it locally , and I am now committed . Ray went with me to put out the signs as at a most of the places the sign posts have to be pounded into the ground with a mall , and I didn 't think my old injured wrist could handle that today . It is illegal to fasten signs to telephone poles , and injurious to trees to put screws or nails in them . I hope tomorrow will be a busy day . Early this morning the TV said we could get some heavy rain later , so I shelved the laying out of the yard sale stuff , until we had two small jobs done . It did eventually drizzle a little bit , but not enough to do the grass and plants any good . I never did get to the yard sale stuff , the small jobs ballooned into bigger ones . First thing I was on to Computer Live Chat for help with this machine , and that took forever , but I think some of my computer issues are resolved . So much easier if you have been raised around these technical things . As you can see , even my digital camera gets the better of me , and don 't even get me started on my new camera cell phone ! I was trying to get Snack 's House turned upside down . Every time she used her box , litter would scatter in her water dish , so I wanted to put a hanging dish in there , so that couldn 't happen . But the carrier would have to be upside down to do that . By the time Ray was here , and I had dug her out of there , she loves her house , and she had run to her other hiding place . Here she thinks she is hiding , if we hadn 't put that board up the other day , she would be behind this furniture instead of in it . As the carrier was going to be upside down , it meant the door would swing the wrong way , so that meant taking it apart . The carrier is now in the middle room , which is much more convenient , up on something and against the wall , so the swing of the door is important . But the carrier 's screws had rusted to the wing nuts . We wrestled with it for a while , then sprayed them with penetrating oil and went outside to our next job while the oil did it 's thing . This is the curtain that I thought should be on the door , even though there are some on the inside , each side of the door . The tie - backs ' color doesn 't look right in the picture , but they are made of the original HiLo 's 40 year old avocado floral fabric , and it does match in real life . Then we encountered more frustrations . We decided to install the tie backs with snappers , and getting everything the right way around , the rPosted by I finally got the little curtains made for each side of the AC in the HiLo . Gathering the avocado part , and sewing on the white top with a rod pocket takes a while with these old hands . Getting them both the same wasn 't easy either . A picture of them open , and then closed . The reason I wanted to make these is that when the AC is on , you can 't lower the blind . I also finished the extra one for the door , but it isn 't hung yet . Ray and I went through all the boxes from the other attic , but there wasn 't much spoiled from the leak . We spent a couple of hours sorting everything out , and then covered it all with heavy plastic in case it rained , even though it is all in the RVport . I had to turn the AC on tonight , it is humid , after a lovely sunny day . Here are some of the Halloween pictures from my son in law 's Fire Dept party . First , my grandson as bloody Dr . and my son in law as patient . Second , my SIL 's rear view , and my daughter as a nurse . I guess a good time was had by all ! ! Ray and I worked a bit more on getting the curtain rods installed in the HiLo . We also got the yard sales signs down , but I still don 't know if I am up to having it this weekend . It was a good thing that we had brought the yard sale stuff down from the other attic , as I discovered that roof had leaked during Ike , too , so I need to go through all the boxes . Unfortunately , I had a 4 ' x8 ' sheet of birch veneer that I had bought to put on a wall in Pugsy , underneath the boxes , and now it is moldy and ruined . That was the one place where I knew I could keep it flat , dry , undisturbed , and unharmed , I thought . Pugsy is my vintage motor home . The insurance folk came to look at my Ike damage . I had kept the broken turbine that flew off the roof for them to see . They got up there and took pictures of where we repaired the roof . They took pictures of the damaged sheetrock and carpet in my bedroom , then some of the insulation in my attic . Then more of the other attic over the apartment . They said that I should make a list of everything that was damaged , and I have up to two years to make a claim on that stuff . I was just going through those boxes when they arrived . The HiLo Guy is now coming early Sunday , because of traffic , so I had a bit more of a reprieve , but I wanted to get it done , so I have been sewing the extra drapes for the HiLo today . They are all done . I think the one for the door will be too full , and get in the way , so I haven 't hemmed one side , in case I have to make it narrower . Now , I just have to make some tie - backs ! ! I saw some of those cutting mats and roller cutters when I was at Hobby Lobby , and I remembered that I had bought a cutter at a thrift shop . I found it in my sewing drawer with the 25 cent label still on it . Gee , I wish I had thought of that sooner . As long as I canPosted by I woke up early again , and got the day going . I called Austin DPS , and found out that Sam has to go into the local office to renew his driver 's license . So loaded up some food I had been saving for the ducks and fish at the lake , and drove down the street to tell him . I did remember to take my camerawith me this time . It must have been the early morning light that made the pictures come out orangy , as when I took another one facing in the other direction , it didn 't do it . This is our boat ramp and fishing pier on Lake Conroe . The new drape that I made last night , fits just fine , and I just have to make another smaller one for the other side of the AC in the HiLo . Ray washed the Puddle Jumper , my little station wagon , and we stuck a decal on the back window . It says " I love ConroeYardSales . com " . By being a member of " The Decal Club " I get a free Premier account , normally $ 10 a month , and I can list a bunch of stuff on there , instead of the Basic , where I could only list 10 items . I sent them the picture , and I am all set to go . I also get a free thumbnail picture on the ad title , and can have four big pictures on the listing . To sell , you must tell . When we had lowered the HiLo with some of the drapes in there , we noticed that they kind of bunched up . Originally they had been fastened top and bottom , but a lot of the plastic tracks had got old and disintegrated , so we couldn 't do that . So I thought that if we had a string of elastic going across near the bottom of the drapes , that would solve that . I went into the next town to Hobby Lobby , and bought some elastic , and avocado ribbon to thread the elastic through . We will see how that works out tomorrow . Gas sure is going down . Nearly like it used to be . I have an old gas receipt from 2 / 25 / 06 when it was $ 1 . 