July 4th, 2015 Saturday
We are in Elkhart Indiana visiting our friends Terry and Dale and fur kids Butterscotch and Duchess. We came over on the 2nd to just get away for a few days. While here we did NOTHING! Was a great chance to take it easy and visit. We sat around the campfire until mosquito's chased us in.
The ride over was fantastic, no wind and the motor-home drove wonderful, our fuel mileage is up from last time but we did not tow the car this time. Jessie has decided she prefers the couch down while traveling so she has more room. Easy fix to make her feel safe.
Saturday night was full of fireworks we were able to just watch though the windshield as there were at leave 4 sets going off in all different directions! Pretty neat displays. Jessie at first was a little nervous but soon because comfortable with the annoying noise.
Next planned outing is to Maumee State Park for a few days next month.We have not been there before and wanted to be up by the lake.
Monday, July 06, 2015
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
First day of school for Jessie
Today was Jessie's first day of school!
We worked with her all week a couple times a day on sitting by hand commands and shaking hands. At school when she arrived there were probably a dozen other dogs and a bunch were barking and carrying on and Jess was excited but didn't bark. After about 10 minutes most of the dogs settled down once the class started.....just like kids! Lol. Jess got to show her new skills to the teacher who was very happy and she got a couple new homework assignments for this week. This week she is learning heel, come command and heel and wait command.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Deanna's Birthday!
June 13th, 2015 Saturday 89*
Today is Deanna's Birthday!
We started out this morning planning on hitting the Military Appreciation Day and 50th Vietnam War anniversary. Had some really cool airplanes there making fly by's and take off and landings. We wondered around a while and eventually headed over to the area where the helicopters were and military vehicle display. Today they are selling rides on a Huey and Cobra Attack Chopper. Out of the clear blue my scared to death of heights wife says "I think we should fly on that!" WHAT? She did this years ago at the Strawberry festival, she saw a Bell helicopter flying over and said she wanted to ride on it, so we did! I didn't expect for her to ever say that again but she surprised me :). She just had a feeling it was something she had to do. Well it IS her birthday! So I purchased a ticket for us. The ride is probably about 8-10 minutes long. A few in flight maneuvers but nothing drastic but gave you the idea of what it was like for soldiers to rely on these old but dependable birds. I can only imagine that the sound of those blades slapping the wind we the greatest sound in their life when they were coming to extract or support them in battle.
Here is a shortened video of the ride.
Right before getting on the chopper Bill showed up. By the time we got off the Huey he is telling us he is going to go up in the Cobra Attack Chopper. Coool! Deanna said that she thought I needed to do that. I was fine with the Huey ride because we got to do it together but she convinced me to take the Cobra ride......it didn't take a lot though :D
That ride was also about 8 minutes long but quite a different ride as the Cobra is very sleek and capable of very drastic aerobatic moves. This is a 2 seat chopper and you sit in the front seat, very skinny profile so it was more difficult to hit from the ground and fast! Below is a pic of the dash, the speed is almost 130 Knots which is about 150 mph. Elevation is about 770 feet
Today is Deanna's Birthday!
We started out this morning planning on hitting the Military Appreciation Day and 50th Vietnam War anniversary. Had some really cool airplanes there making fly by's and take off and landings. We wondered around a while and eventually headed over to the area where the helicopters were and military vehicle display. Today they are selling rides on a Huey and Cobra Attack Chopper. Out of the clear blue my scared to death of heights wife says "I think we should fly on that!" WHAT? She did this years ago at the Strawberry festival, she saw a Bell helicopter flying over and said she wanted to ride on it, so we did! I didn't expect for her to ever say that again but she surprised me :). She just had a feeling it was something she had to do. Well it IS her birthday! So I purchased a ticket for us. The ride is probably about 8-10 minutes long. A few in flight maneuvers but nothing drastic but gave you the idea of what it was like for soldiers to rely on these old but dependable birds. I can only imagine that the sound of those blades slapping the wind we the greatest sound in their life when they were coming to extract or support them in battle.
