Florida, Moore Haven - Sunday, March 9, 2014 - M RV Resort

It’s been a lazy weekend.  The weather has been cool in the morning but by around noon it has been perfect.  On Saturday we went into Clewiston to pick up prescriptions and to get a few groceries.

Today we finished up the mirror covers.  The second one went pretty quickly.  The first one had a lot of trial and error to it.  These things are supposed to protect the mirrors from weather and premature aging.  We’ve seen them made from all kinds of materials, we used some of the leftover vinyl headliner material we had from our headboard remodel.  A lot of the ones we have seen just slip over the mirrors, but because of some of the winds we have seen in the last year, we decided we would run a cord through the bottom so we could tie them down.

Florida, Moore Haven - Friday, March 7, 2014 - M RV Resort

We aren’t doing much blog worthy at this moment.  On Wednesday I went to line dancing lessons and videotaped about 20 of the dances so I can work on them at home (I know, maybe not a good visual, but it is good exercise).  In the evening we went up for pizza and Bingo.  Greg was a winner.  This bingo game is called “goal post with a football”.  Until we started playing here I just thought bingo meant getting five in a row.

 

On Thursday, my biggest accomplishment was making macaroni salad.

Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad

8 oz. macaroni, cooked and cooled
1 c. diced celery
½ c. diced sweet onion
½ c. diced green bell pepper
½ c. diced red bell pepper (optional)

Dressing:  Mix together

1 c. mayonnaise
1 T. mustard
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 T. vinegar

You may want to make 1 ½ times the dressing, the macaroni tends to soak it up.

I also got our “File of Life” information packets filled out.  These files include all of our medical information in case of emergency.  The file is placed in a red “File of Life” plastic pouch with a magnet on the back for you to place it on your refrigerator.  Since many RV refrigerators don’t have metal doors, placing it inside the fridge is also a possibility.  A sticker is then placed on your outside door or nearby window that indicates to emergency personnel that you have your “File of Life” information inside.  The sheriff’s department that provided these to us also included a smaller version to be carried in your car, or in our case, the motorcycle.

Today we filled out our resumes to submit to Workampers.com.  We thought we might find some interesting work to do next Fall and Winter when we plan on spending a few months in Arizona.

We will be back in Indiana this year on May 12.  We’ll be staying at the Glowood campground between Pendleton and Lapel for at least part of the time we are there.

Today our big project was covers for the large chrome mirrors on the front of the coach.  We got one finished but we’ll have to wait until later to post a picture, it’s too dark out now.

Florida, Moore Haven - Tuesday, March 4, 2014 - Mardi Gras at M RV Resort

This morning at 10:00 100 cupcakes went on sale for $.50 each, 50 red and 50 blue.  There was a little plastic baby in one of the red cupcakes and one of the blue cupcakes.  Whoever got the cupcake with the baby in it was the king or queen of our Mardi gras celebration.

At 2:00 there was a parade.  We didn’t participate, we sat on our patio and collected candy that was being thrown.

We noticed this turtle crossing the road just before the parade started – maybe to get a better view?

At 5:00 there was a pitch in dinner with jambalaya provided as the main course.

This is just the beginning of the crowd beginning to gather.  By the time everyone arrived seats were getting pretty scarce.

Two of the residents here used to have a bakery in Lafayette, LA.  They provided the king cake pictured below and the recipe for the jambalaya.

There is a dance at 7:00 this evening.  We won’t be going back up to the clubhouse for that.  We brought our empty crock pot home after the pitch in and decided to sit out on the patio until the mosquitos found out we were there.

Florida, Moore Haven - Monday, March 3, 2014 - M RV Resort

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDDAUGHTER CHEYANNE!!!

We had planned to go to Sanibel Island today for some shell hunting.  But, we decided that I probably didn’t need a full day in the sun.  I got quite a sunburn on Saturday when we went to the baseball game even though I was wearing SPF 50 sunscreen.  From now on we will probably be running into Spring Break crowds on the beaches so we’ll have to go early in the morning when we finally do get over to the island.

