Sticker Shock

Butch and I went to the grocery store for the first time since returning home. That tells you I was well stocked. I had green peppers on my list and that was my first consternation. 4 for $5! Really? And besides that, there were many that were a bit wrinkled. Oh, to leave the land of plenty and inexpensive and return to the place of over-a-dollar-each green peppers is always a shock.
There was a fellow thumping watermelons and Butch and I were watching him with interest. He had his ear right down on the melon so he could hear if it was think, thank, or thunk which is also our determination of ripeness. He found a thunker and he was trying to get it loose from the pile when he noticed the sticker price of $7 each. We engaged in conversation and he said for that price he could wait till they were in season and I had to agree.
We engaged in far more conversation than I really wanted but he seemed to need it so I endured for a bit. Found out he had recently moved to Greenwood, a senior housing place near the golf course and overlooking the river valley, and he was enjoying it very much with all the wildlife and all. He described the wildlife and its behavior in detail.  He said his wife had died recently and then shared that he was 73. I am 73 but I didn't tell him that and actually, I was not given a chance to share it had I wanted to. I slowly walked away and noticed he was engaged with another lady and sharing the same info with her. One thing we definitely agreed on and that is $7 is too much for a watermelon in April or any other month.
So it may take me awhile to adjust my thinking and start spending for groceries indiscriminately. It always does!

A week today

We have been here a week today. Who would have guessed it would take me two weeks to settle in. I developed a bad cold on Tuesday and spent a few miserable days in a row for the third time this year. I get real ticked off and depressed when I get a cold. So this is why you haven't heard from me. I am better now and Butch is on the tail end of having it too so we should soon be able to return to normal, everyday living. It is sounding not only possible but welcoming to me. I did manage to get several loads of laundry done and the bugs cleaned up. I do not know if they died a natural death or from the bomb but there were a fair amount of them.
We visited Leo and Keri and their grandson Jorgen and daughter Emily were there too. Leo and Jorgen have a strong bond. Jorgen thinks his Grandpa is the greatest thing since dinner.

Oh yes! And Lucy!

Missouri Kids

Elise testing her new batch of dress up clothes

Nana Susan helping little Leo burn off 3 year old energy.

Papa Gary helping Elise do the same.

Brad Teeter cooks

Getting Settled

Oh, where to begin?
We came home about 1:30 Sunday afternoon and the most challenging part of the trip was after we turned west off I-35 at Grimes. We had wind and some rain from that point on. We fueled up at Sparky's in Jefferson for $1.99 (Deisel). After getting parked we set off bug bombs in the house and immediately thereafter Butch tuned into the Masters and watched until he became disappointed and those of you who also watched will know why and the rest of you won't care.

We had to wait two to four hours for the bug bomb to subside and have it safe to go in the house so I went over to Mickeys to see her new home. It is beautiful and I love it. Mickey has probably 5 years or more to get it just the way she wants it but that is indeed what keeps her going so she is tickled pink.
Mickey fixed us Mexican and Keri joined us and we got caught up on Jefferson news.
Monday morning first thing-8:00- I called City Hall to have the water hooked up and they suggested I call the shop so I did and they came right away and hooked up the water meter. Blaine stopped by to get paid for snow removal. ($340 for two lots). I went to the post office and picked up the mail and stopped at the telephone company to have Internet connected. I had Internet in less than an hour after returning home. I love small town living!
And then I started in on the MoHo refrigerator, emptying, cleaning and carrying the goods to the house refrigerator. Six or more trips later it was done on both ends.
So we have a good start on getting settled in and it will continue today but we have a ways to go before we can say it is done.
Today's plan is to get groceries and canned goods transferred, all things needing laundered and then I can breathe just a bit easier.

Update in photos

This rocking horse/table was on the Linder's back deck. I thought it to be  a unique feature.

I thought the view between the two RV's was  appropriate- A ring of bluebells around the steps with a patch of blooming aloe in the background.

This view is from the front porch. The RV's are barely visible through the trees

The Linders daughter Tara had this sign made for her Mother's day gift to Lisa.

Tara taking a picture of her Mom and Dad under the new sign.

Terry hanging the sign while his brother Doug looks on.

from L o R- Rodney, Terry, Lisa, Tara and Doug

One of Lisa's roses in full bloom.

Morning sunrise at Big Cabin OK.

Leo story

Nana Barbara and Nana Susan are going to school to have lunch with Elise tomorrow. Leo heard these plans. He said if the Nanas were going to have lunch with Elise the Papas should have lunch at Leo's school. Nana Susan had to tell him it didn't work that way. Leo is in preschool and will be having his 3rd birthday on Monday.

