January 4-8, 2016 - Jacksonville, FL

January 4

• We picked up the mail at the Post Office that was put on hold while we were out of town. We needed to get new health insurance cards from Blue Cross/Blue Shield and it was in the mail. Erwin needed it for his two medical appointments today.
• We stopped at Southern Photo Tech to pick up Edith’s old camera that had a damaged shutter blade. The guy said it was a major repair and the camera is now working fine.  Edith could have bought a new camera, but it will cost her $400-$500 more than if she had her old camera repaired.
• Erwin’s first medical appointment was at 10:40, but when he checked in they told him that the appointment was for January 8.  Oh well.
• We took the Jeep to Jacksonville Chrysler for oil change and to ask them to check the engine light that came on a couple days ago.  The air filter and battery were replaced and the engine light went off.  They told us we need new windshield wipers (we will replace them ourselves).
• Erwin’s second medical appointment was at 2:30 pm. Edith was dropped off at Starbucks not too far from the doctor’s office, so she can take care of business transactions.  Erwin had complete physical examination and blood drawn.  The results will not come in until about a week.
• We stopped at Target to return an item Edith did not want to keep.  
• After getting back to the house we pulled out weeds in the front lawn. There were a lot of dandelions and some strange looking weeds.
• Early in the evening Edith went back to Starbucks at Tapestry to work on notes, pay bills and check emails

January 5

• It was the coldest day since we got back in town. It was 49˚ and the sky was still gray.
• We had to turn the furnace on in our Lil’ Home for a while. First time we ever turned it on.  We were surprised at how fast it got warm inside.
• Erwin took the Lil’ Home (LH) to Camping World near the airport to have them do a 22 point maintenance check-up.  The appointment was at 10:30 am, but they did not start working on LH until after noon.  Erwin told them about ice build-up in the refrigerator.  There was a recall on a part that we did not know about. It was replaced for free.
• Edith likes to use Starbucks’ wifi for uploading pictures/videos for our travel blog because it is so much quicker.

January 6

• Edith had few business transactions to take care of.  Since the wifi service is not available at our house she had to go to Starbucks again.  There was one transaction she was concerned about and wanted to act on it as soon as possible. Two days ago she transferred $ from one account to another, and it usually takes two business days to effect the transfer.  However, it was already two days and the deposit had not been made.  After checking on the internet she found out that she transferred $ to a different account that is in Washington, DC and she did not have debit card for it. However, all is good after making some changes.
• The rest of the day found us tidying the front and back lawn, cleaning up inside the house, did the laundry.

January 7 

• Weather was still very gloomy, but not as cold or windy as it was in the past few days.
• We washed/waxed the front and back panels of our LH to get rid of bugs. 
• Edith pulled out weeds in the front yard.  Dandelions were growing like crazy.  There were other whatnots.  We wanted to keep the front lawn nice.
• While Erwin went out for a walk Edith spent time checking for campgrounds in FL and AL for this coming March. We hope to begin our trip to Central US first week of March.
• Our good friends, Audrey and Harold, stopped by for a chat and to pick kumquats from our tree.  Kumquats are plentiful.
• We shopped at Costco to get foods for the next trip. We were there around suppertime and the store was still packed!

January 8

• It rained during the night while we slept.  Another gloomy morning, but it felt warmer than yesterday.  The sun had not peeked out since we came back home on Jan 4th. Erwin mentioned that each time we come back to Jacksonville the weather gets lousy
•  Erwin had a 10:40 am follow-up appointment with the doctor  to check on his right knee. He injured it last summer while we were visiting Philipsburg, MT. He dropped Edith off at Starbucks on his way.
• We had a lunch date with Bon and Marilyn at Tapestry Cafe. It was good to see them again.  The sandwiches were good. We used Groupon certificate to order $14 worth for only $8.  We four chatted for about 3 hours before bidding each other good-bye.
• Edith had $100 debit in her RedTarget card, so we shopped at Target to get what we needed for our upcoming trip.
• There was a showing at our house. Erwin found out that the realtor from Ponte Vedra, FL forgot to lock the front door. It was a good thing that we were here to check to be sure the door is locked, but it can happen when we are out of town.  Our realtor was informed of the situation.
• We did the laundry again because we will be leaving for a 17 day trip .  

Erwin's right knee X-ray

Bon, Marilyn, Edith & Erwin at Tapestry Cafe