Temperatures have been in the mid to upper 80s everyday, the humidity varies from wonderful to pretty muggy.  We have been enjoying one of these most days.  It’s a pint mason jar with frozen wine “slushy”.  It is very refreshing on a hot afternoon.  I have some half pint jars and that would probably be enough to cool us off, but the pint jars fit really well in a soft drink can koozie.

 

 

To make a wine slushy:  Mix 2 oz. wine (right now we are using key lime wine, last week it was black current, I think any wine would be pretty good), 2 oz. margarita mix and 2 oz. water in each pint mason jar.  Put the jars in the freezer.  When the mix is frozen, scrape and poke it with a fork to make it slushy and eat it with a spoon.

We rode into Clewiston to pick up a few groceries.  We finally found a pool noodle for me so I can enjoy the pool.  Swimming is another thing I didn’t conquer when I was younger.  Our grandson Jackson suggested I needed some “big girl swimees”.  Since I don’t think they make “swimees” that big, I settled for a pool noodle.

Florida, Moore Haven - Thursday, February 27, 2014 - M RV Resort

I went to the clubhouse yesterday for line dance lessons, I have 2 down pat and another 4 that I’m ok at.  I went to one of their actual line dances this evening and asked one of the instructors how many line dances there are.  She said, “I don’t know, we know about 400 of them”.  400!!!!  Don’t they ever use them for more than one different song?  I was hoping for about 6, maybe 12 all-purpose ones – for a fast beat you use this one, for a slow beat you use another, etc.

I worked on my cross-stitch project yesterday and was coming along quite nicely until I realized that somewhere back at the beginning of the session I missed a stitch.  So, I had to take out most of the stitches I had made and start over again.

I didn’t try the bicycle again yesterday, I was kind of sore and bruised from the day before.  I didn’t ever actually fall but there were quite a few times I stopped and the bike didn’t – it was ugly.  Last night I kept trying to picture myself being successful in riding this thing.  So, I tried again today.  I made Greg ride his back and forth in front of the coach and talk to me about what he was doing.  I got on my bike and tried to imitate what he was doing – it worked!  I was able to actually ride for a good distance and managed to stop it once smoothly, the rest of the stops were a little choppy, but it’s coming along.  No new bruises today.

This afternoon we attended a program put on by the Sherriff’s Department called “How Not to be a Victim”, it’s an NRA program and has some good information, most of it we were already aware of, but it never hurts to refresh your memory.  In Florida I find that it’s interesting that you can get in big trouble for firing a “warning shot”.  If you are going to discharge a firearm for personal protection, you better be able to hit them.

This resort has a lot of activities going on during the “snowbird season”.  We will definitely come back if we are in this area of Florida again.  This same family has resorts on Arizona so we are thinking about trying one of them next winter.

I tried a new crockpot chicken recipe this morning.  It smelled good, haven’t tasted it yet.  It was really simple – mix 1 T. paprika and 3 T. steak seasoning together and put on the inside and outside of the chicken and cook on low until temperature is 165 degrees.

Florida, Moore Haven - Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - M RV Resort

Yesterday we went back to Jet Blue Park.  We hoped to be able to see the Red Sox practicing before we went through the farmers market and picked up some produce.  We found out that they aren’t letting the public in to watch practice.

 

 

We opted for pulled pork sandwiches instead of the lobster rolls we had last week.  They were good, but I think I preferred the lobster rolls.

 

 

The alligators were showing a presence this morning.  We saw a small one in the ditch at the front of the campground out by the highway.  He looked pretty comfortable laying there in the sun.  This guy is in the pond that is across the way from us.  I was not as close to him as this photo looks, a zoom lens and photo cropping can do wonders.

