Art by Teri

My sister Theresa, an art teacher in Lenox IA likes to play with photos. We have that in common. Love your work, Sis.

Gary Brooker wrote:

Gary Brooker wrote:
I substituted for a special Ed teacher 4 days this week. Each day I would work one on one with 4 different students but mostly in the job I spent a lot of time in Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. At the end of my 4th day I got lots of hugs. They are very good huggers at that age. I was given a dandelion flower by a young lady the last day at recess. I asked several students if it was a flower or a weed. All kindergartners agree; it is a flower.

Busy day

I got caught up on laundry and cleaned house. Not even time for a nap. The day did go quickly though. Butch and his SMR golfing buddy, Mike Bryce went golfing.

They had so many people(guests) eating at the commons that they fed us(staff) at the cookout shelter. Grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken with all the typical summer picnic fare. It was a special treat.

Today was the most summer-like day we have had since our arrival. It was in the 70's and we didn't need a jacket or a raincoat all day. I hope it is the beginning of a trend. It was also the first day Butch wore shorts. Those who know him, know that is a big deal. He hardly wears anything BUT shorts.
Till next time...

Moose

Moose at Rocky Mountain National Park last Wednesday.

Boulder Dinner Theater

A group of volunteers went to the Boulder Dinner Theater to see "Annie". Both the performance and the food were fantastic. Butch was not in the picture because he was nowhere to be found at the time. He did show up a few minutes later. The Y takes us to the show and pays for our dessert. A bargain no matter how you look at it. We did not return to SMR until midnight so I am very draggy today.

Dandy Dandelion

The dandelions are huge and abundant up here. I think they have a bad rep.

Rainbow Pictures

Tonight we enjoyed a beautiful full rainbow.

Also Butch went to take down the hummingbird feeders before dark. He didn't have the heart as every feeder was full and some were sharing outlets! Something I have never seen before! There were 4 feeders with six and eight outlets on each one.

Boulder CO Trip

Make a Smilebox slideshow

'Nother work day

Today is most likely the prettiest day we have had here since arriving. The sky is clear. The breezes are light. It is not at all unusual to have rain every afternoon in some form or another. But it is usually brief. I do not mind as it settles the dust.

Last night we caught some boys with nets trying to snag a hummingbird. We stopped that in short order only to have a couple of different boys trying to do the same with their shirts! I am sure it has happened before we just weren't around to see it. Distressing.

Last Thursday I went on a staff trip to the Celestial Seasonings Factory. It is in Boulder CO and the only one in the world. Any Celestial Seasonings teas that you see are manufactured in Boulder. They make 50 million teabags a day and ship all over the world in about 7 languages on the packaging. Canada is their biggest consumer. It was a great trip. Very interesting. That was followed by a trip to the Leanin' Tree Art Museum. Both places restrict cameras but I got what I could and will put them in a smilebox album.

Work?

We work 3 days on 4 days off. It hardly seems like work. It will more so when the campground is busier. With this cool weather that may not happen soon. 'Nother subject. Yesterday was Butch's birthday and we went to the Brickhouse 40 in Granby to eat with friends Mike and Sharon Bryce and Marilynn & Sam Wilson. Butch was surprised with a big birthday cake after we returned to SMR. Earlier in the day Butch golfed with Mike. So he had a happy Birthday.
Tonight I am offering a Swedish weaving class. Hey, perfect weather to have a nice warm project on your lap.

Wild Night.

There was a knock on our door at 3:20 AM. Some people in the campground lost a member of their group. She had went to the bathroom about 2:15 and did not return to her camp site. Her half a glass of beer was still in the bathroom. Starting to get the picture? She had attended a friends wedding on Saturday evening. After the wedding they were sitting around the campfire drinking beer. She needed to use the restroom so with a flashlight and by herself she went to the restroom. After she did not come back her friends started to look for her and then when they couldn't find her they woke us up. So at 3:30 AM we were wandering around the campground looking for her. 33years old, Hispanic,blue jeans, boots, turquoise vest, striped shirt, pink hat. Did not find her. They called law enforcement. She finally turned up and quite a distance from the campground. She had gotten lost and found an open car got in and went to sleep. Woke up after about 3-4 hours and tried to find her way back to the campground and was spotted by someone who had only begun looking for her. We saw her after she was found. Still pretty drunk. Oh and by the way the temperature was 30 degrees....and there ARE mountain lions here abouts...and bears...and moose.

Tagged mail

If you get a message saying Tagged email and it looks to be from someone you know, do not open it. The person it looks as though sent it did not. Their identity has been stolen. I received one this morning and googled it before I opened it THANK GOD!!

