First morning of retirement

Today is the first day of retirement for me, at least that is what I've been thinking, but it doesn't really seem different yet. Since I always have Friday off, today is like a normal Friday off, and then I have the weekend.  I think Monday is actually my first day of retirement. But I have worked my last day.
 

 My picnic table is on this side

Anyway, here I am, no scheduled work anymore, unless I work remotely from The Palms.  I do have some things to do for Tom, but I'm a little under the weather today and will probably take it easy for a few days.

When I got home from work yesterday I was soooo tired and had a sore throat. I'm wondering if that's why I've been so tired the last few days. I attributed it to the stress of all the changes going on in my life, but now I'm thinking my body was trying to fight off some germs.  I had some toast and tea and went to bed at 6:30 last night.  I woke up at 10:30 and read blogs for a  couple of hours, then slept again until 7:30 am. I hate going to bed with a sore throat.  And waking up with one.

Katie and I took our walk around 8:30. We took our garbage over to the garbage area, and met our next door  neighbor.  A man who has a rig the same size as The Palms, he's a single man about my age traveling with two cats in a Fleetwood Jamboree.  We talked for a while and exchanged stories, he's very nice and seems to be a quiet neighbor. I wasn't sure if anyone was even there for the past two days. Then Katie and I went on with our walk. There is a pathway right below our front bumper, and we took that path around the lake a bit.

Overlooking a walking path that follows the lake edge

 The floating cabins across the lake

 Katie during our walk on Thursday evening.

 Walking this morning

The path by the water near our site

 About the only photo with her head up.

She's very interested in all the new smells.

Some sort of dove - different than the ones at my condo

We spent most of the day at the condo, doing the laundry, checking things out. My washing machine was leaking at one of the connections, so I taped it and this time it held and I was able to do a load with no leaks.  When we got there, three workmen were putting new rain gutters on the front and back of my condo. They look nice.

I was really tired and finally gave up and took a nap in my sleeping bag, which is staying at the condo for when I stay there.  I had dinner, and then we packed up the laundry and came back to The Palms.

From Me and My Dog, have a good Friday evening, everyone!  : )

I'm all moved into Santee Lakes!

I'm all moved into Santee Lakes - an official full-timer!

My first full hook-up camp site.  My first paid-for camp site.  It was surprisingly easy.  My son, Tom, helped me out and got me all hooked up. I watched carefully so I will be able to do it next time.  He's never been at a full hook-up site before, but I think men just know these things.  We dumped the grey and black tanks, so I'm ready to go.

We got The Palms all set up and then went back to work, where I finished the day and then came back here after work. 

When I got home from work, I got everything set up inside and tested out the water, electricity and added the chemicals and some water to the black tank.  The park ranger said it was better to keep the hoses closed and open them when they are getting full.  Better than leaving them open while I'm parked for the month, so that's what I'm doing.

This month will be a learning experience for me, so if I mention something I'm doing or not doing that isn't right, please feel free to comment and set me straight. 

It a nice evening, but a little breezy.  Katie and I took a walk around one side of the back of our lake when we got home.  Poor Katie is so tired. She's used to having four days a week to sleep all day, and lately she's been with me every day and wakes up every time I move.  Today she slept in her bed in the car while I was at work, and she wouldn't get up.  Right now she's again asleep in her bed.  It's going to be an adjustment for her.  Kind of like the wife who has her husband retire and all of a sudden he's underfoot every day, disturbing her routine. Katie's going to have to get used to having me around every day.

I cooked some spaghetti at the beach on Monday - and I'm having leftovers tonight.  I'm starving, so I'm going to heat it up now.  I have a post ready publish about that meal and the Magma pots review, but I haven't had a chance to post it yet.  Maybe tomorrow.  It was soooo good!

Sorry, no photos tonight. I'm going to have to remember to bring my camera on our walkabouts. There was the coolest bird at the lake edge, maybe tomorrow I'll see him again when I have my camera.

From Me and My Dog, have a great June 1, everyone!  : )

Sunset photos from Sunday, and my new folding chair

Tom and his guys fixed The Palms today, and she's as good as new, actually better than new.  He needed a strip that goes along the bottom of the coach, a trim piece, so I went down to La Mesa RV, they didn't have the exact piece so I got one that's a bit bigger, Tom thought it might work.  Unfortunately it didn't, the size was wrong, but he used something from bathtub wall installations that he had out in the shop, and it looks perfect. You'd never know it was a different material than the ones in front and in back of it.  The decals are on perfectly, too, so I'm set to go.

Tomorrow we'll go down to the RV park and get me registered for the month of June, and then back to the office.  After work I'll drive back to The Palms, and that will be my home (away from home) for the month.

