Blog Archives

End of February Catch-Up

2/28/2018

I haven't been inspired to do a lot of blogging lately, since we haven't been traveling, but I thought I'd catch you up on what's been going on in our neck of the woods...er, RV park!

Paisley Celebrated Her 10th Birthday.

In addition to Groundhog's Day, February 2 is Paisley's Day! I can hardly believe our sweet girl is now ten years old. It's sad to see the signs of aging in her. She's been "frosty" for years as she started graying prematurely, around age five. Just recently I noticed that her pupils are getting that cloudy look so common in older dogs. Our pets just age far too fast! But we are thankful to have had ten great years with her and hope she'll stay healthy for a good while longer.

She enjoyed a birthday dental bone on her big day.

Six Months in Braces.

Today, February 28, is six months to the day since I got my braces on. Amazingly, the time has gone by pretty quickly. I know I have a ways to go, but I can already see big changes in my teeth and feel improvements in my bite.

Here is my first day in braces (left) vs. a photo I took two days ago (right). In the first photo, my molars didn't even meet in the back, giving me an open bite in front and making chewing a challenge. Since starting with elastics in December, the bite issue has improved a lot, my midline is so much better, and both lower and upper teeth are straighter over all. I still have more of an overjet (overbite) than before my accident, but there is only so much that can be done about that without jaw surgery, which I will not be having. So, while perfection isn't a realistic goal, I'm very pleased with the changes so far.

My next orthodontist appointment is Monday, March 5, so I hope to get a better idea of how long my "jail sentence" will be continuing. Our lives have been on hold since my bike crash last April, so Barry and I are both anxiously anticipating being finished with its aftermath.

Time for Maintenance and Small Improvements to Pearl.

February was an overdue "maintenance month" around our motorhome, Pearl. Barry worked diligently on cleaning months of leaf debris and grime off her roof and exterior. He also cleaned both rooftop air conditioner's coils. Finally, he waxed the exterior a bit at a time so she shines as well as an 11-year old motorhome can! I helped where I could, but a lot of what he did ended up being a one-person job.

On the "fun" side, we added a second patio mat we found for half price at Camping World over a sandy area of our site. This should help a lot with tracking dirt and lawn debris into Pearl on our feet (and paws!) We also added this colorful windsock, and it's been getting a workout lately with all spring breezes. It was calm when I took the photo!

Moving inside, I replaced most of the pillow covers on our sofa. The original covers were colorful, Mexican-style patterns, and although they were cute, the woven synthetic fabric didn't hold up over time, especially with Paisley digging in them to make a nest! With such heavy use, they eventually ended up pilling, picking, and splitting at the seams.

The new covers are cotton in bright, solid colors. They should hold up better to washing -- and Paisley's digging. The disadvantage is that they'll also show all her little black and white hairs a lot more -- yes, Boston Terriers do shed!

I also just replaced our mildewed shower curtain with this one that matches our tiny bathroom's decor. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that it was about four inches longer than the original, so I had to hem it by hand. Another time I could have used a sewing machine! But the results were worth it, I think.

Spring Has Sprung!

After a chilly January by Florida standards, spring is now in full bloom here in central Florida. In fact, Barry heard on the Weather Channel that Orlando had its warmest February ever in 2018. No wonder we've had so many good bike rides!

Here are some of the photos I've taken on recent rides. The gorgeous yellow jacaranda trees, whose blossoms remind me of King Alfred daffodils, are just about done blooming already, but azaleas are out in full force.

Lake Minneola shoreline

If it's not yet springtime in your neck of the woods, we hope you'll be feeling the warmth soon.

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Barry Gets a New Bike!

2/8/2018

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Recently Barry decided he was ready to divest himself of his Jamis Dakar full-suspension mountain bike. He's had a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with this bike since we bought it used on Ebay several years ago. He's never felt really comfortable on it, and the disc brakes are so touchy that they seem to get out of alignment if you even look at them funny, causing him many hours of frustration. So even though he has had some fun riding it (including in Colorado at the Dumont Lake national forest service campground in Sept. 2016 in the photo below), we haven't been riding off-road much lately, and he thought he'd get more use out of a different type of bike.

Mountain Biking in Colorado

We always had so much fun riding around Ambergris Caye in Belize on our beach cruisers. They are heavy and distinctly non-aerodynamic, but the smile factor is unarguable.

Riding the sandy roads in Belize

So Barry did a little research online, and we rode over to a local bike shop here that takes trade-ins. This shop carried Electra Townies, the best-selling bike model in the U.S., we discovered. Barry liked the look of them and was able to take a quick test ride around the parking lot. Riding this bike was immediately comfortable and fun, and he was sold.

He actually had to go back a second time as it took a few days to get a trade-in price on his Jamis since it had been upgraded and customized by the original owner. So, he wouldn't be riding his new bike back on our return trip, a disappointment.

Once the bike shop got back to Barry with a price, he headed back over on his Jamis and returned to our RV park on his new Electra Townie 7d (7-speed). He loves it! It's perfect for tooling around the RV park and heading to and from the pool.

I have to admit, I have a bit of bike envy. I had cruiser bikes in Belize and Mexico and had a lot of fun riding them. But I'm not willing to give up any of the bikes in my stable (road, folder, or MTB) just yet, as I still enjoy all of them in different situations. And there's just not room to carry a fourth bike for me in Pearl.

I have my eyes open on Craigslist and in the local thrift store in case a super cheap cruiser bike turns up. If the price were right (I'm talking like $25), I could pick one up until we leave here and donate it back to the thrift store when we leave.

If not, it's no big deal; I can walk to the office and the pool just fine -- I just won't have as much fun as Barry!

Miles of smiles on this sweet ride!