Emily's Adventures in Retirement

Fried Cabbage, Tai Chi and Onions!

2012-01-21T15:15:00.000-06:00

For some reason I have gotten on a Fried Cabbage kick - two days in a row. Maybe that's enough for now. But, but . . . it's so easy to fix.

Here's a recipe I use from Southern Plate.com. I first encountered Fried Cabbage when I visited the Museum of Appalachia in Norris TN in April of 2008. My brother and I use to spend time with my grandparents, when they lived in the little town of Norris, back in the 40's. It still pretty much looks like I remember.

Oh Tia Chai. . . well, I was just reading not only is it good for balance, stress, help your immune system, improves flexibility, but slows bone loss and can show improvement for those with osteoporosis. I knew the other stuff, and use to participate but got out of it, but was not aware of the helping with bone loss. Since this is a situation with my housemate, I wanted to find something easy he (and I) could do together. I have DEXA scans every two years and for the last 8 years, my bone density has declined very little (which is a "whew" at age 70). Jim (housemate) had hip X-rays recently and they showed he has osteoporosis in both hips, not in the one hip as he had several years ago.

Jim was to have his left hip replaced several years ago, but because of some other medical issues, the surgery was put off. It is time to look at this situation again. He is to have a DEXA scan and then a visit with an orthopedic doctor to see what his options are. Meanwhile, we are starting to do tai chi - mainly for balance, muscle flexibilty and slow the bone loss. Also, he is having physical therapy, along with some specific exercises, to strengthen the ligaments/muscles around the 3 bulging dics in his lower back. I found an ebook on Tai Chai and have looked through the first 5 lessons; and, it has not only the video, but a written explanation of each movement to go along with the video. I'll report on the progress later.

Oh, and the onions. In 2005, researchers in Bern found that onions slow the resorption of bone (that is the breakdown of old bone) and in the same year, researchers in England found that the silicon content in onions might be helping in the building of new bone. Silicon is necessary for turning your calcium into bone. And, since Jim and I loooooove onions, guess we'll increase how much we eat.

Maybe a Little Travel this Year with "Eggie"

2012-01-13T12:57:00.003-06:00

Maybe.

I really need to get a few things done around the house this spring and summer. I am hoping to squeeze in attendance at the Kansas Egg-Stravangaza in September and the Flints Hills Discovery in October; but, not making any commitment at this time.

The bathroom needs an exhaust vent, painting, and new tub enclosure; the inside needs wall painting; some carpet areas need re-stretching; the main support beam needs bracing; kitchen needs exhaust vent so that wallpaper near ceiling quits peeling after I replace it; finish painting eaves outside; and, would like to paint the garage to match the house and trim. Sounds like enough to keep me busy. Oh, and to throw in another expense, it's time to change those expensive spark plugs on the truck.

Oh well. May have to go back to work! Guess, should start playing the lottery.

A Family Christmas & A White One Too.

2011-12-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

Monday before Christmas, it appeared that we might have a little snow - maybe giving us a white Christmas. It kept snowing and snowing until we ended up with around 14 inches. And ten days later, it's still there - probably get us through New Year's.

Son Jim, lives in New Mexico and has been coming home to Kansas for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. I prefer Christmas.

We had our family time together, we eat, laugh, tell stories, watch TV. I fixed a roast for Christmas dinner with all the trimmings - and lots of wine.

Housemate got a new TV, so a bit of time was spent getting that set up by son (oh, thank heavens for the young ones). I like it better because the sound from his TV stays in the living room and while I am watching mine, the sounds don't co-mingle. My bedroom is adjacent to the living room with door between.

Buster, daughter Juno's dog, got doggie biscuits galore this Christmas and after dinner as we were relaxing, all those doggie biscuits he was given as Christmas treats during the day fart "fragranted" the air in my bedroom where she, I and Buster were relaxing watching TV that evening (well, Buster had konked out and think Juno was there off and on too). Here he is "investigating" my new scarf from friend Sarah.

My son gave me a "tailgate mirror" that I will use when I am hitching up my trailer. I do a pretty good job of aiming the hitch in line with the receiver on the trailer, but it's the last few inches that keeps me jumping in and out of the truck to see how much closer I need to get. I won't be able to "practice" with the trailer hitch for quite awhile due to the snow and the ground being pretty muddy afterwards; so, will practice in the driveway with some object to learn how to use the mirror.

Since the house has only 2 bedrooms, I let son use my bedroom and I stayed in my trailer at night. It's the first time I have stayed in it with nighttime temperatures below 20º. I wanted to try it and see if it was something I could do. I do have the trailer hooked up to shore power, so I could use my electric blanket and run an electric heater. I couldn't do it without my electric blanket I have decided, so would need to be hooked up to some kind of power to last me during the night. The funny thing is that I had to bring the electric heater into the house to warm it up so it would run to warm up the trailer. Just wouldn't start when it was so cold. I have a memory foam mattress, and WOW that mattress was ice cold when I'd first get into bed. Did like how fast it warmed up though.

Jim, Juno and I went to town Monday. Jim wanted to wash all the brine off his car and pick up a few things for his return trip home on Wednesday. We snuck a stop to the Mall Cinema to see War Horse, a Steven Spielberg movie. Oh, it was so good to see a good movie, a tissue movie. I'd go see it again.

We celebrated Juno's 43rd birthday (on Friday really) on Tuesday nite with pizza topped with Hatch Green Chile. Hmmm, she picked out a DQ Oreo ice cream cake and ohhh that was good after eating a "hot" pizza. I gave her a tie-dyed Pink Ribbon Tee shirt I had purchased in Truth or Consequences last October at Dukatt '71.

Wednesday morning we said our goodbys to Jimmy.

No plans for seeing the New Year in - probably about like housemate and I do every year, watch the crystal ball drop on Times Square and then hit the sack. I wish all my readers a good, better or best 2011. I like what Benjamin Franklin once said: "Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."

Trans Siberian Orchestra - A Bucket List Item

2011-12-26T21:00:00.001-06:00

For a number of years I had wanted to attend one of their concerts. I am not a concert goer and my lifestyle is pretty quiet and simple. I don't care for loud noises, flashing lights and all those spectacular things that goes with many concerts. Except for TSO. They are known for their song Wizards in Winter, which is real popular this time of year, especially for those who like synchronized lights on their houses.

Well, my kids made it possible for me to go to their Christmas themed concert in Wichita KS a couple of weeks ago. It had loud noises, fantastic singing and instrument playing, laser lights, spinning lights, fog, and oh pyrotechnics. I was so excited and the show satisfied some hidden craving for everything I normally don't care for - maybe it's a youthful yearning. I loved the athleticism the performers exhibited, was fascinated by the production side and all the mechanical side affects going on. I took these pictures with my phone.

I had not reserved a motel room as I wasn't sure where I wanted to stay. It's just as well I didn't. I was so pumped up that I wouldn't have fallen asleep for a long time, so I headed back home at 10:30 that night. I figured if I pooped out by Newton, I'd stop. Well, maybe McPhereson or Salina. If I didn't stop in Salina I had better be still pumped up to make it home as there isn't much between Salina and Russell. I wound down by the little town of Walker, about 25 minutes from home. Got home around 1:30 a.m. and startled my housemate as he thought someone was breaking into the house and threatened me. Whew!

Thanks kids, it was the bestest.

New Look

2011-12-07T22:41:00.002-06:00

I know it's probably a bit juvenile, but that's the way am feeling right now; plus, a new year is coming up shortly and wanted to celebrate that.

Am feeling good for two friends: Mary who sold her RV Park and now she will be embarking on a new chapter in her life; and Sue, who sold her home back in Georgia, bought a Casita and has been hanging around Elephant Butte area in New Mexico, getting her little trailer outfitted with a catalytic heater and solar panels so she can get out there and do her thing with out relying on being plugged into an electrical socket all the time. It's finally done and off she will be going.

Way to go you two. Live your lives.

My Workamper Employer Wins Award

2011-12-02T22:50:00.004-06:00

Owner Mary of High Plains Camping of Oakley Ks was awarded a GuestRated "A" Award - one of about a dozen RV parks in the US to achieve this award for 4 years in a row. This was presented just tonight at the National Association of Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC) conference in Savannah GA.

Congratulations Mary. I have summer workamped at High Plains for two years, so with my inside knowledge, it is a well deserved recognition.

Great going kiddo.

Breaking News: Mary has sold her Park to Jim and Jessie DesRoches, as of today - Dec 7, 2011. Mary, right now, is thinking about packing, training the DesRoches and looking forward to the new chapter in her life. No definite plans.

Turkey has been consumed, leftovers are almost gone. . .

2011-11-26T11:21:00.005-06:00

Hope your Thanksgiving was a pleasant day and you had something to be thankful for - me I have lots to be thankful for.

Daughter and her dog Buster came over for dinner in the late afternoon. We ate and ate and even Buster got his dogie plate of turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and yams. Then I think the tryptophan from the turkey crept up on us, even the dog - or was it that we ate so much?

Today, the wind is blowing a bluster from the northwest and my right ear doesn't like it when combined with a cold temperature. I was going into Hays to participate in the Shop a Small Business Day, but my ear said "no". Wind gusts are around 25 mph here in the valley, but see gusts have been around the 50 mph mark up on top where the Interstate is. Ya, good day to stay inside and read - maybe start looking at those projects I need to do in the cellar - replace the old insulation around the water pipes, insulate some of those heater/ac duct pipes I can reach, stuff like that. Oh, there are the wall cracks to fill in, in the bathroom, before painting. Ya, ya, got stuff to do to keep me busy - later.

Glad I got my little boxwood shrubs covered in burlap earlier in the month. They don't like the cold icy winds of winter and short daytime thaws, so this year am trying burlap around the little ones. The bigger ones don't seem to have as much problem.

Son will be coming for Christmas and staying with us. He'll sleep in my bed and I'll try out the Casita trailer during the night when it's really cold. I have not slept in it when the night time temperature is below freezing, but I have a little heater and an electric blanket . . .

Oh, an early Christmas present from the kids will be to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and I'll be going to Wichita to see the show in a few weeks. It has been on my "bucket list" to see them sometime. I am not really a concert goer, but this will be fun. My ears will be ringing! Maybe I can get a picture or two.

Happy shopping.

Goodbyes, Turkey Texas and the Long Haul Home.

2011-11-05T17:15:00.001-05:00

It's always hard to say good bye to good friends. Geri and Chuck are such super hosts and I came to see why they love Truth or Consequences. It will definitely be a good home location for them when they decide it's time to stay put (that won't be for quite a while yet). I like TorC too.

I decide to meet my son in San Antonio at The Owl Bar for one last good green chile cheeseburger. We had a short lunch. I wanted to just hang around and be with him but I still had a way to go on this first day and he needed to get back to work in Socorro. Ya, ya I shed the tears for the next 30 miles; but as soon as I saw the snow on the mountains I told myself to get it together since didn't really know what I would encounter. Assumed the roads would be okay as it had been warm and they would still be fairly warm to melt any snow. I was traveling US380 eastward toward Roswell and Bottomless Lakes State Park.

I had some light snow through the mountains and misty rain to Roswell, highway was fine. Made it through Roswell and followed the signs to Bottomless Lakes SP. For most part, roads weren't too bad. 'Course I kept thinking about my converter bouncing around. I did manage to stabilize it somewhat by putting my step stool (now with a bent leg when I backed the trailer over it at Chloride) up against it (to the right) and turning the wastepaper basket on its side to keep both of them from moving. Will have to put some blocks of wood on the inside of the converter's cabinet and drill holes through the wood and replace with longer bolts to secure the converter - sometime after I get home. Current holes have been damaged.

The area around Bottomless Lakes is "interesting". "Bottomless Lakes are a chain of 8 lakes that are actually sinkholes that range from 17 to 90 feet deep. They were formed when circulating water dissolved salt & gypsum deposits to form subterranean caverns. Eventually, the roofs of the caverns collapsed from their own weight. Sinkholes resulted and soon filled with water & formed the existing lakes." from the hand out. First pictures are from a bluff over

looking the campground and Lea Lake.

There is a huge day use area and swimming area.Geri mentioned that the pull thrus were huge and they are. I bet one could get 3 (at least) Casitas w/tow vehicles, if not 4 Casitas w/tows in one pull thru. The Park is open year round and are very nice. I was told by the park host that the shower room was heated and the water nice and hot - not! The water was tepid. The left is a view from my campsite of the red gypsum bluff. And right is the swimming area with the low overhanging clouds that hung around the mountains to the west.

The next morning I got away about an hour later than usual because I decided to take the time to do some cleaning and put some more RV antifreeze into the water lines. I had initially put antifreeze in the water lines the day before leaving TorC, but learned with the use of the toilet, I lost some. Not much, but some. I put antifreeze in the lines because I wasn't sure what "freezing" or "below freezing" weather I would encounter at home - besides it is better for me to put the RV antifreeze in when it's warm versus a cold temperature. I would empty the holding tanks later and add the antifreeze.

I continued on US380 until the little town of Post TX (yes, there is a strong connection to C.W. Post, the cereal manufacturer), then headed north on TX 207 toward Rails, then take US62/TX207 to Floydada. My plan was to either stay in Floydada or move on to Turkey TX. Turkey is the boyhood home of Bob Wills, known as the King of Western Swing. I had the chance to meet him around 50 years ago in Flagstaff AZ at the Museum Club.

Since I had trouble finding the camping area in Floydada, that Geri told me about (and I got blank looks at two places I stopped), I headed to Turkey TX. I took US62/US70 eastward until I reached TX 70. North on TX 70 for about 20 miles until I reached Turkey.

Caprock Canyon SP is just a little west of Turkey and when I stopped at a convenience store to get directions, a lady across the counter from me said: "No, you can stay here in our little city park. Have you been to the Bob Wills Museum?" "Okay", I said and no to the museum. She told me to drive down this street and park in front of the fire house and her husband would come down and show me where to park.

I parked in front of this brand new fire house and in 5 minutes her husband, Alfred, was there. He told me that they had had the day before 1.5" of rain in a couple of hours and that the road to the camping area (can fit 12 units, w/water & electric, in there by the way) in the city park was muddy. I could park here in the group shelter area. So as I was maneuvering the trailer around, he said to park under the shelter roof. I did. Alfred works for the City of Turkey, so I guess it was okay to park that way. Sure had a lot of spectators that evening and the next morning before I left. (Oh, I paid something for my site, even though Alfred said it wasn't necessary.)

Well, Alfred asked if I would like to go through the Museum and I said yes. He went home and called Lorene. Alfred's wife came back about 15 minutes later and said that Lorene would open the Museum for me the next morning at 10:30. Well, since I wasn't in any big hurry, that was okay. The next morning I had breakfast at a local cafe up the street. The proprietor asked if I was that little trailer that was down at the City Park. He told me stories about Turkey as I was eating.

After breakfast, I drove up to the Museum which is located in the former school building along with the City Hall. Lorene opened the Museum up and turned a video about Bob Wills on for me. Oh, Lorene is over 90 years old and full of stories. I watched the video all the way through and read every sign and informational piece. It is a very nice and professional done Museum and I recommend it.

After spending an hour going through it, I left for home, continuing on TX70, until I reached US 83 and headed northward. I spent the night at an RV park so I could empty my holding tanks and put the remaining RV antifreeze in both of the tanks. Overall, I liked the way I came home, the roads overall were pretty good and there was enough "diversions" - scenery, little towns - to keep the drive from getting boring. Am sure I will be taking that direction again when I head to New Mexico.

A Happy Belly Mixed with Some History & The Turtle!

2011-11-02T16:32:00.010-05:00

I wasn't feeling quite up to par for a few days, but did manage to really enjoy all that my hosts showed me. We went to breakfast Wed morning at a place called the Happy Belly Deli. It is located next to Groovy Gritz (parking lot between) and the Deli is located in one of those old time motel motor courts, that many of us older readers are familiar with from years ago. There is an outside patio which use to be were one drove into the courtyard. It is open for breakfast and lunch and they make homemade breads and goodies. You can see the "car entrance" behind Geri.

We visited the Geronimo Springs Museum. Outside is a beautiful hand crafted display surrounding the Geronimo Springs. Currently, the Springs were not flowing due to some maintenance issues. The Museum covers the history of Sierra County and has a section dedicated to Ralph Edwards, host of the TV show Truth or Consequences. Here is some history of TorC and how it got it's name changed from Hot Springs to TorC.

The afternoon was spent getting ready to leave my hosts, Geri and Chuck, and head for home. Oh ya, the Turtle. The mountain to the southeast of TorC is known as Turtle Mountain. I had trouble distinguishing the Turtle. Chuck kept telling me I had to wait until the lighting was right before I would probably see the Turtle. It looked like an African elephant to me no matter which way I looked at it. Can you see the Turtle in Turtle Mountain?

From Ghost Towns, to Tie-Dye and a Turtle!

2011-10-31T06:30:00.003-05:00

Sunday morning, Sue and her Crew (two rat terriers) came up to Chloride to meet us. I have been following Sue for some time now. She came to a point in her life where she could travel full time in her Casita with the two dogs. Following her from the decision point to do this to where she is now, has been an entertaining adventure in life. As she says, "Living on less and enjoying life more." I had not had the pleasure of meeting her until now.

The four of us and the now combined "crew" of 5 dogs had a good afternoon, exploring the town, sharing adventures and tales, giving advice and telling of experiences.

Because of the efforts of the Edmonds', other folks have been coming to Chloride and buying property to rejuvenate into living quarters. I hope to visit many more times to see the progress.

Monday morning, the Mothership and it's current little satellite headed to Truth or Consequences, where Geri and Chuck live. What an eclectic town it is. From (old) hippie, to cowboy, to snow-birds from all over the country, to hobo, to southwestern folks, to artists, to the curious. It is also a New Mexican town that rambles in somewhat an organized manner. It is also growing with new businesses on the north end and some "groovy" ones in the old hot springs district. Lots of hot springs. And, soon to be home to the Spaceport America's Visitor Center in the old downtown district.

The first place to eat, Geri and Chuck took me to is a place called the "Cafe Groovy Gritz". Now, the co-owner Joyce is a hippie era lover and along with her co-owner husband Larry, he's a cowboy; hence the name Groovy Gritz. We sat on the "hippie" side, where they claim to have NM's largest lava lamp.

Chuck is decked out in his tie-dyed shirt made by friend Jeff of Dukatt '71, who owns a fantastic tie-dye shop where he can tie-dye almost anything (asked him if he wanted to try tie-dying my little trailer - nope he said).

Well, check out Groovy Gritz when in Truth or Consequences and meet our kool waiter Charles and have a laugh with Larry. And you are sure to come away stuffed. Oh, and don't forget to try a piece of the Groovy Gritz cake. I love to try out local eating places when I travel and this trip has been filled with them! Slim eating at home.

What an end to a great day.

PS The Turtle is coming.

Forts, Loose Screws & A Ghost Town

2011-10-26T22:12:00.022-05:00

FORT CRAIG

On the way to the little ghost town of Chloride, we stopped at Fort Craig National Historic Site, following NM1 south, from Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park, until the turnoff (about 35 miles south of Socorro). There we traveled over 4.5 miles of washboard gravel road - hence, the "loose screws" in the title. I didn't lose any rivets in the trailer but all the screws holding my converter came out and the converter tried to walk across the floor!

That is one big Fort. I managed to cover one-third of the grounds and being as warm as it was that was enough for me. If you click on the link in the name above, you will learn more about it's origin and history to early New Mexico. It wasn't hard to imagine what it would be like in the summer months. The Fort is located close to the Rio Grande River and you can see where the River is by the changing colors of the cottonwood trees.

Now it was time to go back over that washboard road and get to I-25 to the turnoff to Chloride on NM52 to Winston and then take the Chloride road for 4-5 miles.

CHLORIDE

Chloride is located on the east slope of the Black Range Mountains, in the western part of Sierra County. There is so much information about Chloride, I won't repeat a lot of it here. But, Geri, Chuck and I had a wonderful time. It is so quiet, it has such an interesting history, it has a couple and their daughter dedicated to bringing life back to this little town. Don and Donna Edmund and their daughter Linda, have spent so much of their time building back what sat for 70 years.

The Pioneer Store Museum is full of so many items of the times. The shelves and walls hold so many items from that era - food containers, clothing, tools, books, jewelry, etc.

This old typewriter still works.

A fascinating device is the McCaskey Credit System. The upper portion is where the businesses credit customers names were recorded and then assigned an account number on a piece of paper stored on this page, where Donna is showing us. This made it faster to find the particular customer when they came in to charge additional items or to make a payment. The customers activities were stored and recorded on this sleeve.

This is an old saloon, now serving as an outlet for local/area artists and craftsmen. Beautiful items inside.

The old bank is being rejuvenated into a cafe for the area and will be a good addition to the community's visitors and locals.

This gate sign was noticed and provided a good laugh for us.

I'll finish up later with another entry to include more on Chloride and my visit to Geri and Chuck's home town of Truth or Consequences. Wow, are they fabulous hosts!

The Battle for the Best Green Chili Cheeseburger

2011-10-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

in New Mexico between The Owl Bar and Buckhorn Cafe in San Antonio. And the winner for best green chili cheeseburger is:

The Owl Bar Got 6 thumbs up from us for food, but service (which am told always has been) got 5 thumbs down. Now the Buckhorn got 6 thumbs up on service, but 5 thumbs down on food. Okay, so it's settled - in my mind at least.

