Merry Christmas

Ho...Ho...Ho...Merry Christmas!
Just had to share with you the Boudreaux and Thibodeaux joke Vannie and Dave made up to put
in their Christmas cards.  It's kind of corny, but, hey, so are they. 

Enjoy...
Boudreaux and Thibodeaux were sittin' on their porch discussing the whereabouts of their good friends, David and Vanette Harris.
Boudreaux:  Mais, Thibodeaux, where's our good friends the Harris' done pass to?
Thibodeaux:  The Harris'...why, Boudreaux, dey done went and bought demselfs a rollin' tin can...
                       and dey livin' in it.
Boudreaux:  Mais, Non...now why dey done dat?
Thibodeaux:  Dave's done retard from work and Vannie bout to be.  Dey din goin' to do some
                      international travelin'...dey may even make it to Shreveport.
Boudreaux:  Hay-e-e-e-e-e...Laissez les bon temps roulez!

I don't know who they are calling a tin can....Me?....you're kidding! 

Oh well...Just gotta luv 'em...they mean well!

Don't drink too much egg nog and keep smilin' throught the holidays.
Remember the reason for the season...Jesus' Birthday!

Just Pull and I Will Follow

Rolling down Broussard Road...Wind in my hair...Shining like a new penny...Vannie and Dave looking out their backwindow making sure I am still there...life is good!  We were going to our first Acadiana Airstream Rally.  We passed  by Johnston Street and rice fields and corner boudin stores and black cows and oak trees.  The sky was blue and the clouds were white...beautiful.  Then we turned onto a road that would take us to a campsite.  When we turned down that road and I saw all those other campers that looked like me...Tears came to my windows.   Row after row of large silver bullets..I couldn't believe it...I was in heaven.  Vannie and Dave had brought me to a family reunion. They pulled me up right by another 1977 Airstream.  She looked familiar...might be a cousin twice removed on my dad's side of the family.
Lots of very nice people...some from Mississippi, but most from Louisiana.  They all came by to see inside me.  Everyone admired all my new parts.  I was definitely feeling the love.
Bocce Ball...have you ever heard of that game?...me either.  The president of the Rally brought the game and I really enjoyed watching a bunch of old people throw big blue and red balls toward a small white ball. Who would get the big balls closer to the small ball?  I didn't have anywhere to go, so I enjoyed watching.
Good times have to come to an end...New Friends came by to say good-bye...Everyone went their merry way...except us.  Dave and Van decided to stay a little longer and practice pulling me up and down the road and backing me up in a space.  It was fun.  I was getting all the attention.  I can tell that D and V were getting more and more confidence in pulling me.  I just wanted to shout out..."Just pull and I will follow". 
I think they finally heard me..."Just pull and I will follow"...Sweet words!

I Passed!

Oh, my, Oh, my...How good is this!  Vannie and David's daughter, Emilie, and their youngest grandson, Vincent, came for their first visit to see me...all the way from Austin, Tx.  I was feeling a little nervous before they arrived.  Was I going to pass the test?  Were they going to like me?  Well, I shouldn't have been nervous at all.  They loved me!  Of course, Vannie and Dave had me all spiffed up ready and waiting for their arrival. 

When Emilie walked in my door and said, "I love it"...that was all I needed to hear...I knew I had passed the inspection and I was in the family for sure.

As you can see by the pictures, we had a blast!  Dinner under the big blue canopy...Vincent bathing in my cute little tub...Vincent watching a Thomas the Train DVD with T-Pop (Dave)...T-Pop and Vincent checking on something in my belly...Vannie, Emilie, Vincent, Me....such a nice visit...I just loved it.

A Visit From a Ninja

I love kids...especially ones that love me.  Cooper, Vannie and David's oldest grandson, has warmed up to me and we are pals, for sure.  I was  wishin' I had a new Halloween costume when Cooper appeared decked out in his bright red Ninja outfit.  He was in and out my door a million times doing some serious playing.  There are lots of new places to explore for a six year old and with that Ninja outfit on, he felt like he was the strongest, bravest, toughest, and cutest in the land. His mom and dad picked him up after church on Sunday and we had a sit-down lunch right at my cute little pull out table.  Gosh, cozy...cozy.
I'm definitely feelin' the luv!
Hi...Yi...I think that's how Ninja's say it when they are about to attack.  I definitely can't attack anyone here...there are about 5 fifth wheel sisters, 3 Katrina brothers, 4 motor home cousins, and several real trailers uncles.  I'm the smallest of the bunch and keepin' my mouth shut!
Later...

