strawdog

We've been 'away' from the forums for a while -- doing good things like CLOSING ON THE HOUSE and driving to Montana (just the Jeep, no fiver this far north in the winter!) to spend Christmas with the wee grandchildren. We got the calendars -- they look great! Prose is great, too! The one daughter & son-in-law who got the first one were hysterically laughing. Who knew 'Grandma' was going to be a calendar girl at this advanced age! Also, Happy Birthdays to Pat & Martha! Hope everyone's set & settled for a merry & safe Christmas. Renee

Happy Birthday Danielle….

Happy happy day (a bit late)! Renee

Cindy -- We've gone 'by' The Ranch a number of times, but haven't stopped in yet. There's a possibility we might meander in that general direction sometime after the 1st of February, after we get our truck back from Larry Herrin. We've been thinking about going towards the Gulf coast of Texas, but also weighing the possibility of visiting Alabama where the Mayers and other HDTers might be. Still waiting to hear on dates for that. We have property in west central NM, and we'd sure like to spend some time there possibly this spring, so there's a definite chance we'll be through your neck of the woods at some point. Can't wait to meet some of you all! Renee

We're keeping an eye on all the different rally dates to see which ones we might be able to do. Would love to come to Alabama; part of it depends on the dates selected, part depends on when Herrin gets the truck done, and part depends on how much driving we feel up to -- looks to be about 600 miles from where we are now. Renee

Pat & Davena (& Henry) -- Thanks for the welcome! The only photo we have of me with the truck is standing next to it. If you need one with me 'in' the truck, I'll have to wait for the 2nd annual calendar. Can't go take a new photo now because the truck is at Larry Herrin's shop (YEAH!)about 65 miles away. Henry asked that I go ahead & send any photos, which we'll do -- do you know what size it needs to be? The raw file is pretty darn big! You all sound like LARGE amounts of fun; can't wait to meet some of you at one of the rallies or along the road sometime (although 'RDBE Mistress' does sound a bit on dark side!) I'm quite anxious to hear about Danielle & the trees!! I'll have to check the CMAFest dates & see if Gettysburg is possible. Pat -- We almost got a chance to meet you & Mike when you guys were outside Tyler, TX, but were gone by the time Larry Herrin told us you were in the area. Not quite sure where we'll be after the first of the year. Herrin should have the truck ready to pick up by mid-January, so we're staying west of Tyler for December & January (sure is better to get a monthly rate when possible!) We're taking the Jeep to NM for house closing in a couple weeks, then to Montana for Christmas with the grandkiddies, then South Dakota for vehicle registering, changing residence, etc. After that, we'll head back south (& will be more than ready to get to warmer climes, I'm sure!). Not sure after that -- would like to visit the Gulf Coast, but sounds like places get more & more crowded the further south you go. Davena -- I'll send you a PM with the birthday, etc. info, as well as the photo (in case there's still time to get it in this year). Don't feel like you have to use it if it doesn't 'match' the rest; we'll get a 'conforming' one for next year's issue! Renee

So, how many miles do you have to get under your belt to become an RDBE member? I checked this thread because I didn’t know what RDBE stood for, and neither did Dave (now I know why). What a hoot! I’ve driven ours for a grand total of about 200 miles so far. Maybe I’m an RDBE-in-training? I have VERY good intentions of remedying that situation – Dave has me doing left-leg presses to ‘pump up’ the muscles for the clutch pedal, and I think we’ll invest some of our house proceeds in a Gearmaster. That float-shifting thing is really throwing me -- how can shifting without pushing in the clutch POSSIBLY be right? Renee