Elise Story

I asked Elise if she had any dress up clothes that she could give up so I could take them to my friend Sherri for her daycare girls. She said,"No". But then Nana Susan reminded her of one she had worn recently that was uncomfortable for her. Elise said, "You mean the polka dot one?" Nana said ,"yes." Elise said, "No, that one still fits Leo." Being the writer, producer and director of her productions she is not about to give up a good wardrobe asset. How lucky she is to have a little brother willing to go along with her shenanigans. The day will come I am sure when Leo will say "No". But then again maybe not!

Update on accidents and trip.

We watched the news while at the Downstream Casino to see if the accidents were covered and indeed they were. The bus was taking 23 high school students and chaperones to the zoo for a field trip. They were all able to get off the bus safely and another bus was brought for them to continue their trip. The people in the van were not so lucky. They were all(?) trapped in the van and one was killed instantly. I assume it was the driver. The passengers said he was from New Mexico and was very tired.
We did have one close encounter when a Sara Lee truck tried to run us off the road. It was a close one! Butch gave him the big horn.
We ate lunch at the Downstream casino, Exit one, partaking of the $6.95 per person buffet and the food was excellent. We would do the lunch buffet again, however, the night buffet hovers around the $20 per person range and that my friends is out of our range.
That is with a players card which is easy to get in the gift shop of the hotel and also lets you stay in the RV portion of the place for free. Their spots have electric and water. It is a good deal all around.
We paid our "rent" by playing the machines in the casino so it was a win/win for them and us.

We waited till the rain let up before heading for Peculiar arriving about noon. Our only battle on that leg was the winds. We met up with our kids at the school, went to a Mexican restaurant for supper and caught up with family news.
I am preparing supper for tonight and Butch is watching day one of the Masters at Gary and Susan's place. I am also catching up with the blog and other Internet stuff. So now we are on with the show!

Withdrawal and 2016 Spring Trip notes

I have not had Internet since leaving the valley. Well, I have on my phone but not full blown "do anything you want"  Internet. So now we are in Big Cabin OK at the Big Cabin Deisel Services location. They have EXCELLENT Internet in the 10 space RV park behind their business. FYI-this park is open to anyone. We pull in  their pull-thru full hook-up sites then go to the business office to pay the fee. Butch is talking to them now so I cannot tell you right off what their fee is.

It could take me a good long time to catch up, not having Internet since last Tuesday the 29th. So be patient with me.

Our trip thus far has been silky smooth and uneventful for us. We let Google take us on a bit of a different route than we had planned on the Canyon Lake TX to Thackerville OK-361 mile leg but we will go that way again as it sliced off many miles and time- besides being low on traffic and good surface. Highway 51 out of Gainesville Texas is the road I am referring to and it angles southwest and gets us away from lots of city traffic around the Denton Texas area. I have to make note of these things or the memories of it are less than accurate.

Today's 287 mile leg from Thackerville to Big Cabin was all interstate. On the east side of Oklahoma City in the westbound lanes were two major accidents just a few miles apart. A school bus was completely burned up and it was a gray shell sitting at an odd angle alongside the highway. When it was ablaze it had to have been a spectacular sight. Butch assumed it was an old bus because of the shape. Traffic on the inside lane of westbound was moving but slowly. Two or so miles down the road was another ugly accident where a white van had run into the back of a tanker truck. The van was about halfway under and it looked doubtful there would be survivors. Both accidents had been there long enough for rescue to be there. We were supposing that traffic was at a complete halt in both lanes at the time of the first accident and the driver of the van didn't notice in time to stop, creating the second accident.

Now we are settled in and most of our chores are done. Butch is washing the bugs off the front using the fabric softener method. (But a couple of dryer sheets in a bucket of water, wet down the windshield and let it sit a bit-5 to 10 minutes- then wash as usual and the bugs come right off-MAGIC)
I just watched it happen so I can verify it works.

Trek North in 2016

2016 Northbound Itinerary 

Leave Magnolia park Wednesday, March 30th-headed for Terry and Lisa Linder, Canyon lake TX (285 miles)

Leave Canyon Lake on Sunday, April 3rd via 281 to Jacksboro TX-then 380 eastbound to north on I-35 to Exit 1 in Oklahoma staying overnight at the casino at Thackerville OK.(361 miles)

Monday, April 4th to Big Cabin, OK (283 miles) via I-35 North and I-44 East

Moho serviced on Tuesday, April 5th at 8:00 am.

