Sunday, August 16

Tip I actually use!

 

I was cleaning out my emails, files, etc, and came across this tip. It is one I actually use so it must be a good one! Barb B.

Easy Sheet Folding

When folding sheets, make the first fold lengthwise down the middle. If you are making the bed by yourself, you won't have to go around to the other side to verify that the lengths are the same on both sides. You just use the fold down the middle to guide you.





Saturday, August 15

Candy and Rick with Storm Damage

 Candy and Rick were parked behind us last winter in Trophy Gardens. Butch bonded with their pug, Thelma. We communicated after our derecho and they were sympathetic to our state of affairs. Well, last night Candy sent me photos of their big storm. She said when the sirens went off for a tornado warning they went to their niece's place to take shelter as they live in their RV full time. This was near Mcpherson KS.

These hailstones could have killed someone!


Windsheild on their truck.

Tomatoes in the garden are history

She said both skylights on their RV as well as the AC cover were broken. There may be more damage than they know yet considering the size of those hailstones!

Still Pedaling

 Yesterday Butch and I transported the MoHo to the RV hospital in Webster City Iowa. Actually, the name of the place is GoodLife RV. It is there for a complete diagnosis and then a consultation with the insurance company and hopefully finish up with a surgical procedure and full recovery of the patient. 

Then we went to Ames Iowa to consult with K D Billiards and Darts to discuss moving and perhaps upgrading on pool tables. They were still without electricity but talked to us none the less and we will be talking more in the future.

We snuck in a visit to Hickory Park, perhaps the most famous eating place in Ames. The place was swarming with returning college students. We wore our masks and they are doing an excellent job of social distancing and masks. Masks on ALL the employees. Patrons not so much. 😕 

Then we went to Menards where I purchased floor paint for the "Pool Hall," and Butch looked at electrical and scared himself. We followed up with a visit to Lowes where Butch did purchase the supplies needed for wiring. They were very helpful.

We were supposed to return to K D Billiards before returning home, and we did, but no one was there. By this time we were tired, I had a headache so we came on home. It was after 5:00 by the time we got home.

So with our MoHo in Webster City and Gary in the process of getting his RV back to Missouri, our backyard looks pretty empty! 


The white spot in the tree is a reflection from a window. This is an adequate look at the two RV sites we have in our backyard. After full-timing for ten years, we wanted two sites, one for our MoHo and one for friends or family who might like to visit.

Mango is a feral cat that hangs out at our place. I do not feed him and he is not allowed in the house. He is a friendly sort. This morning I found him under this table, sound asleep. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. He had no idea I was taking his picture. His name is Mango only because Butch and I have given it to him. His color resembles a mango. I see his eye looks like it is open but I would swear it wasn't. His cheek was resting on the table leg.


Wednesday, August 12

Hit and Run

 

This post will be a "Hit and Run" after I tell all our friends that we once again have electricity! Not because the electric company finally got around to us but because Butch was able to take advantage of his connections as a retired electric company employee.

It has been quite a day with Butch losing his temper about being on the receiving end of one of these weather events rather than the one out there getting everyone back on. He did not like the role reversal. When you stop and think about it, it took almost twenty years for him to be the one waiting for the lights to come back on! He had no one to rail against except the sky and Mother Nature so it was a lesson in futility. 

But it is back to life as normal, as close as it can be in this time of Derechos and Covid-19. So now we are again running those pedals full speed to get back to where we were before all the falderols'.

Due to ingenuity and a generator the building of our "pool hall" went on without a hitch. So stay tuned for more blog entries. For now, I am looking forward to a good night's sleep and a fresh start in the morning.

Tuesday, August 11

Derecho pics

Front yard. These branches had to blow over the top of the house and garage.







These youngsters of all colors bopped out of this van and cleared our front yard in short order! We were ever so grateful, They would not take any money. I wish I knew who they were so they could be properly thanked.

Window out of the new room.

 These were taken on the roof of the moho after help getting the big branch off the top. Quite a hole!



And by the way-No damage on the new structure.

News on Derecho

 A derecho that hit a wide swath through the midwest hit us. I am using my Google Fi Internet to write this entry and it will be brief.  We do not have electricity yet because the line from the pole to the house is broken. Hard to tell when we will get it back. The town of Jefferson has it but we don't.

