Check out these makeovers!

Hope everyone had a glorious holiday weekend, wherever you are!

Thought I'd share the links to these vintage trailer makeovers. One is a vintage Air Stream, another is a vintage Argosy done by a good lady motorcycle friend of mine for & with her mother.

I really enjoyed these and hope you do, too.

Runaround Sue - 1961 Airstream Safari

Bee - Argosy 

[before - interim interim - after]

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Hot day fun!

I know. I'm a bad puppy cause I've been ignoring my blog. But I've been having too much fun. I miss my Sissy cause mommy made the walls move but I got to meet my other sisters, Sookie and Riley. I also got to see my daddy, Pickles. Mommy didn't take pictures though.

But she did take one of me on daddy's motorcycle. It's been FOREVER since I got a ride. It was so much fun!



It was really hot out so I slept good when we got home.


Today I laid in the sun almost all day. Mommy said it was too hot and made me come in but I kept standing at the door so daddy finally let me out. [snicker]


Sniffing and lickingly yours,
Sadie

---

Memorial Day 2012

[source]

"Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er,
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Dream of battled fields no more.
Days of danger, nights of waking."

~ Sir Walter Scott ~

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Ups and downs, highs and lows...what a day!

A great high, having dinner at Texas Roadhouse with family. Here are a few shots including a buttery face and a lemony smile!

Fun day....Stu took Sadie the pup and headed to youngest daughter's with oldest daughter's pressure washer, to clean up the outside of the house, etc in prep for her big 30th birthday party. I stayed home. Then comes the phone call, Stu needs me to bring his laptop and engine diagnostic tester over, the truck runs but won't move (it's in "creep home" mode). I load up the trike and head the 35 or so miles over there.

Several hours later, the tow truck picks up Scooby and takes him to a Ford dealer where they will look at him on Monday. Stu & Sadie ride the trike and I ride youngest's new Softail Deluxe (if you remember I rode it home from DC for her).

Of course nothing comes easy, the battery on the bike is dead. No problem, they'll put it on the Battery Tender. Ummm, something blew one of the breakers in the house and they have power issues. Okay, we'll jump it from the lawn tractor. Errr, the lawn tractor is out of gas (Stu had mowed the lawn while waiting for me).

Gas it up, connect them up....no go. Let it charge for a while....no go. Start up the tractor again, rev it for a while....no go. Sigh, now youngest daughter brings her car over for the jump. Connect them up, still no go but in a couple of minutes it finally fires. Phew!

So, five hours after Stu left the house, we're finally on our way back home. Sadie is VERY happy to get a bike ride...of course so is Stu. Okay, me, too. LOL!

The traffic was heavy between the holiday weekend and traffic heading into Ocean City but for the most part it moved along okay. The weather was another matter. We looked at the ominous clouds in front of us and when the temperature dropped and the sky grew blacker, we pulled over and put on our rain gear (the highlight of the day, having both sets on the trike).

We managed to dodge the rain drops but at least we were warm and protected from the road spray. In many areas it had obviously rained hard. We pulled into the yard, turn off the bikes...and the Deluxe keeps blinking. Seems there is a security system on it and we had forgotten to pickup the key fob. Oops! Fortunately, Stu's previous Tri-Glide had a security system and he remembered how to clear it.

Tomorrow we head back on the two bikes to help youngest celebrate her 30th birthday. Now we just hope we can bypass the security system in the morning...if not, we'll both ride the trike and bring the key fob home to return again on Sunday.

So all in all, a long day with a lot of highs and lows...oh, another high, Stu took our food contribution over today so no finagling with it tomorrow! LOL!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Finally moved....

We didn't move over the weekend. First, Stu had his usual post-PT day fatigue so Saturday prep didn't happen. Then late Saturday night I started up another bladder infection so Sunday I got nothing done.

