Christmas & New Year's

Gulfport, MS

Wow, I've been MIA! First let me say i hope that you all had wonderful Christmas. As i last reported i have been down in my back and i spent the entire week of Christmas fighting back pain, muscle spasms and drugging myself. At first i thought maybe my feather bed was so wore out that it was what causing me to be in so much pain.


Tuesday I finally dragged myself out of Ms. Sound and went and bought a ham. That night i went to a gtg held by the park owner. It was a nice gtg and i spent it visiting and munching on some great snack foods. There was about 20 people there as most everyone else had left to be with their families. Then it was back to Ms. Southwind to rest the back.


Christmas eve morning i woke up and couldn't even stand up! My pain was so severe. Usually lying down helps my back pain, but it seems this round it makes it worse. Finally around 11 am i managed to stand on my feet So i decided to bite the bullet and went to Wal-mart, YES on Christmas eve I fought the crowd and traffic to buy myself a Christmas present. I purchased a 4" memory foam mattress topper. Brought it home and put it on my bed. Here is what it looks like and the specs.


Features & Specifications
Sleep better starting tonight.With a unique open-cell structure that reduces pressure points by automatically responding to your body heat, Canopy's high-quality Memory Foam mattress topper provides lasting comfort for a better night's sleep. Made of premium-quality, 3-lb density Memory Foam, this topper will dramatically improve your old mattress or make a new mattress even more comfortable.
Enhance your sleep.
Touch-tested Memory Foam is heat and weight-sensitive to conform to your shape and movement.
Composed of two layers: 2.5" base foam supports the body, while the 1.5" layer of high-density visco-elastic Memory Foam minimizes pressure points on sensitive areas of the body.
Channel-ventilated to allow for continuous air circulation.
Includes hypoallergenic, zippered, 250- thread-count 100% cotton cover.
Twin: 35" x 72" x 4" (89 x 182 x 10 cm)

I came home and put it on my bed and took me a nice long nap. I was excited as my back still ached, but wasn't nothing like it was that morning.

Today would have been my mom's birthday. Happy birthday mom and miss you

Welll .... after my first night of sleep, no luck, my back was just as bad as it was from the feather bed. Drats! The weather had been very dreary, foggy and humid, I'm assuming it the weather that and all the moisture in the air that has me down so bad.


Christmas Day ... I was finally able to pull myself out of bed and i literly mean that, as getting out of bed is a huge task with this back. I got the ham put in my roaster and managed to get my cherry cheese cake made. Christmas dinner was very small compared to my traditional ones. here is what my dinner consisted of ..... Ham, instant potatoes, corn and cherry cheese cake.


Well i decided since laying around hasn't been helping my back and i was sick of letting this back pain keep me down i decided to just take more drugs and do what i wanted. Yes, i spent my entire Christmas to New Years week running around and at the Casino! My neighbor here loves to play slots and so my week was spent watching my neighbor. It wasn't the best Christmas but i was so sick of laying on the couch & in bed. I just kept taking more and more drugs to tolerate the back pain. The past week my head has been so clouded that at times i would head to the bathroom and forget where it was. That's horrible to be that doped up.

Merry Christmas!

This weekend i took a couple pictures of the campers that have really went all all for the holiday. What is so great is these campers are near me and i can see the lights at night.

This weekend has been spent just taking it easy and trying to rest my aching back. Finally around Friday afternoon i got to where i could walk, but my back is still really tender. The weather was beautiful Friday and Saturday was warm but damp and veryyy foggy. Sunday when i woke up it was windy and very nippy. Today it's just plain colddddddddddddd ... It's only 45 degrees right now and that is the high for today, when i got up around 8 am this morning it was only 32 degrees!


I looked online today and seen that it was only 18 degrees where my oldest son lives ... brrrrrrr I have to say i will take 45 any day over 18! Tomorrow is suppose to be in the low 60's and Christmas is suppose to be in the low 70's! Yessss I'm looking forward to that. No way do i ever want to go back to living in the cold climate.

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that your holiday is a great one. I'm still not sure weather or not I'm cooking, i have one more day to decide. I guess it will all depend on if it does warm up and my back feels better. That is a bad thing with living with a disability, plans are not written in stone and often the body rules what my day will consist of.

Until next time ........... Merry Christmas and many wonderful blessings from me to you and your family.

Nothing happening

Wow, i can't believe it's been 2 weeks since i last posted. I guess that is because not much has been going on. The weather goes from cold to warm & raining. Plus the internet has not been good, it comes and goes and most times goes.

