Weekend Wrap Up 3/17/25

 Hey Friend,

I hope you had a fabulous weekend. We were blessed with a great weekend at home. Here is just a sneak peek. 

On Saturday, we stayed close to the house. Mom and Papaw worked on a project. I was not outside to take pictures; I was working inside. 

Then, Mom put together a cube shelf for the living room and another for her room. I tried to help when I could. At least, maybe I was moral support. 

Sunday due to heavy rain  we went next door to Dodds for their morning service. It was great to see family and friends! Then we went to dinner with several family members, including my Uncle Jay's parents. The family time was wonderful!

Sunday night we were back home at Dryden Road. It was wonderful to be with our church family once again! We had a great service. Our pastor preached wonderfully! 

We wrapped up Sunday with food and fellowship after service. The young people were raising money. I did fail to get any pictures. Oops, I was living in the moment and let blog material slip my mind. Please forgive me!

See you tomorrow  

Odie 

Ikea Memory For Throwback Thursday

 Hey Friends,

Thanks for stopping by to visit. We greatly appreciate you spending some valuable time with us! I hope you are having a good day.

Yesterday, we rested from our travels. In the afternoon, we ventured out of hibernation. After getting ready, food called us. 

We found our way to Panda Express. Dinner was scrumptious and hit the spot! Here is a picture of my plate.

It was a beautiful day to be out and about. We enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures. I will enjoy it, while it is here!

Then we journeyed to Ikea. Mom and I had been wanting to go take our time looking around the store. 

Both of us were looking for storage solutions. 

It was great to explore all the different options. We both decided on some cube shelves for now.

I captured this picture outside the store. I love seeing the moon so bright. 

While shopping we remembered a family trip to Ikea. It happened, June 1 2018, we took Dad to Ikea for the first time. 

I had just received occupancy of my house. I needed furnnishing for my new home.  We went to buy my bed, a few chairs and storage for my closest. 

Dad enjoyed looking around at all the furniture and stuff for a while. Then he wanted out of the store right now! Dad did not like the maze you have to follow to get out of the store. 

Dad said he like the stuff I chose. He was really a fan of the prices, quality of the ítems and choices offered. He was not a fan of pulling the boxes of furniture that I wanted off the shelves, downstairs before checking out of the store. 

On the way home from Ikea that day, Dad declared, ”I have made my first and my last trip to Ikea”! He was right! that was the only time he was at the store.

Once we got home, he was really not a fan of having to put everything together. I remember that night it took several people three hours to put my queen size bed together. All these years later, it's still standing!

He often said you and your Mother can go to Ikea as much as you want. I will not go with you, and you have to put everything together.

Yesterday, Mom and I had a to laugh when we thought about that memory. Daddy never did go back to Ikea. 

My mom has helped me assemble every piece of Ikea furniture we have added to my house since then. She enjoys it and works quickly to get the job done! Now we have a few more items to put together.

Something else I thought about, Dad no longer needs storage solutions or neat affordable furniture. He will never have to look for another perfect thing. He no longer has a need to put any furniture together. Where my Dad lives now everything is just right!

Heaven grows much sweeter each day! 

Daddy, I can not wait to see you again! Thank you for a treasure trove of great memories! We think of you every day, and love and miss you! You are forever in our hearts!

See you tomorrow!

Odie

5 Years And Still Thankful

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in from my Ohio Beach Cottage. I am happy to be home for a quick visit. We have a busy weekend and week on the books. Check back in the coming days to see our fun with family and friends. 

June 1st was the 5th anniversary since I officially moved into my Beach Cottage. Here is a picture from that first night.

It does not feel like it has not been that long. I am so grateful for the beautiful place to call my home! In the last 5 years, so much has happened in the world and in my life. It has been a major blessing to have my own safe place!

The entire home is a series of miracles! I do not want to forget God’s provision! The love and support from my family and friends turned a dream into a reality. My heart still overflows with gratitude!

Many of you reading this post played a role in helping us build my home. Thank you one more time from the bottom of my heart. I thank God for you! I still pray for God to bless you abundantly!

This week marked another 5th house anniversary for me. August 17th, 2018. We were joined by many of the incredible people that help us build my home for house tours and dedication. It was a privilege to show off my finished miracle. We had a sweet dedication on my front porch!

That evening was fantastic. We had friends from near and far come to celebrate with us. Lots of prayers, money, blood, sweat, tears and work brought us to that moment. It was an extraordinary day of memories that still warms my heart! 

