Almost every day when leaving or entering the park we are greated by the local wildlife. These are just a few of the friendlys we encounter. Tonight, on our way in, there was a group of at least 8 turkey on the tree line not 10 yards from an 8 point buck. They were all just wandering along the tree line watching us drive by. Of course I didn't have my camera along tonight....  oh well.

On to other topics. 

We made an offer on a property this week. The seller signed it back to us at much too high a price. We raised our offer by a fair amount but they weren't willing to budge. We closed the contract and have moved on. Today we drove by several properties. One was very interesting with a nearly brand new 40 x 50 shop which could accomidate the 5th wheel and a great work shop. Alas, after the agent arrived to walk us through the home we were sadly disappointed. Not apparent from the exterior, the home is in very poor shape and would need a new roof at the very least. Given the option I would light a match and start from scratch with the utilities, foundation and basement.  ;-)

If its meant to be that we live here the right place will appear. If not we'll enjoy our winter in San Angelo and move on in March.

More later ..........

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH 

We keep praying

Today we drove out to a property we have already looked at, about 20 miles East of San Angelo. We wanted to make sure "this is the place" we want to make an offer on. In the back corner of the 6.55 acre property we found what you see. Its a cross. Fashioned of wire and beads, this adorns what is left of a tree. 

There are still many things which must fall into place before we call this place home and we would appreciate any and all prayers you may offer. We are now convinced. THIS IS THE PLACE. 

 

San Angelo has captured us

The more we talk about it and the more we experience it the more we agree that San Angelo has captured our hearts. We walked through a thrift store the other day, the largest I've ever seen, and were amazed by the amount of goods and the size of the store. There were dozens of sofas and chairs, dozens of tables and dressors, dozens of complete china sets and just about every other thing you could imagine. Everything was sorted and displayed in wide, well lit isles. The name of the store is Christian Action and, by the sign, it appears there may be several by the same name in Texas. They claim to be the largest. There are also Good Will and Salvation Army thrift stores as well as some private ones yet to explore. 

Last night we felt like eating out and headed into town not sure what we were going to try. We drove by a restaurant I thought was listed as a buffet but it wasn't. We turned toward the Red Lobster but spotted a private Italian restaurant across the street. The Cafe Italia is where we settled. It has been a very long time since I enjoyed a meal more. I had a pasta trio served in a rich, creamy white sauce made with cheese and spinach. It was Ravioli, Manacoti and Chicken Lasagna in the white Spinach sauce. I could tell it was made with real butter and heavy cream. YUMMY!!!!! A glass of Pino Grigio on the side was like dessert. Bubba enjoyed a three sea food blend in linguini. Shrimp, crab and clams layered his dish and he LOVED it! The bread served at every table was a warm cheese bread served with an herb oil dip. We loved it but the main dishes were so good we actually left bread on the table.

Tonight we'll be having supper in the pavilion here at the park. Every Monday night they grill burgers over mesquite and serve burgers with all the fixin's, chips and cold drinks for $2.50 per person. We forgot about it last week but now we're parked right across the grass from the pavilion so we should smell the grill when he fires it up. ;-)  

We've decided that the deer we've been seeing is a herd that lives here in the park. We often see the same number of deer, same number of doe and buck as well as at least one half grown. The grassy area around the pavilion is well fertilized by them, you can't take a few steps in any direction without seeing deer poo. That grassy area has kind of become our front yard for the next couple months. We moved to this space yesterday and were pleasantly suprised when the manager charged us 25% less than their listed rates for this space and this season. We're now on metered electric so we've switched the water heater to propane instead of electricity. Its been warm enough here that the propane lasts much longer. 

I seem to want to go on and on about this area. We're excited now about researching properties, metal buildings and everything that goes with it. We've chosen a realtor and are talking to a builder. When the banks open again tomorrow (there are 3 Bank of America locations in town) we're going to find out what we can afford for a mortgage. There are a couple areas we are excited to look at yet; the locals say it is as close to the look of the Hill Country as you can get without driving the 150 miles South to get there. ;-)  Any place close to San Angelo will be acceptable. What we have found here is a very warm, welcoming small town personality in a community of around 100,000 people. As is very typical for this state, I perceive, is a humble pride in their home, their faith and their families. We feel very 'at home' here. 

I better go. Its time to bake Amish bread ........... a day late but that should only make it better. :-)

More later ..............

