Goodbye sweetheart!!

As you can tell I haven't posted in quite a while.  I'm enjoying my retirement at my new home in Crossville.  I'm still trying to sell my MH and for the wonderful lady trying to reach me, I left you a PM on the Women RV forum as to how to reach me.

Until I decide when I'll resume my travelling I'm going to suspend my blog.  I'm into crafting quite a bit.  I have a new Cameo vinyl cutter and I'm doing  a lot of vinyl and glass etching.  That's keeping me quite busy as is getting my place looking pretty.  Since I'm in a forested area, you can imagine the amount of leaves around me.    But I'm enjoying my time at home.

Later...

What's been going on...

Not a lot is going on.  I'm working three days a week; hours vary, let's see, can you say 5:30 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. or 10:30- some awesome hour.  Anyway, you get it.  I believe I'll be retiring, again.  Yep, Mickey has disappointed me.  I have had fun twice since I have been there and the rest of the time, not so much.  Bye, bye, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and the rest.  It will probably be in about two weeks.

One of two days I had fun was when I was driving this cart.  Sad...
 

I'm going to sell my 2010 Coachmen Freelander 2100cb Diesel motorhome.  I'll be renting a park model down here next year so as soon as I get back to TN, the Whim will go on the market.  Well, if I had a buyer right now with the right $$ I'd get home some way.  LOL  If you know of anyone wanting to get into the motorhome business, let me know.

Told you not much has been going on.  Friend, Sandra, will be coming down next week.  She is now a retired chickie and she wants to visit Mickey. 

Later...

Update from Disney

I have been having trouble being able to post on my blog so that's why it has taken a little while to give you an update.

I started on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2013 which was a delay of one week because my background check was delayed.  Tuesday I reported to Disney University for my first day of training called, "Traditions."  It's is basically an orientation to Walt Disney.  We also took a tour of Magic Kingdom which included going through the tunnels and appearing on stage through a concealed door.  That's about all I am going to be able to tell you about the course and our tour.  It was a long day and included a lot of walking.

I reported to ESPN Wide World of Sports facility on Friday for an Introduction to Sports class which oriented us to all 274 acres of sports fields.  We walked all the fields, learned where to pick up our costumes and took computer based training (CBT) on Safety and Hazardous Communication Right to Know rules.  Again, another long day and lots of walking.

Going to costumes was not a good experience but at least I got 3 shirts, 3 shorts, jacket, belt and they are some of the coolest costumes in the system.

Back of the jacket

Back of the shirt with the black shorts

Saturday was training on the turnstiles and the various tickets accepted.  It was a very busy day.  There was softball, baseball, college cheer and dance and Kick It 3V3 soccer.  They said it wasn't any busier than when the Atlanta Braves have spring training.  That begins in February and lasts through March.  Half of the day we were in the classroom and the other half we worked the turnstiles.  There are four of us students being trained.

Sunday we actually worked the turnstiles.  Had a first opportunity to be called names by one of our guests.  Guess it's bound to happen when dealing with parents running late and not wanting to follow the rules.  LOL  Anyway, after our 3:00 break, we walked the fields again so we would have a knowledge of where to tell people to go if asked.

Friday will be my next work day and I'll be trained as an usher.  3 days in a row is tough to get back in the swing of things.  My feet ached from being in close toed shoes, remember I haven't had on a pair of close toed shoes since 2009.  Yep, getting up early and getting ready takes some getting used to.  So far so good.

Later...

Look-out Mickey, here I come!!

Finally, I got the much awaited email from Disney that  I had been selected for the position I applied for in October and interviewed for in November.  I had received a couple of emails from them inquiring if I wanted to remain on the wait list. 

I have completed the background check and will be going to Traditions (Disney's indoctrination/orientation) on January 8, 2013.  Then I'll get my schedule and my costume for ticketing at the Wide World of Sports venue on Disney property. 

I am extremely excited.  Let me explain just a little bit.  In my other life, I was in employee development which is a fancy term for the training department of TN Environment and Conservation which housed State Parks in Tennessee.  As part of a training program for customer service we used a training program based on Disney's magical moments.  That was in the early 90's.  Ever since that time I have wanted to work for Disney to find out if what I had trained over 400 employees in was factual.  So I'll find out and I really don't think I'll be disappointed but I'll report later. 

I couldn't very well quit work and come to Disney so I put it on my bucket list and now I can mark 'er done!

Too soon for pictures of my costume but that will come even though it's pretty dull in comparison to some at the different parks.

Later...

12-12-12

I thought it a good day to post to my blog.  Lots of weddings today and 12 is supposed to be a lucky number for a lot of folks.

I'm loving being back in Citrus Ridge.  Margie and I have been busy running around and playing catch up.  She is my landlady and I love my (her) lot.  It's convenient to everything and it's a great place to watch everyone coming and going.

I've been spending a lot of time in the pool, walking and riding my bike.  Of course, Sedona is really enjoying being back in the bicycle.  My knee that was replaced is doing very well.  My other one, well, not so well.  I'll make it though.

Tina comes by just about every evening to take Sedona for a walk and then when Sedona hears Liz's voice she goes crazy to get to her.  Sedona is happy to be back too.

A shopping spree turned up another addition to our traveling family.  It's a lighted, movable parrot.

And you can tell it's Christmas around as everyone has decorated and out my backyard, my neighbor has put up a very large cross.

The cross and fountain at the lake from my lot.

Since I redesigned the Whim's interior, I'm much more comfortable.  I took the horseshoe dinette out and replaced it with a recliner and kitchen cabinet.

