January Potpourri...

Yes, it's been a while since we blogged and figured it was time for an update. The first week of January, we changed RV parks. We have a nice, long, graveled site. No matter there aren't trees since the weather is cool here during the winter.

The park we are in now has a dog run and boy, do the #2doods ever love that! Take a peek...

In fact they have adjusted wonderfully to the RV lifestyle although we are still working on "ignoring" other dogs when out walking. LOL! Here are a few pics.

Waiting for the okay to lick the peanut butter spoon...


Ringing the bell and waiting to go out...


Freshly groomed...


Showing good walking manners...

We are still adjusting to cooking in the rig, sticking to our low carb WOE (way of eating). We forgot we have this Liddle Griddle. Now it gets used for bacon, sausage, and eggs as well as banana pancakes.

On my author blog, I posted about setting up our RV office using the dining room table. We have been using the campground WiFi but unless we changed sites to move closer to the router, we found we use our phone's hotspot more often than not. When I was in the laundry house, the WiFi was strong and fast, so we researched a solution. Over the years we have talked off and on about this but the only recommended solution was in the $500-600 range.

Well, things seem to have improved with newer technology and we ordered this Alfa WiFi Camp Pro 2 long range Wi-Fi repeater kit with free shipping from Rokland for $140. We figured it was worth a try. It arrived quickly and using a Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter for our MacBooks, Stu had it set up quickly. We wanted to see how well it worked before mounting the antenna outside.

Guess what? We ended up with fast speeds with the antenna inside, hanging from the lights over our dining table! Seriously! So that is where it sits and we are thrilled!!

Next up, our latest cruise...

Ciao for now!

A little iPhone/Siri humor....

I tend to use Siri for calculations (how many teaspoons in 1/4 of a tablespoon, what is 96 divided by 18 - that sort of thing). I usually keep my iPhone face down so Siri doesn't accidentally get activated.

Recently, after the latest iOS update, I've had to reboot both my iPhone and iPad frequently due to apps not responding. Today, I was struggling to reboot the phone and Siri popped open, asking me how she could help.

My response was after the third time the Siri window popped open was "I just want to start the damn thing." (or something similar to that).

This is what she responded with...had me laughing for several minutes.

Ciao for now!

Shopping...a little of this, a little of that

Living 30 minutes from major shopping of any sort, we still use our Amazon Prime membership a lot. But with the competition from Walmart, we also do price comparisons before clicking the buy button. Rock Island Auto is another favorite site for car parts and of course, Lowe's and Home Depot.

A few of the things we've bought online recently have been an extra set of mulching blades for Stu's new zero-turn mower, oil filters for the Jeep as well as both the lawn tractor, long handle loppers and zero-turn, descaling solution for our Keurig and a wireless extender for better Wi-Fi reception in our office.

Some of the more fun things we recently bought were...

LED Mini Flashlight - 2 pack

I love these. Small but bright, running on one AA battery. Drop it in a purse, stash it in a nightstand, put one in the glove box - perfect for just about anywhere.

Anker Ultra Compact Slim Profile Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard with Rechargeable Battery

Stu's new desk has a slide-out shelf for a keyboard and since he is using it more (to write his blog posts for Backend of Nowhere Garage), we ordered this. Works well, was easy to pair to his MacBook Air.

Tervis Star Wars 24 oz Tumbler

I already had two 24 oz Tervis cups, it was time to get Stu a second one before he wore this one out completely.

Water Flosser (corded)

We had a Waterpik, rechargeable, but the battery died and a new NiCad one was almost the price of a new device. Stu decided he wanted a corded one and this is the one we chose. It's working well and he really likes it. Does a great job!

 

 Camper Bean Pot Mug  ~   Crab Bean Pot Mug 

There are two more in this set that I'd still like to get - a moose and a scene showing two Adirondack chairs looking out on the water. Another one is a lighthouse, but think I will stop at four. LOL!

And, of course, we couldn't forget the #2Doods!

Yaky Chews (Himalayan Cheese Chews)

Elk Antlers

Ciao for now!

Karma! (but not the Buddhist doctrine)

As full-time RVers, we needed a way to connect to the Internet while traveling. Since 2006, I had a Verizon Aircard with unlimited use. It was wonderful but for $70 a month, we opted to drop it when we moved to Ecuador.

We have DSL when we are on our property in Tennessee and we hop on to our stepdaughter's WiFi when parked in her driveway in Maryland. But last year we realized we were going to have an issue when parked in Stu's oldest daughter's yard in Delaware. She is a on a pay-as-you-go Internet plan and it was inconvenient for her and us to constantly have to add use.

