A Ray of Light

Greatgrands- Elise and Leo. Their Mom takes pic's of them each October and this is my favorite one from this year, 2024.
 

Cool Down

 I had to cool off before posting again, and I was only partially successful. Watching the fall of the United States Empire will never be easy.

Butch and I are keeping ourselves busy and that is easy down here. Trivia is still a popular activity. Not everyone is here yet and we had 3 teams of 8. Lots of laughter!

Butch and I are both playing pool which is not news to anyone. It is a hit-or-miss event for both of us, pun intended.

We have not been to Mexico yet. It gets to be a challenge to work everything in. Thursdays used to be our most free day. Still true, I think.

I had 3 skin biopsy's done. Have not heard the results yet. Butch came through okay on that visit and his eye appointment went well too. It seems the "Health Wagon" is running smooth this year...so far. Oh yes! I nearly forgot my butt. It has healed to the point I no longer think about it! All's well, that ENDS well! Get it?

So our life here is somewhat repetitive doing the things we enjoy doing and trying to keep those negative state-of-the-union things out of mind somewhat successfully.

Till next time...

I bounce around

The five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – are often talked about as if they happen in order, moving from one stage to the other. 

The "I told you so's" will be painful for both of us.

The Day the Country Died

He is demented but you voted for him anyway.

He cannot put a sentence together but you voted for him anyway.

His children should be taking his keys away but you voted for him anyway.

He believes everything he sees on TV but you voted for him anyway.

He has clarified what he plans to do but you voted for him anyway.

He is the worst person on the planet to be running a country but you voted for him anyway…

in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

I cannot, will not, and do not forgive you.

Because of you, I will be watching the final destruction and demolition of our country. When a disaster strikes he will be saying, “ oh well, sucks to be you!” When dignity is part of his “job” he will fail. When empathy is required he will fail. When grownup decisions need to be made he will fail. He will represent you on the world stage but embarrass the rest of us.

It saddens me deeply to realize there are more of you in this country than us.

That being said I must deal with it. It means I will once again have to narrow my world to what I can handle while holding back tears of despair. I am not there yet. You have no idea what you have set in motion.

Pity the Nation

Yesterday...

 ...was the first day I could sit down without giving it a bunch of thought. I am happy for the day. 

Butch and I had a Dermatologist appointment yesterday. He did pretty well for Butch considering all the years he worked outdoors. I had three places biopsied. It doesn't concern me as they usually come clean. Hopefully in 3 weeks we get the word, then schedule our next appointment for next Spring just before we head North.

Butch has an eye appt on the 11th. When we get these two done it will be the cleanest, healthiest year we have had for some time. I hope I haven't spoken too soon. We always need to be ready for those curve balls.

Our place has been power washed and we have things once again arranged in the way that works for us. 

Now it is letting the fun begin!

Butt Update

 Yup, it is still hanging in there. I think it should be much better than it is but I am learning to live with it. My best place to be is in bed but what kind of life is that? I am playing pool and Butch told me today that I am playing well. Now isn't that a shocker! It does seem to be a bit better each day. My butt,that is.

Tomorrow the house washer guy shows and then we can finish settling in with getting chairs and tables out of the utility room and setting up the deck. I put my NuWave oven on the deck and do my cooking out there. It gives me more space in the kitchen.

Happy hour at 4:00 is in full swing. One of our regulars received word that her sister lost her house and all of her belongings in a house fire. So the new plan is for her to come here and buy a place. She was nearing retirement anyway so this pushed it up a notch. This way she will be close to her sister for help with her recovery. Even if she ultimately decides to go somewhere else, it will make a great transitional plan.

Time slips away

 We are mostly settled in. Our 'Southern Plantation' will get washed on Sunday and then we can put the finishing touches on the moving in process. Last season there was a strong restriction on water and now when we have someone come in to wash our mobiles they must bring their own water. The restrictions, although lifted a bit, have caused a back-up in getting our places cleaned and that is why it is happening on a Sunday. We will be glad to get it done!