Leave Tuesday after servicing to Downstream Casino Resort, 69300 East Nee Road, Quapaw, OK 74363 (50 miles) On I-44 east

Leave Wednesday, April 6th taking I-44 east to I-49 North formerly Hwy 71 for Peculiar Park Place, 22901 Southeast Outer Road, Peculiar, MO 64078 (148 miles)

Leave for Jefferson IA  Monday, April 11th because Butch wants to watch the Masters on Sunday. (267 miles).

I refer to the blog on occasion to see about past trips and routes taken.

Snipped from Facebook

Look at those baby blues on little boy Leo.

Best seat in the house on Grandpa's big bald head

 From the forehead up little Leo looks like great grandma Barb.

 And then we have Miss Elise who came for tea fresh from the plantation. She seems to like this Ropa dress more than all the others.

Kelley's Headed Home

Marlene and Bernard are headed home Sunday so we went to Harlingen for one last visit. Played cribbage and a card game called 7's. 7's is an easy game whereby you can visit and play at the same time.
We ate at the Golden Corral and I overdid it for the first time in a long time but everything was very delicious.
We have enjoyed our time with Marlene and Bernard so much. They were only here for a month but we packed a lot into that month.

We came home late afternoon and the traffic was not too bad. I have heard there were 120,000 less people in the valley this past season. We knew attendance in the valley was down but did not realize to that extent. It sure did not seem like it when on the expressway headed for McAllen in January or February.
We will soon be on the road too come next Wednesday. See you all soon!

Prep time

It is the time we start wrapping up our preparations for transitioning back to Iowa.
A few weeks ago I had my implants cleaned. They explained to me that it is very difficult to get the bits out of the pockets around the implants and that there is a laser process that is beneficial. It seems that the laser detects dark but leaves light bits alone and the bad bits are dark. So Tuesday we went to a specialist in McAllen who has a laser. I think it will be helpful and I am glad it is over. It was not painful at all but the ordeal of waiting 2 hours past your appointment time is the 'glad it is over' part of it. I should not need this done again now for 2-3 years. 
The worst part of it was the topical numbing agent. It took nearly 30 minutes for feeling to return. However, we planned to eat at the El Dorado in Alamo so by the time we were there I was back to normal. One of the few times that traffic was a benefit.
Butch had a hamburger steak dinner and I had a taco salad with fajita chicken. We have not eaten out much this season so it was a real treat and tasted fantastic.

Wednesday, Yolanda gave me my last South Texas haircut. So that is all taken care of till November.
And that brings me to today. Our neighbors to the north, Jay and Joyce Kelly pulled out this morning. We are kind of a tight fit in our spots and despite the fact that Jay knows what he is doing and Joyce is a careful observer we have a hard time watching them leave so we went out for breakfast. When we returned they were merrily on their way to Nebraska.
That brings you up to date with me remembering 3 days worth and that is an accomplishment as you can imagine.
Here is a picture taken of Peggy's rose. It used to be Jo's rose in the past. It is a proficient bloomer.

Little Red Riding Hood

Miss Elise

 Chloe the piglet and Elise as Red Riding Hood are cousins and classmates.

This was a skit performed by the kindergarten class. Miss Elise had a speaking part.

Worst weekend and spaghetti squash

If you happen to not be a sports fan, this is one weekend of the year when you need to find other manners of entertainment. There are other weekends like it but this is one of the worst in my opinion.
So I decided to get creatively cooking. I had a spaghetti squash sitting on the counter for a week or so waiting for my creativity to kick in. You see the hold up is that Butch has made it clear on more than one occasion that he will endure spaghetti squash if he has to but it is far from what he considers the real thing. So I stabbed the squash for an air vent, placed it in the microwave and cooked it for 15 minutes. In the meantime, I sauteed some green pepper and onion chunks in a small amount of olive oil, added a partially drained can of chicken chunks letting it reduce. Then I sliced open the spaghetti squash and removed the seedy center. It had cooked perfectly and formed its strands as hoped. Not sure what I planned to do, I decided to use only half to see if it turned out okay. So I placed the fluffed up spaghetti strands from half the squash in a bowl, added half the chicken mixture along with a mixture of 1/4th cup sour cream and 1/4th alfredo sauce from a jar. Mixed all together and tasted it. I thought it was quite tasty so I placed it in a 8 x 8 pan, sprinkled the top with shredded cheese. Baked it in the NuWave oven at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. It was a hit with both of us! So I decided to make up the other half for future use.
As I was enjoying this tasty meal I thought I needed to get it recorded. However, I was aware that writing it in recipe form was going to be too much of a challenge and that is how this post came about. I am very much looking forward to the second half. Yum!

