Keeping Busy

     Lot's of changes in my dealing with my medical condition. I am working on being more proactive. Not an easy thing to do. I have been doing some serious reading regarding a more natural approach to dealing with rheumatoid arthritis. There is a lot of information out there, and everyone seems to have "the answer". Finding that, as with most things, there seems to be a bit of truth in everything. Some of the concepts keep coming up repeatedly though: Cutting out (or greatly reducing) sugar, caffeine, nicotine, salt, processed foods, food additives, red meats, and fat. Wow!

     Most of the success stories I've read are coming from people that have adopted a mostly Vegan type eating program with a regular exercise routine. Makes sense, but change never comes easily. All I know is that I have come to the point where I don't want to live my life dependent on a bunch of medicine (that may or may not be that great for me) and seeing no relief from the chronic pain I deal with daily while watching my body fall apart. I have too much to do and way too much to live for. We have been making changes slowly, but I'm at the point now where I need to really step things up and see if any of this stuff will help. I'm doubting that Honeyman will ever give up his Dr Pepper or white sugar, but I can do what I need to do for me, and maybe he'll follow along kicking and screaming...lol

      A funny on him that I just have to share: We had just finished our breakfast of a multi-grain hot cereal with flax. Mine had some blueberries while his had a generous sprinkle of white sugar (hey, it's a process). He made a comment about that not being our usual oatmeal which he prefers... then took a big swig of Dr Pepper to clear the taste from his mouth! I love this guy!!!

     So I'm trying to get things set up here in the 5er to make it more comfy and organized for full-time living, and to get ready for our move to Seguin next week. When I'm not moving too well I'm sitting and knitting or reading.

This picture does not do this pair justice! They are made with a wonderful 100% Merino wool with just a little stretch. Feel awesome, and the best part was the yarn was a gift!

Certainly not my usual color choice, but this was some amazing yarn that was also a gift. I had never used any knitpicks yarn before, but I certainly will in the future! Another 100% Merino wool so am adding some reinforcement yarn for the heels and toes for added strength and wear. I can't believe how reasonable their prices are for such a great quality yarn. I highly recommend it for anyone out there that likes fiber. They have online shopping and a paper catalog you can order at their website.

What I Just Finished Reading:

"Eat To Live" by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. (wonderful insight into healthy eating and all the whys along with his book "Fasting and Eating for Health - A Medical Doctor's Program For conquering Disease". Good Stuff!)

"The Ghosts of Varner Creek" by Michael Weems (Good mystery/ghost story, well written, fast read)

What I'm Reading Now:

"Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love, and Leading Roles" by Kathleen Turner (Interesting autobiography showing a strong survivor, and how she has dealt with living with rheumatoid arthritis. I'm looking for inspiration and she gives it in spades with some colorful language)

What's on My Needles:

Socks, Socks, Socks.... but I'm thinking a lacy shawl or a new sweater are in my future now that I've been drooling over the yarns at knitpicks

Quote For The Day:

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." Helen Keller

The Search is On

     The search is on for a winter home. We have heard so much about all the places around here in South Texas near the coast being all booked for the winter months, so we are being pro-active and looking for something sweet now (and it still might be too late for some spots...sigh). We really like the Rockport, Texas area. Has a nice hippy/artsy feel and is located on the water (fishing-Yes!). They have lots of activities there that I'm interested in and if Honeyman has his fishing and tv he's all good...lol. So we spent the day today hunting. A few absolute "NO"s, but several maybes. Found one we both agreed would meet our needs and it's only $305 for winter monthly rate plus electric. I'll call them tomorrow when the office is open to see what kind of openings they have for November-Februaryish.

Took a few pictures of the Rockport area while we were there today.

The brown pelicans on this dock blend right in

A lot of jellyfish and crab in this breakwater area

A few of the delightful statues they have near the waterfront

(Sorry Judy, but I just had to borrow your clever idea when I saw this picture...lol)

The End

Breathe In, Breathe Out

     Technology can be our friend or our worst enemy. We recently purchased our Broadband2Go so that we can have our own wireless service wherever we go (pretty much) at 3-4G. First it worked on the netbook, but not on the laptop. Now it's working on the laptop, but not the netbook! Has worked fine on the kindle the whole time. I'm thinking that it's a Windows 7 issue because when I allowed the upgrades that's when it stopped working. Tech support sucks no matter where I get it from (and that's IF I can understand them). I'm just not very techno-savvy. I use the analogy that technology for me is like driving a car. I have no understanding of how it works or why, but I am a great driver. I know the basic maintenance procedures and how to navigate my way around, but just don't ask me to fix anything unless you want to lead me through each little step. I thought the whole idea of technology was to make our lives easier...sigh.

So when I need to get back to simple I pull out the knitting.

Simple Socks on the needles... ahhhh

Feeling better already!

Be Blessed!