So we've been watching for a good WiFi pay-as-you-go for us, not wanting to sign up for a contract. When we read about Karma, it sounded like a good plan for us.

When we checked it out a couple of months ago, they were sold out and anticipating having more available in August. Visiting their page a couple days ago, we found that we could pre-order and it should arrive early on in our visit to the states this fall. Of course this is only good in the US and only where they have coverage - and they do have coverage where we need it in Delaware.

When you buy data (in GBs), it never expires. At $14 per gigabyte, its data prices are more expensive than some other alternatives , but less expensive than places like hotels and airports that sell WiFi access. We love its "buy it and forget it" model for data usage, which allows you to truly pay as you go for your data.

If you have a need for "sometime" data access and don't want a monthly contract, check out Karma. (And we will report in after using it this fall while traveling and parked in Delaware.)

TECHNOLOGY: Great Home or Travel Accessory

We tend to travel with a lot of electronics: two Kindle e-readers, two cell phones, two iPads and often one if not two laptops. This means carrying a mass of cables and adapters/chargers, being careful of wattage requirements for the newer iPads (or other tablets, when we had Kindle Fires).

Over the years we have tried and tossed many different adapter/charger combinations, usually settling for a duplicate of what comes with our device pre-stashed in our toiletry bag. We even bought laptop bags that came with a battery and a host of charging plugs, handy but heavy.

While Stu was in the US, I ordered two of these SHARKK® 25W 5-Port USB Wall Plug Family-Sized Charger/Adapter from Amazon. As soon as he unpacked it, he put it to use. HUGE hit! He easily plugged in and charged his iPad Air, Kindle e-reader, iPod and Android phone. No muss, no fuss!

We can now travel with the one stashed in our luggage and the other works in our house. OR we can each put one with our travel stuff. Hmmm, thinking I may get two more when we are in the US this fall.

Oh, but you STILL have to remember to bring your cables! ;)

*for Apple iPad Air / iPad Mini / iPad mini Retina / iPhone 5 / 5S / 5C / All Apple Phones and Tablets / Android Smartphones & Tablets / Samsung Galaxy / Samsung Tab / Samsung Note / And other USB-Powered Devices

Thinking about buying a Kindle Reader or Fire?

If you've ever considered buying a Kindle Reader or Kindle Fire but were worried about paying the full price in one payment, now might be the time to re-consider. Amazon has started a payment plan that removes some of the pain. Of course, this could be the perfect time to upgrade as well!

The plan is simple - Make your first payment of 20% at checkout. Pay the remaining balance in four equal monthly installments.

• No interest
• No finance charges
• No hidden fees
• No credit check or application required

One caveat: This offer is limited to one Kindle e-reader or Kindle Fire tablet per customer.

So what do you need to do? Simple!

First step - pick your Kindle by reading the specs for each.

• Basic Kindle Reader
• Kindle Paperlight
• Kindle Fire (multiple models)

Final step - go to THIS PAGE to start the purchase process. Of course if you already know which model you want, go directly to THIS PAGE to start the purchase process. Enjoy!

And of course, if you need some books on your new Kindle, I hope you will consider some of mine as well as friends Nick Russell, Brandon Hale, Russell Blake, as well as your current favorite authors!

Busy - or not?

We've been busy since Stu got home...honest. It hasn't all been naps, watching recorded TV shows,movie and dinner with friends. No, there's been laundry, house cleaning, unpacking/repacking the motorcycle all interspersed with naps. Today is the first day in what seems like two weeks without rain. It has rained every day since Stu got home.

In case you were wondering, he still hasn't pulled his photos off the camera so they can be uploaded. But soon...honest! This will be another busy week for us. I'm heading to McDonald's daily to work on "Barely a Spark" and Stu has to get us ready to move the rig to Chattanooga next Sunday. Here's hoping the repairs get done in the week they projected! Thursday we'll be meeting some motorcycle friends from TX as they rush through on their way to a gathering in WV. First Cracker Barrel visit in months!

Here's some news for anyone with a Kindle, Kindle Fire or Kindle app (phone/tablet/laptop).

Automatic Book Update
Opt in for automatic book updates to receive new versions of your books when we have confirmed that improvements were made. In order to retain your notes, highlights, bookmarks and furthest reading locations, ensure that all your Kindle devices and reading apps have the "Annotation Back Up" setting turned on.