Birds, ducks, cranes and geese . . .

2011-10-26T20:30:00.003-05:00

I forgot to mention that son and I had dinner at one other of my listed favorite Mexican food places - Frank & Lupe's. Well, ever since Frank and Lupe turned the helm over to one of their children or several, the quality or maybe authenticity, hasn't been the same that made me fall in love with them. Since I got to compare the shredded beef between F&L and Garduno", Garduno's shredded beef was much, much better. F&L sopaillias are drier than I remember, more like puffy crackers. The last 3 times have been a disappointment, so sorry Frank & Lupe's Mexican Restaurant, am taking you off my "Favorite" list on my blog page.

Son came home for lunch, and we went to Socorro Springs for lunch. I had a Hawaiian Pizza, with green chile on it; didn't quite go together in my palates opinion. Back at his home, we said our goodbye. I always get teared up and I watched him walk down the street to his office at the VLBA, there on the campus of New Mexico Tech. Even now as am writing, am tearing up. Sorry son. I even do it when your sister (and Buster) go back home after visiting us - even though she lives in the same town as housemate and I do. Must be a parent thing.

I arrived at Birdwatchers RV Park around 3 p.m. I parked the trailer to wait for Geri & Chuck, knowing that they would need a big site for their 5th wheel. I watched flocks of birds/geese flying around, visiting with incoming folks. When they arrived, they selected a site and I moved Eggie next to them so our doors would face each other. The Park is pretty plain jane, provides water, sewer and electricity and a rest room. Trains are close by but so few of them. The owners are real nice and it's inexpensive. Some of the other folks here are volunteers at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. After getting set, we sat in the shade of The Mothership (as Geri and Chuck call their rig) and talked for a while.

We went to Socorro for a dinner of pizza at the Socorro Springs Restaurant. Chuck and I split an Elfego pizza and Geri had a 49er pizza. My son, Jim, joined us for a little while (ya more tears). We were so stuffed when we finished that it was all we could do to get back to the Park and get inside and ready for bed.

I woke up with the light coming through my window, turned the heater on to warm up the inside before getting dressed. We enjoyed our morning visiting again in the space between The Mothership and it's little spacepod Eggie. Around 11, we loaded up into Chuck's truck and headed over to Bosque del Apache, stopping first at the Visitor Center and getting some pictures of us with the sand hill crane statues. It's a nice drive around the various loops. Unfortunately for us at this time, not many migrating birds are in at this time. We saw lots of ducks, about dozen snow geese, couple dozen sand hill cranes and lots of Canadian geese. The Refuge's peak time starts in a month when there are well over several hundred thousand's of migrating birds here settling in for the winter and when it is time to head back to the nesting grounds.

In mid-November, a celebration is held between the Refuge and the City of Socorro (just about 10 miles north) called the Festival of the Cranes. The Festival draws many birdlovers, school children, photographers and those that are also amazed at the beauty and phenomenon of nature. The RV Park is full, as Chuck found out when he went to reserve a site so that he and Geri could come up. They are going to use the boondocking part of the Park and send a few days here. Geri is a photographer and wants to get some pictures additionally.

The cottonwood trees display such a brilliant yellow this time of the year. The contrast between the green and yellow is so striking. After we had lunch, in the little town of San Antonio (more later on lunch and dinner), we headed back to the Park and just relaxed. At around 4:30 pm we loaded up again and headed for the Refuge to see if we could catch any cranes or snow geese feeding. In the search for them, we found a beautiful "sunset" of cottonwood colors, the sun going down and perfect reflections on the water. It only lasted just a few minutes and we were able to capture those few moment.

We drove back to the areas that were being flooded and found some snow geese feeding across the huge man-made pond and started to drive over there. As luck would have it, they decided to take off. So we turned around and then saw that they were headed to the area we had just left! And, they had landed on the road. We later realized they had found some grain on the road. Now how did they know, from 1/2 to 3/4's mile away there was grain on the road?

As darkness fell, we decided it was time to fill the bellies. A beautiful full day and it will even be more so, for Geri and Chuck, when the Festival is going on as there will be more birds. Daughter reported from back home, that she heard her first flight of sand hill cranes.

Another delicious meal!

2011-10-20T13:45:00.003-05:00

Good morning. Hope you all slept well, especially those of you back home. The local power company had announced a four-hour shut off in town (midnight to 4 a.m.) while they did some electrical replacement thingy - and it happened to be the night for the first hard freeze warning.

Son and I had a good afternoon yesterday. We went to Trader Joe's first but didn't have a lot of time because my appointment at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store was for 2:30 - and I was hungry and everything in Joe's looked so good and interesting. But, did have time to get something for the "grand doggie Buster". Hey Buster, got you some peanut butter treats and Jimmy got you some dried chicken. The chicken doesn't look that good to this human.

Got the bottom of my laptop replaced. Sure glad I didn't have to pay for it as the initial invoice said it would cost $112 for part and labor. It was very busy in there as they were having some kind of sale going on. I had time to observe the make up of the customer base and the work staff. There were two Genius Bars - one for laptops and the other for iPod/Pads (not sure where iPhones went, probably with the iPod/iPad) - this is where you took your problem item. There were 6 to 8 working each Bar. All but one was roughly under the age of 35, all but one were male. All the sales people were under 35 male; and any females I saw were delivering sold products to a sales person or filling in at the "registration desk" where you checked in for your appointment at the Genius Bar and occasionally answering questions. As far as customers went, it was under 35 age - more female than males - mostly looking at the "iPod/Pad/Phone items and hardly anyone looking at laptops (probably where the sales were). As far as customers at the Genius Bars, the majority were over 35 and the majority were female. I did this in the 30 minutes waiting for my repair, so these observations were for that time frame only.

After getting my laptop back and since I was hungry, we went to Garduno's. Located not too far away it was still early for the Happy Hour crowd to show up so we almost had the place to ourselves for an hour. Took awhile to decide what I wanted and I settled on a machaca chimichanga. Here is a copy of their menu. (Click on the green arrows at top left to change pages.) If I had had room, I would have had the chocolate taco for dessert. That's son and I waiting for the meal. And that is our waiter, Cedrick- he was really a great waiter. On my plate, starting at the bottom and going counterclockwise is the side of chile verde con queso made with fresh Hatch green chiles, my chimichanga smothered in quacamole, refritos, sweet corn cake (1st time had ever had that - really good), arroz (rice) and a sopaipilla - the fluffy kind not like the fried tortillas we get in Kansas - and honey. And that's sour cream in the middle.

On the way home, we stopped at a Whole Foods Market that is natural and organic foods. I could have spent a couple hours in there, but the big meal was getting to me. At home, caught up on a couple Sunday night shows and one this morning (Thursday). Now getting ready to jump into the truck and head south. Geri just called and said they might be late as the part that is needed for Chuck's air bags in his truck hasn't arrived yet.

Now That I Have My Chili, It's Time for Fun

2011-10-19T11:10:00.004-05:00

Yes, I have my chili. It's Hatch Green Chili and I buy it in cans since I don't have means right now for fresh - and it's been years since I roasted and peeled chili. Canned is easier to store. Running to the grocery store was the second thing I did after arriving at my sons Tuesday. The first thing was going to Socorro Springs Restaurant and ordering my fav pizza - Elfego. It's a pepperoni pizza topped with fresh autumn roast green chili. I had devoured it when I thought of getting a picture of it. Guess will have to go back and have another!

Another item I bought was some locally made sourdough bread made at a community kitchen here in Socorro. I haven't tried it yet, but it's coming up time to have some toast as I write this posting.

Backing up to Sunday. My first day of travel was a short one, first stopping for lunch in Greensburg Ks, were I spent some time looking at the progress that has been made since the F5 tornado that wiped out 95% of the town in May of 2007. The County Courthouse was one of the few buildings not leveled.

I drove just a couple hundred miles to Fort Supply COE campground located near Fort Supply OK. Uneventful, except when I couldn't find the turn off to the campground from Fort Supply. I had directions coming from Woodward. No signage at the Fort Supply, ended up asking someone.

Since the end of the season is at the end of October, there was only one loop open. And I joined 9 others there. Had a beautiful site right at waters edge. Didn't take long to set up, didn't even lower the rear stabilizers or hook up the water. Did the electricity though. Cost, with geezer pas is $10. Spot was perfectly level - bubbles on front to back and side to side levelers was right in the middle. First time that has ever happened to me.

I visited with some local folks, from nearby Woodward and understand this really isn't a park to come to from Memorial weekend to Labor Day weekend - Party Central. It was quiet, just a bunch of old retired people getting the last visits in before closing. As is with a lot of lakes, it is low. Conservation pool is 61.4% full at 2001 feet which covers 7541 acre feet of water stored. Looks like a lot of water, but I could see some old tree tops starting to break the surface.

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the dam. I should have remembered the old sailors warning: "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning" as to what was going to hit me later in the day!

I left around 9:30, not particularly in any rush as I was just going to the Oasis State Park, just outside Portales NM. I had been there before and knew what to expect and how to get there. I stopped for lunch at a roadside rest area, outside Canadian TX, with a historical marker telling about the Marcy Trail - one of many that cover this part of the country. It served as a major road to the California goldfields in the 1840's and was later used by the overland stagecoaches.

Hint, hint. I started running into typical winds on the east side of Amarillo as I drove down US 60. It was pretty good as it was a bit of a tail wind and helping with the gas mileage. I took a FM road and cut down to I-40 into Amarillo, then take I-27 south to the Hereford TX turnoff. Opps, missed that turnoff and continued westward on I-40 until I could turn around. Well, I kept going and then decided to either find another FM road down to US 60 or go south on US 385 from Vega to Hereford. I found a FM road that would come out at Dawn TX on US 60. Oh yea. The wind on the trip down to US 60 was at my back side and even a better tailwind. Headed westward toward Clovis NM. Now the wind was getting stronger and hitting me on the passenger side. Dust around Hereford was terrible, all the way down to the TX/NM line wind/dust was bad as well as the road surface. Little Eggie's tire tracks just didn't fit very well in the semi's tracks grooved into the pavement!

I stopped at a Mickey Dee's to get something to drink to wash the "mud" down my throat. As I was getting back into the truck, I looked eastward and saw this huge cloud of red dust coming at Clovis. Oh lordie, time to get moving. I got about 5 minutes down the truck bypass to the highway to Portales, right beside the fairgrounds and wham, the biggest ole dust storm I have ever been in hit. The first round that hit, I couldn't even see the front end of my truck - like someone threw a bucket of red sand at the windshield. Wished I had a mind to grab my camera, but I was too busy hoping and praying someone wouldn't run into the back end of Eggie or me into the semi in front of me, as all traffic had come to a stop (I hoped). The semi in front of me and I stopped two more times because of visibility before we got to the intersection with the Portales highway. Here are some pictures, courtesy of the Clovis News Online.

The drive down to the Oasis SP wasn't a piece of cake either - except we kept running into white dust, then red dust, then white dust, then brown dust. Finally made it to the Park, found a site, hooked up electricity and that was it. Again, had perfect leveling site, no adjustments. Fixed a light supper and went to bed. Wind finally started dying down around 10 p.m. and by 3 a.m., when I awoke again, it was quiet. Oasis SP was a real oasis, there was wind, but no blowing dust or sand although the Park is made up of sand dunes. The sky overhead was clear unlike what was to the west of us or the east of the Park. Yup, it was an oasis for the 8 of us there.

Next morning took a shower in a nice warm shower house and left by 8:15 a.m. No problems with wind on the way to Socorro. Took US 60 all the way to I-25 at Bernardo and they south to Socorro.

This afternoon, we are off to Albuquerque to do a little shopping at Trader Joe's, get the bottom cover on my MacBook fixed (looks like a fish mouth) as found out there was a problem on some MacBooks shipped out during a certain time frame and am hoping mine is one of those. Then we'll have an early dinner at another one of my favorite places in Albuquerque - Garduno's.

This morning, besides posting this update, I took son's vacuum out to the trailer to clean up some of the sand inside. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be heading down to an RV park located just outside the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to check to see which migrating birds have shown up - looks like a fair number of Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes are there already. Here I will be meeting up with friends Geri and Chuck, from Truth or Consequences.

It's Time for a NM Chili Run . . .

2011-10-16T06:27:00.000-05:00

Having NM green chili withdrawals. I get these when I run out of my supply. I feel this is a drawback at having lived in NM for so long many years ago. Just something about chili grown in Kansas doesn't have the same uniqueness. Oh ya, I could have son send me some, but . . . you know it's not the same as when buying in person - plus, I get to see my son too!

I am feeling better this morning - all those little "bugs" giving me fits and the aches and pains seem to have mysteriously disappeared! Up at 5 a.m. and ready to hitch up but it is still dark out and it is Sunday and the neighbors might not appreciate the noise I'd make. So, will start this posting, read the Sunday morning paper, fix some coffee and eat some of my scones I made.

Today, I will head for Fort Supply OK and spend tonight at the Corp of Engineers (COE) Fort Supply campground. It's only about 200 miles down the road and I'll get there sometime in early afternoon. I don't like to drive far the first day, especially when I haven't pulled the trailer in awhile - driving tension the first day with me is not a comfortable feeling. This will be my second visit to the campground and as how the first time I was there it rained most of the two days, I wanted to see it when it wasn't raining. Housemate and I spent two nights there on our way to see his brother, who lives hear San Antonio, back in Sept 08. October is the tail end of the season there, so I don't expect too many campers in the 110 site campground. The Park is open until Oct 31st this year and I see by their calendar they will be open until Nov 28 next year. The campground opens around the first of May.

Monday, it will be on into somewhere in the eastern side of New Mexico, probably near Portales area and the Oasis State Park, just north of Portales. Been there too and as I remember they had great showers. Tuesday, it'll be on into Socorro.

Only How Many More Projects to Work on Before Winter. . .?

2011-10-15T21:00:00.000-05:00

My gosh, the cold weather will be here before long and I am working as hard as my injured lower back will let me to get as much done outside as possible.

I injured my lower back a few days after I got back home from the Ks Egg-Stravaganza. I have a bulging disc in 5th lumbar which I have had most of my life and it got a bit bent out of shape that day. I haven't been babying it but have slowly and steadily getting my list shortened.

My list consists of 40 projects: 18 I would like to have done by 10/15 (I got 14 done); 14 I would like to have done by the end of October; and, 8 I can work on throughout the winter. Oh, that doesn't include about a dozen other projects around the house, like paint the bathroom, re-insulate and label the water lines - you know stuff like that.

I replaced the 2 chains that hold the cabinet door over the microwave in the trailer. Unlike the newer Casita trailers, my cabinet door opens downward and held level by chains. They broke last summer.

I finally finished all the work on the window awnings for the trailer and since I had so many PVC pieces, I painted the side supports for the awning a bright blue! Now I can tell them from the base pieces. (see an earlier posting dated 9/22/11)

I got my Fantastic Fan, in the ceiling of the trailer, to run. I hesitate doing things with electricity, even if the trailer is unplugged and battery disconnected, it's what happens when plugged back in that scares me. With the schematics supplied by Fantastic Fan along with the new parts, I got them replaced and hee, hee, hee, everything worked! While I had the Fan apart, the fan parts got a thorough cleaning.

While the FF was apart, I attempted to find the leak on the inside. I did some patching and sealing. Now wait for a good rain. LATER NOTE AFTER A RAIN: Welllll, I fixed that first leak but now it's moved to the next two rivets, so it must be running down under the factory installed caulking. Am going to attempt to fix the leaks from underneath, plugging up the rivets from the underside. MUCH LATER NOTE: Going from underneath didn't work. Onto Plan C. I sprayed water on top of Eggie, to simulate a hard rain - and nothing went drip, drip, drip. Now to just await a real rain to see if Plan C worked.

I took off the upper refrig outside vent removing rivets and replacing the rivets with stainless steel screws. This way it will be easier for me to clean the upper vent area along with the refrigerators outside fins. I am hoping this will encourage me to clean more often. In the picture, I haven't trimmed the butyl tape off the edges yet, letting it set for awhile. Was miserable working out there because the gnats have been so bad - and they bite with a bite that stings. Seem to immune to DEET bug spray.

I made a sling in the back of the truck to carry my hoe and the weather station poles. I cut the weather station 8 foot pole in half to make it easier to store when traveling. The two halves are connected with a connector. The hoe is what I use to pull items, that are at the very front of the truck bed towards the tailgate. Climbing up onto the tailgate is waaaaay to hard for me, so hence my "grabber". I also lay strips of leftover fabric on the bed of the pickup, to pull items toward the tailgate.

One project I have been wanting to do, is to make it easier for me to close my "bear locks". A previous owner use to go bear hunting in Wyoming and didn't want any bear getting into the trailer while he and his wife were in there, so he installed two sliding dead bolts on the door - top and bottom. I always had trouble successfully sliding the bolts to their full length because the bolts sat a tad low. I removed the bolts, put a double layer of shims behind to build them up, got longer carriage bolts and wala I can slide the bolts to their full length. I don't use them that much, but may more often now - just to keep the bears out!

Started putting my "summer" clothes away in another closet and pulling my "cold weather" clothes out. Having two days of rain got the fire lit under me to get that done. Son emailed me and said they had frost that morning. Glad am taking my electric blanket. Oh, I know "softie" but I ain't as young as you!

The trailer propane tanks need re-painting, so painted them white and added pink ribbons to each side.

Now that the rains have passed for a bit, I want to get started on making my drying rack, which I will hang off the back of the trailer. This will mainly be to dry bath towel out after a shower or other items - no no personal items. I have been to places where there aren't any trees to string a clothesline up, so the drying rack will do in those instances. NOTE: drying rack is going to wait until I get back from New Mexico. Just too many other more pressing things to do.

I also attempted to temporarily fix a leak in the house guttering at a corner, but suspected will have to reset the corner or replace with a downspout and somehow run the water away from the house/sidewalk in the winter so there won't be ice buildup. LATER NOTE: well that temporary fix didn't work either. At least the drip guard, I have to reinsert from time to time, from the roof to gutter is working! I also took down some bird nests that had been built in the outside roof supports. See the "painted" rock (that triangle shaped thing) sitting up there to discourage them from coming back (works on my front porch)?

It's getting time to start loading up the trailer and heading to NM. Will go to daughter's Day of Caring first and then head out and get as far as I can. I try to stick with the "Rule of 4" when traveling, especially with the trailer. Drive no more than 4 hours, or not more than 400 miles, or quit by 4 p.m. Since it's hard for me to cover 400 miles in 4 to 5 hours of driving, I don't have to use that rule too often. There have been a few times I have stretched it a couple days in a row and paid for it the third day.

Welp, trailer is almost loaded, back of pickup has essentials and a few items for "just in case", i.e my RV antifreeze. Getting the trailer ready is enough but need to get the house ready and check and recheck to make sure the housemate has food for meals, bills are paid, plants get watered and so on.

Didn't get away as planned. Had a "burp" in how I was feeling, so delayed the departure a day. I did make it to daughter Juno's Day of Caring and see her model an outfit from a local business. The Day of Caring's models are all breast cancer survivors and is a fundraiser for the local cancer council. You go Survivors - women and men.

Re-reading some Old Posts

2011-09-24T22:30:00.003-05:00

I have gone over a few posts from a few years ago and have some notes:

I am so happy to report that daughter Juno is coming up on her 6th year as a cancer survivor. Am one big and proud mama. The experiences between us has, since then, been "mama proud". I have met so many survivors since then and they have amazing stories about their lives since. I feel a kinship with them.

My friend Bonnie that I visited in Paris KY back in April, 2008 was recovering from her 6th treatment of breast cancer when I visited her. She passed away in July, 2010. My friend continues to be an inspiration to me. I do miss her physical presence.

And as a recap: In the Fall of 2008, I took my housemate to the San Antonio area to see his youngest brother and we traveled westward to New Mexico to stay with son in Socorro. That was the first time I had traveled with someone else in my trailer.

I retired from the work world in June, 2009. It's been an adjustment but I still manage to spend time in my little Casita. I took a few months and traveled northward through Nebraska, the Dakota, into Iowa with wonderful experiences and new friends.

Last November, I visited my brother in So Calif. I drove out - without the trailer. Stopped off along the way out I did see some old friends in Gallup, NM and took some time to do some sightseeing. I stopped in Socorro to see son, Jim, before heading home.

This year I made a trip to Mackinac Island for a wedding at the Grand Hotel in early August, with a couple of long-time girlfriends. It was a fast trip. The Grand Hotel is such a beautiful place and I did see some areas that I would like to go back and explore. Then I spent a week at Milford Lake with other Casita owners, just kibitzing. I am hoping to squeeze in a couple more short trips before it's time to winterize the trailer.

I did workamp last and this summer for Mary, owner of High Plains Camping in Oakley Ks. It was a great experience and I was doing activities that I liked doing. There was so much variety and the wonderful experience of meeting so many people.

In between trips, I am working on house repairs or maintenance projects, same with the trailer as I keep seeing things that I would like to have or improve upon. If I am taking it easy, it's reading a book or working on my ribbon wind socks.

An Egg-Stravaganza Gathering

2011-09-22T09:04:00.002-05:00

I joined 21 other Casita trailer owners at Farnum Creek Campground on Milford Lake, near Junction City Ks for 6 nights. Originally, the get-together was suppose to be at another campground but due to an abundance amount of water in Milford Lake, the area where we to gather was under water. The Corps of Engineers have been unable to release any water from the Lake due the "flood" stage of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers at this time. The Republican and Smokey Hill Rivers join together at Junction City, forming the Kansas River which later joins the Missouri River. Farnum Creek Campground had the same problem, but that Park's Loop A had fewer sites underwater and still gave us enough sites for all of us.

