Starting to think about going South!

When I find myself up at dawn looking at the weather on-line, the "things to do" and events in Titusville I know it's getting close to aim the rig South.  It's currently 30 deg out, and 69 deg in Titusville where we'll be wintering as of the first of the year. Today we'll go out to the rig and start doing some preliminary packing.  A lot of the stuff has to be loaded "last minute" because of the cold, but we can do some stuff now and at least start to get organized for the trip. You can click the Title on this post to visit the website of Manatee Hammock where we'll be wintering.

2011 Seaport Sams Christmas Party

Click the title link to view a Picasa Album from the Seaport Sams 2011 Christmas Party held 0n 12/04/2011 at Ocean Beach Park in New London CT.

AT&T Customer Service can be good....

Yesterday I'm in the Wal-Mart parking lot with Kincaid, waiting for Alice who is picking up some groceries, and I hit my Kindle app on the i-phone to sync my current read (11-22-63 by S.King) to my i-pad at home....and it won't load.  So I tried to get the Hartford Courant, and when that didn't work any other website....and the bottom line is I couldn't get out the the 3G.  Alice comes back quickly, so I forget about it...until this morning. Again, she's run into a store to pick up something and I'm waiting with Kincaid....and I can't get out with the phone.  At home, the library, anyplace I have Wi-Fi the phone has been wonderful.  So, long story short I call AT&T and within ten minutes they had me fixed right up.  Apparently the phone had "locked" into one of the cell towers, which is why she worked on wi-fi and not 3G and just sent an on-line signal to clear it.  My point is it was a quick, positive AT&T customer service experience and you don't always hear about the good things...just the negative ones.

Surprise visitor trick or treating on Halloween day!

Alice and myself were surprised to look out the window and see this cute little one looking for treats in our front yard.  She ate a bit, scampered around and joined her mother in the back yard before heading off into the wood.

A really nice Fish Stew Alice's mother cut out of the newspaper a long time ago.....

Fish Stew

 

Preparation: 35 minutes

Total time, 35 minutes

Calories/serving: about 350 calories

Serving 6, - makes about 7 cups

 

Ingredients

3 slices bacon

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped red or green pepper

1 8 oz. bottle of clam juice

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/4 -1/2 tsp. salt

1/2  tsp. dry mustard

1/4 - 1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 lb. cod or other white fish, cut into 1” pieces

3 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 8 oz. can cream-style corn

1/2 cup half and half

1/3 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In 10” skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove; drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp.

fat from skillet. Add onion, carrots, celery and red or green pepper. Cook, stirring often, 8 minutes or until onion is

soft. Add clam juice, wine, salt, mustard, black pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Add fish, Reduce heat; cover

and simmer 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Remove bay leaf.

2. Meanwhile, in a 3-quart sauce-pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually stir

in milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until thickened. Stir in corn and half and half;

heat through. Add fish mixture. Crumble bacon. Before serving, sprinkle soup with bacon and cheese.

 

**Note:

Cheddar cheese ranges in flavor from mild to extra-sharp. If recipe calls for shredded cheese, the cheese can be

purchased in 4-oz. pack, but it is more economical to buy it in a wedge or stick and shred it yourself. Cheese keeps

best when refrigerated, but can also be frozen. Wrap pieces no larger than 1/2 lb. in moisture and vapor-resistant

wrap and store a 0°F. Frozen cheese will retain its flavor but may become crumbly.

 

From the kitchen of Alice & Bob P.

Country Aire Campout with Seaport Sams Camping Club

Click the TITLE LINK above to view a Picasa Photo Album from this event.

Deer Haven Turkey Pot Luck October 2nd, 2011

JEANNETTE MARQUIS Obituary: View JEANNETTE MARQUIS's Obituary by Daytona Beach News-Journal

JEANNETTE MARQUIS Obituary: View JEANNETTE MARQUIS's Obituary by Daytona Beach News-Journal

A very nice lady passed away on September 21st, 2011...Jeanette Marquis

I posted this on my Facebook account....it's terrible not knowing how to adequately respond :(.

