Maybe I'm just wanting the time to pass more quickly, but I started Christmas shopping today and never left the house. Can't really say what I bought or who it's for, as they may read this, but infomercials and magazines are a wealth of help when you're not around a major shopping metropolis. Youngest son is walking without touching the ground today.....he & wife went to Omaha yesterday to a Metallica Concert...part of which was wifes Birthday present. He had a backstage pass and got to meet and hang out with his absolute drumming idol Lars Ulrich. He told him that he didn't know it but Lars taught him everything he knows! Guess at that time the High School Band teacher was forgotten altogether. They exchanged all kinds of memoribilia and he's a pretty happy camper tonight. Weather here is COLD.....wind is finally starting to die down now, but has been blowin a gale for a couple of days. They are callin for snow on Monday....but if it's like it has been.....only a few flakes....of well, I'm sure it'll come. I am glad we're not in South Dakota now!! Some places got almost 4 feet! The men are still hunting every day. One bunch goes home Sunday and another comes in next Friday...so maybe DH will have a little rest. He has to be getting tired of getting up early! I sure am!!! I'm in a much better mood today....I was pretty bummed out the day after the election. We're all holding our breath now....I've been reading quite a few blogs and some folks are going to stop RVing.....I think that's a little radical.....Gas and Diesel prices are down now....Gas today downtown is 2.16. We may have to sit a little longer but we're not giving up...Well it's time to go to the kitchen....I better carry on.....

And I'm not sayin......"It's all good." either!!!! The good news of the day...is DH and son limited out by 10:30 this morning...the bad news is...they came home and the old Wyatt got to hunt a field this morning and he decided that he needed to have a very serious conversation with a skunk and OMG!!!!! They came home before they used the 1st batch of skunk remedy and let's just say....as they came in the door....I used some pretty naughty language!!!! That brought tears to my eyes...Oldest son got a big kick of it all.....after 3 baths....the dog is better but they put him back in his cage and they went to Kearney to Cabelas......he knew better than to leave him here with me....I would have been checkin into a hotel somewhere! I think I got rid of the smell in the house...lit candles do the trick....it's almost easier than the next thought I have.....talking about odors....any rver knows about the tank odors that you have to battle. Now I'm no expert.....but I'm pleased that after 6 months I have a real good handle on managing the tanks, odors and lack thereof!!! I have read lots of articles and blogs with years of experience. Have taken some of the best...and experimented with many different remedies and have found something that works for us. .......We have a back rinse system on our black tank which is pretty convenient in cleaning and maintanence. When we park, we never hook up to the sewer until we're ready to dump. We always wait until the tank is 3/4 full to dump, If we're not going to be in one spot that long, we use the back fill to bring it up to that level and then dump. The grey tank is almost always the source of foul odors....dish water contains food bacteria which creates a nasty odor and shower and bath water goes to the grey, which creates all kinds of yukky mixes of smells. We follow up the black water with the grey tank. There's lots of commercial tank additives that helps with odors...usually blue in color which is gross in itself. I have found that after dumping...we add 5 gallons of water or so back to the tank....to that, I use one cup or so of liquid Calgon water softener (white jug in the laundry section at Wally or just about any gro. store) and about a cup of Gain liquid laundry detergent. I think any detergent will work. The calgon coats the sides of the tank and when on the move...the sloshing cleans.I've been using the Calgon in my laundry too.  I have eliminated odors with this combination. We always dump before we travel. I think the back up odors coming from the grey tanks up through the drains (even the washer/dryer) can be eliminated by traveling almost empty.... I found a commercial product at Camping World called ELOMINATE  that is a tablet that I add to the grey tank through the kitchen sink and it helps to desolve grease and freshen that tank. It has taken quite a while to pass along the sanitary tips of the dumping process to DH..but he finally gets it and some of the funniest moments is watching someone else hook up or unhook to get ready to move, when they don't get it!!! Watched a gal one day unhook her sewer hose and walk out in the tent area and swing it around above her head to "get all the water out!!" (I walked around that with my mouth open) Some people unhook their fresh water and drop the ends on the ground where someone elses sewer hose may have leaked. DH uses disposable gloves....and Clorox wipes for the water connection and our hose ends. He's also learned to keep hold of them and never drop them on the ground and then he uses clorox wipes to wipe the hose down before putting it away. We keep all that and connectors in a tote. He's getting really good at not spilling after dumping and only runs fresh water over if he's not paying attention (and I'm not either!) The first time I did that...it freaked me out! We always try to keep a full fresh tank. I had some bad experiences with bad water, and no water this summer. I always shower in the coach and DH usually goes to the showers provided by the campgrounds. I have unlimited hot water and my shower is even bigger than the one here at the house. I got caught in CO Springs this summer at a campground on HWY 24  and they had water issues and it was shut down for 2 days, and I only had a quarter of a tank...so that was a lesson learned. I always try to keep a full tank. Looking back...I thought we'd never learn all we needed to know to operate...and it has gotten easier and easier!