I've been approved for the short sale, and an appraisal has been ordered.  The condo is actually my legal address, and I will stay there from time to time to keep an eye on things, air it out and get my mail, etc.  I'll keep my sleeping bag there and I've left some clothes, food and toiletries.  I'll be able to take nice, long showers there.  I guess since I'll have hookups I can do that in The Palms, too, but the condo has a bigger shower and a nice bathtub, which The Palms doesn't have.  I'm not ready to walk away yet and don't want to change my address until it sells.  It still feels like home, but I do hope it sells quickly.  I guess that will depend on the price the mortgage company agrees to.

I'm starting to really enjoy taking photos of the sunset.  I guess it's hard to take a bad shot of the sun setting at the beach, even more so if there are clouds in the sky. I especially liked the one with the child flying a kite. I kept trying to shoot around him, then I realized it was a pretty shot with the boy and his kite. 

Sunset at Tamarack State Beach

And then one other thing I wanted to show you is the new chair I bought when I was at Costco the other night.

It has an umbrella that you can move around 180 degrees, so you can get sun or shade any time of the day.  Lumbar support on the back with an extra wide seat.  There is a small insulated compartment on the right below the armrest that you can put ice cubes in and up to four drinks.Under the right armrest is a place to put your bottle/can/drink and a storage pocket with a headphone pass-through and a bottle opener.

But the best thing, for me, is the footrest.  It's adjustable and removable.  The chair was set up in the aisle - I don't usually try things out like this, but I sat in it and put my feet up, and it was so comfortable.  I could see myself setting it up in front of my closet in the entry hall area and relaxing while reading.  It'll be perfect for sitting outside and relaxing.

It was only $33.99 - the most comfortable folding chair I've seen.  Just in case you're looking for new chairs for summer.

From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  : )

A picture is worth a thousand words...photos of The Palms

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service, and continue to die for our freedom. Let's take a moment to remember those who have fallen, and their families, too - who have also given so much for us.

As promised yesterday, here are photos so far:

Kitchen, surprisingly like my faked picture.  : )

 I love this line-up of little bud vases, I put shells in the bottom of each one.

It fits perfectly right here, and I'll change out the flowers, sometimes fresh. 

Toaster oven and my little vase (it has a small water well with a frog to stick the stem on) and whimsical ornament my daughter gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago - I think she said it reminded her of me (?) and I love it.  I've always put her somewhere I could see her.

 THE COFFEE MAKER!  I've made lots of super good cups of coffee so far in The Palms. The best reason for getting up in the morning!  : )

I had this over-the-door hanger outside my bathroom door in the condo. I brought it to The Palms and hung it outside the bathroom door, to hang a coat or sweater or hat on.  Then I got out my hanging bud vase and picked one of the purple flowers on the side of the road.  I love the way it looks.

 The bunk.  Here's the single inflatable mattress - really comfortable. 

There's enough room at the foot for storage baskets and extra pillows.

Katie on the couch - it pulls out into the most comfortable day bed!  There's my Guide, watching over The Palms.  See the rounded storage thing behind her? That holds all my kitchen things like spatulas, can opener, beater, potato peeler, all those things that won't fit into one of the three small drawers. It's sitting on a basket that contains one of the lap quilts I made and a couple of small pillows.

And that's our new home.  It's so comfortable so far, much more than I hoped it would be.  I NEVER turn on lights during the day - it's really light and bright in here, and I only need lights when it's dark outside.

The only problem I'm having is I'm moving too fast and too wide.  I need to slow down and be more careful.  I'm constantly hitting my head, scraping my hands, bumping my shins.  My legs are a mass of large and small bruises.  Yesterday I scraped my shin in the same place I already had a large bruise.  I had to get some ice out to put on it, and today it still hurts.  I look like an old woman who is taking too much aspirin. But I'll learn.  I hope before shorts weather is here. : )

It was cool and windy all day yesterday, but it did clear up finally, and I got some nice sunset shots, which I'll show you tomorrow.  I'm really liking taking sunset shots.  You can't do much to mess them up.

It's a beautiful day here at the beach this morning.  Not a cloud in the sky right now, and only slight breezes.  I got here a little after 5 am, good thing, too, because it's 8 am, and all the parking in this area is already taken.  The forecast is around 71 degrees along the coast today.  It's going to be a super day.

For those who asked about the pots, see this post, where I explained where I got them, and for how much. I went to amazon.com and searched Magma nesting pots - 10-piece.  This is the best deal I found, more pots for the same money as elsewhere.  Maybe I'll make spaghetti tonight, and I can try out two pots and post a review tomorrow. I also have some frozen, sliced, butter/garlic bread that I want to bake in the oven. I haven't used the oven yet, and want to see how I do with that. I used the toaster/oven yesterday, and toasted some bagels.  I haven't had a toaster in years.  The bagels were perfect, I really liked the way it worked.