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

  

We do love San Angelo

I just wanted to tell y'all (hee hee) a little bit about San Angelo, Texas. We've been here a week now and have learned to appreciate the area and the people who live here a little more every day. Folks are so very friendly and helpful and the weather has simply been a slice of heaven here on earth. We've eaten out a couple times, we've shopped at a few stores, we've fished and walked and even met with a real estate agent and looked at a property. We're doing some research on the area that even includes getting a quote from a builder to put the quonset home of our dreams on a piece of property. 

When shopping at Wal Mart yesterday I noticed something that inspired me a little bit. In Iowa, California, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina and Tyler, Texas, being the people watchers that we are, we observed a large number of shoppers and employees at Wal Mart who didn't appear to worry much about their appearance.  At the Wal Mart in San Angelo there was a pronounced difference. I may have seen one or two folks who may have forgotten to look in the mirror before they ran to the store but was inspired by the fact that everyone else I saw seemed happy and confident and  attentive to their appearance in public. And, whether they were wearing business attire and diamonds or were wearing sports wear and running shoes, they were all very friendly and kind.

Tomorrow we move from one RV space to another and I get to bake Amish bread again. I think I'll try chocolate pudding and chopped dates this time. Sounds interesting. Oh, by the way, we've seen deer in numbers two days this week. At one point there were at least 15 in a roadside park and 4 of them were so relaxed they were laying down watching traffic roll by. Mijo met a cute little Shi Tzu Pikaneese mix this afternoon named Sassy. She will be our neighbor after tomorrow and for the next couple months. I'm sure they will both enjoy that.

Well I better go. 

More later ...........

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH 

Our ideal RV Park

    I'm fighting with my computer over pictures right now ........... but I can still type.    ;-)

     On Sunday we decided it was time to head South from Big Spring, just a short jaunt down the road, to San Angelo, Texas. We've contained our destination search, for the most part, to the triangle between I-35, I-20 & I-10 in West Central Texas. San Angelo is pretty much in the absolute middle of that area. We're less than 100 miles South of Big Spring but our immediate response to this area and this RV Park specifically is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Within the hour after pulling into the RV Park on Lake Nasworthy we went back to the office and reserved a space for the next two months! 

     The Spring Creek Marina and RV Park is a privately owned RV Park positioned within a city park. The park is waterfront on Lake Nasworthy and for this first week so are we. Next week we will move to a monthly space and then be only one row further from the waterfront. This week the weather here is low 60's in the day and high 20's at night. There was a few hours of wind last night but its been simply gorgeous. Yesterday we watched a pair of swans swim by and had to stop on the park drive to let a 6 point buck cross in front of us. According to the managers the park is full of deer, some turkey and lots of dove. 

     Yesterday we drove through town and spotted a few stores we like to frequent. San Angelo is just under 100,000 people and offers everything from Sam's Club to PetCo. There are at least 60 restaraunts and  a downtown river walk. We've read through the local city guide and saw tons of wonderful things we would like to experience. The stock show and rodeo takes place the week of Bubba's birthday so thats how we intend to celebrate it this year. We stopped at a bait shop and bought fishing licenses and today we aim to drown a worm or two. Bubba thinks he's found heaven. He can walk out the front door and have a line in the water in less than a minute.  We've done a little searching on line, driven around the perimeter of town and picked up a couple real estate books. We don't think this is our destination but we sure intend to enjoy it for the next couple months. 

More later ............

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

Goals are important

On several occasions I recall receiving the wisdom that if you wish to attain a goal you must write it down. I guess we did, in a way, on our blogs and by verbally sharing it with many friends and family. Our goal of personally visiting Big Spring, Texas is one we've planned for over a year. We both felt drawn, nearly compelled to come here. We've seen various properties on line that peaked our interest and read many positive things about the area and the climate. And now we can say we've accomplished that goal! It feels great. If ever asked about this area we will have first hand knowledge to share. Are we in love with the place; do we want to live here? Nope. But we feel good that the decision was made from our own first hand experience of it, not from someone else's opinion or perspective.

Our ultimate goal is to find the place we want to call home and we will accomplish that goal. We've put no time limit on it and both believe we'll know it when we see it. Our next step on that path is to head for the Hill Country of Central Texas. There are several communities and properties we find extremely interesting down there and we're excited to start exploring. Its exciting too that some dear friends from California are also headed for the Hill Country this spring and will be looking for a place to live. We'll keep you posted!!

