Finally - a current update!

So much has happened since I last wrote here, obviously I suck at the daily blog thing but at least I check in here and there.

We left Howard Prairie after a beautiful and enjoyable summer and headed for Colorado to visit the kids and grandkids. We stayed two weeks which is the longest we have stayed before and enjoyed the time with kids immensley. They are all getting big so fast and I wonder if we're doing this backwards...traveling when the grandkids are young and want to spend time with us as opposed to waiting until they are older and aren't as interested in hanging out with us. I hope I don't regret our decisions but how do you know if you have later as opposed to now?

After Colorado, we headed to El Cajon, CA for our first experience managing a Pumpkin Patch! Hard work, record heat waves and lots of fun! We enjoyed the people we hired and still miss most of them alot. I'd work that job again if I can have the same people work for me.

Two days before we closed for the season a couple brought some Chihuahua puppies in to try and sell and yes, I bought one. Jim calls him my mid-life crisis! Well, he was alot cheaper than a Corvette!

His name is Rocky and we have both grown to love him alot, not so sure that Harley shares that sentiment however though River seems to have gotten attached. He is certainly our comic relief!

After the pumpkins we took just the car and left for a two week road trip up the coast to Washington to visit family. We had a chance for the first time to stay with our son Ben and his wife Sarah and the kids Chance and Briielle. We had a wonderful time there and they were great with us trying to potty train Rocky without 100% success. We miss them alot!

Visiting my sister Sherese, brother Marc and my sister Jerleen and all of their families was good and sad, I miss them more than they probably know.

Once we got back to the San Diego area we moved over to Escondido to manage a Christmas tree lot for the second time with the same company that we did pumpkins with. I was much more relaxed this year with the trees than I was last year, but I'm not sure why. Had a good time with our employees and of course Danny who has been with the company for 18 years and makes the whole thing look easy! Can't imagine doing the tree lot without him!!

After the tree lot we spent Christmas/New Years back in Craig, CO with the grandkids. First Christmas I have had all of them together in 6 years and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I don't miss the -26 temps however!

Currently we are back in Anaheim working at the Anaheim RV Village. Old friends, new friends, seems like home. We are planning the visits from the kids this spring but we do miss our good friends, CJ and Jeanne Sands who left here to head east.

Oh, one last thing, our friends Terry and Kathy Langley bought a new toy hauler so they offered us their 1988 Southwind. It's a little newer than our Champion but has many features that the Champion did not, thanks you guys, we love our new home.

Finally, you're all caught up! I will add pics later but at least I got the writing done. Bye for now.


!

More At Howard Prairie Resort

Well, so far it has been an enjoyable and busy summer. The ice went away, the skies are blue, pelicans are gathering and the fishing is good! Business at the restaurant has picked up quite a bit which helps the time pass. Though I'm enjoying waiting on people I can't say that I would want to do this again. I won't say never because then fate is sure to prove me wrong, but it isn't my favorite job. We'll see how I feel at the end of the summer. The people that I'm working with are great! Really, if they weren't I wouldn't still be here I'm sure.

Jim is enjoying the marina, why wouldn't he, he gets to grill the guests on their fishing for the day....you know, where did they catch them, what did they use, etc., etc., etc. He takes one of the boats out quite regularly and once in awhile I go with him. Today we took both the dogs in a Prairie Bell out to the "Cheese Hole", dropped anchor and fished. Within about 2 hours we had 4 decent trout for dinner and back we came. River does not like to ride in anything with a motor but once we dropped anchor he did actually lay down and sun himself. Harley on the other hand loves the boat and fishing!!! As soon as Jim hooks something Harley is right there whining his encouragement and then he guards the fish once they're in the bucket. Too funny!

We've tried bbq'ing them but we still prefer them rolled in flour and fried in a hot skillet. Yum!!

Howard Prairie Lake Resort

We arrived here in southern Oregon at the Howard Prairie Resort on March 15th, 2008.
Lots of snow where we are temporarily located....lots of snow but beautiful!
This is the lake under ice and snow!

Jim will be working on the marina, something he has wanted to do since we started fulltiming and I will be serving in the cafe which is something I wasn't sure I could do but so far so good.

It's been too long!

It's been way too long since I last updated my blog! I guess I'm not the best blogger, I know it's supposed to be more like a daily diary but I'm just not very reliable in that respect, I tend to "catch up" it seems. Anyway, here is what we have been up to since the last post.

We left Anaheim to go to Escondido to work at a Christmas tree lot. I knew that it would be work but we had no idea, none, not at all! It was a huge lot, run by very nice people and our lot was managed by Danny, who is a super guy! He worked non-stop but made the whole process as fun as possible.


We worked 12 hour days, 7 days a week. I took care of the front desk girls and Jim worked with Danny out on the lot, setting up trees, carrying them to the cars, delivering, unloading trucks, etc. Very hard work, don't let anyone tell you different, unless of course, all you have to do is sit at the desk and delegate.
One benefit was that we both lost some weight, never a bad thing. The money was paid in two payments and was nice to get in a lump sum like that but when we did the math it turned out to be minimum wage. I doubt we'd do it again, but I won't say never.

After the tree lot we left the motorhome and drove the van up to central Oregon to spend Christmas with our two oldest sons and their families. Jim's mother passed away Christmas Eve in Vancouver, WA so we stayed longer to attend her funeral and see Jims siblings that are spread out. Seeing everyone is the only pleasant part of a funeral like this. Fern was the best mother-in-law and she adored her kids and grandkids. Though she will be missed, she herself was ready to go to a better place.


