#46 The RV Life…again…and we lived to tell the tale…barely

In retrospect, I should have written this in a more timely manner.  But the memories are still there.  It's been a bit of a journey, but I realized going back and re-reading the entire series that it is truly a diary of our recent life together.  I have been reminded of some pretty funny events and amazing comebacks. Time to update the blog to keep more of those memories alive.

First let me explain the rv mistake… what I wrote in blog 43🙄

“As if all that wasn’t enough drama, we are now the proud owners of a new RV that will love having its own garage.  Whaaaaaat???  I know.  We bought the new one for better creature comforts while on the road.  We sold our toy hauler and ordered the new one back in April before all this house stuff happened.  Perfect timing lol.  Might as well do all kinds of life changing crap at once, get it over with lol.   We pick it up in a few days, just in time for our new adventure.  Can't wait to post pics of the new travel home.  It's a Keystone Montana 3231ck.  Like a little apartment, lol, with wheels.  He’ll tow his atv trailer like he did with our original Montana back in 2017.  This one is less than 38’ so much easier to do.  Fortunately LJ is a fabulous trailer parking guy.  It’ll be awesome.”

Should have read blog entry 21🤦‍♀️

Crazy thing about all of this is the repetition of previous mistakes.  Blog entry 21 back in April 2018 talks about how we had this fabulous Montana fifth wheel when we decided to go full time RVing.  After living in it for about 8 months we realized there was no way we’d come out of this adventure alive if we didn’t get a toy hauler.  So we did.  Bought the perfect toy hauler for long term living.  No triple towing;  Two living areas with the garage; outside tv.  I mean we lived in the dang thing for almost two years.  It was great.  

So here we are again, going full time rving with another Montana.  Oh it was beautiful and perfect for short trips, and that was the original plan.  Yet history was repeating itself.  I would have given anything to still have the toy hauler.  Too bad we didn’t know in April that two months later we’d be embarking on another round of gypsy living.  But again, that’s how we James’ do things.  Bassakwards.  I’ve decided to blame Bruce Clark.  He bought a new Montana earlier in the year.  It was pretty…and new and I liked it. After all, LJ had cancer while we were living in the toy hauler so it held bad memories.  plus we had no intention of RV living again.  Perfect excuse to justify getting a new one.  There was some truth to that, but really the toy hauler was huge and we could do with a smaller one since we were planning on only going on trips without the toys.  When we found the Montana we bought, it was really nice with all kinds of amenities. Yep…and how’d that work out.  Sigh…

Because it was late getting to us (we had ordered it in April; supposed to get it in July; received it August 5th) we had to move out and move in at the same time.  We doubled our stress level and work.  We just threw crates into the rv for me to unpack once at the rv park.  Could have just moved right in to the TH.  But enough bitching about that.  What was done was done.  Move on.  So we managed to move from the beautiful house to the teeny fifth wheel.  But even that did no go as planned.  Wait for it....

In the middle of all this moving stuff, we went to pick up the new trailer.  We had about three weeks to go so that would give me plenty of time to get it loaded and ready to go.  Or would it.   The very day we brought it home things did not go as planned.  LJ backed it in like the true champ he is.  I wasn't paying much attention but then I noticed he had it too close to the tree so I wouldn't be able to open the slide out.  That was never a problem with the toy hauler but this trailer, the slide went almost all the way to the back.  Uh oh.  Of course he was in the middle of unhooking the thing when I brought this to his attention.  It would have to be moved forward.  "Goddammit" was the nice word he said.  I won't mention the other word with a capital F that was said numerous times.  Neither one of us considered that slide location to the tree, but of course it was my fault.  And as usual, right in the middle of doing something he had to pee. Never fails.  Start something, have to pee.  In the middle of something...have to pee.   Must be an old guy thing.  So off he goes.  I was sure he could handle this on his own so in the house I went to start gathering trailer stuff.

I'm in the house when I hear this very loud BOOOOOM!  Oh shit...  My first thought is he moved it too far forward and hit the block wall, but I was wrong, thank goodness.   So I go outside to see what the noise was and discover LJ forgot he had engaged the release lever due to his mad dash to the bathroom and believed the truck and trailer were still hooked together.  So when he moved the truck to pull the trailer forward it was juuuuuuuuust far enough for the trailer to land on the truck.  That was the boom. Geeeeeeesh.  How many times have we seen friends do that and we laugh internally.  Boy that was stupid.  Yes it was.  We were now proud members of "you’re an idiot club".  But this, too, was my fault since I interrupted him in the middle of his unhooking earlier.  He would have done everything right if I hadn't approached him precisely at that moment.  Ok.. I'll take the blame.  What are wives for.  Buuuuut that doesn't solve the problem we now have.  The truck was absolutely fine, mainly because he had a metal cover over the bed so the metal rails protected the truck.  The new trailer though?  It damaged the trim around the front cap and chipped the paint.  Did I mention we had full body paint on this new trailer?  Of course we did.  LJ said "well at least the truck is ok.  We can live with the trailer damage".  It's like he doesn't even know me.  We've owned it for five minutes.  What are you smoking?

Long story short, we took it in stride.  Nothing else was going right so far so why would this be easy.  We found a guy who repaired it, including the paint for $1500.  He had to replace trim and fix a couple things, then paint it.  Fortunately when covid started and the supply chain was affected,  being a smart guy, he stocked up on trim and other parts.  No waiting since he had everything he needed.  Still took over a week to get it done.  Time we couldn't afford to lose but no one to blame but ourselves.  Still managed to get it done on time.  Moving on....

We didn’t stay at the rv park the entire 19 months with those little excursions here and there.  But we were there long enough for snowbirds to leave and return, remarking "You guys are still here???"  Yea... cuz house building is fun...and timely... not.  We did make a trip to Utah to atv ride.  We took the rv to Chico for our granddaughter’s wedding.  Made a trip to Quartszite and another to Laughlin for more riding.  But we mostly just lived at Destiny RV Park.  We couldn’t find any openings closer to the new place so we just made weekly trips up to Wickenburg to check on the house progress.  No big deal…just a 100 mile round trip each time.

Once we got settled at the rv park everything was fine.  Felt that sense of being free again.  This time wasn’t as easy in other ways though.  We only had the main tv since we decided to go the cheap way with the satellite.  Previously we had a proper roof mounted satellite so it worked like at home.  Each tv worked independently (and in the toy hauler we had 4).  We now were using a portable satellite so the bedroom tv only had local channels while the main tv got everything.  We no longer had the luxury of a garage where I could do puzzles or crafting while watching tv.  We no longer had an outside tv so we could watch different things.  Usually it wasn’t a problem, but then lo and behold here comes Nascar season.  I finally bought ear phones so I didn’t have to listen to it 🤷🏼‍♀️.  

Top that off with only ONE bathroom.  Our last two trailers had a second bathroom.  We discovered early on with this set up that at our age ya need a second bathroom.  Many a race to see who could get there first.  Fortunately I beat him to the finish line,   All those years as a patrol cop taught me how to pee fast.  LJ never had to wait long.  But if he got there first….. 😳.  Damn we missed the toy hauler and its two bathrooms.

