3 days without Internet

3 days without Internet puts me way behind. We went to the Clay County Fair as we have in years past to meet up with Magnolia Park friends the Cooklin's and the Cleaveland's plus others. We had a great time and wore ourselves out. The weather was hot and my feet were aching big time but it was fun in spite of my feet.
Marlene and Bernard came down on Saturday night to share a meal with us and it was fun catching up on family events as well. (Marlene is Butch's sister)
My photos did not do as well this year as in years past but I still like to participate. I had one second place and two third places so I did not strike out completely.
We came home to a big surprise- Leo was doing some yard maintenance for us! Thank You Leo!! Also I am not certain I have shared this info with you but we plan to have our property surveyed because every time our name comes up with anyone our neighbor speaks with, he feels it is necessary to inform them that we are infringing on their property. Same was true as Leo was working on our lawn. So Leo told him we were going to have our place surveyed and he said, "Oh no, you do not need to do that, I can show you where the pins are!" Leo told him it was too late as we already have it scheduled...and we do. The neighbor thinks it is an unnecessary expense but I am sick of hearing him flap his mouth about it. My thought is that he protesteth too much and it has been my experience when someone keeps bringing up the same info all the time it is themselves they are trying to convince. So we will see...and either way we all will know the truth of it.
Here are some 2013 fair pictures:

Butch is going to buy our tickets.

Norma, Dale and Leslie are shucking sweet corn.

I left my camera with Butch.

Norma received an outstanding on her painting.

This fellow spent a great deal of time preparing his tractor for the fair.

Baby Alpaca

Miniature Donkey.

Getting Ready

We are getting ready for our trip to the fair. What could we possibly have been thinking? Our life used to be so simple- when we were ready to move we did our countdown moves, brought up our leveling legs and we were on our way. Now it takes 2 to 3 days to load the motorhome and we are thoroughly convinced we have missed some major items. We have no idea what they are-but we know we will get up to Spencer and one of us will say, "Guess what we forgot?" and the other will say, "I do not know, what?" "We forgot ----"  So here we sit the night before take off, trying to remember everything.

The truth of it is that no matter what it is that we might forget we can most likely get along just fine without it.

Butch's Doctor appt.

Butch had an appt today to find out the source of why his arm goes numb. The test consisted of his arm being shocked. Let me tell you he didn't like that even a little bit! Well, the bottom line is that he has mild to moderate carpal tunnel in both arms. His doctor the other day gave him braces for each wrist and it has helped tremendously. The doctor today was fairly certain his other doctor would probably not recommend surgery at this time. So that is good news!

Great Grands picture updates

Elise plays hide and seek

Ethan looks at his pumpkin

Blowing bubbles with Papa

Helping Papa with his chores

How the Internet began...seriously!

My friend Colleen sent me this and it was something I was unaware of. Thus I am posting it here because I thought it might interest others as well. If you do not give a rats patootie just walk on by...

From Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back by Andrew Zolli & Ann Marie Healy. The internet was created by the U.S. military as a way to preserve communications to missile silos in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack:

"From its inception as a U.S. military funded project in the 1960s, the Internet was designed to solve a particular problem above all else: to ensure the continuity of communications in the face of disaster. Military leaders at the time were concerned that a pre-emp­tive nuclear attack by the Soviets on U.S. telecommunications hubs could disrupt the chain of command -- and that their own counterstrike orders might never make it from their command bunkers to their in­tended recipients in the missile silos of North Dakota. So they asked the Internet's original engineers to design a system that could sense and automatically divert traffic around the inevitable equipment failures that would accompany any such attack.

"The Internet achieves this feat in a simple yet ingenious way: It breaks up every email, web page, and video we transmit into packets of information and forwards them through a labyrinthine network of routers -- specialized network computers that are typically redundantly connected to more than one other node on the network. Each router contains a regularly updated routing table, similar to a local train sched­ule. When a packet of data arrives at a router, this table is consulted and the packet is forwarded in the general direction of its destination. If the best pathway is blocked, congested, or damaged, the routing table is updated accordingly and the packet is diverted along an alternative path­way, where it will meet the next router in its journey, and the process will repeat. A packet containing a typical web search may traverse dozens of Internet routers and links -- and be diverted away from multiple conges­tion points or offline computers -- on the seemingly instantaneous trip between your computer and your favorite website.

