Category: Preparation & Readiness
Beating the Winter Blues…
January 29, 2012 by Diane Berry · 5 Comments
As the daylight gets shorter when winter approaches and out sunlight decreases in November and December, many of us in northern climates (and even some in more southern climes) start to experience what is commonly known as the “winter blues.” Add to this, the fact that many of us are not engaging in our favorite pastimes of camping and RVing during this time of the year and things can get downright depressing! While the medical term is “Seasonal Affective Disorder” or SAD, most of us just know this as the blues. Further, many feel they just need to suffer through it; that there is nothing they can do to minimize the symptoms they are experiencing. But there is much you can do if you are affected by this loss of light. First of all, many medical people report that increasing your intake of vitamin D, either in the form of food or by supplement, can make up for the loss of sunlight that winter brings. While you will always want to be sure to check with your physician or other medical... [Read more...]
SAVE 75% or MORE ON YOUR NEXT CORDLESS TOOL BATTERIES (Yes, I like saving money!)
January 25, 2012 by Professor95 · 4 Comments
Battery powered tools can be the mainstay for many RV’ers that like to be prepared for both unexpected needs and maintenance when away from home. I carry a full complement of 18-volt Ryobi power tools, including a drill, flashlight, reciprocating saw, handi-vacuum, and a small chain saw. Other tools such a air compressors, radios, saber saws, circular saws, and leaf blowers also operate off of the same 18-volt nickel cadmium battery pack. I find myself frequently using the drill with a socket that fits scissors jacks to quickly raise or lower the jacks. The drill also serves as an electric screwdriver that recently came in handy when the base of our bed broke apart. Both the reciprocating saw and the 10” chain saw are great for cutting gathered firewood from downed trees or limbs. Of course, you are limited to small diameter wood. Using portable battery operated tools requires several spare batteries as well as a proper charger. If the batteries are old and weak and can... [Read more...]
I LIKE SAVING MONEY!
January 18, 2012 by Professor95 · 1 Comment
I like saving money. Do you like saving money? Hey – I bet you think I am getting ready to front yet another insurance commercial. You know, switch from Lizard to Mastodon, save $500 a year, then switch from Mastodon to Flogressive, and save even $500 more but if you come back to Lizard you can save even $385 more than Allstale, which is $275 lower than E-Assurance? Nope – this one is for real and it can save you more than enough the next time you fill-up that big motor home fuel tank to buy you and the DW a nice lunch. When I first saw the details I thought, “Yea – right, just another credit card trick to sock you with big interest rates”. BUT WAIT! It is not one of those tricks at all. This one is the real deal. So, you ask, “Just how good is this money saving deal?” Well, how about 11 to 14-cents a gallon off the pump price of diesel fuel – and this is not one of those limited purchase deals where you collect points by spending a couple of your pay checks on groceries. THIS... [Read more...]
Soup Is Good (Camping) Food!
January 15, 2012 by Diane Berry · 2 Comments
I’ve written before about meals to make for your family while camping. I want to add a segment today about hot meals that are easy and quick to make: soups. To be honest, I have made these soups more when we’ve been at home than when we’ve been staying in our camper. This is mostly because we hadn’t discovered them until last fall, after our camping was finished for the year. But knowing what I know now, I am planning to buy some for the camper and to incorporate them in many of our camping adventures. Gumbo Ingredients I am speaking of the commercially made soup mixes carried in every grocery store. The brand we started buying, chiefly because they were on sale at the time we found them, is the Bear Creek brand. However, I know there are several different brands on the shelves of the grocery store, even in our city of 33,000 people. The variety is endless. They have Creamy Wild Rice, Cheddar Potato, Chili, Cheddar Broccoli among others. A favorite of our family members is Gumbo.... [Read more...]
DRIVE YOUR RV LIKE A TRUCKER!
January 13, 2012 by Professor95 · 9 Comments
I would like to ask you a question. It is a tough question – not only to answer honestly, but for me to ask because I KNOW it could be interpreted (wrongly) as an insult to your inner ego. Are you really qualified to safely drive your RV? And if you answered yes (or even no ), the next question is: Do you always adhere to the rules and regulations that outline safe driving practices for RVs? If you are still with me and not totally insulted by my suggesting that you just might not be fully qualified (from a safety viewpoint) to drive your RV – take some time to consider the following discussion and then process the content with an open mind. Once a driver moves from a family type automobile to a motor home or even a 26-foot travel trailer pulled by a 1/2 ton pick-up, everything changes. Your stopping distance, passing range, acceleration time, and visibility are only the beginning of what is different. There is a reason statistics show that the percentage of rear-end collisions... [Read more...]