Our Life at SMR

We are campground hosting at Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA of the Rockies and this is our 3rd year. It is certainly not the same without our good friends Lum and Donna Ellis who stayed in Pass Christian MS this year to deal with serious health issues. There have been numerous times we have said "Lum would have had that issue taken care of by now." And I called the switchboard this morning and had to concentrate very hard to understand the foreign sounding voice on the other end. Donna speaks very clearly and in English! Lum and Donna are also our bridge partners so we may not get to play bridge till next summer or make another trip to Mississippi.
The weather has been colder than normal right along with the rest of the upper half of the country. We have not worn shorts once since arriving and I have a jacket on this very minute. We do have a couple of staff excursions coming up that should add to our fun. On Thursday next we will be going to the Celestial Tea Factory for a tour and on the 17th we will be going to a dinner theater in Boulder to see "Annie".

Our kids Gary and Susan are coming the first part of July and there are plenty of things to keep the energizer bunny busy. It should be a fun,fun week.



The campground has been rather light duty but is starting to pick up. There are some very hardy folks who will sit at their picnic table enjoying breakfast with the temperature no more than 40 degrees. Yup, it is a dry cold!!!

I will be posting to as many of the blogs as I can handle so check them all out. I will try not to cheat and duplicate.
www.smrvolunteers.blogspot.com is the other one getting the most attention presently. Don Loring is doing a great job on the Magnolia one and I will most likely leave it to him too.

Days off

We have had the last 4 days off and that always makes me feel like a slacker. I have been able to get lots done at home. I will be conducting a Swedish weaving class next week so I made up 10 kits. Sure hope that is enough.

Good Morning!

Butch had a grumble day yesterday...the water pressure is too low...the electricity is inadequate... the weather was cold and wet...this too shall pass. We work weekends and we like it like that. It is the busiest time and the days go fast. Snow mountain Ranch is busy but the campground is slow right now. It should pick up in a week or two as the weather moderates.
I have been working on the next wedding afghan for granddaughter Ann and Anthony. It is coming along nicely and the cooler weather gives me more weaving time. Gotta get dressed now and get to breakfast before the several hundred kids get there!

Settling In

This male bluebird had a worm in his mouth waiting for his mate to feed her. We watched the transfer.


The hummers are here in full force. This is the first of many.

Finished project

Wonder if the bride and groom check on the blog?

Snow Mountain early this morning

We start a real day of work today. Not many guests here yet so the work load is light. We have been busy making our little corner of the ranch our own and getting the campground ready for a heavier number of guests. We have 3 campers here at the moment.

Snow Mountain

The view from our window...

Ethan goes to the ballgame

He looks as though he has had enough of the ballgame. He was a very good boy however.

Leo and Keri's prettiest tree

Trip to SMR

Taken near Laramie WY through the window of the MoHo.

We left Atlantic IA on Wednesday and drove 455 miles to Sidney NE. That is a big day for us. Then we got an early start this morning due to the time change and arrived at SMR at 1:00 this afternoon. The entire trip from Atlantic is 736 miles.
Friends Donn and Peggy Gordon happened to be in the area so we were lucky enough to see them shortly after arrival. Peggy brought us a couple of gifts and one of them was a snow globe golfball and tee. It is a game to get the ball setting on the tee. We have been unable to do so thus far but if we ever do I will take a picture and post it.
We did run into a bit of snow high in the mountains and near the end of our trip. Also saw a baby moose but didn't get a picture.

Jigs Pictures

Mickey is looking over the sculpture in Perry Iowa. She is nearly "lost" in it.



Pictures taken before and after the group shot were clear but the group shot of the jigs group is blurry. Some kind of weird kinetic energy.

A bit of a Rant

We are at the kids in Boone. They are off kayaking and we are holding down the fort. They have basic cable TV and there is nothing there but ads!! It seems TV has gone the way of magazines. More Ads than content. I am not a TV addict and if it were up to me we would get rid of the sattelite and work off antenna when and if we could. Some day when the old guy is cussing about the lack of content I will convince him to let me make the call. Heeheehee
I think we would be amazed at how much more active and varied our life would be.

With the kids...

We have spent the weekend with sons Gary and Jason and families. First time in a long time we have been with more than one son at a time. It has been much, much fun and a perfect kick off for our trip to Snow Mountain Ranch on Tuesday.
Yesterday was a meeting of J.I.G.'S for me. J.I.G.'S stands for Jefferson Iowa Girls.We all went to school together. A few years ago we started meeting for lunch on a semi-regular basis. I was able to attend the gathering on Sunday at the Hotel Pattee in Perry Iowa. The brunch and the conversation were wonderful. There were 9 of us in attendance. I will post a picture later as I am placing this post from a computer not my own.

