Oh My!!

Sometimes I cannot remember where I left off on my posts and I go back and read a weeks worth of posts or more to remind me what I have forgotten to mention or perhaps jog something in the old noggin' I should have told you and didn't. So let's see... Last Wednesday was trivia at the Elks and it went well. I have 3 more times at the Elks, Sept 4th, 18th, and 25th and then I will be turning my thoughts to getting ready to head south. Thursday was the casino's trivia and we missed our new attendee's Karla and Devon. Devon was otherwise occupied, probably with a school event and Karla had a beastly headache. They add so much to our trivia experience. Having several decades represented in knowledge is a definite plus. We didn't make the top 3 but we always have fun.

Saturday Rich and Ann came to the golf course and met up with Butch and Kevin McQuillen to play golf. They played 18 holes and all had a really good time.

Butch caught up with his mowing chores on Sunday.

Whew! I think that may get me caught up!

Today I spent some time getting a salad ready to take to a gathering at Pete and Jerilyn's later today. Butch played 9 at the golf course.

The cicada's are reminding us that the first frost is coming.  The old wives tale is that the first frost will happen six weeks after hearing the first cicada. They have been singing for a while now. It is a mere 6 weeks until we get serious about heading south.

MOON FLOWER PLANT-Night Bloomer

Clover on the trail

August 2018

                                   

August 2019                       

I feel so much better that I thought it would show in a picture but not so much when I see them close together . Oh well.

Follow by Email

Perhaps it is time for me to remind my followers that you can scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will find an area that says Follow by Email. Put your email in there and click on the 'submit' on the far right. You will then receive new posts by email.


Butch and I are both feeling well and are looking forward to every day with a great deal of gratitude and a big smile on our face.
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Squirrel!!!

Our friends gifted us with a squirrel-proof bird feeder for our 60th anniversary and this post is for them because I just took several photos of the squirrels attempt to get at the tasty morsels in the bird feeder. What is supposed to happen and indeed it did was the weight of the squirrel drops a bar down and makes it impossible for him to obtain the access he needs to get to the food At one point he pinched his fingers in the process.
Pictures in the order taken:

Quick RVing Tip

Quick Tip

There is one phenomenon common to all vehicles that most drivers don’t think about; when you turn the steering wheel sharply to the RIGHT, the portion of the vehicle behind the rear tires “swings” LEFT (and vice-versa). In a car, you will seldom be close enough to anything to cause a problem, but remember that a motorhome has a lot more sticking out behind the rear wheels. You must not be too close to a vehicle or obstacle when you turn away from it, because the “swing” is much more pronounced.

Morning Sunrise- August 30th 2019

 And another neighbor story- This one is on the other side of us. Last Spring after getting landed on by the city for trash he had thrown out beside his front door. A 'caretaker' of his, gathered up the loose garbage with this dilapidated snow shovel, bagging it up and taking it away, setting the shovel up next to the house resulting in a lovely makeshift trellis. I love it when things get repurposed! Yes, I do have better things to do!

Leo and Keri's Gazebo

Butch has been working on tearing down the gazebo. I am glad Leo took these photos because now I know it has not yet fallen on his head!

DISGUSTING!!

This from the latest issue of RV Daily Tips newsletter and I am totally disgusted with the powers that be who have let this happen to an otherwise beautiful state. Last night Butch and I stopped at a rural home of a friend of ours and the smell was overpowering. We rushed into the house to escape the hog smell. And yet when a new hog confinement comes up for consideration it will pass no matter how big the protest! Disgusting!

Trivia

Iowa leads the USA in the amount of human and animal waste it produces. It’s a pressing environmental concern, according to a University of Iowa research engineer. Chris Jones’ study found that the state with 3.2 million people and a total livestock population of 110 million produce as much manure as a human population of 168 million, the Des Moines Register reported. “Just to ensure clarity, in Iowa, we are generating as much fecal waste in every square mile as 2,979 people,” Jones wrote in a blog on the university’s website.

Mowing story

Our neighbors continuing saga...
His last attempt at mowing was left in his front yard. Yup, just walked off and left the mower where it was when it quit the last time. His landlord is now arranging for it to be mowed and it has been mowed twice, poorly both times. Here is yesterdays mowing event.

Mowed around the pushmower but left it right where it has been for a long, long time.

Trail Pics

Early morning and a sunrise on the trail...

Other Minded

Apparently, my mind has been otherwise occupied and sometimes I just do not feel like writing. It doesn't happen often as you can see if you look back over the 17 years I have been at this business of blog writing. Some things have changed drastically and some things haven't changed at all in those 17 years.

One of the biggest changes and most noticeable is the change in our winter destination. After all, that was the main impetus for beginning this blog in the first place. We could see the writing on the wall that things were deteriorating quickly in Magnolia Park, our winter home for 16 years and it saddened us to leave but leave we did. We chose our new park carefully and with only our own needs and desires in mind. I did not have a good season due to health issues but thankfully those are behind me now and I am looking ahead to a more satisfying winters stay coming up soon. It is funny how just a bit of cool weather can turn your mind in that direction.