On Monday Stu headed into Annapolis to do PT (he finished his official PT stint last Friday but opted to pay the $25 for their Step Down program which gives him access to all the equipment & his therapists all week long) and I visited my Urologist for more meds. Finally on Tuesday we both got it all together and at slightly after 4 pm headed over to Stu's oldest daughter's house in Delaware. Arrived late but got set up just in time for her to feed us dinner. Sweet!

We watched both grandgirls for an hour this morning before the oldest headed off on the school bus. Then I babysat the youngest grandgirl (almost 4) while Stu headed into Annapolis for the Joint Camp Lunch Reunion at the medical center.We sure love our pop-up coffee table at times like this.

[learning to use Instagram]

We'll be family visiting till Friday when they all head out camping for the holiday weekend. We hope to finally unload the bikes and get in a couple of motorcycle rides. Will post again as time allows!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

A Blogging Award....

On my writing blog I have gotten several blogging awards but this is the first one for our personal blog. Wow! What an honor... These awards are great for expanding your reader base.

M.G. Edwards awarded this to us and here are the rules as passed on from his site:

1. Thank & link back to the person who nominated you. 
2. Nominate fifteen worthy blogs for the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. Post seven random things about yourself.

Okay, thank you SO MUCH, M.G. and I hope you get lots of new blogging friends and fans from this. Also, please check out his book, Kilimanjaro: One Man's Quest to Go Over the Hill From his book description: "This book chronicles the author's attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. At forty years old and on the verge of a midlife crisis, he tried to change his life by climbing a mountain. This book is for climbers and hikers interested in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and for anyone who feels over the hill and needs to make a life change."

Okay, now for seven random things - you're stuck with ones about me since Stu isn't writing today. ;-)

1. I love greens - spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, brussel sprouts. Even as a kid! Also, green olives, even as a kid. I loved to drink the green olive juice, too.
2. I was painfully shy until my 30's when finally the corporate world helped me deal with new people. I still get on "people overload" at times and need a little time off.
3. Most of my life I have disliked the color orange. Now I like it, go figure...LOL!
4. I never had a nickname growing up. I acquired my nickname when I started riding a motorcycle. Long story...another day. 
5. I've never been athletic, not as a kid and not as an adult. I was the one always picked last.
6. Most of my life I've only had one close friend at a time. Lots of acquaintances, not a lot of friends. Blame it on the shyness?
7. I hate formal night on cruises. I'm there to relax and getting dressed up for me is NOT relaxing. LOL!

Now for the 15 blogs...this is tough, I follow so many and on so many topics. Soooo, if you are a blogger and you are reading this blog, please feel free to:

1. Post a comment with your blog link and a brief description of topic
2. Copy the image above and save it to post on YOUR blog
3. Use the rules above in your blog (award it the way you prefer)

Simple, right? But no claiming it without a comment, that's how new readers are going to find you. Enjoy!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Some emergency Saturday help...

I posted this on My Write Spot but figured some of our RVing and motorcycle friends could use it, too.

Enjoy....we'll be back at Cracker Barrel for breakfast with a friend, might have to pick up a couple for the freezer. ;-)

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Checking in....

Things are still going well here. This is Stu's last week of PT, at least outside the home. This weekend we plan to move from our stepdaughter's yard over to Stu's oldest daughters yard. We'll be there for two weeks, getting our grandbaby fix before heading to TN. We might even manage to get on the motorcycles!!

We also will be attending Stu's twin granddaughter's high school graduation. They recently had their senior prom, thought we'd share a couple of photos. Great gals!!





Sadie is still enjoying her sister time, they will definitely miss each other when we leave.





For those so inclined, please visit this page to read the nine entries in a flash fiction contest, then visit here to cast your vote. One of them is mine, but vote your favorite. Some are REALLY good!

We are getting excited now that Stu has progressed so well - we are looking forward to the CMA Music Fest. We will probably just do the evening main events, saving our energy and avoiding the heat of the day.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Still playing with Sissy....

I'm still playing with Sissy most every day but mommy insists on giving me a bath too often. I don't understand. Just cause it's been rainy, wet and muddy...she has wipes she can use on me. Jeesh....