I encourage you to read this archived blog post here. Dad summed up the wonderful dedication day in an excellent way. Below is just a sampling of photos from that night that are special to me.

I will never forget the love I experienced that day! I am blessed beyond measure! I just wanted to pause for a moment to thank God for His unspeakable gift of my beautiful home!

Thank you for joining me as I stroll down memory lane. Here is a small tour of the front portion of my home. This was recorded during our 2020 online covid revival.

See you next week. 

Odie

Odie's Excellent Christmas Meal!

Our Christmas traditions have been firmly in place for many years. We have celebrated Christmas with Kelly Jo's family on Christmas Eve and with the Boggs family on Christmas Day. Early Christmas morning has always been reserved for me, KJo and Odie!

Our personal time on Christmas morning does not include a meal most times, just us together reminiscing, opening presents and being together. These traditions have worked great for us and filled Christmas with lots of joy.

Odie's first Christmas in her house added another Christmas tradition. She wanted a time to cook a meal for us and invite us into her space for a Christmas meal. Well, if it involves food, count us in.

We have added that tradition the day after Christmas at lunch time. Some years we need to roll on December 26 and we adjust accordingly, but when possible, that is our day at Odie's.

This year, she prepared an excellent meal.

Carnitas! A pork roast with green sauce and white cheese served with beans. Wow!

The carnitas were so very good and I was able to eat on them for two or three days. Wow Again! Odie may make a good cook after all. She sure is making a good effort and she can practice on me any time.

I can hardly wait until next Christmas to see what is on the table. Forget under the tree, the table is where it is for me!

Thank you for stopping by today.

Davy

Shut The Door

Hey Friends,

This is Odie coming to you from Ohio today. Thanks for stopping by to spend a few moments of your Saturday with me.

I will get to my main topic in a few paragraphs. First I want to take a minute to honor two very special ladies.

My Mamaw, Martha Boggs, had a birthday yesterday. 

Happy Birthday, Mamaw! I love you! Thank you for being such a great Mamaw!.

Sis. Jane Sutherland, our Pastor's wife is having a birthday today. Happy Birthday, Sis. Jane! Thank you for loving us and praying for us! I hope you have a fantastic birthday!

Both of these women are some of the best ladies on this planet! God blessed the world with a very special gift when they were born. Words do not exist to properly honor my Mamaw or Sis. Jane! I am so thankful for their influence on me.

Shut The Door

"Shut The Door Keep Out The Devil". I am not supposed to be singing right now. I am Sorry, the words shut the door cause a song to pop into my head. Here is the song "Shut The Door Keep Out The Devil".  You can sing this song all day too.😀

Now we can talk about the topic at hand, shutting doors. I struggle to close doors behind me. Closing the main door, of my house, has been a series of movements. I knew there had to be an easier and quicker way to pull the door toward me.

This spring I went to my trusty sidekick Google. I was looking for options. Google did not disappoint. There I was introduced to the EZ Pull Door Closure. This device was invented by another wheelchair user.

I decided to try out this product myself. I ordered an E-Z Pull Door Closure from Amazon. I took a couple weeks to come in from the Amazon seller.

I installed it first on a door in my garage. The E-Z Pull Door Closure made closing the door a lot easier! I was quickly a fan of this product!

Last week I decided to buy two more for the other doors that I need help closing. This time I ordered them from the Sportaid website. I wanted to try both sellers. Sportaid was priced slightly higher but their shipping time was a lot quicker than Amazon.

Four days after my order to Sportaid I had my other two E-Z Pull Door Closures in my hand. Within a few moments of them arriving at my front door, I was installing them. I was excited to have the help to close my doors!

As you can see I have the lever doorknobs. The hook can slide off the levers, but I read to secure the hook to the doorknob with a zip tie. I am careful when I pull the door closed and the hook stays in place. It has not been an inconvenience for me.

Installation is very easy. If I can do, it without help, then it is easy! 

I am glad that I found E-Z Pull Door Closure online. This product makes going outside my home easier. I highly recommend this product! I give it a 5-star rating! Click here to visit the E-Z Pull Door Closure website. Also here is the product on Amazon and the Sportaid link is here.

Well, I must close for now. Thanks for reading. I will see you next week. 

Odie

A Little Splash of Color At The Beach Cottage

The last week has been a whirlwind of activity and we feel like a lot was accomplished. I have already told you about most of it and the rest of it will slip through the tips of my fingers onto the electrical interweb in the coming days.

I do have something I want to tell you about today.

We have been intending to purchase some furniture for Odie's porch. Last spring we were home, but nothing was open due to COVID. This year everything is open, but we could not go anywhere because we had COVID. 