  

Speaking of the bathroom, one of the joys of rv living is cleaning tanks.  LJ usually did it, but once in awhile I did if he was gone or I was being generous with my time.   Of course there’s the time in Utah I got sidetracked while adding back in a little water to the tank so I could add deodorizer packets.  I’ve learned it helps to not forget to turn the water off, thereby overfilling the tank which then fills the toilet causing an overflow onto the bathroom floor AND down into the storage compartment then out the bay door.  It’s a miracle it only went to the side with the plastic crates so nothing got damaged.  So glad I had cleaned the tanks well prior to this stupid act.  I'm sure you can figure out why 😂💩.  I got it all cleaned up before LJ got back from riding.  Wasn't going to tell him, but he always enjoys a good laugh at my expense.  And laugh he did.  I got to wear the I'm an idiot label the rest of the trip.  

Scooter loves his big bro

Jeff came to visit that Utah trip.  Again, one of those events that would have been so much better with the TH and its separate bedroom/bathroom.  But we made it work and he got to spend UTV riding time with his dad.  And he got the pleasure of working on the UTV when the doohickey thingy broke.  Of course them being stranded afforded me the opportunity to hook up the little trailer and drive the truck up the mountain.  You know.. the truck I had never driven before and had to figure out where the four wheel drive button was along with navigating unfamiliar territory.  He was so proud lol.

Jeff made shirts 😂😂

dad wouldn't let him drive cuz he wanted
him to get the full LJ experience lol

But I digress.  Back to the new rig....Rv had a nice kitchen though.  Upgraded stove.  Full size fridge.  Lots of storage.  Too bad I hate to cook, especially in the rv.🤣🤣.  We were still near civilization so we frequented the local Texas Roadhouse and Mexican restaurant.  You know you go out a lot when they see you coming and your drink order is at the table before you get seated🤣🤣.

LJ hated my GMC Acadia so in December 2021at the height of no new cars being available and dealers getting full price for them, we decided to buy a new car 🤣🤦‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️.  Actually it all worked out because we were able to work a great deal with a local dealer on a car they had just received, plus we got tons more for our used car than it was worth.  He’s pretty happy with the Hyundai Palisade.  I wanted something smaller, but LJ has trouble finding smaller cars that are comfortable for him. Is what it is.

 LJ also decided he needed a new UTV…which was true since the last one had been on its side or top more than once.  So he indulged himself.  I’m happy to say…knock on wood…that he has yet to mess up this one and it’s been a couple years.  He goes on an atv adventure monthly now so he deserved a new one.  I won't tell you the long story about how he ended up with this UTV.  Like how he drove to LA to buy a four place; had it for a week:  decided since he was triple towing he needed a 2 place... ... .... thank goodness he got the four place at such a good deal he didn't lose any money except for the cost of going to LA.  Men are stupid. 😂  But he loves it and has ridden it quite a bit so all is good.

We had an end slot at the park so, fortunately, we could park my car, the truck and the atv in the rv slot.  

Another true joy of rv living is doing it in Arizona in the summer…the record breaking hot summer.  115 outside…100+ inside.  We would have been fine in the toy hauler.  It had three strong air conditioners.  The new one had one in the living area that barely kept up and one in the bedroom that was useless.  We ended up buying floor fans to survive.  I’d take scooter to petsmart just to enjoy the car and store AC.  And because the house build was taking so long we did that TWO summers!  We’d go check on the house and invade the Roloffs since the ac worked at their place…except that one time their power went out for three days because of a wicked storm.  We didn't want to travel too much because the house build needed oversight.  That's the next blog. 

Speaking of storms.. Monsoon weather is also quite entertaining in the tin can.  Not only is it loud, but you pray you don't find water leaking through the windows or the roof.  Being a new trailer, that was unlikely.  Being a trailer built during covid?  You hoped it was unlikely.  And wind?  Good times.  Rockin and a rollin for all the wrong reasons lol.

We made it work, but it wasn’t always pleasant.   Hard to get alone time and you need that when you live in a 260 sf one bedroom, one bathroom tin can.  Fortunately we like each other so we survived.  I did really miss having an inside space to do puzzles or crafting.  Did I mention the toy hauler was far superior for long term living?  I might have mentioned that before.

Scooter was pretty sick of it, though.  I could tell he was depressed so we tried to get him out as much as possible.  He did get his daily trip to the dog park and a walk around the rv park where he proudly announced his presence to all who would listen.  Just wasn't the same as being in the house.  He really missed his yard.  His favorite days were visiting the Roloff dogs or Clark dogs.  I can see such a change in him now that he’s back in a house, poor little guy. 

One of the things that makes me laugh about the whole thing is buying a house with an RV garage and full hookups so we could bring the trailer home and use it as an extra bedroom if needed.  Seemed like a good idea when we bought the 2 bedroom little house.  It’s funny because the RV never made it anywhere near this place.  We were so sick of it by the end that it went straight to the dealership for consignment.  The rv garage still works though since LJ can keep his UTV, truck and trailer in there.  A running joke is passing someone with an rv on the road and one of us commenting “hey that looks like fun!  We should get one of those!” 🤣.  We never say never about having a small toy hauler again.  But living in one?  Been there.  Done that.  No fucking way!  But as we have learned: never say never 🤣🤣🤣

Next up…Building this current house… OMFG.  Get the 🍿ready.

our trip to Oatman AZ where he got the cowboy bug

Oatman AZ donkeys

spoiled dog with his own camp chair

KT and G'pa

the whole set up... 

A common scene when riding with LJ

KT and John 

#45 What we did the summer of 2021..Selling and packing.. still traumatized

 Where do I even begin…?  

Well, if you read or re-read #43, you know that after two years in our 3rd forever home, we decided once again to sell and move on.  There’s an entire entry on justifying this decision.  But I mean really.  I think it’s a sickness we have that we move all...the...time.  We did spend 10 years in one house in Sparks, NV;  and 8 years in our house in Elverta, CA.  But in 2021 that only accounts for 18 out of 43 years.  We have rented three times, purchased and sold 9 houses and lived in the RV 3 separate times.  That is 15 moves in 43 years.  You can't say the James' let the grass grow under our feet 😂.  Each move had a purpose.  Two of the rentals and two rv stints were waiting for our forever house to be found or built.  I’m sorry... that’s forever houses, plural🙄🤦‍♀️.  I think, at this point, you could say we are true experts in the field.  Or so you would think…

The dream home pool

The dream home 

Lets start by reviewing the sale of our beautiful home in Goodyear AZ so we could move to our current place (the newest forever home) in Wickenburg Ranch, AZ;  where the Roloff's live.  

Ah, the house in Goodyear.  You remember.  The one that used to be a model home.  The one I filled my Facebook page with pictures of.  

Had a pool, Ramada, fancy landscaping, a zillion upgrades.  Even came fully furnished.  Yep, that one.  I remember thinking when we bought it that there is no way we will ever leave this place.  It's perfect.

