Taxes, appointments, grandkids

WELCOME to our newest followers, Jim and Rosie!  I checked out their blog, and they have been camping/RVing since the 1980s, and are planning to go full-time this year in June, bringing along their two dogs, Annie and Sammy.  They plan to stay in the Western United States, following the good weather.  This is one of those fun blogs where they are getting close to the day they take off, and are blogging about the process.  Welcome aboard, Jim and Rosie! :)

WELCOME also to  billybob200138, who doesn't show a blog or any information.  Billybob, if you have a blog, let me know so I can check it out - Katie and I welcome you along on our travels, and we're happy to have you aboard!  :)


And WELCOME to Pebbles Paper and Pressed Flowers.  This follower has no blog or information showing, either.  Well, there is actually a blog, but no posts yet, so I couldn't check it out.  Welcome aboard, Pebbles Paper and Pressed Flowers! ( It sounds like you might have a fun blog when you get started.  I, too, collected rocks, made my own paper, and pressed flowers in my previous life.  Fun things to do!  I still have a few of my little gift tags in my craft things, with pieces of home-made paper glued onto them.)

I spent one day early this week doing taxes.  I always do my own, using Turbo Tax on-line.  I didn't plan to finish, just get some of the documents organized and go through a packet of mail I've received to get started.  I do this every year.  I love doing my taxes, and I always "just get started" and end up finishing them and e-filing, and they're done!

I had no idea whether I would get a refund or be sending them money, but I hoped I'd have a refund, of course.  Then I started entering the numbers and, before I entered the deductions the program showed that I OWED quite a bit.  I was getting kind of nervous, but finally, after putting all the deductions in, I ended up owing Federal and getting a refund from the State.  I owed the Feds more than I'm getting back from the state, but not much more - it could have been much worse!  So, that was a good job done.

I had two more medical appointments on Thursday, and Saturday I picked up my new glasses at Costco, so I'm DONE with medical, dental and vision appointments for the year.

I had my grandkids this weekend.  I picked up Kennedy Friday afternoon, and late Saturday afternoon dropped her off and picked up Gavin until Sunday late afternoon.  Tom  and Trish and Graydin, my two-year-old grandson, were here around 5 this afternoon to take us all out for dinner at  a local steak house, which was great.  Then they drove me back to The Palms.  Trish drove their car back home, and Tom took the Escape I've been borrowing and drove it back to their house. 

I have lots of photos from this weekend's visits, but my camera battery finally died during dinner, so it's charging now and I'll download the photos in a day or two or three, and post the best ones in my next post.

So, I'm back to only The Palms for transportation.  It was so nice to have a car to take for most of my appointments and the shopping I needed to do. 

I have only another two days here, the time has gone by so fast.  I can't believe it's been almost 30 days already!  I'm starting to get organized to roll! 

Katie and I are going to rest tomorrow after the busy week and weekend, we're also scheduled to have the propane truck come to our site and top off the propane tank, and then Tuesday I'll empty the black and grey tanks, fill the water tank and do another load of laundry here at the park.

Then we take off on Wednesday morning.  My plan right now is to return to one of the Long Term Visitor Areas to stay until my permit expires April 15th.  After that I might start driving north again, slowly.  I want to visit my daughter and her family in Vacaville.  I have allergies that seem to kick up when I visit them later in the year, and I'm hoping April might be a good time to be there.  I'm definitely taking allergy pills while I'm there, though.

I haven't blogged in a week because I've been so busy, but I have a ton of photos I need to go through and will put the best ones in my next couple of blog posts.

I'm so happy to have all the medical stuff behind me and to have had such a great visit with my family. Poor little Katie has been by herself far more this week than usual, so - as much as she LOVES it when the grandkids are here - I'm sure she'll be happy to have things back to normal again.  Me too, since I'm still needing to rest more than usual, and we'll be able to do that easier in the desert.

More to come, with photos in the next few days!!!

