Big Saturday

Butch went out to Leo and Keri's in the morning to mow so I walked on the bike trail. It seems like a very long two miles without my walking buddy, Colleen. I took my camera along and snapped a few shots.

LOCOMOTIVE TURNTABLE-below

Built in 1881. The round block of concrete was used as the center pivot  for a turntable on  which narrow gauge locomotives and tenders were turned around.

The Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific railroad from Des Moines was eventually extended to Spirit Lake.

                                   Spring in Iowa on the trail

                                     Plum Blossoms

                            A mile and a few tenths from this sign to home

                              Asked this fellow to pose and he did.

Butch came home at noon and Jason called asking if I would play golf if Laura came along and played too. Butch had asked me earlier if I wanted him to buy a family membership. $200 as opposed to $150 for a single. After much thought and consideration I said yes. So yesterday was my first day. I have to play at least 4 more times to get my money's worth. So the four of us played. I would have to say I just played at it. I forgot to take water and that was a mistake but otherwise it went fairly smooth.

After golf we came back to Jefferson and had a sandwich. Very enjoyable day with the kids. Always is.

Crime Scene-see prior entry

Bird Incident

Butch was on his computer ...in the closet and I was in the bathroom when something hit the side of the house hard. Very hard. On investigation a small bird of prey, not sure what it was, had grabbed a smaller bird that in its fright flew into our window on the west side door. This place is where the room will be when we get to it. There is a very distinct bird shape on the door window. Can you see it?

Rain

We waited all day for it to dry up enough to get our walk in. It never did. The ray of sunshine in the day is the type of rain coming down. It was an all day slow and gentle rain. Perfect for maximum benefit. We have been in a very dry area for 2-3 years so this was a special rain. I fixed a big pot of chili and it was the perfect meal for the day too. It really hit the spot.
We watched a couple of movies on Netflix to fill in the afternoon. We have plenty to do but it involves trips back and forth to the motorhome and I would prefer to have it dry. Less tracking.
They say there is more of the same tomorrow.

Dad argues with Toddler

I have told several people about this video. No relation to us...just funny and so typical.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMR2aFyt86Q

Getting settled

April in the house is much better than April in the motorhome. I glanced to my right to see the indoor/outdoor thermometer and it is registering a flat 40 degrees outside. Hard to be enthused about getting yard work done at that temperature. We did get a two mile walk in this morning while it was still a balmy 47 degrees. I decided I simply could not wait for it to warm up to start walking.

This afternoon Butch started work on a Bucket cooler AC. We have hopes that it will be getting hot enough to need one in the future. Here is a video of what I am talking about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxSLbpAwibg
 I like the one in the video better but we had difficulty locating the parts so Jason gave us an old cooler he had and Butch modified the idea to make it work. Butch could use this in the garage when it is hot if he wants to work out there or we could loan it to a friend of ours who does not have AC in her house. It could possibly give her a better nights sleep some July evening.
So here we sit waiting for warm...waiting...and waiting.

Keri and Brady

              Brady wants to drive. He has a good start. He can blow the horn!

Most unusual

We experienced a Midwestern thunderstorm this afternoon. Most unusual. As a rule the thunderstorms in South Texas are on the wimpy side, at least in the winter months. We have not been there during hurricane season, nor do we want to be. Midwestern thunderstorms are rambunctious in comparison. When it has been awhile since such a storm has been experienced it is cause for pause. Not that we were scared or anything. It wan't quite that bad...just noticeable.

This morning we installed the IKEA headboard. Pictures will be forthcoming when I get the completed package ready for viewing.
There seems to be a fair amount of interest in our bed due to the fact we copied it off our RV bed. I plan to do a "feature" on it. I do need to inventory the storage items hidden beneath it. You take 5-6 months away from half of your belongings and you lose track of what you have and where it is. I do not imagine that will improve with age.

Also I made an inventory and spreadsheet of my canned goods. When your supplies are spread all over the place it is hard to keep track of what you do and do not have on hand, thus ending up with duplicates. For the minute I feel in control of the situation. We'll see how long that lasts.

To back up a bit, Yesterday we ate lunch at Pizza Ranch with Leo and Keri, their daughter Erin and grandson Brady. It had been quite awhile since we had seen Erin and Brady so it was great getting caught up. That Brady is growing like a weed. He will be two in July. We started a game with Brady where he was in control of what we did. He would raise one arm and we would all follow suit. Two arms up and we all complied. He thought this was a real hoot being the leader of all these silly adults.

I snipped a couple of Amanda's photos from Facebook. I found out that Papa Gary counts on me doing that because he is not a Facebook guy but keeps track of the blog. I now feel it is more important to keep that up.
So here they are...

Doesn't this look peaceful...

This boy loves his food.