But so we could live in small town cowboy country amongst like minded older folk, the latest perfect dream home went on the market.  Aaaaaand it sold in one day.  One freakin’ day.  I had planned on it sitting on the market awhile.  Waiting for it to sell would give us ample time to purge and pack what we didn't need for staging or living.  But no.  One flipping day was all it took.  We had to bust our asses to get out of that place.  We are too damn old for ass busting.

LJ rented a 5x10 storage unit, climate controlled, so we could keep valuable items, paperwork and other various things we might need access to while RV living.  Everything else was going with the movers.  Once again, like in 2017, he limited me to one storage unit.  Limit what we keep with us.  Only keep necessary items.  Just as a side note, about two weeks into it he rented a second one for his stuff…gotta take tools, ladders and atv stuff.  Plus he realized I left him no room in the original unit 🤣.  Hey, I decided to keep accessible craft stuff and puzzles in case I got bored.  Yep…that could have gone with the movers.  Good grief.

What I truly found interesting with all of this was LJ's willingness to hire the movers to pack everything.  Seriously?  In my mind I was thinking and maybe I said it out loud  (you know I did 🤣),  “What about allllll those other times we moved and you didn't want to pay for that?  OHHHHH that's right.  Those other big moves I did all the packing because you were conveniently on some ATV trip right in the middle of it all.  This all happened literally overnight so you didn't have time to conveniently plan one so now you have to help.  Sorry babe.”  Now having movers pack made perfect sense.  Men…😂👍.

In truth it was a life saver.  I'm too damn old to be doing this shit.  I get tired.  I hurt.  I get frustrated.  So hiring movers to pack was perfect.  However...me being me, I did pack up all my crafts and important things myself.  I just didn't trust them completely.  Plus they weren't coming in to pack us and move us until the end of the month.  Notice I said I.  

Anyway, scheduling them to come in was when we discovered another minor...could have been major...oops.  We always have “oops” or “wtf “or “gee, didn’t see that coming” when we make life changes.  It’s the James way.

Even better… we didn't discover it.  Annie Roloff did.  Thank you ANNIE!  She apparently was gossiping about us to Tom when she realized we hadn't lived in the Goodyear house very long, just under two years.  If you don't live in your primary home for 24 months out of so many years, you pay capital gains taxes.  Depending on who you talk to it could be a lot or a little, but still it's money you give Uncle Sam that you don't need to if you're smart.  So we did the math and discovered we were a bit shy of the two years based on the closing date.  Fortunately our buyers were forgiving and let us push back the closing a few days so we could avoid any taxes.  Another "why do we always do this crap" issue avoided...truly thanks to Annie.  

The delay actually helped with another stupid move we made.  Had we known we were going to buy a house that hadn’t been built, we never would have sold our toy hauler to buy a fancy trailer.  The toy hauler with its two living areas, two bathrooms and outside tv was a far better full time living choice.  But no.  We sold it in April to buy a fancier “regular RV” to travel with since we were finally settled in the forever house.  Of course the new trailer wasn’t going to be here until a couple weeks before closing.  Timing is everything, and we suck at it.  Stress level would have been soooo much lower if we just hadn’t made that decision.  But that’s for the next chapter…

Destiny RV Park

Thankfully, our RV arrived just in time for the movers to empty out our house.  We parked it next to the house so we could load it up and so we had a place to sleep.   Plus we had to wait for the rv slot to open up.  Fortunately we were able to get into Destiny RV where we had stayed during LJs cancer time.  They were so nice (plus the gal that runs the place has a crush on LJ) so they found us a spot with no move out date.  We could stay in one place until the house was done. 

Back to the packing:

It’s amaaaaaazing how much stuff you can accumulate in just two years.  This house had storage so there was no reason I couldn't fill it!  Puzzles, craft stuff, knick knacks and what nots.  Seriously.  We moved in with a small trailer full of boxes and now we needed movers to pack us up.  

So I started in the closet:

Just like in 2015 and 2017 we would be rv living so I was limited in clothing I could take.  I remember going through the closet and thinking this should be quick.  Instead another WTF moment.  I have done this so many times and yet still had several bags of clothes to go to Goodwill.  Not good clothes, mind you.  Nope, just a plethora of Walmart t-shirts.   Blog #3 refers to my addiction to $9 t-shirts.  I obviously had not kicked the habit..  Somewhere there has to be a support group.  At least in Arizona there’s a happy thrifty wearing one of my lovely tees with an inappropriate saying on it.

And shoes....I wear one pair of flip flops and one pair of tennis shoes with the occasional slip on BOB's from Skechers.  Why do I have 12 pairs of tennis type shoes?  Many worn only once.  Probably because they were cute and on sale.  So some to the thrift store; some to pack and three that I’ll never wear to take..just in case.  

LJ wasn't much better with his stuff.  He had enough Levis that no longer fit him to dress a homeless village.  Shirts, too.  After he lost all his weight from the cancer diet, he just never purged his clothes.  By the time he was done even he had a few donation bags.  I have to admit I was smirking just a little after all the grief I endured last time.

On to the rest of the house.  Bear with me.  Theres a lesson here:

LJ called a thrift store and they bought outright most of the furnishings we had and a lot of the decor items.  It was all model home stuff so no monetary loss there.  That saved us from having to deal with garage sales or marketplace.  I set aside a few things I liked.  We kept a queen size bed and our King bedroom set.  Kept a couple of dressers and the couches.  Sold everything else.  Gave a bunch of crap away to the neighbors from the garage.  Literally gave our frig and Washer Dryer to the neighbor across the street for him to give a friend. Again.. was all model home stuff so we had no investment in it.  Later the neighbor did tell me he ended up selling them so we split the money.  He wanted to give us all of it, but heck...he sold it so he deserved some of it.

Kept some of the outside furniture;  left the fancy pool lounges for the new people.  Set aside all my tacky yard art for the movers.

Now, I know you are thinking yea.. so... 

Welllll… the movers packed it all up using twice as many boxes as I would have.  They killed an entire forest with the amount of brown packing paper and boxes they used.  Made no sense to me but they are the professionals…and they charge by the box 🤦‍♀️.   They wrapped and protected the furniture we kept, loading it all into crates on the big ol semi parked out front.  I’m sure we paid a shitload more to have our stuff packed up than if I had done it.  Just in retrospect half of it should have never seen the inside of a box.  I should have taken photos but I was busy directing every thing.

Let me explain the drawbacks of saving and storing things with the movers.  You see, you think you are saving money because you don't have to rebuy stuff...but in reality it costs money.  They charge you for the packing material.  They charge you for their labor.   Once on the truck, they go by weight.  The more they take, the more it costs. The fact is we paid monthly storage for what was supposed to be 12 months, that ended up being 19 months (another story), for furniture and crap we didn’t need to keep.  At least half of what we stored has since been donated or given away, and most right after we moved in 🤦‍♀️.  In fact we sold some of the stuff to the moving crew🤣🤷🏼‍♀️.  In retrospect alllll the furniture should not have been stored.  All the cheap ass yard art should not have been stored.  If you are moving from one place to another with a month or so in between, it makes sense.  For what we paid in storage we could have all new stuff.  Oh wait… we do have new stuff.  So, in reality we paid to store stuff we have replaced with new stuff.  Brilliant! Follow us for more stupid choices🤣.