Another thing we had to be aware of was the accumulation of a dangerous blue-green algae in the water due to the Corps inability to let water out, as stated above. This algae has an unpleasant history of killing family pets and also causing the death of several people.

Prior to leaving, I wanted to get at least one of the new window shade awnings done. It didn't look like I could get both of them done, along with the cleaning, repairs, and stocking the trailer, plus getting set up at home. I used an idea submitted by Sue and Sandy, on the Casita Club Forum. I added extra grommets for the use of more suction cups to both the top and bottom when it is windy - think that comes from living in windy western Kansas. I wanted to try out my new coffee maker that is in a blue color to match a Casita blue.

Monday, (Labor Day) I woke up to a very cold morning - 44 degrees - brrrr.Couldn't wait to get through breakfast and get started on chores for today: clothes lined up, food items needed; getting hitching up jobs done; putting the water heater anod back in the water heater - the day is not going fast enough. A little excited - You bet I am. Only thing I couldn't get done was to put my "4 Winds Trailer Quilt" spare tire cover on the spare tire - it was getting late in the day and I was tired, so just left it off. It needs some repair work done anyway - the vinyl had dried out and was cracking. Hate the idea of doing a new one with the "4 Winds" quilt block on it. Juno came over for chicken enchilada dinner.

Tuesday, spent a lousy night trying to sleep and it was cold again - down to 48 degrees. I finished up the "hitching up" jobs. Oh boy, was I slow - Note to self: must get out and hitch up more often. Thank heavens for my checklist, as I forgot to do a couple of things. Oh heck, I am ready to go - let's do it! Housemate Jim, came out to check trailer's rear lights - oops forgot to plug trailer electrical cord into the truck!

I am heading to Farnum Creek Campground a day early. I am ready. Oh my gosh, I am really heading out and pulling Eggie. I am going over everything I might have forgotten . . . Doing okay there, stopped in Hays to pick up a few things, got back on Interstate 70 and headed east toward Junction City. It felt sooooo good. The only odd feeling was that I wanted to put on my flashers indicating a "slow moving vehicle". I drive around 60 mph and vehicles were flying by me at 75-80 mph! It's not a good feeling when you see someone coming up behind you and then they realize you are driving a whole lot slower than they are. I made it to Farnum Creek Campground around 5:15. Whew! (See next post on the week of activities.)

The Week At 2011 KS Egg-Stravangaza

2011-09-22T09:03:00.004-05:00

What a great week - weather wise and event wise. I left my laptop at home and had my cellphone only for emergencies (most of the time didn't have any "bars" anyway). As my daughter said: "You are going to be unplugged?" YES, YES, YES.

It was a week to talk face to face with others, be entertained and entertain. I learned so much more about those that I already knew and some interesting little life experiences from those that were new to me. And, there were a number that I knew through the Casita forums but had not had a chance to meet in person. I felt like I was living as humans were suppose to live!

We'd meet in the mornings for coffee at the host's site. Some days there were a few activities planned and other days there wasn't much. We'd get together in the evenings for grilling or potluck or both then we'd gather around a campfire to chat more. We had lunch together at a Mexican restaurant in Junction City one day and it was so good I went back two days later to have another of their margaritas and a chimichanga with green chili sauce.

We toured each others trailers and picked up ideas. I got so many ideas myself. I shared my new outside window shades that I made, my sandbags (blue things on ground) to hold down the awning strap. I took some of my ribbon windsocks (hanging off awning in picture of trailer) and sold 9 of them - got my extra 2 nights paid for plus my 2 lunches.

I decided to go a day earlier and stay a day longer leaving on Monday. Glad I did as so many others had chosen to do the same thing. Three Casitas were already there when I arrived on Tuesday and nine of us stayed over until the following Monday. There were 21 Casitas altogether with a few leaving on Saturday, one arriving on Saturday and the others leaving on Sunday, with our friend Rob coming in late Saturday night after the gates closed. He stayed in his trailer outside the gate. He was suppose to be with us from the beginning but needed to do a series of medical tests in Houston that week and drove like h*** to join us.

Lot of the folks had Larry G do some new mods (modifications for those not familiar with the term in RVland). Larry has been around Casitas quite a few years and has a little business to help Casita owners with repairs or mods. He travels the Casita Rally circuit. I had him come look at my ceiling fan, which had quit working. He didn't have the potential parts needed and I ended up calling the manufacturer for the parts - which they would send to my home at no cost to me. Great folks at Fantastic Fan. Anyway, Larry didn't charge me 'cause he couldn't get it fixed. I bought a new high rise faucet for the kitchen sink which I had been wanting. Had a little bit of trouble putting it on, but it worked and Larry came by later and checked everything out. [Note: fan is still not fixed as had unloading things to do and then hurt my lower back- not unloading the trailer.]

Some of the mods I can do is to make a clothes drying rack to attach to the rear bumper, when parked; extend my weather station pole up another 2 to 4 feet and make a holder for it; use a 7/16th socket wrench to hold an acorn nut when putting in a new rivet around the cabinets (takes two people to do that) inside; use stainless steel screws to replace rivets in upper refrig outside vent so can clean easier; do a gray water tank air vent release; and get some long painting roller poles to give side support to the awning when it's extended. Oh, and perhaps a flag holder for my three flags I put out front on the trailer - American, Kansas and a Pink ribbon flag. I was able to add 4 more survivors names to my Pink Ribbon Flag.

We had lots of time to just visit and share and lots of time to ourselves if we chose. Am glad I went and I have it down on my calender for next year at the same time. Only next time, I'll either wear long pants the whole time and/or spray my legs so they won't get bit 50+times by black flies. Oh my, do they itch (scratch, scratch).

Thanks to Jan T of Sister Act Photography, Council Grove KS for the group photos at the beginning and end of the video and the one of Eggie and I. I apologize for the fuzzyness in the pictures, if you go full screen.

Bro & I Live Back in Time

2011-09-19T23:10:00.000-05:00

He's been my brother for 66 years now and I wouldn't trade him for any other guy. Oh ya, there were times when we were growing up - who doesn't with their sibling(s). I remember dad boosting me up to look through the window in mom's hospital room to see my new brother. I don't know if I understood about having to share space and my parents attention but it has worked out good.

Well, the males made it through the 9 days together. And Bro wasn't leaving until the following Tuesday, so we had some time to go exploring. Tuesday we had an honest-to-goodness tornado threat and the tornado sirens went off. My brother was getting an education on Kansas weather. He made it through the tense moments.

Wednesday, he and I went to the Ellis Museum, which is primarily about the railroad history of the town. I was primarily interested in any pictures of the 100 year flood that took place in 1957. There were a few pictures available showing many existing buildings that are still standing. My little house went through that flood and one or two others in it's lifetime. The creek that contributed to the flooding is called Big Creek. Daughter's house is located along the Creek and there is a marker on a light pole marking the depth of the Creek at that time during the flooding. Her whole street and houses along both sides were flooded. And the bed of the creek is around 35 feet below the base of her flooring.

Bro had also seen some old vehicles in the back yard of the local lumber yard. We went by to get permission to take some pictures. Several of the vehicles are owned by the Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home & Museum and they don't have any place to store them inside, so the local lumber yard is keeping them for the Museum. A number of vehicles donated to the Museum have been donated by the Walter P family. There is a circa 1940 delivery van, 1950's Dodge carryall and a 50's De Soto.

Thursday, we drove out to see Monument Rocks (also known as the Chalk Pyramids), Keystone Gallery, Fick Fossil Museum in Oakley, along with the Buffalo Bill Bronze Statue, telling how BB got his name; and, take him to see where I have workamped at High Plains Camping the last two summers and to meet the owner and Neighbor Mike. On the way to the Keystone Gallery, we passed the ghost town of Elkader - uh oh that got my bro's interest. When he got home he dug into the history of the area.

Friday was spent doing household chores. Bro asked if I had a box as he said there was no way he could get all his clothes back in the bag the efficient way his wife packed his bag. So we packed a box of dirty clothes and sent them home.

Saturday, bro and I went to see Cowboy and Alien. I liked that movie.

Sunday, daughter, bro and I went to the Blue Sky Farm that raises miniature horses. It was interesting and the owners, Marion and Donna, told us a lot of interesting information about miniature horses and all about their horses.

We also took carriage rides.

And, I had to get some "family" pictures:

And then it was time to say good by (until next time) at the train station back in Dodge City. It was so much fun catching up, talking about funny things that had happened when we were youngsters and learning some more about each other.

Great Having My Brother Visit

2011-09-03T20:17:00.016-05:00

My brother lives in So. Calif., in a quagmire of buildings, traffic, people and everything else I don't like compacted into small spaces - i.e. it's crowded. He doesn't like it either, but for various reasons still lives there. His children and grandkids live in the area and he adores those grandkids. The inability to see his grandkids in almost 3 weeks, wore on him especially towards the end of the visit. I think he missed one of his cats even more! Kitcat. This picture is pretty much of what I saw of Kitcat on my visit last November.

We don't get to see each other very often, although seeing him twice in 9 months is a very special treat for us. He is younger than I am. I love him to death, but I must admit my sister-in-law does a pretty dang good job of putting up with him every day! He has one of those come-back wits that make you careful about what you say or you find your foot in your mouth right away. He loves history and while here brought out interesting little tidbits that I didn't know or even realize. Over the years I have lived in this little town, he has sent me things - old postcards, a plate from the 1930's, souvenir spoon from even earlier, a soda pop bottle from a local bottling company that survived for a couple of years in the 1930's - he has bought on eBay. He has also sent me some re-productions of 1870's topography maps of the area. All these items were gone over, discussed and became learning points of interest of the history of this area.

Fran is my brother's name, short for Francis. Fran was here to help my housemate Jim with what was needed while I went to Michigan for a friend's daughter's wedding - posted earlier. In early July, it became apparent that my housemate was going to need a male-type minor surgery. And, concern was that it would be like the last one he had several years ago - painful and uncomfortable. As the days went by, it looked like the minor surgery was going to be the week before I left for Michigan. Fran popped up and said if everything could be worked out, he would come and stay with Jim. Well, it worked out. As it turned out, Jim's minor surgery was even less than minor; but Fran came anyway. I am glad he did.

Fran hates to fly and he decided to come by Amtrak to Dodge City. Even though he had a sleeper roomette, he said it was pretty bad and didn't get much sleep. I had reserved a room for us at a local motel. The Amtrak was two hours late (in the middle of early morning), was around 3:30 a.m. when we finally got to bed. We slept a bit late the next morning and met my friend Sarah for breakfast. I was going to Michigan with Sarah. That's Sarah with the pink flamingos on her birthday last year. She collects pink flamingos.

Since we were in Dodge City, we had to visit Boot Hill Museum - watched a gunfight, had lunch, wandered through the buildings learning about Dodge's early history. Since I use to live there, I talked about additional history of what I had learned; we went on a tour of the Santa Fe Railroad Depot/Harvey House/Theater. That was really interesting as I had been in the building several times before the renovation work and to see all that has been done is great. I have been to a number of productions put on by The Depot Theater Company in the beautiful Theater.

The next few days at home was time spent getting adjusted - where the local grocery store is located, daughter Juno's house, letting her dog Buster become acquainted, where WalMart and other businesses in Hays are located etc as he was going to use my pickup while I was gone. And, visit some historical sites around the area too. Fran, Juno and I visited the Ellis County Historical Museum on Sunday before I left. I was wanting to see some pictures on the 100-year flood of 1957 that devastated Hays as well as my little town, but there weren't any pictures or information on display. Although, we almost had one while we were there. A storm dumped a couple of inches that afternoon, while we were at the Museum, and my backyard was flooded when we got home.

Okay, here is where wedding trip would be inserted. Next posting is when I got home and what we did.

What Bro and I did Coming Up Next . . .

2011-09-02T23:00:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I am slow getting my bro's visit posted; but hey the weather turned hot and I decided to catch up on the Spring maintenance work, on the trailer, I didn't get done in the Spring; got started on some of my Fall maintenance work, repair a few things that needed to get done so I could finish the project I started; and I added some EZE Guard to the sides of the trailer to direct a light rain or morning dew to the ends of the trailer. Oh, trailer has it's Fall wax coat too; and the top and underside of the awning have been cleaned, tires inflated, window rain/shade covers made. Now that it's going to cool off - oh I heading east to Milford Lake (over near Manhattan KS), about 4 hours from home - and met with around 30/40 other Casita trailer owners for 4 or 5 days. Not taking my laptop either. So either before I leave or afterwards. ..

Will post in a few days. Have some "jobs" to do around the house and trailer that I need to get done. Just finished re-venting the dryer that included 18 feet of new aluminum venting. Am planning on attending a Casita Rally after Labor Day.

WEDDING DAY . . .

2011-08-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without. ~James C. Dobson

Love is a flower which turns into fruit at marriage. ~Finnish Proverb

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ~Paul Sweeney

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.
~Ogden Nash

Okay, enough quotes about marriage. No, I am not married, was once and for about 28 years; but he is one of my best friends still. We get along better now.

Quiet morning. Took pictures, went down to town to get a couple of history books on the Island for my brother. The wedding was set for 3:30 p.m.

Breakfast with the Kansas gang. Location of the wedding on the porch (see the giant chess set?), view from the porch, looking down The World's Longest Porch My room is on the 2nd floor just above the bottom post corner of the flag - has a little balcony. The two young fellows are from the Philippines.
This carriage (shown here on the shower curtain), is on a lot of items found around the Hotel.

Okay, it's almost time for the wedding ceremony.

Gotta stock up on tissue for the bride. Here come the moms.

Ahhhhh, here comes the beautiful bride.

Where are the
tissues, Dad?

Looks like Mom Sarah needs some tissues too.

I do, I do.

Kiss the Bride.

Mrs Courtney and Mr Adam.
I do want to say that we were a little bit concerned about the weather as it was overcast up until about 30 minutes before the wedding ceremony started. There were about 30 in attendance which made it a very nice intimate wedding.

Shortly afterwards the wedding dinner was held in a small dining area adjacent to the Main Dining Room. We were escorted into the dining room before the Hotel guests were allowed to come into the dining room. Not so when we left the dinner - right down the middle bride and groom and party walked. Even a spattering of applause was heard.

Here we are: myself on the left, bride's mom Sarah, and Sherry. We are known as The Hens. Bride Courtney is our Pullet. She and Adam reside in the Washington D.C. area so we don't get to see our young hen very often.

The traditional cake cutting.

It was such a special wedding in a very beautiful place on a gorgeous day. I am so thankful that my friend Sarah asked me if I wanted to go. I didn't hesitate saying yes. I have known Courtney for around 25 years so she was just a youngster starting school (or right around there) for the first time when I met her. What an outstanding young lady she has become. Adam, I recently met, can hold his own with Courtney and Sarah; and, he is easily adored, what with his wit and fast comebacks to Sarah and Courtney. He'll do good.

The evening was quiet for us. I packed for departure on Sunday. Our plans were to get home on Tuesday sometime as Sarah had a commitment at her school on Wednesday. I spent the evening walking around the Grand Hotel again, down on the grounds again, around the Parlor Floor again. Staying at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island was now crossed off my "Bucket List."

Little Tidbits Learned . . .

2011-08-18T12:18:00.003-05:00

I always enjoy learning what makes something/life tick in the area where I am. Here I am on an Island that has no motorized vehicles, except emergency or the forklift on the dock unloading freight.

I learned that the Hackney horses, that pull the special surreys or the Grand's surreys, work about one hour a day. Most of the time they are standing and are limited as to how many they will pull in a surrey. They will burn more calories in the one hour of work than one draft horse will in a day's shift. Being a much more high strung animal, it is easy to understand that.

The draft horses will work a 6 or 8 hour day. They will work no more than 4 hours at a time, then either have a one hour lunch break and come back for a couple more hours either that afternoon or perhaps in the evening. And of course, water is offered to them often. If they work an 8 hour day, then they are off for 24 hours. Sometimes they work a 4 hour shift, then off for 24 hours and then work maybe two 4 hour shifts.

Their feed was developed by an Island vet and they often get fed 3 times a day. They are bathed every day - before going to work and afterwards. Bathing includes brushing too. They do wear shoes that have a special plastic coating that is between the horseshoe and the pavement.

The dray wagon horses pretty much have the same schedule as the wagon pulling horses. They cannot pull more than 3000 pounds in a load and that includes the weight of the wagon and the driver. The further back the freight load is put on the wagon, the more it weighs and has to be taken into consideration on the weight limit.

On the average, 15,000 people visit the Island each day during the summer. There are around 350 full-time all year round residents. The Grand will have a staff during the winter months (usually around mid-October to early May) to do repairs, etc. During the winter, when the water between the Island and mainland is frozen, snowmobiles are used to get back and forth and are allowed on the Island. The rest of the year, full-timers use the ferries to get back and forth or perhaps their own boats. If one is of Catholic faith and an Island full-timer for a minimum of 10 years, then you can be buried in the Catholic cemetery on the Island.

Lots of weddings take place on the Island. Another wedding was scheduled an hour after Courtney's and a couple on Sunday at the Grand. The following weekend, there were 6 or 8 weddings scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Grand.

There are a number of bed and breakfast establishments if one wants to stay closer to the downtown or even away. The homes are privately owned, but not the land under them as the land is owned by the National Park Service. There are strict rules for keeping them and one we learned is that all plumbing must be drained before winter to prevent pipe ruptures. If you are living in the residence full-time, then a portion is exempt from winterizing.

One of the things I did note at the Grand, is that all the wait staff are non-Caucasian. I was told that this is a tradition and works out very well. There is no tipping allowed at the Grand and we were told that everyone is paid "very handsomely". Tipping is allowed at the other properties that the Grand operates. Everyone, and I mean everyone on staff, does such a grand job of making everyone feel special - even me from the Kansas plains.

On The Island, Pre-Wedding . . . Part 2 Friday Activities

2011-08-14T21:00:00.001-05:00

I had a little time to explore the Parlor Floor, of the Grand Hotel, before we met for breakfast in the main dining room. Here is the lobby:

Notice the colors. Color is the main theme as well as the flower geranium, specifically red geraniums. There are flowers everywhere. They come from a nursery somewhere in the State and are brought in early spring. The soil is produced on the Island by composting food scraps, animal dung and the straw from the horse barns. To discourage the many gulls from becoming a bigger nuisance than they are, the straw from the stalls are not only mixed in the compost but put on top of the compost pile.

After a breakfast in the Main Dining Room, the three of us chose to take a carriage ride around the Island this morning. We could get off at certain points and spend time experiencing what was there at that destination and then get back on the next carriage. Sarah left about half way through as she needed to get ready for the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner.

There are bicycles everywhere - either bring your own or rent. This is known as "bicycle hill". Since the horses are main mode of transportation of people and freight, they are pampered beasts. There are two kinds of horses on the Island - draft and Hackney. Most horses are of the draft size - Percheron & Belgian. Here after hauling a carriage from Carriage Tours, the horses get much needed water. In fact, you see the horses getting watered often around the Island. Here is a link to the Mackinac Island Town Crier's article on the return of the horses to the Island this Spring. There are 500-600 horses on the Island during the summertime and I found this interesting - virtually NO flies with that many horses. I ran across this YouTube video on "Fly Predators on Mackinac Island". It is is long, but not only interesting on how they eliminate flies but has some beautiful scenes of the Island.

The Carriage Tours has several stops, including a butterfly house, Arch Rock and Fort Mackinac

Sherry and I had lunch at Fort Mackinac and had a beautiful view overlooking the harbor.
We finished our tour by riding the carriage back down to town. From there Sherry and I walked around, bought some of the famous Mackinac Island fudge - and yes those are fudge.
By the time Sherry and I got by to the Hotel, via horsedrawn taxi, we were tired. I was hungry later and went down to the Main Dining Room and had a very elegant dinner of prime rib that was so moist and wonderful tasting. Now, I don't order prime rib very often because I have to eat my meat well done (not because I want to) and usually well-done prime is a bit dry and often takes a knife to cut it; but this wasn't so. There were so many silverware pieces at my table and sometimes I wasn't quite sure which one to use. My waitor would note my hesitation and would very discreetly indicate which one I was to use. I wasn't intimidated either because he was so discreet about it. Been many a year since I had used that many silverware pieces.

I do want to mention here, that there is an evening dress code at the Hotel: Men (and boys) will wear a jacket and tie, while women will wear a dress or a nice pantsuit/slack/jacket type top. About 90% of the women, at dinner, were wearing dresses. I saw many a little tyke dressed up in pretty dresses or suit and tie too. Casual resort wear is acceptable during the day.

Well, after that delicious dinner it was back to my room, watch a little more of the Hotel history video on TV and then to bed.

On The Island, Pre-Wedding . . . Part 1

2011-08-10T09:30:00.015-05:00

Most of this will be recollections as I didn't take too many notes from here on out. I'll probably inject something out of context here and there, but it all ties in.

Most of my time up to the wedding, was spent exploring and learning about the Island and it's interesting facts. And not having any motorized vehicles makes it even more interesting. Sarah was able to go along on a carriage tour of the Island with Sherry and I. She did leave about half way through as it was getting close to rehersal time.

