Baby Steps

We are taking baby steps toward getting ready to roll. Yesterday between the two of us we were able to break down our bikes and get them ready to be loaded. The Internet guy with Coba came and picked up the modem and router etc. The rest of the day we were on break pretty much. Butch needed a day of rest. The readying part that lies ahead is not all that difficult to deal with and we have about as much experience in that endeavor as anyone can ask for.

Late in the day, we went over to Liz's place and she was finishing up on a couple of haircuts. She says her haircut workload has become too close to being a full-time job. We are each scheduled in for a haircut before we leave. She was tired but we did play 3 games of cribbage and we each won a game. Her best friend, Dave is back east (New Hampshire) taking care of some business. We will be back in Iowa before he returns but we might get to see him in Iowa this summer if all goes well. If not, then again in the fall.

The White Pole Road in Iowa

PBS video about the white pole road

http://www.iowapbs.org/video/story/36393/great-white-way

A bit overdone?

Butch and I are both feeling like we may have overdone it a bit yesterday. We decided to start early getting ready to leave and that way we have time to assess and perhaps recover and/or repair whatever might show up as a flaw. So we asked Omar and Donna, our neighbors across the street, to help us get the screens off and they were happy to oblige and assured us if we needed more help to not hesitate to ask. I could do a whole post on how asking is hard for Butch to do. I know others like that. Her name starts with "M" and she will know who she is. We all come to a time when we need assistance most likely from the younger generation. And what many forget is that it makes people feel good to help someone else.

So the screens were removed and they needed washing. I hate putting anything away dirty. I also needed to wash the rugs and here is a good place to do that as we have nice cement slabs that can be used to lay them out to powerwash them. So I did that. Butch helped by aiding in locating things and hooking them up for me. Needless to say, we both put in a good days work. He had therapy at two as well. I didn't go with him this time.

Butch wanted to "exercise" the generator on the motorhome and this is something that needs to be done often. It is recommended to do it every month but we do not seem to get it done quite that often. That process went fine. We also wanted to test the leveling legs to see that they were functioning. We have had them be difficult in the past. And that is where we did run into a snafu. Two of them did not want to budge. We tried all the usual methods to get them to work to no avail. We do have an RV repair fellow in the park and as I write this, Butch and Wayne are assessing the situation. Got the word. No luck but there is a stop-gap measure that can be done so we can travel. We will want to wait till the day before we leave to do it I am guessing. It is not as serious as it may sound to the uninitiated. As Butch is fond of saying, "It won't affect the running of it none." It will require a drive to Moscow Iowa and the hydraulic repair place sometime in the next month or two. That and a few or maybe several hundred bucks and we will be good as new.

So last night we were both nursing our aches and pains. But before you start feeling sorry for the old boy I must tell you that he has on more than one occasion taken off walking forgetting his cane! I know, it surprises us both when it happens. The doctor did tell him this would be one of the signs he would be ready to give it up. He is definitely not there yet but perhaps a step or two closer.

So this morning I decided to get my walk done so I could shake out some of my kinks and take a few photos. I walked the perimeter of our neighboring park, Winter Ranch, and then circled the golf course so the total was  1 1/2 mile. That was enough to loosen up a few muscles.

Beautiful day today- Temp at 8:00 am was 66 with humidity at 25.

Today's photos

Corn has ears

And tassles

 Listen to the Mockingbird

Dove 1

Dove 2

Jack 1

 Jack 2

Hole number 6

Helen's Obituary

Helen's Obituary

Helen and her husband Lynn were friends of ours and we took square dance lessons with them in the early 60's traveling to Perry and Grand Junction for them. Helen's twin sisters, Joyce and Joy, babysat for us. Helen and Lynn were a whole lot of fun. Helen's obituary was particularly interesting to me and I thought my readers might think so too.

Obituary for Helen Louise Finley

On Dec. 10, 1942, Helen Louise Orfield was born in Allerton, Iowa, at the home of her father’s mother Annie Orfield, on her Aunt Helen’s birthday. She was named after her aunt. 

Helen was the fourth child of Edna May and Floyd Oscar Orfield. They would go on to have a total of 15 children: Alta, Annie, Arlene, Helen, Elaine, June, Joyce, Joy, Flo, Dwayne, Jerry, Darwin, Mark, Debbie, and Oscar. 

Helen is survived by 12 of her siblings, with Elaine and Darwin predeceasing her. 

With so many children, Helen’s mother Edna May had to have help and Helen fondly remembered Arlene being a second mom to her. 

The siblings continue to have a reunion on the same weekend every year in Iowa, which Helen loved attending. 

Helen’s father Floyd was employed by Paul Mears who owned farms on which the Orfield family lived and worked. Helen remembered her chores including laundry, cooking, canning, cutting weeds out of the bean and corn crops, milking cows, feeding the cows, and pigs. She was a hardworking kid!

Helen remembered when many, if not all of the Orfield children, had chickenpox and measles at the same time. Her mother’s mother came by train and stayed a long time to help care for the children. 

They made a bed for Helen in the kitchen with a curtain around it and she remembers the treat of being given warm milk at bedtime and receiving extra attention from her mother, which made it a special time for her. 