Butt update: Still hurts a bit but only now and then. The odd thing, at least to me, is that I can poke around on the outside and it doesn't hurt at all. The hurt is internal and can often be the result of internal cramping. Ice packs do help. Still needs pain pills but only a couple of times a day. I am not being stopped from doing what I want to do and that to me is a win/win.

I have played pool with my partner Linda G. a couple of days and it has went well. League will start the first week of December.

I get hungry for vegetables and Butch is not a fan so recently I bought a package of frozen stir-fry veggies and I look upon it as a solution. I can skillet fry enough for me, throw a helping of corn or peas at Butch and the problem is solved. They were delicious!

Trivia starts November 12th and thanks to my up-north players I have plenty of sessions all lined up. After putting them together for eight years I am ready to recycle and rest on my laurels. I will stick a current question in now and then.

Till next time...

We are here and...

We are safe. We have arrived! Drove in dense fog for a fair share of the morning but all went well and we arrived about 1:00. Butch is busy trying to get the golf cart started. His priorities can be a bit wonkie at times. One of us left the refridge freezer closed so I had a mildew mess to bleach out first. It was mostly in the freezer part and not really bad but definitely something to make note of next Spring. We are going to supper with Danielsons. I am hooked up to our internet and it is running smoothly! I do not have Butch hooked up yet. Maybe when He lets the golf cart rest. 

You most likely will not hear more from me until we feel settled in.❤

Better Butt

 My injury is slowly getting better and I can tell an improvement each day. So far I have not met with too many obstacles. I can stand, walk, and sleep easily with little to no pain. Sitting is the one thing that gives me the most challenge. Needless to say, I am more cautious than I have been in the past. Getting old isn't easy!

Yesterday...

 I caught up on computer work yesterday and when Butch and Terry returned from playing golf we went to T-Mobile and signed up for Internet with them. I am extremely pleased with the outcome. For some reason, it is called the 'Home' plan. We have what they call a Gateway. The woman who helped me was efficient and helpful. Being an IT guy, Terry helped me set it up when we returned. This way I will have Internet immediately when we arrive in Alamo and then when we return to Iowa I will take it with me and have the same Internet there. My Intenet bill will drop from $100.90 to $60 a month. Jefferson Telecom lost a customer. I don't think it will hurt them much. I asked Beka what it was costing me to get all this started and she said $0. The $60 a month is ALL I will be paying and the first autopay will be November 14th. So as long as I have electricity I will have unlimited Internet wherever I go. Can't beat it with a stick!! In case you think I went blindly into this, I had good recommendations from some Trophy people. Thanks to Liz and Chico!

Butch and Terry went golfing again today. Butch and I will be leaving here in the morning (Friday the 25th) heading to the RGV and our Southern plantation where we will be 'planted' for about 6 months.

And then it...

 ...was the third travel day from the Winstar Casino (The Inn) at Thackerville OK to the Linder residence at Canyon Lake TX. Oklahoma roads leave much to be desired. No matter where we are if we encounter a stretch of bad road we say they went to the Oklahoma School of Roadbuilding. Texas has good roads, always has.

It was a smooth ride to Canyon Lake, and it has been a great time getting all the news about people we mutually know with Terry and Lisa. We found out they will return to the Rio Grande Valley in February, staying for a month at Alamo Rose. We also have friends Sherri and Sam coming to the valley in late March for three or four days with us in Trophy Gardens.

My Butt: It does seem to be getting gradually better. It doesn't bother me to sleep at all. Tylenol Extra Strength has become my new best friend. I can stand and walk without pain, but sitting is another ball of wax. Jason told me that a guy he worked with who had an injured coccyx was that way; he could stand at work all day but sitting was a problem. I don't have proof but I do think that is what I am dealing with.

To back up a bit, we stopped in Mineral Wells, Texas for breakfast yesterday and we asked a woman on the street where would be a good breakfast place. She said "Happy Days Diner" and she was right! They had a senior menu with $8 meals and we both had an omelet. It was perfect in every way. Mineral Wells was a thriving city in the past with a huge hotel. They are doing their best to revive their town, much like Jefferson IA. I did think Jefferson could do a thing with a Barbie theme. Most of Jefferson was shocked to find that "Barbie" was such a draw. A Barbie themed restaurant would be great if we could get it off the ground! That and staying open on weekends.