Here is a shortened video of the ride.
Right before getting on the chopper Bill showed up. By the time we got off the Huey he is telling us he is going to go up in the Cobra Attack Chopper. Coool! Deanna said that she thought I needed to do that. I was fine with the Huey ride because we got to do it together but she convinced me to take the Cobra ride......it didn't take a lot though :D
That ride was also about 8 minutes long but quite a different ride as the Cobra is very sleek and capable of very drastic aerobatic moves. This is a 2 seat chopper and you sit in the front seat, very skinny profile so it was more difficult to hit from the ground and fast! Below is a pic of the dash, the speed is almost 130 Knots which is about 150 mph. Elevation is about 770 feet
Below is Bill in the Cobra
Below is T28 coming in for landing
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Doggy School Days
June 10th, 2015 Wednesday
Well an update on Jessie, we are 6 full months into being her parents and we couldn't be happier! She is a very talented and well behaved fur child EXCEPT for walking on a leash! We have enrolled her in obedience class that runs for 8 weeks. The first week only the parents were to attend so they could train us!
K9Kollege is the place we signed her up with. Our first class lasted about an hour and a half. We were told how to go about training and when to use the clicker. We got some homework sheets and we were off.
We didn't start working with Jess till the next day. The first exercise was to teach her to shake hands. Well that took about 5 minutes because when food is involved Jessie is ALL IN! She learned just that fast! She already knew how to sit as Deanna taught her that so she could control her when she feeds her. Sit and shake were the 2 major homework assignments, a couple of what they call doggy Zens, one was to show her a treat but don't let her have it till she quits licking or nibbling at your hands....Check! The other was to hold a piece of food about 15" to the side of your head. The object is to get the dog to look at you and not the treat. Check! So we have been working each night for 10 minutes or so and she is doing well. Next Tuesday is her first night so will be interesting to see what happens and how her attention span is with all the other dogs. Coming from the shelter she was pretty well socialized and doesn't mind other dogs unless they make an aggressive move or lunges at her then all bets are off!
Early on like just the first week was a challenge as Jess would not use the restroom on a leash. We would take her to the ball field where it is fenced in and she would run straight over and poop. Not on a leash though. We can only imagine she was beat for messing at the wrong time and wrong place. Took a while but I got her confident enough to not be afraid. Took some treats and lots of praise but she overcame it. We had contracted to have a fence put up but they were not going to be able to do it till mid January and this is first week of December. It was a challenge to get up and walk her every morning at 5am, at noon, when I got home from work and then again around 10 pm ESPECIALLY when the temps were below zero. We even tried getting her a dog pen so she could be off leash but that didn't work either, she was even afraid of the doghouse I bought her and to this day STILL will not go inside it.
We wondered what would happen once the fence was up and fortunately she did good with it. She would go out in the morning and do her thing and then I would walk her in the evening. Its the leash thing that drove us to enroll her in obedience class. While she is mild mannered she pulls like a Clydesdale when walking. Not very much fun.
She has her favorite toys and she loves to chew up tennis balls but spits it all out in pretty much a pile.
She is adjusting well and goes back often to visit her friends at Paws!
This is Nita!
This is Matt!
Well an update on Jessie, we are 6 full months into being her parents and we couldn't be happier! She is a very talented and well behaved fur child EXCEPT for walking on a leash! We have enrolled her in obedience class that runs for 8 weeks. The first week only the parents were to attend so they could train us!
K9Kollege is the place we signed her up with. Our first class lasted about an hour and a half. We were told how to go about training and when to use the clicker. We got some homework sheets and we were off.
We didn't start working with Jess till the next day. The first exercise was to teach her to shake hands. Well that took about 5 minutes because when food is involved Jessie is ALL IN! She learned just that fast! She already knew how to sit as Deanna taught her that so she could control her when she feeds her. Sit and shake were the 2 major homework assignments, a couple of what they call doggy Zens, one was to show her a treat but don't let her have it till she quits licking or nibbling at your hands....Check! The other was to hold a piece of food about 15" to the side of your head. The object is to get the dog to look at you and not the treat. Check! So we have been working each night for 10 minutes or so and she is doing well. Next Tuesday is her first night so will be interesting to see what happens and how her attention span is with all the other dogs. Coming from the shelter she was pretty well socialized and doesn't mind other dogs unless they make an aggressive move or lunges at her then all bets are off!
