All Moved In And Working and Things To Come

I have been in my house since February 1st and have gotten settled in and spent most of my time searching for a job, a few interviews and finally got a job at Walmart in Okmulgee about 14 miles from home.  i'm working 5 days a week, however after my first day I asked for fewer hours a day, so I am working 4 hours a day until my body gets used to being on my feet.  It's  getting better. A back brace and compression socks make all the difference.

Since this scare, I'm constantly wiping everything down with disinfectant and keeping my distance.  It has been interesting observing all the different people in the store and how they are handling everything.

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This past Sunday we celebrated Nora's 1st birthday.  She was supposed to have a party on Saturday, but it was canceled because people were coming from different states, so we had cupcakes after dinner on Sunday and had everyone join us on FaceTime to sing Happy Birthday and watch her open presents.  She certainly loved her cake. She will soon be walking too.




Other changes are in the works.  My sister Evelyn who is currently in Phoenix will be on the move.

We are in the process of getting my sister moved from Arizona to Oklahoma.  She will also be living with me.  It should be so much better being for her to be nearer to family.





I've been keeping myself busy.  With working and wanting to do something to the yard, but can't because of the rain lately, I am looking forward to warmer weather, so that it will be nice to sit outside early in the morning and in the evening.  It's a lot of yard to work with.  I really need to get a shed to store equipment so I can enjoy the whole deck.  I'm afraid it will take time.


I hope that you all are staying safe and enjoying life in place with those you love.

Thank you for visiting

I'm sure glad the snow is gone, but now I have to wade through the wild flowers in the backyard that are almost as  tall as me.

Susan and Angel

I've Moved Again, This Time It's Permanent

Yes, it's permanent!

I have taken myself off the road.  I bought a house in Henryetta, Oklahoma.  I am now closer to most of my family.  My oldest daughter and her family live across the street.  My grandson and his wife live about 10 minutes away.  My second daughter is still in Ft Worth TX, about 3 1/2 hours away.  Her kids are near to her.  My son is about 2 1/2 hours away in Bentonville AR.  He and his fiancé will be tying the knot on 1-2-21.  That leaves my youngest daughter still in AZ.  Her kids are grown and out of the house except her youngest who will be graduating high school this year.  The oldest is in CA and son in the army.  She too is thinking of moving this way later this year or next.

This is "My Spot III"

 

"My Spot II" is up for sale.

I thought tat I would give you a tour.  I have 3 bedrooms, dining room, galley kitchen, living room, one bathroom and a deck out back.  all the rooms are small or should I say tiny.  It's all less than, I think, 900 sq ft.

View from the front door into the dining room out to the deck through French doors.

View to the right in living room towards the 3rd bedroom which I am using as an art studio.

The chairs are leather vintage recliners picked up at a flea market and the end tables from a thrift store,  The lights are new and I now have walls where I can hang my paintings.

This is kitchen towards the laundry room and back door.

The kitchen is small, but it is very workable.  It has lots of storage and everything is just an arm's reach away, a huge refrigerator, a gas stove, a dishwasher and a shelf that is perfect for my microwave and convection ovens.

I have taken the back bedroom and have left the front bedroom for my sister who is still in Phoenix and will be moving in with me later this year.

I did have to buy the bed frame, but the dresser was given to me when I got the chairs.  Curtains were in the RV as was the mattress.

 

The bathroom  is small, but light and airy.  The window is made of glass blocks.

This is the hall, bathroom door and my bedroom door.  On the wall to the right (out of sight) I put up a coat rack.  To the left of the paintings is a linen closet and to it's left the door to the other bedroom.

The other bedroom waiting for occupancy.

This is the studio.  I'm afraid that it looks like a storage room.  Well I guess it is, but it is organized enough that I can work in it.  At some time in the future I want to build storage shelves and drawers.  I will have to design exactly what I need.  It's a work in progress.

 

This is the other side of the living room, the desk was also a freebie.  I will also be getting a loveseat to complete the furniture accumulations

The table I got through an online  garage sale here in town.  The chairs are from a thrift store. One of the seats was broken, so I repaired it and recovered all the seats.

This is the back deck and as you can see the yard is huge.  There are a lot of things that I would like to do out there, but it will take time and money, so it won't happen any time soon.