We like to take HWY 281 to get to South Texas and it has been newly refurbished. What a smooth ride!!

Next stop, the Rio Grande Valley either Thursday or Friday.

Unexpected Occurrence

 The guys, Gary and Butch, played golf yesterday so the rest of us went shopping, after which we went to the Teeter residence for supper and to see the new addition to the family. 3 goats and five kittens!

Amanda, Leo and Susan with the goats, Buffy, Bob and Billy.

Buffy

Billy

All three!

And here is Butch with three of the 5 kittens.

 

And then I fell! We were headed back to the house and they had a big cement step to get on the patio and the back door. Leo tried to help me but I fell backwards onto the ground and hurt my butt. It was immediately painful, but I am doing quite well with ice packs, hot packs, and Tylenol extra strength. In my Fall checkup, the doctor asked me if I had any falls in the past year and I happily told her 'No'. I can no longer say that. I have one more day that I can baby the injury and then I will have to figure out how to travel in the car comfortably. It will be FINE!

Tough to Keep Track

 For instance, I had a visit from a long-lost cousin of mine on my father's side. My father was adopted at 3 months old by Sam and Anna Brock, mainly because his mother, Pearl Beason Van Horn passed away. My birth grandfather was a twin, Walter Van Horn. His twin brother was Wesley Van Horn and my cousin Denise Bush is in the Wesley line. We had a great visit Denise and I. She had arranged a visit to the museum so I went along. We learned that southern Greene County was a big coal mining area and 5000 people called SOUTH Greene County home at one time. Our great uncle, Billy Van Horn led a rescue mission with his sled dog Buddy to get supplies to the people in the southern part of our county during the famous blizzard of 1936. 

We then bopped out to the cemetery and I showed Denise where Pearl Van Horn was buried. I learned a lot on that serendipitous day!

My intention a few days ago was to share the above information. 

Today is "last minute get ready to leave" time. We have the Pool Hall all tucked in for the winter. Foodstuffs are whittled down to nearly nothing. Karla and Devon stopped for a visit last night and that helped, along with the fact that we had not seen either of them for a long time. It was good to catch up.

I am doing laundry on clothes and bedding today. Butch has nearly all the things he needs to do before morning done.

Internet will be off and on for us until we arrive in South Texas and that might take a full week. So till next time!!

Hectic

 It has been a hectic two weeks, with some appointment or task on every one of the days. But the day of departure is close.

Yesterday Butch needed to get another cortisone shot in his leg. We went to Ames IA for that, after which we met up with Jason and Laura. Watcha Smokin in Luther Iowa was where we went for lunch. It was our first time there and it was packed! Luther is a very small town and one would never imagine a waiting line in a small Iowa town on a Tuesday! We were told it would be 20 to 25 minutes. Their parking lot was full to overflowing and after we were seated a tour bus pulled in. When going to a new restaurant, especially a busy one it helps a great deal to go with people who have been there and liked it. It was one I would gladly go to again. I had brisket (fatty) mac and cheese and cole slaw. Cornbread is served with all meals. Jason and Laura suggested the fatty brisket.  Fatty Brisket is what I will always order in any brisket place! It makes a world of difference in taste and satisfaction. I was never fond of brisket before, too dry, tasteless and hard to chew.

Just for kicks and giggles I looked up the population of Luther and it is 147!

After lunch we meandered through the Ledges State Park. It is peak time for leaf color and the Ledges are always special! We had a discussion about the name and here is what I found:

Ledges State Park is named after the prominent sandstone ledges that tower above the Des Moines River within the park, which are a result of glacial meltwater carving through the rock, creating a series of distinct horizontal cliffs throughout the area; essentially, the "ledges" are the defining geological feature of the park.

Till next time!

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"If"

 If I don't write a post when I think of it, things can surely get out of hand. We have made great strides in getting ready to head South even though it probably does not appear as such. We have our boosters done. Covid and Flu. We have notified the water guys when to come turn off the water. I have our temporary address change taken care of...almost forgot that one! I do have a list to go by but I haven't checked it yet. For those of you who have never been through this process for multiple years, there is a fine line in getting ready. We don't want to get it all done too soon because then you sit here with nothing to do or worse yet you might "undo" and then "redo" a number of times and that is not fun. So we inch along with it and we are Right on Schedule.