I guess we missed some excitement last night.  At one of the other ponds on the property a small alligator came out of the pond and scared the daylights out of some people who were sitting outside.  The people ended up on the top of the picnic table.  The management of the campground called out someone to capture the alligator this morning, they don’t want to take a chance on an alligator that might get aggressive.   However, you can tell by the size of this one that he is just a baby (see the guy in the yellow shirt).  Greg and I were talking and wondered if alligators were like puppies, as they age they get more laid back.

I was making potato salad when we noticed the activity at the other pond.  I walked up to see what all of the excitement was about and noticed that the pond lilies are blooming or getting near.

 

 

I got back home and finished up the potato salad, made some cucumbers and onions and cut up vegetables to make stir fry this evening.  I’ll get out the wok and cook outside this evening. 

I almost hate to cook on the stove, Greg put in new grates and burner washers yesterday and it looks like a new stove.

We made another purchase which arrived today.

We decided that we weren’t walking fast enough to provide cardio exercise and we really couldn’t pick up the pace too much, it is hard on the knee replacement Greg has.  So, we decided bicycles would be a good idea.  All of the roads here are paved and lots of people ride bicycles.  There appears to be only one problem in this plan – I’m living proof that you can indeed forget how to ride a bicycle.

Florida, Moore Haven - Sunday, February 23, 2014 - M RV Resort

Once again I walked early this morning because the heat was going to be too much later on.  I noticed that one of the cacti here in the campground had a gorgeous bloom at the very top.

The water lilies are also getting ready to bloom.

 

We were certainly glad we didn’t ride the bike up to Daytona today to watch the Daytona 500.  They must have had some horrible downpours!  The race has been delayed and looking at the pictures on the TV you can see water everywhere.

I finally got out the gel gloss and shined up the shower – looks good.

I’ve been promising Greg for the last week or so that I would fix lasagna.  I finally got around to it today.  We ate early this evening and could have gone up to the clubhouse for the ice cream social, but I think we already have calorie overload from the lasagna and garlic bread.  It was good but not something we need very often.

Florida, Moore Haven - Saturday, February 22, 2014 - M RV Resort

I was inside most of the day – it was downright hot!  Greg sat out on the patio and watched the NASCAR race.  We walked early because we knew it was going to be too uncomfortable later in the day.

Since I was going to be inside most of the day, I got quite a bit of cleaning, polishing and laundry done.  Also put together a hash brown casserole to take to the pot luck supper at the clubhouse this evening.

Hash Brown Casserole (this fills 2 good sized casserole dishes)

1 lb. sausage browned, I use Country Pride mild

1 large can mushrooms

½ large onion, chopped

After the sausage is browned, drain it on paper towel, wipe out the pan and then brown the onion and mushrooms in the same pan.
Mix together in a large bowl:

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 c. sour cream

½ c. milk

4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Add two packages of hash brown potatoes to the cheese mix.  I use the Simply Potatoes, but frozen hash browns work also.  Stir gently to mix evenly, then add the sausage, mushrooms and onions.

At this point you can either put it in the fridge or bake it in a 350 degree oven.

Bake in greased casserole pans for 40-50 minutes or until the center bubbles.  It may take a little longer if you bring the casserole right out of the fridge.

Walking home we noticed that the sunset was beautiful.  I was almost too late to get a good picture.  The picture I did end up with didn’t pick up the rays shining up through the clouds.

Florida, Moore Haven - Thursday, February 20, 2014 - M RV Resort

Yesterday was my day for activities at the clubhouse.  I think I have two of the line dances mastered, a couple more are coming along.  It’s hard to believe how many variations there are.  I went up later for the unfinished crafts project group and worked on my cross stitch project.  The magnifying glass worked out just fine so there is hope for my finishing this yet.

Greg stayed home and washed dishes, took out the trash and washed windows.  Sorry, ladies I’m keeping him.

In the evening we went up to the clubhouse and played Bingo – some people are really serious about that gameJ.  Although we didn’t win anything it was an enjoyable break.