The Fabulous Five, sans 1, had our first breakfast out.  Missed you Hannah, get down here.  Tina, Liz, Margie and I went to Perkins and enjoyed our breakfast and conversation very much.  And then, Tina's job at Disney got in the way for this breakfast date this month at Celebration, FL.  Maybe in January we will all be together.

Margie Woodall, Liz Kelley, Carolyn Wilson

On the way back from checking out Hillsborough River State Park for the women's rv get together in January, of course, Margie and I had to stop at Parksdale Farms in Plant City, FL.  While frozen strawberries are being used for sundae's, they won't be serving strawberry shortcakes until January.  The strawberries were still delish...yummy!!

My neighbors from TN are coming down in Jan-Feb so that will be fun.  They are going to be right next door to me, how convenient!  Welcome Linda and Roger.

Well, happy 12-12-12 and I'll update after your Merry Christmas...
Later...

The Lodge

I suppose I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted but here is an update about the Lodge in Deer Run RV Resort (if I have any readers left.)  It's a cozy home for me and I love staying home.  I have some terrific neighbors and there are many activities.

Just as a reminder of what the Lodge looked like when she arrived:

My building is my lifesaver.  I now have a washer/dryer inside.  No hot water but it's all good.

I soon found out how necessary it is to have the Lodge stabilized.  It seems that every time someone walked or rolled over in another room the whole place would shake.  Hence:

Cinder blocks do the trick.

All in all there are six pillars and...

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...additional ones for the two slides.

In addition to the stability I had the toilet plumbed straight into the sewer and the black tank dropped so I don't have to fool with black/grey water emptying.

Then to the underpinning to dress it up a bit.

And to add a little protection to the top, I ordered a Carolina Carport to finish off all my work for the season.

The 12 X 41' topper arrives.

The front gets put in.

Then the rear.

A little grooming has to take place.

All the supports go up.

Good thing it wasn't windy.

The sheeting panels go on.

Getting close to finished.

Add my little sunshine and...

The finished product.

This cover should provide much need shade and protection for me next summer.  That is all I will do for the season.  Next year, I'll put in two ceiling fans and a fire pit and I should be good to go for my TN home.  Guess I forgot to mention I had 5 tons of gravel delivered before the carport could be put on.  So spreading all that gravel did not fare too well for my old body.  Ugh.

For now, I'm in FL at the Thousand Trails cg for a couple of weeks and then I'll move into Citrus Ridge at Margie & Roger's RV lot and be ready for a wonderful winter.

A Whim Update

I really have been a little busy while staying put.  Once I got the Whim back from the slide repair I began working on removing the horseshoe dinnette so I could have more space for a recliner and chest.

Before:  With dinette intact.

The wood portion removed & saved, just in case...

D is our POA president and a darn good electrician.

I removed all seat belts but one to be used for the recliner when traveling.

All finished & ready for furniture.

I am still deciding what chest to put in here.  The dinette afforded so much storage for me that I'm looking for something to replace that and add to the counter space so badly needed.  I already have my recliner and steps for Sedona to get into bed.  She always used the dinette as her step so I had to get something to help her.  Margie had originally purchased these for her dogs and they worked so well, I got a set for Sedona.

Dog steps from Camping World work great in The Lodge and The Whim.

Cart from Big Lots

Here is the cart I'm picking up today to use in the slide. The good thing about Big Lots is that they will assemble w/no cost so I'm driving the Whim over today for them to load it in.  I'm planning on a comfortable winter this year.

But that's not all I've been doing.  Next post will be an update about my lot in Crossville.  I've been working like crazy on it and it's shaping up nicely.

My knee is doing well.  I purchased a stationary bike from a friend and have been riding it to keep the knee in good shape and flexible.  My 37 yo son, Jonathan, had hip replacement surgery so I was in SE GA for about 3 weeks.  He is doing fantastic.  Youth!  My how they heal and bounce back quickly.

We had a Labor Day celebration at Deer Run and the park was full even though there was a chance of rain from Isaac.  It was overcast but not a lot of rain for the holiday.  Halloween is just around the corner and the park is booked.  It's a fun time here on the Cumberland Plateau.

Later...

July 4th Celebration on June 30 in Deer Run

July 4th came early so as to not interfere with other celebrations around the area.  There were children's games, a cake walk, a golf cart parade and fireworks.  It was an awesome celebration but everyone wilted!  The weather was just so hot even the water felt like a warm bath.

Jonathan gets in the mood w/ole Hank!

Neighbor Linda and her sister, Janey.

2nd place and friend Nancy from Knoxville

Jerry is out in the dust making a movie of the entire parade.

Taylor was the driver of the Red Solo Express.

Debbie is making use of the little bit of shade there is on such a hot day.

After the pool, Jerry plays Boppit!

Leah & her daughters play bean bag toss.

Jerry is trying out a Jello shooter.

Must be pretty good.

The cooking station

Shrimp boil is always a favorite hit.

Roy and Tina show up to enjoy the festivities.

Best Friends Forever

Red Solo Cup-my best friend!

Ooooooh

Ahhhhhhhh

Kabooom for about 29 minutes-awesome.

Deer Run RV Resort is known for their events such as Memorial Day, July 4, Halloween and the park gets booked well in advance.  It was a fun event and can't wait until next year.  What a great b'day celebration!

On the Red Solo Cup express I had made the lights and Taylor attached them and at night we turned on the battery operated lights.  Taylor downloaded (and paid for) Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup song and we played it through the radio on the golf cart.  We also played patriotic songs but alas, we didn't win as best decorated.
Later...