She also recalled that the family had one of the first TVs in the neighborhood and many neighbors would come over to watch “Friday night fights.” 

The winters in Iowa can be harsh and Helen remembered a snow so deep that the family had to leave the house from the second floor to feed the animals. Also during, winter when the river froze, Floyd would use a chainsaw to make holes in the ice and sharpen spears for the kids. They would stomp on the ice and spear the fish that swam under the open holes.

Helen’s favorite time of the year was the 4th of July. Her father would go to Missouri to buy plenty of fireworks and her mom would make taffy and the Orfield kids would spend the evening pulling taffy with the neighbor kids.

Helen attended school in Bagley, Cooper, and Jefferson. She remembers the one-room country school having a potbelly stove on which the class cooked their dinners. Helen played basketball for two years and was a cheerleader. For one of those years, her sister Arlene played on the same team. 

It was when she was in 8th grade at Bagley that Helen asked Lynn Finley to take her to the prom. Lynn had to first get the okay from her dad Floyd, who agreed to the date. Lynn took her to his junior and senior prom driving his 1949 Ford. “We had a blast,” she recalled.

 

Lynn and Helen liked to roller skate, but they didn’t just skate, they danced as a couple on skates. It was a beautiful and romantic sight to behold. 

Helen had two jobs during high school. She was an A&W carhop and she sold tickets and concessions at the movie theater. 

Two of Helen’s favorite movies were “Bambi” and Elvis Presley’s “GI Blues.”

 

She graduated from Jefferson High School in1961. 

Not long after her high school graduation, Helen was married to Lynn Milo Finley at the Central Christian Church in Jefferson on June 18, 1961. They spent the first year of marriage living in Oceanside, Cal., where Lynn was in the Navy,  stationed with the Marines as a hospital corpsman at Camp Pendleton. In May of 1962, their son Richard was born. The family of three returned to Iowa,

where in 1964 their second child Glenda was born. 

In 1966, the family of four moved to Wichita for the job opportunities at Cessna and Boeing. Helen was a sheet metal assembler and an inspector at Cessna Aircraft. In 1973 their third child Boyd was born and they were a completed family of five.

 

Helen and Lynn belonged to the Eastern Star and Shrine. They enjoyed the CSA gatherings, the dances, camping with that group, taking part in parades, and clowning. Not clowning around, they were actually clowns!

Around 2002 Lynn and Helen retired from Cessna Aircraft with Lynn having worked there for 37 years as a mechanic and a manager and Helen, for 33 years. 

After Lynn died in October 2017, Helen expressed a desire to be with him. 

Following a fall and declining health, Helen moved to Golden Boomer’s, an assisted living home, where she spent the last year of her life. The Finley children are comforted knowing that their mom and dad are once again together and “Dancing in Heaven.’

Helen was preceded in death by her parents; sister Elaine, brother Darwin; granddaughter Zerena and great-granddaughter Kallie. Helen is survived by her son Richard (LaVeda) Finley; daughter Glenda (Tim) Atwell and son Boyd (Amy) Finley.  Also her sister sister-in-law Verlee (Ronald) Mathis; grandchildren David, Christopher (Shanna), Michelle, Zach, Zavry (Kelsey), and Zara; and her great-grandchildren Alexis, Logan, and Madison.

Butch plus

Last night I had 3 text messages in less than an hour asking about how Butch was doing and when we may be headed for Iowa. So Butch is doing well. From his caregiver, ME it sometimes seems like he has taken two steps forward and 1/2 step back. For instance, this morning he noticed a red, swollen place on the heel of his right hand about the size of a half-dollar. (By the way, anybody remember half-dollars?) We assume it is from pressure when using his walker or cane. Since the cane is the newest addition I am assuming the cane is the culprit. He has a therapy session this afternoon so he can discuss it with them.
We have a tentative leave date of May 10th and that would put us back in Jefferson on the 14th. Leave here on Sunday and overnight in Marble Falls TX at Walmart. Winstar Casino Campground in Thackerville OK on Monday night. Yes, the campground is open. Tuesday night it will be the Downstream Casino Campground at Quapaw OK. Wednesday we are going to give the first rest area in Iowa a try and then arriving in Jefferson on Thursday the 14th. This all hinges on the dominoes falling in place. We always plan on 300 to 350 mile days and this time we plan to closely adhere to that. The result of that is arriving at each destination feeling fit as a fiddle and getting well rested for the next leg. We are also choosing a well-traveled route for us. We have had enough of unplanned adventures to last us the whole year.

I am usually quite critical of the way Texas handles government issues but with the Covid-19 issue they have done a good job so far. When we talk to people from other states they tell us people are slack with masks, gloves and distancing. We have not found that here. and the numbers reflect it. People are taking care of things on their own for the most part although I did see a store employee in HEB tell a customer her mask had to cover her nose as well as her mouth. She pulled the mask back up to cover her nose. They will be backing off on some things on Friday, May 1st but it has been stressed that self-compliance is still expected and given a pat on the back for doing so well during the hardest part. At least we hope it was the hardest part.

Miscellaneous Pics Taken two days ago

Racetrack