Year in Review Jan and Feb

Jan-

I had set up a "to do this month" list and I don't think I got any of it done. I was too cold most of the month since we were in the Airstream in Iowa. Most of the list was to clean out storage area and I did get to them, but not in January.  Our water line and the sewer froze up more than once and we ended up staying in a motel room a few nights. We could not and would not take the pets to the motel. They were warm enough and we brought them water to drink and I stayed the day at the camper, Jerry would drop me off, then go to work, then come home and get me to go back to the motel room for a couple of nights. We had a little trouble out of the truck because the fuel lines froze up.

 

 

I wore this hat on New Years day. It lights up and flashes.  Jerry and I enjoyed the day together

 

 

 

 

Rocky's favorite place to sleep during the day, in the Air Stream. Dad's Chair

 

 

Macon's favorite place was on Dad's bed.

 

 

I had long(ish) hair at he beginning of he year. And you can tell I'm a redhead still. My hair is slowly turning silver. Jerry's beard has been white a few years now. You can tell it's cold when he wears a hat in the house.

 

 

 

I took this picture as we were going out to eat on the 25th.

 

 

 

Feb-

Was full of snow and cold.  We were still in Iowa.  It's been a long time since we had seen snow this deep.  We went looking at camper near the end of the month and found the V-lite. Loved it and traded the Airstream for it. Well worth the trade. but it's harder to keep warm in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even more snow on Feb 1st.

 

 

The dogs enjoyed the snow.

 

 

Barney is trying to find the snow ball I threw at him..

 

Fuzzy found a warm place to sit.

 

 

Barney beat Rocky to Dad's chair.

 

 

Just not enough room for both of them at the same time..

 

We picked up the V-lite on Feb 27. It took us two weeks to get the Airstream over to the dealership because it was stuck in he snow and mud. It took two trucks to pull it out.

 

 

 

 

May your day be blessed and full of love.
May you find joy in the small things of the day
May you find something to smile about today.

Billie C.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening 

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I do not know

His house is in the forest though

He will not see me stopping here 

To watch his woods fill up with snow

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake

The only other sound's the sweep

Of wispy wind and downy flake

These woods are lovely dark and deep

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep

 

May your day be blessed and full of love. May you find joy in the small things.

Billie C.

Dec 16

DIME STORE ANGEL
It was just a Christmas Angel, that my Mom put on our tree.
She bought it at a five and dime, when I was only three.
Each year we'd trim our Christmas tree, with lights and ornaments.
Then Mom would always tell me, what the Angel represents.

The Angels came to tell the shepherds, of the Christ Child's birth.
And, Angels are still here with us, to guide us here on earth.
The Angel on our Christmas tree, was made in such a way.
That if the light inside burned out, you just threw it away.

The light burned out when I was twelve, the Angel would not shine.
But, Mom would not throw it away, she said it looked just fine.
She loved that little Angel, that she put upon our tree.
She said it didn't need a light, for anyone to see.

Then I grew up, and I moved out to start my family.
And, I'd go home at Christmas time, to help her trim her tree.
My wife and children went with me, to mom's house every year.
The house was filled with love and joy, as we shared Christmas cheer.

The kids would always say to her, "The Angel is burned out."
Then, she would smile and tell them, what the Angel's all about.
She told another reason, for it's specialty.
Your daddy picked that Angel out, when he was only three.

My mother passed away this year, early in the spring.
And then I had the painful task, of going through her things.
The beautiful old house she owned, was left me in her will.
We moved back in the summertime, we feel her in it still.

Early in December, we brought out our Christmas tree.
I went up to the attic, just to see what I could see.
I saw a cardboard box, with markings, "Ornaments and stuff."
And in it was the little Angel, that she loved so much.

I brought the cardboard box downstairs, and showed the family.
Then they persuaded me to put the Angel on our tree.
We trimmed the tree that weekend, and we talked of Christmas past.
Then when the tree was finally done, the Angel went on last.

Every night till Christmas, all the lights were burning bright.
Except the little Angel, that had long burned out her light.
Then on Christmas morning, I arose before the rest.
I had to have my coffee, to be at my very best.

