Saturday, November 22

Saturday, November 22, 2003
First thing this morning Angel and I went on a leash walk. I have been on a slow walk before but this was the slowest ever. Angel and I had quite a meander all around the neighbor’s house. Good thing they weren’t around to see us peeping in their windows. Angel enjoyed her outing and didn’t fight the leash much at all.

I am finally getting with the program. This morning I went for a 2 mile walk with Bert Shipley, a neighbor and long time friend of Bill and Jo.
I ventured down to the river and fed and took pictures of “the girls”. That is what Bill calls the ducks.


Butch and Bill are golfing today. Anybody surprised?
I plan to connect on the 25 cent a minute connection just long enough to get this sent. It will be awhile before I can post pictures and blogs. You will be sure we are back to normal when I have my Express Network connection again.
I may try to get things done on Bills computer but with Windows ME and a dial up connection I reach the end of my rope rather quickly. Till next time…
Barb

Friday, November 21, 2003

Wednesday night Butch’s eyes were so red it was alarming. At the turn, down Bill and Jo’s road is the office of an Ophthalmologist / MD so I pressed Butch to go see him. They worked him in yesterday. He was told he had developed an allergy most likely to Alphagan, which are the drops he uses to lower pressure in his eyes. The doctor also noticed his hack and snort coughing so we discussed allergies in general. He told us most allergies are food related with the three most common culprits being milk, wheat and sugar. So for the next 8 days we are eradicating those items from his diet to see if we can isolate that problem. All eye drops have been stopped temporarily to get his eyes cleared up. He is using a mixture of refresh P M ointment and a steroid drop on the outside of his eyelid with the idea that some of it would also get into his eyes. His eyes have improved tremendously already.
So what does this do for travel? We are grounded for the time being. We have another appointment next Friday- the day after Thanksgiving. We didn’t plan to stay here this long but the eyes have it! Once the allergy problem has been addressed we will need to get back to the pressure issue. It does sound like the doctor has some promising ideas.


Defining Spirituality
While the spirit is often relegated to the province of religion, there is a distinct difference between religion and spirituality. Spirituality exists in a realm all its own and belongs to everyone. Its domain is the nonphysical - it deals with our inner essence, our cosmic energy, and our personal understanding of a higher power. In many languages, the words "spirit" and "breath" are the same, and it's rewarding to enhance spirituality by practicing breath work, meditating, taking walks in nature, or even by keeping fresh flowers in the home. While religion can be your primary avenue for spiritual work, you may find spirituality in other places as well. Sometimes music, art or inspirational books speak to you on a spiritual level. Health necessarily encompasses our bodies, minds and spirit, and true health cannot be easily attained without a strong connection to our spiritual selves.


Thursday, November 20, 2003
Yesterday I sounded a little “clipped”. I have no fondness for traveling in this State where the roads are as crooked as their politicians. 40, 30, and 25 mph roads hold no appeal for me. Scenery, you say? Sorry, but it is lost on me. I endure rather than enjoy.
Give me land, lots of land under starry skies above. Don’t fence me in! …I do have my sense of humor back. J I also plan to start walking again and make the best of things.
Along with no Internet service there is also no satellite TV.
This too shall pass…

Wednesday, November 19th
Heber Springs, Arkansas…No Internet connection. It shows that it is available but there are no bars of service. I suppose if I drove around these hills and maybe got on top of one I might find a connection. Fat chance. We are parked at Butch’s brothers place. Butch and Bill plan to golf and I plan to read and do needlework.

Monday, November 17

Tuesday, November 18, 2003
We left Harrisonville yesterday morning about 7:30 A M. It was misty. We went north to go south but that is typical of Missouri and Arkansas. L
We had our first adventure as we were passing a semi. Our awning came out! It isn’t like we hadn’t been warned this could happen. We were successful in getting pulled over to the side of the road and getting it secured with bungee cords. And we think we got by without any appreciable damage.
Our destination was the home of Dwight and Madonna Louk on The Lake of the Ozarks. It is a beautiful spot. Their neighbor is a man with money who has provided 6-8 spots for RV’s with full hook ups at no cost to those who use them! Now there is a deal for ya! But like all deals you have to “Know Someone” and in this case we know the Louks.
Butch used to work with Dwight many years ago at the REC in Jefferson IA.

We had a lengthy visit yesterday including a delicious pot roast dinner prepared by Madonna.
One of the negatives to this spot is no Internet connection. But I knew this would happen on occasion and I did suspicion that this might be one of those places. When this happens I plan to write anyway and post it when I can. When we leave here we will be headed for Heber Springs Arkansas. Butch wants to take the scenic route. Many of you know how I feel about that and the rest of you can guess. But Butch is the one who is newly retired and I told him I would let him have his way until I got tired of it. ;-)


Sunday, November 16

11/16/2003
We are off!! I am sitting in Gary’s driveway in Harrisonville MO connected to the Internet! It still blows me away how this works.
We stopped in Maryville to see Granddaughter Amanda. She took us back to her dorm room to see her latest projects. That girl is going to do so well with whatever she chooses to take on. It becomes more apparent every time I see her.
We went to look at Gary and Susan’s hole in the ground where their new house is being built. They have a woman builder. Now that is something you do not see every day! It will be a beautiful house and very practical.
Gary and Susan treated us to supper in celebration of our retirement. Then we went to see The Big Creek Country Show in Pleasant Hill MO. Local talent but at the same time very professional. The only difference between the big names and the people we saw last night is a little bit of luck and a whole bunch of marketing. We had a very good time but this old pair isn’t used to being up till midnight!

Angel is getting better every time we venture on the road. Once we arrive and we take her out on her leash she becomes more content to stay in the motorhome. She came face to face with her long lost son through a storm door. It was a hiss free occasion. She decided to come back to the motorhome soon after that.