Isn't she pretty?


She looks like our mommy, I look like our daddy.


We love playing and I'm as big as she is now!






Sniffing and lickingly yours,
Sadie

---

More writing news!

I've just learned that my flash fiction story, The Taxi Ride, has been accepted for inclusion in the National Flash Fiction Day, May 16th 2012.

Stories will be displayed continuously for 24 hours featuring writers of all genres, flash fiction stories of 500 words or less. If you Twitter, the hashtags are #NFFD and #nationalflashfictionday.

My story is scheduled for display at 8 pm (BST) which converts to 3 pm (EST).

For those that don't know about flash fiction,  here is the definition from Wikipedia:

Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps as low as three hundred words, while others consider stories as long as a thousand words to be flash fiction.

I have fallen in love with writing flash fiction, participating weekly (when time allows) in Lillie McFerrin's 5 sentence fiction. You can see my stories here.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support...now back to working on my romance novel.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

My ebook error!!

My apologies to anyone who has downloaded the book today and found the images were missing. I have corrected this and uploaded the new file but it will be tomorrow before that version is available.

If you downloaded either of the books, but ESPECIALLY the A to Z in 10 by 10, PLEASE go to your Kindle Manager page and send it to your device again.

Thank you for your understanding....and if you have friends who might have downloaded the incomplete version, please let them know as well.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu 

Mother's Day and a freebie in her honor...

sometime in 1948

My mother died from a heart attack in 1985. She never met my late husband Mike nor my current husband, Stu, but I hope she is watching over us and that she knows how wonderful my life has been. She was 61 when she died, I've outlived her by almost four years now

My brother recently found some old slides, cleaned them up as best he could and scanned them. The photo on the left is me at maybe age one and my mother. I adjusted the colors a little and I treasure this long lost photo.

She had a tough life growing up as an orphan in the foster care system in Massachusetts. In the 1920's and 30's, foster children were often placed as household help, farm help, babysitters and for the lucky, as companions for only children. She told us stories of her placements, her favorite being a companion to the only daughter of a physician. Others weren't as pleasant and she didn't talk that much about them.

In her teen years she was placed in a wonderful home with two other foster children as companions to the only child. She spent the rest of her unmarried life there and I gained a set of grandparents as well as aunts and eventually uncles and cousins. She attended nursing school at Children's Hospital in Boston, becoming an R.N., a career she followed till her death.

In her honor and in honor of all my past mothers-in-law as well as all my wonderful daughters, step-daughers and daughters-in-law, my original short stories are FREE on Amazon today only. Please pass the links along to your friends and I hope you enjoy the stories.
[NOTE: You don't have to have a Kindle to download and read these. All you need is the Amazon Reader software on your computer, tablet or Smartphone. DOWNLOAD HERE]

A-Z in 10x10
 
 
Tagged

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

The joys of truck ownership....

Wednesday started out like any other day....alarm woke us, breakfast eaten, lunch packed, and headed out to PT in Annapolis by 9 am. Stu had a good PT session, we enjoyed the atrium views while we ate our lunch and then Stu had his surgical follow-up appointment at 1:15 (same building, different floor).

His check-up went very well and he won't go back till we return to the area in the fall. A gorgeous spring day greeted us as we went outside to head home. Climb into Scooby (our pickup truck)....the starter doesn't catch. We try several times, no go. Stu digs out the few tools he had stored, beat on the starter, no go.

Fortunately, as stated in an earlier post, we had our Good Sam Road Service card stored on my phone (the original card is in Freddie, our Freightliner). We called and they told us the tow would arrive in 100 minutes or less. We settle in for a wait, thank goodness for Kindles & smartphones.

120 minutes later, no tow truck, Stu's phone rings and it's Good Sam checking to see if we've been picked up. We tell them no, they contact the tow company who says they are 5 minutes away, they were delayed by traffic.

