Arkansas Today

Will be doing Arkansas this weekend.

Not a huge trip, just a two day thing.  Just going over the state line around the Fort Smith area.  Following a couple of bikers and meeting up at ole man's friend's place.  BBQ and pool fun tonight.

I'll be riding with 2 doggies.  :D

Van Halen was running fine all this time, and lo and behold, she started running hot Thursday evening.  Mr. Super Duper Handy Ole Man went to work on her, cause Ms. Pammy was not going without Van Halen.  So here is what went down with repairs....

New thermostat Thursday evening.  Old one was barely opening up.  Well, that changed, and still ran hot.  Upon further inspection, found some more problems, radiator wasn't pushing fluids, and the inside fluid was brown and gunky looking, not cool!

So bright and early Friday morning Mr. Super Duper Handy Ole Man got to work, worked all dang day in this heat, high humidity and no wind.  He put in: new radiator, new fan clutch, new water pump, and new belt.  Also got new A/C compressor and accumulator, didn't change it out yet since the A/C was still holding 90lbs of pressure, but I will be taking it with me in case it needs changing on the trip.  Case of Freon and tools are going, as well.  Van Halen is purring and the heat gage stayed where it should have been.  Happy Happy Pammy!!   (Thank you Tim!!)

Will be taking some pictures and posting them after the trip.  Cheers!!

There's a Wedding in My Future

My daughter is engaged! :)

Now starts all the wedding fun.    I admit, I never got into the whole wedding frenzy.  This will be for my one and only daughter, though, so will try to muster some excitement of the millions of details coming this way, lol. 

Here is the video of the proposal:

 

Yep, someone caught it on film.  :)   Congrats Kiddo and Sky!!!  <3

Mini Getaway Planned

Will have a 2 day trip coming up. 

My daughter, Karen, is moving with her fiancé, Sky, to a town that is over 3 hours away from my town for his job.  They are in love with the new town, he is really liking his new work place, and they are happy.  :)  They haven't done the big move yet.  His company has set them up in a camping travel trailer at an RV park for now until they can find their own place.   As they still have a home here, there is some back and forth driving going on.

They were  also borrowing my little Pontiac to drive.  Sky had been using a work truck, but since the transfer they didn't have one available to him.  I had Van Halen to drive so I had my extra little Pontiac I was letting them borrow.  This past weekend, however, his family loaned him one of their extra vehicles and he felt better driving theirs as opposed to mine, should something ever happen.  I understand that. 

So, tomorrow, Tuesday, my daughter will be driving the Pontiac back to me.  I will drive her back in Van Halen and stay over.  That will give me a chance to check out her new town and get to visit.  Will be camping in Van Halen that night near where they are parked.  No hook ups for me, I don't need them.  :)   Will be stealthin' in an RV park, haha!!  I might pack an extra extension cord and plug in fans and run it from their camper for extra cooling off from the heat.  Shhh....

Not a big trip, but it is out of town, exploring a new town, and getting to camp in Van Halen.  Haven't really slept in her since the Texas trip.  :(   Well..  except for that time when I went out there in the evening to 'read a book' and promptly fell asleep for a few hours, haha!!

 

When I Break Something



I break it good. 



 

This was in 2012, at not a very particular good time in my life.  John had been fighting cancer for two years and we thought it was clear.  Then he started getting headaches.  He went in to surgery with them telling him it was benign, but after the neurosurgeon got in there, he knew it was malignant.  He never woke up from that surgery and spent a month in ICU before he passed.  It was a really, really sad time.  We won't dwell anymore on that.

 

I was up there, in Oklahoma City, OK, for this duration.  About two weeks in, I was staying at an extended stay hotel.  I wasn't really getting much sleep due to what was going on.  But on one morning, August 31st, 2012, I had finally found some sleep early in the morning and was going to sleep a bit.  That is, until the most rude upstairs neighbors started tromping.

 

A little I can deal with, but it was going non-stop for over an hour.  Not just walking tromps, but like they were deliberately stomping as hard as they could.  I admit it, I got angry.  Decided right then and there I was gonna hit the ceiling with something.  I grabbed anything I could find, a coat hanger from the closet and was going to stand on the bed and hit the roof.  I thought, if they could hear me, then they would know I could hear them and maybe they'd cool it some. 

