Indoor BBQ Burgers and Beans

Early morning snapshot of our new neighbors' campsite; not a creature is stirring!

Saturday, May 15, I'm up at 7:00 a.m. The low was 47 last night. I feel for those guys in the pop-up but they assure us later that their little heater is keeping them toasty. I snap a picture early this morning of our new streetside neighbors campsite. I see Rick sitting out early but we're not dressed yet and he disappears back inside. No sign of Debbie.

We have a little breakfast, clean up, take out the trash and I meet Don across the road. He and his wife Reva, who is not out yet, live in Abilene, Texas! He retired from the military air force base there. He is also a postal retiree like my Dad. They come to this campground and this site for the summer (second year here) from May through September when they go back to their home in Abilene for the winter. He lost his first wife to cancer and she lost her husband. They both went to the same high school near Terre Haute, IN, but waited all of this time to actually meet each other and get married. He showed me his woodworking projects; corn hole games and cute napkin and salt and pepper holders. Riva makes the fabric 'curtains' for those. More on that later.

Waldorf Jello Salad

I see no sign of Rick and Debbie at 11:30 and hope they are okay. I start chopping veges for my BBQ Burgers and at last I see them outside in lawnchairs. So I go out to say hi. She had a rough night and got up sick to her stomach at 4:00 a.m. I go back to get our lawn chairs to join them and meet Diana (her and Bruce are two sites over curbside from us.) They just got here from Osceola for the season. They used to be in a site on the other side of the campground but moved over here. She was laid off in December from the Juvenile Justice Facility. Bruce is retired. Diana and Don walk down to meet Bob, Rick and Debbie. Don just hung up a two-tube birdfeeder he made. It's nice to meet both of them. I like how friendly everyone is here.

We sat out with Rick and Debbie for a bit. I share my pot of hazelnut coffee with Rick. Then I go in to finish my burger patties. I call out the window for Debbie to come over and chat. She ganders at the digital picture frame while I unmold my Waldorf Jell-O Salad. We join the guys outside in the lawn chair. The guys decide it is a good time for lunch so I come back in to do my burgers inside on the stovetop. The guys set up Rick and Debbie's canopy so we all four move it over the picnic table between the trees. Lunch is served. I did my burgers in two skillets so they would all be ready at once. The ones not done in the Teflon skillet are crumbly. These are supposed to turn out like mini-meatloaf burgers.

My RV BBQ Beans are a hit; baked beans with granny smith apples, white raisins, brown sugar and Kansas City Masterpiece BBQ sauce. To the menu I add Peppercorn Ranch Cheeseball with veges, Waldorf Jell-O Salad that makes a nice presentation, sliced tomatoes and onions, and lettuce. What a feast! We clean it all up and poor Debbie crashes. Food is not her thing right now but she's a trooper. Rick joins her for an afternoon nap after the guys get a paper and firewood.

Lunch in the cabana

Bob and I read the paper. It feels good to sit down after cooking all morning. It's 4:35 p.m. and clouding over with 63 degrees and 38% humidity. The high was 65 degrees. We go out for a fire until 11:00; even Debbie joins us for a while. The stars are not as bright tonight. We have a sliver of a moon. And we can see the glow of 3 or 4 other fires in the campground.