This has been a year to get finally closed and on to the next 12 months. Our year has had some big "bumps" and "lumps" which we still haven't quite recovered from. In May, while working the summer season at Timber Lake Resort at Mount Carrol, IL our motorhome was damaged by a falling tree limb crashing through the roof and rain leaking in our unit causing water damage to the ceiling upholstery in our kitchen/dining room area. Still haven't had the repairs completed as we are awaiting the RV repair men to come to our unit and replace the upholstery and complete the fiberglass repair on our roof. We will have to vacate the motorhome for about a week while the work is being done.
In October we spent a few extra days in OK City having a tire replaced. We did have a bit of a break while in Childress, TX catching up with friends. Sure enjoyed seeing everyone. When we were all packed up and ready to leave our unit wouldn't start. Problem was the house battery needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, we have had the same problem here in Mesa. Larry purchased a new battery to replace the new battery we had just replaced. Sounds like a circle problem, doesn't it? So far this battery seems to stay charged.
Our RV tech man made about 3 calls to get our air conditioning/heat unit up and running again. We did not have electric heat or air in the motorhome from August until a couple of weeks ago. The thermostat was replaced first and the problem still existed so then a new electrical circuit board was replaced and that seems to have done the trick as the ac/heat unit is working just fine now. With the cooler weather in Mesa this winter we need the heat up and running smoothly.
Many of you already know that in October Dee was diagnosed with breast cancer again after 22 years of being cancer-free. All of this came to light during her annual mammogram. A malignant tumor was identified with an MRI and biopsy in Amarillo, TX. We elected to come to Mesa to schedule lumpectomy and followup care. On Dec. 14th the lumpectomy was done and pathology confirmed non-invasive ductal cancer in SITU (DCIS). None of the lymph nodes were affected. There will 6 weeks of radiation beginning the middle of January and then oral chemotherapy for 3-5 years. We're hoping that this course of action will be as successful as last time and it will be another 22 years before cancer rears it's ugly head again!!
Everyone has been so supportive and caring through all of our medical process and we are ever so grateful for the thoughts and prayers sent our way. It means the world to us.
Now on to the "good stuff". Our daughter Suzy visited with us in November for about 11 days and we had the best time. What fun to have here with us for a while. She seemed to really enjoy the beautiful weather here and am told she even lost about 5 lbs. while she was here. She especially loved being able to pick fresh oranges off the trees next door to us.
We are located at Mesa Regal RV Resort in Mesa, Az until middle of March (on a different site this year though)so neighbors are different. January 1st the resort will fill up as 90 units will be coming in that day. Sure glad I'm not on escort that day as traffic will be heavy getting everyone to their sites and parked.
OH . . . forgot to mention that in late September the hard drive on my computer crashed. Luckily we were in Childress so Dee's former computer guru got everything back up and runing for her - VISTA is gone and Windows 7 is now her operating system. The only hitch was her computer back up flash drive was wiped out the last time her computer was in the shop so she lost 2 years of updates and work. She is still trying to recover the missing 2 years of data.
It's gotta get better in the New Year. All of you take care and have a Happy Holiday.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Summer Season Just About Over
Just 1 week to go and we are ready to travel on back to Texas, NM and AZ. We leave Timber Lake on the 15th of September and then will have about 6 weeks before we arrive in Mesa, AZ for our winter months. Sure hope that TX is a little cooler by the time we get there as they have been experiencing 3-digit heat for about 3 months now. They also have many, many wildfires going on all over the state. The whole south west and south parts of TX have not had any rain in a long, long time. Even the natural wells in Childress are drying up and every one's lawns are dying out due to water rationing. The hurricanes coming from the gulf coast just do not generate any rain that far inland.
Our address ("snail mail") is still P O Box 195, Childress, TX 79201 if you want to drop us a card or note. When we are in Childress we see our doctors and get all of checkups for eyes, dental and medical. We've been doing very well, just want to stay on top of things.
Our daughter received a very good report from her oncologist-it has been 1 year already since she was diagnosed with breast cancer. We just pray that she continues to stay healthy.
We do have good news to report about our great-niece Ashley (Dee's sister Barb's granddaughter). Ashley was in a near fatal accident just outside Boone, IA and has been hospitalized and in rehab center until this week and will be going home within a few days. She still has about another year of intensive rehab to contend with but she's doing much better than expectations
The other good news is our Texas friend's great-granddaughter, Ryanne Self age 5, underwent surgery on August 22nd to receive her new heart. She has been hospitalized since the end of May 2011 awaiting a heart transplant. So far she is doing pretty well. Say an extra prayer for both Ashley and Ryanne as neither of them are out of the woods yet.