 

Yes, this is where my stupid comes in.  The underside of the top comforter was slick, so when I went to stand it slid and off I went.  I'm right handed, so I caught myself on my left hand, thank goodness.  Knew right away it was broke.  Here is the damage I done:  shattered distal radius, ripped the tendon and chipped off the distal ulnar.  It was a 3 1/2 hour surgery which included plates and screws, which will be in there permanently, and then sporting one of these nifty devices for 6 weeks.

 

 

Pretty, huh?   So next time...   call the front desk.  :)

"The Lady in the Van"

There will be a movie coming out later this year called "The Lady in the Van".  It's from the book of the same title written by Alan Bennett and is a true story.

I know some people that know me, in real life, will give me crap over this and start calling me that.   For what it's worth, it looks like it's going to be a wonderful movie!  But anyways, I went ahead and bought the book to read, so I would have some ammo under my belt when having to deal with the future jabs.  ;)

Here's the trailer:

Looks like a heart warming story that I can't wait to watch.

Van Gifts to Myself

Decided to buy a few things for myself for my birthday.  Here is the results:

I was having a problem figuring out the whole charging of the jumper pack while I am driving.  In the past, I had been having to recharge my jumper pack by attaching an extension cord to the back of the pack, running the extension cord to the front, then plugging it in to an inverter that was then plugged into the cig outlet.  It took a while, but it did work.  Was kind of a pain to move everything around to accomplish this, but it did work.

So instead, I bought this nifty lil $8 12v male to male plug.  The cord is long enough that it reached my already bungeed down jumper pack that sits on my desk, and it's long enough to be able to plug in to the cig lighter.  Driving around a bit today I juiced it up from almost full charge to fully charged in just a little bit of driving.  Was very happy about this. :D

Also, got another lil $8 nifty extension cord for a 12v plug.  It reaches from the bungeed jumper pack that is on my desk, behind it, around the bed, across the back, and fit to where I have the little DVD player.  That cord is so long, it can pretty much reach anywhere in the van I would need it to.  So now instead of moving that jumper pack everywhere 12v is needed, I can leave it where it is, be able to charge it, and have 12v available wherever I may need it.   Coolness!!!

And then there's the lumbar support thing.  Van Halen has zilch in lumbar support.  And driving as much as I will be, it's important.  So I got this:

Worked great!!!   Just enough support without too much.  And I could feel a bit of air back there, no more sweating back, woot!! :)

Today, I may try to put on my last gift to myself..  these.  :)

It had been raining so much I was afraid to try it until it dried out a bit.  Today might be that day. :D

Insomnia

I really don't mind it so much any more.  :)

I've heard it before, and know it's true..   'You can't die from lack of sleep'.  True, you could have some exhaustion issues that could cause some problems.  But in general, lack of sleep will not kill you.  Since hearing that, I do not stress over my occasional insomniac episodes.  I embrace them.

I was having dreams, again.  Sometimes your subconscious will tell you things, if you pay attention.  And I am the type whose brain never shuts up.  So when a dream wakes me up, my brain won't let it go and let me go back to sleep.  So, I just say to heck with it, and get up.  It's okay, really, I don't mind it so much anymore.

So what woke me up?  I had a dream there was an issue with my RV that is for sale, about to be sold.  Guess I am worried about the deal going through after all.  Trying not to be in my waking hours, guess my real self, my subconscious self,  is a little bit anxious about it all going smoothly.  Should be any day now.  I did go out there last few days, after all this horrid rain, and make sure all was dry and sound.  Nary a problem in there, it's all empty, clean, and waiting for the new owners to come get her and show her love.  Decided to start her to make sure all was well, she busted right off. :)

So I've been awake since 1am.  It's quiet, with the sometime dog barking interrupting the silence.  Sometimes I can do my best thinking at these hours.  I have a full two pages of stuff I've written down to either research, write about, or ponder.