Spring Break etc.

Yesterday Butch and I went to Harlingen. First off we went to Tropic Winds RV park to visit with Brian and Mary Carlson. Mary was a classmate of Butch's in high school. Some of you might remember Mary Ellen Minnihan. They talked of plans to come to Jefferson this summer and stay in the Brooker RV Park and we are excited about that happening.
Then we picked up Marlene and Bernard before making our way to South Padre. We were fully aware that Spring Break is in full bloom but we decided to see how it was, assess the situation and adjust our plans accordingly. I have always been convinced that the spring breakers most likely did not let their feet hit the floor till well past noon. The only problem with our plan was that we did not make our way in that direction till 11:00 AM or after. The Spring Breakers had indeed scraped the mattresses from their backs by the time we were there but still getting around was not impossible.
We first enjoyed a delicious meal at Pirate's Landing in Port Isabel.

Marlene and Bernard Kelley- Still looking very good after 65 years of marriage!

Here is proof positive that Butch and I are not able to get a good selfie. Not even close!!

 Putting these on the blog is proof only that I still have a sense of humor.

Here are a couple of really good looking pirates!

And then what you have all been waiting for...pictures of Spring breakers!!

Enjoy!

The O'Brien Girls

I grew up with the O'Brien girls. We were in school and church together. You know how it is with classmates; you may know each other but not really spend that much time with them. When Butch and I returned to Jefferson we were in touch with several people who had done the same thing thus giving us a common bond accentuated by knowing them from our youth. So now they are in "our group" of closer friends we have in Jefferson. Readers of this blog are well acquainted with Colleen. Well, Colleen has a sister Denise who is every bit as talented. The girls, as their mother called them, are a year apart in age. Denise is 6 months older than I am and we were in the same grade in school. Colleen is 6 months younger than I am and we didn't know each other very well until many years later. They also had a younger sister Jeanie who they lost to cancer a few years ago. These girls are all remarkable in many different ways but also carry similarities such as a special love of color and being writers.
Denise wrote this article for the Iowa Living magazine and after some finagling, I was able to get it copied and pasted for the blog. Enjoy!
Barb B.

LOOKING BACK
Front pages were full of war news
By Denise O’Brien Van
Local papers during WWII

When Mikki Schwarzkopf and I were researching
what the World War II home front had been like
in Greene County for the program we did at the
museum last November, we read more than 500 editions of the
Jefferson Bee and Herald. We came to understand the important
role local newspapers played during wartime.
Those Bees and Heralds were the epitome of good old-fashioned
local journalism. The articles gave the readers the basics
of journalism: the who, the what, the when, the where, the why
and the how. It wasn’t personal journalism, although longtime
Bee editor Vic Lovejoy did put in his two cents worth in his
front-page “Seasonable Sermons.” His was the only by-line. It
was community journalism, journalism for the community.
It wasn’t unusual for the front pages of both papers to have
more than 20 stories, although there were few photographs.
The editorial pages always had comments by the editor, as well
as reprints from other Iowa papers and from national publications
such as Wallace’s Farmer. On the inside pages, there was
news from all the towns in the county and dozens of items
about clubs and socializing in the “personals” columns. The
inside pages also contained informative stories about conserving
energy and food, about good agricultural practices, and there
was sports coverage, including box scores.
The papers were rich with advertising. Local newspapers
then were one of the few outlets where small-town merchants
could advertise.
All this news and information helped bring the community
close during the war years, as readers throughout the county
learned of births, deaths and marriages, of accidents and parties
and, of course, about what was happening to “the boys,” which
is how the papers referred to Greene County men in the armed
services.
The newspaper traveled the world with those boys.
In a May 2, 1944 Bee interview, Staff Sgt. Clyde Crow of
Dana — who had spent seven months and seen 49 days of battle
“in the wilderness of Burma” — said, “All the boys like to read
the newspapers from home. It’s a touch of the U.S.A.”
We looked through the Bee and Herald issues from 1941
through 1945, bound in huge books that the historical society
saved from destruction when the local papers were sold a few
years ago. In 1941, there were one or two stories about preparing
for war. As the conflict accelerated, the front pages were
full of war news. Finally, on the Bee’s Nov. 27, 1945, front page,
three months after the end of the war with Japan, there was not
a single war story.

The author, Denise O’Brien Van of Jefferson, is a
volunteer for the Greene County Historical Society.
You can write her at dovan@netins.net.