From Me and Katie (who is sound asleep in bed!), have a great Sunday evening, everyone!  :)

Another great day in San Diego County

WELCOME to our newest Followers:

Sharon Wallace, who doesn't show a blog or any information. Thank you for following along with Katie and me, we're happy to have you along sharing our adventures.  Do you have a blog?  If so, let me know, and I'll check it out.  NOTE:  Donna commented with Sharon's blog address, which is The Odd Essay.  Check it out, they have been full-timers since January 2001!  Thanks, Donna. :)

Also, Alaska Mary, who  does have a blog.  It's not an RV blog, but maybe Mary is thinking about Rving?  Whether or not you have RVing in your future, I'm happy to have you along with me and Katie on our travels in The Palms.

Welcome aboard to you both!  :)

We've had a mix of weather the last few days, some sun and some clouds and a little rain.  I love the sound of the rain on the roof.

 The bridge over the wash - on the way to the nearest lake. 

The sun is going down right behind those clouds.

Katie and I took some walks along the lake again.  It's so nice to be in a place that has good, interesting walking trails.  In Santee Lakes, dogs are only allowed in the RV camping area, but I think the best places to walk are at the other end of the park, the entrance area and the day use area.  One of these days I might drive down there and just sit for a while and watch the birds congregating in those areas.  Most of the interesting birds seem to be there. We have mostly ducks and coots in this lake by the RVs.

Mallards fishing.  Aren't his feathers pretty?

Kids fishing.

Mallards still fishing.

It's been a nice quiet weekend around The Palms.

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

We have the neatest birds here!

I'm feeling better again, every day is easier.  Yeaaaaa!

All my appointments are getting done.  I finished up at the dentist on Tuesday - I go back in six months for another cleaning.  Next week I have my annual physical, then I'm done for the year with scheduled medical appointments.  I like to get them all done in one month.  My new glasses should be in next week. I ordered bifocal glasses for computer/TV, I hope I like them. 

On the way back from town the last two trips, I snapped more bird photos.  I was parked on the side of the road with my camera in front of me snapping some ducks when a giant "thing" flew into my vision and landed right in front of me:

 Blue Heron

I refocused and got a couple of shots, when another one flew in and forced this one out, and away he went:

 Blue Heron in flight.

 Another Blue Heron on the railing.

I FINALLY got my laundry done on Wednesday.  I had literally  not done laundry since December when I was in Quartzsite!  Everything needed washing.  All my clothes, bedding, towels, rugs, everything. I just haven't had the energy, and wasn't sure I'd be able to re-make  my up-bed with the pain at the incision site I had been having.  Then I felt better on Tuesday, and when I woke up on Wednesday, I felt really good, and knew I'd better to the laundry while I was feeling so good.  I put everything away, hung up the clothes, and piled the bedding up until later in the afternoon, then I made the bed and all was good.

But doing all that laundry really wore me out, and I didn't wake up until 11:00 am on Thursday!  I was really out cold.  I've taken it pretty easy since then.

This morning I made Valentine cards for my grandkids, got them ready to mail, and drove to the local post office to get them off in time for delivery on Valentines Day -  I think they'll make it on time.  Other than that, total resting for me the last couple of days.  

 There are islands in the lake that the birds hang out on or near.

I think this is a Great Egret.

More Snowy Egrets.  These birds crack me up.  Doesn't he look like an old man - a curmudgeon?

 I love watching these Snowy Egrets.

 Is this not the strangest bird you've ever seen?

I feel sorry for him.  Looks like an avian ET.

Every time I see these guys, I think of my granddaughter, Lauren.  When I was visiting them last July and staying at the RV park in Vacaville, I took Lauren and her brother Drew to the swimming pool.  She walked back with her life vest on, and her towel over her head.  She was walking along, and Drew and I were hysterical - she looked and walked just like ET.  That's what these Snowy Egrets remind me of.

 Lauren the Snowy Egret

 These guys are in the middle of the lake, standing on something just under the water.  The middle one kept opening his wings.

 How cute is this white duck with the tufted feathers on his head?

I don't know what this bird is - he is smaller than the egrets and herons.
(Thanks to my commenters:  This is a White-faced Ibis. 
Almost indistinguishable from the Glossy Ibis.)

He was watching all the ducks being fed, and slowly walked and few over them.

Hoping for some bread crumbs.

He has quite a beak, and iridescent green coloring on his back 

and brown and white on his neck and head.

