Butch's Gift

Leo gave his brother a gift and it arrived yesterday. I think Leo has Butch pegged pretty well.

Perfect! Thanks, Leo.
 

Free Books on Book Bub

I haven't mentioned Book Bub of late but my friends who are avid readers could be interested because you can sign up for emails that let you know about great books for not much cash and many of them are free! Book Bub will get the gist of the kind of books that interest you after you make a few choices. So you say, "But I do not have a Kindle!" You do not need a Kindle because if you have a phone or PC you can get the kindle app for free and read your chosen books on your phone or PC. Easy Peasy! You can get the kindle app here: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp

Then mosey on over here to sign up for Book Bub:

 https://www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/latest

PS: Butch only gets the free ones.😄

ENJOY!

Odd Happening

 The "Boys" Butch, Rich, Gary, and Jason were playing golf this past weekend. I assume the conversation turned to quarters, you know the coins that were made different for each of the 50 States. Apparently, Gary had been collecting them and he hadn't thought of them in ages.  He said he only needed two, New Mexico and Arizona. Rich reached in his pocket and pulled out New Mexico and Butch came up with Arizona!! So now his collection is complete. What are the odds?

Getting ready for a garage sale...

 No, I have not set a date yet. I have been gathering and making piles. The other day Butch asked me if I really needed what was in 3 plastic tubs in the little shed. He needed more room for a "lawn brush", I don't know the real name, he had scored for $5. After some thought, I told him I would have some spare room under the bed once I had emptied it of garage sale items. BUT! Isn't there always a BUT. I needed to go through the tubs, inventory the contents, and clean up the outside of them. So he brought them to the shop/old garage so I could see what was in them. AND NOW, I have 3 plastic tubs of things I could not part with when we first retired, sold our house, and went full-time in the RV. All three have photo albums, journals, and mementos! Keeping the blog going since 2002 should have been a clue that I was not new to journaling.  So all the things I wrote down and saved for posterity prior to the blog are in those 3 tubs!

I did not dare look any further! I have not completed my first todo list and we have groups of company coming in the next few weeks. And now I am itching to go through those tubs!!

Just maybe that will incite me to get on it with the tubs as a reward! Maybe...

OMG

 This morning I was doing the Jigzone puzzle that Butch and I compete on every morning when the wren landed on the rim of the window in front of me not more than 20 inches from my nose! It stopped me in my tracks! Of course, it was off like a bullet soon afterward so no time to get a photo. It will give Butch an advantage on this puzzle. He doesn't have a window in his Hidey Hole.

The website for the puzzle: www.jigzone.com  We click on the puzzle of the day and then change the cut to 48 classic. Unfortunately, the web address does not have the es after the HTTP but, you see, we are addicted so we take the chance for the five or so minutes we are on the site.😉

More Pics

 

Busy Weekend

 Gary brought his RV to our backyard RV site to get it ready for the season. It is the perfect spot for doing that and having 2 RV businesses in town is another plus. You know, in case you need a replacement part. That has happened more than once through this procedure. 

So taking advantage of the situation the "guys" Butch, Rich, Gary, and Jason hit the links at The Hill golf course and played 18 holes. We followed that up with supper at Casa de Ora. Always a good choice. And then topped it off with ice cream at The Twin Shoppe. 

Oh yes, I cannot forget we had some delicious pie Made by Keri! Can't go wrong there.

The summer season has begun and the entire country and maybe the world is playing catch up! And now I will play catch up with pictures taken in the last few days.

Gary and Susan gave us their pool cue holder so now we have a home for all our cues, accumulated from various sources.

 

Gary and Susan's RV- Ours is on the site behind theirs.

   

The new sidewalk- A bit on the high side. We may be in danger of falling off, a trade-off from not being covered by water. It's always something!

 

This shot was taken from the alley. Makes it look very small, don't ya think?

Also taken from the alley, showing our two RV sites...and Butch on a ladder!

Another view...

This was taken looking out from our back door of the house. Another view of Butch on a ladder...

IN? or OUT?

 It seems no one knows if we are in the pool hall or the house or the motorhome for that matter. So I decided to devise a low-tech solution to help clarify the issue. I didn't wish to use Open or Closed for obvious reasons so I am using IN or OUT. I am hoping the sign on the door can be seen from the street. 

Now we have to remember to change it appropriately. Looking forward to seeing you!

Sidewalk-Done Deal!

 

Our House Wren--

SURPRISE'S!

 I arose this morning and watered my plants. It has been in the 90's every day. I was surprised that they were not drier than they were. 

When I came inside I was enjoying my coffee when I decided to look up how to recover Linux on a Chromebook. More than a year ago I accidentally removed it from my Chromebook and try as I might I could not get it back and my Chromebook seemed to be toast. My son Gary was here at the time and he tried too. My Chromebook is what I use for Trivia so I was perplexed and dismayed. So I bundled it up and took it to Texas thinking I might work on it last Winter. I didn't. So I was looking up info on my main PC about fixing Chromebooks. And was told that Linux had little or nothing to do with a Chromebook. I came upon some steps to take to fix it and thought they looked quite easy so I went to the motorhome to get it, brought it up to have a look and it looked very familiar. I signed in just like I used to and it all worked! I do not know how or why it would suddenly started working a year later but I am happy as a clam! And very surprised!

So then...there was a knock on our back door. It was our cement people coming early to do our back sidewalk! By day's end, we will have it done. 

So it has been a day of very pleasant surprises!

Lots going on...