I walked into the living room, my coffee cup in hand.
Then what I saw, so puzzled me, I could not understand.
I just stood in silence, as, my eyes filled up with tears.
The little angel was all aglow, that had been dark for many years.

Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; Teach us to be
patient and always to be kind.
--Helen Steiner Rice

 

****************

 Cracker Pudding
 
One quart milk
2 eggs, separated
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups broken saltine crackers
1 cup grated coconut- medium shred
1 tsp. vanilla
 
While warming the milk, beat egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Add to hot milk and stir in crackers and coconut. 
Cook till thick. Remove from heat and add stiffly beaten egg whites and vanilla.  Cool.  Serves 8

****************

Christmas Breakfast in a Mug

 

Christmas coffee mug
1 packet hot cocoa mix
Individually wrapped muffin
Cellophane-wrapped candy cane
Place all of the items in the mug for a quick gift breakfast. Place in a
clear decorative plastic bag and tie with a ribbon.

****************

 

 

 

*********

 

 

 

 

May your day be blessed and full of love. May you find joy in the small things.

Billie C.

Dec 15

 

Hello.  I am trying to post more often.  Today is nice and warm and sunny. I had the dogs out to enjoy the sun for a while. They really enjoyed rolling in the grass and Barney loved chasing his ball, for a few minutes.  I have put up a Tree (of sorts) in the camper.

 

 

I wasn't going to use it's sticky back, but then I thought, yeah I will. I will just have to be extra careful when I peel it off. 

 

I am thinking that, for next year, I may make a dozen of these felt birds. I didn't make this one, but I can look at it for inspiration. I do need to remove the tag off it's tail soon though.

 

 

I found this Madonna and Child at a yard sale last year and I put it where I can see it as I sit on the couch.

 

 

 

May your day be blessed and full of love. May you find joy in the small things.

Billie C.

December 11, 2015

December 11, 2015

 

Hello.  My camper is as clean as I can get it, for now. I still have to make the bed but that will have to wait until tomorrow morning.

 

 

While working in the bunkroom, I found a couple of small boxes of Christmas stuff. One is Christmas cards I made last year and the other was a smaller box of ornaments. 

 

 

 

 

May your day    be blessed and full of love. May you find joy in the small things.

Billie C.

Hello

Hello.

 

I have started decorating for Christmas. Yesterday I put a bow on the front door. I also put up garland that has lights in it along the slide out.

 

This morning I trimmed around a Small Tree that is a sticker. I don't want to stick it on the wall and will have to figure out a way to hang it on the wall. I will have to find some thread and a sharp needle to pass through the plastic backing of the tree and make a hanger for it that way.

 

We had Burger helper last night for dinner last night. Today I'm fixing Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese, Hubby's favorite. He's now working 12 hours a day and it doesn't look like he's going to get a break until Christmas unless he takes a day off. We are hoping that he doesn't have to do that.

 

 

 

 

 

May your day be blessed and full of love. May you find joy in the small things.

Billie C.

Hello

Hello. I had every intention of keeping up with all my blogs, and I have failed. I am not giving them up though.  We have moved from Iowa, back to Tennessee. Hubby is working in Cleveland TN and we are very happy to be back in Tennessee. For the first month, we were living with our daughter. our dogs were not allowed in her home though and we kept them in the camper. But as the days got warmer it was harder and harder to keep them quiet and comfortable. Then the cats started to climb on the neighbor's cars and that got us in more trouble with the neighbors.  We were able to move the camper out to some property that her boyfriend owns and the cats can roam and the dogs can bark, and run around without a lead on (most of the time) and we are comfortable since we have power for the air conditioner to work.  So all is good. 

 

Hubby changes jobs here from the one we came here for, to the one we had hoped would call us, while we were in Iowa. This job is suppose to last a couple of years. Maybe even longer. The only draw-back is how far away it is from where we have the camper. It take over and hour to make the drive each way.  We were doing good with that, until the job went from 10 hours a day 6 days a week to 11 hours a day 13 on, one off.  That's a lot of hours to be awake and then to have to stay alert while driving, well that was not going to work at all. so Hubby has moved into a motel room that is much closer to the job. Meanwhile I'm still at the camper, with the pets. Our daughter and her children are making sure I am not lonely.