That we could understand since for the last 90 minutes there had been sirens wailing as police cars screamed down the road in front of the hospital and helicopters whirling overhead. Turns out that during a traffic stop, two suspects had exited the car and took off running...just down the road from us.

The tow truck arrived about 4:30 and managed to get Scooby loaded. They only had room for one passenger so I called Enterprise for a rental...thank goodness they pickup! They took Scooby to the closest Pep Boys where Stu arranged for a new starter to be ordered and installed while I went to Enterprise to complete the paperwork.

Finally we were headed home and Stu thought we deserved a little break so we headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Nice end to a very long day!

$500 later (repair + car + fuel) Scooby is back home, the little Chevy HHR is back at Enterprise and some other day I'll tell you about my HHR fuel escapade. [snicker]

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

It's official - I'm published!

My flash fiction, The Dance, was accepted for inclusion in the new e-book, "I Am Woman  Anthology - Vol 1". This book was published to help women in need. From the website:

"This collection features fictional stories and poems written by women from all over the world. It is a celebration of womanhood, of overcoming hard times and enjoying the good. Each story or poem, in its own way, illustrates the capacity every woman has for courage and strength, no matter what the circumstances.

The 'I Am Woman' campaign is about using our voices to help other women. To raise awareness of women across the planet who have in effect 'lost their voice' or had it taken away either through, fear, abuse, illness or war. We must speak for them until they can do it for themselves.

Proceeds from this book will be are shared equally between Women’s Aid, Breakthrough and Women for Women. No costs will be deducted."

I am proud to be included with this wonderful group of women and to be able to help the cause of women in need. I hope you will consider getting your own copy and passing the link along to your family and friends.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Not much new....

Not much new to report. Stu is still in PT, at least for this week. He's close to what the therapist wants to see but not quite there. We don't want to rush things, we want the optimal results. I think Stu is happiest about the more than 10#s he's lost

The motorcycles are still loaded in the garage and we suspect the batteries will need charging before we pull them out. It's been close to 8 weeks...soon though, soon!

I read a great blog post this morning and I wanted to pass it along to my readers and I hope you will pass it along as well. Worth the time to read it: Learning From Others’ Regrets

Sadie is growing up quickly, learning to defer to her elders (both her sister and 'us'). Now we have to work on getting her to come when we call. She's gotten big but still loves her snuggle time on the sofa.


She also really loves her play time with her older sister, Fiona.





Sorry we don't have much more to report. Our days are filled with the generalities of every day life. LOL!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Rambling, Rumbling & Tips

Just popping in for a quick post to pass along a few things I thought might be of interest.

First is a great post from Apartment Therapy: 10 Snapshots You Should Keep in Your Phone's Photo Album. You probably won't use all of these, especially if you are a full-time RVer, but there are some good suggestions. I'd never thought about the prescription bottle photos. We do often take photos of serial numbers on products we buy or labels in stores for later reference.

We've scanned/uploaded to phone or taken photos of our various membership cards (Escapees, Good Sam, AARP, Elks, road service, etc). If needed, we have the front and the back. We also scan/upload Sadie's shot record and rabies certificate. Much easier than carrying paper with us when out and about. We can always retrieve the hard copy later if needed.

Another good tip comes from Apartment Therapy for those that use the online Gmail interface.  How To Make the New Gmail Look More Like the Old Version

Recently I've found several fun sites online where you can manipulate photos, create text images and lots more. Here's a list for you to check out, each one offers something different.

• FunPhotoBox 
• LoonaPix
• Pixlr
• PicMonkey
• Tagxedo - Word Cloud with Styles
• Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds
• TypoEffects
• Flaming Text
• Cool Text
• Superstickies
• Photo Caption Bubble
• ACME License Maker

See, I can talk about something besides Stu and his knees.....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

The dreaded broom....

I don't like the broom cause one day when I was little, I went to get toy that was by the broom and it fell down and made a really loud sound and skeered me!

Today mommy was playing toss for me and look what she did!



That's just plain mean, isn't it!

Sniffing and lickingly yours,
Sadie

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