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

Randy Clark Passed

For those of you who know us well, you also know we have very good friends in Atlantic IA Randy and Sherri Clark. We just received word that Randy passed away early this morning (2:00 am). We met Randy and Sherry in our golfing years at Nishna Hills. Many happy, interesting, and fun rounds of golf were spent with the Clarks. A year ago Randy had a health crisis with a flesh-eating bacteria on his arm. The word we received is that it returned and this time in his foot. We are still reeling from the shock. This is Randy in 1998

Meandering Mind

The youngest of our three boys was born 57 years ago today. We were in Iowa and it was a beautiful Spring day. I didn't know that until later as he was born at 2:36 am after a wild ride from Churdan Iowa to Lake City.
57 years later we are in Alamo Texas and the temperature yesterday was over 100 degrees. That puts us indoors with the AC just as surely as an Iowa blizzard hikes up the furnace. Last night as we were preparing to go to bed, I asked Butch what the temperature was as he sits right by the thermometer. 88 degrees at 9:30 PM!!! Ordinarily, we head North when the temps are consistently too warm but this year calls for some patience.

This year will be another one that will historically go down in infamy. It boggles the mind. I remember sitting in a classroom in 7th grade and the subject touched on the world getting overpopulated. The teacher, Mr. Kundrat, said that nature would take care of it as it always had in the past. I don't know that he was right but I did remember the conversation when they started projecting how many people might die from Covid-19.
We are far from over with this turn of events and I do believe it will change many things permanently. Those folks who have issues with change will struggle with it. I usually embrace change. I can't say I "embrace" it in the welcoming sound of that word but I do think I will adjust because my personal history shows me that I always have. Well I just looked at the temp and we are sitting at 79 degrees at 7:50 am so I better get to walking or it won't get done today.
Till next time...

Busy week

We have had appointments for the past 3 days. Therapy sessions on Tuesday and Thursday and a follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday. Tuesday Butch went to his therapy appointment alone and afterward filled the car up with gas. It gives a note of normalcy to our life as it is now and feels good to both of us. Wednesday we both went to his doctor's appointment and he drove.  All is well and continuing to heal although he was reminded that it will take considerably longer for him to completely heal. 6 months at least for back to normal status. September 7th will be the 6-month recovery date from the GREAT FALL. He was told he could drive the motorhome back to Iowa if he felt comfortable doing so and he does but at this time he needs to stand up and give his leg a rest perhaps too often for travel. So it will be a few weeks yet. The biggest obstacle at this time is getting the motorhome prepped for the trip. Our neighbor across the street is a young man by our standards and has offered to help so we plan to ask for Omar's help when the time comes. We put a sunscreen on the windshield and the application and removal involve a ladder. A ladder is the last thing either of us needs to deal with currently and perhaps ever.
Thursday was another therapy day and I went this time because I needed some things at both HEB and Costco. So Butch drove to his appointment and then I drove to get the shopping done. It didn't feel strange to drive. I am still comfortable with my new found confidence in driving. Traffic has increased since the lessening of Covid-19 restrictions. They are still pretty tight rules with social distancing and masks still needed and I think they will be for a while yet...maybe months.

Our life has really not changed drastically during this strange time. The broken leg has made far more changes than the Covid-19 situation. We are used to living in small places, and we are used to each other's neverending presence and entertaining ourselves in a myriad of ways. We can always think of things to do. Read, play cards, listen to audiobooks, clean cupboards, resume old hobbies are just a few things that come to mind.  The one thing that springs to my mind and results in the most benefit is to go for a walk! Get outdoors, listen to the sounds all around you, breathe the fresh air, and not for 5 minutes, try a half-hour minimum. It will set the mood for the whole day! I think we all need a closer connection to the outdoors. If all you can manage is a walk around the house. Do that.