Nothing big is planned for the holiday. In fact a trip to see my grand kids is not going to happen. My health just can't take the severe cold weather and it just doesn't make since that i left there to go where it's warmer to return to such cold weather and make myslef miserable. Since my accident i always get down in the dumps during the holiday season and this year is no different. In fact i seem to dread the holidays, my depression gets worse and my stress level goes through the roof. My oldest son will be spending Christmas with his family and my youngest son is going with a friend to spend christmas with his family. I haven't decided if i'm cooking as i did for Thanksgiving. I guess i won't decide until it actually gets here. It's been mentioned to have a pot luck, but i'm not sure that i'm in the pot luck mood.

With the crazy weather like it is, i'm wondering where a person does go to get away from the cold weather? I thought the south was warmer, but we've had some cold days here. I've been down in my back off and on and after having to sit in a doctor office for 6 hours yesterday i am really down big time. I got home last night and the spasms started, nothing would take it away, so i ended up in the ER. I am still having them this morning, not as severe but to the point that i can barely stand. I am still on a heating pad. It seems the heating pad is once again my best friend.

well until next time ... hope you all are well .....

Lazy week

It's been a lazy week for me & I've been having internet problems.... grrrr Monday was spent catching up on my rest as i was exhausted from the holiday weekend. It's amazing how easily i wear out and takes me days to re coop. Tuesday was spent doing laundry ... clothes are still in the basket. Wednesday i went out for lunch with a friend. Thursday and today were spent lazying around. It's a bit nippy here today, yesterday morning it rained and later in the afternoon the cool front moved in.

Hope you had a great week and I'm not sure what the weekend is gonna consist of but i hope your weekend is a great one ... until next time

My weekend ..

Friday morning i got up early and cleaned up Ms. Southwind kitchen.

Around 10 am there was knock and i was invited to go spend the weekend at the casino, of course i jumped at the chance. I am not a big gambler but i do enjoy going and watching. So yes i went on another road trip!

I have some great news though, normally i don't gamble when take these trips, i enjoy the hotel and all its luxury they offer. My friend convinced me to take $20 and try the quarter slot machine and so i did. My $20 was being eaten by the machine and i was almost ready to cash out when my friend told me to give it another pull and behold a double 7 appeared, a 3X appeared and another double 7. wow i just my $20 back plus another $120 bucks! I was so excited. Later the next day we went to another casino and i decided to try another machine and give back some of the money i had won earlier. Well to my shock i hit 2 of the 3 x and a trip 7 for a total winning of $360 bucks that put my winning up to $480 bucks!

Sunday morning was our last morning and we went downstairs to the casino for our last visit and i was sitting and watching some people play the wheel of fortune. One lady empty her purse and left her machine another lady that was playing one of the others got up and took her machine, i continued to watch for a bit longer and something told me to get up play the machine the lady moved from. I stuck a $20 in and spun the wheel and on the 3rd spin i got the spin wheel. I spun the wheel and to my shock it landed on 500! Wow, i just won another $125 bucks. My total winnings for the weekend was $605 bucks! I was one very happy girl.

So this is how my Thanksgiving holiday weekend was spent. Today has been a day of being lazy, resting up and catching up on my blog and all the blogs i follow.

Until next time .....

I'm exhausted!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Gulfport, MS


I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!


I hosted a pot luck for all the displaced people such as myself that isn't able to be with family.

I got up early and put the turkey on and after slowly getting myself together it was time to go to work making all the trimmings to go with it. I made the following for today's pot luck ... over night salad, mashed potatoes, noodles, gravy, bread rolls. Dessert was pumpkin pie and cherry cheese cake. Of course there was tons of food and we had a blast. My kitchen was a mess at the end of the day.


The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting and having a blast, sorry no photos to post as no one wanted their picture shared online. The evening was spent relaxing and trying to recuperate. Hope your Thanksgiving was a great one.

Preparing for Thanksgiving

Ms. Southwind preparing for her second Thanksgiving meal. It's hard to beleive that this is the second year Ms. Southwind has celebrated a Thanksgiving dinner. Wow, it's amazing how time goes by so fast.

Working in Ms. Southwind very tiny kitchen is a challenge when preparing for big meals such as a Thanksgiving feast. Although i have come to enjoy cooking meals in Ms. Southwind kitchen.



Wednesday was spent preparing all day for Thanksgiving. I spent the entire

day getting things ready for Turkey day. I was still slow moving and it took me a couple hours to get myself motivated to start my task for the day. I did the dishes from the night before, dried them and put them away to clear the kitchen. The next task was to mix up the ingredients for home made noodles and roll them out, cut and let them dry.

As you can see from the pictures i took, working inside of Ms. Southwind kitchen it doesn't long for the entire kitchen to be cluttered. In defense of Ms. Southwind, her tiny kitchen is handing when reaching for items needed.


After the noodles were finished and moved to dry the next task was mixing up the pie crust and rolling them out for pumpkins pies. mmmmm


Here is a picture of the finished pie crust that are being stored inside of Ms. Southwind oven until their filled with their filling to be baked later today.