Today Butch goes to see the podiatrist and then next week we get our Fall checkup followed by Butch getting another shot in his leg and then we should be done with appointments. This part of the departure has become different as we age.

I have been filling my spare time with beading, and I can safely say my skills are close to what they were 6 or 7 years ago. It is a great outlet for my creative juices. Planning the next project while working on the current one is a common practice for those who do any artistic endeavor.

These are the last 8 rings I have done and the next one is safely on my planning board.

Starlings

 I had the pleasure of seeing a Starling in full sunlight this morning and what a fantastic picture it was! I didn't catch a photo I am sorry to say. Butch said, "I have never thought of a Starling in that way." So I found this pic on the net but it isn't nearly as pretty as the one I saw. There is some deep purple coloring you can see when they are highlighted with sunlight

Catch me if you can!

 Butch and I are in the getting-ready-to-head South mode. Each year we try to make it a bit easier however something tends to get in the way. I had the plan to take my beading supplies South and that plan remains intact. There was some interest in learning how to bead some rings last season so I am going to be prepared to see that through.

And then I decided to take my Swedish Weaving supplies to sell or donate and finalize that craft I never seem to get back to doing. 

We have a tub marked "Take to Texas" and it has been at the ready all summer. So you see how this can grow. And that is only my end of things. I haven't asked but I do know Butch surely has his list as well.

The pool cues and accessories is a given but that only takes a little space.

This morning as I lay in bed thinking...I remembered I have 2 tubs of yarn that can go too. Oh well! It will be a one-way trip for much of this stuff.

I can hear Butch's low growl when he sees this post. 

Till next time!

The House with Nobody in it

The House with Nobody In It

by

Joyce Kilmer

 

Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track

I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.

I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute

And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it. 

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;

That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.

I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do;

For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two. 

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,

And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.

It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;

But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside. 

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid

I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.

I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be

And I'd find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free. 

Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,

Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.

But there's nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone

For the lack of something within it that it has never known. 

But a house that has done what a house should do,

a house that has sheltered life,

That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,

A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and held up his stumbling feet,

Is the saddest sight, when it's left alone, that ever your eyes could meet. 

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track

I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,

Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,

For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart.

 

This poem is in the public domain.

 

Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886 – 1918) is best known for his poem, "Trees,"  but he actually produced quite a large volume of work. Had his life not ended so tragically early, many believe he would have developed into one of America's great poets. Joyce married young and fathered five children even as he was establishing himself as a teacher, writer, and lecturer. While coping with the illness of one of their children, Joyce and his wife converted from the Episcopal faith to Catholocism and he ultimately became the leading Catholic poet of his time. When World War I broke out, Joyce enlisted and had contracted to write a book about his war experiences. Unfortunately, he was killed on a French battlefield before he ever even began the book; he was only 31 when he died. Interesting side note: Joyce's father worked for Johnson & Johnson and is credited with inventing that company's famous baby powder.

 

Our Peers

 Butch and I went to Darrell's Place in Hamlin Iowa to have lunch with longtime friend Sherri Clark. Darrell's Place is at the intersection of Hwy's 71 and 44.  It had been a long time since we had been there and we came away impressed. The food is famous-breaded pork tenderloins- and delicious! They are not the biggest ones we have ever seen and that's okay. I am not impressed by size. I like mine about a half-inch thick and tender. We three ordered tenderloins and fries. I ordered sweet potato fries and they were also done perfectly. To back up a bit, our first pleasant surprise was the prices. My tenderloin sandwich was $5.25 and I added the fries for $2.50. It is rare indeed to see those kinds of prices these days. They are also famous for their homemade pies. We had lemon meringue and it too was a "wow" experience. The visit, the food, and the drive were all pleasant events. It would not take much coaxing to get me there again.

On the way home Butch and I were talking about different things and I said, "All our peers are disappearing." I tickled myself. Would that be considered a pun? Unfortunately, it is true but also the road we are traveling down.