I was very fortunate to have a room on the 2nd floor and on the porch side. There are 360+ rooms and each one decorated differently. Here are some room pictures along with the veiw from my window.

I could also see freighters passing by each day on their way through the Lakes via a series of locks. We also learned of the only way freight was delivered to the island. In the picture below, are 2 trucks on a freight barge. Each morning these trucks are ferried over to the docks. The trailers are unloaded onto the dock and the tractor/trailers are then taken back to the mainland without having set a wheel on the dock. The freight is loaded onto a dray and the freight is delivered for the day via the horsedrawn dray. The freight barge also delivers feed and grain for the 600+ horses on the Island every week I was told; plus, any other types of freight.

On The Way to a Wedding . . . (Part 4)

2011-08-10T09:16:00.000-05:00

We rode the Star Lines over to the Island. This particular line has a spray of water out the back, much like the "rooster tail" you see behind jet skies. I asked if the tail had an integral role in the propulsion of the boat - or was it for show. And Jeff's response to me was "Whose boats can you see way out there in the distance and instantly know which one is ours?" The Star Lines are the only one of 3 ferries ferrying people and freight out to the Island, that has the rooster tail.

Here is our first glimpse of the Grand hotel, on one of the highest bluffs on the Island. What a view looking up towards it.

Our first view coming into the harbor. A lighthouse greeted us as we rounded the jetty.

This (right) St Anne's Catholic Church was hauled over to the Island in 1780, via the "ice bridge" which forms during the wintertime.

On The Way to a Wedding . . . (Part 3)

2011-08-09T20:25:00.000-05:00

Oops, forgot we had one more night on the road before boarding the ferry to Mackinac Island. I was so anxious to get here and now as I am writing this, it is time to leave. Mother Nature has decided - oh wait I am getting ahead of myself.

Wednesday night we stayed in Wausau WI in a hotel downtown. Drive was fairly vanilla with a little dab of whipped cream here and there. We drove through Amish country around Lewiston, MN, saw lots of folks on motor cycles heading west (probably Sturgis), lots of yellow and white wildflowers, lots of wind farms, we saw cranberry bogs around Tomah WI, learned what potats are, and saw lots of cornfields, and a very bad accident on the Interstate (I-39/US-51) a few miles south of Wausau.

We stayed at the Jefferson Street Inn, located in downtown Wausau. A very nice facility, though I had a rough night. Some ingredient in my dinner meal, was not acceptable to my body and I had an allergic reaction - a strong one for me. It didn't require an epipen or trip to the hospital, but my throat did swell up. Consequently, I didn't finish my meal. I did manage to get some sleep that night in between my body doing it's job of ridding itself of the unwanted.

(Wow, all the ferry boats are coming into the harbor at once - probably to catch all the early departures on this Sunday morning. I guess we are leaving the Island around 11:30 as got a text to place bags outside the room door by 9:30 a.m. and breakfast at 8:30. My bags are ready.)

Okay, back to the trip. After having breakfast at a recommended cafe called The Mint Cafe, just around the corner from the hotel, we headed north on I-39/US-51 to WI-64 at Merrill. We drove and drove at a very slow speed as the speed limit was 55 almost all the way across, except through the many small towns, and the majority of drivers ahead of us were very law abiding. I remarked to Sherry, that the further north you go the drivers must take their time to enjoy the scenery while the further south you go, the drivers hurry up to get out of the heat.

We arrived at Marinette WI around noontime but not yet seeing Lake Michigan. Had lunch at Perkins and headed north on US-41 toward Menomiee MI. And wala, there was Lake Michigan. We headed north until the intersection of MI-35, then followed the coast hoping that we would get to see a lot of the coast - not! We saw a lot of trees. And again, the back sides of leisurely driven vehicles. Course, didn't help that we were somewhat in a hurry to get to St. Ignace MI to catch a ferry before it got dark. At Escanaba, we headed northeastward on US-41/MI-2 towards Gladstone and then onto MI-2 eastward to St Ignace.

We finally arrived a little before 7 p.m. (EDT) and the next ferry wasn't leaving until 7:30. Whew! Ah, here comes our ferry - people and freight only. We're holding on and the girls are ready to head out. Only transportation allowed on the Island, is your two feet, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage/drays. There are emergency vehicles, if needed and an airport for emergency purposes. It's a step back in time -well, almost.

Next posting will be some little things we learned on the way to the Island, via the ferry's enchanting tour guide - us girls had him all to ourselves.

On The Way to a Wedding . . . (Part 2)

2011-08-06T20:25:00.021-05:00

As I mentioned in the previous posting, we spent 2 nights with Sarah's cousin Ila. This area is where Sarah grew up - Lake Preston area - where family lived and lives, where family is buried. She went to South Dakota State University (yea Jackrabbits), in nearby Brookings and is a staunch supporter. Believe me, I know how strong a supporter she is! She is so much more than I am of Kansas State, where I graduated from.

We ate breakfast at a Perkins in Brookings, then visited the McCrory Gardens located on the campus. Along with the green velvet lawns, the flowers were just gorgeous. The Gardens are maintained by student workers as well as volunteers. Here are some pictures:

In the Gardens, there is a little building that looks like a doll house, or a dwarf's house, or , , , Sarah remembers it as a one-pump gravity fill gasoline station from Lake Preston. Look at it now - along with the three of us standing in front of the little gas station:

After spending a good part of the morning at the Gardens, Sarah took Sherry and I on a tour of the campus; stopping at the Student Union Book Store to stock up on SDSU "spirit" items. She drove us around the downtown area of Brookings, which has been beautifully restored and we stopped at Nick's Hamburger Shop and had, what are now called sliders, mini-hamburgers. The mini-patties are cooked using a tank fry method and that's the way it has been doing it since 1929. I indulged in a very, very thick strawberry/pineapple malt - this lasted me all afternoon.

One thing that Sarah really wanted to do, was visit her mom and dad's grave. Sherry and I both knew her mom and she was a very special lady to us. When Sarah saw that lichens were starting to cover the headstone, she was determined to get them cleaned off. To a nearby grocery store, the two came out to the car loaded to clean and scrub the headstone. And, now it looks so much better.

After a supper at a local restaurant, all of us including her cousin Ila, went back to the same cemetery and looked for the graves of some other family members. We found some and some we didn't. It was a good evening for all of us, including me.

Tomorrow we leave for St Ignace Michigan to catch a ferry over to Mackinac Island and our stay at the Grand Lodge.

On The Way to a Wedding . . .

2011-08-05T22:30:00.001-05:00

My brother arrived and we got to spend a few days together before Sarah and Sherry picked me up on Monday, to head to Sarah's daughter's wedding on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Bro volunteered to stay with my housemate while I took off.

Bro and I toured the Dodge City Boothill & Museum Thursday morning after meeting Sarah for breakfast. I showed him around Dodge City pointing out historical things and answering his questions. We also got a great tour of the Santa Fe Depot, going thru the Fred Harvey part, railroad section, up stairs and into the Theater where they have great productions throughout the year. We arrived at home around 4 p.m. and spent the rest of the day getting situated. Because I live in a

2-bedroom house, I let my brother have my bedroom and I slept in my little trailer.

On Sunday, bro, daughter Juno and myself went to the Ellis County Historical Museum where he could learn more about the history of the area. While we were there a busload of around 50-60 visitors from Illinois showed up; and, just as they were to leave the bus a big downpour caught those folks getting off the bus. The rain was very welcome as there has been so little of it in this part of the country this year though.

Just the night before I picked up my brother, our little town had experienced a micro burst, causing a lot of tree damage, some building damage and downed power lines - power was out all over town due to a metal barn roof flying into the town's main incoming power line (power was restored around 8 hours later). The two rains together, provided us with 6.1 inches of rain in just a little over 24 hours - along with flooding in some areas and a semi-truck blown over on the nearby Interstate.

Monday morning at 9 a.m. Sarah and Sherry were suppose to pick me up. Nine-fifteen came and went, 9:30 was slipping by and at 9:45 the girls showed up.
They had headed westward on the Interstate at WaKeeney and soon realized that I didn't live that way and had to turn around and backtrack some. Finally we headed out and drove eastward to Salina, then headed north on US-81. We took US-81 all the way to Volga, SD for the first night. We saw cornfield after cornfield, soybean field after soybean field and lots of little towns in-between.

In South Dakota, we added water, water everywhere to the list. The big and even little rivers were still flowing pretty dang good. In fact, when we got a little past Arlington SD, we encountered one of those DOT signs that warn you of possible delays, etc up ahead; well, this one warned us of "water on the roadway ahead". We drove and drove and just when we were thinking it wasn't going to happen; bingo over a hill and the next half of a mile was under water. I couldn't get to my camera fast enough to get a water over the road picture but did get one towards the end of this section as we were climbing out of the little dip in the road. Yes, we drove thru the water as other vehicles were making it through. So we gritted our teeth (well, Sherry did a bit more and did a bunch of praying) and took off hoping that a recent hole hadn't developed after the last vehicle went by (we pretty much took turns) or a big semi would approach us. We did have some guys in a bass boat approach the roadway as we were going by and we had visions of him casting his line at us (as he was doing it in our direction) and snagging something on the car. We didn't want to think any further than that. We made it to Volga SD and spent the next two nights with Sarah's cousin Ila.

Next posting will be about our day in Volga and Brookings South Dakota.

My Brother is coming, My Brother is Coming!

2011-07-23T23:02:00.006-05:00

I am mentally working on the rest of those Blurbs, but have been busy getting ready for a 3 week visit by my brother. He is coming in to stay with my housemate Jim, while I am gone for 9 days to Michigan for a wedding on Mackinac Island at the Grand Lodge.

He is coming from California, via Amtrak. He de-trains at midnight in Dodge City - where they had that recent Amtrak "suspicious device" scare and stopped the train for a few hours. We'll do a little Dodge City tourist stuff, the next morning, before heading north to home. He likes history and there is plenty around this area for him to dig into and see. He'll be staying a week after I get home so we can do some exploring together.

Since my house is little - 2 bedroom/1 bath - I am letting him use my bedroom and I'll spend my nights sleeping in favorite trailer parked in the back yard. One of the jobs this week is getting it cleaned up so I can even get in it. It seems that if I didn't know what to do with something, I put it in the trailer; or I bought something to work on a new mod for the trailer and took the material out there.

So in between jobs/projects, I'll get those four other entries about my summer workamping job done.

My Workamp Experiences This Year

2011-07-16T15:10:00.002-05:00

Think I am going to just do blurbs of experiences this time. Eggie and I will be heading home next week. There could be a medical situation with my housemate that may need to be addressed next week, so may have to cut my work experience short by a few days. I didn't get very many pictures this year as I kept forgetting to bring the camera out, did use my cell phone camera a few times.

Well, I am home now and I packed away my list of Blurbs, so until I find it I will just wing it. . .

I like this quote I ran across: "The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see." --G.K. Chesterton

BLURB #5 BUGS, BUGS AND MORE BUGS

In May, the Miller moth was all over the place - in the showers, hiding under the toilet seats, getting tangled in my hair, in the office under stacks of paper, even fly out when I opened the laptop used for guest registrations. They weren't as bad as in 2010 though. In June, it was suppose to be the hard back beetle we call June bugs - they didn't show up until July, what few we had.

In late June and most of July it is the crickets. Oh those noisy crickets. They loved the showers. Most of the ones I would sweep up were dead or pretty dang close to it and wouldn't give me much trouble - but those that still were hopping around presented a challenge to keep them in the dust pan 'til I could dispose of them. Do you know what it feels like to have one go down the front of your shirt? Well, I don't either but do know what it feels like when one hops on your head. Then the mosquitoes came and just before I left, the gnats and their swarms.

BLURB #6 MY BUNNY FRIEND

All Smart became my friend back in June. I first encountered him one morning when I was walking to my trailer from the office. There is a telephone pole between the trailer and office and there was this little cottontail. The front half of his body was in the shade of the pole and the back half was in the sun. So I initially called him "Half-Smart". I saw that I could recognize by a nick in his left ear.

Soon Half-Smart's name was changed to "All Smart" as he learned to get his whole body in the shade - under my trailer. He dug him a little hole beside the tire that got the morning sun and that's where he would sit all day, occasionally venturing out. At night he'd "go home".

He'd stay

put even when I would enter the trailer, just looking at me with his really big eyes. If I got down on my hands and knees to try and get a picture of him, he'd run off. Finally, I was able to get his picture with my cellphone.

On my last day, I had removed the tire cover in the early afternoon. When I approached the trailer later, All Smart was sitting under the back end of the trailer and he just looked at me as to say "Where's my cover?" When he moved out from under the back in to close to where I was and beyond, he stopped and looked at me then ran off to hide under another vehicle - Mary's car. I didn't see him again. (Opps, the picture won't enlarge when you click on it - he's by the tire.)

BLURB #7 THE HOT WEATHER

This hot weather is just everywhere. I get as much outside work done as soon as possible and then get inside. I gotta hand it to those folks who work out in this heat (or the cold for that matter). You know you hear: The older I get the less I can take the heat/cold. Well, you youngsters - it is true. Tonight, as I am writing this a beautiful sunset took place. I had to capture it on my cell phone. In fact, it's my last night here as a situation at home needs some attention and

all of next week is in the 100's and ain't much work gonna get done outside around here and there are only so many times I'll clean a restroom a day! Next week was to be my last week anyway. We had a very much needed thunderstorm this afternoon leaving us 1/2 inch or so in less than 30 minutes. Had a little hail mixed in it too. The big thunderheads have stayed around and, ummm, there could be more later.

May and June, at least were fairly nice months, although early June hit us with 100 temperatures and it was a bit hard to get use to - it also was an omen of what was to come. Average temps in July, around here are in the low to mid 90's. I said AVERAGE TEMPS ARE IN THE LOW TO MID-90's Mother Nature.

BLURB #8 WHEAT HARVESTERS

This year again, the custom wheat harvesters were here. They start coming in around the 2nd or 3rd week of June and stay until the week or so after the 4th of July. We didn't have as many this year as last year due to the fact that wheat in some areas was so bad that the farmer plowed the wheat under and perhaps planted corn or will do some other crop, so a lack of acreage to harvest. The custom harvesters come from California, the Dakotas and a few other states. If it rains, they don't get in the field and the crew has some downtime either spent working on equipment or watching the movies the Park has to loan out. One crew ate a lot of ice cream. They are a great bunch of folks and enjoy visiting with them while they are here. Feed corn is growing pretty high and the sorghum milo is just planted. It isn't harvested until early winter. I haven't seen as many sunflower fields as last year. Soybeans are also grown around this part of the state.

BLURB # 9 CROSS SECTION OF GUESTS

Traveling along I-70 is down somewhat from the previous 2 years. Mary keeps very detailed reports each year and this year is in somewhat comparison with 2008. Last year was a very good year and 2009 was almost as good as '10. We haven't seen as many of the big motor homes(40+ footers) this year, about the same on 5th wheel trailers and an increased number of 30 footer or less travel trailers and lots of tenters. Those with families haven't traveled as far as the couples (non-retire or the retirees) and the majority are headed to Colorado, Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone (though heard because of the flooding of the Yellowstone River, it's hard to get into the Park). Favorite places in Colorado in the early part of summer is Colorado Springs, then the choices move up to Estes Park. We see a lot of folks from southern states with Florida leading the list. We've also had a good number stay with us from Arkansas and Missouri. Those headed northward on US 83 are mostly from Texas. In the early spring, the Park has the snow-birds heading northward to home and then Mary sees them again starting in late September heading southward.

BLURB #10 - WANT TO GET THIS ONE OUT OF THE WAY!

Don't read if you are eating. As I said, one of my responsibilities here is to clean the restrooms. The RV Park receives lots of rave reviews including how clean the rest rooms/showers are. I work hard at helping to keep those reviews coming. For the most part our guests are respectful of the cleanliness and do their part; BUT there are some. . . In this Park, the women's restroom/showers are easy to clean and not much mess is made; but sometimes the men's is different and it often takes me a bit longer to clean. I don't mind the dirty hand prints left on the sink/faucets or the dirty footprints on the floors or even the crickets that get mashed on the floor; but I wonder if some men know the relationship of their butt hole to the toilet seat he is sitting on? And, once if he even knew which way to sit on a toilet seat! There was one time that sitting on the toilet should have been done instead of in the shower! So here's a CHEER for all of you who have had to in the past or are now cleaning public restrooms (including my brother - oh, his stories are really gross; and for my daughter). Now, I will say that overall the toilet seats are left down and even some gentlemen put the lid down - some woman has trained those men well.

Okay, am doing this backwards so hope I come up with ten blurbs.

Welllllll. . . , Am Getting Ready for Pleasure & Punishment

2011-04-02T18:15:00.003-05:00

I am going out to High Plains Camping again, out in Oakley Kansas, to work for 3 months this year. Last year I worked 4 months, but this year I have some activities in August that I had already committed to.

I'll take my little travel trailer out toward the end of April and work till the 28th of July; head home and get ready for a road trip with my friend Sarah and Sherry and Sarah's cousin to Mackinac Island, Michigan. We'll be attending Courtney's wedding at the Grand Lodge. Courtney is the daughter of Sarah. Unfortunately, we won't be able to make this much of a leisure trip as Sarah has to be back home to get ready for school staff start-up day in August.

I have plans to attend one or two trailer rallies this Fall or do a little traveling around somewhere.

Since our weather has turned so unseasonable warm, I have been able to get out early and start cleaning up garden debris, trim the roses, replant a couple new shrubs, "think" about what annual flowers I need. I bet a lot of other folks are doing the same thing. But, have to hold back as there could be a few more cold nights coming up in the next few weeks. Usually, after the 20th of April I can start actually putting plants in the ground. Our temperature got up to 87〫today, so you can see it's hard to control oneself.

Am trying hard to get my body and muscles ready. I had a pretty soft winter and didn't get outside much as my asthma made sure of that. I did get on the treadmill almost every day though.

I am also patching cracks in the plaster walls inside my house. The previous couple of winters have been very wet and lots of water under and around the house in the soil (we also live close to a lake here in town and the lake had been very full) and the house settled some. But, this last winter was pretty dry, as evidenced by the sump pump, in the cellar, not starting to pump out water until March 14th. The previous two winters, the pump started on November 1. The pumping usually quits sometime in early May when the trees and shrubs start pulling the water out of the ground for their use.

I am waiting for the day in the next couple of weeks, when I can take the trailer to the car wash and give that little friend a good bath; then, get some wax on this year. I didn't do that last year at all, so Eggie needs it this year. Other plans include, replacing some of the lights with LED lights, getting a new air conditioner and replacing the converter with a more "battery friendly" one. I had a new refrigerator installed last fall and want my tires to last until next year.

Think I forgot to mention that last September my truck was hit by some really big hailstones as I was coming home from a doctor appointment in Great Bend. I had over 200 dents, my tonneau cover was cut, lamp covers cracked or broken and a few other things. The body shop did a good job of popping out the dents and Big Red has a brand new tonneau cover. I have never been in a hailstorm like that in my life.

Will post more activities later as I head out to Oakley to work.

Gotta Get Home Now. . . .

2011-02-24T20:45:00.006-06:00

Well, it's been getting close to 2 months since the last posting. So better get home, since we've already had 3 or 4 or 5 snows this winter, son came home for Christmas, taxes got done, doctors have been visited, 6 month blood work has been done (pretty good - just have to cut down more on my cookie intake!) and my SiteMeter says people are looking and wanting to know what happened to me.

On Monday, I left my friend Annie's - both of us had a few tears in our eyes. I picked up I-10 east of Palm Springs and the Interstate's road surface really was deteriorating. I am calling the Interstate the desert tire shredder/peeler. Either the CDOT wasn't doing a very good job of removing tire pieces on a frequent basis or there were a lot of lousy tires on vehicles running up and down that highway. Be a good job for some folks in county jails to earn their keep, like they do here; or, doesn't California do that?

I stopped at an AZ road side rest area just across the Colorado River and had some lunch, beautiful day. At Quartzsite, I drove around a little to see where the "squatters" are located. The area is noted for the huge influx of RV people January to March, along with vendors tents and all kinds of things one can buy for their RVing pleasure. On the south side of the Interstate is BLM land and one can go anywhere to squat for awhile. There aren't any electrical, water, or sewer hookups so one is boondocking/dry camping. There were a fair number there scattered all over the south side of the Interstate.

It was interesting to see the cotton "bales" as they do it now. They are huge truck size and can weight up to 25,000 pounds. Each module is marked with the growers number and then special trucks come along and pick up the modules and take them to nearby for separation of lint and seed.

Arizona likes to name the ditches that cross under the Interstate. I saw one that said "Palin Ditch". It was empty. Natch. Too bad it wasn't next to "Rubbish Ditch".

At Buckeye, I took AZ-85 south to Gila Bend, then east on I-8, avoiding going through Phoenix and hooking up with I-10 again south of Casa Grande. In Tucson, I had hoped to find some place to stay; but, I was going through during rush hour and when I did see something I was in the wrong lane to exit. So I kept diving on I-25 until I came to Benson and stayed there.

The next morning, headed east on I-10 to AZ 191, just east of Willcox. I wanted to see Roper Lake State Park, just outside Safford. The Park had been recommended by my friend Geri as a place to visit, and I agree with her. There is a small hot spring that one can use, a lake for fishing and nice clean sites. It's on my list of places to visit w/trailer.