The last task was preparing home made bread rolls, first we mixed up the ingredients, set aside to rise, then punched down and rolled out into balls, put on a sheet pan and set in the frig to rise over night.

After a long day of work and of course resting in between task, later that night the pumpkin pie was mixed up and baked. Once the noodles dried, they were placed in a zip lock bag and put in the freezer until tomorrow.


Finally after a long day and evening, a shower was taken and the rest of the evening was spent relaxing on the couch!

Where have I been

Reader Paula asked where i was and missed me. Wow what a great feeling to know that my readers enjoy my blog and miss me when I'm gone. Thank you so much Paula! You made my day when i read this.

Okay, so where have I been and what have i been up? I am finally over my sinus cold, about time! So what did i do all last week? Let's see, i spent the first part of my week working on my scrap booking as it was chilly and too cold to venture outside, going out to dinner with a few neighbors to celebrate one neighbor b'day.

Later in the week I spent it running around with a trip to Mexico! A friend invited me to tag along to Mexico. Her husband has family who lives in Matamoros, Mexico. We crossed the border at Brownsville, TX and arrived at Emilio family home. It was amazing and i could of kicked myself for not remembering my camera. Emilio family welcomed me and kindly put me up. It was different to see house that were open. The homes there have walls, but no doors, the home did have shutters that were closed at night and the home had a gated fences that was very high around it and was locked after dark. From what i could understand it was for protection to keep the not so honest Mexicans out. I have to say it was one time i wished heat was available. It was very chilly there from the cool front that had moved in.

I got to enjoy a birthday celebration and sorry but my understanding of the Mexican language is not good, i forgot what they called it. It was beautiful with lots of flowers, cake and wonderful food. Emilio mother celebrated her birthday for the first time in her 73 years as until a few months ago when her baptism papers were found she never really knew the date she was born. There was lots of wonderful music and i forgot what they called the band. They had the black outfits with the big brim hats and all.

On our last day there we went shopping and i purchased several things, the picture above i purchased a water vase with a drinking cup, a coffee cup and a couple small trinkets. I thought it was just beautiful. I also purchased a new purse, although I'm thinking of not using it, but hanging it up as a decoration.



It was a wonderful experience. I didn't need a passport, thank goodness. All that was needed was a photo ID & my birth certificate which i had both.

Today is a day of relaxation and trying to recoup from the weekend of having too much fun. Hope your weekend was a great one ... until next time .....

A spectacular moon

One of my neighbors gave me a red piece of outdoor carpet to put over the wooden platform. I thought my rope lights would great around the platform and give it a bit of a Christmas look ... what you think?

Tonight the moon was so relaxing to watch, my pictures didn't turn out as spectacular as it was.

My hands are not near as steady as they used to be so my picture taken suffers.

The first picture is of the moon behind the clouds

and the next 2 of the moon moving from behind the clouds. It was a spectacular to watch and made for such a relaxing evening.

Until next time ...............

Lexi & the turtle show

It was a beautiful day and it seems the turtles were enjoying it as well. Although I'm not sure the turtle was exactly glad it chose me to visit after all.

The turtle was hiding from Lexi and Lexi was a bit scared of the turtle but Lexi was still curious enough to bark & smell the turtle. Lexi knew something was inside of the shell as she had seen the turtle poking it's head out and quickly went back inside when she got close to it. She would try to pick up the shell to move it. Of course i stopped her as i didn't want any harm to come to my visitor. I think i had more fun watching Lexi as you can see by the pictures that she just wasn't sure it wasn't something that was gonna get her.

Lexi would sit by the turtle and be really still and the turtle would open up it's shell and peak out and boom it was all on again. Lexi would get so mad that the turtle could get back inside the shell so fast before she could lunge at the turtle. I think the turtle was playing as much of a game with Lexi as Lexi was with the turtle.

Finally i decided to give the both Lexi & turtle a break although i truly believe Lexi could of stayed there all day waiting for the turtle to come out. Once i put Lexi inside i watched the turtle for about 10 mins. It was fun to watch the turtle slowly peak out of it's shell and each time it would venture out a bit farther when it didn't hear anything barking, scratching or lunging at it. Although they say turtles are slow ... well let me tell you turtles can really move when they want to. Once the turtle felt it was safe it finally emerged and on the run it went. The turtle moved so fast this crippled up ole lady had a time catching up to it. It was moving toward the road and i didn't want it to get harmed so i carried the turtle back over to the woods.

It's amazing how you can sit for hours and watch nature. It was a wonderful afternoon to sit outside, get some sunshine, fresh air and just simply enjoy mother nature. Hope you all had a great day!