From RVTravel.com

How often do you use your RV? A couple of weeks a year? A few months? Probably not surprising to you, there are hundreds of thousands of RVers who live all the time in their RVs, or at least most of the time. Nobody knows how many people live full-time in RVs. It could be a million or more.

But what I do know is that a lot of people live and travel full-time in an RV and many others dream of the day when they can, too. For most, it's a very good life.

RVs are so comfortable now that it's easy to live in one, enjoying nearly all the comforts of home. And the freedom is incredible -- to go where you want, when you want and bring along your easy chair, too. It's a satisfying, stimulating life for people who yearn for adventure.

Recently, during a brief visit to Quartzsite, Ariz., I was invited into the fifth wheel winter home of a full-timing couple. They were parked in the wide-open desert with no hookups. As I drove toward the RV, it seemed lonely out there. But as I got closer, I noticed that the couple had manicured their little piece of desert with a rock-lined front walkway and had placed a few potted plants in the shade of their awning. And several lawn chairs were atop a few square yards of artificial turf.

Inside, there was plenty of room for two people with all the creature comforts -- spacious kitchen, TV, computer, big bedroom with bathroom -- everything two people would need to live with ease and comfort. Outside, solar panels harnessed the energy of the sun to provide ample electricity.

Just as I had entered the RV, the cell phone rang: one of the couple's children was calling from the Midwest. The cell phone did double duty as the link to the Internet. "How different was this from a 'home' that didn't move?" I thought.

It seems to me, as even more of the baby boom generation enters their senior years, that even more of them (as well as younger people who can work while on the road), will take up full-time RVing. It's a heck of a lot less expensive in most cases than maintaining a home, a lot "greener" (overall, even factoring in gas for travel, you use less energy in the small space than in a traditional home), and in most cases more exciting than sitting at home.

Permission is granted to reprint the essay above on any RV-related website as long as a credit is provided to RVtravel.com with a link to http://www.RVtravel.com.

* * *

Wow!

I posted a disapproval on the computer ads and now I looked and they are gone! Is it really that easy! Way to go google!

Don't look

I signed up for AdSense in connection with this blog. They will supposedly pay me if you as a viewer click on any of the ads you see on this site. I thought I would see how well this little ditty worked. In my previous post about computer cleanup they posted several ads. I DO NOT APPROVE of any of them. A free scan is simply that, a free scan.If you scan,they will then tell you your computer has a gazillion problems and if you pay them a few bucks they will fix them for you. It is a waste of money. Do not believe it.

All you blog watchers...

Hey when I am not doing much I do not post much. Hmmm...yesterday I decided to get into "detailing" or spring cleaning the motorhome. The inside that is. I washed bedding and dusted in all the nooks and crannies. Most of the time it gets a quick once-over but just like a stick built home now and then you have to dig deep. I will be digging deep again today. I think the refrigerator needs a good clean out. Especially since it will be getting minimal use the next two months at Snow Mountain Ranch. I try to have the food down to a bare minimum as we leave Iowa.
Also yesterday, Susan & Myron Van Houweling stopped by. They are friends we met at Magnolia park but they live in central Iowa. I helped them a bit with their computer and we had a great visit.
Speaking of computers, this is as good a place as any to remind you to do spring cleaning on your computer too. Although computers do not need nearly the maintenance they did in years past they can still benefit from a little attention now and then.
Check on your Anti-virus program to make sure it is up to date and functioning properly.
Run your anti-spyware program and rid yourself of all the little bugs it will find.
I still run disk clean up and defragment now and then even though we are supposedly free of that chore with Win XP and Vista.
Butch's computer is 9 years old and still working fine. I bought mine 4 years ago because I thought the one Butch has was soon to go belly up. Who knew!!

Yesterday

Yesterday we went to see "OLD" friend Mickey which is always a treat. Mickey and I visited while Butch went car shopping. Many of you already know how tired I am of that venture.
On the way home we stopped to pick up my nieces computer for repair. We have to get that girl up to speed. The computer was a big virus-laden mess. Only option was to wipe it clean and start over. I consider this kind of thing fun. I am very nearly done with getting it reloaded with necessities and returning it to her. My south Texas students will be glad to know I am not losing my touch! HA

We are not far from heading west. It will be here before we know it!!

RVTravel.com

For anyone interested in the RV lifestyle I have placed a link on the side for future reference. And today go visit RV Travel.com and sign up for their newsletter.
May all your roads be smooth ones.

Another chance?

