For Sale

Leo has a car for sale and it is listed on craigslist.
Leo said it ran so well he is tempted to keep it but they do not have a need for an extra vehicle Click on "For Sale"

Tuesday Morning...

Sunday we played golf with Laura and Jason. First time I had played since March or April. Butch said I am disgusting...going that long and then playing well. As long as I do not put pressure on myself things seem to work out okay.
I gave Leo and Keri's hanging baskets a major haircut yesterday. It is a good way to give plants that have started looking a little leggy new life. In two weeks time they will look all perky again. While I was watering I noticed a wormy friend in the parsley so I took his picture. It seems they like parsley too. No, I did not remove him and squash him like a bug!
I let Angel out yesterday while I was grooming the hanging baskets and Stubby decided to come into the motorhome. Angel took exception to his presence and kicked some Stubby butt. The fur flew...mostly Stubby's. I do not think I will leave the door open again.
Today we plan to go to friend Mickey's in Clive. Butch will be doing some electrical stuff for her while we visit. Mickey is a friend from childhood that I have stayed in touch with throughout the years. We always seem to be able to pick up where we left off each time we meet. Yesterday I made some creamy cucumbers from Mickey's aunts recipe and they sure were good. So here is the recipe! I also added some dill weed.

Recipe: Cucumber/Onion Dressing 8/26/2008
Category: Side
Author: Mickey's aunt

1 C. Miracle Whip (I used Mayo)
1/2 C. Sugar or Splenda
4 T Apple Cider vinegar
salt to taste
Cucumbers and onions, sliced

Slice Cucumbers and onions. Layer in a dish and lightly salt each layer. Combine
dressing ingredients and pour over cucumber/onion layers. Refrigerate for
several hours before serving.

Our plans

We will be roaming around Iowa this next month. We plan to go to the Clay County Fair (Spencer Iowa) which some say is bigger and better than the state fair. That is Sept. 6th or so. We have a couple of doctor appts. in Atlantic IA on the 18th and 21st.
October 5th our Missouri kids are having an auction of Susan's mothers belongings and we thought we would help with that if we can. That will be held in Savannah MO. Northwestern part. And then we have an appt. in Carthage MO for a MoHo checkup and the refrigerator recall. Also our satellite dish quit working. We suspended service on DirectTV. No sense in paying for that while we can't see it.
And then we plan to meander down to the Rio Grande Valley.

Deer in Morning Mist

Iowa State Fair 2008

Make a Smilebox photobook

Sara and Dan Kelley

Parents of the groom

Weekend Pictures

Marie and John Kelley- Bride and Groom

Weekend Pictures

Marlene's Dahlias

Iowa State Fair!

Iowa State Fair!

The tractor pull.


















Friend Mickey's grandaughter, Abby Brown does a 4-H demo
explaining the meaning of the 13 folds in the American Flag.

Iowa Sunrise

At Mozingo Lake-near Maryville MO

I am a little late getting these posted but better late than never. We have pictures of Gary and Susan's RV and ours. And my favorite shot of this bunch is the sumac. I love the swirl of the leaves and the contrast of color.

On the trail again...

Butch and I rode to Cooper and back yesterday, a nice and moderate 15 mile round trip ride. We tangled with the wildlife a bit. I have never ran over an animal on the trail till yesterday. I think it was a ground squirrel but it happened so fast I really do not know. My front tire was up and over it before I could even see it. Then a bit later Butch had a rabbit run into the spokes of his front tire. We got a very good look at a deer too. Please click on that one to increase the size for a close up view of her. The new signage on the trail is a super addition. It felt really good to be enjoying the ride and the trail. Jefferson is very lucky to have such a great feature.