 

I will be having surgery on July 20 (yes, Hubby will be there with me for this).

I will have a total hysterectomy done. Found out I have cancer in the lining of my Uterus.  But, unless things are much worse than expected, I will not have to have Chemo or Radiation treatments afterwards. I won't know on that until after the removed organs are examined, and I have my post op check up on Augest 27. I will be in the hospital over night when I have the surgery. The doctor told me he wants me up and walking by the end of the evening. That it would be better for me to be up and moving so soon afterwards.

 

Right now. my daughter and her family are planning on camping out in a tent at our place (her boyfriends land) the night of the surgery, and will take care of our pets while Hubby stays with me. She and the kids are going to be taking care of me, as hubby will have to be back to work on Wednesday after my surgery.  (have to pay the bills somehow, right?)

 

I will try to spend more time on my blogs from here out, but no promises.

 

Billie C.

Hello

Hello. I had every intention of keeping up with all my blogs, and I have failed. I am not giving them up though. We have moved from Iowa, back to Tennessee. Hubby is working in Cleveland TN and we are very happy to be back in Tennessee. For the first month, we were living with our daughter. our dogs were not allowed in her home though and we kept them in the camper. But as the days got warmer it was harder and harder to keep them quiet and comfortable. Then the cats started to climb on the neighbor's cars and that got us in more trouble with the neighbors. We were able to move the camper out to some property that her boyfriend owns and the cats can roam and the dogs can bark, and run around without a lead on (most of the time) and we are comfortable since we have power for the air conditioner to work. So all is good.
Hubby changes jobs here from the one we came here for, to the one we had hoped would call us, while we were in Iowa. This job is suppose to last a couple of years. Maybe even longer. The only draw-back is how far away it is from where we have the camper. It take over and hour to make the drive each way. We were doing good with that, until the job went from 10 hours a day 6 days a week to 11 hours a day 13 on, one off. That's a lot of hours to be awake and then to have to stay alert while driving, well that was not going to work at all. so Hubby has moved into a motel room that is much closer to the job. Meanwhile I'm still at the camper, with the pets. Our daughter and her children are making sure I am not lonely.
I will be having surgery on July 20 (yes, Hubby will be there with me for this).
I will have a total hysterectomy done. Found out I have cancer in the lining of my Uterus. But, unless things are much worse than expected, I will not have to have Chemo or Radiation treatments afterwards. I won't know on that until after the removed organs are examined, and I have my post op check up on Augest 27. I will be in the hospital over night when I have the surgery. The doctor told me he wants me up and walking by the end of the evening. That it would be better for me to be up and moving so soon afterwards.
Right now. my daughter and her family are planning on camping out in a tent at our place (her boyfriends land) the night of the surgery, and will take care of our pets while Hubby stays with me. She and the kids are going to be taking care of me, as hubby will have to be back to work on Wednesday after my surgery. (have to pay the bills somehow, right?)
I will try to spend more time on my blogs from here out, but no promises.
Billie C.

Feb 4, 2015,

Hello.

 

It's been a few days since I wrote to my blog. 

 

 

WE got about 9 inches of snow over the weekend and then it got Cold. We may start thawing and melting snow by this next weekend. Jerry didn't go into work on Monday due to the amount of snow and the road around the trailer court didn't get cleared until late Monday night.
The snowplow (on the front of a pickup truck) almost pushed the snow onto our Dish connection and the back of the truck. He did miss both so he's a lucky fellow.  He even missed the trash can and that reminds me that, if we got another snow like this last one to move the can to the other side of our driveway until it melts.  that way there is plenty of room at the end of the drive for it to be moved to. 