"The highly distributed nature of the routing system ensures that if a malicious hacker were to disrupt a single, randomly chosen computer on the Internet, or even physically blow it up, the network itself would be unlikely to be affected. The routing tables of nearby routers would simply be updated and would send network traffic around the damaged machine. In this way, it's designed to be robust in the face of the anticipated threat of equipment failure.

From Papa Gary and his favorite granddaughter Elise.

It's been a while. It is activity like this video that keeps me from getting a bunch of cute Leo video. He is quick with a smile and his giggle is very infectious.

http://youtu.be/XtqDZxdHwEo

From me:

Not to worry, I have told him I am expecting a Baby Leo video as well.

Today's Pics

We went to Des Moines today to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. Butch is not fond of the place but Jason, Laura and I like to poke around there. We enticed Butch there because they had some air compressors for sale and he has been in the market for a small portable one. He also had one spotted on sale at Menard's and that is where he ended up buying one. It was a fun day with the kids and when we dropped them off in Boone I took some pictures of their grapes and one of their not yet ripe pumpkin. This is a volunteer pumpkin by the way and it certainly hasn't had much rain.

Munchkins

I have been wondering how the greatgrand munchkins were faring these days but knowing that their mom is a busy one I did not push and then today when I signed in to Facebook I am blessed with some recent photos...and here they are!

Miss Elise (age 3) in her princess dress with her hair straightened for the first time. She is usually a naturally curly girl and her great gram likes it both ways.

And Baby Leo who is now 5 months old.

Early morning ramble

I was up early this morning...early for me that it is at 5:00AM. I remembered that I had not watered my flowers yesterday. They worried me as hot as it has been. I had to wait till 6:30 for it to be light enough for me to see them and they were fine. These flowers need dead headed really bad and I want to give them a good soaking before we go to the fair next Thursday. I have been amazed how well they hold the water they do get.
It is such a relief to have the sewer fixed. Like the song says, "You don't know what you got till it's gone". So true and it always amazes me how your life gets suspended when there is an issue with it. It is like holding your breath. But we are breathing much easier now and I am caught up with the laundry and Butch has emptied the holding tanks in the motorhome without any problem. All systems go and yes, I do catch the double meaning.
In a few minutes I will be meeting Colleen for our walk. We have missed a few days and we will be missing a few more coming up. We have been very fortunate all summer that nothing has prevented us from getting our walks in. We both miss it when we do not get it done. We do not feel like we walk quickly at all and really considering our age I do not think we do walk quickly but Colleen has had some guests this summer who tried to walk with us and couldn't stand the pace. So perhaps we do better than we think. I am aware that the bike runs I have made lately were much easier than the first ones.
For now, I am out the door....

More to come

Butch had an early morning appointment with a doctor in Ames for a tingling in his arms and hands under certain circumstances and a loss of dexterity in his hands. I think today was the first of many appointments. Two are on the calendar already. As he would say,"Its a long way from my heart." Or maybe it is me who would say that.
The sewer issue is taken care of... that is everything but the bill. Not knowing where the sewer was in the beginning was our mistake. As it turns out in putting the sewer connection to the motorhome we cut right through it. How it worked for the two years it did is a complete mystery. But the situation has been repaired and altered to be satisfactory now.
I took a few early morning photos the other day and here are some of them.

Sewer in process

They are working on it and we are going to make some adjustments to our system while we are in the process. In the final analysis it should all be better than it was before and that is the silver lining in this big old pile of stinky stuff. I always look for that silver lining even in a pile of poop. It is our own poop after all. It is nice there are people out there who are willing to help us deal with our own poop.
Another part of the silver lining is that our 3 season room has yet to be built. Sometimes procrastination can also be a blessing. I am hoping tomorrow we can do laundry. Tonight I hope we can take a nice long shower without mysterious gurgles and burps.