National Wildfire Locations

An interesting website about locations and current status of wildfires around the country. I will mark this one to view again.

http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm

Leo and Keri's Ragbrai

RAGBRAI- Registers-Annual-Great-Bicycle-Ride-Across-Iowa. This event has been taking place for well over 20 years, nearing 30 I believe. Participants come here from all over the world. This year the route came through Jefferson Iowa. Leo and Keri hosted several teams at their home as well as riding in the event. Keri also catered food for the church making over 1500 ham balls with all the fixings to go with it. Food is a big part of RAGBRAI. A week long party!
These are pictures Leo sent me from the event.

The Old Hometown

We arrived at Leo and Keri's in Jefferson IA about 10:00 AM. I hopped right to getting our house cleaned and Butch fairly soon landed on the lawn mower. He first put on a mask as the weed pollen is high right now and he sprayed himself down to ward off the mosquitoes. It is still warm and humid but not quite as bad as the last two days.
I do not know how long we will be here. It may depend on when the mowing gets caught up. I do have a fast and reliable Internet connection here so I will try to post more pictures. I have plenty on the back burner.

In Iowa

We have moved...from Missouri to Iowa. Lake Anita to be more specific. Paid up for a couple of days. I have hopes of a better Internet connection but that remains to be seen. On the surface it seems to be better but I have had that happen before only to be disappointed later.
Butch and Gary enjoyed their tournament. I think. Golf has become an undiscussed topic.;-)
We enjoyed our anniversary supper at the Redwood tonight. Our anniversary is July 25th but I had said that was one of the places I would like to go for our anniversary so now we have. We both had Pork Tenderloins and they were scrumptious.
On to the weather!!! It is muggy..very,very muggy. The good news is that it is not windy or raining...but very, very muggy. Coming from the rarefied air of the Rockies this is oh so uncomfortable. We have yet to acclimate and not sure we will.
Tomorrow I will be catching up on laundry and cleaning.
Till next time...
Barb & Butch

Missouri-Mozingo Lake

The sounds of crickets, doves cooing, the smell of corn , the outside air wrapping around you like a warm ,wet blanket. This is the midwest in August.
The pictures are of things I saw while on my walk yesterday.

Abreast

We left McCook NE yesterday in the rain and we were in rain all day and night! The mountain dust ran down the side of the motorhome in what seemed like chunks! We haven't seen that much rain in a very long time.
Hwy 34 in Nebraska is great, not so with hwy 136. We took it because it was a direct route to Maryville MO. I doubt if we take it again. It is narrow and no shoulder on most of it but the rough stretches were a bigger aggravation. After arriving at Mozingo Lake we unhitched the car and went into Maryville to buy groceries. That was a bite in the budget after not buying groceries for two months! It was nice to pick up some items I hadn't enjoyed for a time and I will have to pace myself on some of them.
Our phone coverage and Internet connection were iffy last night. It does seem more stable this morning. Butch discovered an ember burn on the hood of our car so he is currently checking the roof of the MoHo. We may have to talk to the next neighbor who decides to build a fire! Campground host duties never end!
I am working on a Swedish weaving project and I finished the center section while we were on the move. The finishing on the ends are remaning and that is my favorite part and that is what I plan to do while the golf tournament is occupying Butch.
We will miss the hummingbirds!!

Over the Mountain...

And down the hill....We left SMR about 8:15 this morning and boogied up and over Berthoud Pass without a hitch. Butch was very impressed with how our 2004 Newmar Kountry Star performed. Our route was I-70 to I-76 to Hwy 34 and it is all good road. We had looked at our Good Sam book prior to leaving SMR and had chosen McCook NE as a probable destination. I asked Butch before we left if I should scope out a place to stay on the Internet and he said "Naaaw, there are plenty of RV parks along 34." We couldn't find one so finally he pulled over and gave me time to connect and I went to my trusty resource- www.freecampgrounds.com and we found Karrer RV Park on the east side of McCook. 50 amp electric and they restrict your stay to 3 days. Price- Donations!! It is a great little park. That website has saved our fanny more than once. Check it out.
We already miss our SMR friends. What a great bunch of people!! :-)