Oh Deer!

So, yesterday, we hung around town with Staples and Tim, and today, they've got things to do, so we have a bit of time to spend catching up on our own cleaning.  And sewing!  Next week, we are meeting up with our own square dance camping club, along with several others from around the country, and I had promised Dolly a roll of embroidered TP and I haven't made it yet, so I need to get on it!

I posted a picture of this in a Facebook group for embroidery, and to be honest, some people were flummoxed by it.  Most thought it humorous, but others just didn't see the point.  Well, in my book, that IS the point - that there IS no point to it!  Typically, I give them out as jokes or gag gifts.  We do a Dirty Santa gift exchange at Christmas, and I put lottery tickets down in the tube.  That went over pretty well, once the recipient noticed.  Gotta be honest, though, up till then, the disappointment was obvious.

We were getting ready to go out and meet some long-time friends for dinner, when this happened....This young lady just wandered right into the site directly across from us.  She was just moseying along and didn't pay us any attention.  Dick told me there was another one, with a baby, down by the shower house.  They're much bigger here (NC) than back in Florida, but still not nearly as big as the ones we saw up in Virginia.   BUT, we did pull 3 ticks off Bailey while we were here, so there's that side of 'em too.  She's on Trifexis, but that doesn't do a thing about ticks.

We did manage to carve some time out and go into Clemmons, to see what's changed, and take a ride by our old house.  It was amazing!  The house looks just the same, except for the shrubs have grown up so much!  My peony is still there, just bigger, my wisteria is doing well, all our groundcover is still there, and more, even my tulip-shaped garden path lights are still lining the entry sidewalk.  The trim on the house is still painted the same colors and looks great (Dick had used 20 year marine paint, so it was no surprise to see it holding up so well), and my specially-made handpainted mailbox is still there.  A bit faded, but all the flowers are still colorful and visible.  It was like we'd never even left! But, I guess none of it's really *mine* anymore, is it.

We ventured downtown, and lookee what we found!  A K-Mart still open and doing a heck of a business, no less.  And THEY'RE HIRING!  We really couldn't believe our eyes, but pictures don't lie! 

After a wonderful Chinese buffet dinner, including Hibachi and sushi, and way more food than any two people needed to eat at one sitting, Tim & Staples brought a Chinese Lantern back to the camper to release into the night sky.  Apparently, the children in his Catholic confirmation class had written prayers on slips of paper that he taped to the lantern. 

Look how many prayers are attached and how long those streamers are.  Think that will make it too heavy to rise up?  

Tim appears to be giving that some thought.  Perhaps...nah, it'll be fine.  Let's go on out and send it up!

If we hold it up long enough, the air inside will heat up and the lantern will rise.  Just not sure how long "long enough" might be.....

Well, remember those long streamers?  Let's just see....Here's a video of the first try (yeah, that should tell you something...)  If you're reading this in email, and you can't see the video, click HERE.

Obviously, it just wouldn't rise as expected, so we removed a few of the prayer slips.  Still didn't go up, so we removed a few more.  Now they were more evenly spaced, plus the streamers were now a lot shorter, and what do ya know?  The air inside the lantern heated up and up she went!  Here's the video to prove it...

And that little speck way up high, right in the center, is our lantern.  Floating higher and higher, and heading over to the grocery store parking lot.  We decided we had better send a few more prayers up now...mostly just hoping it wouldn't land on anyone or create any problems for anyone else.  We didn't hear of any repercussions the next day, so I guess all's well that ends well, and it apparently, ended well.

What a great way to end the evening and our week in Tanglewood, visiting with our long time friends. 

Spending Money and Having Fun Doing It

Our stay in Silver Springs was productive and beneficial in soooo very many ways.  We met a wonderful and engaging couple, Barbara & Charles, and they are working on their 5th Newmar!  In 6 years!  There was nothing wrong with any of them, they just love the product & Newmar family so much, and Newmar keeps coming out with new innovations and floor plans that they wish to have.  The easiest way to get these advances incorporated into a coach is to order it new, with the options and features you want.  So, that's what they do!  :)  They were super instrumental in us getting our order expedited (and changed, at the last minute), and it turns out, they are super nice people too, and we really enjoyed getting to know them, and their puppers, Molly.  (Molly is an adorable King Charles Cavalier, and she's got THE BEST personality!)  It was through Barbara & Charles that we got introduced to John Sullivan, a retired exec at Newmar, but that's really a whole 'nother post.  Suffice it to say, they are the funnest bunch, and we all shared some really good times together.  We will all meet up again in July, at the factory, for some more good times, and likely, really good food.

But, interestingly enough, Barbara & Charles had found a family-based company, in Mocksville, NC, just down the road from where we're staying, that makes sunscreens and window shades for RV's.  MagneShade has about 16 employees, including the owners/founders and 3 of their children, and at least one in-law.  We had done some research and found their products to be superior to anything I could make myself, and just a bit more expensive, so we deemed them to be a good value and ordered a windshield screen and an entry door window screen.  These would give us the privacy and sun-blocking we would need when we head out west, for a reasonable price.

Here we are, leaving Tanglewood, heading out of the park to go to MagneShade HQ.  There has been some question of my sanity and the safety (or lack thereof) in the taking of that photo.  Well, thank you all, but let me assure you, it was the view in my rear-view side mirror, taken at almost a dead stop, while I waited for Driver to round the corner.  This was the first time in several years that I would drive more than a few miles, so there was no way I would compromise our (or anyone else's) safety for such a shot.