Early on like just the first week was a challenge as Jess would not use the restroom on a leash. We would take her to the ball field where it is fenced in and she would run straight over and poop. Not on a leash though. We can only imagine she was beat for messing at the wrong time and wrong place. Took a while but I got her confident enough to not be afraid. Took some treats and lots of praise but she overcame it. We had contracted to have a fence put up but they were not going to be able to do it till mid January and this is first week of December. It was a challenge to get up and walk her every morning at 5am, at noon, when I got home from work and then again around 10 pm ESPECIALLY when the temps were below zero. We even tried getting her a dog pen so she could be off leash but that didn't work either, she was even afraid of the doghouse I bought her and to this day STILL will not go inside it.
We wondered what would happen once the fence was up and fortunately she did good with it. She would go out in the morning and do her thing and then I would walk her in the evening. Its the leash thing that drove us to enroll her in obedience class. While she is mild mannered she pulls like a Clydesdale when walking. Not very much fun.
She has her favorite toys and she loves to chew up tennis balls but spits it all out in pretty much a pile.
She is adjusting well and goes back often to visit her friends at Paws!
Here are the people who took care of Jess daily
This is Nita!
This is Matt!Friday, June 05, 2015
Elkhart weekend
May 28th, 2015
Now that we have acquired our new motorhome we wanted to give it a good test. We left on a Thursday before Memorial day for Elkhart Indiana to visit our friends Terry and Dale Pace. Trip is about 210 miles one way and that would be a long enough drive to get a feel for the new rig. We had been a couple of times to Kiser Lake but that is only a few miles up the road but was a good test for any issues.
The trip over was pretty windy, lots of cross winds. I have made several changes to the chassis to help it handle better like changed the sway bar settings to help prevent roll of the body, installed Sumo Springs to help cushion the hard bumps, steering stabilizer to aid in the effort to steer and control should we ever have a blow out and last I built a Track Bar for the rear of the chassis to stop sway from approaching or passing trucks. All those certainly benefited the ride and control but there is nothing you can do with a gas rig to prevent cross wind from pushing you around. Diesel Pushers are quite a bit heavier and handle better as I recall from when we had our Monocrapo DP.
Anyway the ride over wasn't too bad, hopefully the wife gets a better ride in these seats than the others we have owned and Jessie seems to find the couch quite comfortable for riding. :)
Took us about 4-1/2 hours to get there with a few stops and one of those was for fuel once we were on the toll road and close to Elkhart. Our mileage was 6.3, about what was expected since we were towing our Honda Fit on a tow dolly. Our last motorhome lost about 1 to 1-1/2 mpg towing. Trip was pretty uneventful.
We were here for 5 days and lots of eating and enjoying the company was had. First day we hit the RV surplus stores and then to Essenhaus for lunch! Had the buffet with everything you can imagine.
Up till Friday evening the campground was pretty quiet but then the holiday campers started rolling in. Kids were playing and dogs were barking so pretty much a typical outing except a little more intense :)
Saturday Dale and I went to a pond that was opened last year across the tracks from Goshen Fairgrounds. It use to be a gravel pit and I toted along the Kayaks so Dale could see if she liked it. Had a great time, only half a dozen people on the water and no power boats or swimming allowed. Dale said the shallow end was 172' deep and they don't know about the deep end! Was a little intimidating at first but the water is so clear it was incredible! You could see fish swimming below you 20' probably.
Terry was walking around the path that circles the pond and took the above picture. I think we were discussing some pretty high priority scientific scenarios.
So we spent about an hour and a half on the pond, Terry at one point got bored waiting and left to run an errand. It was a great time and relaxing.