Not sure what today will hold.  Supposed to have decent weather, might get some rearranging done in the van.  Had a mishap yesterday while on a Taco Bell run for dinner..  the smallest, tallest, plastic bin toppled over.  Guess I didn't secure it good enough.  I've been thinking of redoing it anyways, maybe going through it all again and purging things and condensing into a different bin and getting rid of that one all together.  Might have been the push I needed.

Traveling with the Pooch

Am trying to figure out different ways to keep the Chevy doggy comfy when we hit the road.

Temps are going to be climbing up there pretty soon.  Got to prepare for it.  Not good to leave doggy's in cars in high temps, bad for doggy's. 

So far my ideas are to avoid stopping in big cities and touristy traps, sticking mostly to nature and state parks type of places, where she is welcomed.  Will also wait to do any grocery type shopping til later at night once it's cooled down some.  A windshield shade, front windows rolled down some, back side windows opened for cross ventilation, a 12v fan and water close by.  Have considered leaving it running with the A/C on and locking it, taking the spare keys inside.  Or, getting her a vest as a service dog and going only where she is welcomed. 

Will be trying out a few times this week, at different temps, the above mentioned scenario with the shade and fan and windows cracked and seeing for myself at what temps outside it reaches inside and at how many minutes it takes to reach what temps.  Maybe I should look in to getting one of those thermometers that you put inside and also gives you an outside reading with a small hookup outside.  Would be helpful on my trips. 

Other alternative is to beg Hotrod to let her hang out with him...  okay, continue to boss him around like she owns the place, haha.  Last resort, as she loves taking off in Van Halen.  But whatever route, gotta take care of lil doggy!!!

Rain, Rain

...rain...   and more rain...    Our little town was besieged by a lot of flooding today.

I didn't leave the house to go look at all the damage, but did see quite a few posts on facebook. 

 

Our little downtown main street.

 

 

The sign for our city park.

Our house is on the outskirts of town and sits on a hill.  On the property, to the side of the house, is a wanna-be-creek.  It's barely had water in it from what I saw in the past year.  But today, there was a rushing river, rapids even.  Was wild!!

Needless to say...  I didn't get much done in Van Halen today.  :)



The Cardboard Box Cry

This happened to my daughter when she was 16 years old.

My daughter  had gotten some wheels and her first job working at Subway.  Well, you know how teenagers are, thinking they know everything.  This was one of these discussions.

We were driving around town that day and she was talking about when she moved out and got an apartment for herself.  I asked her if she'd still be working at Subway, or was she not going to think about going to college. 

At this point in life, she was unsure about college.  She didn't do great with math, and as it was a requirement for most any degree out there, she was having her hesitations.

So me, being the butthole mom that I am, decided to give her real life examples.   I asked her how much she made there working at Subway..  which was minimum wage at the time.  I think it was like $5 at the time.  So I said okay, full time, 40 hours a week, and then after taxes, you are looking about having about $700 a month to live on.  

She came back at that with 'but rent is like $500 for a small apartment here'.   And this is where it got interesting..  I asked her if she was wanting to have electricity.. water.. did she want to eat..  gas money for her car..  insurance..  after adding up just some conservative figures I literally had her bawling in the front seat, crying "I'm going to have to live in a cardboard box!!!'.  

And that is how you sometimes deal with know-it-all teenagers..  real world logic and some numbers to back it up!  :)

Driving Down SPID

Yep..   this is the pic my lil sis took while driving down SPID, the main busy highway that is in Corpus Christi, TX.  She is driving right beside us and snapped this pic:

I Was 38

I was 38 years old before I ever went to my first concert.

True story.  It was Hurt, Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace...  at Corpus Christi, Tx.   It was their out door arena on Concrete Street there in Corpus.  

As I was a concert virgin, John did his best to keep me tame.   We did get close to the stage, with a lot of strange smells and all.   No mosh pitting, although I did hear of stories of his previous life with it, lol.  

Just putting this out there... my damn kid.. yeah.. she was a 'Crush Girl'...  like a Hooters girl but they go places...   When Korn come to town.. we were there, and that lil snot got to go backstage to see Korn and didn't take her mom, argh!!!!   wtf???