We did manage to get some tickets to a spring training game for the Boston Red Sox, just not at their home field.  We got them for a Minnesota Twins home game where they are playing the Boston Red Sox.  The Twins’ stadium is in Ft. Myers also, looking forward to that game.

Today was spent watching practice, qualifying and the duel races for the Daytona 500.  It was a great day to kick back on the patio and watch the outdoor TV.  Temperatures here were in the mid-80s but a nice breeze kept it from being too hot.

We tried something different for supper this evening – quinoa.  It’s supposed to be a whole grain that is super healthy for you.  We had it along with some of the Mediterranean vegetables we got from the Schwan man and some pork chops.  We both thought it was pretty good.

Florida, Moore Haven - Friday, February 14, 2014 - Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

We finished up two big projects today.  The tire covers are done and the tax info has been copied and is ready to put in the mail.

We really enjoyed the Valentine’s Day dinner and dance this evening.  There was a huge crowd.

 

We met Bob and Melody.  Bob was kind enough to snap a picture of us, once again proving that I am not photogenic.

The meal was wonderful, prime rib, baked potato, green beans, salad and carrot cake.  The meal was cooked by several of the residents here – very talented people.

Florida, Moore Haven - Sunday, February 09, 2014 - M RV Resort

Yesterday on our walk I took some more pictures of the campground and surroundings.

This is the area behind our site.  When we looked at reviews of this campground earlier this year we laughed at one of the complaints that the cows were too noisy.  This might have been where the cows were located.  Evidently they were so rowdy they were moved because we haven’t seen any J.  I take that back, as I am sitting here writing this with the windows open, I heard a cow moo somewhere in the distance.

 

This is the clubhouse where all of the activities take place.  It’s within easy walking distance from our site.  In fact if we go on every road in the campground and out to the highway we still walk less than a mile and a half.  There are 243 sites here, most of them are located on the other side of the pond from where we are.  We like the peace and quiet where we are located.

Just outside of the clubhouse is the swimming pool.  Too early this morning for anyone to be taking advantage of it.

While we were outside working on the front tire covers I noticed one of the alligators was out enjoying the sun.  I managed to get the camera before he was gone.

We finished the front tire covers for both sides – not bad for amateurs.

Today we rode into Clewiston.  We needed some produce and bread and I wanted to see if I could find some binding to fix the POW/MIA flag we put on the back of our bike.  We found the food, but no binding.  We stopped at Sonny’s, a barbeque place similar to Famous Dave’s back in Indiana.  Thank goodness we had sense enough to split an order, we still had some to bring home.

They are having an ice cream social and card bingo at the clubhouse this evening.  After our big lunch we are staying home, eating light and watching some drag racing.

Florida, Moore Haven - Friday, February 7, 2014 - M RV Resort

After we walked this morning we rode into Moore Haven to get the propane tank we use on the grill filled.  Moore Haven is the closest town to the campground, it’s 10 miles away.

We brought the propane tank back to the campground and then headed out to La Belle.  We wanted to pick up some miscellaneous electrical things and there was supposed to be an electrical supply house just before we got into La Belle.  We didn’t see it going in so we stopped at an Ace Hardware and found what we needed.  We saw the electrical supply house on the way back home.

I also found the gel gloss I had been looking for.  Now I just need to get everything all shined up.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out at home.  The clubhouse was having Karaoke tonight.  We didn’t go up, a lot of alcohol would have to be involved, both for me and the people listening before I could participate.  Since I don’t drink that much it just wouldn’t happen.

We were sitting on the patio early this evening and watched one of the alligators in the pond sneak up on something to eat, probably a fish.  We’ve not seen any more than just the eyes and top of their head.  I’m ok if I don’t see any more.

Florida, Moore Haven - Thursday, February 6, 2014 - M RV Resort

Happy birthday to daughter Robyn!!