Harvest Salmon Chowder for Chilly Winter Days
January 13, 2012 by Melissa A. Trainer · 2 Comments
If you travel and camp throughout the chillier months of the year, then you might find yourself craving foods such as chili, stew, soups and chowder. Last fall, I created a round of recipes for the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association. Their consumer website, Bristol Bay Sockeye, features numerous salmon recipes. One of the recipes I tested, tweaked, and photographed was Harvest Salmon Chowder. The recipe comes from Rose Fisher who is married to a Bristol Bay fisherman and lives in Dillingham, Alaska. When Rose gave me the recipe she quietly told me that the secret to the recipe was…canned salmon and all the juices!! She told me that she had made it with cooked salmon, but it just wasn’t the same. Aha! I am not afraid to use canned salmon, so I was pleased to try the recipe. Indeed, it is a simple awesome recipe that is satisfying and warming. I think this recipe is particularly relevant for our Woodall’s readers because it uses many basic pantry items,... [Read more...]
SHINGLES, CHRISTMAS 2011 and HAPPY 2012 CAMPING
January 8, 2012 by Professor95 · 2 Comments
WOW – Christmas came and went so fast it is hard to realize it was ever here! It’s not like it was when I was a kid and the days, hours and minutes crept by slower than molasses dripping out of a jar on a cold day. Now, time just flies by – you know, ZAP! One day you are 20 and before you know it 40 is here. Then, blink your eyes and 65 appears. Don’t believe me? Just wait and see (which I hope you will ). A lot of gifts were given and received. I gave Nancy a new Kindle Fire to replace the old (but still neat) B&W plain Kindle along with a big Amazon gift card so she can download plenty of new books. She is having a ball learning about the new features and of course, playing Angry Birds. Me? Well, I got everybody to stop giving me ties, shirts and socks years ago. Now, they know to give me tools, electronic gadgets, or gift cards to Camping World or Tractor Supply. I love them all! Oh, BTW – if you are a member of the Good Sam Club you are now... [Read more...]
This Is The Year! Happy 2012!
January 1, 2012 by Diane Berry · 2 Comments
Some of you may recall a post that ran at the end of last year in which I discussed our family New Year’s tradition of listing accomplishments of the past year and goals for the new. We traditionally spend the week between Christmas and New Years vacationing at our little cabin in the northwoods of Wisconsin. In the days preceding the holiday, each family member makes a list of each and after eating a delicious dinner, we take turns reading, first accomplishments, then goals. Our little cabin in the northwoods We do not read our own lists, however. Each family member reads those of the next oldest member of the family. Our theory in structuring it this way was that the accomplishments of older siblings might provide motivation for the younger ones. We have been doing this for more than a dozen years and I think it has worked well. Accomplishments of the children might involve such things as being named captain of the Dance Team or making the “A” Honor Roll. Terry’s and mine often... [Read more...]
A Really Nasty Bug
December 28, 2011 by Professor95 · 6 Comments
A winter-night’s dream finds me walking through the middle of a tall grassy field ablaze with warm sunshine, songbirds singing, and butterflies darting about. Nearby is a brook overflowing with large rainbow trout hungry for the fly on the end of my line. As the sun sets, we will dine on trout cooked over glowing campfire embers. . My dream excludes the reality of chiggers, ticks, mosquitoes, gnats, wasps, spiders, and biting flies also enjoying the habitat and dining on me as I reach out for my dream. Like it or not, we share the world with bugs and their presence can make our real life experiences a lot less pleasant if control measures are not taken. Adult EAB with wings open One insect, or bug, that has recently changed the landscape of at least fifteen eastern states and parts of Canada is the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire – an exotic beetle that was first discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002. By exotic, I mean... [Read more...]
Hunting and Camping go together like Bacon and Eggs.
December 16, 2011 by Professor95 · 3 Comments
For some, I am sure, the mention of deer hunting as Santa is readying his sleigh for his Christmas journey is in poor taste. But, rest assured, Rudolph and the other eight reindeer are perfectly safe in their indoor, heated stalls at the North Pole. Besides, Santa retired the reindeer in favor of rocket engines fused to his sleigh’s runners years ago as the world population began to explode. I grew up with what has come to be known in my family as the “Bambi Syndrome”. This was largely fueled by my dear mother that preferred to impose upon my impressionable young mind the belief that those poor, defenseless, big brown-eyed critters that ravaged local apple orchards when their food supplies became low should not be harmed. Thus, I never hunted as a youth. It was in 1968 – right after graduation from college – that I moved to a rural south-western community in Virginia and began teaching in the public schools. I had never experienced the fanatic energy that virtually... [Read more...]