I'm really enjoying seeing all the birds here.  The best time is driving in and out of the park, because most of the birds are in the first two lakes, where they are not as accessible to the day use people and RVers.

Early this evening when I was stepping out of The Palms to take Katie for her walk, a car slowed down in front of the rig, and I knew right away it was a blog follower.  I had no idea who they were, but it was obvious they knew me.  So funny. :)

It was Jim Murphy and his sister, Jean.  Jean lives in Santee, just a few blocks from Santee Lakes, and her brother, Jim, is a blog follower who has been reading Me and My Dog since the very beginning.  He recently sent me a message, and when I saw them and he started telling me who he was, I immediately remembered his message.

Jim's an avid follower of a lot of your blogs, too.  We follow a lot of the same blogs, but he reads blogs I've never heard of, too.  He isn't a blogger yet, but hopes to someday be a full-timer, and if he actually does it, he'll be an expert.

 Jean, Katie and Jim

They had two dogs with them and we had all the dogs on their leashes, so we walked to the lake and alongside it for a while.  When it started getting dark, we came back to The Palms and had a nice chat.  I haven't met many followers yet, but one thing I'm finding happens with each meeting I've had.  The conversation does not stop, sometimes we don't even finish sentences before the other person interrupts with their comment, then the other person says, "Yeah, I know," and interrupts with their comment, and it goes back and forth, each finishing the others thoughts.  (Does that happen with you guys, too, or is it just me and my visitors?)  Jim and I went on and on about other blogs, and things he's read in mine.  I'm sure Jean thought we were crazy, but not too crazy because she  invited me to her house for a visit. Super nice people.

It was really nice meeting you both, Jim and Jean!  I hope we do get together again!

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

Just a quick update

Just wanted to post a quick update.  There's not much going on, but I didn't want anyone worrying about me.

 Snowy Egret

I've been improving a bit every day, then I hit the wall, as they say, and my recovery has stalled.   Everything is fine, but I'm still in some pain when I move around, and getting tired of it.  I know it's just a matter of time, but jeez, it's been a month and I'm getting tired of resting, you know?  Anyway, enough complaining, but that's why things are so quiet in The Palms. :)

 Snowy Egret

Katie and I have been walking to the lake every day. Not a long walk, but enough.   I've also been continuing on with my planned medical appointments for the month of February.  The new dentist last week was great, I liked him, his staff and the office location, but after all the x-rays were taken and they went over my intake info, they wanted me to pre-medicate before the periodontal check and teeth cleaning.  The dentist wrote an Rx which I filled at Walmart for $4, and I go back tomorrow (Tuesday) to complete the testing and cleaning.  They did say I don't have any cavities or cracks or anything that needs attention, and I floss a lot, so I'm assuming all will go well and I'll be done for another six months.

What are they all looking at?

 

This morning I went in for my vision test, and my eyesight is almost the same as it's been for a few years.  I got my prescription for reading/computer glasses at Kaiser optometry, but my insurance doesn't pay for glasses.  Kaiser had about five frames that were only $150 for the total package of frames and lenses.  These few frames were their cheapest, but I didn't like any of them, so I checked Walmart and Costco, and found Costco had the best prices.  I ordered my new glasses there, and they'll be here in about 10 working days.

Wood Duck on bench back, and Mallards

That's about all that's been happening around here.  The weather has been great, then today we had cloud cover and a little rain is expected tomorrow, which will be nice and cozy and will bring out more of our feathered friends.

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

Yesterday's bird photos

Yesterday when Katie and I took our late afternoon walk, we went a bit further and closer to the lake nearest our area, and there were some pretty ducks, coots, and a beautiful egret - I think it's a Great Egret because it has black feet.  I couldn't believe I got so close and also got a clear photo when it took off over the lake.

 Great Egret - he's so graceful looking.

 Look at those beautiful feathers

Great Egret in flight.

 Wood Duck - these are the cutest looking ducks!

 Wood Duck

Male and female Northern Shovelers.

They have bills that are long and wide at the ends.

 Northern Shoveler

 We have LOTS of these Eurasian Coots

Male and female Mallards

Just bird photos today, but aren't they gorgeous?

Tom's coming this morning to bring me the Ford Escape, and I have a dentist appointment this afternoon with a new dentist - wish me luck!

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