More later ...............

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

Another glorious day!

Today I feel like rambling. I hope I don't put you all to sleep but I have just a few things to get off my brain. Since this is my journal ...... here goes.

Isn't this one of the most interesting cows you've ever seen? Right across the fence from the 5 Star RV Park in Tyler is a herd of cows and they are a diverse bunch. Every color, size and shape you can imagine are gathered in this one place. I thought this one was the most attractive.  ;-)

Saturday afternoon our long lost friends from Marshall came to Tyler and we had dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. GREAT steak and the company was even better. I think they found us as changed as we found them. We had only known each other for a short time when we were all living in Southern California. They were "liberated" from there before we were and were never so happy to come home to Texas. We enjoyed a fantastic meal then the guys went off for ice cream while we girls went to Bed Bath & Beyond. We chatted for a while at the trailer she took home my last extra Amish bread starter bag. Thats twice in a row I've shared all my starters and only had one to bake with. HOW AWESOME! 

How silly we were believing we might miss out on all the real winter weather just because we came South. Yesterday the temp was in the high 20's and it rained and sleeted all day. There was about half an inch of ice covering everything and 8 inch icicles hanging from the nose of the trailer. We've had some cold and windy days this season but that was the worst we've encountered this trip. Thankfully we were parked and hooked up at the dealership. We even found the most affordable propane yet, here in Decatur. Just in case any of our RVing friends are curious, our last diesel purchase was $1.99 per gallon in Tyler and propane here is a flat $20 for a 30 lb tank with no sales tax. Yiippee

I'm praying that the past will repeat itself once again. When we were living in Calimesa and I was working for Jim Hahn, my friend Dorothy from Texas bought a 5th wheel and moved into it. We were already shopping for ours and we followed suite shortly there after. Since then she and her husband moved from the Georgetown area to the Houston area. We moved from California to Iowa. This morning I found out that she and Steve bought a house a couple months ago and are loving the 'work in progress' it has become. Its our turn now! :-)

I noticed, while I was on the phone with Mom yesterday, that everywhere I've lived or visited in the past few years there seem to be Mockingbirds. I've become a novice bird watcher and love to take pictures of them. I first noticed the mockingbirds in Hemet, perched atop a big cactus guarding it's home. Today there are at least half a dozen of them spending time in a tree behind us. There is a beautiful pair of cardinal here too. I captured her on the Kodak but have yet to sneak a shot of him.

I'm sure there were at least a dozen more things I intended to ponder about but they escape me at the moment. Oh well ... blog fodder for later as Sheila would say. 

More later ...........

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH 

To follow where we're led

One of my most frequent prayers is for guidance. I try to open my eyes to the way God is trying to guide me through life. I had a great chat last night with some RVers from Wisconsin about the "if - then" way the Lord works in our lives. He gives us the freedom of choice and knows what will result from every possible decision. 

Yesterday I was digging into a storage tub for something and came upon a little slip of paper with a phone number and name, written in someone else's hand. The name is of a couple we met in California at the RV Park where we lived for two years. They were from Texas and were spending 6 months in California working with family. We haven't been in contact for well over two years and they had slipped my mind completely when I thought of folks I may know in Texas. What grabbed my attention was that their area code is the same as where we currently sit. 

We took this as a clear message for God and Bubba immediately called them. We're going to Marshall to have lunch with them Saturday. We feel compelled to do this, believing this must be the direction God wants us to go. I'm very anxious to see Stan and P.A. again. Their little dog, Gidget, should have fun with Mijo for the afternoon too.   ;-)

More good news; we heard from our dear friend Nancy the other day. We tryed to make contact when we were in Alabama, where she lives, but were not successful. She's been fighting some battles recently but is on the upswing and we had a fantastic talk. We will continue to pray for her and look forward to our next contact. 

Well, I better get busy. We're spending a good part of the day in Marshall tomorrow and heading out from here Sunday morning. I have the typical packing away and organizing to do as well as catching up on laundry. I was excited that I could share two of my Amish cake starter bags this week. I have now branched it out to Texas, Iowa and Wisconsin.   ;-)  I think of Sheila every time I bake because she was the friend who shared it with me. I pray those I've shared it with think of me when they bake too. 

More later ....... 

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH