MY Tool Box

I am a little "anal retentive". Ok I admit it. A "few" (actually at least 15 and maybe as much as 20) years ago, I bought myself a tool box. As everyone knows, there are many occassions that a person needs a hammer, pliers, screw driver, or whatever so when I saw this tool box at Shopko, I bought it.

This is what my tool box looks like, it is molded plastic with a spot for everything that is in it.

As I mentioned this tool box is old, but I have done a really great job of hanging onto all of the tools. I make sure that they are put away as soon as I am finished with them. As you can see SOMETHING IS MISSING!!

Rex used my tape measure and...

this is what it looked like when he was finished with it!! I think he over extended it. So after a trip to Hardware Hank...

I have a new one to put in the slot.

BYE BYE SMILEYS

MY LAPTOP IS NOW A YEAR OLD, AND IT WAS TIME TO PAY FOR NORTON ANTI VIRUS AND SOME SPY WARE SOFTWARE THAT I BOUGHT WITH THE COMPUTER. I DECIDED TO UNINSTALL BOTH PROGRAMS AND GO WITH A COUPLE OF FREE PROGRAMS RECOMMENDED BY A BLOGGER I READ.

THE FIRST THING THE NEW SPY WARE DID WAS TO REMOVE THE SMILEY SOFTWARE FROM MY COMPUTER AS A MAJOR SPY, ALONG WITH ABOUT A HUNDRED OTHER SPY'S LURKING ON MY MY HARD DRIVE. I WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE SUSPECT OF THAT FREE PRODUCT SO I'VE DUMPED THE SMILEYS.

MEANWHILE THE SEARCH FOR NEW AVATARS CONTINUES. BEAR WITH ME AS I EXPERIMENT.

NOT REALLY GOOD

BUSINESS WISE, THINGS HAVEN'T REALLY RETURNED TO NORMAL ECONOMICALLY HERE AT LAKE TAHOE. USUALLY IN JULY AND AUGUST WE WOULD BE WORKING 5 DAYS A WEEK AND MAKING $140/DAY IN TIPS. THIS YEAR WE'RE MAKING ABOUT $125/DAY IN TIPS AND WE HAVE ONLY WORKED 4 DAYS A WEEK FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.

WHILE WE ARE ENJOYING 2007, WE ARE ACTUALLY PLANNING, BUDGETING, AND SAVING FOR "BEACH BUMMING 'O8". "BB'08" COULD BE ANYWHERE FROM 10 - 15 WEEKS OFF DEPENDING ON THE MONEY.

MY POINT IS, THAT AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN TODAY DOESN'T REALLY EFFECT US UNTIL A YEAR FROM NOW. IT MAY GIVE SOME INSIGHT TO OUR READERS JUST HOW FRAGILE WORKCAMPING CAN BE TO YOUR LIFE STYLE.

Tahoe Tourists

We had today off and had our usual list of errands. We started out at Taylor Creek. I bought a t-shirt there on Tuesday but needed to exchange it today. This t-shirt is so cute, it says "Let The Forest Be With You". I really like it. As long as we were there we decided to do the "Rainbow Trail" hike.

The next item on our list was to check out the new grocery store in town. It is called The Grocery Outlet and is sort of like a grocery warehouse. We both agreed that this store will do very well here in Lake Tahoe. The other grocery stores, Raley's and Safeway, are very expensive. We liked the prices and felt they compared favorably with Wal-Mart. Of course the selection is not as great but we can certainly get by.

Then it was on to the bank. My bank doesn't have a branch or ATM here so when I need cash, I write Rex a check and he gets me cash from his bank. It is a pain for him but it's the only way I can get cash without paying the exorbitant ATM fees in a casino and he really doesn't mind too much.

Tomorrow night after work I have signed up to walk in the "Relay For Life". It is an event that goes from 5PM on Saturday night and ends at 9AM Sunday morning. It is a fund raiser for cancer research. The casino I work for is one of the sponsors, the object is for people to walk all night representing the fact that cancer never rests so neither do volunteers and researchers...at least that is how I understand it. Anyway to make a long story short, the bank is by the park we will be walking in so I took Rex there to see it.

By this time we were both hungry, so Rex suggested I take him out for lunch. WOW, this is an EVENT, we next to never eat out but I had been wanting to go to a place I had heard about a couple of months ago. So we show up at Zan's Lakeside Beach Grille. Our timing was just right because we got seated right away, but within minutes there was a line to get in. As you can imagine, seating is limited at the grille. Rex and I split an order of pan seared halibut with home made potato chips. It was $15 and Rex's beer was $7 a can. Not a cheap place!! So anyway there is an interesting story about this place. The owner's name is Zan Miller. Now Zan is kind of an unusual name. Come to find out, this man's father was Johnny Weismiller, the actor that portrayed Tarzan in the movies in the 40s. Apparently his father appreciated the role so much he named his son Tarzan. Understandably, the son didn't appreciate it quite as much so shortened his name to Zan Miller.

By this time we are actually feeling like tourists so we decided to stop, look, and see stuff we have been driving by for three years. One place I noticed for the first time a few weeks ago, The Picchetti Winery. So I went into their tasting room and tasted 5 of their wines for a $5 fee. Of course I ended up buying one and they do not have cheap wines so will probably not be going back again for a long time, but it was fun.

Next we walked down to Reagan Beach, named for Ronald Reagan. It is one of the few places that you can actually get to the beach without paying money. That lake and beach are so beautiful.


Of course no tourist-ty day is complete without stopping for cocktails. We tried out a new bar called "The Peanut Bar". As the name implies, there was no shortage of salted in the shell peanuts.

Then it was home for a supper of grilled chicken legs.....they were good!! Now it is time for a new episode of Monk...then bedtime. Click the link below to see all the pictures from today.

Web Album

WOW...I Was Just Thinking About That!!

By Mary

Ok it is Thursday July 26th...we went to work today at 1 PM so at 8:30PM I got tapped off and told....you are off. That sucks, they are kicking me out 1/2 hour early. This after I was sure I would make my 8 hours - no problem.

As I was driving us home, my mind was doing it's usual wanderings and I was thinking...Gee I wonder when Heather is going to have that baby. It was on my mind a lot during that six mile drive.

So we get home and are changing into lounging clothes and Rex notices a the message light flashing on my cell. It is from my daughter Nikki-at that point I verbalize the baby thoughts I had on the way home. Sure enough, Nikki is calling to say that she is on the way to the hospital, Heather's water broke and she is dilated to 4mm, the call came about 1/2 hour before we got home. Of course I returned the call, no baby yet but things are progressing. How exciting!!

We already know the baby is a boy so I asked what his name is: Randy James. Heather's husband's name is Randal and her father-in-law's name is James. Works for me....but since they call my son-in-law Randy I hope they call the baby Rand so there isn't any confusion, Junior is a pain for a kid. I do have to say Randy has waited a LONG time to have a son...he and Heather have 3 girls!! He deserves to have a namesake!!

OK it is 11:50 in LaCrosse now and still no baby. That will be OK with Nikki's husband...July 26th is his birthday so he is hoping the baby waits until at least midnight. I was actually hoping the baby would be born on August 2nd. That is Heather's birthday.....but I am sure she will be VERY glad when this is over!!

Baby pictures will be forthcoming....have to wait for Randy James to make an appearance!!

Randy James finally made his debut July 27th at 1:19 AM. Welcome to the world Randy James Besl!!!!

Randy James Besl

More thoughts about Randy James Besl.

He is my 7th grandchild, born on the 27th day of the 7th month of 2007!

Now that's a LOT of 7s. He must be a lucky person...let's hope so!

WHAT ABOUT THE AIRCARD?

BY REX

WHAT ABOUT THAT AIRCARD PROJECT?

THE PLAN WAS TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET WITH A SPRINT AIRCARD. WE PLANNED TO USE A WIRELESS ROUTER SO THAT WE COULD BOTH BE ON THE INTERNET AT THE SAME TIME FROM OUR LAPTOPS.

THE PROJECT DIDN'T GO SO WELL. WE ARE ON THE VERY FRINGES OF THE SPRINT CELL TOWER SERVICE. THE AIRCARD DOESN'T WORK AT ALL IN REX'S GATEWAY COMPUTER. THE SIGNAL ISN'T STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE THE ROUTER WORK.

MARY'S SONY VIAO LAPTOP DOES CONNECT TO THE INTERNET THROUGH THE AIRCARD, WITH AN EXTERNAL ANTENNA AND AMPLIFIER.

WE RETURNED THE ROUTER. WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE MOVE THE CAMPER BACK DOWN THE MOUNTAIN TO CARSON CITY, THE SPRINT SIGNAL WILL BE MUCH BETTER.

THE QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN ARE, WILL IT WORK IN LAUGHLIN? WILL THE SIGNAL BE STRONG ENOUGH IN LAUGHLIN TO RE-PURCHASE THE ROUTER? IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE GATEWAY EXPRESS CARD SLOT?

HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE MOUNTED EXTERNAL CELL PHONE ANTENNA.

Charlie

by Uncle Hans

I am trying something new this morning, by sending in a blog entry with no pictures. How boring. I thought of this while driving and daydreaming a few days ago.

Years ago I read a book called Travels with Charlie. It occurred to me to recommend the book to Mary as I thought she would get a kick out it. Then I thought about your entire blog audience, since it is an RV blog, basically. This book was written by John Steinbeck, one of America ’s most famous authors. He had written Grapes of Wrath, Red Pony, Cannery Row, East of Eden and many other great books. In his retirement he decided to write one more. It is basically America ’s first RV blog!

He buys a pick-up camper and sets off to see America with his standard poodle, Charlie. It is a fun read, and it caused me to buy my first of many standard poodles, which we named Charli (actual name: Charlotte the Harlot).

Anyway, there you have a blog without pictures for the intellectual types in your audience. All his books are available at the library.

Hans

AMY'S BLOG

BY REX

I SUSPECT THAT MANY OF THE FAMILY READER'S CHECK AMY'S BLOG FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO CHECK IN A LITTLE MORE OFTEN AS THEIR NEWEST ADDITION APPROACHES.

HEATHER'S DUE DATE HAPPENS TO BE AUGUST 6TH. LOOKS LIKE WE'RE BOTH GOING TO BE GRANDPARENTS AGAIN REAL SOON.

"SUNNY & 80" AT BEAUTIFUL LAKE TAHOE

GOOGLE/PHOTO LESSON

WRITTEN BY REX

THERE ARE A FEW FRIENDS AND FAMILY OUT THERE THAT READ THE BLOG REGULARLY AND ASK ME BLOGGING AND PHOTO QUESTIONS FROM TIME TO TIME. I'VE RECENTLY LEARNED A FEW NEW TRICKS SO TODAY I'M PASSING THEM ON.

YESTERDAY I TOOK THE DIGITAL CAMERA ON MY MORNING WALK SO I COULD SHOW YOU PICTURES OF OUR HIKE. THE NICE THING ABOUT DIGITAL IS I TOOK 6 PICTURES AND SELECTED THE BEST 4 TO USE ON THE BLOG. CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE ALL 6.

THIS IS A GOOGLE PRODUCT CALLED PICASA2. I REGULARLY READ A BLOG CALLED "GREEKS ON TOUR". THESE FULLTIMERS SUPPORT THEMSELVES ON THE ROAD BY GIVING OTHER CAMPERS SEMINARS ON USING THEIR LAPTOPS WHILE ON THE ROAD, SELLING AND INSTALLING INTERNET SATILLITE DISHES, AND DOING OTHER GENERAL COMPUTER WORK FOR CUSTOMERS ALL OVER THE NATION. THEY ALSO HAVE MANY COMPUTER LESSONS POSTED ON THEIR WEBSITE, FROM WHICH I'VE LEARNED ALOT. CLICK HERE TO LEARN ALL ABOUT USING PICASA2, AND IT'S FREE.

OK UNCLE HANS, TERESA, AMY, BARBARA, NIKKI, HEATHER, PAULIE, AUNT KATHY, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR DIGITAL PHOTOS AND EDITING, SHOW ME YOUR RESUTLS.

MORNING WALK

BY REX

MARY DOES A GREAT JOB OF PUSHING ME OUT THE DOOR AND AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER FOR OUR MORNING WALK. THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE BACK STREET BEHIND OUR CAMPGROUND.

THE STREET IS A DEAD END STREET AND BUTTS UP AGAINST THE SECURITY FENCE SURROUNDING THE AIRPORT. THAT'S THE AIRPORT RUNWAY YOU CAN SEE.

HERE IS WHERE WE TURN INTO THE FOREST AND CONTINUE OUR MORNING WALK. THE TOTAL DISTANCE IS ABOUT A ONE MILE WALK.

WE COME OUT ON THE BACK STREET AND CONTINUE BACK TO THE CAMPER.

I GOT TO ADMIT, IF YOUR GOING TO TAKE A MORNING WALK THERE IS NO PRETTIER PLACE TO WALK.