GR

Not Just a Sleepover...It's the Real Deal!

You heard me right..."not just a sleepover...it's the real deal"...Vannie and Dave are sleeping like a babies in my beds every night now (it's been 3 in a row).  I feel so grateful I could just pop...and they are so-o-o happy.  I can tell, because even when they keep bumping into each other, they still have a smile on their faces.  Going from living in 2000 square feet to 200 square feet makes quite a difference in how one moves from place to place.
I feel like my whole insides have been replace...a new me has been born...extreme makeover move over...Gypsy Rhapsody is a new lady...and luvin' it!
The sofa color is fabulous and those bedspreads...awesome. David hung new silver miniblinds in the windows.  I overheard D and V talking tonight.  They said they were going to put me a new floor next week.
Gosh...I think I am going to bawl...I just feel so darn special...
And God said, "It is Good!"

GR

The Countdown Has Started

Yep...the countdown has started.  D and V should be sleeping in my beds by the end of this week.  Hallelujah!  They signed on the Maplewood house this past Friday.  Vannie told me that the new owner is so excited about her new home.  She is a first home buyer and has been looking for just the right one for four years.  When she saw D and V's house online, she knew it was "the one".  She called the realtor...toured the house...and said...this is the one!  I want it!
I've been in Youngsville for the past month getting "opencamper" surgery.  Darrell, my repairman, fixed my plumbing, gas, water, plus installed a new frig, microwave/convection oven, etc.  David created a new kitchen counter with a new sink and 2 burner stovetop.  My seamstress, Missy, has been working on new bedspreads and cushions for the living room sofas.  There are still several things that will not get finished until after V and D move in, but they don't care one bit.  They just can hardly wait to start their journey with me.
This past Saturday, they moved me to 1409 East Broussard Road.  It's a great place.  I'm under the shade of a tree and it is very peaceful...just trying to be patient until Vannie and Dave move in.
Happy Trails...

Embarrassed, but Happy

Would you just look at that picture!!  Rolling down the road behind my new BFF with that Gosh Awful Katrina Hairnet still on...can you believe it?  E-M-B-A-R-R-A-S-S-E-D...to say the least.  But I do have to admit that I do have a tiny little smile on my face, because I am on my way for some big repairs...and David did take the back roads to Youngsville to my repairman's house, thank goodness.  He didn't haul me right down Johnston Street in front of God and everybody.
D and V's house sale is coming along...the inspector went well...the roof met the requirements...no termites...now the appraiser has to finish his assessment.  They have not met their new buyer yet, but are anxious to do so.  Melanie, the dinomite realtor, said that the new buyer was VERY excited about their house.  They are also VERY happy about selling it to someone that really loves it.  It has been a part of their family for about 38 years.
Tootle Loo

It's About Time!!!

Well, it's about time V and D came back to the real world and remembered me.  They have been flittin' around the country and left me out in this heat with that dang blue Katrina hair net on.  They returned August 1 and things have not slowed down since.  They are on a roll. 
First... they thought they were going to rent their house and move into me...with only 3 weeks to get me ready.  The stove and pottie do not work.  Vannie said that she didn't give a hoot about the stove, but the pottie...well, that is another story.  The "bottom" line is...it's got to work!  Having only 3 weeks just was not going to cut it.  My facelift will take longer than that.
Second... they got a new realtor (Melanie Poehler with Keller Williams).  She is dinomite!  She is cool, calm, and collected...but ready to get the show on the road.  Thursday, August 11, she showed it to a lady that seemed to "be the one".  She loved the house on first sight.  She made an offer.  Now we are waiting on the inspectors, appraisers, etc....
Third...V and D are cleaning out...giving away...selling...friends, relatives, strangers...just trying to get rid of stuff.  They close on September 12, if all goes as planned.
Fourth...I'm still sittin' around with that hair net on...still need a facelift.  David's friend, Chester, knew just the man.  He came out for a visit yesterday.  I loved him.  He is kind of old, but so am I.  We hit it off from the start.  David is going to pull me out to the man's house near Youngsville and he is going to make me beautiful.  He said David could come out and help him...then he would know all my in's and out's. 