I headed east from Safford on US70 towards Lordsburg, but turned north on NM90 towards Silver City to remind myself why I didn't really like Silver City. US70 is known as the Old West Highway and runs from Globe AZ to Lordsburg NM. The little town of Duncan AZ on the Gila River proved to be an interesting place to slow down and look at. At this website it looks like there is lots to do and see. Another place on my return to list.

I headed eastward on US180 and at Santa Clara, I took NM152. I stopped and read some historical information about the Santa Rita Copper Pit- the site of the former little town of Santa Rita that disappeared when the copper pit started growing. That's a BIG hole. Before entering Silver City, you can see reclamation work on some old mines around the area.

Wellllll, wish I had Googled NM152 a whole lot closer than I did. That is one of these most "curvaceous" roads I have been on in many, many years. I liked the west side before hitting Emory Pass at an elevation of 8,828 feet. Quickly noticed there were some campgrounds and Geri has told be that they are dry camps. I wished I had had more opportunities to enjoy the view coming down the east side of the Black Range mountains. Iam sooooo glad I didn't have my trailer with me. I would have been able to see the back end of the trailer using my side mirrors some times, the curves were so sharp. The little town of Hillsboro, which like a lot of NM towns, has interesting history. From there, it was across Lake Valley to I-25 joining at the little town of Caballo, where Caballo State Park is located.

I drove north on I-25 to Socorro and to spend the Thanksgiving week with my son, Jim. And while there I got to eat at my favorite eating spots - Lupe's and Socorro Springs. Thanksgiving Day, he took me to Steve (pic on left is son [left] and host Steve [middle]) & Lisa's (waving at us), in Albuquerque, for Turkey Day dinner. What we got to enjoy was a German dinner and that was a nice change. They had catered the meal as there were other friends who joined us. After dinner, us (or is it we) girls talked - a lot about politics and when I said something about "as soon as we can get those early baby boomers out of the political/management positions. . . . ." and oh boy did those younger generation women open up once they learned about my position on those "baby boomers" I missed it (thank heavens) by 4 or so years. It was a really enjoyable time. Am so glad they invited us up, otherwise Jim and I would have probably just stared at each other! Oh, I played my very first Wii games - I bowled with Steve & Lisa's son. That was fun.

Saturday, Jim and I drove down to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge south of San Antonio NM. This time of year, thousands of migrating birds spend winter here - including sandhill cranes, snowgeese, mallards are the birds we saw. I loved the snowgeese.

Monday, it was time to head home. Nothing to report, other than I stopped at a very nice family owned motel - Holiday Motel in Clayton NM on US87N - a sort of retro 50's motel but extremely clean, comfortable bed, and very nice owners and I had a delicious Mexican dinner that I obtained from one of those food vendor trailers in town. If you are thru Clayton and need to spend a night, then I recommend this place.

Made it home safely after 3384 miles.

Palm Springs, shop, shop, shop & a little wine. . . .

2011-01-09T13:12:00.015-06:00

What a time to write some more on my blog, after the tragedy that happened in Tucson AZ Jan 9th with Congresswoman Griffords and others with her. Oh my, oh my . . . . . God is watching over all of them.

I am now on my way to Palm Springs and spend time with my friend Annie. Annie and I met each other in Idyllwild CA in our very early teens (ya, that was over a half century ago!). She and her family lived there and I and my family spent summers there. I don't recall the exact meeting but we had so much in common - horses mainly - that we bonded and have stayed in touch all these years, even though our interests have changed from then.

It took me just a couple of hours to get to PS, but when I got to town I found I had misplaced the directions I had Googled for me; but was able to recall the directions and when I got to her home she wasn't there, so I called her but found out I had an incorrect area code with her phone number. A neighbor came by and said she was going to a meeting and she would let Annie know I was here - apparently the neighbor knew I was coming to visit. I found out that almost everyone knows what is going on around them in the mobile park where Annie leaves.

As I said, Annie lives in one of the many mobile home parks located in the area. While there I did visit a few of these homes and they are homes indeed. They are more or less permanently placed and sell from person to person. There are individuals that specialize in remodeling mobile homes. Annie's is very open and you just don't have the impression that you are in one. I do love the aqua colors she has selected, very comfortable. She does have an extra room added onto her home and that is where I stayed. It is also storage space for her clown materials.

Annie is a professional clown and has been doing this for many years. She is also a hand puppeteer and while I was there she presented a skit to youngsters in kindergarten and 1st grade, if I remember correctly, at several nearby public schools entitled "Touch, Don't Touch". These little skits were about improper ways to touch someone and what is acceptable touch.

On Tuesday, Annie took me up to Idyllwild in the San Jacinto mountains. It had been, perhaps 10 or so years since I had been there. As I said earlier this is where my family went the day after school was out and we stayed until Labor Day with school starting the next day. We hauled our horses up every summer and what every other animal menagerie we had at the time - rabbits, rooster, dogs. Those were very special summers for my brother and I. Of course, it isn't anything like when we were growing up - so disappointing; but at least others were making memories too.

On Wednesday, I did laundry and the park's laundry area was like one I had never used before: everything was outside. Pretty cool. Wonder how that chore has been lately, what with their very cold weather.

I had an absolute ball shopping in Palm Springs - yes , I could afford shopping in Palm Springs and every day! Now, before you think I am rolling in money, forget that because we hit thrift stores galore. Palm Springs is loaded with thrift and consignment stores. I got a blouse, that retails for $120, for just under $6; a pair of $40-50 Penney's slacks for $1.72 from Goodwill. Annie likes to shop the thrift store, so it was great having a local expert.

Oh, we did more than go to thrift stores, we did do socializing in the park and I drank lots of different kinds of wines, met folks from Canada, did eat out a couple of times, I met her sister Jane (whom hadn't seen in 40 plus years), went to a Street Fair on the campus of College of the Desert. The Street Fair was really cool as there was some really fabulous artwork, clothing, crafts, gizmos and gadgets. The Street Fair is held every Sat/Sun throughout the year. The fresh food vendors was the best. I have missed eating fresh dates over the years, especially date malts - had one. I also didn't know how Brussel sprouts grow, never even gave any thought to it, I just like them occasionally.

It was one KOOL week and was soooooo glad I finally got to spend some time with Annie. I had been trying so hard for the last five years to get out there and I finally did it. Well let's see, I might need to stock up on some new clothes again. . . . . .

Now it's really time to head home, but first a stop at my son's in Socorro NM and spend some time with him. It is almost Thanksgiving. Socorro here I come.

My Fun in NEVER, NEVER LAND. . . . . .Part 3

2010-12-02T22:15:00.000-06:00

Before leaving my brother, we had our last boo hoos, let's do this again and hugs. It's their turn to come see me.

I headed down I-5 to San Juan Capistrano, late enough in the morning to avoid heavy traffic (well, it was heavy to me living in central USA) and arriving before noon. Beth had given me excellent directions to get to their house. I was so warmly received by her and Wayne I felt like there hadn't been that much time since we had last seen each other - only 50 years. Beth and I had graduated from Fullerton (Union) High School together and Wayne had graduated two years before.

She fixed an excellent lunch and we chatted and talked about classmates whereabouts - she knew many more than I did. In the afternoon, we went down to San Juan Capistrano Mission. My has that place become beautiful with the landscaping, beautiful flowers, flowering bushes and trees, compared to the bareness that I remembered from years ago. She told me that many of the remaining walls of the Mission had gone through extensive earthquake reinforcement. It was hard to tell. This use to be one of my favorite Missions. I bought a few things in the gift shop. We walked downtown and came across the 2nd Saturday Art and Craft show. I saw many beautiful things including a nice winter cap that would give me the "Mohawk haircut" I have been wanting to try for years!

Sunday, Beth took me down to the Los Rios Historic District in San Juan Capistrano. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in California. There are 3 adobe homes, of 40 originally, that were built in 1794. The most common homes are board and batten built between 1887 and 1910. Many of the homes along Los Rios Street have been converted into businesses - restaurants, cafes, gift shops - but there are many privately owned homes and not open to the public. The District is located adjacent to the railroad tracks and where the railroad came through San Juan Capistrano in 1884. It is really an intriguing area with lots of history.

We then drove down to the Dana Point Harbor and had lunch, walked around the harbor, headed up to the Dana Point Preserve and walked along the designated paths out to a point for fabulous views of the ocean, Catalina Island, and the coast to the north and south. If there at the right time, one can see whale migration. We went over to Strand Beach and rode a funicular (an inclined elevator driven by a cog rail system) down to a point to watch surfers - looked more like they were spending time socializing then riding waves. What a lovely day with beautiful weather, interesting conversations, finished off with a special dinner creation by Beth. What a fantastic weekend with Beth and Wayne. Am so glad I made the connection. I wondered why I made a connection out of the blue way back in the Spring, now I know why - we were just meant to be reacquainted again. Thank you Beth & Wayne for a great weekend.

I am off Monday morning to spend some time with my long-time friend Annie. Our friendship goes back around 55 years.

My Fun in NEVER, NEVER LAND. . . . . .Part 2

2010-11-26T23:25:00.012-06:00

Okay, here is the continuation of my week, since I am having trouble saving the entries. Guess am having too much fun!

Thursday morning I stopped at a local store to pick out a couple congratulations cards for my niece and nephew and some pink roses for my brother and sister-in-law. Wow, two grandkids in less than 4 months.

This morning, we had breakfast at a place called Rialto's, also in downtown Fullerton - actually right next door to the Tea Room. Afterwards, I went with my brother to walk around the campus of my high school and I pointed out to him the buildings that were there 50 years ago and then the new ones. My goodness the "freshman tree" has really grown, which was in the area we referred to as the bullpen. Is that politically correct to call it that today? Jan met us for lunch at a place called Polly's Pie Cafe, then I went with Jan to an Art and Craft show where I bought a few things for Christmas presents.

Dinner that night, was the 3 of us at Mitsu E Shabu Shabu - a Japanese restaurant, located in downtown Fullerton. Shabu Shabu means "swish swish" and that is what you do with your food - in a pot of boiling water that is seasoned with a strip of seaweed. You are brought a plate of vegetables that will cook for a few minutes in the water. They are dipped in a sesame seasoned sauce for flavor. You are also brought a plate of razor thin meat - I chose beef and you "shabu shabu" your meat for 7-10 seconds in the boiling water to cook it and then dip it in another seasoned sauce. I had to use tongs as haven't mastered chopsticks, but am bringing some home to practice with. You can see my brother's arm in the background with the chopsticks. That was fun too as I had never done that before. My gosh am going to be too worldly for my little town now.

Friday, we had Dustin with us as his mom and dad were not feeling well. We went to The Original Pancake House, located in Anaheim, where I had a Dutch Baby (German) Pancake. Oh my, oh my was that ever good. Jan had a regular German Pancake and that thing must have been 14 inches across! It is served with lemon slices and powdered sugar. I am going to learn how to make these when I get home - so be ready kids to try a German pancake.

I took the afternoon, since it was my last day, to make a run to Trader Joe's and stock up on a few things and get some La Victoria Hot Victoria Salsa at a local grocery store. I use to be able to buy La Victoria Salsa at home, but not any more. That night we went to La Palma Chicken Pot Pie Shop. This was my mom's favorite place and so the folks brought my brother and I here more than 50 years ago - in the same place - many times. I didn't have a chicken pot pie, but the biggest and juiciest cheeseburger. Oh that was good one. Sabrina was able to join us but Jeremy had to work that night.

This was my last night with family and it was a tearful one for me. Sure don't want to make it another 5 years before we see each other. Okay bro?

Saturday I am off to San Juan Capistrano and to spend some time with a high school classmate.

My Fun in NEVER, NEVER LAND. . . . . .Part 1

2010-11-24T22:21:00.015-06:00

Where do I start? Guess had better start at seeing my brother (been 5 or so years) and sister-in-law. It was wonderful seeing them in their own environment.

My drive in from Needles was pretty uneventful. Next time cross that desert from Needles to Barstow, think will bring my own porta potty as that is a very long drive with rest areas closed. I did pass a "Korman Woman on the Go" pink semi. I waved as I drove by and the driver honked (I have KS Driving for the Cure plates on my truck).

They had just finished an extensive kitchen remodeling and it is beautiful - so different from my last trip out to see them in 1985, when my brother turned 40 (that was a fun time with stupid birthday presents). So most of the stuff that had been in the kitchen, laundry room, etc was still stored around the living room and in a POD storage. It was just a beautiful kitchen.

I got there in time for lunch and then my brother wanted me to see what had happened to Imperial Highway we use to drive back and forth to school and town. The spot where I ran out of gas one night and tried to turn around blocking lanes, he likes to point out, is now - you guessed it - malls, stores and more malls. We drove by the house we use to live in Yorba Linda and then went to Trader Joe's - one of my favorite stores.

Nephew Jeremy came over with his son Dustin, whom I had not met. Since my brother was getting a new storage shed put in the back yard, we took their Airedale dog Skye down to Camp Bow Wow for the day. The Camp is a doggie day and overnight care facility. Skye just loved going to the Camp and running and playing with the other dogs her size. She was so excited in the car, she couldn't contain herself. After lunch, my bro drove me around to other places we use to frequent. For dinner Monday night, we went to Benihana's - a Japanese restaurant where they cook the meal in front of you. I had never been to that kind of restaurant before and was just thoroughly enjoying the entertainment and the food. And, it was good too.

Tuesday we went to Disneyland. Nephew Jeremy works there and he gets a certain number of guest passes each year. His son, Dustin, myself and my brother and sister-in-law all went for the day. I had a ball, got myself a souvenir Mickey Mouse sweat shirt and just got wrapped up in the whole day. Prices certainly aren't like they were when it opened in 1955. I remember when we got in for under $10 each and had a coupon book with A, B, C, D and E coupons. Now to go one day, by the end of this year, it's $101 for 10 years old and up and that's for Disneyland and California Adventures; for 3 thru 9 years it's $91; and if you just want to go to one Park it's $76 for 10 years and up and $68 for under 10 years. They are doing lots of restructuring in California Adventures as it hasn't been very popular. The only ride I really liked there was California Soaring - gliding over various scenic sights of California. I could have done that 3 more times. It wasn't crowded so we didn't have to really wait for rides. Wow, how do families afford it? And then you eat and buy souvenirs inside and $14 for parking. My Monte Cristo sandwich was around $25 at the Pirates of Caribbean restaurant. That fun day will be with me for the rest of my life.

Sabrina, my nephew's wife, met us for supper at Anita's New Mexico Style restaurant that night. She is expecting in mid-April. They were both going to find out the next day what the sex of their baby is. My brother is hoping for a girl.

Wednesday, I slept in and then met family to have lunch at Tranquil Tea Room in downtown Fullerton. That evening we went to Costa Mesa to meet niece Jennifer and be introduced to her husband Mike. Jennifer and Mike were married last June and were very happy to "officially" announce they are expecting in July. We waited for her brother to show up and when they did, we peppered them with wanting to know. My brother got his wish - a girl. We all went to dinner at a locally owned Italian restaurant called Soprano's. While we were waiting for dinner to be served, I gave Jeremy and Sabrina a family heirloom that belonged to their paternal grandparents and to Jennifer a special ceramic piece from her paternal great-grandmother. I also gave them ribbon windsocks I had made. I had selected a pink one for nephew before I had left and before everyone knew the sex of the baby. Jennifer got a yellow one - is that more female then male? We'll see. Dinner was very good by the way.

By the way, my brother has 5 cats. Here are a few of them:
The others didn't want their pictures taken. Anyway, more in the next blog entry. Having trouble saving this whole week in one entry, so splitting it up. Will start with Thursday's activities next.

California Here I Come....... Part 2

2010-11-24T21:16:00.002-06:00

My brother is waiting for his sister to show up, so I had better move on with my trip westward.

I left Socorro, headed north on I-25, took a cut over to I-40 using NM 6 to avoid going thru Albuquerque. It is known as the "Pre-37 Hwy 66 section. It is the time of snowbirds and hunters as I counted 47 RV's heading south on I-25 between Socorro and Los Lunas - I did see one Casita and one Scamp travel trailers in all those units. The drive on NM 6 gave me a view of BNSF freight trains stacking up waiting to go through Albuquerque and points east. The five I saw made quite an impressive sight. The highway takes you through part of the Isleta Reservation and comes out onto I-40 about 35 miles west of Albuquerque near the Laguna Pueblo Mission. I always loved seeing that white Mission perched on top of the little hill.

As a family, we use to live in Gallup for around 8 years and we made many trips back and forth between Albuq and Gallup - son and daughter were born in Albuquerque. So from Exit 126 to Gallup I saw many segments of Hwy 66 that were very familiar as well as segments of the new Interstate, at that time, that was taking place. One had to drive through Grants and Gallup in those days - often a driving nightmare for the traveler. Now Grants has 4 exits and I lost track of Gallup's.

As I was getting closer to Gallup, I saw a sign for Earl's Family Restaurant which brought back some memories as we use to eat there when we could afford to eat out. I chose to have my lunch there on this day. The Restaurant is 4 times bigger and located across the street. I had a very friendly waiter who knew some friends of ours from those days and said they come in 2 or 3 times a week but they weren't there today. Around the entrance are vendors selling authentic crafts. During my mealtime, they come into the Restaurant and walk around the tables hoping to see some items. Some things I saw were very beautiful, some had reasonable prices but I wasn't in the mood. I later learned that these vendors must be registered with Earl's, wear a badge, and their items must be made of real stones, material etc. At this time, not to sound insincere or biased, but I was impressed with the work ethic of the staff at the Restaurant, none were white - very unlikely 40+ years ago when we lived there. Sure there are still those that ask for a handout and have other problems, but not anything like when I lived there. It was a much cleaner downtown. And safer from the many trains going through town, as there is a big wall between the sidewalk and the railroad tracks going through downtown and no more open crossings to accidentally get stuck on.

I went downtown to see if our friend Louie was at their place of business. Sure enough he was. He called Diane and she would come downtown to see me. Meanwhile, Louie showed me around the expanded business: City Electric Shoe Shop, which has been in the family and in Gallup since 1924. I met his oldest son Tony, who is in business with him now and has brought a hand made moccasins business in with him as well as a tooled leather belt making department. When Diane came in we went to a local coffee shop, caught up on families and then went over to Zimmerman's to see their newest acquisition along with it's improvements. I remember the store being quite dark and now it is bright and open. It was so good to see them again and know they are doing great. A nice break in my trek across the State.

I got back out on I-40 and headed westward towards my next nights stay. It either had to be Holbrook, Winslow or Flagstaff. I made it as far as Holbrook, checking in at a Holiday Inn Express (other choices but was tired & knew this would be clean). I had budgeted around $225 for lodging on my westward trek and now out of $160 left, the $129 took a big chunk out of my allotted amount. The next morning, when returning my door card, I complimented them on a very nice room and breakfast and my only complaint was the smell of hamburger and french fries (thought of Mickey D's) when I first entered the room the evening before. It quickly dissipated after walking thru the room several times. My room charged was reduced and now was left with $60 left for my next night's lodging at Needles.

I enjoyed the trip across Arizona, stopping at Flagstaff touring the NAU campus there. It was ASC (AZ State College) when Jim and I were students there. Was a waste of time as only recognized Old Main and the Observatory! Won't do that again. Somewhere a few miles west of either Holbrook or Winslow, there is an old campground located on the old 66 highway. It has tepees, a trading post and the camping area was across the street. As I drove by I could see the old buildings and each campsites "tepee" picnic table shelter all filled in with weeds and sagebrush now. Use to drive thru there when I was in college. Even Twin Arrows (think that is the name) is there. Ahhhh, memories.

I stopped in Ashfork, which is the Flagstone Capitol and Seligman
and looked at all the Hwy 66 stuff. Had to have a real A&W frosty mug of root beer while there too.

I spent the night in Needles and just under the budgeted amount I had left. It was a couple hours drive to Barstow and knew I wouldn't last that long. Okay my fourth day was critical to me. These last couple of hours driving in California on these busy freeways was why I said I would never drive in to see my brother. Okay, I know - never say never. Okay, I made it in one piece, made only one wrong turn - took the I-215 instead of staying on I-15 to CA-91, but I made it. Went straight to my brother and sister-in-laws house. Oh wow it was so good to see them. It had been soooo long. I was finally in NEVER, NEVER LAND.

California Here I Come.......

2010-11-19T11:06:00.021-06:00

I am currently at my grade school friend's place in Palm Springs, spending a nice leisure week and enjoying the warm weather while family and friends back home are basking in the throes of the beginning of winter.

I am headed homeward but not for another couple of weeks. Am stalling as long as possible hoping that a blizzard at home delays my arrival. This trip I did not take my little trailer - mainly for that reason. The thought of arriving just after a blizzard, with the trailer, turned me off. I had visions of trying to get the trailer parked in a snowdrift and setting up the trailer on floor jacks and leveling in the freezing cold. Brrrrrrrr.

Am having a hard time sitting down long enough to write. Gee, maybe if I would go outside. . . . . (snore, snore, snore. . . . )

I left on Wed, Nov 3rd heading westward. I stopped in Oakley to see Mary at the RV Park where I worked this summer. She was sick and didn't want to give me what she had. I picked up a few things I had left and then headed south on US-83 to US-40 west. I had lunch at Sharon Springs KS. I was hoping to see some piles of milo (a grain sorghum used in livestock feed) before they were covered up as they are so pretty with the swirls from the different colors of milo. I was successful.