Another recommendation:  If you live in Arizona, I suggest not cleaning out garages and making moves during the intense heat of freakin' August.  And I double that during record heat of 115 for days.  You'd think I would have lost weight sweating as much as I did, but of course I did not.  Fun times.

And poor Scooter!  He is OCD like me.  He was not happy with the boxes and crates everywhere.   He’s not a fan of change.  I felt so sorry for him.  He loved his yard.  I mean he’s very happy now but dang that was rough on him.  Poor little guy.  All we could do is show him love.  He’d been through this twice before so he kind of understood it.  But he didn’t like it.

We finally finished, making it just in time.  Got the house emptied, cleaned and ready for the new people on closing day.  Well almost.  We were finishing up the garages when they came to get the keys.  They were really nice about it.  I think they felt sorry for us since that day was so far the hottest day of 2021.  Record breaking.  Of course it was.  I'm not ever one to leave anything undone for the new folks.  But sadly I broke my perfect streak with this move.  I was sad for about a minute.  Then I was just happy to get the fuck out and move on.

Next stop: the joys of rv living and house building.  Write that later.  I need a drink.  This remembering makes my head spin as I look around at all the crap we’ve accumulated over the last year of living in the new house.  Yep…slow learner 🤣🤣🤣

#44 oh look… she’s writing again! Only been 2 years 🤣. So what’s new

 I know.  It’s been over two years since I have written anything.  And it’s crazy because it was a busy two years, lol.  Our new house was built.  No drama there…oh please.  Could have written about that.  We had to live in our RV for 19 months waiting for the house.  Nothing to see there… oh but there was.  Could have written about that.  Moving in to the house was fun..part of the time, lol.  Could have written about that.  And getting settled and having the landscaping done.  Certainly could have written about that, too.  Oh and saw our daughter and family for the first time in 6 years!  Apparently I didn’t write about that either.  WTF.  There was enough stories to fill a Walmart 99 cent composition book, but I was lazy.  I plan to change that.

I was reminded of the blog and went back and read it.  It was the perfect reminder of life, good and bad, funny and sad.  I liked the reminders.  Like a public diary, lol.  So what better thing to do in 2024 but start again.  Life in retirement here at the ranch is fun.  Retirement in general is a blast.  Shit still happens…So here we go…  coming soon (I still have to write it lol)

I’ll do the last Two years in rapid review…in case you missed it on Facebook:  first, might I suggest you read #43 to set the scene and remind you where this chapter began.  It’s all the Roloff’s fault 🤣.   Then I’ll continue on with frequent blog entries about our retirement life.  Based on past experience you just never know what might be happening🤣.  

So standby to stand by…

In the meantime, here’s Scooter❤️

#43. WTf...You guys are nuts....You did whaaaaaaat? Good grief 🤷🏼‍♀️

My old Hippie

You know how I write things, say things, believe things and then everything changes?  So looks like either I lie (I don’t) lol, or I’m very mistaken... apparently I’m mistaken..a lot🤣.

Now let me start out with LJ is fine.  His health is great.  Only has to see his docs every six to twelve months.  His hair is long which is a blessing after chemo.  But now it’s in that “wtf look are you going for” stage, but he’s letting it grow til it stops he says.  Once past this stage it will be fine.  Long hair?  Why not, lol.  At least one of us has hair 🤷🏼‍♀️🤣  

And Scooter is fine.  I'm fine.  Everyone is fine, lol.  But there are stories to tell...

LJ’s hearing aids are still working wonderfully, dammit.  I keep getting caught mumbling snarky comments, lol.  I guess that’s the price to pay for him to stop saying “whaaat?” all the time lol.  As for me, recently I had the pleasure of getting a wisdom tooth pulled (at my age, go figure) and a couple crowns.  That was fun.  Upside, I drank shakes and ate soft foods for ten days and lost ten pounds.  Maybe I should have some more work done...a lot more.  A whole lot more 🤣🤣🤣 

Scooter is still doing well.  He’s getting older so he’s slowing down a bit, but still loves his swim time, searching for lizards and playing ball.  He gets excited when he knows he’s going somewhere in the car.  He now demands we roll down the window as we leave so he can bark at the world, advising neighbors he is in the car and off for an adventure.  The local farmers plowed the watermelon field nearby so the flies have started to show up.  Poor dog goes nuts trying to chase them/catch them when he goes outside. He’s determined to rid his yard of the little buggers.  He is such a good dog and just cracks me up with his personality.  When he wants something he sits at your feet and makes a tiny squeaky noise.  Kinda like “hey mom...mom... momomomomom!”  Don’t respond and he stomps his front feet and whines like a two year old 🤣🤣.  So like good parents we either give in or just simply tell him “not now”.  When he hears those words he gives you sad eyes but then stops asking and goes off to his room to pout. He’s definitely good at guilt trips.  He’s the king of the house, that’s for sure.  I love that little guy so much.

Pouting so he takes a nap🐶

Mommmm I wanna go swimming

Let's see...what else.. hmmm...oh yea.

So...brace yourself... here’s the biggie 😳🤪🤭.  It’s another true, "WTF", "Nooooo", "you did whaaaaaaaaat?" and "good grief" chapter in our ever changing lives.

To bring you up to speed, here’s a little background.  As you most likely know, we gave up full time RVing and settled in Arizona a couple years ago while LJ fought his battle with cancer.  Where we live, in Goodyear, is a family community, a great place to live.  We chose this place because of what it offered, including the close proximity to all the docs LJ had to see on a regular, almost weekly basis.  It made perfect sense.  We live in a gated section with great neighbors on either side and across the street, but not especially social neighbors.  Nothing against them.  They are simply younger, working, with kids and a life of their own to live.  It’s a nice neighborhood but is definitely geared to a younger group with kids in school.  And while I enjoy our pool, LJ does not so he has nothing to do.  He’s not a pool guy.  He finds floating boring.  I told him that's cuz he forgets the necessary red solo cup filled with any favorite alcoholic beverage which can improve the experience tremendously, but he’s not convinced.  He hasn't been golfing at all in the last few years, which means those special made clubs just keep getting dustier.  God knows what’s living in his golf bag and I’m not going to look.  He has to trailer his atv to ride anywhere fun.  It’s street legal so he could do a Taco Bell run if he wanted to.  But he does not, lol.  So he spends his days on the ol Ipad or watching tv.  I spend it floating in the pool then doing the same as him.  Sometimes I do puzzles, craft a little or read but it’s just not exciting in the least.  Lots of “I'm bored” on line shopping, too.  Random stuff I can't live without.  So much so that when the box arrives LJ says "what did you buy?"  I dunno.  I forgot.  There has to be more to life than this.  He didn't win that cancer battle just to sit around waiting for the occasional camping trip.  