We'll be in touch once we reach our Mesa destination.
Our address ("snail mail") is still P O Box 195, Childress, TX 79201 if you want to drop us a card or note. When we are in Childress we see our doctors and get all of checkups for eyes, dental and medical. We've been doing very well, just want to stay on top of things.
Our daughter received a very good report from her oncologist-it has been 1 year already since she was diagnosed with breast cancer. We just pray that she continues to stay healthy.
We do have good news to report about our great-niece Ashley (Dee's sister Barb's granddaughter). Ashley was in a near fatal accident just outside Boone, IA and has been hospitalized and in rehab center until this week and will be going home within a few days. She still has about another year of intensive rehab to contend with but she's doing much better than expectations
The other good news is our Texas friend's great-granddaughter, Ryanne Self age 5, underwent surgery on August 22nd to receive her new heart. She has been hospitalized since the end of May 2011 awaiting a heart transplant. So far she is doing pretty well. Say an extra prayer for both Ashley and Ryanne as neither of them are out of the woods yet.
We'll be in touch once we reach our Mesa destination.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Mini-Family Reunion Time
August 1-4 two of Dee's cousins and their wives traveled to Timber Lake Resort for a few days to visit us. We had the best time, mainly just being silly along with consuming a few bottles of homemade wine that Skip and Walt brought with them. We went over to Savanna, IL to the infamous "Poopy's Restaurant & Bar" (biker hangout)for breakfast. Food is really very good and we had some laughs shopping in the Harley Davidson gift shop (even though we didn't see the leather thongs we'd heard about!!). You could get tattoos and body piercings if you desired, but none of us were game - wonder why that was?? Needless to say, the menu items are all geared towards the name "Poopy's". Just let your imagination run wild and you'll come up with some of the names. We also went to one of the Timber Lake Playhouse stage productions one night and then another night we grilled Iowa chops and managed to consume some home-grown sweet corn. Sure brought back a lot of memories having the greatest tasting sweetcorn ever.
Another cousin, Nannie Deal, came over to TLR and we spent the afternoon catching up on family. It seems we like we only see each other every couple of years so it's also nice to see her. She usually gets the Deal family reunion put together every year but it seems our family members are dwindling more each year. Nannie lives in Clinton, IA and volunteers a lot at the hospital and historical society in Clinton.
The photo above is of a working Windmill that is located in Fulton, IL along the Mississippi River. Grains ae ground by the wind power that generate the grinding stones to make wheat flour and other grain flour. It's pretty fascinating to actually go inside the windmill and see the mechanics of how one of these operate. We also went through the Museum in Fulton and several made to scale working windmills were on display. Each windmill has a function, about 160 different operations such as grinding spices, sawing wood, etc. We also learned that the top section of each windmill can be rotated so that it faces directly into the wind and the blades can be covered with various types of cloth to pick up the wind better. Of course the only way to cover the blades is by actually climbing up each of the blades and then tie the fabric attached to the blades in place. We were tole that the blades are so sturdy that 3 or 4 men can be on each blade at one time. No one can say those Dutchmen didn't know about harnessing wind power centuries ago. We can probably take a lesson in wind energy from them.
Another cousin, Nannie Deal, came over to TLR and we spent the afternoon catching up on family. It seems we like we only see each other every couple of years so it's also nice to see her. She usually gets the Deal family reunion put together every year but it seems our family members are dwindling more each year. Nannie lives in Clinton, IA and volunteers a lot at the hospital and historical society in Clinton.
The photo above is of a working Windmill that is located in Fulton, IL along the Mississippi River. Grains ae ground by the wind power that generate the grinding stones to make wheat flour and other grain flour. It's pretty fascinating to actually go inside the windmill and see the mechanics of how one of these operate. We also went through the Museum in Fulton and several made to scale working windmills were on display. Each windmill has a function, about 160 different operations such as grinding spices, sawing wood, etc. We also learned that the top section of each windmill can be rotated so that it faces directly into the wind and the blades can be covered with various types of cloth to pick up the wind better. Of course the only way to cover the blades is by actually climbing up each of the blades and then tie the fabric attached to the blades in place. We were tole that the blades are so sturdy that 3 or 4 men can be on each blade at one time. No one can say those Dutchmen didn't know about harnessing wind power centuries ago. We can probably take a lesson in wind energy from them.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Countryside in Illinois
We just couldn't resist (actually Dee couldn't!) taking some photos of the Queen Anne's Lace plants along the barrow ditches. These delicate blossoms reminds her of the hand crocheted tablecloth Queen Anne's Lace pattern her grandmother Deal made for her graduation present way back in 1959. The tablecloth has been placed in the care of our daughter Susan out in Oregon.