South on US-385 where at Sheridan Lake, on US-385, I explored some old buildings there, turned west on CO-96 towards Eads, south on US-287 to US-50/400 thru Las Animas; then US-350 to Trinidad, where I spent the night in my first motel in years. When one has stayed in state and federal campgrounds or even RV parks, paying over $60-70/nite is a bit of a shock. I had a very delicious dinner at Tequila's Mexican Restaurant. Nice atmosphere too.

On the way in Colorado, near Chivington, I passed the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. I would like to return to this Site to learn the history. This is where Chief Black Kettle died.

Since I had only budgeted $225 for lodging on my way out, I emailed my son in Socorro if I could bunk out on his couch for one night to help save $$$'s. After leaving Trinidad, I headed south on I-25 towards Santa Fe. Because I still have my "traveling with trailer" mentality, I decided to change course at NM-3, just 10-15 miles west of Las Vegas (Exit 323 or 325) and headed south towards I-40. It was the most beautiful drive as the aspen, cottonwood and poplar trees had turned into brillant yellows & oranges. The road from the north is very windy and narrow in some spots, going through some villages that time has missed. I'd take my trailer down that road, but not if I had a 5th wheel or bigger.

At the little town of Spanish village of Villanueya, I encountered the Villaneuya State Park and decided to have my lunch there alongside the Pecos River. This is a state park I am going to take my little trailer to in late October sometime. It was so peaceful except for the sounds of nature.
I stayed longer than I had planned, but that's okay when you are traveling at a leisurely pace, taking 4 days to get to California.

I continued traveling south on NM-3, which ended up being a straighter and a bit wider road once you got up on the mesa. At I-40, I drove west to Clines Corners, south on on US-285 to US-60 west. I love the little town of Mountainair and wished I had time to stop and explore, but since I had spent so much time at Villanueya, I needed to keep moving.

I approached I-25 and the Rio Grande River. I had never seen the changing trees along the Rio Grande at this time of year before. Oh my gosh, when i came over this mound and there were all those beautiful trees below me, I almost stopped dead in the middle of the highway (I could have as there wasn't anyone behind me). My jaw just dropped. Too the north is was an array of yellows and oranges and some greens; is was the same to the south. What a glorious sight Mother Nature had created. My picture taking ability would not have done justice to what I was seeing and feeling. I called my son to let him know I was within 20 miles but it might take me 45 minutes to drive there because of the color. It almost did!

I was really disappointed to see the increase of settlements along the last 10 or so miles of US-60. It was so trashy and junkie. A real bad eyesore.

Son and I went to one of my favorte eating spots in town, Socorro Springs Restaurant and Brewery (see my list of favs to the right), where I had my favorite pizza Elfego - a pepperoni pizza topped with Hatch chile, chased down with Pumpkin Patch Ale. That was a good night.

Summer is Over & the Fall Weather Seems to be Lingering... ❤❤❤

2010-10-31T14:38:00.013-05:00

Oh this has been an exceptional Fall this year with temperatures lingering still into the low 70's. Night time temperatures are in the upper 30's, low 40's with an occasional dip to under freezing - but not too many times so far. And, tomorrow is the first of November.

About the only things left on my list that I wrote out, in early September, to do with the house is paint the window trims and clean the ceiling fans. Those will get done - sometime before Spring and my new list is started! I do have a few things left to do with the trailer, but those can wait until later. I am not taking my little trailer on my trip to California to see relatives and friends. What clinched that decision was the picture of coming home just after a blizzard and attempting to get the trailer set up in a snowdrift. Was not a pretty picture and even made me cold thinking about it!

This Fall has been beautiful and I enjoyed the visit by some Monarch Butterflies in late September and early Oct. They visited my lantana plants that I have out front. Am going to miss hanging my towels and sheets on the clothesline.

I did get the bathroom sink replaced recently and not because I wanted to at this time, but I attempted to stop the
faucets from drip, drip, dripping. I cracked the stem on the hot water faucet, found a replacement, lost the screw for the faucet handle down the drain, tried a replacement screw but the water wouldn't totally shut off. Grrrrrr and after a few
tirades of saying more than "grrrrr", my housemate said to call our neighbor's plumbing friend to have the new sink/faucet installed and he'd pay for it. Yippee. The old sink/faucet is on the left and the new sink/faucet on the right. It is the one I bought at the Habitat for Humanity Resell Shop. Was just a smidgen smaller than the old one; but it works sooooo much better. Plumber said the bottom of the old sink was just about wore through the cast iron at the bottom.

Everything I wanted to get done this fall, on the outside of the house is done. I finished putting up the window detailing trim on the sides and back of the house, dressed up the front screen door, added a little detailing to the inside of the porch, had some beading board and a medallion left over so did a little detailing on the back porch overhang, did enough detailing on the front porch post for right now (used vinyl spray paint left over from my trailer's spare tire cover project last year), and ended up painting the bottom board of the front porch overhang a dark green as when I looked up towards the porch ceiling I saw too much white.

Before, below left; and, After, below right.

What's next? I'll be going out to see my brother and sister-in-law in California and finally get to meet my nephew's wife and see their son for the first time; plus meet my niece's husband for the first time. I always said when I left California I would "never" drive out to see my brother. Don't ever say "never" because here I am driving out to see him and family. Plus will be spending a couple of nights with a high school class mate Beth and spending some time with my grade school friend Annie. I'll stop and see son in New Mexico before heading home - and hopefully not coming home in a or right after a blizzard. Until then. . . Be safe.

Well, lets see what else . . . .

2010-09-21T23:15:00.008-05:00

Lots of work on the house. The first picture is my little bungalow before the siding was put on.

Now a tour:And a place for my ribbon windsocks:I still have more to do - finish the detailing on the rest of the windows, more detailing on the porch posts, the porch eaves, and a few touchups here and there.

Meanwhile, my truck is going into the body shop this week to get the hail damage repaired. When I was coming home from the cardiologist visit several weeks ago, I hit a freak hailstorm. It was called freak because it wasn't suppose to be. First I hit a waterfall rainstorm and about a mile into that big waterfall, I hit the frozen waterfall. It was awful, I couldn't see but about a foot in front of the truck and forget seeing behind me. I knew there was a car in front of me, but had no idea what was coming up behind me - was praying it wasn't a semi. The road was slippery, truck was sliding around, the noise was nerve wracking, I kept saying "Not my new windshield (from the pheasant collision) and my new passenger side mirror that had just been replaced 3 days earlier." The hail just kept coming and coming, stones from walnut to golf ball size.

I did take 3 days and headed over to Milford Lake, near Junction City KS to spend some time with fellow Casita owners at the Kansas Get-Together.

Met a bunch of new folks and saw a few I have known for awhile. Picked up some information I needed too. It was a good mixture of time socializing with everyone and time just to do what you want. My kind of get-together.

Here are a few other summer photos of what went on:

Lets see, had lots of storms, visit from friends, housemate Jim enjoying the porch, saw a circumhorizontal arc rainbow, local parade for the annual Riverfest event, and of course lots of visits from Buster - oh, and Juno too. They usually come together.

I hope to be hitting the road around mid-October for 4 or 5 weeks. Have a tentative plan to visit my brother and his family in SoCal, my 50th high school reunion in Temecula, visit an old friend in Palm Springs and then ramble home through southern Ariz and work my way up to see son in New Mexico and maybe some friends in Truth or Consequences NM. So keep your fingers crossed for me, as am ready to hitch up and move on out.

PS I don't know why those lines above are underlined. I can't figure out how to remove it.

My Summer Work Stint is Over

2010-09-17T21:20:00.002-05:00

This subject is difficult for me and I have been avoiding writing anything. I have mixed feelings so bare with me.

I worked at High Plains Camping, at Exit 70 on I-70 at Oakley Kansas this summer. I started May 3, working 3 days a week through Labor Day weekend. During harvest time I worked 10 days, as not only was the Park busy with summer travelers, but there were a number of custom harvesters there for anywhere from 3/4 days to a number of weeks. I also worked 5 days in a row, while the owner took 5 days off and got out of town. I worked the gardens, watered, weeded, did a little mowing, cleaned the restrooms (not that bad there at least), picked up any trash around the sites, visited, opened the office in the morning, kept the barn (which is a "social hall") orderly, pulled sand burrs and goathead burrs like crazy, killed ants; and after I pretty much learned the basics of the office told the owner to go take 5 days off and let's see how much I've learned.

Mary is the owner of the Park and she put out a request on Facebook to her friends asking if anyone would like to come help her this summer. I thought this would be a good opportunity to "learn the other side of the counter". And, it was. Mary and I have become good friends, having become friends through Twitter first, then Facebook, then in person. I did stay at her Park last Fall at the beginning of my trip to the Dakotas and Iowa.

She is, well me at age 50 - able to multi-task, good organization, a head for stats, is on top of the latest marketing methods, a gregarious person, very knowledgeable about the RV industry and RV park industry, hard worker, loves cats, has a wealth of friends. But, but you can keep all this high energy up for only so long when you don't let yourself have some real quality time with yourself and let your hair down. I know, I've been there. There isn't much a friend can do but be there to listen and lend a shoulder, because the victim doesn't hear or realize what is happening until the meltdown has started. I had my daughter to help me through my mess and will eternally be grateful for that. It took a long time to recover. Mary's guest base now is mostly empty-nesters and soon the snowbirds will be heading south, so her pace is slower; and, think she is taking "me time". Love ya Mary.

I liked the part of being there for her and believe that my agreeing to be there for her this summer was meant to be. Doing the physical work was good for me physically. It kept "arthur"itis at bay and I gradually acclimated myself to the dryer climate and the heat. I am glad, for me, that I only worked 3 days a week as when I would come home on Thursday all I did was sleep! I had to be very careful about not letting myself get dehydrated and did a few times, adding to my fatigue. I met a lot of interesting people - and animals, mostly dogs and even a parrot. Met some folks who own a Casita like mine. Saw some really beautiful rigs and a few beautifully restored vintage trailers. Neighbor Mike and Farmer David are new friends, I am proud to say. My little Eggie and I made it through some pretty tough storms at the beginning of the summer with winds getting up to 60-65 mph and we put up with the 100+ heat later in the summer. I did not like the bull snakes though. I even made it through the 5 days running the Park by myself, without pulling my hair out. I did crash at home though.

Originally, I had a nice list of projects/objects I would spend my hard earned income on. Well, the medical bills weren't on the list, neither was the new windshield, nor trying to find a new air conditioner for the trailer, nor a new laptop; but, I did get a new passenger side mirror for the truck (been driving around with a busted one wrapped with clear duct tape for 3 years), and I didn't have to ask my housemate help with paying the guy who mows the lawn.

Okay, would I do this again? No, is my answer right now. I'm not going to say "never" though.

Insect bite

2010-09-17T16:11:00.004-05:00

Well, it happened again out at my workplace in early August. I just can't seem to stay away from those nasty critters/or they just are naturally drawn to me.

Whatever, something found my right ankle to be tasty and bite me. A few days later, a small blister started and it grew and grew and grew. It was hard not to hit it because of the location, but it could have been in a worse spot I guess. I kept it covered: 1 - because it was ugly; and 2 - if it broke I didn't want it exposed.

Finally, a week later it started draining very slowly. Three days later, I was in the Oakley hospital ER because the dang thing was sending out little red streaks. In my mind, that wasn't good. The ER doc cleaned the skin away (oh gad that stung) and looked at the puncture area through a magnifier. She proclaimed there wasn't any infection nor ulceration. She said it probably wasn't a brown recluse, wolf or hobo spider as they almost always have an ulcer at the bite site; but, she wasn't ruling any of them out 100%. She gave me prescription for an antibiotic and a steroid - which I couldn't take very well. Used a steroid cream instead.

It's healed up now but I have this nice oval bright pink area on the inside of my right ankle.

Geez, what a Challenge on a HOT HOT day

2010-08-07T21:16:00.009-05:00

More porch painting. I wanted to paint the top part of the porch today before it got Hot. It's that beam at the top of the picture. It is suppose to be the siding color, with white below. I got enough color to match the siding, at Home Depot, to paint that beam, and some pipes and cords at the back of the house so they would blend in and not look so "utilityish".

I applied the first coat and holy moley, it was way too dark. That's the siding on the right in this picture (to the right) and the paint that is suppose to match on the left.

In the picture below is what it looked like after applying the first coat.

So to the kitchen I went to concoct up a paint mixture closer to the siding color. Took 3 tries but came up with a color that is actually a bit lighter than the siding but because of the lighting up that high, it comes out to close to the siding color. I even applied the original paint to a part of the siding sample and the original was darker than the siding. So I didn't feel bad that it was my eyes. Unfortunately, stamped right on the top of the paint can it says "unreturnable". Hmmmm, seen paint returned to WallyWorld.

I also painted the rocks that sit in the corners. The rocks discourage those cute little birdies from building nests up there in the spring. It has been fun to watch the little ones hatch, grow and eventually fly away; but, oh the mess. So no more. See the rock in the corner?

While I was at Home Depot getting my wrong color paint, I did find some outdoor carpeting that I would like to put on the porch. When ever the concrete porch was put in, who ever smoothed the top, did it too much so when it gets wet, it is extremely slipperty. I have slipped a couple of times as well as my housemate, who can't afford to fall much less on concrete. I do have a runner that I put down in the winter, but a bigger piece of carpeting would be nicer. Here is the sample (hmmm, maybe if I collect enough samples, I could have a carpet! Think HD woud notice?)

Have to see after I get my ER bills paid, truck & trailer license tags, and the new passenger mirror for my truck, how much $$ I have left over. Ya, Mary I may have to work a little more with you out there in Oakley! My list keeps getting longer.

PS. Followup to my porch light fixture project: I did find two globes at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore in Hays and was so excited about them. Got them home and DRAT, they are just about 1/4 inch too big to slide in the fixture. Am thinking up several ideas to try, so will get back on this one.

My Porch Light

2010-07-24T11:58:00.007-05:00

I was going to install a new one, as the old one is, well . . . . old. But as I was scraping the old paint off I found these cute little "star" cutouts to let light bulb heat out; and I decided to keep the fixture. It's fun when you discover something from the past, buried under tons of paint.

Now I'll just look for a globe to fit and it'll be done. I have almost finished putting the two coats on the porch ceiling, just a couple more dabs here and there and add a splash of green to the top of one of the windows and that part will be done.

I am working on a paint design for the new porch posts I had installed awhile back but that won't get done until the daytime temps are a bit lower since I need to work in the sun. I have the blue color on the posts. I sprayed that on with vinyl paint and then sprayed a clear vinyl paint over that. The little area immediately above and below the blue will be a green band that matches the green on the windows. Above/below the green band will be yellow on the area that has been "trimmed".

Son gave me a gift card from Home Depot for Mother's Day and with that I'll be able to finish the trim on the rest of the windows around the house. Saving up now to replace the bathroom sink. It's an old iron one and the area around the drain is getting pretty thin.

More coming.

Three Bull Snakes is 3 Too Many

2010-06-28T18:56:00.005-05:00

for me. I know bull snakes are harmless, but I don't like snakes so am moving my trailer to a more "civilized" spot in the Park where there aren't any snakes. Right now I am located next to some open fields and there isn't much traffic around my trailer, just me walking back and forth.

I ran over another one this morning mowing around my trailer and he was just 20 feet away from the trailer. Friend Mike came over and got him out of the tree and disposed of it for me, and not where the birds could get to him either as they were trying to get him.

Ewwwwwwww, I just get shivers thinking about snakes. Well, am off to the hot tub for a little recuperation from the day.

My Red Ant Story

2010-06-23T21:26:00.004-05:00

There is a an ant pile at work, that I've been trying to get rid of without any luck. Have tried chemicals and drowning them. Well, they have declared war on me and attacked me last Monday while I was weeding the flower pots around them and putting in some mulch.

I didn't know they attacked me, never saw them. Then Monday afternoon the tops of my feet started itching and burning, by night I was developing red spots with pus. Oh man those things itched soooooo much. I didn't have any antihistime. I was putting everything I had in the trailer on them and I'd wake up in the middle of the night several times wanting to itch. But, at that time I didn't know I had been attacked by red ants, it wasn't until yesterday that I determined IT WAS THEM after doing some searching for types of bug bites on the Internet.

I have counted 18 bites and 3 more have popped up today. I think they crawled inside me and are attacking me from within! War has been declared. Mary, at HPC, asked me today if I am going with a nuclear device to get rid of them. Am going to try vinegar and soap suds next. Any successful suggestions are welcome.

Itch, itch, itch.

PS the post below this one is new today too.

Okay, Okay - Craming 7 weeks here

2010-06-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

I started working early May at High Plains Camping, located at Exit 70 on I-70 at Oakley Ks. HPC is primarily a one-night RV Park. Mary has worked extremely hard over the last decade building the Park into stop that would be a memory on one's way to their destination. She has received high ratings and high grades from Woodalls and Good Sam to name a few; and A+ ratings from guests who have participated in Guest Review.

I met Mary via Twitter, then Facebook around a year ago. When I was planning my '09 Fall Trip it had to include a stop at HPC, and a one night visit turned into two. This was in mid-August of last year and one can go back to my Aug '09 posts to read about the Park. I also have a link to HPC on the right.

Well, because of that friendship that developed, I am now spending 3 days a week working there. I drive out on Sunday evenings, work Mon thru Wednesdays and leave Thursday mornings to come home. I do weeding, gardening, planting, painting, sweeping and clean rest rooms/showers and the laundry room and whatever else Mary has on my to-do list. One of my pet projects is de-weeding this area that has overgrown with bindweed, rye grasses and what ever else. See what I have uncovered.
The other day, I kept hearing this hissssss, hissssss. No rattle, just hissing. Now when I go out to that spot, I have a long tool with me and I make lots of noise and shake the bushes. I really don't want something hissssing at me any more, even if it is a bull snake. I just uncovered an animal hole the other day. Could that be the source of the hissing sound?

Here's a couple of my 4-legged friends. The big one is Harey and the little one is Hareitt. Can't figure out which one is which? Neither can I.

It seemed every week I worked there, the weather was a factor in how much work I could get done outside. It rained, rained, rained. I'd come home to Ellis and the weather would clear up thus leaving a lot of outside work for Mary to do when she could. I did miss some weather excitement here at home - two different weeks there were several tornadoes around the immediate area one week and the next week a micro burst did considerable damage around town. My house and daughter's made it through those experiences. I had several anxious hours, waiting it out in Oakley and wondering how everyone was faring at home.

I like the work, it is sometimes taxing on me at times and I hope I am of worth to Mary in what I am able to get done. I like the variety and the work gets me outside and when it gets hot, I can move inside and work. Mary has even trusted me to open the office in the morning, giving her a chance to sleep in a morning or two.

Several weeks ago, I had a pleasant surprise when my friend Geri (I met on my southern states trip in '08) from Florida, let me know that she and her husband Chuck, would be coming thru the area. Geri had been having a rough time recently that resulted in some unexpected surgery while in they were camping in Arkansas. So their forward movement to Spearfish SD was slow. They came to HPC and ended up spending 3 nights. That was mainly due to an accident Geri had when she was closing the door on their 5th wheel trailer there in Oakley. A gust of wind caught the door just as she was closing it and yanked her out the door and threw her to the ground. Her left shoulder hit the bench on the picnic table. To make a painful story short, she went to the hospital in Oakley, had tests and found that she had badly bruised herself. Thankfully, she didn't break any bones, but it has been very painful.

While they were visiting, the Browns from Nebraska spent a couple of nights at the Park at the same time. I met the Browns and their dog Kaycee at Harlan County Lake, near Alma NE last June - my first trip right after I retired. The Browns were going to Atwood KS, where a 40th high school reunion was taking place over Memorial weekend. That was a great friends reunion week for me. Geri and Chuck followed me back to Ellis, on Thursday, and spent a few nights at the City Lakeside Campground.

The first place I parked my trailer, turned out to be location for the water to run down the slopes when ever it rained. Wasn't real happy walking through the mud all the time (remember I said earlier that it rained so much when I was in Oakley), so I moved the trailer about 20 feet west onto a little grassy knoll. Now I was 40 feet from the hookups. I had an extra 20 feet of 30 amp cord and ended up buying another 20 feet of water hose. To keep the cord and hose up off the ground I bought some of that wire garden fencing and used that to hold the cord/hose up off the ground and out of the water washing down the slope, Now my big problem is emptying my holding tanks from 40 feet away. Well, I only have 20 feet of sewer line . . . so I got to initiate my blue tote. Blue totes, for those not familiar with trailering, are containers that you dump your "waste" into and then haul the stinky thing to the nearest dumping hole. I simplified the process for you as it's a hot, stinky job. I am not really relishing doing it this summer when the temperatures are in the 90's/100's. But "snaking" waste thru 40 feet of sewer hose doesn't sound much better.

Here's one of the pretty sunsets over the prairie we get. And here's a sunset with an approaching storm.

And, here's the storm (below picture).

US Hwy 83 runs north/south and is a very busy highway for transporting over-sized loads - in this case parts to the wind turbine machines. Most of the equipment is headed north but occasionally I see bases and blades heading south. The "pilot car" business must be booming as we see these oversized loads almost every day. I once said that I should get into the "escort" business (meaning pilot car) since it seemed to be so lucrative.