All in all with-in about two weeks I was able to furnish this little house for less than $200..

I find that this house is the perfect size for me and Angel.  She seems to be as happy as I am.  As before I have a lot of time on my hands, so I am searching for a part time job.  It will bring in  extra money, but most important I will be able to meet new people and become active in the community.

I might even post more often to keep my friends and family up to date on any changes that I make to MY SPOT.

Thanks for visiting 

Susan 

and 

Angel

Dreaming about having  my new home and yard.

Where Has This Month Gone?

Last time I mentioned that my son, Ted was moving to Arkansas, well it has happened.  This past week he and Brandy have moved into an apartment while their new home is being built.  No pictures as yet.  They have a BUSY, BUSY life.

My grandson, Nick and his wife have moved into their new home in Oklahoma and have retrieved their two Huskies from my daughter Sandi.  Again no pictures.

Sandi has her house back with only her daughter, Mary and their three Pits, also a friend is staying with them before her move to the UK.  No new pictures.

Heidi, the oldest of my daughters is still living a busy life also in Oklahoma.  The only change there was a successfully completed planed operation for Nora Lynn, my great granddaughter.  She and her Mama (my granddaughter Svea Alis) are doing great.

Nora Lynn and her Papa

Isn't she beautiful?

Mellissa, the youngest of my girls is still in Arizona.  She too has a busy life, working and following the progress of Katie,  my granddaughter and her many Varsity Volley Ball games.  Her son Robert is doing his own thing.

Thats it for what's going on with the family.  As to me,  in addition to  volunteering for the USACE 20 hours a week, I too have been busy.

On the 1st of September, I was "kidnapped" by Sandi and Mary.  They in conspiracy with their siblings, had the whole day planned out.  I was only told to wear shorts and that it would involve cake.  We had an appointment at 10:00, but since we were early, we stopped for breakfast in Waxahachie.  We then proceeded to the surprise location where we would have a morning at the SPA.  The three of us were to get our nails done.  Mani's and Pedi's.  Of course mine was the deluxe.  Oh, the massage was the best part.  The wine was a close second.  I was soooooooo relaxed.  When finished we went out for lunch.

Good Morning.  Waiting for the kidnappers.

See what happens when I get a little bit of wine.

Two of the Kidnappers, the rest of them were there in spirit.

They did say cake was involved, there's ice cream  too.

 A great big THANK YOU to all my kids for a delightful BIRTHDAY celebration.

Since then I have been working on paintings,

This is Paisley, Brandy's fur baby.

 Keeping out unwanted visitors,

A rat snake that found it's way into my motorhome,  caught in a mouse trap.

 Setting up at a local Farmers Market,

My booth at the Ennis Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

Volunteering with Sandi and Mary at Tattoos and Tailpipes, a fundraiser for Autism.

Last Sunday we were at Haltom Theater where they held it.  Sandi and Mary ran around doing whatever they did while I sat and did some face painting.  Sandi posted pics on FB.


and
Freaking out when Angel decided to wander off at 6:00 am this morning.

I'm scolding Angel and explaining what could have happened to her.

Of course, I'm sure she had no idea of what I was talking about.  

Every morning at 6:00 am, I open the gate at the park.   We do have a lot of people that use the boat dock to fish early in the morning, so lately, I have let Angel come with me, off leash and she usually walks with me and stays close. Not this morning.  She decided to wander off.  For about a half an hour I walked all over my site as well as Earl's (the other workamper) calling her.  It was a bit scary, since there are owls, raccoons, and coyotes and it was really dark.  (Earl has lost two dogs to predators.).  Finally I was relieved when I heard her tags on her collar and saw her amble her way back home.  I don't think that she will be off leash any time soon.

I sure hope that you all are having a great day, week and month.  We're trying to stay cool here.  Even though it is supposed to be Autumn, it has been HOT, no sign of any relief here in Texas for at least a week. (Hopefully)

Thanks for visiting.

Here's where I will be tomorrow guarding Mom's  artwork.

Susan and Angel

Road Trip To Oklahoma

The  clan is gathering!

It seems that most of the family is returning to the midwest.  My son will be moving to Arkansas next month.  one of the other daughters is now in Texas and the other daughter is thinking about moving after her youngest graduates from high school.