We are currently using the generator on the moho to run our refrigerator and I made coffee in the moho this morning, It would be so helpful to know how long this will last but that is not to be. I have taken pictures and will see if I can get them posted. A tree branch came down and pierced a hole in the moho roof. And one of the skylights (kitchen) was annihilated. And another branch came down and took out one of our windows in the new room. We were not home at the time, We went to Mickey's when the siren went off. We are fine. Lots of cleanup in progress. Leo and Keri have been helping us. Also one of the guys on our construction crew was instrumental in getting the big log off the top of the motorhome without instilling more damage.

https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/2020-08-10-derecho-forecast-midwest-severe-thunderstorms-chicago

Pictures will be available when I can figure out the transfer from phone to Blog. Things just are not working in the usual manner.

Monday, August 10

Keep up with Technology?

Or anything else! When I was a teenager I vowed to keep up with all the latest music. My mother was woefully ignorant of all of it and I certainly wasn't going to let that happen to me! Well, it did.

In 1998 or thereabouts when my good friend Mickey got me hooked on computers and the Internet I vowed I was going to keep up with all the new developments and learn as much as I possibly could and I did...to a degree. But somewhere along the line, I got behind a little and then I got WAY behind. Now a great deal of it is very foggy.

A while back Google offered me a Google Mini Nest for free. So I took it. I had a vague notion of what they were and I really didn't see any need for one but thought, "What the heck!" 


What does a Google Nest Mini do? Google Home, Nest Mini, and Home Max are all Wi-Fi speakers that double up as smart home control hubs and personal assistants for the entire family. You can use them to playback entertainment throughout your home, manage everyday tasks, and ask Google things you want to know.Jul 31, 2020

It arrived and I set it up and it gathered dust. This was while we were in Texas. So I packed it away when we headed North and moved it into the house. On a whim one day I set it up as the Bedroom Speaker. And when we were ready to sleep I would say, "Okay Google, play relaxing music for 20 minutes." And sure enough, it would happen. Then when Gary visited and we were playing cards we would say, "Okay Google play some Bluegrass at volume 8." Gary and Butch like Bluegrass, me less so. And if we wanted to know something, like the mileage to South Texas, we could simply ask and get the answer. It is amazing how often that happens.

So I decided to get an additional one for the pool hall, our pool hall, the one currently being built. Yes, our pricy Internet connection will function there and if it proves to be weak we can get a booster. I have checked it out and do not believe we will have a problem.

Then this message below passed my way so I set it up and picked out some radio stations we might like.

Online Radio Box

 https://www.thundercloud.net/infoave/new/online-radio-box-listen-to-radio-stations-from-all-around-the-world-for-free/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thundercloud%2FIapJ+%28Cloudeight+InfoAve+Computer+Tips+%29

Here is the list we can ask the Google Mini Nest to play for us.

Bluegrass Jamboree

Classic Country 1630

San Francisco 70's hits

Classic Rock Florida

Oldies  94.9

Radio Classical

Radio Tunes Meditation

Hippie Soul Cafe

NPR

These are all radio stations in the USA. I am sure there are many more I could find but the problem of remembering what you need to ask to get the desired one becomes a factor.

This is my post of the day!

Sunday, August 9

Bye,Bye,Birdie?

 I at first thought there was something wrong with this "guy". Standing on one foot? Seemingly clumsy?




El Chubbo stayed in position for a very long time but eventually resumed the business of living and stepped up to the plate. Took forever to eat and get on with the day.

Latest pics on Project

 From MY spot

Straight on in the middle
Looking west from the property line-rhubarb in the distance is on the line.


North side of building



Looking southeast from the northeast corner

Friday, August 7

Trail pics of today

 Buzzards




Sunflowers always make a great photo.


 That is a bee in case you were wondering,
Mr. Toad must have thought he was camouflaged on the sidewalk. He wasn't.

Project update 8/7/2020

 Yup! another 3 days have passed


There is a bunch of stuff going on around here and it is more than a bit distracting. It's a good thing I do not get too excited about chaos and disorder.


Russ,81, putting up rafters.


Butch, wishing he could help but knowing he cannot. He has been able to do a few things.




Hunter is on this end.

