The Big Birthday Weekend

On February 19th, Gary and I celebrated our birthdays. Gary turned 61. I turned 44. I still like to party on special occasions, but Gary couldn't care less about partying. I guess that's normal since he's old enough to be my daddy. The years may be adding up for both of us, but we still feel good and have some "kid" left in us. I just happen to have more "kid" left in me than Gary has in himself. Gary had worked his butt off all week, so he decided to take it a bit easier for our Friday birthdays. For the most part, he hung out with me all day. He shopped online for new wheels, hubcaps, and tires for me, asking my opinion of his choices. Together, we picked out some good ones. I won't be getting these items until we get closer to heading out for our camping season next fall, but choices were made and I'll be sporting some new parts when the time comes. The wheels, hubcaps, and tires will be late birthday presents for me, but Gary didn't want the day to pass by without having a present to open on my actual birthday. I NEVER could have guessed what was in that flat little package he gave me. What was it, you ask? Much to my surprise, he got me a hand-signed 8 x 10 glossy promotional photograph of the hottest judge on TV, Marilyn Milian. How AWESOME!!! As you all know, I LOVE "The People's Court", and I ESPECIALLY LOVE Judge Marilyn Milian. I watch the show twice a day, and try not to ever miss an episode. Now I have something that Marilyn actually touched herself, and I am THRILLED!!! I'm going to get a nice frame and find a good place to display my unusual gift. I will treasure it forever. I STILL can't believe it's mine. I know I say it all the time, but Gary is THE BEST friend that I have ever had. Having him find me was truly better than winning the lottery. Our birthday celebrations continued through the weekend. Gary spent all day Saturday at the HUGE Renninger's Antique Extravaganza over in Mt. Dora, FL. That's a little over a hundred miles from our home in St. Augustine. He had a BLAST, and came home with some birthday presents for himself. I watched TV and/or napped while he was gone, and tried to recuperate from my excess partying the previous day. I'm not as young as I used to be, and I'm afraid I learned that the hard way. A Toaster with a hangover is NOT a good thing. By Sunday, I was back to normal. Gary and I watched the Daytona 500 together, and cheered for our favorites. Our guys ended up first, second, third, fifth, and fourteenth. It was a GREAT ending to a GREAT race and a GREAT weekend. Birthdays, especially when they last for THREE days, are SO cool!

The Boys Are Back In Town

I am EXTREMELY happy to report that my best buddies, Gary and Dodge, have returned home from their trip to Georgia with Henry in tow. Everything went well for them during the 1000 mile trip. All of the items they carried to Georgia got delivered, and they returned with a load of rusty sheet metal that once served as the roof on an old farm house. Gary will use the metal for a project here at home. The boys camped at F.D. Roosevelt State Park for two nights, and Reed Bingham State Park for four nights. Gary remembered to take everything he needed except for a good source of light. He ended up buying a cool little red (my favorite color) LED Coleman lantern. It worked very well, and we will take it with us the next time we all go camping together. It actually worked better than the electric light that we normally take, and the portability of it is an added benefit. I wasn't forgotten during the trip. Gary brought me back a replica of a vintage advertising sign for Squirrel Brand Salted Peanuts, and also a squirrel nutcracker. My regular readers know how much I love squirrels and anything squirrel related. Both items are REALLY cool. As I sat here alone for the week that the boys were gone, I was picturing Gary sleeping comfortably inside Dodge. In reality, he wasn't comfortable at all. He was cramped with all of the stuff that needed to be carried inside the van. He came home with a sore back and needing to catch up on all the sleep he missed during the six nights on the road. He is MUCH happier now. Dodge got unloaded from the trip, and all of that rusty sheet metal got removed from Henry. Gary had put my tires on Henry for the trip, so today the swap was made and I got them back. They were pretty dirty, so a good cleaning was necessary before they went back on me. As much as I hate the "Toaster Tipping Game", it's unfortunately a requirement in order to get those big tires inside my tiny wheel well cutouts. It's always a real problem to get my tires on or off. Once my tires were re-installed and I had both of them firmly back on the ground, Dodge joined me here in the garage. It's SO great that Gary and Dodge and I are all here together, and I hope they never have to leave me behind again. Welcome home, boys!

They're Camping Without Me

Gary and Dodge are going camping without me. As much as I've dreaded it, I knew this day would come. About three weeks ago, a planned trip to haul some items to and from Gary's sister's farm in Woodbury Georgia was delayed because Dodge wasn't running well at the time. Gary had readied Henry the utility trailer for the trip, including some work on his wheel bearings and the use of two of my tires. Henry has sat in the yard waiting, while Dodge recuperated from his illness. Now the time has come, and my buddies are heading to Georgia without me. This is the first time ever that I have not been included in a trip where camping is involved. The plan is for them to head to F.D. Roosevelt State Park for two nights while the items are being exchanged at the farm in nearby Woodbury. Then, they will head to Reed Bingham State Park a bit further south. Gary is going to a car show in the area. He will be sleeping in Dodge during the entire trip. So, I'll be here with Casper, and missing my best friends BIG TIME. Casper is a nice guy, but I've never felt close to him like I do with Gary and Dodge. I'm going to be lonely for sure. Gary is taking my TV and the computer with him, so there will be no People's Court, Price Is Right, or Let's Make A Deal to look forward to. Heck, I won't even be able to surf the net or shop on eBay. I guess I'll just catch up on my sleep, and try to get to know Casper a little better. He's not much of a conversationalist, so I guess I'm going to be doing most of the talking. As you know, I NEVER shut up. The worst part is going to be late at night when it's dark and scary. That never bothers me with Gary and Dodge here, but it's going to be very different without them. This trip has to be made, so I'm just going to have to deal with it. At least my tires get to go camping, even if the rest of me has to stay home. I hope my buddies have a safe and fun trip, but not too much fun. The last thing I need is for them to enjoy camping without me. Sorry for the poor, poor, pitiful me post. I'm just feeling a bit down at the moment. Brighter days will come, and hopefully I'll have something more cheerful to post about next time. Until then, Happy February, y'all.