 

 

The dogs are dealing with the snow okay. Barney wants to play in it. Chasing nowballs and I'm thinking he's hearing something from the way he digs in the snow and follows some sort of trail.  Macon will stand and stare at one of the neighbors houses. I'm not sure if he's watching for them or if he is hearing something in that direction. Rocky doesn't much care for the snow this year. He does what he's outside for the runs to the door to be let back into the camper. At almost 8 years old, he's starting the feel his age I'm thinking. He has been more playfull inside the camper the last few days.

The cats are wanting to go out and so I have to put them in a kennel every time I want to open the door.  They have been practicing their Nija moves especially just before we head to bed.

 

All of the pets but Macon want to sleep in Jerry's chair and they don't want to share all that often.  If the cats are in the chair, the dogs will stare at them. look at me, then stare at the cats again as if I'm suppose to run them off the chair. Every now and then, Rocky will share the chair with a cat, not always though and sometimes the cat just gets up there anyway and makes it self comfortable no matter if Rocky is sleeping there or not.

Jerry texted me about eating out yesterday but I was busy starting dinner and didn't read the text. He called, asking if I got the text and I said I knew I had a text but couldn't get to my phone as it was on the other side of a small table I use when I am cooking and need more space. He said he needed to pick up another bag of hot hands and we could just eat out since he had to go out anyway.  Theisons only had a few 6 pack bags left and Jerry got the last of those. They should last him this week.  We ate at Perkins. I tried their Sunrise Burger. I asked for fruit instead of the fries. After dinner, Jerry took me to Wal-mart so I could pick up a loaf of bread and some breakfast sausage (forgotten when we shopped on Friday) I also picked up a few other things while I was there. Some yogurt I want to try, frozen fruit to go into my oatmeal, a tube of biscuits for late this week. I also picked up some  Snow peas and shrimp for my cabbage soup I made yesterday. I still have enough ingredients  to make more later, when this batch gets low.  I forgot that I wanted to check out the frozen vegetables for some Asian stir fry mix.  When I was checking out, I realized I didn't have my hat with me. I knew I had it in my pocket when we went into Perkins so I called Jerry to see if it was in the truck. No, it wasn't. I looked around the ground from where I got out of the truck and it wasn't there. Jerry drove me back to Perkins and it was on the ground from where I got out of the truck.  I like this hat because it has a clip on it and I don't have to tie it to keep it on my head.

My Cabbage soup is more a "clean the Fridge" soup.  I started with a cup of V8, then added to that 1/2 a bag of Cole Slaw mix.  I had some Green pepper cut up and I diced it up smaller to add to the pan along with a bit of Yellow pepper and a Red pepper as well.  I cut the corn off the cobs that I had in the freezer, then thawed. I have a bag of shredded carrots and I added a handful  of that to my pan, as well as a half a box of mushrooms and I diced up a small chicken breast I had cooked last week... When I get it out today, I'll add a stalk of Celery since I forgot that, and I'll open a can of water chestnuts that I also forgot I wanted to add, along with  few of the snow peas I picked up last night and some of the shrimp

 I've not gotten dressed for the day just yet.  Right now, I'm wearing my flannel  nightgown that Donna gave me. I love, love, love it. I have a pair of leggings on under it and a sweat shirt over it. I'll put the leggings back on, after I take my shower, after I take the dogs out, here in a bit. I need to clean out the bathtub so I can take my shower, but that is  after I make our beds and sort the laundry. I think I'll wear my red sweat shirt since it has a nice large heart on it's front. I might also wear the red sweat pants that match the shirt just because it matches and I doubt we are going to go out tonight since we were out last night.

 

While Jerry was home Monday, I worked on putting together a couple of card fronts to send to a couple of our grand kids for Valentines day. l want to finish those up today so I can put them in the mail by this weekend.  Plus  I want to make a couple of cards for Jerry, as well.

 

Billie C.