My oldest daughter and her family have already moved to Henryetta OK, (husband, daughter and granddaughter).  I met up with my next oldest daughter to go and pick up her daughter there because she was helping her cousin and his wife to drive all of their belongings from Tucson AZ to Henryetta OK where they are buying house and property.  That was the goal of the entire weekend.

It started with me going to my next daughter's house on Saturday.  We did a bit of shopping and then later in the afternoon we enjoyed the pool.  Angel got in and learned how to swim to the stairs.  She really does not like the water, but was still happier to be with me rather than dodging all the other dogs.

Three of six dogs that were there that day.

The dogs think that they are lap dogs even if they pits , huskies or terrier.

They left Tucson Saturday morning, driving all day, expecting to get into Henryetta early Sunday.  Since we wanted to spend some time visiting, we left early Sunday morning.

 

Beginning of the Sunrise.

Turned out to be glorious.

Heading east.

We actually were able to skirt around and miss whatever was beneath the cloud bank.

Fortunately we missed any adverse weather and got there a little after 9 am and were able to spend about 3 hours before returning to Texas.

We had breakfast  and were able to meet my grandson's in-laws, who are also moving to Oklahoma.  We had to leave by noon to get to previous obligations.

Even so it was a good visit saw everyone got the Great Grandbaby  "Fix".  Hopefully we will all get together when we can spend more time.

Crossing the Red River

Hello Texas

The trip takes about 3 and a half hours and was uneventful, which is a good thing!

I made it home to Ennis before dark and got geared up for another week volunteering for the Corp.

I hope that you all have had a great week and will have a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend.

Thank you for visiting.

Mom is protecting me from all the big dogs..

Susan and Angel

Bardwell Lake Corp of Engineers Parks

BARDWELL LAKE USACE PARKS

I must apologize for not posting more often on this blog.  Thank you to all who tried to keep up with Angel and me.  I really do appreciate it.  Angel has been doing just fine.  She and I do get into a rut, since we really don't do too much.  I find that there isn't too much that I actually do except workamp and do watercolors.  I will try to be more diligent in keeping you all up to date.

So this post will be about wonkamping for the US Army Corp of Engineers and their parks where I am currently staying.  My MH is parked at Love Park.  It is the closest park to the Project Office where I work.  I work Monday thru Friday, 4 hours per day for my site and full hook ups. This the first time in 7 years that I have had weekends off, YEA!!!!

If anyone is interested in volunteering, they do have positions open for Camp Hosts and Maintenance.  Couples and singles are welcome.

On to the some pictures and comments about the various parks.

LOVE PARK

This park has been closed except for the boat ramp and the Group Shelter.

Love Park Entrance

Gate House and Volunteer Sites

Group Shelter

The group shelter accommodates 200 people
 and is reservable  from April 1st through September 30.

Boat Ramp

Courtesy Dock

The boat ramp is open year round, however the courtesy dock has to be repaired after the recent flooding.

MOTT PARK

Mott Park

Mott Park Gate House

Boat Ramp and Courtesy Dock

Swim Beach

One of the camping sites

Many other camping sites

Group Shelter 

This group shelter accommodates 100 people.  Reservable April 1st thru September 30th.

WAXAHACHIE CREEK PARK

Waxahachie Creek Park

Waxahachie Creek Gate House

Camping for RVs and Tents

Boat Ramp

Additional Parking for Boat Trailers

Camping Site

Another Campsite

Group Shelter

This group shelter accommodates 200 people. Reservable April 1st thru September 30th.

Equestrian Camp Sites Available

Waxahachie Creek Park is the only one that accommodates horses.

HIGH VIEW PARK

HighView Park is the only park that is open year round.

High View Park

HighView Park Gate House

Camp Site

Camp Sites for both RVs and Tents

High View Marina

This park has the only Marina on Bardwell Lake.

Swim Beach

High View Park also has a Group Shelter which accommodates 50 people and a Boat Ramp.  I forgot to get pictures.

Writing this particular post has helped me get familiar with the different parks that I have to answer questions about when people call the office.  So this is what my job entails.  I find it interesting and I enjoy helping those interested in what the corp offers.

I hope that you all found it a little bit interesting and maybe consider checking out your local USACE parks.

Thanks for visiting 

I'm so glad when Mom gets home.

Susan and Angel