Monday, August 3

Road trip

Time slips through my fingers like water through a sieve! My last blog entry was on the 29th and it seems that I went to sleep and woke up in August! So now we glance back and try to figure out what I did when and is it worth telling.
Aha! I remember with a bit of help from Butch. Gary was here from Monday through Thursday. Friday we didn't do much but Saturday we went to Marlene and Bernard's place in Terril Ia. I had picked up some meds for Marlene in Mexico and due mainly to the Covid-19 situation we had not taken them to her until Saturday. Yes, we were careful... Bernard said he had only been off the farm three times since March and those were for doctor appointments. Dwight and Carolyn were there and it was very pleasant getting caught up, enjoying a wonderful meal, and being treated to pies by Keri and many of you know what a treat that was. And then we also played cribbage! When Marlene and Bernard wintered in Harlingen TX we would see them several times throughout the season and eat and play cards so it has become a tradition with us. And we still miss them when we are in South Texas and remember them whenever we visit places we went to with them.
On our way home we stopped in Rockwell City to see my youngest sister Myrla. Myrla is the one who gifted us with her pool table and thus started our building something to house it. So we looked over the table again and got caught up on what was happening with "Mouse", that was her nickname as a child. She has always been a tiny thing.

You can see this hole in the trees as you approach Lohrville from the west. It accommodates the power lines which is perhaps why Butch always notices it 


Friday, July 31

Project update 7/29/2020





Busier than Normal-Gary, Golf, Etc.

It has been a busy week. Son Gary came on Monday from Missouri. He has more time off than normal and his RV is in our extra spot so he has his accommodations readily available. Butch and Rich had a golf outing set up but Butch had reinjured his leg/hip and was unable to make it so Rich and Gary played and Jason joined them. The three brothers have been enjoying their time together and it warms my heart to see it.
While Gary has been here he has helped out with this and that and in the evenings we have been playing CrossCrib, a cribbage board game. That game can get my blood to boil and I do not like my reaction to it. I remind myself it is always a good thing to be aware and to work on one's character flaws so it serves a purpose. 



On Thursday Gary and I went to Atlantic so he could play the Nishna Hills Golf Course as he, his brothers, and Butch are signed up for a tournament on the 15th. I went to see my good friend Sherri Clark because I had not seen or talked to her since her husband Randy's passing on April 25th. We played many, many rounds of golf with Randy and Sherri during our Cumberland IA years. 

Sherri and I followed along as Gary played the course and we talked while Gary played. Gary played VERY WELL and it was fun to watch him. Sherri and I enjoyed being outside and the conversation. It seems whenever Sherri and I are together there is always so much to say and we are never completely finished. Sherri shared her last minutes with Randy and it is a very moving and meaningful story. (The question always comes up, so I will say he did not die of Covid-19 but the complications of Covid being in all our lives in one way or another did play a part.)

Randy had 4 holes in one throughout his life. This bench commemorates three of them while the fourth took place on another golf course during a tournament. In case you do not notice the dates, his first and second holes-in-one took place on the same day, on the same hole exactly 5 years apart. This bench is on that hole, number 15.


Gary headed back to Missouri today and Butch and I are putzing around. I am trying to get caught up and a whole day away sends me into a bit of a tizzy.

Wednesday, July 29

Project update 7/28/2020

Things are happening even though it might not seem like it. My days seem to fill up quickly whether I am doing anything special or not.

The walls are up and sheeting has been applied. The rafters will be in next week, at least that is what they say at the lumberyard, the only one in town. Things have been moving along in a timely manner so far but those of you that have been through this kind of process in the past know how quickly that can change.

I ordered the sinks for the bathroom and the makeshift kitchen this morning.
Here are the latest pictures:



Monday, July 27

Electrical bill from 1967

Butch's dad was in the electrical business and a relative of one of his customers gave Leo a receipt/statement she found in the bottom of a box. It is now a very interesting family artifact.


Hurricane in Texas

Donna Gabbert is Mickey (Sanders) Starr's sister, and another Jefferson Iowa girl and she lives in Weslaco Texas. Many former Magnolia Park people follow Donna's blog as she keeps all of us updated on happenings in the Rio Grande Valley as well as the happenings in her own park. She lives there year-round and has for many years.
Here is what she had to say about Hurricane Hannah.