SPICE BAGS FOR WARM DRINKS

 

This looks great for any Fall and or Winter time celebration or Cozy evening spent in front of a fireplace. I am thinking of making a few outer covers of holiday print and then filling with a couple of  muslin or Cheesecloth pouches to send to family this next Season

 

 

SPICE BAGS FOR WARM DRINKS

 

8 sticks cinnamon, broken into small pieces
2 whole nutmegs, crushed
1/3 C. whole cloves
1/3 C. minced dried orange peel (or 1/4 C. ground)
1/4 C. whole allspice berries
Optional: garnish with cinnamon sticks, slice of orange, lemon peel

 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Tie in sachets of 1 tablespoon
each in a double thickness of cheesecloth; transfer to an airtight
container (perhaps into a canning jar with a decorated lid and tied
with
a big fall-ish bow!!).

 

One sachet of the mixture will flavor 1 quart of cider, tea or wine.
To
use, simmer 1 quart of the chosen beverage with 1 sachet for 20
minutes;
ladle into mugs. If desired, add a garnish or a sprinkling of
additional
spirits.

__._,_.___

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From: Billie Crossman

Hi! How are you? News: http://scaryfuture.com/stood/visit.php It was shown on the Oprah's show! Billie Crossman Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

From: Billie Crossman

Hi! How are you? Breaking news http://www.ipsosistemes.com/came/letter.php It works! Billie Crossman Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad

Update, Jan 16 2015

Hello and good morning.

 

I am trying to catch up and am surprised at how quickly I have gotten behind in just keepig up with the day to day things   When our water line froze we were able to deal with that. but when our black water holding tank froze and wouldn't drain we knew we may be in trouble.  I have a bucket I can dump waste into, but it is only a temporary fix. Good news is, we now have running water since Hubby went looking and found out that the gray water does not go into the holding tank, So we can shower and clean up as long as we have running water (I'm going to miss showering at the motel) and there has been some progress in the holding tank thawing. Not a lot of progress but some never the less.  With today's high going to be in the upper 40's we are in hopes that it will totally thaw today and we can get back to a more normal life in the camper.

 

Hubby is not feeling well. He took yesterday off of work and is taking today as well. If he can't make it into work tomorrow then he will have to get a doctor to sign off,  that he has indeed been very sick.  We are fairly sure it isn't flu because he doesn't have pain in his joints but he does have a stuffy head and is over all not feeling well.

The Pets a re loving that he is home and are sleeping around him. He will give them bits of his meal when he's home and I don't give treats until after I am done eating. 

The snow is melting and the ground is getting mushy. Barney will miss snowballs. Not that he is thrilled with them but I have been trying to make one and then toss it at him. Most of the time, the snow is so dry that it breaks into a million flakes before it even fully leaves my hand. but when one does stay together, the look on his face when it breaks in his mouth and then he looks for where it's suppose to be on the snow at his feet, is priceless.

One of the cats (Strips) got out during the time we were trying to thaw things in the back and he stayed out about and hour, now he's been trying to get out every time we open the door. I know he wants to go out but the wild cats around here have not had any shots and I don't want our cats to catch anything from them.

We have been doing a lot of eating out. Mainly to prevent having to use a lot of water, not knowing that the gray water was not going into the holding tank and the fact that the drain line was frozen at the end of the camper. I finally got that to thaw enough that water could pass and now it's almost all gone according to Jerry. Not sure if there is still ice there or not, now. I was putting rock salt in water then bringing it to a rolling boil then pouring down the sink closest to the ice block and that did wonders on that ice. I'm ready to be doing my own cooking again.

 

Billie C.

Update on me, From yesterday, Sunday Jan 4

Howdy....
Sunday, We Slept very good in our  own beds, on bew mattresses.
Macon woke me up at 6 am, needing to go out. Barney added his voice to the matter. I had to get dressed, feed the cast, then put on a  jacket with a hood under my coat. It took me longer to get dressed than it did for the dogs to do what they had to do. We had breakfast at Niland's Café, then we went  to Walmart to get the paycheck cashed and send some money to our older daughter and to pick up a money order to pay our power bill. Looked for a electric blanket for Hubby, but I couldn't find any. Bought a few Christmas things that are on sale at 75%. We went to Target and Hubby found a blanket there as well as good mattress covers. I found the $1 bins. I picked up a few things.