There are three huge weekend flea markets in our area and one of them has the furniture we wanted so KJo and I went there one Saturday morning. The parking lot was slammed like Christmas week so we did not even go through the gate. I was not excited to be in that big of a crowd.

We went to a local place that sells it and we experienced sticker shock. We could not believe the prices. KJo and Odie went to a place with Kelly's parents three counties away (Near her parent's home) and the prices were better.

The selection was not very good, color-wise, and they were about five months behind on special orders. Wow! We took Dad's truck down last week to another place in the same county and their selection was great and their prices were even better.

They had many different styles and we are able to zero in on which ones were comfortable and which ones were not. We did not know there was so much variety.

Sticking to Odie's beach cottage theme, she wanted some brightness and color in her porch furniture. She chose a white glider and a yellow chair and a red chair. We purchased all three for about the same price as a glider in this area. Excellent!

The white glider was the absolute best sitting piece that they had. And it was also the cheapest glider. How often does that happen? The chairs fold up for easier storage when we are gone for long periods of time. 

Odie loves to sit on the west porch. In the heat of the day, it is shaded. In the cool of the evening, she gets some of the sun's rays as it is setting. 

Of course, that porch is covered by cameras all the time, just in case she goes to courting out there.😁

Odie captured some pictures while we were shopping and unloading.

I predict that Odie will spend some wonderful hours sitting there on that porch. That was the whole plan behind building porches on the house. I wanted her to be able to enjoy the outside without the problems of taking her wheelchair in the grass.

Eventually, we plan to build a deck across the back of the house to give her even more room to roam. With a deck and a sidewalk on the garage side, she will be able to go all the way around. Then she may start racing in circles!

Thank you for reading Mile Markers today. We sure appreciate it.

Davy

Keeping Busy With Small Projects

IF I am ever well enough for us to leave, there is a list of things that must be done in order to be able to hit the road. While I am waiting to get better, I need to be working like I am already better. Does that make sense? Whether it makes sense or not, those are the facts.

I am NOT pushing too hard. I am trying to complete one or two little projects each day. The work needs to be done and hopefully, I can build up a little strength each day. Sometimes Dad helps me, sometimes KJo helps me, sometimes they both help me and sometimes I watch.😁

We have worked on barn projects, house projects and bus projects the last week or so. Some of these tasks are so small that I should be doing several a day, but by the time we are finished with one, I am spent.

A couple of the bus projects have been months in the making. Early this year, the lock on our main entry door began to be contrary. By the time we arrived home in early February, it might lock and it might not.

It worked fine from the inside. The problem was only manifested when using the key on the outside. Armed with knowledge and advice from members of the Prevost Community Forum, I took it apart when I was feeling well several weeks ago.

I called a major locksmith in southern Ohio. I sent them all kinds of pictures and part numbers, but the news was not good. The technician told me those particular cylinders could NOT be re-keyed and that he could replace it all for $600.

Number one, I knew from the experience of other Prevost owners, that the cylinder could be removed and could be re-keyed. IF it needs a new cylinder, they can be purchased for well under $100 and then keyed.

I knew right away that the locksmith did not have a clue and I do not allow people to practice on the BoggsMobile. I do not like to pay for on-the-job training.

The whole lock job was delayed for a few weeks due to my health setback. 

This week I removed the cylinder and KJo drove me to Centerville Lock and Safe and 40-45 minutes later, the cylinder was cleaned, re-keyed and five new keys made. The keys were extra, but the lock service was $12! Yes, I gave her extra.

I could have had it keyed exactly the same, but we have two doors on the bus. They have always had two different keys. Now they use the same key. The locksmith told me the cylinder has a few years left, but not another 26 years.😍

The cylinder sticks through the outside of the door and screws into the box circled in red below. One PC member suggested I count the number of turns required to remove the cylinder (Five). I am glad he did. That made it easier to put back together.

Once you loosen several parts, you push on the square box above and unscrew the cylinder. Easy peazy.

Behind these two holes are Philip head set screws. I turned each of them 10 1/4 turns and the cylinder was free to remove.

1995 1996 Prevost XL Vantare
I put the lock back together one day earlier this week and yesterday I finished putting the door back together.

Kelly Jo mowed one day this week.

I know that I have said this before, but it worth saying again. It is amazing that the guy that hates taking care of grass the most, has grown the best looking yard on the street. Life is certainly not fair. Sometimes I feel like apologizing to my neighbors when I see them slaving in the yard.

Thank you for checking into Mile Markers today.

Davy