I am a fan of him, I am!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ― Dr. Seuss

Improvement

Yesterday I needed to go to the office to get ice. We used to be able to get our own BC (Before Covid-19) but now the office people fill our containers for us. Ice is one of the many benefits given freely to us in Trophy Gardens. As hot as it has been of late we use a bunch of it.
While there I asked if there happened to be a footed cane in the Medical assists closet. Yes, Trophy Garden has one of those too. We currently are using a shower chair from that same closet. Yes, there was one 4-footed cane left so I took it to see if Butch wanted to try it. It worked so well for him that he may have overdone it a bit. It has made getting around easier for him and takes up far less space than the walker. He is using both. We will gladly return all of this equipment to the closet when he no longer needs it. So once again one small event gives us hope that returning to Iowa may not be that far off. We still do not know exactly when but we have set a tentative date. It is always good to have something to aim at. I will let you know our tentative date when it is less tentative. It is still two to three weeks away.

Time Passes Pandemically

Yup, it passes regardless of what is happening throughout the world. Life isn't all that much different for us. It is a good thing we enjoy each other's company. And we are good at entertaining ourselves for the most part. We read books and stuff on the computer. Speaking of that...computer...and Internet, our lives right now would be very different if it weren't for the ability to have a worldwide library at our fingertips. I have always been in awe of it. The Internet. I must say it was probably the biggest life-changing event of my life. I have always had a hungry mind and the Internet helps to keep that hunger satisfied.

The other big change these days is the amount of cooking I do. That began last June when I changed my way of eating. I do not mind cooking if I have the ingredients and the time and I do have enough of both these days. I am having trouble remembering our last restaurant meal. It was definitely before March 6th. Aha! I remember it was at Dirty Al's in McAllen for my birthday. I had shrimp and Butch had a cheeseburger.

'Nother subject. When Butch got his new phone I noticed it came with Duo.

"Google Duo is a video and audio calling app made by Google, similar to Apple's FaceTime, Facebook's WhatsApp or Messenger and Microsoft's Skype. Duo is free to use and works across both iOS and Android devices - unlike Apple's FaceTime."
Mar 30, 2020


I didn't think too much about it because I didn't have much fondness of the idea of video chatting.
I actually am not all that fond of phone audio chatting. Yesterday, Jason tried to connect with us using Duo and we were eventually able to get it done. It is the easiest program for video chatting we have ever tried. Our doctor down here tried to get Zoom working to have a virtual consultation but it wasn't working well on her end or ours so we both gave up. After the bad press on Zoom, I uninstalled it from my phone. Duo works so much easier. I think we will like it and I can see the many benefits besides the usual of just visually seeing who it is you are talking to on the phone.
We both have it on our phones now.
 I must get out to get a walk in now despite the fog. It was 74 degrees when I awoke and it will be sunshiny and much warmer soon. Till next time...

Too many "Facts"

Elise the Cook

Elise will be 10 in May.
From her mom, our granddaughter Amanda:

"Elise loves cooking, but this week she has become so independent in the kitchen and has been cooking most meals for us. Last night she did the chopped challenge and made me a taco salad and lettuce wraps. Dessert was a yogurt and strawberry parfait. This morning she made a blueberry crumble and tonight she made carrot cake cookies. They are like oatmeal cream pies but with carrot cake as well!!"

Next years spot

Next season, October, we will be in another location in the same park. Trophy Gardens site #189 on Blue Ribbon Drive.

Another view                                                                                                 ↑

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Butch has resumed some of his chores. This is dumping the black tank. That is the sewage for those who know nothing about how Rv's function. It needs to be done about once a week.

The craft building is sporting a new metal roof.

Texas primrose is in bloom.

The corn is coming along.

East Fence Flowers

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Broken Leg update plus other stuff

Wednesday Butch decided to take a leap of faith and drive the car. He did this while I was otherwise occupied (on my walk). It went well and he saw no difficulties with it. So WE decided he could drive himself to his next therapy session Thursday and so he did. I felt weird about it. He did have his phone with him and could have called Dave to rescue him if he had any problems but it went well. So now I am back to no good reason to drive. I am okay with that too. I did get good enough to feel comfortable doing it and I should probably work at staying comfortable. We will see how that goes.