Now that we have acquired our new motorhome we wanted to give it a good test. We left on a Thursday before Memorial day for Elkhart Indiana to visit our friends Terry and Dale Pace. Trip is about 210 miles one way and that would be a long enough drive to get a feel for the new rig. We had been a couple of times to Kiser Lake but that is only a few miles up the road but was a good test for any issues.
The trip over was pretty windy, lots of cross winds. I have made several changes to the chassis to help it handle better like changed the sway bar settings to help prevent roll of the body, installed Sumo Springs to help cushion the hard bumps, steering stabilizer to aid in the effort to steer and control should we ever have a blow out and last I built a Track Bar for the rear of the chassis to stop sway from approaching or passing trucks. All those certainly benefited the ride and control but there is nothing you can do with a gas rig to prevent cross wind from pushing you around. Diesel Pushers are quite a bit heavier and handle better as I recall from when we had our Monocrapo DP.
Anyway the ride over wasn't too bad, hopefully the wife gets a better ride in these seats than the others we have owned and Jessie seems to find the couch quite comfortable for riding. :)
Took us about 4-1/2 hours to get there with a few stops and one of those was for fuel once we were on the toll road and close to Elkhart. Our mileage was 6.3, about what was expected since we were towing our Honda Fit on a tow dolly. Our last motorhome lost about 1 to 1-1/2 mpg towing. Trip was pretty uneventful.
We were here for 5 days and lots of eating and enjoying the company was had. First day we hit the RV surplus stores and then to Essenhaus for lunch! Had the buffet with everything you can imagine.
Up till Friday evening the campground was pretty quiet but then the holiday campers started rolling in. Kids were playing and dogs were barking so pretty much a typical outing except a little more intense :)
Saturday Dale and I went to a pond that was opened last year across the tracks from Goshen Fairgrounds. It use to be a gravel pit and I toted along the Kayaks so Dale could see if she liked it. Had a great time, only half a dozen people on the water and no power boats or swimming allowed. Dale said the shallow end was 172' deep and they don't know about the deep end! Was a little intimidating at first but the water is so clear it was incredible! You could see fish swimming below you 20' probably.
So we spent about an hour and a half on the pond, Terry at one point got bored waiting and left to run an errand. It was a great time and relaxing.
Later that afternoon I took Deanna back so she could see the place and we walked Jessie around the lake.
Later that evening was slated for a Dairy Queen required run.
Sunday we went to a gun show and flea Market at the RV museum center, sounds like a weird place but it is more than just the museum there. Only purchase as a couple of hats but had a fun time looking. Then back to campground for some lunch.
Monday was just lounging around and it rained off and on all day long.
Tuesday is head for home day, we wanted to get an early start and had everything packed and ready to go by 9 but the motorhome had other plans. Started out with the slide not coming in. Ironic that we were in the same town it was built in. :) Anyway called Thor and they had me check a few things but that didn't work so they were trying to contact someone else for information. In the meantime I called Lippert who made the system and they gave me a couple things to try which also didn't help. After messing around with it I magically got it to work. OK now we are ready to go.......NOPE, now the jacks wont come up! Once again a call to Thor and we got those working. The first tech called back and wanted me to take it by a shop they recommend which was pretty much on our way home anyway so we did. He looked at it and said without it messing up he couldn't trouble shoot it but while there I had him add a seal to the slide I was afraid would end up leaking. So it was definitely worth going there and I think I will use this guy for our service even though 4 hours away.
Rest of the trip was no issue except still having bad cross winds of 20+ mph but we made it home without anything else going wrong. Was a great 5 days and nice to get away.
Ms Jessie hanging out!
As you can see she brought her toy box with her.
Oh and Ms Jessie's biggest nose fan Terry
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Paws Visit
May 14th, 2015
Today I took Jess to get her nails trimmed and her weight checked. We some how fattened her up by 5 lbs between December and January. The vet wanted her to LOSE 10 pounds. Oops! She is doing better now and is getting her weight down thanks to a diet food she loves............well she loves ALL food. We never feed her people food and she doesn't beg.