 The one above is there because Butch may want to consider it the way his game is going these days. And the one below is because I thought you could all use a little chuckle and it also ties in a bit with our sewer problem..

We have hopes the plumber is showing up tomorrow and that we will be repaired before evening. Hope is all we live on, right? If that indeed happens I will be so happy to have our normal routine returned. Sometimes being in a rut looks pretty darn good.

We went to Ames for my annual eye exam this morning and all is well. I think I will get some Mexican glasses this next winter. They simply want way too much money for them on this side of the border. I am so tired of the constant search for glasses so I had the doctor write a prescription for ones I can wear all the time.

We are watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. Anyone else out there hooked on that series?

A ride through Paradise

This morning I had a very early appointment for a hair cut. 7:15AM. I know. I was surprised too. But Marcia asked if I could make that time and I said "Yes" so there you go. It cut into my walk time with Colleen but I found a new hairdresser in Jefferson that I like. That only took 3 years. So after my haircut it was still fairly cool outdoors so I decided to get a bike ride in.
It is hard to put into words what it feels like on the trail in the early morning light with a light southerly breeze. There are places along the trail that give me the feeling of entering a cathedral with all that can entail. The quiet serenity of the tall trees forming a peak above, shafts of morning sunshine finding its way through the leaves. The quiet, oh the quiet is so hard to describe. It simply can't be done. It has to be experienced and it has to be experienced alone. If I were with you I would have to tell you how wonderful it is...and that would break the spell. Here are the pictures from this mornings meditation.

Many places along the trail have steep sides where you are looking down on the river valley floor.

 I have the thought in some places where I find it doubtful a man has set foot on the ground for many years if ever simply because it appears so undisturbed.

Single minded

I do believe that once my company gets here and I am enjoying them I totally forget everything else. I think it is a good thing because it means I am very much more in the moment. The bad news is I forget to get photos of the event and disappoint many of my readers.
Our friends from Yale and  Lake Panorama were guests in our new fancied up house, Marv and Judi Smith, Jack and Jan Tallman and Bob and Jean Cornish. We enjoyed another great meal prepared by my sis in law Keri. More and more people are now knowing how lucky I am to have Keri in my bag of tricks. The menu was Ham Balls, Cheesy potatoes, Orange salad and Key Lime pie for dessert and it was all as delicious as it sounds. After our delicious meal we played cribbage. I spent most of the evening at the lower table but I still had a very good time.
Before our guests arrived Jason and Laura stopped by with my Simply Said items I had ordered. They were kind to me and installed both of the items. I am so impressed with both items and they add just the right touch. I do have pictures of them and here they are.

Curious about Chrome OS?

I have been looking into a new computer with a Chrome OS(operating system). So people ask me what that means exactly and how is that different from what I have now (Windows 7). Well, I came upon this you tube video that explains it very well so if you have any curiosity about it at all just watch the video.
Why am I thinking about it? My computer is approaching 4 years of age and it gets a lot of use. And in the last month or so it has seized up so I would need to manually shut it down then restart. Not a good thing nor a good sign. Chrome OS laptops sell for $249.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw

More pictures

 I thought this old truck was really cool and a great addition to the car show.

And here we have Keri's Barracuda!!

And if you would like to read about the rest of my day check out the www.magnolianews.blogspot.com

Zucchini anyone?

Saturday in Jefferson

Butch and I went to the Flea Market/Swap Meet at the fairgrounds today. We made a few minor purchases and then Leo called us to say that the car that Keri drove to school has been refurbished and is in the car show so we had to go back to the fairgrounds to see Keri's car. It really looks sharp and lives up to its name of "Barracuda" . Doesn't that roll off your tongue really smooth?
Whoops! I hit the wrong button so you folks who get the automatic updates will not see the pictures. They will need to come all the way to the website to see them.
Here are the pictures..