DAM THOSE COOKING BLOGS........

BY REX

HAVE YOU NOTICED ALL THE COOKING BLOGS LATELY? WELL, I STOOD ON THE BATHROOM SCALES A COUPLE WEEKS BACK, AND WHOA!!!..... 205 LBS? MARY IS THIS RIGHT?

NOW I'M NOT A DIET KINDA GUY, MORE LIKE A BEER SWILLING COOKIE MONSTER, BUT SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE. MARY HAS A LOT OF EXPERTISE IN DIETING AND I COULD LEARN A LOT, BUT..............

MY PHILOSOPHY IS EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE. THAT'S IT! NO CALORIE COUNTING, NO SOUTH BEACH DIET, NO LISTENING TO OPRAH, JUST STOP EATING, AND GO FIND MY PEDOMETER.

YIKES !! BEER DRINKING IS LIKE EATING, OH NO, THIS IS GONNA HURT!!

WELL IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF WEEKS AND MY BODY HAS REBELLED WITH A GROWLING STOMACH AND HUNGER PAINS, THEN MY ASSHOLE SHUT DOWN A COUPLE OF DAYS, AND A FEW MILD HEADACHES, BUT IT'S ALL ADJUSTING...........

IT'S BEEN 17 DAYS AND I'VE LOST JUST OVER 10 LBS, ABOUT 5% OF MY BODY WEIGHT IF YOU'RE A WATCHER OF "THE BIGGEST LOSER" ON TV.

SO STOP THE COOKING BLOGS AND GET READY FOR DIET STORIES AND MORE HIKES.

FIRE DAMAGE

WRITTEN BY REX

LIKE MOST PEOPLE, WE FINALLY GOT NOSY ABOUT THE BURN AREA AT LAKE TAHOE. WE TOOK A DRIVE OUT THROUGH THE AREA AND SNAPPED THESE PICTURES FROM THE CAR. THE THING THAT AMAZED US THE MOST WAS THAT THERE WERE HOMES COMPLETELY BURNED TO THE GROUND AND RIGHT NEXT DOOR THERE WOULD BE A HOME COMPLETELY UNTOUCHED, LIGHTS ON, PEOPLE HOME, DOGS BARKING AND PERFECTLY NORMAL. UNFORTUNATELY I DIDN'T GET A PICTURE TO ILLUSTRATE THIS POINT.

WE CLEARLY DID NOT BELONG IN THE AREA SIGHT SEEING, AS UTILITY TRUCKS WERE BUZZING AROUND WORKING AND CLEAN UP HAS STARTED.

BETWEEN LAKE TAHOE AND RENO THERE IS ANOTHER FIRE UNDER WAY THAT HAS ALREADY BURNED 200 SQUARE MILES. IT HAS THREATED 400 HOMES AND IS ONLY 15% CONTAINED.

MOTHER NATURE CAN SURE BE CRUEL AND UNPREDICTABLE.

NOTICE THAT MOST OF THESE HOMES HAD BEAUTIFUL FIREPLACE?

Beef--It's What's For Dinner!!

By Mary

On Monday when I went to Wal-Mart to get groceries, I found this great looking porterhouse steak......



As you can see, they mark down their meat on Monday .....good thing one will feed both of us!!

When I left the camper Tuesday morning to go to the Farmer's Market, Rex asked me to pick up a side dish for him to have with his steak. I thought corn on the cob would be perfect.... except Rex didn't want his corn "on the cob". OK, no problem we'll just take it off.

Now that is a great looking steak!!!

Obviously this is my plate.....Rex wouldn't be caught dead with all this green stuff on his. The veggies are the contents in the foil pack as seen in the picture above. We sure eat well!!

It's Whats for Dinner....

By Mary

The other day I was looking through one of my cookbooks looking for a recipe for a vegetable side dish. While I was looking for that I happened to notice a picture of "Lime-Marinated Grilled Sea Bass". It looked really, really good and we are suppose to eat seafood at least twice a week....so I decided to make it.

I went to the local grocery store to find some sea bass. There wasn't any at either Wal-Mart or Trader Joe's. And to tell you the truth, when I saw this package I almost changed my mind....the price reflects a $23.99 per pound price. I don't think I paid that much for the lobster I bought for the lobster bisque I made last winter!! Oh well it is a special occasion...our day off. So I guess I will get it anyway.

Here is the finished product....along with grilled red onion and grilled baby bok choy. Finger lickin good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!