Aren't the blossoms gorgeous? The ditches and roadsides are covered with the blooming plants. Don't know if they are classified as flowers or weeds, but Dee sure likes them.
The photo below is easily recognized (we think of it as Iowa CORN) but picture was snapped in Illinois. When we arrived at Timber Lake Resort, the corn was only about 4" tall and just getting started. Now as they've said in one of the old songs "the corn is as high as an elephant's eye". People in the southwest laugh at us when we say we can hear corn grow, but you really can!!!
Fresh grown sweetcorn is being sold all over the area and it tastes great. We've been able to get organically home grown vegetables and fruits just about any time we're out and about.
The weather has been unbearably hot his week, extremely high humidity along with it. Luckily we've been off work Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday so that helps. Hate to think about tomorrow when we are back on duty. We did have high winds, 70 mph, last week but no damage to our motorhome or car this time around. Many farmers had acres of corn that was twisted and lying flat on the ground. It made a very strange sight.
On the 1st of August two of Dee's cousins and their wives are coming to Timberlake to visit for a few days. We've taken the week off so we can spend time with them while they are here. It's been about 2 years since we've seen them so we are really looking forward to being with them.
Aren't the blossoms gorgeous? The ditches and roadsides are covered with the blooming plants. Don't know if they are classified as flowers or weeds, but Dee sure likes them.
The photo below is easily recognized (we think of it as Iowa CORN) but picture was snapped in Illinois. When we arrived at Timber Lake Resort, the corn was only about 4" tall and just getting started. Now as they've said in one of the old songs "the corn is as high as an elephant's eye". People in the southwest laugh at us when we say we can hear corn grow, but you really can!!!
Fresh grown sweetcorn is being sold all over the area and it tastes great. We've been able to get organically home grown vegetables and fruits just about any time we're out and about.
The weather has been unbearably hot his week, extremely high humidity along with it. Luckily we've been off work Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday so that helps. Hate to think about tomorrow when we are back on duty. We did have high winds, 70 mph, last week but no damage to our motorhome or car this time around. Many farmers had acres of corn that was twisted and lying flat on the ground. It made a very strange sight.
On the 1st of August two of Dee's cousins and their wives are coming to Timberlake to visit for a few days. We've taken the week off so we can spend time with them while they are here. It's been about 2 years since we've seen them so we are really looking forward to being with them.
Friday, June 17, 2011
June Adventures
Monday, June 13th (our anniversary, incidentally) we decided to drive over to LeClaire, IA which is the home of the History Channel's American Pickers, Mike and Frank. These 2 guys travel all over the USA looking for unusual and varied antiques that they resell. Their roots began in this small Iowa town along the Mississippi River in a garage - photos of the Picker's van and the Garage are below. 
We did not get to meet either of the TV Picker's but Larry did sell six of his Big-Little Comic books to Mike's brother. Not a real big profit for Larry (he's had these comics for about 50 years now!!!) but at least they were interested enough to buy them from him.
The photo to the right shows Mike's brother purchasing the comic books from Larry.
Both Larry and I have been ill this week with summer colds and sore throats, probably due to rain, rain and more rain along with cooler temperatures. Since we spend most of our time in the southwest, we're just not used to rainy weather. Wish we could send some of this moisture to our friends in Texas, NM and AZ since these 3 states are in a severe drought. No moisture in west TX for over 1 year and wildfires continue to plague them.
The RV Resort continues to be full every weekend and also stays very busy during the week with seasonal families. We're still learning many phases of work that we do. One of the fun things Dee assists with every Friday night is Marguerita night Trivia. There are 6-10 teams that compete against each other and some of the answers are quite humerous. Everyone has a good time.
We did not get to meet either of the TV Picker's but Larry did sell six of his Big-Little Comic books to Mike's brother. Not a real big profit for Larry (he's had these comics for about 50 years now!!!) but at least they were interested enough to buy them from him.
The photo to the right shows Mike's brother purchasing the comic books from Larry.
Both Larry and I have been ill this week with summer colds and sore throats, probably due to rain, rain and more rain along with cooler temperatures. Since we spend most of our time in the southwest, we're just not used to rainy weather. Wish we could send some of this moisture to our friends in Texas, NM and AZ since these 3 states are in a severe drought. No moisture in west TX for over 1 year and wildfires continue to plague them.