Issues %^&$##

Well it seems we have a sewer problem. We had a mysterious gurgle and back up of water (clean) in the stool when Butch would take a shower. We wondered... and then Butch went out to get some water for the birds and noticed that the sewer had backed up and out of the motorhome sewer inlet. Not good. All this is taking place outside of the house and motorhome. That part is good. We have no sewer backup in or under the house. Butch suspicions it is in the back yard under a spot we had placed some sewer pipe when we put in the hook ups for the motorhome. He had run into a couple of pieces of clay tile that he wondered where and what from. At that time we were under the impression the sewer went east out of the house to Cedar street only later did we discover it indeed went to the backyard and then south to Adams street so our new pipe went over top of the sewer pipe. Thus when we dumped the motorhome black tank it came into the house then back out to the sewer. At the time we thought if we had only known it would have saved us much digging and laying of new pipe. As it happened though it did prevent us from having a sewer back under the house now.  We have had a problem getting a plumber here so we are dealing with it in a variety of ways I will not go into. One of which is using the motorhome and refraining from using the plumbing in the house. We can make this last about a week before we will have to find a place to dump the black tank.

Jefferson and Greene County Iowa were on the Iowa news last night. We are in a pocket of severe drought. There has been no significant rain since May. I knew this already. My rain barrel is bone dry. It only takes a 1/2 inch of rain to fill the barrel. We have not had that much all summer. There are big ugly cracks all over the yard.

Tomatoes are scarce and this is the time when they should be plentiful. It was a cold and late spring and people were not able to plant and then no rain after they could plant so what we have are tomatoes that are small in size and low in numbers and pricey at the farmers market. Usually people are begging those of us who do not plant to take them off their hands. That is not happening this year. Keri sent a couple of them home with Butch last night  and they were delicious! So ripe, red and delicious. More!! I want more!

Now you know why there has been no news on the blog. If you cannot say something nice...well you know the rest.

I did get a bracelet finished.

Minimal ride and a great chair...

I rode out to the bridge and back on my bike while Butch got in his walk on the golf course. I made note of the time and it took me just over 30 minutes for the round trip of 5 miles. It is feeling easier each time.

I have been back to beading lately. Not all out like I sometimes do but an hour or so at a time. It will get done that way it just takes longer. I do have a chair problem and I hate to even admit it. My chair in the motorhome is the most comfortable I have ever sat in but it is getting very worn. I need a new one. And the glider I bought for the house is just not getting it for me. That is the part I hate to admit. I know the brand and the price of the Good chair and I should have bought a replacement for both the house and the motorhome without quibbling and been done with it. We are never too old to make poor decisions it seems.

Best Chair Here it is... I love this chair.

And I found out I can buy it in Carroll IA-about 30 miles for us. Whoo hoo!!

CROCK POT PECAN PIE

I do not need to know how to do this but if someone "forced" me to make one this one sure looks easy.

Recipe for the Day: CROCK POT PECAN PIE

You will go "nuts" over this holiday classic, which crocks up beautifully!
Ingredients
1 uncooked pie-crust
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark Karo syrup
1 cup pecans, broken up
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
1: Spray the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
2: Place uncooked pie-crust in the slow cooker and press up the edges about 1/2 inch up the sides.
3: In a medium-mixing bowl, stir the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Pour on top of the pie-crust.
4: Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.

Rode to Cooper-7.5 mile

Butch and I rode to Cooper and back this morning. 15 miles total. Butch and I both have ties to Cooper. My maternal grandparents and uncles, aunts and cousins are buried in the Cooper cemetery. My grandfather was a barber in Cooper. My mother was born there....and so was Butch. His family lived on a farm a mile from Cooper when he was born and he lived there until he was about 3 when they moved to Jefferson.
And then in the boys growing up years Butch was a pitcher for the Cooper softball team so many summer nights were spent at the ball diamond in Cooper.
Here are some pictures from today's ride:

Funday morning

Butch and I plan to ride the trail this morning...will let you know later how it goes and what we see.
Butch worked on my bike last week and it is working so great. Just like new.
later.

Oversight

I failed to mention one solitary thing about the Deja Vu group gathering at our house last Thursday evening. The truth of the matter is it was a really great time! I had so much fun and got so involved I forgot to take even one picture. Darn!