February  - our first month of living in our 5^th wheel.  It has been a month of adjusting.  We still find ourselves hunting for things; we make trips to the storage unit to find items we can’t find and need.  We will get it all figured out eventually.  The last several days of the move, we were just putting things in containers to get them out, and now we have to hunt thru unrelated items to find what we need. 

            One of the things we do is go storage shopping before we go grocery shopping.  We had a large pantry in the house and the contents of it would not fit in the pantry of the 5er, so we packed a lot of things in containers, which are stored on shelves in the storage unit. We check those containers before heading to the supermarket.

            We both made appointments with the local Social Security office and got the paperwork in progress for our retirement.  Time really seems to be moving fast now.

            The sales staff at Millie’s office spent the 5,6 and 7 at the office in meetings.  Don Martin, a member of the staff who works in Atlanta, came into town on Tuesday.  The entire staff went to dinner together on Wednesday at Papadeaux, a great seafood place. 

            Millie got her newsletter done for the Sewing Guild the 1^st of the month.  She will do 2 more and then relinquish the position to someone else in the group.  The Guild meeting was on the 13^th.  The ladies are making foundation pieced Christmas vests. The meeting was fun and we learned some new techniques. 

            On the 14^th, we drove out to Richmond after work and picked up Ann.  The three of us went to Shultz’s for a Valentine BBQ dinner.  After dinner we visited with Ann for a while, then came home to relax and watch some TV.

            Saturday, the 15^th we woke up to rain.  We have had a really rainy month.  Seems like it is raining every weekend.  We decided to forgo the laundry and just hung around the house. Dick puttered on his computer and Millie spent time sorting and organizing her sewing supplies. On Sunday we went to church, then came home and did the laundry.  It really goes fast, with more than one machine to use, and we can get it done in about 2 hours.

            On the 18^th, Sharon Deseo, who works in the Los Angeles branch of Millie’s company, flew into Houston to talk to Kevin about the possibility of relocating to Houston and filling Millie’s position.  The entire staff went out to dinner at a great Mexican restaurant, giving everyone a chance to meet Sharon and have her get comfortable with them..  On Wednesday she spent the morning in the office, meeting with Kevin and then with Millie.  She seems to be comfortable with responsibilities of Millie’s desk and hopefully will be taking the position.  It would certainly make things easier if Millie didn’t have to completely train someone new to their business.  We hope it works out.

            Saturday and Sunday the 21 and 22 were beautiful days.  Temps in the high 60’s to low 70’s and the sun was shining.  We did laundry and ran some errands on Saturday. Sunday we went to church, then came home and puttered the rest of the day.  Reading the paper and just generally taking it easy.  Late Sunday evening Debbie called, they had been in San Antonio for a cheerleading competition with Rikki and were on their way home.  She wanted to let us know that Rikki’s team took first place in their division.  Yeah!  They will be going to Orlando, Florida in March to compete. 

            The last week began with a major storm blowing into Texas.  We had rain and high winds on Monday and Tuesday.  It turned cold again.  We talked to Robert on Wednesday, Dallas had a major snow and ice storm and we were checking to see if they were OK.  School was closed and Robert’s office was shut down on Tuesday.  His patio cover collapsed on Wednesday, most likely from the weight of the ice that melted and slid off the house roof onto the patio cover.          

            It has been interesting to see the parade of RV’s and folks who have come and go here in the last 6 weeks.  We have had everything from a Prevost to a tiny 5^th wheel in the spaces beside us.  RV’ers are truly a diverse group. 

            We are really starting to count down the days until we can be on our way.  We have been reading the webpages of others who have been to Alaska, getting ideas of what to see and where to stay.  We can hardly wait to get going.  Millie got an email from Phyllis Davis on the 28^th and they had gotten their copy of Milepost.  Phyllis says Dick Davis is already engrossed in reading up for the trip.  We will try to find us a copy this week.   61 more days!