The RV Resort continues to be full every weekend and also stays very busy during the week with seasonal families. We're still learning many phases of work that we do. One of the fun things Dee assists with every Friday night is Marguerita night Trivia. There are 6-10 teams that compete against each other and some of the answers are quite humerous. Everyone has a good time.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Summertime Has Arrived
We are still training on various jobs here at the Resort in Illinois. Neither one of us has reached that "Now I Know That Job" yet but we're working on it. Before the Memorial Day weekend, everyone was in crunch mode to get the Resort ready for the holiday weekend because every available camp site was full.
Amid all of the training and getting our feel of the area, a tornado watch loomed one weekend. No tornado, thank goodness, but sustained high winds caused a tree branch to fall on the front portion of our motor home causing damage enough for an adjuster to come out and assess the damage. During the storm, water was leaking into the unit above the dashboard area so we spent an hour or so catching water and emptying containers. There was also water damage around the kitchen area Fantastic Fan - water stains on an upholstered ceiling is not very attractive. Anyway, Larry was up on the roof several times getting a repair patch put on the 2" x 8" wide rip in the fiberglass. We've had one rain since and no water leaked in. As soon as we locate an rv center that can do fiberglass repairs, we'll make arrangements to take our unit in for repairs.
The Summer Playhouse just completed it's first production of the season "Sunset Boulevard". We both worked on the weekends so weren't able to go see the show. However we were able to go see the Beatles and Elvis impersonators that performed at a fundraiser for the Playhouse. The Elvis performer spray painted a 4'x6' white canvas of Elvis's image that was auctioned off for $1,400. He painted the mural while he was singing. Quite a remarkable likeness using a spray can of black paint. Impressed the heck out of everyone.
Weather has been very hot and of course humidity is high but we are slowly getting conditioned to it some. Only wish the tiny little bugs would go away as they especially like to be around your eyes and mouth. We've met a lot of nice people already and enjoy being around their families. Many of the rv'ers are seasonal so they are here every weekend during the summer months.
That's all for now. Will try and update quicker the next time.
Amid all of the training and getting our feel of the area, a tornado watch loomed one weekend. No tornado, thank goodness, but sustained high winds caused a tree branch to fall on the front portion of our motor home causing damage enough for an adjuster to come out and assess the damage. During the storm, water was leaking into the unit above the dashboard area so we spent an hour or so catching water and emptying containers. There was also water damage around the kitchen area Fantastic Fan - water stains on an upholstered ceiling is not very attractive. Anyway, Larry was up on the roof several times getting a repair patch put on the 2" x 8" wide rip in the fiberglass. We've had one rain since and no water leaked in. As soon as we locate an rv center that can do fiberglass repairs, we'll make arrangements to take our unit in for repairs.
The Summer Playhouse just completed it's first production of the season "Sunset Boulevard". We both worked on the weekends so weren't able to go see the show. However we were able to go see the Beatles and Elvis impersonators that performed at a fundraiser for the Playhouse. The Elvis performer spray painted a 4'x6' white canvas of Elvis's image that was auctioned off for $1,400. He painted the mural while he was singing. Quite a remarkable likeness using a spray can of black paint. Impressed the heck out of everyone.
Weather has been very hot and of course humidity is high but we are slowly getting conditioned to it some. Only wish the tiny little bugs would go away as they especially like to be around your eyes and mouth. We've met a lot of nice people already and enjoy being around their families. Many of the rv'ers are seasonal so they are here every weekend during the summer months.
That's all for now. Will try and update quicker the next time.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Summer in Illinois
We arrived at Timber Lake RV Park early Thursday am. Beautiful day, nice and sunny. The Park is absolutely beautiful - tranquil, lush green grass and beautiful tall oak trees. The park owner wanted to add some gravel to our site pad so we waited for delivery of gravel and then Ron went to work adding gravel and then leveling it. The photos below show The work being done.
Ron is like a magician running this front end loader and leveling the surface. It was really a kick watching him work the gravel around. Next photo is leveling out gravel by hand.
We are all settled in now and love it. This morning about 3:30 am a storm hit and dumped about 2" of rain. We had windows open on the motor home so had to get up to close up everything.
Last evening we went to a welcome hamburger/hot dog cookout and met other Workampers and some of the seasonal guests here at the park. Really nice to be welcomed the first day here. Next Monday we'll have orientation and work assignments and then things will settle down some. Friday nights are Marguerita socials so we will go over and have a drink and meet some more people.
We've driven into Mount Carroll a couple of times, population is about 1,900, very quaint, brick streets in the downtown area and beautiful, old 3-4 story Victorian homes. When we get a chance we'll take some photos of a couple of them and post them.