Today is a day of remembrance of those who have lost their lives and to those who have served. America can never repay the debt we owe you for all that you gave to us. I found these clip arts and thought they expressed how i feel about our vets.

I have sat this morning and thought about the economy, how America has lost so many rights, how our current administration has destroyed what America stood for. Even though i am discouraged with the government, that millions of Americans have been tossed into the streets, how the government is bailing out Wall Street while Main street is struggling. I still have hope and dreams deep inside of me that America will turn around and once again become the great nation it has stood for. With all the men & women who have fought in the past and are still fighting for our future. I think America still has her pride and desire to become a great nation again. Even with all the grief Americans are struggling with I'm still

When i see the American flag, i still salute her, i still feel the pride and i remember all those who have lost their lives, body parts and so much to give me the freedom that American flag stand for. No administration, no one can take that from me.

On anther note ... I'm still learning my new laptop and it is getting a bit better (more that i am getting used to it) I on the other hand I am still fighting this sinus cold. My nose is sore, my ears are still clogged and i still feel blahhhhhh I haven't really done much the past few days but to lazy around and try to get to feeling better. We have been having some chilly nights, but the days have been just beautiful. Unfortunately i haven't felt well enough to enjoy them as I'm still having cold chills.

Hope your all having a great day and until next time .....

My old laptop died .... Sinus Infection

It's been a fun past few days. I got up yesterday morning and my laptop was off. I tried to turn it on and nothing. Then i picked it up and checked the vents to make sure no dust was in them as it seems to build up there. But, nope not the problem. Then i smelt something that smelled like it was burnt. Yep, i fried the motherboard. Since i didn't have alot of time and had to be at a doctor appt at 9.30 am, i quickly dressed, picked up my laptop and desktop, loaded them up and headed out the door.

I have a sinus infection, but other then my allergy med's not really anything i can take for it, even though i feel like crap! I think i got it last week while i was in there. After my doctor appt, I stopped by Best Buy and took both the desktop and laptop into have the geeks look at them. First i had them try my desktop to make sure that it worked after installing the power supply. While in Florida my monitor went out and i bought one at good will, but when i plugged it in it fried. I never messed with it, since i had purchased a new laptop for my b'day. Although i do not like the new laptop. Yep, it worked all i need is a new monitor. So the next one was my laptop (which is 4 yrs old), yep it was confirmed, the mother board is fried. Of course i just had to ask how much to get it fixed, $400 bucks, nottttttttttt

The good thing is Best Buy had some of their monitors on sale and so i got one pretty cheaply. So i came home and took my hard drive out of my old laptop and hooked up my new monitor. Yep, it still works.

I know eventually i have to get used to Vista but i hate it. None of my old programs want to work on it, even when i do the compatibility thingy. So for now i will do my online stuff on the new laptop but all my scrap booking will be done on my desktop. Needless to say, i have been transferring data and programs that will work on Vista all day long. Grrrr .... new computers.

Well i hope your all having a great day ... I'm still sick and I'm sick of messing with computers! Have a great one .....

Hockey Game

Went to a hockey game tonight, it was so much fun! I have watched hockey on the tube many times. It's much more fun in person and esp when you have front row seats! Several times the players had someone pushed up against the glass in front of us. What was even more fun was these tickets were free! YES, free hockey tickets. It was at the coliseum and wow, is that place ever huge! Sorry i forgot to take my camera. Yes, i know i am terrible at remembering to take it. Hey what can i say, i do well at times to remember to take me ... hehe

We have a new elected President

Well it looks like America has a newly elected president! I am not sure weather this is a good thing as those around the world seem to be celebrating. I have been around the block a time or two for elections and i have yet to find one who actually does keep their word and do what they promise to do. I am not convinced that this time around will be any different.

It is all great to promise to do this and do that, yet it's amazing how quickly they seem to forget all those promises they made while campaigning. Actions speak much louder then words and unfortunately America is so corrupt that those running take campaign bribes and are at the mercy of those who donated to their cause. So when it comes to doing what they actually promised the American people their hands are tied because of the donations they accepted from those who are corrupt. I fear the same thing has once again occurred.

We have seen how the current administration has used the $700 billion dollar plus bailout. Wall Street is being feed big time, yet main street is still suffering and paying for it. Makes one wonder if the next administration will be any different? I have serious doubts that there will be much change.

I know that in my current situation, i decided what they heck, why not contact my US Senator for help in fighting the corruption of the legal and political system. So i personally contacted Senator Obama office and signed the needed paper work for them to investigate my case. They promised to look into my situation and get back to me by the first of the next week. Yet a week went by and i called & emailed, yet i heard nothing from them. Only that they would get back to me. So i showed up at his office and demanded to know why i hadn't heard anything. Once again i was assured i would hear something from them soon. Well behold, yesterday afternoon i got an email back from Senator Obama office informing me they were sorry but they were unable to help me with my problem, it was a legal matter.