Plus, lets be honest.  For two people, this is a big house.  Over 3200sf and that is simply more than we need.  But it is a great home.  I love this place, except when it’s time to vacuum and dust lol.  It has everything (except an rv garage).  The house is beautiful and spacious.  The backyard is one I've always dreamed of.  We are definitely close to everything.  But it’s hard to get LJ, and even me, motivated.  We like to go out to eat with friends, play cards or dominoes...interact on occasion.  We don't have enough of that here.  Many of our friends live a distance away so we pretty much do things just the two of us.  Don’t get me wrong,  We have always been fine just being with each other, but the conversation does tend to lag when there’s no one else to interact with.  There’s a lot of “blah blah”, yea you told me that yesterday, lol.   That is the one thing we miss about living in Sparks.  We were always doing something with someone.

It’s odd, too, because as much as I love this place, I’ve never quite felt “at home” here.  LJ says, “DJ, you're nuts”.  I think it’s because we moved into the model with all the furnishings so it never became “our place” in my eyes.  I feel like we live in somebody else’s idea of what a home should look like...somebody else’s place.  I know.. “she crazy” 🤷🏼‍♀️.  I am thankful, though, and appreciate that we are able to have a home like this.  And considering we had been RVing full time and had sold everything to do so, we were blessed to find this place, getting it fully furnished.

Honestly we have discussed “do we reallllly want to move somewhere else?”  lol  Ok.  I admit it.  I’ve discussed it...out loud.  Once in awhile LJ mumbles something back like he might be paying attention and occasionally actually joins the conversation.  We are settled down.  Life is good.  Yet here I am, feeling restless.  Why?  I think it’s all of the above and boredom.  

A few months ago, after we made the decision not to go back to full time RVing, we started discussing home base.  Where should it be...Here? or somewhere else.  We talked about moving to other states, but then, as LJ pointed out, we are back to not knowing anyone, so nothing really changes, just the scenery.  What would be the point.  Meeting new people on our own, well, we truly aren't the most social of beings on our own, lol.  I blame that on our cop background and the inherent skepticism of humans.  

We briefly thought about going back to the Reno area.  We have established friends there.  But housing prices have gone crazy and for whatever reason, it just doesn't feel right; like going backwards.  We both like Arizona.  Say what you will but I love the weather here.  I love the landscape.  Yea it gets hot three months out of the year, although I still do everything I would normally do and the other nine are fantastic.  I'm just a desert person, I guess.  I find everything about it beautiful.  The storms are beautiful.  The landscape diverse.  Nothing like desert beauty with its many colors and textures.  Well, except for the scorpions, beetles, snakes, spiders...I could go on, but I don't want to.  Gives me the heebee jeebees.  (Pest control is my friend, lol). We had those in Reno, too, just never saw them.  And anyway, just ewww.  

Not in a million years

For example.  Yesterday I went out to get a box that had been delivered.  What was in it?  I dunno🤣.  I ordered it a week ago.  So I pick it up and see, a foot away, staring at me, one of the devil creatures, a palo verde beetle.  I might have screamed a little and headed back in the house.  I’m pretty sure I kept repeating “Please don’t follow me into the house..please don’t..please.”  Door closed.  I’m safe.  Scooter looks at me like I’m a lunatic.  I’m sorry but those things are freakin' huge.  And they fly.  I can’t run fast enough, I’m sure.  So I promptly got the Home Defense bug annihilating spray I keep on hand for just such occasions.  Pest control is great but sometimes it takes time for the bug to die and I’m impatient in these circumstances.  I might get another delivery and have to go out there.

I opened the courtyard window, just a crack.  I stuck out the wand and doused that monster.  Half a bottle ought to do it.  Checked back a few minutes later and he was legs up having gone to the bug farm in the sky.  Being ever so cautious in case it was faking death, I used the leaf blower to rid the area of his carcass.  It’s a fact that a broom doesn’t provide enough distance between me and the demon bug.  I sent his dead self out to the front lawn where a bird promptly ate him.  Hope the bird is ok.  I think he is cuz he was back later looking for more murdered bugs.  Palo Verde beetles, aka monsoon bugs.  The thing nightmares are made of.  

Back to the story.

So we have gone up to Wickenburg Ranch a few times to see the Roloff's.  It’s about 40 minutes north west of us on Hwy 60/93.  It’s a cool little town, very western, historic.  My gosh there is so much to do up there!  Where they live is a true fully gated community.  Ok, the gate is manned by a lovely man named Jerry who is probably in his 80's, but still...it has gates 🤣.  In this place we call "the Ranch" there is golfing (a nine hole and an eighteen hole course), small lakes for fishing (catch and release), a gym, a spa (jacuzzi AND pampering types), bocce ball, a pool, restaurants.. the list goes on and on.  It is a world all it's own.  The area up there is beautiful.

The Roloff's always talk about how they love it up there.  Always something to do.  It's not age restricted (except a couple of  'villages' like where they live) but really, with a majority of two/three bedroom homes and so far out in the sticks, how many folks have kids there.  It’s really a retirement community.  Tom drove LJ all over the place in his fancy golf cart looking at the various types of houses, neighborhoods and so on.  Tom was in his "you should move here" mode pointing out the view, amenities and homes with RV garages while LJ took it all in, enjoying it.  Quite a few retired cops from all all over the US live there.  Plus, being in AZ, and especially a very conservative area of AZ, everybody is packing.  Probably the safest community for miles, lol.

The downside is Wickenburg is 30 minutes from the larger Phoenix area suburb of Surprise (i.e Home Depot, shopping, stuff).  There is a Safeway, banks and necessities in the small town of Wickenburg and it’s very cowboy-ish. (not a bad thing). 

Tom and Annie have for a couple years been trying to convince us to move up there.  We usually say, we love it but it's sooooo farrrrr.  To which they respond...exactly, but not as far as you used to commute to work every day.  Oh, and also it’s close enough to necessities but you are out of busy Phoenix and Maricopa County.  Plus we (Roloffs) live here.  Hmmm.  That's a good point.  Well played, Roloffs.  Well played.

Annie and Tom, continuing their sales pitch, told us about the concerts at the pool and how much fun they are.  Tom sends videos to prove it, lol.  There are all kinds of mini events like wine and paint night, book club, this thing that thing.  In fact this weekend I went up there for a card making class.  They have regular game nights with neighbors.  You can do it all..do none.   Here have some more beer and wine and let's continue talking about how much you need to do this.  

So, after another recent visit, LJ and I just got to “discussing stuff”.  Over the last couple of months we have been mulling over where our life is headed, and what we want out of the future.   Like we said, we really don't want to go back to full time RVing with no plan in sight.  Traveling is fine, but we do want a home base.  But does it have to be this home base?  I mean, again, it is a big house with a lot of upkeep.  No one comes to visit, really, except maybe a visitor a day here, a week now and again, but for the most part it’s just us.  And there is that boredom thing.  So after mulling it over, this is what we did...wait for it... 