They actually went to see Slipknot without me one weekend when I was working.   *sad face*

More Texas Pictures

Thought I'd post some pics I finally got off my phone from the trip in Texas.  :)

Kiddo with the doggies at the beach in north Padre Island by Bob Hall Pier.  Them doggies were smelling EVERYTHING!!!!  haha

These were when we were chilling at the beach wasting some time waiting for my nephews ball game to be over.  That was our view...  Cookie approved.  :)

Chevy riding shotgun.

Enjoying lunch dockside at Rockport, Texas.  One of the fishing boats had my sisters name, Mary Jo, on it.  I had to be mean and send her this pic to rub it in we were down there..  I'm such a meanie!

Dad driving Van Halen, mom in front, HulaJohn in the middle getting to check out the palm trees.

The 'backyard' at my sister Becky's house.   Life is rough, huh?  :)

 

The view in front of my parent's place at Lake Corpus Christi, Texas.  So peaceful.

The Hibatchi grill we hit in Corpus Christi, Texas.  The show he put on was pretty cool.  :)   And then..  my damn Dairy Queen Tacos I finally got at the first place I could when we crossed over the Texas line.  Notice how I didn't even wait to take some bites before taking a picture?  haha..   Not sure which one of those meals I enjoyed more.  Seriously.  haha

Well I said I'd post them once I got them off my phone, and there you have it.  Yeah, funny things..  I can email them to myself, who'da thunk it?  haha   I know, I stooped.   Was just damned determined to import them by cord and too damn Taurus stubborn to think of a different way.  *shrugs*

Before Next Van Trip

There's a couple of things I want to do before going on my next trip in Van Halen.  As I am still waiting for the finalization of the big RV sale, have a bit of time to plan.

Of course, the extra house battery and wiring thing.  Will be getting my dad and possibly friend mechanic to look it over and get their opinions.  If nothing else, what I already have in the van meets my small electric needs.

Oil change, again, with Motorcraft oil, and some Lucas oil stop leak stuff.  Before the Kansas trip I was about a quart low.  Not too bad for 1400 mile Texas trip, the multiple around area trips and such and last oil change months ago.   But not great either.  If the stop leak stuff doesn't work, will just keep checking it and putting more oil in as needed.   Heck, it is only a $2550 van, no sense spending lots more $$$ to fix an oil leak when it really just leaked a bit over time and miles. 

Redo the plastic bins in there...  again.   Right now is kinda overkill, haha.   Have 4 huge bins with zilch in them.  These are for clothes, yes, but do I really need 4 of them??   I am NOT a clothes hog.  I will be taking driving type comfortable, multi-tasking clothing, and not too many, at that.  Basic mix and match.  I won't be eating at 5 star restaurants, so no dress up clothes needed.  Wash 'n wear, roll up tight to fit in bins.  Probably flip flops most days.  You get the idea.  Think I will get rid of the multi-level smaller white plastic bin, put all of those things in one of the big drawers and call it good.  Give it a bit more space for a small cooler for when needed.

Re-arrange the under storage.  Just for ease of use and organization.

I've decided not to take copious amounts of water with me.  One gallon of water = 8lbs, and it adds up over time.  Already have 4 one gallon jugs of water in there.  I plan on stopping at grocery stores for fresh food often enough, gallons of water is cheap.  And those fill up water dispensers are everywhere, cheap, and easy.  My beverages will be just plain water, as well.  Right now I drink room temp water all day, anyways.  I see no need for anything different on the road.

Buy a basic tool set.  Just be good to have....  not that I know how to use 'em.  ;)   lol

Research storage of propane and butane inside the van for the possible warm weather.  It's under the bed, shaded, right now.  As I will be driving all day with the dash A/C it will be okay.  And will be sleeping at night when it's cooler.  No problems there.  But what about when I want to possibly hike somewhere during the heat of the day?   And I may be over thinking this as I plan on going where the weather is more tolerable in both heat and cold. 

Would like to get some rechargeable batteries and a small solar dash type set up to recharge them.  They will be used to power up things like the fans and puck lights.  And the sun will charge them for free.

