Tuesday, February 20

Another Haircut Day

Border patrol...patrolling
 
Before Haircut
 
During Haircut
 
Little Dude with pacifier
 
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Saturday, February 10

Padre Island Album

Click on picture below to view entire album.

RV facts of life

The tool you do not pack for a trip will be the one you need. And the special ingredient you needed for your award-winning recipe will be the only one you left in your cupboard back home. These are RV facts of life.
And that's why we make our RV our home!!

Wednesday, January 31

RV Carpet Issues

Stop Right Where You are… Don't take another step! We have all experienced that feeling…either as the culprit or as the viewer. It never feels very good for either party. The inevitable, filthy, dirty, unexpected mess of the worst kind being tracked onto your carpeting. Don't worry, there are ways to quickly clean up, the right way.

Oil/Grease – If you're dealing with freshly spilled oil or grease, try to sop up as much of it as possible with paper towels or other absorbent materials to prevent it from spreading. The next step is to pick out an inconspicuous little piece of the material on which to test cleaning agents. You can try using mechanic's hand cleaner on the greasy spot. Liquid detergent and dry–cleaning solvents also work. Carburetor cleaner will work very well for all types of oily stains (this is a highly flammable and high–vapor compound so care must be exercised when using it). Finish up by washing the area with cold water and laundry detergent, then rinse and blot dry.

Tar – Road tar can make a real mess of things inside a coach. You can try the remedies suggested for oil and grease, but if they don't work, try turpentine. Surprisingly, mayonnaise will also cut tar. As always, make sure you test a hidden piece of the material before cleaning the main spots.

Mud – Allow the mud to dry out first. Then you can brush it to knock loose as much of the caked–on dirt as possible and vacuum it up. Any mud that remains can be removed by soaking it in cool water. If there is a residual stain, use a household detergent, then rinse and blot dry.

Coffee – This is one instance when you want to use hot water to remove a spot. Begin by soaking the stain with an enzyme presoak laundry product or, if the fabric can handle it, a color–safe bleach or chlorine bleach. Then finish up by washing the stain out with hot water. Blot up as much of the moisture as possible with paper towel

Quote

"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
-Benjamin Franklin

Tuesday, January 30

Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA

Okay, for all those people(2?) who have been on pins and needles waiting for word on whether or not we have the campground hosting position at Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA at Winter Park, Colorado you can rest easy. We do!! June 1st will find us in the mountains of Colorado for the summer.
It is sounding like a very different way to spend the summer and we are excited at the prospect of it.

Wednesday, January 24

Penny Post Cards

Here is an interesting web site. Check out the postcards from your county.

Tuesday, January 23

I'm a pun loving woman!!

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off ? He's all right now.
The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.

The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.

The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.

Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.

We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U C L A the math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it .

The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.

A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.

I fell through a screen door and strained myself

Sunday, January 21

Whine, Whine, Whine

Today for the first time in nearly two weeks the sun shone and the temperature rose. It seems there is a winter weather lottery for Florida,Texas and Arizona and Florida wins this year. We were the winners last year. Our weather has been cool and damp...and we do not like it. Yes it is better than whats up north but it is far from what we are used to enjoying.
The plus side of it is that I have been working on getting the directory for the park done with pictures and it is taking more time than I counted on. With the weather being icky staying indoors and working on it has not been much of a hardship. So I have been less torn.
But now...I am all but finished with the directory and ready to move on to other things.

Thursday, January 18

A Cold Winter

It was October and the Indians on a remote reservation asked their new Chief
if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Chief in a
modern society he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at
the sky he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless,
to be on the safe side he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to
be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be
prepared.

But being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the
phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is the coming
winter going to be cold?"

"It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold" the meteorologist at the
weather service responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more
firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later he called the National Weather Service again. "Does it still
look like it is going to be a very cold winter?"

"Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "it's going to be a
very cold winter."

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every
scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later the Chief called the National Weather Service again. "Are
you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?"

"Absolutely," the man replied. "It's looking moreand more like it is going to
be one of the coldest winters ever."

"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.

The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy!"

Sunday, January 14

How Many of Me


HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are:
69
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Saturday, January 13

Sidewalk Art


At some time someone had a solution
on our sidewalk that made this formation.
I noticed today that it looked like a cat.
I am much fonder of it now!
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Thursday, January 11

How things are

I get the question every now and then,"How is Butch doing?" Butch is doing great. He gets up before he really wants to most days but once up he is on the go all the live long day. Today he played golf this morning, cribbage this afternoon and pool tonight. He looks good...getting plenty of exercise. All is well at our house.