This is MagneShade HQ, where our coach would spend the next 3 hours getting outfitted with his new screens, and we would be made to feel valued and welcomed.  We pulled in about 9:15 am, as requested, and we were the only ones on the schedule for the day.  Those pictures on the building sides are really graphic images printed on screens, which we could have had, for an additional $300+.  We opted for plain brown, with plain brown binding.  Boring, maybe, but $300 is another tank of diesel, so that is another 700 miles....so that's 2 days' driving...priorities, man, priorities.

We were welcomed announced by Ellie and Baxter...loudly!

Eventually, they warmed up to us, even bringing us their toys and engaging us in games of fetch.  That's Baxter, with the frisbee, and Ellie, rushing by in a blur up front.  Sweet, sweet pups!

There's Shirley, the Production Manager, operating the "welding" machine.  It was specially made for MagneShade, and uses Radio Frequency to "melt" the fabric together in a weld, eliminating the need for heat or chemicals.  Ingenious!  There's also a sonic technology that performs the same function, but it's noisy, and damaging to hearing, so they don't use it.  Smart cookies!

See that shiny U-shaped spot in the 2nd photo?  That's the weld, and it has created a small pocket, into which a magnet will be inserted.  There will be another piece of U-shaped screen fabric, with a cloth fabric binding, expertly applied, sewn over top of it.  That will form a pocket for the long rod, used in attaching the screen to the windshield.  There will be magnets placed on the windshield itself, lining up with the magnets in the pockets, which will hold the screen ON the windshield, even during high wind episodes or rain events.  I've read a testimonial where the product even held up through a hurricane.  Can you imagine?  Personally, I think we will leave the area if a hurricane is approaching, but to each his own, I suppose.  Hmmm...we have hunkered down through many a storm and many a hurricane, so maybe I lied about leaving the area....

There are the throughput boards, showing all their customers and the current status of each order.  And there were a couple boards I didn't take a picture of!  These folks are BUSY, so apparently, we aren't the only ones who were impressed by their product and production!  There's Driver, finding our order specs, and Shirley, pointing out our installation appointment.  Whoohoo, they even spelled our name right - their attention to detail and organization is amazing! (definitely earning my OCD stamp of approval!)

There's Shirley, showing us just how easy it is to install the tire screens and remove them for storage.  They twist together to fold up flat and there are 2 bags in which to store them.  Now, we can only just hope we don't forget to remove them before we drive away....I've heard that some customers do that...OIKS!

Shirley popped that puppy up on that windshield in about 2 minutes, using the rod in pocket method - literally easy as 1-2-3!  And look how nice it lays on the window!

Remember I told you about the U-shaped pockets, expertly bound?  Well, here's the young lady that was applying the binding so neatly.  I'm sorry, I didn't catch her name, but she was so sweet about answering all my questions and demonstrating her technique and the unique foot attachment she uses for the binding.  It was all I could do to refrain from asking her to let me try it out!!!

Here's Isabelle, making invisible tire screens.  They call 'em invisible, because, when they are mounted, they appear to be simply tires!  The hub caps show through the donut-hole, and you never know they're on there!  (that's why people often forget they're on and drive off with them installed, ruining the bungie-cord net that holds them on)

Yes, our tires really are that big!  Isabelle loves the doggies, and they love her, so sometimes, they go home with her, even though they belong to the owners' kids!  What a trusting relationship, on both ends!  Who wouldn't want an employee that you love so much you'd let her take home your dog!?

Here's Nancy, and she is making the mirror covers we ordered, right there on the spot.  Last week, we had to continually shoo an amorous robin away from our chrome mirrors, so we knew we were going to continue having problems if we didn't take action.  Some people simply drape Walmart bags over their mirrors, but we didn't want to be so ummmm....Redneck tacky.  Redneck is OK sometimes, tacky, not so much.  Nancy's workmanship and design were absolutely flawless, and those covers were a perfect fit!  And they only took her about 30 minutes to whip up!  Incredible!

Check out the ingenuity and organization of these folks!  Those hanging envelopes were created from the screen fabric scraps, and that elbow-shaped metallic thing is where they stack up the magnets they are getting ready to insert.  Everything is organized and labeled, and neat and clean.  Definitely, an impressive organization and efficient processing.  It's no wonder they can put out such a quality product, in such a timely manner.  Everyone, including the pups and office personnel, were welcoming and took the time to thoroughly answer all our questions and demonstrate their production processes.  I would absolutely recommend them to anyone looking for a screen or shade!  Or, even if you're just curious about how such a product is made, go check out their factory!  

While we were waiting for the magnets' adhesive to dry, we went into town, where Dick got a haircut.  And, instead of a lollipop reward, he wanted an ice cream cone from Scoops.  Too bad they were closed for the day. 😢😢

Of course, no visit to Mocksville is complete without a stop at Ketchie Creek Bakery.  Thankfully, they were open, and we managed to get the last chocolate-lover's brownie they had.

We sure know how to find the good eats, don't we??  We really had a great day, despite the fact that we spent lots of money!  We came back to Tanglewood, feeling good that we had supported so many local businesses and families.  Not to mention economies!  LOL

Y'all stay safe and warm!  Ta-ta till next time!