We went back to Wickenburg Ranch...to the models...just to look.  Annie had suggested we look at the models, just for fun, because you never know.  I thought the likelihood of us finding anything was nil.  Plus rumor has it lot premiums now are horrendous.  What the hell...nothing else to do on a Saturday, so off we went, just to look.  Kind of like when LJ went to “look” at his truck (that story in the previous blog installment).  Roloffs entertained Scooter so we could take our time with the models.

I had been researching the place on line for a couple of weeks.  We decided we would actually seriously look to see if any home/lot would work for us.  LJ felt strongly that if we move again we would be downsizing.  I agreed for all the reasons already stated.  I figured in reality we were just passing time looking, maybe get some decorating ideas, plus it got us out of the house.

But you know, I think it was meant to be because we found a 2100sf house with a three car tandem (37’ deep on one side) garage AND a 50’ deep RV garage.  Of course, me being me,  I preferred the 2500sf house (what?  That’s still downsizing, lol) but it didn’t come with an RV garage 🙄.  Since I liked the smaller house, too, I decided to be the bigger person and acquiesce to LJ.  What..?  No way!  That’s right... he won one.  Write it down, cuz I sure did 🤣.

But what about the lots and those freaking ridiculous lot premiums.  They happened to have available two nice large lots that would accommodate what we were looking for.  These kind of lots are a rarity in the “I’m not a millionaire” villages.  Shannon the sales guy drove us to the lots so we could check out the area for ourselves.  Nice.  Hmmmmm.  

We braced ourselves for the $$$ price tag knowing if they were ridiculous that would kill our chances of moving.  But then we could skip the RV garage, go for a small house on a normal lot and simply would have to store the RV.  We just were not sure we wanted to do that since where we are now we park it conveniently at the house.  Although there is an an upside to storing it.  At least it would be covered parking, protecting it from the Arizona sun.  And they do allow you to bring it home to load it unlike a lot of other communities.

So break it to us sales people.  What's the premium?  $100,000?  $150,000? Yes, they have lot premiums that high.  No... for these two lots it’s $10k with a 10k incentive so ZERO, unlike the $100k plus on the lot across the street.  Why?  What’s wrong with it?  It’s flat?  So really, what’s the catch?  Ohhhhhhh.  No view to speak of.  And it doesn’t have the desired orientation.  Ok.. BFD.  It’s on a corner with only one neighbor, a landscaped buffer between the lot and the street and kinda does have a view on one side.  It’s larger than most and it’s pretty private, unlike a lot of homes in active communities.  The way it faces isn’t a deal killer, all other things considered.  We see those as positives.  Works for me.  I’ll skip the view and put up patio covers and shade pergolas for that kind of money lol.  LJ thought the same thing. 

 But then, of course, wouldn’t you know it, I actually liked lot #2 a little better.  No reason.  Just did, but he liked this one on the corner.  So again, I acquiesced 🤣🤣🤣.  Thats 2 for LJ... 2 wins...2 notations in the “but you got this so I want that” column.  I need those chips.  If we do this I have upgrades to buy, lol.  We asked if they would hold the lot for a couple days while we talked it over.  They agreed.  This is a big move so need to be sure.

So home we went.  We talked to Joy, our realtor/friend, and asked her what she thought our house would sell for.  She’s related to Tom and has sold houses in this area for years, so we trust her judgement.  In fact, she found the Roloff’s their place.  As she worked on pricing, we started graphing the garage out on paper and making measurements of vehicles, the atv, etc. We discovered with this place everything can be garaged at home, including the RV.  The house is just right for the two of us with a humongous laundry room that can double as a craft room.  The yard is smaller, but definitely big enough should I want another pool.  I’m really thinking not...maybe a spa instead. It's definitely downsizing from the current house, but I do like it a lot.  In some ways it’s actually better.   It lives large.  Dorn (the builder) makes good use of the space in their homes.

But then couldn’t we just build an RV garage here and stay put?  It is an option.  There’s plenty of room for one.  We had already looked into it, in the past, so we knew it would be very expensive to do.  The downside is, even if we built it, his truck would still be parked outside.  With the new place, because of the garage size, depth and the big RV garage, nothing would be outside, including his truck and atv trailer.  So after talking, looking, thinking, looking, talking, researching, we decided "should we?"  We should seriously look into it.  We were surprised at the price of the new place, even with upgrades.  After talking to Joy, we felt we could get a great price in the current market for ours.  We would be money ahead by selling ours, buying that one.  Cheaper to move than build a garage here.  It appears it would be in our best interest all the way around, financially and mentally to take the leap.

AND get this.  Unlike a lot of other local builders lately, they will lock the purchase and option prices which is great considering how the price of crap is skyrocketing.  Also, I think another plus is we get to full time RV for a year while it is being built!  Maybe not the full timing LJ had originally planned in 2017, but it's still full time and I’m taking credit for completing my original three year commitment 🤣🤣.  We get to save more money and do some traveling, finishing what we started.

So after a lot of thought and contemplating, we took the “Scooter approved”plunge.  Ok.  Scooter is clueless but he does like to visit up there lol.

We put our house on the market the next day.  We don’t do anything slowly, lol, but really we had been looking into the possibility for awhile.  Joy entered it into MLS at 9pm on Monday and we had our first visitor by 11am the next day.  They made an offer that afternoon.  OMG.  I thought we had priced it a bit high but apparently that’s why I’m not in real estate, lol.  Kudos to our agent, Joy, for knowing the market so well.  I had dreaded the showings but apparently one was enough!  Dodged that bullet!  I’ll write about the experience of buying the new one, selling this one and moving again in the next blog.  Doesn’t matter how many times you do it, there’s always something and we learn new stuff.  And as you know by now nothing ever goes smoothly or without RUFKM and, of course, humor for us. 🤣🤣🤣🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

Looks like sometime next year we will live in Wickenburg, AZ.  We will be "ranch people".  We already know a couple of our new neighbors having houses built by us are retired from other agencies.  One is from California, the other retired FBI, with more scattered throughout our “village”.  Pretty conservative up there so we will fit right in. 

I know I will be blamed for the move.  LJ has already working on his “it’s her idea” remarks.  And, he’s right, I did say this was our forever house, and then I did a 180 and pushed looking up there at “the ranch.  But situations/needs change.  Blame me.  I can take it.  In fact, bring it hubster, lol...bring it.  But I'm blaming LJ, too.  He wanted an RV garage, lol.  He wanted more to do. 

And don’t worry, lol, Scooter will still have his own room, facing the street so he can watch the world go by.  Once it’s fenced (with snake mesh because I don’t like snakes) he will be back to lizard hunting to his hearts content.  Plus he loves visiting with the Roloff pups.  It will be a change but he will be fine.  New critters to chase, a dog park to visit and lake surrounded by grass to walk by, along with golf cart rides.  He’ll love it.