Tuesday, January 9

Austin the artist

Austin,grandson of Donn and Peggy, our Carson City Nevada friends is Artist of the Month. It looks like the honor is well deserved. Austin is 6 years old.

 
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Thursday, January 4

Wednesday, December 27

You gotta friend in me!

I have always loved this little green guy and was so happy to see him again. Click on the link and hit play.

Saturday, December 23

Summary of my emails for the year;-)

Tongue in cheek!!


I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one
about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a
wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same
reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny
Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive
the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for
participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have
363,214 angels looking out for me, and St.
Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible
mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer -causing deodorants even though I smell like a
water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I
forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five
minutes.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can
remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the
car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping
gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these
products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the
microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me
for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be
pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a
perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer r receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are
actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our
American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a
number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica,
Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive
my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have
their recipe.

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big
brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant
death when it bites my butt.

Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney and Maxine has
given us. I can live a better life now because they've told us how to
fix everything.

And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up the $5.00 I
found dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there
by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next
70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00
PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back,
causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it
actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's
ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician.

Have a wonderful day.

Wednesday, December 6

Sister Myrla's friend Tara goes all out for Christmas and this is one of her trees this year.

Saturday, December 2

We went to the Weslaco Christmas Parade for the first time this year and we noticed something startling...NO TRACTORS!! It is hard to imagine a parade without tractors. They had many,many of the fancy low rider cars that do fancy footwork with hydraulics though. Different part of the country for sure.

Tuesday, November 28

Went to Mexico for panchos and margarita's. This handsome fellow was offering to carry drinks to the table.
Butch and his four dollar haircut. It is a day later and I am still shocked every time I look at him!

Sunday, November 26

A stray kitten in the park gets fed frequently by some kind-hearted kitten lovers. (Not Us!) The other day while shuffling we saw this same kitten catch a big juicy mouse for itself.
A Handsome Palm on Peach Street
We are sufficiently decked out for Christmas

Thursday, November 23

Butch has his eye on something....
...Could it be the dessert table??

Tuesday, November 21

Highlighted

Beautiful photo by an unknown photographer
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Monday, November 20

Games they Play

Sister Myrla has two pets at her house and they spend their days "playing" with each other.
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Sunday, November 19

Feeding the Geese-submitted by Bill Brooker

Thursday, November 16

Cool spell and other stuff

It cooled off yesterday which was a pleasant relief. Today the temperature sits at 75 degrees and the humidity is around 20 percent. A near perfect day. Butch is at the golf course so he is a happy camper.
Recently we acquired distant network services through DirecTV. We were required to apply for it through the FCC and it takes about 45 days to get approval. We had such a time of it this summer getting all the networks off the antenna. It seemed we happened to be in the wrong places to get good reception. I applied for DNS service when Butch had surgery because I knew he would be laid up for awhile and TV is important to him. Well, we recently got it after all this time! So now we can get the network TV channels, CBS,NBC,ABC and FOX, from either Los Angeles or New York. It has made for an interesting week. If we miss a show at 7:00 PM our time we can pick it up off the LA channels at 9:00pm. By having it through the satellite we can also get the guide and know what is coming up and that is handy.

Wednesday, November 8

Livin' Large and Laughin' Easy

Things are moving along nicely in sunny south Texas. Butch is playing a little pool. We walk our two miles daily, play a little shuffleboard. More and more snowbirds are making their way south.
We had our carpet cleaned in the motorhome today and it was nice to get that done. I added some cleaning to it as well. It never lasts but there is a satisfying feeling to walking into a clean house.
I plan to do a little shopping at Wal-Mart this afternoon. Butch is more "up" for that than I am usually so no problem there.
Later...

Sunday, November 5

Huey

My sister Myrla's favorite photographic subject,her dog Huey. Great fall photo.

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Saturday, November 4


Bill & Jo Brooker of Heber Springs AR sent these pictures of the beauty of fall on the river at their Arkansas home.
Colleen and Jim Clopton, friends of ours from Jefferson Iowa, our home town, had this poster in a frame on their wall and they were gracious enough to share. It means something to all us girls from Jefferson Iowa!!

Tuesday, October 31

Passport Questions: The passport question has been arising with our friends heading south for the winter. Here is official word on the subject. Q. When will the travel initiative be implemented?
In the proposed implementation plan, the initiative will be implemented in two phases. The proposed timeline will be as follows:
January 8, 2007 ? Passports, Merchant Mariner Documents (MMDs) or NEXUS Air cards would be required for all air travel from within the Western Hemisphere for citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. This is a change from the previously scheduled date of January 1, in order to accommodate holiday travel.
January 1, 2008 ? It is anticipated that on January 1, 2008, U.S. citizens traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid U.S. passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes may permit a later deadline, both the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to put all requirements in place by the original deadline. Advance notice will be provided to enable the public meet the land/sea border requirement.