Duhhhhh ... i know it's a legal matter and i thought that Senator Obama & his wife was an attorney? Instead his office recommended me to contact a free legal aid company that i had already contacted and doesn't offer services for my type of legal matter. What is so disgusting is that this isn't the first time since Senator Obama became my senator that i have contacted his office for services. The first time i went and meet him at a town hall meeting in person, shook his hand and asked why his office hadn't bothered to contact me on the matter. Senator Obama was clueless about it, and turned to his aid and asked why, the aid said he didn't know but assured me they would contact me soon. Well behold it's been over 2 years and i have yet to still hear from his office on that matter. Why did i think that this time was any different? Yet, i am suppose to have confidence that as my President and leader of America he will change and he claims he wants change for all Americans i still can not get any assistance from his office. How will it be any different for all Americans around the country if as a Senator i couldn't get assistance, how will you the American people get any assistance from him as President?

Unfortunately I'm afraid that once again America has a president who will only support and have time for those who have filled his pockets and gotten him where he is today. I do not have any hope that America is in fact in for some great Change ahead of us. I think instead America is head for more devastating and hardship times ahead of her. I will add that i did not believe that John McCain was the man for this job I pray that America has made the right decision.

I hope that i am wrong and change is in our future for America ...only time will tell .....

Electrical Problems

I was awaken around 5 am to the sound of the power going out. Grrrrrrr I got up put my house coat on and went out to the breaker box. I flipped the breaker to on and when i did, flames shot out! I hurried and shut the breaker off. So i went inside and went back to bed. Wasn't anything i could do until day light.

Around 9 am i dug out a xtra cord i had and wired it to my electric cord and plugged in so i could have power. Then later i got dressed and went to home depot but they didn't have the plug i needed. They sent me to a electric store and they had the plug i needed. $20 poorer i came back to Ms. Southwind and now the new cord is installed and all is well.

Fresh Shrimp ... mmmmm

I got up early this morning and it was a good thing. My neighbor was knocking on my door around 7.00 am. She was going to the dock to get some fresh shrimp and i had mentioned that I'd like to go sometime so she came to wake me up. I was already awake, just not dressed. I hurried and got dressed and we headed to the dock for some fresh Shrimp.

We got there around 7.50 am and the first 8 boats or so were already sold out! WOW She was looking for the small shrimp to use as fishing bait and i was looking for shrimp to eat. We finally found a boat that had the small shrimp she was looking for and she bought the rest they had, around 22 lbs. Then we found another boat who had some larger size shrimp. She paid $2.50 a lb for her small shrimp and we both paid $2.50 a lb for the larger shrimp. I got 5 lbs and she got 10 lbs. I spent $15 in shrimp, but she spent over $70! Heading back to our campers we both had to clean our eating shrimp. I had never cleaned shrimp before and after learning how i got pretty good at it by the time i got to the end of my shrimp. I put some on ice in the frig and the rest was bagged up in baggies and stored in the freezer. I love shrimp fried, boiled and steamed. Heck i love shrimp anyway it's cooked!!!

After getting the shrimp all cleaned i was tired and sluggish, I'm still not feeling the best not sure if I'm coming down with something or what? Later on that evening another of my neighbors had a campfire going and invited me over so of course i accepted. She had BBQ some ribs on the grill and offered me to try some. Of course i couldn't resist and then she asked me to try her rice salad, it was so good ... she uses rice and makes like a potato salad with it, it doesn't sound good, but it is. I had a great dinner ... mmmm Finally around 8.30 pm after the fire died down we both returned to our campers and i showered and was in bed by a little after 9 pm.

Happy Halloween!

It's getting warmer here again today we had a high of 76! It's been a day of up & downs. I got up this morning and spent most of my morning sitting in a doctor's office. Ughhhh not fun. Then my afternoon was spent visiting my neighbor which was an up. She had a ruff morning too, so we spent our afternoon comforting each other.

With my disability, i suffer with depression from time to time and today is one of those days. I'm not even sure why but today has been one of those days where i cry over spilt milk. I don't have any energy and didn't even take a walk, maybe i will later tonight. I feel tired, sluggish and don't care what is happening around me. I hate those days!!!

I found these clip art online and thought they'd be cute to post for the holiday. Maybe that is why it's been a down day for me? I have found since becoming disabled i don't do holidays very good anymore. They are days i wish i could sleep through.

The little ghost & goblins here in the south are gonna have a nice evening for trick or treating. Hmmmm have you thought about what your treating so you don't get tricked? I have candy ready in case i get some little munchkins. There are a few kids in the park so i'm hoping they come by. I never had trick or treaters when i lived in a stick house, we lived wayyyyyyy to far out from no where. In fact i took my boys into town for them to go.