I forgot to mention that Tuesday while Greg was gone to Ft. Myers I looked out the front window and it looked like the entire county must be on fire, I could see a huge wall of billowing black smoke.  It crossed my mind that I couldn’t drive this coach but maybe Greg could talk me through it if I had to evacuate.  After all he had the bike with him and loading it is the hardest part of moving.  The smoke went away quickly so I didn’t have to worry about it.  I found out later that they were burning off sugar cane fields.  I guess that is technically illegal, but the fine is so small the growers go ahead and do it anyway and just pay the fine.  I am still a little concerned however.  In Indiana the field mice, etc. start to invade homes looking for warmth when the weather turns cooler.  I’m just wondering what kinds of things they drive out of those fields looking to get away from all that warmth when their home goes up in flames.

I have to get all my information on who is doing what in the campground from the front window.  Our sight is blessed with one of the only trees in the campground, but I can’t see a thing from the side window next to the table.

We didn’t get up to the pancake breakfast this morning, we had blueberries that we needed to eat so we stayed home.  I have a feeling we won’t miss the next breakfast this month, it is biscuits and gravy, one of Greg’s favorites and I won’t make it for him but a couple of times a year.

I made a new recipe for lunch – crab stuffed mushrooms.  They turned out really good.

I made a batch of potato salad before I cleaned up the kitchen and then called it a day on cooking.  Greg grilled steaks and corn on the cob this evening.

So far it has rained at least some of each day we have been here but the temperatures have been pleasantly in the mid 80s.  Right now it is just pouring down rain.  We planned on riding tomorrow and seeing a little of the countryside around us, not sure at this point whether that will work out or not.

I need to get back to working on the tire covers so we can get that project out of the way.

Florida, Moore Haven - Wednesday, February 5, 2014 - M RV Resort

We pulled into M RV Resort in Moore Haven late afternoon on Monday after spending a couple of hours stocking up on groceries and fuel.  We saw miles and miles of orange groves on our way here.

 

I think we are going to like spending time here for the next three months.  This is what I call a “country campground”, nothing lavish, no golf course, but it’s just our style – laid back, quiet and comfortable.

The people here have all been really nice.  We got to know one fellow really well – Dave the electrician from Wisconsin.  He was filling in for one of the guys who normally escorts you to your site when we first met him.  When we tried to hook up to electric power nothing happened.  Greg and Dave started trying to find the problem and today they finally figured it out.  They tried all kinds of things, none of which I am going to try to explain because I don’t know what I am talking about.  They found out the problem was the outside plug which we just had replaced a couple of months ago because we thought the one we had was showing some wear.  Seems the guy who installed it didn’t get it just right.  At any rate we are up and running just fine now.

This is our view from the front window.  There are two alligators in that pond – I saw their eyes swimming along this morning.  I guess the pond is stocked pretty well so they have plenty to eat.  In fact, there are “please don’t feed the alligator signs around the pond”.  To me that would be a given, no one would have to give me a sign.

This is our site until the end of April.

Yesterday Greg rode into Ft. Myers to get the rear tire replaced on the bike.  When he loaded it in East Tampa he noticed that there were some cracks starting between the tread – no sense in taking any chances with a blowout.  The closest Harley dealer was Ft. Myers, about an hour and a half away.  I stayed home and managed to find a place for all of the groceries we bought.

Today we started participating in some of the many functions they have going on here.  I went to the “meet your neighbor” meeting while Greg and Dave finished up with the electrical problem.  At 2:00 I went to the clubhouse and talked to a group of ladies who get together to work on craft projects.  Going to have to dig out that cross stitch project I haven’t finished yet.  This evening we had supper at the snack bar in the clubhouse – good cheeseburgers and onion rings.  We met Len and Gloria who enjoyed a great looking pizza.  We all stayed to play bingo after eating, so we are officially retired. Tomorrow there is a pancake breakfast, but I’m not sure I want to get up that early J