Saturday
Dec. 31
The
Ball is Dropping... Get with it... or Get out of the way.....
This ball was dropped annually between 1955 and 1999
2012 is here whether you
want it or not... I like to think when the ball drops at least my
Tombstone will show I lived one year longer. How's that for perspective...
Don't
Ya hate it when people send those end of the year Christmas "All about
us Letters".
So
look at me doing an end of year look at US... But isn't that what we're
supposed to do tonight. Why because we did have a good year... In
spite of how so many are hurting.... we are part of the 99% after all.
On reflection...
I have
to say we have had a life changing year...
We
have been living fulltime in our RV for over eight years (sold the house
in in Iowa in 2003) (you can read our travels... just click on the index
link at the top).
But
for this year after spending another winter season in Quartzsite and sinceTerry
was done with his tour on the board of directors of the Quartzsite Gem
and Mineral Club. We dicided we should look onward for a winter home base
location as housing prices were wery low, as we looked at things. So I
got on the web and did the searching. After looking at many listings on
the web and after driving across around the state found most of them to
be much less than what we were looking for. I raised our price range and
refined my search. I found a brand new listing in the Branson, AZ
area. We rushed over and looked at at it and made an offer the next day.
We were the first to see it and the seller was motivated as it was a child
selling for her father who had to move do to health.
The
bottom line is we made an offer and it was accepted. From offer to move
in, two weeks. How about that... And would you believe now that we have
checked the Zilllow.com
Real Estate site. Our property has gone up in value about $56,000 since
we bought it this spring. Zillow seems to be respected for their Zestimate®
on property values.
Link
to all about the new winter property with lots of shots of the inside along
with the huge all metal gar/shop.
http://www.fulltime.hitchitch.com/mar2011-1.html
And
we got Terry in for eye surgery to correct his double vision in December.
That was a big event for us and all went well at the U of AZ hospital.
We
moved Terry's woodworking and metalworking shop stuff down from IA in August
with the help of his brother.
A
U-Hual adventure big time. But we are here now and loving the area and
meeting our great neighbors. It is high up and remote and on the end of
the private road. So safe for us to leave for RVing adventures in the summer
as this is just our winter home and also as we are now getting rady to
head off to Quartzsite for a month.
Terry
is out this week getting the 5th wheel ready for travel... leaving Jan
3 for Quartzsite for the month.
He
has a follow up appointment with eye Dr. on Feb 1st. He is seeing
normal and is happy with how it all went.
I went
and spent big bucks on a new desktop computer at Best Buy got $200 off.
Dell XPS 8300 Intel i7 processer, 1.5 T hard drive, and fast video card.
Top of the line for sure. So having fun.
We
had to go to Serria Vista and take a desk chair back as it was busted right
out of the box so stopped at Walmart and got some computer games.
You
only have to set up a new computer once trying to move all the programs
from an old one to a new one sometime to go nuts.
I
bought a special crossover LAN cable and program PCmover program. Had trouble
with some programs as the old marching was a 32 bit machine and the new
one is 64 bit. Uninstall wouldn't remove a couple of the 32
bit programs from the new machine as they wouldn't run so their built in
uninstall also wouldn't run...had to get into registry. Scarry.
Did find a new feeware program for help in the removal... Take a look at...
http://www.revouninstallerpro.com/
30 days free trial. It's a keeper.
The
new machine came with McAfee Security which I will be removing when it
expires. they want $60 a year to run it. That's just nuts..
I had been using Microsoft Security Essentials on the old machine when
it was moved by PCmover to the new machine. No go. Got it removed with
Revo Uninstall but can't reinstall it. Get error message. So working on
that. I have since installed AVG
Internet Security.
I wanted
to change one of the multi function keys on the keyboard to bring
up my correct email program. No documentation on how to change the keys
so called Dell Support and got Manila in Philippines and let the tech take
control of my machine remotely. Watching her move my courser and
look my system. She gave up after an hour or so and a couple
of days later I found a way to hack the registry to make it work the way
I wanted. Google reveals all. It got me started and after much reading
figured it out. Now I think I am hot shit... knew more than
Dell Support. Anyway have to get back to the important stuff
... Time to play games...
But now it's time
for champagne and watch the big ball drop in NY...
Lady Gaga and New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg prepare to push the button to drop the ball in Times
Square.
We are watching CNN
with Kathy Griffen and Adnerson Cooper...They are nuts and the best show
on.
CNN switched
to the Key West event...
Duval
Street in Key West, Fla., is packed with New Year's Eve revelers just before
midnight as female impersonator Gary Marion, known as "Sushi," is lowered
at the Bourbon Street Pub complex late Saturday, Dec. 31. The Red Shoe
Drop is a Key West tradition that celebrated the dawn of 2012.