Tonight t turned out to be much better then the day. I got my first little visitors a fairy & batman, i just had to snap a picture of them. Then my neighbor had a fire going in her pit and several of us sat around chatting. As I was visiting we had another visitor who was looking for me. One of the little boys in the park who comes to visit me was out and about looking for candy, so i went back to my camper and gave him his treat. Then another little boy came by. It was great seeing the kids and it was the perfect night for a campfire and visiting.

Hope you all had a great Halloween ..... Until next time ........

A Beautiful Day!

Wow, it was nippy this morning and right now it's a sunny 67 degrees! I have went from jogging pants to shorts. The windows & door are open and there is a nice breeze. I have celery & onions cooking on the stove for my veggie soup I'm making for dinner. Smells really good .. mmm making my tummy growl with hunger. I took a walk a bit ago, i was looking and listening to all the different sounds. It's amazing what you can hear when you just sit and listen. I love it when i can open my windows & door and enjoy a fall day. The trees don't seem to turn colors in the south as they do in the north. The trees were so pretty when i was in the north. I love fall colors. I have spent my afternoon outside sitting in my lawn chair and just enjoying a beautiful day.

Hope your all having a great day! Until next time .....

It's nippy here

Wow, it's been nippy here the past few mornings. When i woke up it was 34 degrees! It made me so glad to be back inside of Ms. Southwind. I turned on the heater and in no time it was nice and comfy in here. The past few mornings i have been lazying around in my flannel jammies. Yes, i love to lounge around in my jammies, i am most comfortable in my pj's. Ms. Southwind is an older model, has no slides. I have received some looks by others who see what i live in and they look their nose down at me. But to me she is the most wonderful RV in the world. I am very happy living inside of her. She gives me all the comforts i need. I have running water, a bathroom/shower, a refrigerator, stove/oven and a wonderful comfy bed that i can stretch out and get my needed sleep. I have electricity and the most wonderful thing is when i tire of the area I'm in i can pack her up and start her wonderful engine and her wheels are rolling me to a new area for new adventures. Living inside of Ms. Southwind i have all the comforts that those who drive newer and much more expensive RVs have. It does make me sad that there are people in the world who do not have the same comforts that i have living inside of Ms. Southwind.

Monday since it's been cooler here i made a pot of potato soup. It was so delicious! I love soups esp when the temps are cool. Tuesday i spent the day cleaning up Ms. Southwind and then i had to go get my laundry done. Ughhh i hate doing laundry, but it's a must. I cooked a nice dinner last night. Since the temps have been cooler here i baked pork chops for dinner, mashed tators, stuffing and was it ever good. mmmm

Today i have a pork roast in the crock pot cooking for dinner. Tonight will be roast and then the left overs will be made into veggie soup and stored into containers for heating up later. I ended up running around most of the day. My neighbor came over and invited me to go to Goodwill with her and of course i couldn't refuse. Well after spending several hours shopping in Goodwill, i purchased an electric skillet & blender for $3.00 each! We decided to go eat Chinese for lunch. We had such a good time that we ate a bit and then chatted, then ate again. We ended being there 2 1/2 hours! No wonder they kept looking at us so strangely .. LOL After lunch we decided to head to Wal-mart and yes we spent several hours just looking around. Although i did find a good deal on a pressure cooking I've been wanting to buy some time. They had them on clearance for $9.00, plus i had to purchase potatoes for my roast. It was a great day and we had a wonderful time and it's amazing how time flies when your having too much fun.

Being homeless ….

With all that is going on with our world today as we know it if you have never been or even thought of being homeless and forced to live on the streets maybe it’s time you did. Living the life of the homeless is not a good experience. Sometimes things beyond our control happen to us and yes sometimes things happen to us because we think we can do things to better ourselves and then those plans don’t work out. After all isn’t it the American dream to better yourself and own a house, cars and your own business? Isn’t that why we have so many illegals crossing our borders to experience and live the American dream?

As a child I was never homeless even though I have gone through some very hard times. With a step dad who was very physically abusive. I have known what it’s like to go to bed hungry. I know what it’s like to have a empty stomach. I know what it’s like to wear ragged clothes. Although my clothes were ragged, they were always clean. I know what it’s like for people to make fun of you because you are poor. Kids and adults can be cruel at times. I was raised on welfare. My step dad didn’t care about me, he just cared about the money he got from the government for having me. As a child I can still remember rummaging through the neighbors trash cans for what ever food they threw out.

With the foreclosure rates the past few years and the projected foreclosure rates ahead of us. Our economy is in the toilet and people are literaly being forced to live on the streets, weather it be a park bench or the only vehicle they own. In American today we have children living on the streets with their parents. The banking industry has created a mess because they got greedy and now that they are paying the price for this greed they are even getting greedier. They are taking everything that a person owns and they don’t care what it does to the person their doing it to. All they can say is their just doing their job, they feel for the person their doing it to, but it’s their job.