Up to Snuff

I think I am close to being fully up to snuff. Today I did a variety of boring things, like cleaning out flower beds, cleaning some of the motorhome, resewing the mattress in the motorhome. Some of you know about the last item. The new mattress we bought last summer had a malfunction. The main cover on the basic mattress split on the side. I chatted with Overstock and after much hassling back and forth they gave me a $50 compensation. Hey, it started at $20! At any rate something still had to be done. I decided to try sewing it back together with quilting thread and we did that today. I was amazed and pleased with how well it worked. Looks good as new and it appears that it will hold.
Late afternoon Leo called...that would be Big Leo...and he wanted to get a walk in so we walked on the bike trail. I would say we walked a short 2 miles and then we joined Keri at the local BBQ restaurant for supper. We enjoyed the meal and great conversation.
Butch took the checkbook out to pay his dues at the golf course. He came home and said, "That didn't work." It seems we were out of checks and I had not noticed. Perhaps I am not completely back to normal after all.

I am also in the process of shopping for insurance. Dirty job but every now and then you simply must do it. When we turned in our two claims for the windshield-one on the car and one on the motorhome we found out we have a $500 deductible on comprehensive. Butch did not realize this. In the olden days glass was always taken care of. Somewhere the change went past us, so we are looking at $1000 for the two windshields. It seemed our premium was rather high as well thus the search. That is still a work in progress and most likely will be for awhile. Hey, we are retired. We can do this. Still a pain in the butt.
So that was our Friday.
All days are better for me than last Sunday. Of that I am positive!
Add on: I thought I had already posted this. It went into drafts without me noticing...but its here now!

Overview

It isn't often that I blow off the blog but this week I have blown off the blog. I had much bigger issues going on. And they still are to some degree. I have a minimal appetite and no urge to snack. That alone should tell you that I am not up to my usual self. I am regaining my health but it has been much slower than I expect. Cannot quite say it is behind me but I am closer. Yesterday about a half hour on the computer wore me out. But today I have been on it trying to catch up for much longer periods.
Yes, I did have a flu shot for those who wonder. But I do not think flu shots are supposed to stave off stomach flu...unfortunately.
Till next time...

Off My Camera

After Nap Snack

                                 Leo loves to wrestle bears!

                                and open gates...

                                  Toy construction

                                  Just a swingin'

                                Yup, I am one.

                              Papa Gary naps

Redbuds through window

                                       Mom and Dad went to Mexico

Picture Catch up

Amanda and Elise

Elise shares her art work at school. 

Ethan on his egg hunt. Papa Jason helps Ethan. Ethan is becoming such a grown up!

Elise loves "Frozen".

Siblings and good friends.

Leo at one! Been walking for a month!

Leo loves food.

Easter egg hunt for Leo.

It boggles my mind, the things these youngsters do at such a young age.

I'm Alive! I'm Alive!

I am starting to feel like I may get back my "youthful" vigor. It has not been a fun journey and I do not know how anyone who was the least bit frail could make it through with that ugly bug. I am also way behind on everything and I will not be rushing to catch up. I will take my own sweet time.
So after a bit more healing time you will get another post.
The greatgrands were delightful and there are plenty of pictures available and I will post ASAP.

Easter Sunday stomach flu

I am alive but not perky. Yesterday I thought I would die. Today is better but not good. We are headed for Iowa today. Butch will have to get us there on his own. I am not much help. No more posts till I am well.

Peculiarly Located

We have made it to Missouri! A whole day and one night without Internet. We went out to supper with Marilynn and her grandson Graem in Norman OK last night. Marilynn was our supervisor at Snow Mountain Ranch. Marilynn's husband Sam had a severe stroke last December. Their life has been very different since then. We had a good supper and a nice visit getting caught up.
Butch and I stayed at the Riverwind casino parking lot. We awoke at 4:30 AM and decided to get a head start on our trip to Missouri. My night vision is not good so I prayed that Butch's was better and off we went. We did miss much morning traffic but there are certainly quite a few people on the road at that hour. I was surprised. Our whole trip plan was off on the 2014 north journey. We like to travel on weekends and go through cities on Sunday's- preferably Sunday Mornings. That did not happen at any time this spring and we certainly noticed the difference in traffic.
We will be with our Missouri kids, grandkids and greatgrands for the holiday weekend and head on up to Jefferson on Monday AM.
Getting caught up will take some time so look for kiddo pics in the next few days. One great one I snipped today.

Afternoon Walk in Llano Texas

 Bluebonnets by the River

These grow in rock crevices. I cannot identify them.

iDoctor

Healthcare in the future. It is no wonder that it is impossible to keep up with technology.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/r13uYs7jglg

Missouri Great Grands

Elise and the Easter Bunny

                                           Elise at dance class

Birthday boy Leo with his new wheels.

 I love Elise's green slippers.