Sunday
Dec. 25
Welcome to the
Jolly time we call Christmas
This
is the little Santa I hanged from my work desk for many a
year when I was a working slug. JUST
SAY BAH You would think I would get lots of comments about it
and I did... most were that's COOL. And when they took a swipe at
it the bell on the leg would tingle... It was cute and no one took
offense. But that was then and this is now. Now days you could be
fired for this kind of display on your desk. It was a time when things
like this were just funny. I was just expressing even back then that Christmas
was being turned into a sales event and had lost its meaning. It should
be a day once a year to gather and express our love for each other... and
if you want to... give a gift to a loved one... so be it... but not because
corporate America sez we must do so.
Terry
and I hope you are in a warm pleasent place, and content with life as you
know it.
So
many at this time of year are alone... some who have lost a loved one ..
or just have not yet found a partner... so this can be a sad time for many...
If you are having a great holiday experience... we hope you will reach
out to someone who is not doing as well.
For
many this is the saddest time of the year... Beyond all that... we wish
you and yours all the best...
Saturday
Dec. 3
December
it's all about the start of winter.
And
you thought it was all about the month the leads to Christmas.
That's
for another Bah Humbug post as we get closer...
Looking
southeast from our AZ property.
But
Gee Whiz we're in Arizona and winter is a thing that our friends up north
have to worry about, right. Well look a the shot from out our place to
the southeast... See the Huachuca Mountains to the south.
We
are used to day after day of sunny wonderfulness. But today all that
is a memory... We are warm and happy in our seasonal winter house
thinking how we would not be that way if we were still boondocking in the
desert in Quartzsite. That was fun and we did that for so many years...but
this is now ... and a warm seasonal winter S&B is where it's at for
us right now.
Besides
we figure when if all hell breaks loose we will still have this place free
and clear with a fence and gate we can lock... and not be living in a broken
down RV under an overpass so to to speak. Ruff talk but it's a mind set
we came to find on what our next life move should be. Now feelling secure
that we can still fulltime all we want but also have a place to fall back
on.
Oh
as I type it brings ugly thoughts of clearing the drive and driving in
it to work... and OH the temps ... of 20 below or more...
That'll
freeze off a gonad or two... Ya know where the tires a have
flat spot on the bottom as they sat all night. You haven't lived till your
drive with frozen tires. Clanking on down the road in the morning.
How sweet was that. That is if your car acutally turned over and
started. Back then you were part of the 1% if you just had a garage
so you could expect your car to start in the winter. Let alone not have
to scrape off the snow and ice each morning. We felt really rich with a
garage.
To
be sure I spent many years on and off without a garage so I remember what
it's like to work for an hour to just get your car ready for the bouncy
drive over frozen slush filled never fixed pot holes. If you had any hub
caps left after the winter drive you felt lucky.
I had
a saying I liked to say that it gets to 20 below on the 20th of January
each year. And I wasn't off by much.. How could I go wrong
for god sakes.. It was that cold for weeks at a time. We were talking Iowa
here after all.
All
that time I thought putting up with that crap I was building character
in myself to be able to withstand the riggers of life. After all everyone
else was out there scraping right along with me. I grew up in the midwest
(worked for a time out east, but came back... roots ya know) I had
a great job I loved and was in it for the long haul. So we put up with
it all till we could find a way to escape to retirement. Many times
the joy of the season was being able to be the first one out and using
our snow blower to clean out a neighbors drive especially right after the
snow plow had just gone by and blocked us all back in again.
Thinking
back winter was hell and summer was just as bad but on the other side of
the fence... summers in IOWA are tropical steamy hell. You thnk FL is humid
in the summer come to IA. (I haven't been in FL in the summer so you may
have me on that one) BUT You had to hide inside just like you did in winter
so what difference did it make which season it was? And spring let me talk
about spring and the constant storms and rain. 5-10 inches a day. A big
expense was to keeping batteries in the weather radio as the NWS had it
seemed constant alerts to take cover.
I never
had to go off to war (that's a whole other story) but anyone living in
the Midwest knows about PTSD first hand just by living with mother
nature. I hate going back to IA in the spring as I have to find the
weather radio from where it is hidden in the RV and keep it outfront at
all time. It's called stress, not good for man or beast.
The
only time it is liveable back home where I grew up was about two or three
days in the fall.
You
have to understand my chiIdhood was spent in the 50-60s without A/C in
the farm home. So I may have a somewhat heat damaged memory. A farm kid
growing up in that age will like I said before will build character. Me
thinks us farm kids were lucky that we did grow up where we did. I doubt
life as a kid in a large city was a any better, to be sure. We all
have a history and wish we could just underststand we are all unique...
It's not me and it's not you It's US.
I may
exaggerate a bit about the shitty weather in the Midwest... but and for
those who love it there take a vacation. You'll find it's true it is greener
on the other side of the fence. Well in AZ not so much greener but for
months on end the weather is like the two days you get each year that you
think are heaven. I know, I know... You love to throw out the line... "Is
this heaven... No It's Iowa".. Get over it... Unless your into
the baseball Field
of Dreams Movie set.
BUT
Ouch we are getting a taste of the nasties this week. In AZ.... stop it.
We are right up on the county
line at 4200 ft west of Benson north of I-10 at the +
See the snow in them there
hills. Say it ain't so...
Have
question or comment email rbunge@hitchitch.com |
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