White Towels and Junk Stores

We moved the 5er Wednesday to the Hitching Post RV Park in Sinton, Texas. Everything went real smooth and Susan (the owner of the park) was awesome at helping us to get settled into a nice, shady spot. Can hardly believe we actually have trees and shade here. We are right off the highway here, and there is some road noise, but not much when we are inside. With temps in the hundreds we don't spend a whole lotta time outside anyway...sigh. We did do a little driving around today to see the lay of the land. The only grocery store here is Tiny, but we have to go into Corpus Christi a couple times a week anyway for my physical therapy. Next grocery trip needs to be to Sprouts (health food store) for some needed supplements and great produce department.

My final thoughts on Seabreeze RV Park in Portland, Texas: After having stayed there for one month we got a pretty good feel for what it was like.

We didn't have any rain while we were there so the calache (sp) roads and spots were Very dusty. With the constant wind it was in the air most the time. Can't imagine what it would be like when it does rain. Read one review of the park that said it turned into a slimy, slippery mess. I can believe it.

The view down in the bay section was awesome. Wonderful walking areas and great for puppy walking. We had NO interest in moving to the "Hill" or "Valley" areas where they had some meter/monthly rate sites. Those areas are Not for larger rigs (although they do squeeze them in there). We liked the convenience of being closer to the bay, fishing, pool, laundry, and office that being in the bay area gave us.

Just like most any park there were the rule breakers. People have restricted breed dogs, some off leashes, lack of poop picker-uppers (you Know who you are...grrrrr), people drive faster than the limit... you know: the usual. All in all though it was a great experience and we'll probably stay here again in the future. Only real possible negative is the constant wind. I'll  bet it's really something in the winter months. With the high temps we've had, it was kinda nice most the time.

So the place we are at now is a no frills kinda place, but rich in history and right where we need to be. Sinton is about halfway between Corpus and family in Sandia. We are going to be checking out some of the local towns history in the next few weeks and I'll be posting some pictures and hopefully interesting stories.

Something I figured out quite by accident is that if you put a white towel under your feet the freakin' little crazy ants won't bother you when you are sitting on the patio surrounded by the buggers. At least so far it's working...

Now for the Junk Stores here in Sinton: it's the weirdest thing ever. Here it is Saturday and over half of the wonderful looking shops downtown are closed! That's right, best day of the week to go junk store shopping and the darn things are shut up tight... go figure!

What I Just Finished Reading:

I must confess: I read the entire Hunger Games Trilogy... Still processing my thoughts/feeling on this one. Dark, very Dark. Can't get past the idea that I've read so much of it before. I guess a lot of the post-apocalyptic reads follow similar themes is all.

"Crazy Days in Big Lake" by Nick Russell (Nick's done another great job with his third book in his Big Lake series. Small town with lots of drama and laughs.)

What I'm Reading Now:

"Fasting and Eating for Health-A medical Doctor's program for conquering disease" (Makes a good argument for a more healthful program based on a vegan type (with variations on a Mediterranean diet theme) in order to turn our health issues around.)

Slow Recovery

     Sorry I haven't been posting on here lately. Seems like we are both having a rough time recovering from all the stress and exertion that moving out of the house entailed. Doesn't help that we were dealing with heat indexes in the 105+ range daily. Gettin' too old for this nonsense! Like my daughter Lenae so aptly put it: "Now you don't have to worry about moving anymore, just take your house with you!"

     We have a few more odds and ends to finish up here, then we'll me heading out the 15th. Planning on going to a little hole in the wall place called the Hitching Post in Sinton, Tx for a couple weeks until we can get past my Dr's appt on the 22nd and Labor Day Weekend. By then all the kiddos should be back in school and family vacationers should be back in their sticks and bricks homes.

     We went up to Seguin to visit with Marissa, Adam and Ashlyn for a few days. Found a couple of nice campgrounds in that area on the Guadalupe River near their place. I'll be checking these out further to see if they have any openings for September. It would make a good home base for checking out that area. Central to so many of the places we'd like to explore further, and sounds like good fishing too.

Guadalupe River

     HoneyMan gave me an Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot for my birthday next week. Didn't have any problem setting it up for the Kindle Fire, but the laptop was more of a challenge. Now that I've got them both hooked up online I'll be able to blog easier and surfing the net is a breeze! Running at 54 Mbps vs the 1Mbps that the rv park here provides with their antiquated wifi system. All this technology makes my brain hurt!

     I'm feeling pretty good today, so better get busy. We have a lot to do to get ready to pull out of here next week. Still refining and rearranging to make sure we only have what we absolutely need, love, and use with us.

What I'm Reading Now:

"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins Book 2 of the Hunger Games Trilogy (couldn't help following up after finishing the Hunger Games. Now I'm wondering why...hmmm)

What I Just Read:

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins (mixed feelings about this book. Feels a lot like the Lois Lowry books (The Giver Trilogy, Number the Stars). Dark tales of a post apocalyptic world showing humanity at it's best vs it's worst. Scary to say the least. Several aspects of this book show shadows of history repeating itself. Well written, but very negative. Key word: Dark) 

Quote For The Day:

"A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner." English Proverb