I have been looking at the overall situation of Magnolia Park, it will always be Magnolia Park to me, and the starkest fact is that regardless of how the citizens of the park feel about the situation, whether you are staying or leaving or have left already it has had a very real disruption of our lives. It will never be the same. We all have to adjust ourselves to a new way of doing Winter. And it is sad. We are used to making adjustments but they are usually small and happen slowly. This is a BIG change and affects all of us. I will miss that chapter of our lives and will look back on those years fondly, except for Charlie, I will never look back at Charlie fondly. 😏 He was a big learning experience for me though. When he left the park for the last time a group of people came out to the gate and cheered. That will be all I will say publically about Charlie. Enough already!

And at last here are some of my latest photos: Leo and Keri had their grandchildren visiting last weekend and they spent time at the park that is near us so I stopped over for a pic or two.
Jorgen and batting practice.

 While Clara enjoyed the swing.

The newest feeder is getting a lot of use these days.

 Gary and Jason visit with Mom before heading to Atlantic for the Golf tournament

Do I like this photo of me? "NO"  I am still working at liking it better in the future. I feel good if that counts!

Golf!

2nd Annual Tournament of Brothers + Dad. They all played well but fell through the cracks by one stroke. Maybe next year!

Played at Nishna Hills Golf Course in Atlantic Iowa on August 25th, 2019

Blood test results

As many of you know I have been on the Keto way of eating for the past 3 months so being due for a blood analysis I have been anxious to see the results.  I have MyChart online so I checked this morning and ALL, EVERY SINGLE TEST was in the normal range!! I fully expected that result but so nice to have verification. So let me brag a bit. Cholesterol is 180-under 200 is okay- Good Cholesterol (HDL) is 53. And that is good.  My A1C is 5.4- down from 5.9 a year ago.
And that isn't counting the thing that cannot be counted which is the difference in the way I feel. This is not a diet but a WOE (way of eating). I have no plans and no reason to change a thing. Once you get onto it and it becomes second nature and you know the enemy (sugar) and how to avoid it becomes easy and pain-free.
I will now step down from my soapbox.

The "Boys"

It is a big weekend for the boys. Butch, Rich, Gary, and Jason will be going to Atlantic for a golf tourney at Nishna Hills Golf Club. The four of them played last year in Missouri and decided they would like to make it an annual event to play in a tournament somewhere. Gary will get here later today so they can get some practice in beforehand.

I doubt that I have any trouble filling up my time.

Keri and I have managed to get our walk in the last two mornings, however, she will have grandkids at her house the next few days so it will slow her down in some aspects and speed her up in others!

Team McDugan came in 3rd last night at the casino trivia event. We always have a good time regardless of the outcome. There were plenty of laughs and chuckles throughout the evening. Our ages range from 16 to 80 and yet we are a pleasant blend.

The latest addition to my photos:

New trivia game-Half Truth

Spotted this article this morning and it is of interest to me. I need to know more about it. Not carried by Amazon yet. I checked!

https://www.polygon.com/2019/8/21/20813175/half-truth-trivia-game-kickstarter-richard-garfield-ken-jennings

Yesterday

We left home a little after 8:00 am and returned at 6:30 pm. The services in Prairie City for Myron were very well done. I can say that with full knowledge that isn't always true. The pastor captured Myron's spirit very well. Someone counted and came up with the number of 28 Magnolia park-related people in attendance.

We did some shopping in Costco and Walmart on the way home and stopped by Jason and Laura's for a brief visit.

Senior Discounts?

You know you are getting old when all your children, even the baby, qualify for senior discounts!

And even worse, your circle of friends becomes smaller. We lost a good friend from our Magnolia Park days. Myron Van Houweling. Myron and his wife Susan would meet us at Costco because it was about the same distance for both of us making a meet in the middle situation. And while we were all in Magnolia, Butch, Peggy, and I would stop by their place on Aspen street on at least one of our daily rounds. We will be attending services for Myron tomorrow in Prairie City.

There is a woman in our new park who keeps everyone informed of the happenings in Trophy Gardens. We only know a handful of people in that park but in the message from Trophy sent out yesterday a few sentences from a woman who lost her husband struck a chord. "It’s a path we all face at some time but it’s so hard. You not only lose your spouse but your best friend. Hug each other often. "

Website of the day

Big list of senior discounts
Wow! If you’re over 55 or 60, you can save a bundle of money at hundreds of businesses across the USA. Here’s an exhaustive list of restaurants, grocery stores, and retail establishments. And, just as an example, if you’re 55 or older, don’t pay “retail” for a cup of coffee at McDonald’s.

This is my life

Quote

" Youngsters of the age of two and three are endowed with extraordinary strength. They can lift a dog twice their own weight and dump him into the bathtub. "

Erma Bombeck

First and Fourth