Got some funny side glances from people I didn't know. Now I call it the "pilot car" service.

My Brother's Daughter

2010-06-19T09:34:00.007-05:00

My niece Jennifer. She and Mike are getting married Friday, June 25th. I wish I could be there, I wish I knew my niece. She really must be a great gal or my brother wouldn't have kept her. Her mom would keep her no matter what, I know. Jennifer lives 1500 miles away and I don't get out to California very much any more, where I grew up.

I imagine she is a strong person both in determination and perseverance. She's a beauty, I can tell that and she reminds me of her mom. I bet she has patience, that because she is my brother's daughter; but I hope she doesn't have his somewhat satirical outlook, instead has his sense of humor.

Aw Mike what can I say. By now you know what kind of family you are marrying into. You must be a great guy since my bro is trusting his daughter's life and well being to you. I can hear my bro now: "Good luck, Mike"

Congratulations Jennifer and Mike. I will be thinking of you on Friday.
Auntie Em

What a summer . . . . So Far

2010-06-18T12:46:00.010-05:00

I made a list of items I would like to get with my earnings this summer - like a new mirror for the passenger side of my pickup (I messed it up 3 or 4 years ago backing out of a garage and have been using clear duct tape to keep the mirror in place - cheaper than a new mirror), new LED lights for inside the trailer, gravel in the driveway and in the back where I park the trailer - things like that. Well, so far I haven't done anything, but instead it will be the medical bills I have incurred (a story to be coming up), the deductible for the new windshield on the truck (this story comes in a bit), payments on a new laptop (another story to come after that).

Okay, will start with the easiest one: THE WINDSHIELD on the truck. It was one of those weeks I forgot something from home (other times it was when I forgot something from the trailer and I needed at home). I forgot my daily medicines and I asked Juno if she could drive about 35 miles down the Interstate and meet me at Collyer. Yup, we planned it for 8:30 p.m. only that was one of the nights they were having bad weather around Ellis. She hi tailed it out to meet me (this was when I lost my cell phone in Ellis and hadn't gotten a new one yet - that's another story) bringing her dog Buster with her. She quickly said it was really bad and stormy at home and couldn't chat, but brought Buster since he's scared of storms, handed me my meds and took off.

I was casually driving back to Oakley and at 8:48 p.m at MM#107 on I-70 near Quinter KS I met a kamikaze pheasant aiming right for my windshield. Blam. Next thing I know I am looking at my rear view mirror just hanging there and all these little spidery cracks going every which way. And the sun was just starting to set and reflecting off those hundreds of cracks! It was two weeks before I got the windshield fixed - the supplier brought the wrong size to the body shop in Oakley the first time.

The CELL PHONE story. I lost it, looked for it. Kept calling it. Disabled it. Police called housemate at home a few days later, when I was in Oakley, and said they found the lost one right in front of the post office where it couldn't be missed. Ya, like it was there when I went back to look the day I lost it. Not. Anyway, got a a new one with gizmos and gadgets and a camera. Whoopie. So was learning about a new cell phone.

The LAPTOP story. My laptop was slowing dying, it finally died - probably the motherboard. I had stuff backed up on an external drive (little did I know when I downloaded my pictures there would be sooooooo many duplicates, triplicates, what a mess) luckily. So I ordered a new MacBook on a Sat and it was delivered on the following Wed. So lots to learn there too, besides the cell phone. This is all good for my 68 year old brain? I still have stuff to load on this new one, but luckily I had a lot of hard copies. Am dreading doing all my documents - think I'll save those for when I take the old in to a computer store, take out the hard drive and see if can load from there. Oh well, and then it might not ever get done.

When my friend Geri and her husband were visiting here in Ellis I had a scary MEDICAL EXPERIENCE. Had to keep Geri company (see my other posting about her accident). I was siting at housemate's computer checking my emails (the reason being in the previous paragraph) when I started to feel dizzy, not the spinning kind, just dizzy. I went to lie down on my bed, after 15-20 minutes it was still there and every time I moved my head - whoops. I hollered at Jim (he was still asleep) to get me a cold, wet washrag for my forehead. Tried that for 20-30 minutes, nope still dizzy. Jim call Juno to take me to the hospital as this isn't going away. Juno came over and they tried to get me to sit up - ohhhhh no am going to pass out, lay me back down. Okay, let's try that again - ohhhhhh no am going to pass out again. I can't make it to your car Juno without passing out. Call an ambulance. Meanwhile I had the wet washrag over my eyes as it seem to slow the dizziness down.

That was an my very first ride in an ambulance in my life. Don't remember a lot - remember the oxygen they were giving me, pricking my finger to check by blood sugar level, them telling me to keep breathing slowwwwwww, and calls coming in about a car accident where the EMS could find the car but nobody was around - look around the bushes they were told (never heard the end of what happened). I still wanted to pass out. Don't remember too much in the ER room except I was there for a hours. They did tests and kept talking to me and I kept wanting to pass out. I just wanted to go to sleep is all.

All the tests came back normal, no stroke, no heart attack, blood sugar levels normal. I had been having trouble with my ears and the thought was that my inner ears were upside down or something (that's not what the ER doc said really). They gave me some Dramamine and within minutes I was feeling sooooooo much better, color was coming back and I could sit up without feeling like I was going to pass out. Whew. Those are all not my favorite feelings and never will be on my list of FAVS.

So I visited my personal doc and "Doc Lisa" gave me meds for the ears and ordered a scan of the carotid arteries. Meds didn't do much good, heating pad felt better. Ears are still bothering me but that could be due to my TMG nerve being irritated (which will be a visit to my neurologist later). Anyhoos, the scan showed I have a slightly twisted right carotid artery with a very slight kink. Well, hello I don't need that artery twisting and kinking up on me. Doc Lisa sent the info about the scan to my cardiologist (gee, am beginning to feel like a celebrity with all these specialists in my life) and am now waiting to hear from him. Doc Lisa says if he doesn't call me next week to let her know and she's gonna whup him into action.

Well, lets see anything else? Oh yes, Jim and I had our annual eye exam. He's getting a new lens. But my cataract - well I have never ever wanted anything in my body to get bad before, but the cataracts are it. They have just a wee bit more to go before they can be removed, meanwhile it's blurry out of the right eye.

Oh there is something else. Have you ever been in your vehicle when it was lifted off the ground, even slightly? This happened to me the day before the pheasant hit the windshield. There is an area, I am learning, between Quniter and the Campus Road overpass (near Oakley) that can get some really nasty weather thru there. A rain squall opened up and poured buckets, the wind was blowing (I learned over 60 mph later), pea size hail was coming down, people were stopping under overpasses (a real hazard when the rain is pelting you, windshield wipers can't keep up, and all you see is a blur of red tail lights ahead of you) and I was trying to find an OVERPASS to get onto to get away from crazy drivers, when all of a sudden the whole truck lifted up. When it came down the spinning rear wheels hit that pavement and wiggle, wiggle and zoom we did. Holy moley what was that I thought. The next day, I learned from a local farmer that around in that same area a huge and very old cottonwood tree had been pulled right up out of the ground, roots and all. Okay, something hit us and I am here to tell about it and the tree isn't.

Well drat, was hoping to get my pictures loaded and finish these two blog entries and GUESS WHAT? I left my camera out in Oakley! LATER. Back in Oakley and downloaded my pictures to iBook and oh no they took something simple and made it a bit more complex - Natch.

Finally figured it out and now can download my pictures to the blog. Here's some recent storm photos from to show I learned how. That 68 year old brain is still working!

Okay, I am working on my next Blog entry

2010-06-01T22:18:00.003-05:00

It'll be full of action, excitement, renewing friendships, work, weather and kamikaze pheasants. Oh, and I'll find a few other things too like my very first trip in an ambulance.

Whoo, a Part-Time Summer Job!

2010-04-27T20:47:00.003-05:00

I am starting next week working 3-days a week for the summer at High Plains Camping in Oakley Kansas. I'll be working in the gardens and yards, cleaning restrooms/showers and laundry room, some office work when Mary, the owner, needs to tend to other business outside the office.

I met Mary through Twitter around a year ago, stayed at her place for a couple of nights on my last trip and we both hit it off as friends. I like the hot tubs at her place.

She is a single woman running this multiple award winning Park. Mary has earned a well deserved fantastic reputation among her peers across the State and across the country. She's very energetic and I just hope I can keep up with her. An almost year of retirement has mellowed me.

I'll be taking Eggie out there as my living quarters, so have been getting him ready. He needs a wash and wax job, which I hope to start (I said start) tomorrow. The winds are suppose to be blowing 30-40-50 mph so don't know how far I'll get. Anyway, will be replacing the tint on the windows and getting new tire covers to protect them against the sun, my neighbor drilled a couple of drain holes in my spare tire holder I had made last year, stocking up with duplicate food and toiletry items so I don't have to haul back and forth and getting the bugs chased out.

I had a trial run last week, when Mary participated in some "professional experiencing" and I stayed there at the Park. She has it running pretty much by itself, but I was to be around to answer questions or help the guests, do garden work but didn't get much done as the weather wasn't very cooperative, keep the restrooms/showers and laundry room cleaned. I enjoyed it; but, found out how mellow I really have become!

As a special treat this week, Joy and Les of Wichita KS, fellow Casita owners, are stopping by on Thursday and spending the night at the City's little campground on the lake. They will be attending Th'Gatherin' at Cedar Bluff State Park, near WaKeeney KS.

Then the following weekend, I head to Dodge City to see friends Sarah and Sherry. I get to meet Sarah's daughter's fiance. As one of the "hens" I have to give my approval to that little chick Courtney's rooster-to-be. That's the rule. I will also be attending a play written by friend Chris Pyle, called "Spirit Gum" and put on by the Depot Theater Company players.

I had better remember to take my camera to get pictures of everything I have been writing about.

I haven't finished the porch painting yet, but almost have the 4 front window trim project completed - this week I hope. I painted a couple of planters a blue to match the blue in the house numbers and planted a lantana in each one. The flowers in the flower boxes are starting to fill in the gaps, the other garden flowers are looooooking good. Brandon mowed the grass for the first time a couple of weeks ago and he'll be back anytime now. I bought a rain barrel but it's going to be awhile before I get the guttering put up around the back door that will feed into the barrel.

If you happen to be traveling on I-70 in western Kansas and are near Exit 70 and it's Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday stop by High Plains Camp and say "hi". I'll be around somewhere.

Well that's it for now. I just have to end with the following picture. I have a good chuckle every time I drive by it.

Puzzles, Surgery and, Oh Yes A Birthday

2010-04-03T23:45:00.002-05:00

Update on puzzle project. Guess what? Here is the last piece!

AND IT'S DONE!

And No hip surgery for housemate for awhile. He's doing pretty good, though still uses the cane or his walker. He still will have surgery at some time. He'll return in August and have a current X-ray of the hip to see what additional deterioration, if any, has taken place since last November.

Spring is here and I continue to find lots of projects to do outside. I haven't started working on the trim for the two side windows yet; but, I have put two coats of primer on the porch ceiling,painted supports for the window boxes that will be at the front windows and sprayed some yellow paint on the flower boxes themselves to match the yellow found in the house numbers. I had some left over vinyl paint from my trailer's spare tire cover project last year. The clay color brown shows thru to tone down the bright yellow. Speaking of left over vinyl paint, I just found a use for the blue vinyl paint from the above mentioned project - my two planters that I place along the porch each year. Pictures later.

The back yard is slowly getting raked up and have cleaned up the iris gardens. I am going to plant some flowers on the alley side of the garage to, I don't know, dress the area up? A neighbor across the street did that with the alley side of their garage and I like it, so....... I am building a raised flowerbed with left over cedar poles from another yard project several years ago.

And I have been busy making my ribbon windsocks. Mary, a friend in Oakley KS, owns a RV Camp (see High Plains Camping link in sidebar under "My Favorite. . . .) and she has a gift shop there. She said to "make a bunch of windsocks and bring them out", so I have been busy adding more colors to my stock to take out in a week or so. I plan on getting the trailer cleaned up this week, the water storage and lines sanitized and head out to Oakley for a couple of nights. Ole Eggie probably has been wondering if he was going to be used for other things besides being my "craft room".

And, I had my 68th birthday. I bought myself some flowers. . . .

Aren't they the most awesome colors?

The sump pump continues to make it's contributions to the sewer line. Feel like the cellar is a pass through for the creek nearby. At least it's cycling every 3 min 10 seconds now whereas last week it was cycling every 2 min and 20 seconds. Ah, hurry up trees and start drinking up that water. So the water table around this house is at the 7 or 8 foot level.

Chris, our next door neighbor, hooked up his slow charger to Old Blue's battery and after 24 hours that old car was ready to run. It's been sitting in the garage since last November. So it has air in the tires and a re-charged battery. I should be getting my truck back later this week when daughter's car should be ready. Now will have to remember to take it out on the road, to keep the battery charged up, much more frequently than I did last Fall.

Oh, I started another puzzle:

Soap Box time

2010-03-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

And the puzzle, well . . . . .

We have had some nice Spring days lately, and some snow and some rain. On those nice days, I have been raking up the last of last Fall's leaves and twigs in the back yard, working on my ribbon windsocks.

I finished the window trim on the front windows. Next I will do the front windows on the west and east side of the house for now. I'll work my way back as the $$ become available - after an unexpected project on the porch showed it's ugly head.

Tuesday, this week, Ed came to install the porch post supports. That's the backside of Ed.Here's an old post

Here's a new post

Oh ya, the ugly head: lead-based paint peeling really bad off the ceiling of the porch. It has been falling off the ceiling quite a bit the last week or so. Ed explained the new Lead-based paint EPA laws that go into affect on 4/22 of this year. Geez, now in houses built before 1974, there are all kinds of things that will dictate how hired contractors can do things in those older homes that will involve even breaking a seal on paints - certain kinds of exhaust fans, sealing off rooms, wearing biohazard suits, throwing away exposed clothes and on and on. And the contractors have to be certified by the government. I jokingly said I would like to replace the plaster walls with wallboard is what got the discussion started. And upon further reading, I learned now when there is a buyer/seller relationship or a landlord/tenant relationship disclosure has to be made about the potential exposure to lead-based paints.

Okay, I know big Uncle Sam is looking out for our best interests - right (?) and that of a whole new industry too! One of the things that can be done is to cover up the culprit and so now am getting the ceiling covered sometime soon. An expense I hadn't budget for - but hey isn't that what happens when you do some remodeling? Well, at least if I get lead poisoning, I'll have a medical plan in place to take care of me (I hope).

Think of all the old homes that need remodeling. Now that cost of remodeling, unless you are the owner and chose to do that yourself then these laws don't apply to the owner, is skyrocketing and probably won't get done due to the extended cost. There's a lot of older folks who live in pre-1974 built homes and there are a lot of young folks who live in those pre-1974 homes - two groups who generally can't afford fixing up the pre-1974 property they own. So don't buy a pre-1974 house (unless your fortunate like my daughter). Hopefully, daughter if you have to sell your pre-1974 built house, you don't have to do much "proving" that there isn't any leadbased paint in your house, since it was totally gutted and rebuilt in the '90's. Am getting off my soapbox.

Oh, here's the puzzle progress now

Good Day's visit, The Power of the Consumer, & Oh No, It's Time for the 50th!

2010-03-14T20:33:00.009-05:00

Oh, had a great time with my friends in Dodge City (yes, it's the REAL Dodge City from Gunsmoke fame) Sarah and Sherry.

Oh, here they are (below)

We celebrated our Christmas exchange, had lunch at Kings Buffet (love the cashew chicken), recognized St Patty's Day, and celebrated my birthday. This is my loot: Oh Dang, forgot to include the box of English Toffee Pecan Shortbread Cookies. I hid the box under the bed so the cookies would at least last thru my birthday next week!

For a number of decades I have been a user of Olay's Complete Sensitive Skin product. Well, imagine my surprise when I applied some lotion, from a new bottle I just bought a week ago, to my face and WOW, it stung and my face turned RED. It felt like an astringent instead of a nice and soothing lotion for my sensitive skin.

I immediately noticed the ingredients were COMPLETEly different. The former lotion had just 2 active ingredients while the new one had a bunch of different active ingredients. I jumped at sending an email to Olay complaining about the change. Well, to make a long story short, this is part of an email I got back last Friday: "Although our newest formula with Skin Shield technology is safe and has strong UV protection, we realize the original sensitive version with its gentle formula better meets the needs of our Complete Sensitive users. The original version will be widely available in May 2010 and will say “Classic Gentle Formula”." YES, YES, YES. THE POWER OF THE CONSUMER!

And last but not least: In my mail last week the flyer came for the high school 50Th reunion. Is it really that time in my life?

The Puzzle is Not Getting Done

2010-03-12T22:02:00.007-06:00

Well, as you can see not much has been done on the puzzle - a little.

Moving on, I have been busy getting some work done on my window trim. Because of the rainy weather we had this week, I painted the trim inside over the washing machine, moving everything when it was time to do the laundry and then putting everything back.

First chance I got, I put up the new house numbers. Ceramic block numbers I bought on a visit to son in New Mexico several years ago. Notice the sunflowers - Kansas' State Flower. The blocks did not have any holes to apply directly to the new siding, so I mounted them on a spare piece of wood I had, using an adhesive silicone glue and for extra security, I "tied" fishing line around each number and secured on the back side of the board. Am being over protective of my numbers I know, but they are special to me.

Well, the trim is starting to go up on the windows. Here is the trim on the lower half of the front windows. It is bead board. I painted the outer edges white to match the white trim and blend in with the white window trim color. I painted the bead part of the board in the same darker green as the medallions, giving the impression of a narrow board. I wanted a bead board, but couldn't find one the width I wanted so settled on the next size up. The bottom half of both front windows are done, except for a little touch up. I am one-fourth of the way through for this project. Here's the two latest projects (on the left).

And the puzzle still sits on the table. . . . .

Another Nice Day to Do a Little More Work Outside

2010-03-05T20:51:00.005-06:00

I finished putting two coats of paint on the medallions and today I started putting a few of them up. I had the process all planned out in my head . . . NOT. With Plan A I was trying to be very methodical. Kind of hard to be methodical when the house sags in the middle thereby throwing your line of evenness out the window. So sharpened up the old (yes, old) eyeballs and ended up eyeballing placement. With the four I put up today, I used the existing screw holes and drilled a hole in the medallion corresponding with the screw hole and placement of the medallion as even with the one on the opposite side of the window. Eyeballing. Messed up one, but I learned from that mess up!

Suppose to be nice Saturday, so maybe I can get a few more up.

This one looks a little off that's because of the angle of the camera.

And oh yes, I have started another puzzle.

Took Advantage of a Couple Nice Days

2010-02-27T22:29:00.007-06:00

While we have had mostly "inside" weather for awhile and I worked on a puzzle or two, I have been bit by the "spring" bug. I have anxiously been wanting to get started in putting up the trim around my windows - in fact the feeling started the day after the siding on the house was completed.

I have been stocking up on the necessary materials (paint, brushes, masking tape, etc) in hopes that a day to two would come along to get started with the painting of the trim. And, they did - yesterday and today had temps in the upper 50's. Temps where I was painting at the opening of the garage was in the low 60's - just perfect.

I started with the medallions that will be in the corners of the framing around the windows. First a couple of coats of primer on the medallions, then, when they are finished, two coats of darker green than the siding. In between the medallions on the side of the windows will be vertical strips, also painted in the dark green.

When I can, I will use the existing screws in the window siding to attach the medallions. Other places, I'll just have to drill a new hole. Putting holes in siding is like drilling a hole in my fiberglass trailer. I grit my teeth whenever I have drilled a hole in the trailer hoping that I do it right the first time.

I got curious about the combination of the trim green against the house siding, so I painted the stepplate at the back door, in the darker green. I like it. Looks better than what is shown in the picture. I still need to do a second coat later. Will post updates as the opportunities to do more work comes along.

When It Rains, it Rains in the Cellar!

2010-02-08T09:11:00.006-06:00

Fairly nice day yesterday, we were waiting for the alleged snow storm that decided to hit folks further south of us.

About 10:30 pm, I started having some, errr, runs to the bathroom. I think it was the 4th trip, I thought I heard what sounded like water running somewhere. I knew nothing was running/leaking in the house proper; as soon as I lifted the trap door to the cellar - drip, drip, drip. Groan.

Now our cellar is a cellar, it use to be like a root cellar and had an outside entrance until at some point in the house's history (built in 1919) another 12/15 or so feet was added on - half is a small bedroom and the other half is the current kitchen. It's basically a hole with concrete walls and floor and the water heater and furnace are down there. And, there is a sump pump because of our close proximity to the City lake. Oh thank heavens for the sump pump. Luckily, the furnace and water heater were above the water on the floor of the cellar. Fortunately, the leak was on this side of the shut off faucet for the house.

Okay now there is no water running and I am still needing to make my frequent trips to the bathroom. Well, those kept up until 3:30 in the morn. I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep until awakened by a loud vehicle that goes by the house at 6 a.m. weekdays and the trips start up again.

A local plumber was able to send someone over right away, after I called. Nice young man. He got the leak fixed and fixed my kitchen sink drains too. The rings that tighten the drain pipe to the sink had broken and there wasn't any connection. This had just happened within the last few days - actually I didn't know about one of them. You can see the separation to the left.

Now we are almost happy campers - until I can catch up on the sleep I missed.