We left Oregon on 1/2 to go back down to Escondido to get the motorhome and go to Yuma, AZ. We met some friends, Dale and Melody, who had also sold Christmas trees in Yuma and they took us to Algodones, Mexico for the first time. Jim went to Melody's dentist there, had tooth pulled, a crown and got a partial plate, all for the price of $720! Nice little town, great shopping and the best shrimp tacos!

In mid January we came back to the Anaheim RV Village. I am working for site and Jim got a drafting job just 15 mins away making very good money through a temp shop. We will stay here until a business that we are starting with my sister and brother-in-law gets off the ground, more on that later.

So, now we are caught up. I don't promise to write everyday but I will try to write more often. I'll also add some pictures.

On To Disneyland!

We have now moved on to our next assignment in Anaheim, CA. Due to family issues, we had to leave the resort in Flaming Gorge to take care of things and are now basking in the California sunshine.

We are at Anaheim RV Village, a newly remodled very nice RV park just 5 blocks from Disney. Lots of palm trees and the Disney fireworks display just outside our window can not only be seen but heard and felt also! What a display. Both our dogs, Harley and River were a little disturbed by all the noise but after a few weeks they actually sit and watch.

Our new managers, Susan and Paul, are the nicest, happiest people I think we have ever worked for and their sons, Spencer and Chandler (whom we also work with) are great kids to have around. We also work with two other couples, Dave/Susan and Jack/Mary Ann, plus Randi, all very nice and helpful. Our duties are drastically different from what they were in the Gorge. Jim works mostly maintenance and some front desk and I work only the front desk. The atmosphere is fun, relaxed and not as busy as we will be when more folks know that we are open after the remodel. At the moment I think we are a well-kept secret but with us being the closest park to Disney that will change rapidly I'm sure!

It is nice to be close to all kinds of shopping and activities after having been so tucked away in the gorge. We have ordered our new glasses and getting some much needed dental work done. Without health/dental insurance it has been tough to arrange and now that we have discovered CareCredit we are able to get some things done. Anyone in the same situation should apply for either CareCredit with GE Money or Wells Fargos' Allcare. No I don't work for them, we just use them.

I will post more of our CA happenings soon with some pictures so please come back to visit.

More at Flaming Gorge Resort

We have had a chance now to settle into our new routine. Jim's hours have been changed to noon to 8pm while I have a couple of evenings as well as my two splits. Here's a good thing! So far I have lost 12lbs and Jim has lost 6lbs.! Woohoo!! We are both discovering muscles we forgot we had but we kind of expected that.

We have had a few snow showers over the last few weeks, some great days also (preview of coming attractions) and last night a dandy thunder/lightning storm. Looks like either rain or snow today also. Oh well, they promise that summer is on it's way.

Jim has gone fishing several times with great success in fact, the other evening at Sheep Creek he caught about 2 dozen 1-2lb. rainbows. When the weather warms up more we will take a raft down the river which we have never done before.

We have two sons that live about 3 hrs. away in Craig, CO which we have visited twice so far. Our grandkids there, Cameron and Savanna are already planning their summer visit so I'll need to find a sitter here for about 3 hrs. a day when our schedules cross. It should be fun to have them all to ourselves though!

Oh, another thing. The monthly dog fee here at the resort was canceled which made everyone happy. It wasn't the workampers that didn't want to pick up the canine deposits so this is a much fairer way of doing things.

The mule deer just crossed behind our motorhome and our two dogs, River and Harley, are trying to convince me they are deer hounds...NOT! Love to watch the deer!! Also, I've never been much of a birdwatcher but I must admit they have some of the prettiest birds around here which of course, I don't know the names of but love to watch.

We have been picking up a couple of things that we have needed or wanted such as an exercise pen for the dogs, car parts, etc. The only possible negative here is that we are expecting new uniform shirts which my boss, Woody, wants us to tuck in....problem is, I don't tuck my shirts in nor will I...ever! He's a very nice, young guy with the cutest little wife and he doesn't understand that women my age (not all but many) do not tuck shirts in so I told him if he insists I would give him a two week notice. I know it sounds silly but I think I do a good job and if I had to tuck then I would be so self-concious I think my efforts would suffer. Yes, it's that important to me. So far, we have kind of stopped talking about it for the moment. I guess time will tell.

Flaming Gorge Resort

It's been a long time since I last posted! We stayed in Redmond working local jobs until our summer assignment started here at Flaming Gorge Resort in Utah. It was a nice winter though, we were parked in our son and daughter in laws yard and our granddaughters, Brittini and Morgan, would run out to the motorhome every morning. I am so glad we had so much time with them and our other grandchildren, Chance and Briielle, it wasn't quite as sad leaving them as usual.

We arrived at the Flaming Gorge Resort on March 12 and after passing our drug screen we started work about the 19th. Jim is working at the gas station doing such things as maintenance, shuttling the guides/clients, cutting wood as well as anything else they need. I am in the resturant hostessing. So far, both of us are enjoying the people we work with as well as our duties.

We are parked behind a double row of employee mobile homes and the national forest is our backyard! Mule deer wander the grounds in large numbers, owls hoot in the night and the bird songs are beautiful to hear. On a visit to nearby Red Canyon we even spotted a group of mountain goats along the side of the road!


When we arrived we met our supervisor, Woody (a very nice guy), received our employee handbooks and directions for the drug test. The nearest town with grocery stores, wal-mart, resturants, etc. is Vernal which is about 40 miles away. Our only surprise was that they charge a monthly fee for each dog you have. I guess this was something new they just started but it was a surprise not only for us but for all the other workampers that have been arriving of which there are several! We have added that to our list of questions to ask in the future. Oh, we also need to start asking what kind of shifts we are each working, since we found out when we arrived that as a hostess I am working split shifts and Jim is working days although we do have the same days off now.

You can see photos for this area in the photo section as well as photos of family and friends that visit. We will be here until October so there will be much more info to come.