On the way to the vet we passed her previous home of Paws Animal Shelter and I saw someone laying on the ground out in the pen playing with the dogs and I knew it had to be Nita! So on the way home we stopped to visit her. Here is the facebook post about it:Visit to paws
Here is what Jess had to say. First, that she loved seeing Nita and missed her so and all the dress ups she used to do with her and the belly rubs. Ms Nita cried when she first saw me and I ran up to her and kissed her, we had a great time and I told her I would come back again and visit her and my other friends like Matt below
Today I took Jess to get her nails trimmed and her weight checked. We some how fattened her up by 5 lbs between December and January. The vet wanted her to LOSE 10 pounds. Oops! She is doing better now and is getting her weight down thanks to a diet food she loves............well she loves ALL food. We never feed her people food and she doesn't beg.
On the way to the vet we passed her previous home of Paws Animal Shelter and I saw someone laying on the ground out in the pen playing with the dogs and I knew it had to be Nita! So on the way home we stopped to visit her. Here is the facebook post about it:Visit to paws
Then Jessie had this thought about the hallway she was in:
I hated that hallway, lots of people would come down that hallway and walk past my cage and not see me at all. I spent almost 8 months watching the door that came from that hallway!
I loved that hallway, all my friends at Paws would come down that hallway every morning and feed, pet and play with me and they did it every day. I waited each morning for that door to open and the hallway that brought my friends.
Then the day came that my parents walked down that hallway and came in and saw me and asked if I wanted to go home with them. I wagged my tail and stared into my new moms eyes and she could see that I really did, then they walked back down that hall way and left me. I didn't understand.
The next day they came back and took me out of my cage and we walked down that hallway together and out the door to my new home!
Now that hallway is just a hallway!
Friday, November 28, 2014
Dog Days
November 28th, 2014
Well, today is my mothers birthday. She has been gone for 28 years and I still wish I could talk to her. Happy Birthday Mom!
Also after a hiatus of about 3-1/2 years we have decided to look for a new fur child (dog). I am writing this after the fact so don't get confused. :)
We stopped at the humane society in Springfield only to be told they were not open today. We thought we should go rescue a dog from Paws Animal Shelter in Champaign County. It was always hard to walk into shelters and seeing all the faces of the dogs wanting a new set of parents after being betrayed by the previous ones, yet still trusting in that you will give them new life. As we walked by the cages I was ahead of Deanna and I was just trying to get an overview of what types of dogs were there. Deanna on the other hand had already found that furever member of our family. Meet Jessie:
Well, today is my mothers birthday. She has been gone for 28 years and I still wish I could talk to her. Happy Birthday Mom!
Also after a hiatus of about 3-1/2 years we have decided to look for a new fur child (dog). I am writing this after the fact so don't get confused. :)
We stopped at the humane society in Springfield only to be told they were not open today. We thought we should go rescue a dog from Paws Animal Shelter in Champaign County. It was always hard to walk into shelters and seeing all the faces of the dogs wanting a new set of parents after being betrayed by the previous ones, yet still trusting in that you will give them new life. As we walked by the cages I was ahead of Deanna and I was just trying to get an overview of what types of dogs were there. Deanna on the other hand had already found that furever member of our family. Meet Jessie:
Deanna came to Jessie's cage and she set there just like this, perfectly quiet and wagging her tail, their eyes met and Deanna asked her if she wanted to come home with us and the deal was sealed!
We filled out the paperwork and were told it would take a few days to approve the application. They asked who our vet was and we told them Urbana Vet clinic and gave the names of our dogs. Surprisingly the next morning we got a call we could come pick Jessie up! I was at the Home Depot store when I got the call. I called Deanna and told her I would be on my way and we could go get her. First though was a stop at PetSmart for a couple hundred dollars worth of doggy stuff! LOL.
We would really like to thank Paws and especially Nita and Matthew for caring for Jessie during her stay and also all the people who didn't see what a great dog Jessie was and walked on by her leaving her for us to find!
We are proud to say we are rescuers of a pet in need!
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