Katie and I are sleeping like logs on the airbed.  Super comfortable, but we usually sleep really well when using the down comforter.  I like it so much better than blankets.  It seems to  be warm in cool weather, and cool in warm weather.  The only time we don't use it is when its hot in the evening.  Then it really is too warm, but I always hate to store it away during the hot part of the summer.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Memorial Day, everyone!  : )

My new nesting pots

Welcome to new follower, Judie Seeders! Thanks for following along with Me and My Dog, we're happy to have you along for the ride.  If you have or start a blog, let me know so I can following along with you, too.  :  )

We slept last night  in our usual night camp, and I woke this morning at 5:20 to the sounds of a car door closing, immediately followed by a spray of hard rain on the window by my head.  I peeked out and one of the restaurant workers was heading to work at the restaurant nearby that opens early for breakfast every day.  Katie didn't want to move, so I climbed down, left her up there in the bunk, threw on clothes and drove to the beach. I got here around 5:50.  I wasn't worried about getting one of the parking spots I like, because it was rainy, very windy, and really grey out.  Kind of a neat day to be at the beach, though, nice and snug in The Palms.  We parked and I took Katie out for a walk, came back and made coffee, and settled down on the day bed with pillows and a blanket and my Kindle.  It was really  nice, I could see the crashing waves through one window and rain clouds moving overhead out both of the large windows. 

I read for a while, really enjoying my Jack Reacher novel, and it started seeming kind of familiar to me.  I kept reading and the deeper I got into the book, the  more familiar it felt.  I finally realized that I've read it before.  I looked up the novels, and Persuader is the 7th of 16 Jack Reacher novels, and was written in 2003.  I had downloaded it a while ago when it was offered free.  I couldn't remember if I had read that one, and obviously I had, a long time ago.  So I deleted it, and will start on a new book tonight.  I was really disappointed, because that series is really good.

My son and two grandsons stopped by to visit me here at the beach after church this morning.  Tom also had with him one of his lifelong friends from our old neighborhood in San Jose. He and Todd went to grammar school and junior high together, and some high school.  They have been friends forever, and Todd was here visiting friends, one of whom was Tom.  It was so nice to see him.  His mom and I were best friends when I lived in San Jose, and it was nice hearing about what she's doing, too.

They had plans to go to lunch after church and invited me along.  I left Katie in The Palms. It's the first time she's been in The Palms by herself, and she did fine.

Tom took my car keys and the key card for the storage lot and said he'll drive it to work on Tuesday.  I'll drive down in The Palms.  Then Tom will leave me my car and take The Palms to his auto body shop and get the cargo door put on, make the necessary repairs, and apply the new decals.  It will be all set, as good as new.  I'll get the key card back from him and mail it to the owner of the storage lot, and I'll be done there. 

When I stopped by the condo on Friday, I had two packages by the front door, and one of them contained my new pots.  They are really heavy!  Very nice looking and well made.  I washed them, dried them and put them back in the largest pot and put the bungee cord around them all, and it was just as easy as the ad promised.  I haven't used them yet, but I'm sure I'll get years of good use from them.  I got the 10 piece set, 2 handles and the bungee cord are three, then there are two lids, leaving five pots, a really large one, then a big, medium and small pot, and also a large frying pan.

I already have a medium sized non-stick frying pan with a folding handle that I got for Christmas from my daughter and son-in-law, and I got a small non-stick frying pan free at Albertson's grocery store when they had a promotion.

Kristy and Matt also got me a colander/steamer that has a lid and folds flat for storage.  I have them all in the drawer under my stove along with another folding colander, and I still have room to spare.

This is 2 colanders, 3 frying pans, 3 lids, four pots and 2 handles. 

Amazing! Oh, and the baking sheet from my toaster oven.

My one big splurge.  I think they will be worth it.

The other package was a Wagan Tech Smart AC 200 USB Inverter I ordered to go into the cigarette lighter so I can charge things while I'm driving. It has two regular plugs and one for USB cords.  I haven't tried it out yet.  It will save hours on my generator, which I'm turning on when I want coffee or anything that uses an electrical wall plug like my computer and 4G unit.  I hope it works well.

Wagan Tech Smart AC 200 USB Inverter

Katie and I left the beach early today, around 5:00.  We went to Costco before they closed to get some flea meds for her.  I thought I had some, but I couldn't find the package at the condo last night, and I looked everywhere I could think of here in The Palms, but couldn't find it.  I'll treat her this evening and get rid of those fleas.

After going to Costco we came back to the beach.  We'll stay here again until 8:30 or so, then go back to our night camp.

I just took some photos of the inside of The Palms to show you what it looks like so far.  I'll upload them and post them tomorrow.

From Me and Katie, have a great Sunday evening, everyone!  : )