Last weekend Butch Jason and I went out to Squirrel Hollow. The guys wanted to look for mushrooms. They found evidence that mushrooms were there but someone had beat them to it. I forgot my camera and I really wish I had it. The Raccoon river is particularly pretty in that area and we visited an old cemetery. Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Pleasant Hill Church and Squirrel Hollow Park. I had never seen or visited that cemetery before. It is very old and thus very interesting. Another interesting side note is that there is a stage coach marker near the cemetery that marks the trail from Des Moines to Sioux City. It operated from 1850 to 1866. It could not have been an easy ride!! I plan to go back and take my camera.
Butch is playing golf today. No news there

More detail

The horse was carved of different wood and added later and the "cord" beneath the horse head is carved and stained.

Detail

Here you can see where Jason carved a ball inside the cage he also carved. The ball contains a magnet that works to hold the ball quiet or you can shake it loose to create noise to warn wildlife of your presence.Click on Picture for close up view.

Walking Sticks by Jason

Jason has made walking sticks for some time but received additional inspiration while visiting us at Snow Mountain Ranch a couple years ago.



Jason is explaining to Butch how to make a whistle out of wood. His walking sticks are adorned with whistles, compasses and other accoutrement's.

Meeting Ethan

He is a charmer. Smiles easily and likes to cuddle.

A Walk in the Rain

I took this picture with plans to identify the bird later. So far I haven't done it. If you know inform me and save me the research.

We are in Jefferson Iowa

We arrived in Jefferson this morning after our final doctor appointment. We both received good reports on all fronts...except I have been encouraged to schedule a colonoscopy for this fall. Hmmmm... that and a mammogram. Sounds like fun huh?
Now I have to get that out of my mind so I can have a fun summer.

The Lineman

I was looking over a back up CD and found this poem. I do not remember who sent it to me. I am sharing.

The Lineman

They sings of the men as goes down to the sea;
Of the heroes of cannon and swords;
An, writes of the valors of dead chivalry,
An, the bravery of old knights 'n lords.

They sighs 'cause the romance of knighthood is past
'Cause there ain't no ideals any more;
They says that this world's a rollin' too fast
To develop that "esprit de corps."

But them as complains are the ones as don't know,
Who sits loose where it's warm and then kick -
They ain't never seen a line saggin' with snow
An' had to get Service back - quick!

They ain't never struggled with Death at their side,
A-snappin' and hissin' and pale -
Nor clung to the towers and grimly defied
The assaults of the blizzards and gale.

They sit and are served with never a thought
Of the fellers out pluggin' like hell -
To supply at their touch the service they've bought
With a light, or the sound of a bell.

These fellers ain't togged out all shinin' in steel.
They don't ride around on no hoss -
They don't sing no songs about how they feel
In the gales when the feeders may cross.

They don't wave no banners embroidered in gold,
In Latin nobody can read;
They don't do no bragging of deeds that were bold,
Their motto is "SERVICE AND SPEED.'.

Their armor ain't nothin' but slickers an' boots
Their weapons are climbers and pliers
Their battles are fought up where hi-tension shoots
An' Death lurks unseen on the wires.

They're fightin' the gales and the blizzards an 'ice,
Protectin' the towers and span
With effort no measured in hours or price
For one Cause - just Service to man!

So here's to the Lineman - The Son-of-a-Gun
That can do without sleep for a week!
That sticks to the job 'til it's every bit done
And the feeders can carry the peak.
For his is that Knighthood that's noblest by far
That highest and mightiest clan,
That's fightin the battles of Things-as-they-are, in the cause of the Service of man.

Contributed by TradeMasters (Bruce Masse) bmasse@axionet.com

One more to go...

We have most of our appointments taken care of. Butch had his teeth checked and cleaned. He has so many crowns there isn't much that can go wrong there.

Our blood draws have been done and we both have good results on all counts. I thought the "Candy Man" might have to pay the piper for his bad habit but since he follows me around on our walks all the time he has successfully dodged that bullet as well.
The Diabetic Education Center checked out my meter and my results were all in range.

Our eye exams have been done and we both will be getting new lenses and frames.


TIP: If you or your spouse required safety glasses for their job you both may be eligible for safety lenses and frames. Considerably cheaper. The only negative is the selection of frames is small. I would much rather pay $150 as opposed to several hundred.

Angel had her Vet appointment yesterday and she got her vaccinations for rabies and distemper. She has been off her feed today. Hopefully she will be back to her normal self tomorrow.

One more appointment on Friday with our Family doctor to get our prescriptions renewed for the year and then we will be good to go for a year.

The Lake Anita Geese Family

One of many...

Fascination

This little girl had a real fascination with the water and this spot in particular. Every time we went for our walk this weekend she was peering into the water

Connie says "No"

Connie says "No" to a picture but I think she looks pretty darn good.