Robert R. Payette

My mother's brother Raymond's wife Jeanette Marquis died yesterday, in her mid-ninety's. A full life lived does not lessen the sorrow of losing her....but the memories live on with a smile for a life well lived.
Light a Candle
By Kathy Holler
(Contact: Kathy.Holler@gov.ab.ca)

Light a candle, it'll help to remind you
Of your time together on earth,
and as the flame flickers, remember
Her kindness, her goodness, her worth.
So, glow little candle, that briefly,
You'll know that her memory can't die,
As you see her sweet face in the glowing,
Shed a tear, say a prayer, then goodbye.

Collage from the just completed Seaport Sams Camping Club Lobster Cookout at Deer Haven Campground

Click Image for an enlargement!

We just came back from our Deer Haven Lobster Cook-out in Lisbon CT....

We just came back from our Lobster Cook-out at Deer Haven in Lisbon CT.  Click the title link to transport to a Picasa On-Line Photo Album from this event.....once in, click "Slideshow" to see the snaps.

UploadTestonMarkO'sCartoonStrips

We lost power Sunday at 6:15am

Camping in the motor home in the back of the house - could be worst - no clew when we'll get power back...

Friday sept 2nd: still no power :(. Thank God for the motor home!!

Sunday, Sept 4th - Power restored in the afternoon -- we're at Deer Haven CG for the week.

Well, Irene is on its way for better or worst!

We've lived in this area a long time but have never seen the windows at the local Wal-Mart boarded up...I'd say they are taking it seriously!

1. Outside stuff in or stored
2. Groceries, water, pet supplies all set
3. Electronics charged, motor home tanks filled, ice being made....

We'll see how it all works out...

A cartoon from Mark O'Neill

Thoughts on Steve Jobs resignation from Apple....

Way "back in the day" my first computer (one that I owned and was not work related) was an Apple IIe.  That was in the day of the IBM Personal Computer, and it was a conscious choice to go the Apple route.  I loved it, learned to tinker a bit with it....learned to do things with it that seemed like miracles at the time. From the IIe I purchased a IIc, and my final foray was for into the Applie IIGS (graphics-sound).  When Apple developed the Mac and discontinued the Apple II series my choice than was to go to the Mac or switch over the PC.  Because of work I went the PC route, as that was the route the Company was going.  At the office we went from 386's to 486's to the very powerful AS400 mini-computer from which (through an emulation card) I could run PC software without having an additional computer and monitor on my desk. Interesting days!!  I never got into I pods, but jumped back to Apple with the I-phone and the I-pads and have loved my rekindling of a relationship with Apple.  They make wonderful hardware-software machines that do what they're supposed to do....they DO just do it.
My old IIe was "signed" by Steve Jobs and Woz....I sure wish I still had it!  Steve will be missed by Apple fans for sure...he's kept personal computers a lot more interesting then they would have been without him.

Governor Malloy tours the former Norwich Hospital property in Preston CT...

http://youtu.be/Y78vyH1txq4  On August 15, 2011 Gov. Malloy toured the former Norwich Hospital site in Preston CT.  He is the first sitting Governor to have visited the property since the State abandoned the property twelve years ago.  I was invited by the Preston Redevelopment Agency to accompany them and shoot some snaps and video, and this is the clip I produced. Click the link at the beginning or the Title link to see the YouTube video....approx. 15 minutes in length.

A great day ending with bad news :(....

We spent the day with long-time old friends, mucking around on the Pawcatuck River in Westerly RI in their Whaler....had a great day re-connecting, having a nice picnic lunch.....enjoying the August perfect day.

On arriving home I called some of our camping friends to reconnect as she had a heart attack a month or so ago...and found out that in the interim she's home and doing well but that HE has been diagnosed with liver cancer.  Bummer does not BEGIN to describe this turn of events :(.

We just came back from the Seaport Sam's August Camp-out at the Brooklyn Fairgrounds

Click the title link to view some snaps and video (YouTube) from our weekend activities at the Brooklyn Fairgrounds where we camped with our camping group the Seaport Sams.  The highlight of the weekend was the Buffalo Tour....

Click this link Picasa Web Album, Brooklyn Campout August 2011 to visit an album that will enable you to view the photo's as a slideshow or print them out in high resolution.

Just got in,and we have the rig cooling off to go out again :).