Otherwise, she's driving great and pretty much have everything else ready to hit the road.

Now...  just to plan WHERE!  haha  :)

 

Lessons Learned in a Garage

This was when I was a kid.

My dad used our 2 car garage as his shop, more or less.  He was always working on something in there..   cars, the van we drove everywhere, motorcycles, our many bicycles, the mini bikes and go cart he built, boat motors...  you get the idea. 

I hung out there all the time, was his little shop rat.  I actually was able to pick up some things as a kid, and could name some pieces of a motor fairly accurately, even if I didn't understand how they actually worked.  It was all very fascinating!!

It was a weekend night and my Uncle Ronnie was over hanging out with my dad, they were working on motorcycles at the time.  They had the motor running and was tinkering and such.  I was very young, say 5-ish at the time.  I thought those mufflers on the motorcycle were so pretty, I wanted to touch them.   Yeah..    omg pain!!!    Burnt both hands, palm down on hot mufflers will do that. 

One of the first things we did?   Put butter on them.   The coolness of the butter felt good at first, but gees!!!  It really didn't help.   Later on in life I found out that is actually one of the bad things to do to a burn.  Meh, I lived and there was no permanent damage.

Lesson learned:  Shit gets hot on running motors.  ;)

Kansas

April 26th, 2015.  Did Kansas.

I took my high school bestie with me, Leah.   We hit the road about 9am.  We aimed north.

Wanted to try to find St. Jacob's Well south of Dodge City, but no dice.  I took the exit like I read, went down a dirt single road for miles, we never found it.  Decided, screw it, off we went.

And dammed if Dodge City didn't mess us up with it's signs, we took about 4 wrong turns, lol.  It was all cool, there was no schedule or agenda.  Found a Wendy's for lunch, finally found Boot Hill.

Here is a pic..    I left a Hula John under the 'Unknown'..   I hope that it is okay.

 

We were aiming to see The Big Well in Greensburg, Kansas, but a detour told us to just say fuck it.  Off we went to Boiling Springs.  Here is a HulaJohn pic at Boiling Springs.  :)

 



C101 and Dad's Harley

I had spent the night at my friend Peggy's house.  My dad was going to come pick me up the next day.

Dad had a Harley.  He was always tinkering on motors.  This Harely, though, he brought back to life.  He even hand sewed the leather seat himself.

So that Saturday, my dad was to come pick me up from Peggy's house.   There I was...   watching as this loud ass C101 channel, hard rock station from out of Corpus Christi, Tx, came driving around the corner, and this Harley Davidson roared into the driveway.

My friend, standing next to me, said...  'WHO is that?!!'...    I said, my dad.    haha.    I didn't realize until that day that my dad was most freaking cool!!!!     I hopped onto the back of his bike, jamming the most awesome music and put my helmet on.  Freaking awesome!

The Mustang and Music

I spent many a day hanging out in the Mustang my dad did so much body work on.  

Not to knock them, but my sisters listened to crap music.  Country crap.  I hated every second of that shit.   Reba McIntyre and George Strait..  they are good singers, but I just couldn't freaking tolerate it. 

So, being my rebel self, I would sneak off and get into the Mustang and listen to Twisted Sister and AC/DC until the battery died. 

Sorry for the dead batteries Mom 'n Dad...  was just trying to keep my sanity.  :)

The Beau James

My dad gave me a truck.   I wasn't even of driving age, but whatever.  It was a Beau James.

This truck was completely awesome!!!  It came equipped with an indian blanket type of bench seat cover.  It was a step side, complete with wood paneling on the outside.  But it was mine. 

I spent a lot of time hanging out in it.  It was mine.  I couldn't drive it.  So what.  I hung out in it.  Listening to Boston on it's 8 track.   Yep, you heard me right..  it had an 8 track player.  I killed the battery a lot listening to Boston, Don't Look Back.  :)

Added Some Fun Graphics

Yep, to go with my Hula Doll on the dash, here is some fun things I've added to the outside to go with it. :)

 

 

*Edited to add..  the white flowers looked tacky while viewing it from afar the next day.  They have since been removed.  The dancing chick remains. :)  *