If you are interested in our new adventure location, check out  https://www.wickenburgranch.com.  It's a great little community.  The history of the ranch is interesting as well.  Oh and rodeo season is all winter.  After all, Wickenburg is the Team Roping capital of the world.  It says so on the sign as you enter into town.  Cowboys in tight pants on pretty horses.  Lordy...

If you peruse through the models, in person or virtually, we bought the Hotel California with the RV garage.  It’s a Dorn Home.  They offer an abundance of personalization and upgrades, making it fairly semi-custom.  It will still have a private area for guests.  We are adding a barn door so it can be closed off for privacy since the bathroom is not an ensuite.  With all my "money costing ideas" as LJ calls them, good thing we sold our current home at a good price. 

 Of course he’s very practical and I’m all about how it looks and does it make me happy, so let the arguing begin... when he complains I’ll just respond with “you got an expensive RV garage, the house and lot” 🤣.  It’s what we do.  Why we’ve lasted over 40 years 🥰.

 Oh but wait.... there’s more 🤣🤣🤣😳

As if all that wasn’t enough drama, we are now the proud owners of a new RV that will love having its own garage.  Whaaaaaat???  I know.  We bought the new one for better creature comforts while on the road.  We sold our toy hauler and ordered the new one back in April before all this house stuff happened.  Perfect timing lol.  Might as well do all kinds of life changing crap at once, get it over with lol.   We pick it up in a few days, just in time for our new adventure.  Can't wait to post pics of the new travel home.  It's a Keystone Montana 3231ck.  Like a little apartment, lol, with wheels.  He’ll tow his atv trailer like he did with our original Montana back in 2017.  This one is less than 38’ so much easier to do.  Fortunately LJ is a fabulous trailer parking guy.  It’ll be awesome.

So, here we are, starting another chapter with a new RV..new home..back on the road.  And that’s the Good Grief part, lol.  I know I know.  It seems we are constantly uprooting and changing.  Our son laughed when I told him, asking what took so long, haha.  Our daughter is happy we are downsizing.  Time to admit we are old and don't need a big ol house.  Hopefully this truly will be the last move.  It certainly will be a better environment for us.  And as we get older it will be nice being part of a community of folks who look out for each other.  It’s a place that will be perfect should something happen to one of us.  I know, morbid thought, but at our age planning ahead for the inevitable is important.  And as fast as the area is growing I bet we have our own Wickenburg WallyWorld in a few years so we won’t have to make that long trek into the big city🤣.  And when we do go to Surprise, we drive past my favorite pottery place which will require stopping to see what’s new.  It’s a win win 🤣.

This truly will be good for us and all kidding aside was not a decision made lightly.  

We are looking forward to the change.  Annie and I can do some of the crafty venues they have for the residents.  We can do water aerobics, drive around in the golf cart and look at people, go to the gym, take part in the pool parties and so much more.  LJ said he's looking forward to meeting everyone Tom knows (and if you know Tom, you know he knows everyone).  He’s looking forward to golfing and going to the gym with Tom and as a bonus, he can ride his atv out the garage door and on to some cool trails.  There's even a side x side club there he might check out.  We will design a Scooter friendly back yard.  And with the dog park, walks and Roloff pups, even Scooter gains a social life, lol.  With all the activities up there and built in friends, I know our social life will improve tremendously.  Certainly won’t be able to say we are bored.  And the on site restaurant is fabulous.  Variety of food and priced reasonably along with being very tasty.  Might never leave lol.

So for a while, the blog will be as it was originally intended.. our life on the road with the added moving drama, house building pictures and adventures galore.  I already have stories about this process, lol, so many stories with each passing day.  Funny stories, wild stories, and RUFKM stories.  Typical James family stuff 🤣.   We will, regretfully, miss the Sheriff’s Dept reunion again, but this time for a different reason...moving and preparing for the new life.  I apologize in advance to the poor soul who wins my Rio Linda basket.  Hope you have a sense of humor!🤣🤪🤷🏼‍♀️ 

 All of this, well, really, it’s a good thing.  A very good thing.  I’ll update soon!  Til then....

What our new place should look like.
This is a neighbor house around the corner...we copied them 🤣

#42 Can you hear me now???

 Been awhile since I have written anything.  With Covid restrictions, not a lot to write.  Holidays were uneventful.  2020 election is in the rearview.  No matter how you wanted it to be, the world keeps spinning and life goes on.  Fortunately we live in a state that is open, so we can shop, go to restaurants and so forth.  Not the same though.  I miss seeing people's smiling faces not hidden behind a mask.  I think they will be lifting the mask mandate soon, rumor has it.  Everything has changed.  Almost everything.  I will say one thing never changes...GETTING OLD SUCKS...  at least for one of us, lol.  

Seems someone in the family has lost his hearing.  He's always said "what?" every time I say anything.  Could be because I mumble.  Could be because I have a voice in that "men can't hear you" range.  Could be because he is dumbfounded by what profound, intelligent, noteworthy statement I just made.  Who can tell.  One thing is for sure.  I can't be in the same room with him while he watches tv.  Lordy that thing is so loud, the neighbors down the block can tell what we are watching.  So, at the suggestion of Bruce Clark, I ordered him some ear phones. What a difference.  At least he can now hear what's being said and I can stay in the same room.  But that only helped with one aspect; tv watching.  Didn't help with conversations or going out to dinner and trying to hear the server.  People probably thought we don't like each other since our conversation at the table was limited to him pointing at what he wanted me to hand to him: the salt and pepper shaker (that I brought with us, because germs, you know).

So someone had to admit they needed hearing aids.  Now mind you, LJ does nothing without research or shopping around.  Try going with him to buy shoes.  Pack a lunch because it will be awhile... oh and remember your first stop because you will ultimately be going back there to buy the first thing he saw (insert eye roll here).  So for weeks he researched, learning everything there is to know about hearing aids.   A few trips to the ENT and the Audiologist and he finally confirmed what he needed.  He had suffered definite hearing loss.  Could be from years in the helicopter unit.  Could be old age (most likely).  And probably a contributing factor was the radiation treatment for his cancer.  No matter what the cause, he needed to break down and get them.  So he did.  

The tv can be at a normal level once again.  We can talk in restaurants and in the car.  Finally he can hear me.  (Not necessarily a good thing when he pisses me off and I call him something endearing like "dickhead" under my breath.  Now he hears that.  No more "I didn't say anything" and getting away with it😆😈).  Pros and cons, lol.  They are actually quite small!  You really can't see them at all.  It does explain why he has suddenly let his hair grow, though.  Completely invisible behind those lovely locks of gray.  And if he tires of my talking, he just takes them out...to recharge he says.  Regardless, it works for us, lol, and I know his frustration level has dropped.

Home life:

Not a whole lot going on at Casa de James.  Weather in AZ has been really cool this winter.  Not "Oh wow!  How cool is that!", kind of cool, but freaking cold.  I had to wear sweats and socks.  So not what I signed up for.  Pool is too cold to swim.  Really must consider getting solar.  Have had to wear a jacket outside.  Not funny, Mother Nature.  Not funny.  Even fired up the ol Fire Pit when company was here.  But finally it is getting warmer.  We are going from the 60s last week to mid 90s by the end of this week.  Screw spring.  Lets just go straight to summer.  Mama needs to get a tan and soak up that anti-virus vitamin D.