 We told our cement people they could do our back sidewalk from the back of the house to the back door of the pool hall anytime. So we gave them a nudge when we first got back and he was in the field planting. So we waited...and waited. Nudged again a week or so ago and finally reached him in person yesterday. It seems the cement place charges a $500 fee if your cement order is too small so he tacks it onto a bigger job to avoid that small job fee. That's the bad news- the good news is we will see him next week!

And then a while back, Butch contacted some tree people who were working a block away and a guy named Squirrel was supposed to see us. Squirrel didn't show but his boss called and said he would come to look at the job. He came by on Monday. Butch and I had a "pool" going to see how much it would cost. I said $700 and Butch said $1200 so when Eric L. said $400 Butch was tickled pink that he lost the "pool". Butch is having the tree topped. They are coming sometime next week. Wanna bet on what day that might be? For the local folk who want to know what outfit this tree crew is out of, it's ArborPro Tree Service out of Fort Dodge.

So lots going on next week...

Butch's Birthday is today and he is the big Eight OH!. He says "So What." and I do have to agree with him. It is just a number. And he wears it very well. Miracles do happen. He is even starting to listen to me! Who knew!!

Saving the bloomers

 I was gifted with a cemetery planter box. The plants were really quite healthy. I expected them to need plenty of loving care and some time in my "nursery." I have this area in the backyard where plants seem to thrive. Yes, it is where the aforementioned sewer cleanouts are located.  

I have had a Christmas cactus for several years now that really loves that spot. Karla has a "child" from this plant at her house and it is thriving there too. Karla tells me that the plant really has the attributes of a Thanksgiving cactus. I really did not know the difference but it would coincide with when I bought it at Costco. My friend Liz also has a start from this same plant. Liz asked me to bring it home so it could be hospitalized too. The mother plant succumbed to the big freeze in South Texas this past winter. It was too cold for too long.

So all of these plants have had their surgeries and are ready to grow like crazy. They do get watered with rainwater. I swear by this magic elixir for plants.

So here are their baby pics. I will give progress reports as we go.

Pool Hall Update Photos

 Yes, my friends, it gets used every day. After Jeopardy we play till time for supper. 4:00 PM Stop by!

Still need to get the green shutters for the window. And that involves a trip to Ames. Our very conservative selves think a 80 mile round trip for one item is unnecessary.

Bird Pics

 Finch

Our very special House Wren.

Today’s thought

 “Not everything is supposed to become something beautiful and long-lasting. Sometimes people come into your life to show you what is right and what is wrong, to show you who you can be, to teach you to love yourself, to make you feel better for a little while, or to just be someone to walk with at night and spill your life to. Not everyone is going to stay forever, and we still have to keep on going and thank them for what they’ve given us.” ―Emery Allen

Dry spell

 It seems the daily rains have stopped and it has been five days without a drop. I almost forgot to water the few flowers I have that I try to keep alive! So many things in the Spring wait for good weather to take care of and then when it rains nearly all the time those things get put on the back burner. So there you have it! We are all a month behind and trying to catch up. 

Today I put some of the things that were put in disarray last year with our sewer debacle back in business. There are two sewer clean-outs in the backyard that I have configured to assist Butch with his mowing. It makes it easier to mow around the cleanouts.

I came across two pieces of drainage pipe at an auction several years ago and I thought they would make the perfect covers for the cleanouts and I could add flower pots to the tops to dress them up even further. I probably paid $2 for them and they have given me many years of service. It took me a while but I found photos I took in June of 2016 of the set-up. The cleanouts are underneath these pipes.

 And we are back at ground zero after last summer's "fun". But it is a start!

That is a wren in case you are wondering. I may buy some late-season "rescue plants" to have something suitable for the drain pipe thrones. 

On Wednesday we took care of another issue that developed from a neighbor's clogged eaves overflowing from the rain with nothing to stop it and thus covering our path stones to the MoHo with mud. The whole purpose of the path was to get to the MoHo without walking through grass and/or mud. So we repositioned and refurbished about 5 stones to return our path to something useful. There is still more to do there but it will have to wait its turn.  

It does seem that we have stacked up a vast amount of projects in the past two to three months.

So now you know I have not been ignoring you. I am peddling as fast as I can!

Edit!

I forgot to add the path repair. You may be able to see the 5 we worked on with close examination.

My Phone

 Want to know why I love my phone? When I bought my phone it was a newish thing as not many had a pixel phone. I cannot, off the top of my head, remember when I bought it but I think it was about 3 years ago. I came across this article about my phone and it said exactly what I love about my phone.

https://www.reviewgeek.com/85061/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls/

I would hate to give up the screen call feature.

More Spring Lake Photos

https://www.mycountyparks.com/county/Greene/Park/Spring-Lake-Park.aspx

I recently learned that rocks with bands in them are sometimes called Wishing Rocks. This one was located in front of the Sycamore cabin

This is a photo shot into the ravine at the back of the cabin.

Here is a website about the  2 cabins: https://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Greene/Park/Spring-Lake-Park/Facility/Cabin-01-Cottonwood.aspx This is the Sycamore Cabin.

Butch and Greg

😊These pics were taken at the Catholic Church playground located a block from us. The Leo and Keri Grands call it the Butch and Barb park I am told. Jorgen and Beckett

Jorgen

Playground monitor Keri

 

I caught Beckett, the bravest of the brave, in mid-flight!

 

Clara, the only girl of the bunch, is fearless and very confident of her own abilities.

 

Jorgen, Clara's big brother and another of the brave warriors of the playground.