I know that there are people who are living in a vehicle and doing it by choice weather it be to cut their expenses or just wanting the freedom to move about our beautiful country. But try imagine what it’s like for a person who was forced from their home to have to live inside of such a small area? What kind of mental, emotional and physical stress this takes on them?

Let me tell you what my experience has been living in a vehicle as a disabled person. I started out by cleaning out the trunk and re-arranging and sorting making room for cooler and clothes. The back seat was loaded down with my wheel chair, blankets & pillows as it gets cold in the north.

Got up before dawn and after my last night of sleep in a real bed the car pulled out of the drive way. Not looking back heading for the unknown. Around 2.30 pm it was time to stop at McDonald’s and get the dollar meal burger & fries for lunch/dinner the only hot meal of the day. Later an Aldie’s was spotted and I decided to swing in before they closed. Food was purchased and it was getting late, so it was time to start looking for night camp. Drove around and went and saw some old sites and finally around 1 am found a nice quiet parking spot. After settling in and getting comfy, was fast asleep. Although I kept waking up several times and made sure my secret spot was still a good place for some needed sleep. Right now the temps are still nice enough that sleeping in a vehicle is doable in northern Illinois. I stayed nice and comfy all night long. Of course I had 2 blankets and a sleeping bag wrapped around me.

I woke up once it became daylight, I was wide awake, so I dug out my embroidery and worked on it for a bit. Finally around 8.30 am it was time to head to the first place of business finding a rest room! Man is it ever cold here!! I had to struggle to get from the back seat and outside and into the front seat. Cold weather is hard on my disability and makes me very stiff and my body just doesn’t bend and move very well. The heat from the car heater felt great! A gas station was found and used the bathroom brushed teeth, hair and washed off ready for a new day. It poured down rain most of the day. My back was aching and reminded me why warmer weather is much better.

After the day it was getting late and a night time spot needed to be staked out. It’s amazing how many campers are out in this cold weather. Car dwelling options are slimmer when the campers are out and about. Once Nov 1st hits, then car dwelling options are much better. Went to the local lake and stayed until around 9 pm, check out time was 10 pm. During the time here, the car was once again re-arranged the vehicle from day living to night living. Making your vehicle appear during day light hours that it’s not being lived in is a must. This evening while looking for the next night camp, a Wal-mart was spotted and stocked up some snack foods. After finding the night camp, headed back to Wal-mart it was decided to park in their lot for a short nap, then around midnight it was time to head to night camp for the night. Decided to sneak into the State Park and since I have stayed here on numerous occasions, I knew the regular routine. Found a nice secluded spot, enjoyed a midnight snack and then settled down for the night. The alarm was set. After a good cat nap at 2.30 am it was time to quietly go to the bath house and get a nice long hot shower. Oh how wonderful was that shower. After showering, returned to the secluded spot and took a few more hours sleep. The alarm went off around 5.15 am, back to the shower house for a potty break and then quietly left and found a empty quiet parking spot between 2 semi trailers being stored. It was back to sleep, as always around 8 am I woke up and worked on my embroidery.

Around 10.30 am it was time to find the day camp area. Around 5 pm decided it was once again time to stake out the night camp. On the way decided it was a splurging night and got some Woody’s fried chicken. Mmmm it was so good. Purchased the smallest bucket they had, mmmm that means get to have chicken again tomorrow. What was so great was since it was so close to closing time got the chicken at a discount price, plus they gave more pieces then normally … wow even better yet!!

Drove about 40 more mins and decided on another local state park, (a different one). Drove around the park and found what thought would be a nice secluded spot for later. Then drove down by the water and enjoyed supper. Boy is it ever cold down here by the water. 9 pm was check out time for the day use area, so moved over to the parking lot near the visitor center and parked. I decided it was time to test staying in the rich area and see if would get stopped by the cops. Was parked about 40 mins when behold a sheriff cop car showed up. The officer parked his squad car in front of me with his head lights on bright and yes, he even turned on cherries & blue berries (why I don’t know, it wasn’t like I was going anywhere, I saw him coming toward me). Walked up to the car and asked what was doing. I told him I am disabled and needed to rest my back, which I wasn’t lying, as I was snuggled into my bed in the back seat. He shinned his light on my wheel chair which was also in the floor board of the back seat and my legs were squeezed in beside it. I then held up my apple that I was eating and stated I was having an apple for my snack. He asked for an ID and who’s vehicle I was in. I replied it was mine, he looked at my ID and asked where was I heading and why I was in the parking lot. I replied resting my back and eating a snack and once again held up my apple. The officer then said he’d be right back and went to run the ID and car plates. While he was doing this another police officer showed up but didn’t get out. The officer returned and said everything came back okay. I asked him if I could use the rest room at the day area and he said no problem. So headed over to the restroom and then on the way. Well the test was done and yes if you park at Pere Marquette State Park in the parking lot of the visitor center the police will show up. Although the officer was very nice and didn’t say had to leave, left on my own as the parking lot was lit up too much for my sleeping. Drove about 30 min’s to Hardin, Il where I needed to go to the bank in the morning. Parked by the river in a public dock lot and spent the rest of night with no trouble. I woke up around 6.30 am at daylight, embroidery awhile and around 7.30 am I had to find a rest room, cleaned up for the day. Went to the bank and finished my business and by 9 am was back on the road.