At least we don't get bored.  I dink around in the craft room.  Karin and Hersh came up over Christmas.  We played dominoes and hung out for a while.  It was nice.  We went to their place to see Bonnie and Tom.  That was a great day.  Lisa and Dave Torgerson came to visit for a day since they were Rving here in Arizona.  They brought Bella, the mini pony.  (ok.. she's a Great Dane.  same thing).  Bella is a joy to be around.  Such a good dog and such a great personality.  Scooter wasn't quite sure at first, but after a bit just kept an eye on her.  He kept trying to smell her butt.  Of course, without a step ladder that wasn't happening.  So he waited for her to lay down to complete his "getting to know you" ritual.  She largely ignored him.  It was a wonderful visit and we can't wait to RV up to their place in Montana!  We will visit with them and the Petries and whoever else we can force to enjoy our company lol.

I love doing puzzles, so that occupies me.  Lj plays ball with Scooter in between honey do’s and tv shows.  We lead a pretty laid back life.  

In February LJ did take a trip to Quartszite for a week to go atv riding.  He skipped Yuma since at the time covid cases were on the rise there.  I'm certain that's not because of all the border crossings...must just be a fluke.  Anyway, he really enjoyed himself.  I decided not to go.  Quite frankly we needed a bit of a break.  I just wanted to veg out at home and do nothing.  I did drive up for a day and spend the night, just to say hi to everyone and go shopping with Jean Ezell and Karin.  It was only a 90 minute drive.  Piece of cake.

Then, a few weeks ago, LJ and I took a two plus hour drive to Lake Havasu.  No reason.  Just haven't been there before.  So we went...saw the bridge...walked around for a minute...drove home.  Scooter enjoyed it and so did we.  Think on the next Quartszite ATV trip we might go for the day, have lunch.  The river and bridge area is really quite nice.  

Scooter loved the ducks

    

LJ Update:

So far, so good with the post-cancer scans.  They have all been negative so far.  He has another one in a week.  This will be full body, so if this one comes back clean I think we can breathe easy for awhile.  Cancer treatment did cause other issues though.  One of them, is his teeth.  Because he had radiation to his throat and mouth, all of his teeth have issues.  All were fine prior to the treatment.  But now, because of the radiation and the after affect of severe dry mouth, he has multiple cavities and damage.  Dentist told him the repairs would be upward of the price of a new luxury car.  If he has them all pulled and does permanent dentures, that will be less, but still a ridiculous amount of money.  Full implants are not an option since the radiation damaged his bones.  And, of course, no dental coverage will pay for it, except for the $1500 limit.  He is appealing to his medical insurance to see if they will cover it since it is a direct result of the cancer treatment (that they did cover).  They cover reconstructive surgery for breast cancer and other cancers, so we are hoping they see the correlation and decide the ability to eat, smile and live a normal life falls under the same umbrella.  If not...oh well.  It is what it is.  We will figure it out.  Beats the alternative if he didn't get the radiation treatment.  Our son jokingly says the cost is ridiculous and his dad should just learn to eat soup. 😂😂.   Silly guy.  Not my fault we are spending your inheritance on the dog and and your dad, lol.  In reality, it's only money and I didn't need a new car anyway. 

He finally got that chemo port removed last week.  No more button on the ol chest.  I saw it as a constant reminder.  Glad it's gone.  He has a couple minor surgeries coming up.  All outpatient stuff.  He says, no big deal in the big scheme of things.  Other than that, he is doing great!  He is back to being LJ... sarcastic, witty, exasperating, wonderful LJ.  We feel very fortunate that he made it through all of this.  Very fortunate.  We will take whatever comes just knowing he is once again healthy.  

Oh.  Speaking of new cars,  LJ decided he wanted a new truck.  His 2017 was old now.  Nevermind that I bought a used 2015 to get him back and forth to his treatments.  I think I am the one who needs a new car, but I digress.  Besides...  He's only looking; doing research.  Doesn't really need one; just hates the dually.  Hard to park.  Can't take it through a car wash and the dually just simply isn't necessary, anymore.  That was his story and I will say he stuck to it.

So... He decided to start this "looking" around Christmas time.  Only looking.  Not buying.  He just really wanted a single rear wheel four wheel drive truck.  Don't worry.  Just bored so researching and only looking...Not buying.  He took off one afternoon.  Wanted to go take a look at the trucks that are out there.  And, he reminded me...again...  He's just looking not buying.  Test drove one.  Liked it.  They made him an offer on his dually.  Dammit...a good offer.  Giving him what he paid for it in 2017.  He came home and told me of this fantastic deal.  They had exactly what he wanted.  Not many trucks out there.  He thinks we should consider it.  So this "looking not buying" adventure turned into a new truck sitting in our driveway.  And he did, as he says, have cancer, so he should be able to get a new truck, because, you know, cancer.  OMG... fiiiiiiiiiiiiine.  It is a nice truck.  And with such a good trade in, he got a 2021 and it's paid for, so, whatever.  Damn he's good, lol.  I need to take notes.

Future Plans:

I have mentioned to LJ that I would go back to full time RVing if he wanted to.  We really didn't get a chance to do it.  Once we started settling into the lifestyle, cancer struck.  But I think LJ is being wise.  He thinks we should start traveling again, but maintain our home for now.  He's probably right.  We might tire of it quickly or find that it just isn't that easy to do with virus restrictions still in effect in so many places.  Plus doctors don't consider him out of the woods and cancer free until five years.  That means he has to have clear scans through 2024.  So better to have a home should we need it.  And I do love our home.  

Although we'd like to get traveling again with the RV, we probably won't be able to until early summer.  A few life obstacles in the way (dentist- his minor surgeries) but I'm shooting for June-ish.  October we go back to Utah for our ATV trip.  So looking forward to that.  My fav trip of all.  Three weeks of friends and beautiful scenery.  We will leave there and head to Reno.  We'll stay a day there, then head up to Durham, Ca where our granddaughter, KT, is getting married.  We found a nice RV park nearby and will stay a couple of nights there.  While at the wedding, Scooter gets to go to a sleepover at Patty and Alan's house.  He loves visiting them and playing with the other dogs.  We'll pick him up when we get back to Reno.  By then he'll be ready to be an only dog again, lol.  We plan on staying a week there so we can see friends and family.  I need some Reno peeps time.  It's been awhile since we've seen everyone.  

Other than that, just swimming, sunning, crafting and enjoying life.

So.. thats kind of all there is.  No great stories..no great adventures.  But we will see what we can do for the next update.  Fingers crossed this next scan goes well.  

Side note:  Found this Pic of LJ from a few years ago... He is a mere shadow of himself these days, lol.  I think he looks great 💗.  Now if I could only lose a few pounds while keeping pounds on him, lol.  I'll keep dreaming.

2018 with his bestie Rich

A couple weeks ago with Scooter