98 ! I thought that was going to be something to show my great grand kids in 2010 when gas would probably be $ 9 . 98 a gallon ! ! So I did this week 's trip to the next town , today . It was slightly chilly when I woke up at my old usual time . I am not adjusted to the clock change yet . But I used up every minute of that extra hour . I had to take the dogs out first thing , then skimmed through my emails while drinking my coffee , and got ready for the day . Starting it out with six little breakfasts , ( 3 dogs , and 3 cats ) , and getting Sheba 's medicine down her . Pour little thing , every time she moves , she starts coughing again . A couple of the little jobs that Ray and I did yesterday were to fix a table , and one of the book racks that I use for the Yard Sales . I hadn 't loaned this table to Kenya for her yard sale , as it won 't take a lot of weight , as it is the wallpapering table . Jay had put a new piece of Luann in the channel around the table , but it had gaped and was starting to fall in . Ray and I clamped it back in place , riveted it through the channel and Luann , and added a strut underneath . On the book rack we added the back slats , made out of an old wooden blind , and Plexiglas on the sides , as I was tired of the books falling through . Sam came up here , and we tried to renew his driver 's license on line . It came up with " call Austin , TX " to find out why . Of course they weren 't there on the weekend , so I will call tomorrow . Ray and I were going to hang more drapes in the HiLo , but the one I just made was too short , I should have checked the measurements myself . I will use it on another extra drape that I want to fasten on the inside of the door window . Oh well , " These things are sent to try us " , as my grandma used to say . So I spent most of the evening making another one , but longer . If he doesn 't pick the HiLo up on Wednesday , I will have some better pictures to re - advertise it with all the drapes in place . Mindi came and picked up her three dogs , and I was so happy not to be responsible for Sheba for a while . Even after she was gone , I could still hear her coughing ! All in my head . Another sunny day . I went to the bank to cash Sam 's check for the Little Van , and went down my street to his place to give him the title . It is such a shame . He had a stroke some time back , and is difficult to understand him , but he manages to get things across to me . That is why I groom his dog , Mikey , keep Revolution on Mikey , and try to do other things for him . Like getting his cats their shots and neutered . He was one of the folks who got a tree through their roof , and because he couldn 't make himself understood , he didn 't have insurance on his trailer . He can drive , take care of himself , and do things like fixing his plumbing , he just loses some of his words , so he points to things , so that you can prompt him . That doesn 't work too well on a phone . I called the insurance co . that he has for his Ford Explorer , to tell them to add the van , and they want him to drive all the way to the other end of Houston to do it . Then I found out that his driver 's license had expired . He said that when he went to re - new it , they couldn 't understand him , and he said they laughed at him . I called my insurance co . and they might be able to help him . First I am going to take him to the driver 's license place on Monday , or try to do it online . Don 't take your faculties for granted , and be tolerant of those who don 't have them all . . . . . It could happen to you . It has been back to shorts and tank tops , as this cold spell is over . The daytime breezes are great with the windows open , but we have to run the ACs at night . Ray and I did a few odd jobs around here , and got some more stuff down from the other attic . I was kept busy making a couple of little drapes to go over the HiLo back window for when the blind is up and the AC is running . The little Sheba takes up a bit of time , as I watch her so closely . Getting some of her medicines down her is fine , but she is crafty , and as soon as you turn your back she spits out the red liquid . So I go armed with a big red towel , as she gets that red medicine all over her face and neck . At least her appetite is good . Posted by " Our perception of animals determines how we treat them , and whether they suffer under our dominion or not . Behind our perception and treatment of animals lie our needs , wants , values , and cultural and religious traditions . Until these are addressed and our perception changed so there is empathy , respect , and communication , the holocaust of the animal kingdom will continue . And those qualities or virtues that make us human - humility , compassion , and selfless benevolence - will continue to be crushed by arrogance , ignorance , and the selfishness of our species . " " What is man without the beasts ? If all the beasts were gone , man would die from a great loneliness of spirit . For whatever befalls the earth , befalls the sons of the earth . Man did not weave the web of life ; he is merely a strand in it . Whatever he does to the web , he does to himself . " ( Chief Seattle , 1855 ) The basic issue is simple : " The question is not , can they reason ? Nor , can they talk ? But , can they suffer ? " ( Jeremy Bentham , philosopher and animal rights activist ; 1748 - 1832 . )