It’s definitely a challenge living this lifestyle. I can honestly say it’s much more difficult then living inside of a camper. I have the so much respect for those who live in such small places. I’m sure a van would be a must for living inside of. At least then you can install a bed where you can fully stretch out! Living inside of a car you can never stretch out completely, you don’t have heating or cooling because it’s too expensive to run the motor all the time, being disabled your medical condition is worse, my back hurt none stop. Having to sneak into a state park during the night time or where you can find to just be able to get a decent shower. But living on a small income all corners must be cut. It’s difficult as a disabled person and I’m sure it’s not better for a healthy person. My heart goes out to all those who have lost their homes and are living this vagabond lifestyle because they are forced to and not because they want to. It is very stressful. It makes a person truly appreciate what they do have. If you have never lived this lifestyle you need to try it just for a few days and then when you see a homeless person weather it’s their choice or they are forced the lifestyle you will have compassion and more understanding to their struggles of everyday life. I can’t even imagine what those who are not foruntate enough to own a car and live on park benches, in any alley or under a tree or culvert do it. I know even though I was dry when it rained, it was miserable! I can’t imagine not having shelter.

The sad thing is millions of people are living this lifestyle because they have no other options and that is just so sad. Our government is spending billions to other countries, for Wall Street and yet we have millions living on the streets because they have no choice.

Visiting back home

I got to visit back home and see my grand babies. Living the life of a vagabond keeps you away from family. Although i do try to talk to my son and my grand daughter as often as i can. It's not the same as being there and giving them hugs, kisses and just spending grandma time with them. Of course Grandma had to take pictures of her precious princess and little man.

Hailey is great big sister, she is a mother hen over Toby and even calls him her baby. Toby adores his big sister, no matter what mood he is in when she walks into the room and he sees her, he instantly starts smiling. It's amazing how much they have grown in 6 months! I called when i got close and then my son called to see how much longer as Hailey kept asking and sure enough Hailey was waiting at the door and waving as pulling in the drive. She came running out of the house with no shoes or coat to see me. Of course i opened the car door and she was in my lap giving me hugs and kisses. Once i got my Hailey time i went inside and got my Toby loving. He is like his big sister, he loves for grandma to give him all kinds of kisses. I was worried he wouldn't know me as i have only seen him one time since his birth. But he smiled at me as if he knew who i was and went right to me for his grandma kisses.

Of course when it came time to leave, it is always hard and there are always tears. Leaving and knowing it will be awhile before you see them again is always hard. Even though i get pictures emailed to me about once a month, it's not the same and leaving your precious loved ones is always hard.

Passing of father in law and great niece

Sunday Oct 12, started out a nice day but ended with sadness. My oldest son called to say my father law passed away. He has been sick for some time. My father in law has fought diabetes for years and never really kept it under control. It affected his legs, eyes and numerous other organs. It finally got the best of him. He is now in a better place. May he rest in piece.

Tuesday Oct 14, was my father in law's funeral and that same afternoon my sister called to let me know that my oldest brother's oldest grand daughter passed away. She was 19 yrs old with a 6 month old son. She was in a serious car wreck 3 weeks ago and her injuries were just too much. So on Thursday night and Friday was her services.

It's been a crazy week and so that is why i haven't posted. I hope you all had a better week then i did ... until next time

Oldies Cruzin

Decided to go and see the oldies cruzin car show. It was awesome. Lots of old cars. Although
the roads were packed and traffic was bumper to bumper. It was still a great time and i enjoyed seeing all the oldies. I talked to the owner of this 1957 Buick skylark, there are only 3 in the world like it and 2 of them are located in the USA and the other is in another country, i forget where they said. It was a pretty awesome ride.



















This red & white car was one of my favorites, isn't it just a sweet car?

The campground here was packed with campers and trailers, i don't think there was a empty spot available.

Empty lots and parking lots were also filled with campers and vehicles. As you can see, there was no place that had a empty spot available. People everywhere and old cars & trucks where ever you looked.