So how do you turn this on? Easy-peasy. CLICK HERE and then click the Learn More link in the yellow box at the top. You'll be take to a page where you can turn this new option ON. No more coming back and figuring out what books have updates. Now they will be automatically sent to your Kindle.

$50/$30 off Kindle Fire Coupon Code

Here’s a new Kindle Fire coupon for some great discounts -

1. Kindle Fire Coupon is FIRELOVE. You have to enter it at checkout. The final page, where you have to press ‘Confirm’ to send order, has a spot on the right to enter this Kindle Fire Coupon.
2. $30 off on the $299 Kindle Fire HD 16 GB  That makes its price $269.
3. $50 off on the $499 Kindle Fire HD LTE  That makes its price $449.
4. Coupon can only be used once per customer.
5. Valid only in the US.
6. Valid only till February 8th.

Terms and Conditions
• The promotion is valid for a limited time only. Amazon reserves the right to modify or cancel it at any time.
• If you do not purchase the qualifying item when the promotion is in effect, the promotional code will not apply.
• The promotion is limited to one per customer.
• U.S. customers only
• The promotion applies only to Kindle Fire HD 8.9” and Kindle Fire HD 8.9” 4G LTE Wireless devices sold and shipped by Amazon Digital Services. It does not apply to the same products sold by other sellers.
• If you return items purchased using a promotion code, we will subtract the value of the promotion code from your return credit.
• Promotion codes may not be combined with other offers.
• Does not apply to orders placed with 1-Click.
• Offer good while supplies last.
• Void where prohibited.
• If you violate any of the Terms and Conditions, the promotion will be invalid, and the promotional code discount will not apply. 

Enjoy - I love my Kindle Fire HD.

Carbonite offer extended!

In the past I've posted about backing up your computer. It's a known fact, you will experience some type of data loss if you use a computer. How much you lose is up to you.

We all know, if it's not simple and automated, it won't happen. I use two backup methods. First is an automatic backup to an external hard drive. If the computer is on, any changes will be backed up.

Second is the online backup service offered by Carbonite. For Less then $60 a year, I have my laptop backed up automatically - unlimited data. The only requirement is having an Internet connection. There are other plans but this one works well for me.

I just got an email letting me know that the promotion they had last year has been extended. If you sign up using my link we BOTH get a $20 Amazon gift card. How's that for a win-win...

Amazing Laptop Buy!

Some of you may remember when I bought my little Samsung Ultrabook last summer, intending to use it for writing. That worked out wonderfully and I don't regret the purchase at all.

In fact, I note only use it for writing but in the evenings on my lap while 'watching' TV. It's so compact and lightweight but with a full keyboard, it works out perfectly.

I bought the 11.6" model with 2GB of memory and 126GB SSD hard drive. I still have over 30GB free and have downloaded quite a bit of software.

I use Dropbox to keep certain files synched between the two computers and that has worked well. In addition, having a network between all our computers via our router means I have instant access to all my files when I'm home.

So why am I telling you this? Because Amazon has an amazing steal on the larger laptop. If I weren't broke, I'd be snagging one. I paid. $600 for mine, refurbished.  Amazon is offering the larger model with  a 13.3" screen and 4GB memory for....are you ready....$700.

Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D-A01US 13.3-Inch Premium Ultrabook (Silver)

I have no idea how long this deal will last but wanted to pass it along. I LOVE my little Ultrabook!!

How time flies....

It seems like only yesterday that we arrived here in Tennessee. We spent about six weeks at Maple Hill Campground (waving HI to Betty and Klaas DeJong), then we moved to our property for another month with one more week to go.

All our utilities are in for our RV site, including a landline so we could have DSL for our Internet. Unfortunately, our Verizon coverage this far out of town is very iffy. The DSL is great and I can finally get a little more up to date.

So here are some highlights of our time here in TN.

We got a shed which gave us a spot to park the bikes, put our storage stuff and give Stu a workshop.




Stu bought a dump wagon to help him move things around on our property.


We bought a grill (on sale at Lowe's), loving it!




Stu has put a lot of work into fixing the shed up for him. Here are some before photos.




Here are some after photos.






Of course, we now separate, recycle and burn the rest of our trash. Got to love country living.


We've had great weather in the evenings, nice to sit outside and enjoy the sounds and smells.


Stu has enjoyed being able to work on our vehicles. Today he built ramps for Freddie the Freightliner. Of course they are too heavy to move without a handcart...but they worked perfectly.




Sadie loves being here and playing with her BFF, Keta. Sticks are to play with, chase, chew on...




See her smile?


Yup, we now look forward to returning this November...