RV Tip-cutting board

Make your own custom sink-matched cutting board
by Greg Illes

Our RV kitchen came with a small board that filled in part of the sink area. This was handy because the whole sink is not always in use and counter space is at a premium.

After a few outings we found out that our water-savings plan meant that the sink was very rarely in use. We also found out that the filler board (made from countertop material) needed an additional cutting surface to prepare food. Thus began a search for a combination counter/cutting board. We soon found that no such off-the-shelf product exists, much less customized for our Itasca sink. So off to the plastic shop we wandered to buy some HDPE.

"What?" — I hear you cry in great confusion. Ah, Grasshopper, that little acronym stands for High Density PolyEthylene, the gold standard for cutting board material. This stuff doesn't soak up fluids like wooden boards, it's easy to clean, very easy to fabricate, and is available in thicknesses from 1/2 inch to 1 inch and greater.

To build one of these, it's best to make a cardboard template to match the outline of your cutting board. Trim this exactly to where you want the board to fit. Then, measure the depth from your countertop to your sink edge — this is the board thickness you will need. Buy the next thinnest standard material and use some nylon screws as shims to make up the thickness so your finished board will sit flush (the screws are needed because stick-on feet don't stick very well to HDPE). If you are handy with a router, you can buy thicker material and rabbet-down the edge. We were lucky — a 3/4-inch standard layup fit our setup perfectly.

Note that if you have a flush-mounted sink, this project gets a bit more demanding. You'll need an oversized template, and a rabbeted edge (which needs a router to cut), and the board can't sit completely flush.

The HDPE cuts easily with hand or power saws. File and sand the edges smooth and you have a custom-fit counter extender and cutting surface, all in one. I also chose to cut a sink-access hole so that we wouldn't have to lift the board out for pouring out a stale cup of coffee (or whatever).

Off to Mexico!!

Marlene texted me yesterday and asked if we wanted to go to Mexico with them. We said "yes" so in about an hour we will take off to meet them at the gate. There are a few more items we want to pick up, so this could be our last trip down and then again maybe not.
Update- We did meet Marlene and Bernard in Mexico on one of the busiest days I have ever seen there. While we were waiting for the Kelley's there was a double lineup to get in that went across the street!

On the way over we may have witnessed the first of an exodus to Mexico. This truck was loaded up with all their worldly goods and they were headed in- not out.

Next stop was the pharmacy- Marlene and Bernard doing a price check.

These ladies were preparing cactus (nopales) for sale. I gave her a dollar to take her picture but after reading this website perhaps I should have purchased some nopales.

 http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/nopales.html

 This tortilla factory has been in business a very long time.

Decided to add these health benefits of Nopales:

Health benefits of nopales

• Nopales are one of very low calorie vegetables. 100 g of fresh leaves carry just 16 calories. Nonetheless, its modified leaves (paddles) have many vital phytochemicals, fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can immensely benefit health.
• The succulent paddles are rich sources of dietary fiber, especially non-carbohydrate polysaccharides, such as pectin, mucilage and hemicellulose. Together, these substances help bring reduction in body weight, LDL-cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. This rich fiber and mucilaginous content in cactus pads aid in smooth passage of digested food particles through the gut and help relieve constipation problems.
• In addition, the juice extracted from the noples has been suggested to have immune-booster, and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Cactus pads feature moderate amounts of vitamin A with 100 g fresh pads carrying about 457 IU of vitamin A, and 250 µg of ß-carotene. ß-carotene converted into vitamin-A inside the body. Studies found that vitamin A and flavonoid compounds in vegetables help protect from skin, lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Further, nopal pads contain small levels of B-complex group of vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), and pantothenic acid. These vitamins are essential for optimum cellular enzymatic and metabolic functions inside the human body.
• Fresh pads contain average levels of vitamin-C. 100 g provides 9.3 mg or 15% of this vitamin. Vitamin C is a water-soluble, natural anti-oxidant, which helps the body protect from scurvy and offer resistance against infectious agents (boost immunity), and help scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
• They contain small amounts of minerals, especially calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron.
• 
  

Jason's Gourd

Last summer Colleen gave me a gourd. Butch put a quarter sized hole in it and hung it from the clothesline pole. Within two weeks, a wren had taken up residence and we were very surprised.

I told my hairdresser, Marcia about it and she said they had lots of gourds in the garage attic. They had been there many years. She gave me a sack full shortly before we left for the winter. I gave some to Jason and this is how he decorated one of them. I am sure the wrens at his house will be very pleased with their new abode.