 

We ropped off the power payment on the way home. Where we brought everything we bought in. Hubby put the water line on, but no water to the camper. He put the heater on it but it's still frozen two hours later. Talked to Beth for a bit. While I was talking to her, I cleaned the cat box.

 

Found ou why the water hose was frozen. The heat tape got unplugged some how. We tried to thaw it by putting it in a dog kennel, Covering the kennel with a tarp and then put the torpedo heater in front of it. Oops, the end end of the hose fell in front of the heater and melted. Now we have to replace water hose and heat tape and pipe insulation. We picked upa  new water line, heat tape and pipe insulation at Lowe's  befor going to Dinner at Perkins. I ran into Wal-mart to picked up 3 diet coke for Hubby, and 9 gallons of water before we headed  back home. Oh and we are expecting to get 4 to 6 inches of snow between Monday night and Tuesday noon.

 

Outside my door ... It very cloudy and looking like the snow is going to start at any time
The Dogs and Cats ... are sleeping on the beds I made this morning.I am waiting for them to come to me to let me know they (the dogs) need to go outside. I know it's going to take me longer to get ready to go out that its going to take them to do what they need to do, again. It is cold outside. Earlier Rocky was trying to walk on only three feet because his other foot was cold, then a different foot got cold and he just didn't know what to do.

 

From the kitchen... I have some hamburger that needs to be cooked. I'l going to add a can of Chilie to it and serve over Frito chips and put cheese on to.
I am hearing... Mid day news is on. The heater Fan.
I am wearing... Sweats.  Sweat pants, sweat shirt with a t-shirt under it and two pairs of socks
I am reading... I still need to pick out a book to read.
I am hoping... That this cold spell does not last long and we dont get any more cold weather like this for a while.
I am creating... I'm not working on anything at the moment
One of my favorite things... talking to Beth each morning.
A few plans for today... Staying warm, taking the dogs out in a bit. making dinner...
A few plans for the rest of the week... Same plans for the rest of the week. Staying warm, taking care of the pets and making dinner.

 

Billie C.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. 

 

It is going to be a bit of a learning curve to remember to to now write 2015 instead of 2014.

 

We Welcomed the new year in  by sleeping in, at Colo motel. Our Breakfast was  at Saints Avenue Cafe in Boone. I Wore a small hat with fancy, flashing lights.

 

 

 We Spent most of New Year's day, trying to thaw  the sewer holding tank. We Had to find a heater that could blow hot air into the back of the camper. I think it's called a torpedo heater.  Plus we had to find insulation to wrap around it to keep it from happening again. We fogot to get the tarp and Jerry will have to pick that up today after he gets off work early.

 

 

 

Our Dinner was  sandwiches, nuts,and apple pie. Jerry also had chips and ,I had a banana.

 

 

While trying to thaw the holding tank we discovered   that the solids have blocked the outlet and now we are  dealing with that.

 

While trying to thaw that tank, We had to stop, shut off the heater and unplug it so we could run to town again, only to find out the place we were going to get two propane tanks filled was closed for the holiday. Just as Jerry was starting some water to heat up on the stove and pour down the toilet, the propane tank for the kitchen stove ran out.  The tank for the heater is so low it may as well be empty. 

 

 Ah. the thrills of living in a camper, in warm weather and cold.

 

 

 Today, Jan 2.

 

Jerry still had to go to work or risk losing his job because of not going in, and not having a doctor's excuse for why not.

 

Jerry still has to find a place to fill the tanks and will do that after he gets off work. He is going to try to get off as soon as he gets his check so we have some light and it not be below freezing while we work on having  to wrap the sewer line in a tarp and insulation in hopes that it will not freeze solid again.

 

While he is at work, I will be straightening up the camper and picking up and taking the dogs outside a couple of times.

 

Sunday, we are going to go pick up two special made mattresses we ordered just before Christmas, for the beds in the middle of this camper. The twin mattresses we picked up three years ago have gotten worn out because I cant turn them as needed. I can't flip them, because they are not made to be flipped, and I can't rotate them because there is not enough over-head room to get them over.

 

About the only thing I can't get done today is washing up dishes.