Oh, I almost forgot. D and V bought a truck to pull me wherever I want to go.  Yipee!  It is a Ford F150...love it!  My new BFF! 

Gypsy Puts on a Shower Cap

Yep.. It's hard to get a shower cap on something my size, but it had to be done.  It hasn't rained in Lafayette since D and V made me apart of their family....until recently.  Well....I'm leaking....not too many places, but enough that something had to be done right away.  Dave and Vannie are going on a trip, so this will have to do until they return.  It's not the cutest thing in the world, but I guess I can stand it for a little while.  I didn't realize I was so vain...who'd a thunk it!

Light Up My Life

Dave "lighted" up my life in a whole new way.  He removed my old clouded light covers and created (from scratch) new light covers.  He engineered them out of fluorescent light defusers.  He also had to create (from scratch) mounting devices.  He used wooden drapery poles that he had craved out little notches to make it all work.  He is really a pretty handy guy to have around.

Gypsy Has a Sleepover

A sleepover...OMG...I can hardly stand it...Vannie and Dave said, "Who the heck cares if the plumbing still doesn't work... we are going to spend the night here tonight."  That was music to my windows (ears). 

Dave got the thumbs up from Vannie to go ahead and buy that flat screen TV he has always been wanting.  Of course, before I came in the picture, he was thinking about a much bigger one.  He reinforced the wall that the TV would be mounted on, and installed that sucker in no time flat.  I have a built-in radio that works great and, also, an 8-track player.  Blast from the Past!  Dave picked up several 8-track cassettes at a junk store down the street, but, alas, it wouldn't work.  He thinks that maybe with a few adjustments, he can get it crankin' out some Willie Nelson when we are "On the Road Again".

While they were there, David took out his piano that he had stored under one of the beds and played a tune.  Nice...Nice...Nice! 

The next morning they picked up breakfast at McDonald's (which is not far away) and enjoyed eating at my darling little table.  Cooper, D and V's grandson, had discovered 2 adorable folding chairs tucked away in a small opening on one of his visits.  Notice those in the pictures.

Even though they had to rough it a little more than they would have perfered with no plumbing, they managed to have a wonderful time.

And it sure made my day!!!

GP

Just Some of my Parts

Good Morning,
Just wanted to show you some of my parts.  They are unique.  They actually look better in the pictures than they are in real life.  I guess you could say I am photogenic.  David is madly working on all my little crooks and crannies, and I'm just in "hog heaven"...feelin' younger every day.
Signing off with a song in my heart...La..La..La..
Gypsy Rhapsody
ps...You are going to see some of the "decorating" additions that D and V have added...paintings, lamps, etc.
So-o-o-o-o cute!

My first guests, GIFTS

Vanette is a member of a group of ladies called GIFTS.  It's a spiritual group that focuses on supporting one another in their journey towards a closer walk with God.  I was tickled pink when they showed up to visit me late one afternoon.  The house was packed.  It felt so warm and cuddly.  There were eight ladies plus Dave.  Vanette had not told the ladies where they were going...just that it was an adventure and they would just have to trust and follow.  They were bowled over when they saw me.  I was so excited I almost started dancing.  The air was humming with activity, and I was the star!!!  "Mama told me there would be days like this!"

David had prepared a dessert...raw carrot cake.  Yes, you heard me right...RAW carrot cake.
D and V are in another special group that just eat "raw" food prepared in very special ways.  This is not meat...just nuts, fruit, veggies.  Healthy, I guess...anyway the ladies loved it.  They had a champagne toast after the dessert.  Vannie's friend, Nancy, had brought her a small bottle of holy water from Lourdes, so another friend, Madalyn, said a awesome prayer and anointed me with the holy water.  WOW...COOL...AWESOME!
"I'm in Heaven"!  You will have to excuse me...sometimes, I just have to break out in song!

My friend, Doug

Just wanted to check in with several pics of my new home in Lafayette.  My friend, Doug, helped me get to my new location because D and V don't have a truck yet.  They bought a raffle ticket last week for a beautiful new truck, but, alas, didn't win.  In God's timing...just wish God could be a little faster. 

"These things I plan won't happen right away.  Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.  If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass.  Just be patient!"
Habakkuk 2:3 LB