Our new friends Candy and Rick went from here back to Kansas a few weeks ago. Kansas has no restrictions but they are close to Nebraska and needed to go see a doctor (Not Covid-19) in Nebraska. They had to wear masks and this is a photo of Candy wearing her mask. What!!? How did she do that? She printed a picture of herself and then fastened it to her mask! Cool

Tuesdays are a busy day

Butch's therapy sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 pm for an hour. So yesterday I dropped him off and made my way to HEB with mask and gloves in place. Sometimes there can be a line out the door all placed 6 feet apart as in this photo. Not today. I made my way picking up a few items and checking out, easy, peasy.

I then went back to the PT location, parked in my usual shady location and listened to an audiobook,

I had started this book a looooong time ago and it still happened to be on my Mp3 so I am finishing it. 

After Butch was finished with his therapy we stopped at Costco, since it was a cool day and Butch would be waiting in the car. Still masked and newly gloved I went into Costco where they are taking good care of everyone as well as they do in HEB. I went nuts! I have pretty much been eating the same things since  Butch's accident and I was ready for some variety. Afterward, I worried about how to get it all in my fridge space and it did indeed test my creativity.

After supper (Costco's chicken salad) we went for a ride around the park. Everywhere you look it seems like a ghost town. There are not many people left here and there are even more leaving this week.

Butch was feeling a little down about his progress yesterday and his therapist reminded him he was less than 6 weeks from surgery. He is doing well. He just wishes he were doing better than he is. A couple days ago, he went out and sat in the car checking out how he might feel about driving it. Not quite there yet but getting closer.

Exercise + Imagination

https://www.rvtravel.com/use-creative-exercises-to-tune-up-your-life/

This article from the RV Newsletter should kick off the imagination to find ways to get exercise no matter the situation.

The Things I see

Butch grilled some steaks for us. They were extra delicious!!

Social Distancing

That is one big 'ol fire ant!

Butch is down at the end of the block doing the "Rocky" arm pumps. He walked all the way there without incident.

Fiber Optic

Butch and I had a conversation the other day about high fiber food and the benefits of the same. This morning I prepped jicama, watermelon, radishes, green peppers and in the wings are 3 acorn squash. I suggested supper be a "fiber-optic" meal with all you will see are vegetables. Not sure it will fly.

Fridays Walk

That is the Alamo Texas water tower in the background.

This is a favorite of mine. For today anyway

We're bonding.

 I do not know the story behind this. At first I thought they were eggs.

Masks required

Masks are required nearly everywhere now, including in Trophy Gardens so I thought I would repost the directions for the T-shirt mask. It is still the one I find most comfortable. Yesterday I wore the bandana one that has more layers.  Twelve layers if folded correctly but no one could understand me when I talked and it was very warm!
Here are directions for the original T-shirt mask I posted before: It is a youtube video.
 https://youtu.be/pJaVBt8q6g8

And here are directions for several different kinds of masks:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-make-t-shirt-face-mask-coronavirus_l_5e8f2f06c5b6b371812d15af?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHn0qGfjAqArhZ-1LPQKUH9O4cs3_60CBlKfNWR0AkorYNn-Fss5H-C8aIR-zO_fvErquYbm6y7qcGq1lvntwoLJ9XEeVQTkyKRRa5ChcSNUUAEUg3tAda4ugOMSn6jZR9dNOmdIdmWSTWhsjNwTKcMOIuDo0owG2vEUKquINs6b

The site above looked like a very complete collection of different kinds. I copied the T-shirt one for a visual pattern. I like the way the youtube video tied the strings better than the visual pattern. I think it fits better and is more comfortable.