LOVE these busy days of summer camping!  We just got back last Sunday from the Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival in Campton, NH.  We cleaned up the rig, did some hatch gear re-arranging, and have her in the "launch" position for our weekend Seaport Sams camp-out at the Brooklyn Fairgrounds. September will be busy with a Bluegrass Festival in central Vermont, a Seaport Sams Lobster Cook-Out and God knows what else.  Of course if the market keeps sliding (or plummeting) I might just park the rig on the side of the road and weep!

Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival, August 2011

Several members of the Quinnabaug Travelers and  Seaport Sams Good Sam camping clubs attended the 19th Annual Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival in Campton NH from August 4th-7th.  Click the title link on this post to see some snaps and video clips from this event.

Ginny-B Campout, July 14-17, 2011

We just came back from a camp-out with Seaport Sams to Ginny-B CG in Foster RI.  Click the colage above for an enlargement, and click title link to transport to the full Picasa Web Album of snapshots from this event.

Off the communications grid for a few days...

We're heading out to Ginny-B Campground in Foster RI for the long weekend.  It's a great campground BUT it's located in communications hell.  Barely any cell coverage at all, regardless of who you're using.  We go there once a year and it's kind of good to get unavailable for a few days:)....  We'll eat well, swop lies and tales with good friends and get some reading in.  What's not to like? :)

Summer and the living isn't always easy...

So, I started out digging out the power washer from the shed...getting that running and stopping the hoses from leaking...it's amazing how things can go to hell in a basket just sitting there...

Long story short we've started power washing the house, and then I diverted to the awning and roof of the rig...thank God David took pity on the old man and helped out!

The problem with reading a really good book......

The problem with reading a really good book is that it spoils you for a long time.  It creates a bit of havoc in your routine in that you put off things that need doing, go to bed later than you should and get up earlier than you want to…ignore those around you and generally turn into a very un-social person for a period of time.  Thank you very much Wally Lamb!

“I Know This Much Is True” by Wally Lamb is the book, the really good book, I refer to.  It’s probably my favorite book ever, and I read a lot. The problem with having a favorite book that is 897 pages long is that you KNOW that every time you re-read it (and you will) you’re going to piss off your family, friends, and associates for a week as you turn inward.  That having been said, knowing this book is on my bookshelf is like knowing you have money in the bank….it’s reassuring to know she’s there and she gets better with age.  We’re planning on moving to Florida in the next few years, and its books like this that will force me to box up and ship the library.  I can’t imagine NOT having them close by.  Our family is into e-books (Kindle, I-Pad’s, I-Phone’s  etc) but the physical books we have seem to connect us to our earlier days, our journey through life as our tastes in books and our interests expanded and contracted over time. Does that make any sense?

I’m sure some of the appeal of “I Know This Much Is True” is the location of the novel (SE CT) and the former Norwich Hospital which is in our town of Preston.  Also  in the work the Mohegan tribe is coming of age with its new Mohegan Sun Casino and some of the characters in the novel are Mohegan’s….as is our oldest son Anthony (adopted at age 3 and a half, found his biological parents at age 21 just before the Tribe was federally recognized and the Casino approved)… But even if we lived in Los Angeles and had no family connection with the Tribe…the story of the Birdsey brothers would be as compelling.  It’s a book that grabs you early on and doesn’t let go.  Initially I found myself “speed reading” a bit just dying to find out what was going to happen next, which is OK as the next time(s) you go in you can sip rather than slurp….enjoy the progression rather than race to the summit if you will, and the subsequent reads don’t disappoint as you find things you missed during the first trip.

If you haven’t read I Know This Much Is True you have something to really look forward to…enjoy it!  I do.

2011 RI Samboree

Click the title link to view a short clip from the 2011 RI Good Sam Samboree we just attended this weekend.

Picasa Web Album from the 2011 CT Good Sam Samboree

Kincaid waiting patiently in the rig....

Click the title link to transport to a Picasa Web Album of photo's and video clips from the 2011 CT Samboree, a Good Sam affair that was held the weekend of June 11th, 2011 at the Brooklyn Fairgrounds in Brooklyn CT.

Images from the 2011 CT Good Sam Samboree

Click the Title link to view to short YouTube clip from our 2011 CT Samboree that was held at the Brooklyn Fairgrounds in Brooklyn CT.

Panoramic image from the 2011 CT Samboree

Additional Panoramic image from the 2011 CT Samboree