Took a long ride today....I do my best thinking when I get out and drive. Had to get things to get organized for the next wave of company coming in tomorrow night. I saw some rvs today on the road and in a parking lot. One was missing a wheel and I'm sure someone was taking it to be repaired.....what a nightmare. One of the most dreaded things in my eyes would be a blow out or a flat tire. Ours are really too big....we can't repair or change a flat, we have a service plan that we call for assistance, but is a major nightmare! I have heard absolute horror stories about blow outs and how they take out the whole side of a coach, if it's one of the front wheels. Tire pressure is very very important and I'm a tire freak!! Ask the DH and he'll tell ya......I've got him out checkin tire pressures before every move and doin' walk arounds and eye ballin all, especially the duallys and tags almost every stop!!!! In fact....I think I'm getting him a pressure pro system for Christmas....a system that monitors the tire pressures on all wheels and displays them on a gauge inside the coach. See? i'm thinking about rollin down the road even when we're stuck at the sticks and bricks! If you're on the road today...please pay attention to your tires!!!! Think I have enough food packed in to last a week or two....My hunters are bringing Salmon from Alaska and a new recipe to go with it. Back to getting up at 5:30 tomorrow.....early to bed and early to rise!!!!

Was boasting that the guys were back in by 3:00 on Saturday....well they finally got gone at 8:20 on Sunday and told me to have a nice day.......calling me and coming back home by 10:00 a.m.!!! KayCee pointed all the birds Sunday...Wyatt just rode along and Summer (Brents 4 mo. old ) is just learning but had fun! They had their limit and was a good thing, because the wind kicked up with 45 mph gusts and the rest of the day was nasty. We headed out to Minden to visit son and grandkids. Oh my how they have grown! Addie is such a sweet little girl. Drove back in the wind and it was awful!!! So glad not to have had the coach...we just wouldn't have moved with that. Not worth it anymore. Too many things to see damage. We did that a couple of times and has cost us quite a bit. DH trimmed trees today and now as I write this he is coming home from the Kansas State line....he just took the dogs for a ride to check the roads and fields to get ready for the latter part of this week. I didn't get out and take any pictures this time, Brent sent me this one from Colorado this morning. He couldn't believe the ease of the weekend and was back home and unpacked and cleaned up before dark.

It's a little after 3 p.m.  and the Great White Hunters are back already. I got up at 5:30 and fixed them a good old cafe hot breakfast before they finally got their gear loaded and the dogs settled and they wandered down the street about 8 a.m. I asked DH if he had someone on Speed Dial that could pull them out....after over 3 inches of rain this week and at least 5 inches south of Beaver City, the roads are no picnic. He informed me that they would stay on the gravel.The big storm with 7 inches of snow...missed us...we were lucky and must have just been on the edge.....I like living on the edge.... that makes one we dodged!  I had a quiet day....did a little sewing and cleaned a little. The  story of my life. Watched the Nebraska Football game, and talked on the phone. I asked what was wrong, when they showed up so early, and he said "when ya get all your birds, ya gotta quit!" So they are cleaning their birds. They limited out on the first day. Dogs are tired but don't look too worse for wear. They will both have baths when he gets back and then they will feel better. Last night they went to the Hunter's Feed at the Legion and Rat Races, which after you've seen once, are not too thrilling, especially when mice and rats are pretty low on my like chart right now. Tonight is a Pheasants Forever Banquet in Alma, and they are going to that. I am staying home....again.... no biggie there. No need for any more art work. Can't take it in the Coach and that's the only decorating I'm into right now....o k.....so I'm getting new carpet in the house......that's different.....and the new chair.....but no more wall space. Besides the fact that I can't stay up late anymore and get up at 5:30 and function!!!! I will get up and cook for them every day they go out and then go to bed early!  Tomorrow we have pancakes!