Auction Today

We took a day off from our usual routine and spent the day at a local auction. There were a few items we had a mild interest in so we set our internal limits and settled in. Butch had a nail puller, some clamps and a miscellaneous box of tools that held a few choice items he was interested in. I found a magnifying lamp that I thought was cool and told Butch to go as high as $10.  Butch was successful on his items and he even got mine for $6. When we came home I did a search for my new $6 Eschenbach magnifying lamp and discovered that new it cost $399.61 on Amazon.com! I was gobsmacked as they say. I knew it was a nice one but had no idea it was that nice. The only negative to it is that a smoker owned it and I have been trying to remove that smell with ammonia  ever since we got home  and I can still smell it. I will keep working on it. One suggestion I have heard is to place the item in the sun and now that I have cleaned it thoroughly I may try that next. The auction was fun and as long as I do not go too often it will remain fun. I am still holding off on buying too much until I know exactly where I will place it. And I now have a new rule that It will have to be a very special item to buy from a smoker. That smell is too hard to get rid of.

Butch ordered the windows yesterday and it will take 3 weeks to get them. That is the bad news. The good news is that there is plenty to do until they get here.

Last two

The last two mornings I have been able to get a good walk in by getting up early and walking with my friend Colleen before Butch is up. It really sets the right mood for the day by revving up the energy levels.
Butch is dealing with the details of the house getting things ready for brother Bills arrival to finish up the furnace hook up and maybe other stuff too.
As soon as I finish here I plan to go see if I can help in any way. If it is standing around and watching him think I will return and find something more productive to undertake.
We were blessed with a half inch of rain yesterday. I haven't checked the old rain barrel but I have hopes I can no longer move it around on its pedestal because of the abundance of rain water within its plastic exterior. The earth was grateful for the moisture. When I would dig a hole for something it was dry for a good 8 inches down. I am sure that half inch will only help for a little while.
Till next time...

Gary's Yard Saga

Like a lot of projects this one has gotten out of control. I tilled up the yard in March and added compost. I thought the spring break week from school would be enough time for the project. Here we are nearly June, with a letter from my homeowners association, and I am still far from done. My soil sure does look better but I need to get seed down pronto.


http://youtu.be/TwF4PDzYfiA

I like your last line, Gary.  "I can see light at the end of the tunnel" Whoo Hoo!!

Walk, Laundry and a nap

Arose early this morning and went for a walk out to the Jefferson City Cemetery for a walk with my friend Colleen. There are many untold stories in any cemetery. All one can get is a tiny vignette as you take in the relationships and the dates. You always wish you could know the rest of the story.
 After that pleasant little stroll I returned home and started in on laundry and watering plants. Butch was busy doing this and that inside the house and then decided it was too nice a day to stay home so he went to play golf. I stayed home and took a nap.

Ethan and his mower

Great weekend

Quiet time at home. After the last season in Texas it has given me a greater appreciation of my time here in Iowa.
Sunday evening . We went to a gathering of the "Rebounders" , people from our youth who have left Jefferson and then returned. When we moved here it was one of the joys of our life to find this ready-made family. I would never have guessed that would happen and then to have it be a group we find very congenial is another bonus. We laughed ourselves silly Sunday night.
Yesterday I snipped a bunch of photos from daughter-in-law Laura's facebook page. I laughed when I saw all these fish photos of Jason as our family albums from Lake Panorama are loaded with Jason and fish pictures.

And then I snipped some others that caught my eye.

Elise and her bubbles at her 2nd birthday party

Laura and Ethan

Amanda reading "If You Give a Pig a Party" to Chloe and Elise. Great book by the way.

Can you read Ethan's face? This was at Ethan's 3rd birthday party.

Washed Gary and Susan's trailer

We have been meaning to get their trailer washed for quite some time. It washed up very well. I was afraid the awning was toast but as it turns out it was just very dirty.

New phone

A whole lot of yesterday was spent on learning about the phone. I read tutorials...downloaded apps etc. Just learning how to slide, pinch and tap in a timely manner is a challenge. Being computerized has given me a leg up because they are essentially mini computers but it is also like trying to learn a new operating system. Slow going. Butch says to teach him how to answer the phone, make a call and speak a text message and that is all he wants to know about it. It dings every time a new email comes in and I told Butch he would need to learn to ignore that sound. He is having a tough time doing that.
The kindle app was already on the phone so all I had to do was put my Amazon user name and password in and I have all the features of my kindle on the phone. I always or nearly always have the phone with me so this is VERY handy if I find myself waiting somewhere. I can read a book! I tried it out and it worked very well.
We haven't used the GPS yet but I have looked it over and I am sure it will work fine.
I downloaded Word with Friends but the screen is awfully small. I prefer using the computer for that and reading and answering email as well as browsing the web. But those things can be done on the phone and I am sure there are times I will use it for that.
I tried out the camera and it is a great improvement over the other phone camera. I took a picture of myself... I am always shocked when I do this. It is a stark contrast from how I look and how I think I look. Oh well, Father Time is not kind. I can get Picasa on the phone and that should help the transfer of pictures from phone to computer and vice versa. See?, I am not done fiddling with the phone. Every bit as time consuming as setting up a new computer.
The battery in the phone seems to go down very quickly. I have hopes this will improve, thinking it is all my fiddling with it that is making it drain off in a hurry.
This too shall pass...