Same ole, same ole

2010-02-07T12:44:00.005-06:00

No trip in sight for awhile, maybe some little ones here and there. Boy, cabin fever is hitting me and we keep getting that snow, snow, snow. Would like to be down on Padre Island with some Casita friends and acquaintances (hey Mountainborn, you guys still there?). Just the idea sounds heavenly. Okay, got the moaning out of the way.

As I have mentioned in previous postings, my housemate Jim has been having a rough time for the last 6 or so months. He was scheduled to have hip replacement surgery just before Christmas, came up with a dang bladder infection. Surgery got postponed to early Feb. Then on New Year's Day, he went into the hospital for 8 nights because of cellulitis and a MRSA infection in his left foot's toes. A week after getting out of the hospital, he had the errant big toe nail pulled 'cause he has a lot of problems with that thing being ingrown. So there have been daily routines to follow getting everything healed up or gotten rid of.

The bladder infection is gone, the removed toenail is almost healed up and I can touch it now when I clean it. He's still on meds for his MRSA - that can take 6 to 8 weeks to clear up. He had a scratch on his arm that ended up being cellulitis. Now he knows to keep those fingernails trimmed. He did scratch himself on the face, but we got the meds on that one faster and so far no cellulits has shown it's ugly self.

We did see the hip surgeon last week, and now we are looking at April for the surgery. We go back in late March to get everything set up - again. This time we are going to make it.

I got my skin cancer spot removed and got a letter today telling me that everything is okay, no residue. Get the stitches (10 of them) taken out next Tuesday.

I slip out to my little trailer and work on my ribbon windsocks, have around 35-40 made now. All the materials are on the bed, so can't lay down and take a nap. I have a cable hooked up to the trailer, but I have the completed windsocks hanging from rods located in front of the TV so can't really watch anything. Here are some pictures of what I am talking about.

To the left, is my work area; on the right below is where I keep my supplies and the finished windsocks.

To the right below are some of the colorful ones I have made, being "breeze" tested.

To store them, when I run out of room in the trailer, I hang them inside large cardboard boxes with holes punched on one side to pull the hanging rings through. The boxes are tall enough so the windsock can hang freely. It keeps me busy and gives me some "quiet" time. Hope I can work in some craft shows this summer so I can sell them - either that or my family and friends are going to get a lot of ribbon windsocks!

A Toenail Gone Bye-Bye & Skin Cancer

2010-01-16T20:56:00.002-06:00

No, the toenail didn't get yanked because of the skin cancer - wouldn't that be known as "toe cancer"?

Housemate Jim had his ingrown toenail removed yesterday. I can still see the podiatrist removing the nail, ugh. I told Jim I would explain to him how he did it in a year, as he couldn't/wouldn't see it. So now, not only is he getting his toes taken care of and healing from the cellulitis/MRSA infection, the big toes nail area is being treated daily too. I thought about taking a picture, but will spare you the reader.

I am the one with the skin cancer. A spot on my upper back showed up while I was on my last trip, although I didn't really see it until the end of the last trip. Sure enough the biopsy I had several weeks ago showed it to be basil cell carcinoma. A fairly common form of skin cancer and it will be removed later this month. I just hope the scar isn't too rough as it is where my bra strap and the back strap come together. Oh yea, this gives me an excuse to go braless for awhile! Ahhhhhhhh.

My "snow garden" is melting pretty fast in this nice weather we are having. The back yard is just one big muddy mess. It's a muckie mess and when I go out to the trailer to work on my crafts, I should wear hip boots. There is a sump pump in the cellar and that thing is working overtime. We are just a block from the City lake, which is quite full and so the combination of lake water that has seeped our way and the melting snow, I think the water table has risen to the surface and my sump pump is trying to send it all into the sewer system! Well, according to Mr Weatherman, we are suppose to have a couple more days of nice, then a couple of days of rain. Oh, just what we need.

The siding is starting to pay off. Got the first heating bill in since it was installed and we used less gas therms than Dec '08. It would have been lower, but because of Jim's infections we were using a lot more hot water from the gas water heater. And, this December we had 20 out of 31 days where the daily high didn't get over 30 degrees and in Dec '08, we only had 6 out of 31 days the daily high didn't get over 30 degrees. So we are lookin good.

Cellulitis and MRSA

2010-01-08T13:18:00.002-06:00

Not pleasant subjects, in fact it can be a deadly subject as I and my housemate Jim have learned.

The first week has been certainly a different one for us. New Years night I took him to the ER at the WaKeeney KS hospital because his left toes looked absolutely gross. I mean gross, seeping, swollen, crusty, touch the skin and it was falling off. (I won't print any pictures) The ER doctor admitted him to the hospital, in fact as I write this he is still in the hospital.

Jim has had chronic fungus foot problems off and on since we came back from our trip to Texas back in the fall of '08. He has also had problems with the ingrown toenail on his left foot off and on for most of his life. It's not given him very much trouble until this year. And, the fungus and bacteria ganged up together and gave him cellulitis/CA-MRSA : Community-Assisted Methicillan Resistant Staph Aureus. Okay, I cringed at the word Staph too, as well as one should - it's nothing to mess around with and can kill you. And, that's what he was facing if we had waited even a few hours longer to go to ER.

He never had a fever or any pain, just a gross looking foot. The part that scared me, besides the gross looking foot, was how the redness from his big toe was creeping up towards his ankle at a pretty noticeable rate. I knew that wasn't good so told, I mean TOLD him we were going to ER.

He has been responding to the bacteria meds good, the fungus meds he's having trouble with as we learned prior to his entering the hospital, that he is allergic to them. Think they found something and will learn this afternoon when I visit, if the med is working. He can't come home until he is totally off the meds in his IV's and can finish out the medicine treatment taking pills. He also has been getting whirlpool treatments to soften the dead skin up so it can be peeled off.

Meanwhile at home have been cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. It smells like bleach in the house! There is definitely some habits that will have to be changed and new ones learned as the possibility of carrying this the rest of his life is there. Every cut and scratch will need to be scrutinized and cleaned and sanitized until he tests clear of the fungus and bacteria boogers.

His hip surgery, I am sure, will be put off for awhile until he tests clear as I am sure the surgeon is not going to want the staph germ around anywhere. We have an appointment later this month with him to see what he wants to do. And, Jim's bladder infection that he had early in December is gone (that's what delayed the surgery the first time). He's had just so much happen in the last month, but has had pretty good spirits all through this.

Last nite the front outside thermometer read -1 degrees and the backyard outside thermometer read -3 at 4:30 this morning. It has been colder this winter than we've had in past 20 years. Seems like it's doing this to a lot of folks all around the country, even down south of here. Did Al Gore say "global warming" one too many times?

Starting Out The New Year

2010-01-01T15:22:00.002-06:00

with my first posting of the year. This year is going to be good, not only for me and those close to me but for everyone else. '09 has been a rough year for many, a good year for many, and just an average year for others. What ever it was for you, I hope that next year at this time you can look back and say "It was a good year". That is my New Year's wish for all.

My New Year's goals are to get my housemate through his hip replacement surgery successfully and with ease (it has been postponed until late January/early February due to an infection that the surgeon didn't want to deal with); at least one long trip and 2 or 3 short trips with my little trailer; learn to live better within my budget; get the truck paid off; spend more time with friends; get the bathroom overhauled, go to my 50th high school class reunion in Calif (that might be my long trip) . That's enough.

We had a good family reunion for Christmas this year. Son came up for the week, which he hasn't done for many, many years. Was great to experience having both son and daughter with us, at this special time of the year.

Getting the house re-sided when I did was good timing for all this cold and snowy weather we've been having. Traveling, with my little trailer August to mid-October, seeing an old friend and making new ones was a reward last year. Retiring in June was great timing to be able to help my housemate out with his health circumstances. Maybe getting the kidney stone in May wasn't a good thing; but, it could have been worse and at least I now know the excruciating pain that one experiences and can understand another's discomfort. And, oh to learn that my heart's ejection fraction rate went from a little under 25% several years ago to 65% this year was super thrilling to learn. Thank you Dr Janif. Thanks to the Internet, I have been able to stay in touch with my grade-school friend Annie, those that I have met through the years but don't get to see very often; to my two very good Dodge City friends - Sarah and Sherry - for letting me visit them often and taking me to see the wonderful productions of the Dodge City Repertory Company. And again for having wonderful life experiences with my two favorite kids - Jim and Juno. Okay ex, you too. We're still living under the same roof as housemates!

So I am looking forward to this new year. Happy New Year to all.

It's Done, It's Done

2009-11-24T16:38:00.005-06:00

I now have a house with new siding and boy does it look ten thousand times better and it's warmer inside too. The installer finished up around 2 p.m. this afternoon.

Now I have to wait for the season to change to spring. There is the porch ceiling to paint, new porch posts to put in and paint - maybe some railing - mount the ceramic tile house numbers and attach to the house. Oh, I could go on as there are more projects than I have money for. Meanwhile, will probably put in a new sink and counter in the bathroom and paint there this winter. It would be nice to re-do the wiring and plumbing in the house too.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Three Big Events Going On. . . .

2009-11-20T15:15:00.002-06:00

First: Daughter's 4th anniversary of being cancer free. She even got to have DEXA scan and it was found she has just a little bone thinning. That was a relief to learn it wasn't worse. She has lower back problems and the docs wanted her to have the bone scan but originally her health insurer wouldn't pay for it; well, somebody worked hard and got it okayed. She had an MRI too, but she hasn't told me anything yet

Second: My housemate Jim, will be having a total left hip replacement on Dec 22nd. He has just been struggling with the pain and the inability to move around much for months now and it has just gotten worse as each month went by. He visited an orthopedic specialist and the third sentence out of the doc's mouth was "You need to have a hip replacement." His hip joint is just riddled with arthritis. I was soooooo thrilled when Jim agreed to do the surgery. Anything like this is a big ordeal to Jim, he just doesn't like hospitals, surgery, etc.

Third: I am finally getting siding on my little house. I have been wanting to do this since I bought the house a little over 3 years ago. It's a little prairie-style bungalow and is 90 years old and needs a lot of work, probably more than I'll ever be able to afford having done. The new siding is in a lt. sage color with white trim, there is insulation installed between the existing exterior wall and the new siding. The installer started yesterday and hopes to be done Monday. Well, it's a Christmas present to my self for years to come! I'll post some pictures later.

Hope your Thanksgiving will be a joyous one with family and/or friends. May you and family have safe travels. Ours will be a quiet one as son won't be joining us this year, but will be coming up for the Christmas holidays and his dad's surgery.

Awwww, my First Halloween Since Retiring & It Was Fun

2009-10-31T20:43:00.009-05:00

Here's a small sample of our visitors tonight.

Elvis, I would have thought you would keep better company!

And I ran out of treats early. Weather was perrrrrfect for the kids and mom & dad.

Not Much to Report

2009-10-30T20:29:00.003-05:00

Cataract in right eye is about ready to be removed - about time getting tired of the blurry vision.

Had our first light snow today.

Son will be coming up, from New Mexico, for Christmas this year instead of Thanksgiving. First time.

I don't have to work on Black Friday - I can go be a part of it, if I choose.

Making some pink ribbon wind socks and donating to daughter's Sister of Survivor group to sell.

Most frustrating project to work on is going over all the changes to my Medicare Advantage program for 2010. First thing that hits you is the premium is just a couple dollars short of doubling. And, there is now a prescription deductible and "the gap" is wider between the initial coverage stage and the catastrophic coverage stage, some drugs are gone, some new and some have been shifted to a different tier level. That's just a little bit of the prescription part of my Advantage program. I haven't even started on the medical parts A and B! So far I have two pages of questions to ask my Advantage company. Geezzzzz

I think things are becoming more difficult to wade through as you get older. That's not an oxymoron either!

Later.

Festival Weekend in Van Buren County & Final Comments

2009-10-13T05:19:00.001-05:00

Ugh, not good for Festival organizers and goers - just talked to the Park Rangers about the weather forecast. His first comment was “Cold”. Dah. Suppose to snow Sat and maybe Sunday, night temps below freezing and both nights. Glad I drained my water holding tank and water heater. I do have some RV “pink stuff” and put it down at least the shower drain, the holding tanks have water in them; will keep the cabinet doors open during the nights. Called Chamber and they checked the Internet weather and sun was suppose to come out this afternoon (Friday) (it did) and get a high of 50 (it did), be cold with some frost in the morning, with some sun in the morning.

Saturday, the Festival started all over the County. I have included a link to the Festival this year, so maybe you could make plans to come next year. I started out by having breakfast in Lebanon at the Amish School Fundraiser, then went to Cantril to browse through the Dutchman Store, buy some baked goods at the Mennonite bake sale and go thru the art ‘n craft show at the Township Hall. The Dutchman’s Store is very interesting and here is a description from the Cantril, Iowa web site:

“Dutchman's Store is the centerpiece of the business district. A bulk grocery, dry goods and fabric store, it is operated by a local Mennonite family. Be prepared for a step back in time to an old-fashioned general store with merchandise for the modern shopper. You must stop and shop the candy aisle, filled with bulk candy of every variety. Open Monday-Saturday.”

I did buy some “bulk” items, my favorite being the dried cantaloupe slices. I was told that the family started out as a dairy business, business was slow, so they added baked goods and these started selling pretty good. They then added some bulk items, like flours and beans, breaking the bulk down into smaller sizes. This took off and before long, the family purchased three buildings and added other dry goods. For quilters, the supply of fabrics is endless. It is a step back in time. All that is needed is the barrel of crackers and the old wood burning stove.

Here is some info on Cantril: “The Cantril area is home to Old Order Amish and Mennonite communities. Several of the businesses in town are owned by Mennonite families. Amish families have businesses at their homes. These can be found along Highway 2 and on V64 and J40 near Lebanon. Watch for homemade signs along the roadway. They are very friendly and will be glad to visit with you on week days and Saturdays. You will find buggies sharing the roadways, and horse drawn equipment in the fields.”

After Cantril, I headed to Keosauqua, walked thru the art ‘n craft fair and food booths, looked at the downtown buildings. I tried to find the SE Iowa Cattle Dog trials, but apparently didn’t drive far enough out of town. I did buy a few Christmas presents, but the food items I bought from the local dog food bakery will be given shortly after getting home to my 4-legged friend Buster.

The cold starting taking its toll on me, so went back to the trailer to get warm. I had bought a new heater with a better thermostat then the old ceramic heater and works a bit better. Just wish it had a couple of temperature settings between the 40 pre-freeze and 70 degrees.

Saturday afternoon, I ventured down to the pre-1840’s Buckskinners Rendezvous Camp held at a day area in the State Park. It was fun walking around seeing the demonstrations and crafts available. They all had nice hot fires going because the temperature was in the mid-30’s. I bought an Indian Taco and some kind of sweet bread item to take back to the trailer for supper. On the way to the where the truck was parked, I saw a few white flakes. I had wanted to go to Farmington to see the Pow Wow, but it was getting dark and cold.

I love The Villages of Van Bureau County and it is an area I could visit again. I have eastern Iowa on my little list of places to see and could include The Villages again.

Sunday was travel day and I headed southward to Missouri. Over the night there was a hard freeze and that was quite evident on the soybean fields that weren’t ready for harvesting yet. They are pretty much gone. It was hard to understand why the fields weren’t ready for harvesting when that’s what was being done when I was in Sac County. A local farmer did say to me, as we were filling our gas tanks at a gas station on the State line, that maybe the farmers will plant earlier and use a variety that matures faster. I selected an RV park in Kirksville MO for a couple of nights and will head out Tuesday morning southward to US-36 and then westward to my next night in Hiawatha KS and continue on US-36 the next day and home on Wednesday.

This has been a wonderful trip and I am glad I made it. I got to see Lisa in Fort Yates ND, see the beautiful hills of South Dakota, stay at a working cattle ranch in Nebraska, have the Missouri River just amaze and overwhelm me, the beautiful Sand Hills and Smith Fall in northern Nebraska, along with the Niobraba River area, into Iowa and the sights all around and so much to chose from, the gorgeous fall colors taking place; to the people I met: Mary at the RV Park in Oakley, Louise at the working cattle ranch I stayed at, Vivian from Newport OR over Labor Day weekend, to Sharon and Gus, fellow Casita owners, at the Sioux County Campground, to the Watson’s - Ann and Ross & Bizzy - at Sac City, another Casita owner. My little “Making Memories” yard flag, that my friend Sherry gave me for Christmas last year, is definitely working overtime.

The views weren’t the spectacular ones one finds in the southwestern states or the red rocks of Utah or the spectacular Rockies, but this is a different part of the country and the beauty, to me, is just as good as the “eye candy” of the western states, the customs and cultures are just as interesting, the history is deep-rooted in all of us and is a part of where we are today, the people are warm and interesting. I love’d all the suggestions locals would give me of what to see, where to get a good meal, or something about the area’s history, culture, or customs. That’s what is so much fun about this kind of traveling - meeting the locals who can share their experiences and knowledge with a stranger.

No plans for the next trip yet, I want to see my brother and meet him in the deserts of California, along with seeing a friend in Palm Springs. My cousin in Bremerton WA wants me to come visit and go through some family items. There are family members on the East coast I would like to see and friends in Idaho that I would like to see. And, my 50th high school reunion is coming up next October in southern California. I’ll come up with plans after I get through the holidays. And, I hope all the readers have a good and happy Holiday Season.

Stop #17 Continued

2009-10-12T22:35:00.003-05:00

Stop #17: continued

Thursday I drove to Keokuk, on the Mississippi River. There I went to Lock No 19, one of 29 locks on the Upper Mississippi. They begin at Upper St. Anthony Falls and end near St. Louis MO, with a drop of 420 feet in elevation. Towboats need a consistent 9-foot deep channel of water in order to navigate up and down the river.

A towboat can push a maximum of 15 loaded barges on the Upper Mississippi River. This is equivalent to a convoy of 870 semi-trucks or a train pulling 225 jumbo hopper cars. Once below St. Louis, the River is naturally deep enough so there isn’t a need for locks and dams. Here a towboat typically pushes up to 40-60 barges per tow. This information obtained from a publication put out by the US Army Corps of Engineers, titled “Locks & the River”. I was hoping to see one of the locks in operation, but it was a pretty quiet day and didn’t see anything.

I also toured the Keokuk River Museum which is in the George M. Verity steamboat. I was built in 1927 as the S.S. Thorpe and introduced barge service on the upper Mississippi. It moved barges from St. Louis northward to St. Paul and was in service until 1940 when the Armco Steel Corp. bought it and used it on the Ohio River. In 1960 the Verity was retired and in 1961 the boat was donated to the City of Keokuk. It is a sternwheeler steamboat with a “V” shaped paddlewheel.

There is a National Cemetery here also - one of the 12 original national cemeteries. During the Civil War, because the College of Physicians and Surgeons was here, the Federal government located a military hospital here. Many soldiers, from the North and the South, died in Keokuk and were buried here and is the final resting place for many of those soldiers. Keokuk was named after Chief Keokuck, a man who barely, if ever, spent any part of his life in the town or area. He was not a full blooded Indian and was not in line to be a chief. His father was one-half French and one-half Indian. His mother was full-blooded Indian. The official naming took place in 1834 by nine citizens in a saloon. A decanter of whiskey was set on the bar and the saloon owner suggested to all those present who wanted to name the settlement Keokuk, were to step up to the bar and have a drink. The “vote” carried 8 to 1.

I also drove along
Keokuk’s Grand Drive to look at a few of the homes that overlook the Mississippi River. It wasn’t until 1910-1913, during the time the of the dam building did the idea of having a house with a river view start to grow. The City was growing away from the river in the 1830’s and a building boom in the 1850’s caused “suburbs” to be laid out and Grand Avenue was one of those “suburbs”. There are many different styles - Greek Revival, English Tudor, Federal Clapboard built by Howard Hughes Sr (father of Howard Hughes Jr.), Neo-Classic, Spanish Revival, Colonial Revival, and Prairie School. They are just breathtaking gorgeous.

The little villages of Bonaparte and Bentonsport are so pre-Civil war. I had forgotten how much I like old brick homes that are 2 or 3 stories high. The little villages in Van Buren County are referred to as The Villages of VanBuren. In VanBuren County there are no stoplights or fast food places, nor motel/hotel chains, but lots of B&B’s, lodges and retreats and campgrounds and plenty of places to eat. All the “villages” are that - villages. The largest is Keosauqua, the County Seat, at a population of almost 1100. I recommend any one living or traveling in the area to stop and spend some time and take in some of the villages.

I stopped in the town of Bonaparte, on the way home, at the Adde Fudge Factory & Ol” Mill Antiques (formerly The Woolen Mill, c. 1853) and stocked up on FUDGE. Ohhhh, the pumpkin is heavenly, the Lemon Meringue Fudge is just like mom’s lemon meringue pie, the Root Been Float is a root beer float on a hot summer day, and I bought 10 other flavors to keep me happy for a few weeks! I also bought a ticket to a mystery dinner event there. It was a very enjoyable evening with a cozy atmosphere, there were around 35 of us and we had a hearty dinner of New York strip steak topped off with a dessert of chocolate/banana cake.

Here are a couple of pictures of the building next door and is now the The Bonaparte Retreat Restaurant and was formerly the The Grist Mill (c. 1878). Note the Amish buggy coming toward me (kind of hidden in the tree on the road in the picture on the right) and the beautiful view of the Des Moines River the restaurant folks get (left).