Saturday, October 28

In Iowa they have what they call 10 perfect days. There are days that are perfect and I think Iowa is only allowed ten. I say that with tongue in cheek. Today south Texas is having a perfect day. The humidity is low, the sky is clear, winds are 0 to 5 mph and the temperature is 78 degrees. I do not know how many perfect days Texas is allowed but I think it is more than ten...they are so big ya know.;-)

Friday, October 27

Tuesday, October 24

 
 
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Yesterday was doctor day and cleaning day and a general taking care of business day. It went smooth. Butch cleaned on the outside while I was doing the inside. Supposed to be warm today and my plans are to continue the cleaning process. I got about a third done yesterday.
Butch has been either playing pool or cribbage in the evenings...sometimes both! I am getting another Swedish weaving project done in the evenings.
We have returned to our routine of daily walks.
They have had a lot of rain this summer and so it is very lush and green
everywhere. We went by a grapefruit orchard and the grapefruit are green! We
had never seen that before. They always tell us the juiciness of the
grapefruit depends on the moisture they have had so they should be extra
juicy this year.

Friday, October 20

We have arrived in the deep south of Texas and it is warm. Nicely so at 72 degrees. Our friends who travel to this neck of the woods will be unhappy to learn that we are still dealing with construction...lots of construction on business 83. The good news is, it is further east of us than it was last year.
Those coming down in something that runs on diesel fuel may like to know that we filled up at the Shell station in Kingsville for $2.27.9 That is the cash price which is 6 cents lower than the regular price. There is an ATM at the station. The Shell station is located on the east side of highway 77 on the south edge of Kingsville.
Also remember that there is a new code for the gate this year. I am reminding you because we forgot about it. I can't give it to you here but look up the letter you received about it before you head down...or ask some kind friend with a memory.;-)
Today went much better than yesterday. Great traveling weather and we listened to a good audio book on the way which helps the time fly by. We are enjoying 'The Keeper of the House' by Shirley Ann Grau very much. "Abigail was the last keeper of the house, the last to know the Howland family's secrets. Now, in the name of all her brothers and sisters, she must take her bitter revenge on the small-minded Southern town that shamed them, persecuted them, but could never destroy them. Shirley Ann Grau is a major American author whose works are often set in New Orleans and Louisiana's Creole region. She often reflects the isolated bayous and their French-speaking residents, but her fiction is equally at home with the fiercely independent people of small Southern towns or the sophisticated life of the New Orleans' upper class. The Keepers of the House won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1965."
I have been a member of www.audible.com for many years and always get much enjoyment from my membership. If you check it out and plan to join, let me know so I can send you an invitation. I would need to send you an invitation for me to get credit. Regardless whether you join or not an audio book is always a good idea for those long lonely stretches of highway.
We are here plenty early and it is apparent as we look around the park but Butch needs to get a blood draw on Monday and get reacquainted with his south Texas doctor. We also know it will not be long now before all our old friends and some new ones will trickle into the park and we will be here to warmly greet them.

Thursday, October 19

We have had a day we would like to forget! First off we tangled with a toll gate on the Indian Nations Turnpike and it will be the last trip on that piece of crap for a highway. When they charge mucho dineros for traveling on a road it should be as smooth as a babies behind and it is definitely more like a wrinkled old granny fanny. All of Oklahoma's roads are like a granny fanny and our future plans are to avoid the entire state if possible. We have damage on the passenger side front of the motorhome and if that wasn't enough we were hit by a rock kicked up by an oncoming semi. It is the worst rock ding we have ever had. It looks like it was darn lucky it didn't come on through.
So tonight we are in Rockdale Texas at the Hidden Valley Oaks RV park, one we have stayed in before and liked. We have chili simmering on the stove and we are quite happy to be off the road for this day.
We are grateful for many things today...the motorhome still runs...we are both healthy and we will keep dwelling on those things as we always do and try to forget this high stress day.;-)

Sunday, October 15

In Mizzou

We are in Peculiar MO until Wednesday then we are headed south. We take our time so it is hard to say when we will arrive at our winter playground location. I have been watching the weather down there and it looked like they were getting daily rains so I wrote to Don Loring and he said yes, that is pretty much it. Humid too!! So it looks like we will soon be back in weather that resembles Iowa in July. Oh well, that is what we love about the south.