On our trip here we stayed in Altoona, IA, outside of Des Moines, and had a nice visit with a Workamper couple that we worked with in Mesa, AZ last winter. We had a fun visit and hope they get a weekend to come over to Illinois to visit.
Ron is like a magician running this front end loader and leveling the surface. It was really a kick watching him work the gravel around. Next photo is leveling out gravel by hand.
We are all settled in now and love it. This morning about 3:30 am a storm hit and dumped about 2" of rain. We had windows open on the motor home so had to get up to close up everything.
Last evening we went to a welcome hamburger/hot dog cookout and met other Workampers and some of the seasonal guests here at the park. Really nice to be welcomed the first day here. Next Monday we'll have orientation and work assignments and then things will settle down some. Friday nights are Marguerita socials so we will go over and have a drink and meet some more people.
We've driven into Mount Carroll a couple of times, population is about 1,900, very quaint, brick streets in the downtown area and beautiful, old 3-4 story Victorian homes. When we get a chance we'll take some photos of a couple of them and post them.
On our trip here we stayed in Altoona, IA, outside of Des Moines, and had a nice visit with a Workamper couple that we worked with in Mesa, AZ last winter. We had a fun visit and hope they get a weekend to come over to Illinois to visit.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Texas Wildfires
We are just devastated by the damage that the wildfires have been doing in southwest Texas. The hardest hit area has been around the Fort Davis area north of Alpine, TX where we were last summer. Over 200,000 acres have burned (25 homes and 2businesses) plus many horses and cattle. Our friend's son Brent, who lives at Marathon, TX, has been out helping with the firefighting and the rescue of animals. When Cherokee and Jim talked to him this morning, he had had only about 2 hours sleep in the last few days. The winds are blowing 60 mph sustained today so no breaks to help contain the fires.
Today we were supposed to drive on over to Childress but the high winds kept us off the road. Maybe we will be able to get on the road. Just hope the weather cooperates and that the wind dimishes a whole bunch.
While we have been visiting Jim & Cherokee we have been watching the Decorah, IA bald eagles. A livestream 24/7 camera has been set up to view the male and female and 3 fledglings. Over 32 million viewers have been viewing the growth of the babies. If you want to see the live stream, just type in Decorah Eagles and it will take you to the feed.
Today we were supposed to drive on over to Childress but the high winds kept us off the road. Maybe we will be able to get on the road. Just hope the weather cooperates and that the wind dimishes a whole bunch.
While we have been visiting Jim & Cherokee we have been watching the Decorah, IA bald eagles. A livestream 24/7 camera has been set up to view the male and female and 3 fledglings. Over 32 million viewers have been viewing the growth of the babies. If you want to see the live stream, just type in Decorah Eagles and it will take you to the feed.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Update before AZ Departure
We are about 5 days until our departure from Mesa Regal Resort in Mesa, AZ. Things are getting packed away, the gazebo has been sold to our neighbors, and I think we are just about ready to hit the road.
This afternoon our Block had a farewell gathering and this evening our neighbors had a farewell soiree for about 8 couples. Lots of food at both. It's interesting because when you arrive everyone wants to know where you are from and when the season winds down the question is when are you leaving for back home.
We've made several new friends this year and will stay in contact with them as we will probably all be back next year. The last hooray for the Workampers is tomorrow afternoon. Our Workamper Coordinator prepares all the food himself for the party - 42 Workamper couples and some management people are on hand also.
It's been a very busy season here and I think we're ready to be on the road again.
Family news has not been the best during March. Since my sister's death we have received notice that one of my deceased first cousin's wife(Dee's paternal side of family), age 90, passed away and another cousin's wife (maternal side of family)passed away. Hopefully April will not bring any more news like this.
We'll post more news as we wend our way into New Mexico and Texas over the next few weeks.
This afternoon our Block had a farewell gathering and this evening our neighbors had a farewell soiree for about 8 couples. Lots of food at both. It's interesting because when you arrive everyone wants to know where you are from and when the season winds down the question is when are you leaving for back home.
We've made several new friends this year and will stay in contact with them as we will probably all be back next year. The last hooray for the Workampers is tomorrow afternoon. Our Workamper Coordinator prepares all the food himself for the party - 42 Workamper couples and some management people are on hand also.
It's been a very busy season here and I think we're ready to be on the road again.
Family news has not been the best during March. Since my sister's death we have received notice that one of my deceased first cousin's wife(Dee's paternal side of family), age 90, passed away and another cousin's wife (maternal side of family)passed away. Hopefully April will not bring any more news like this.
We'll post more news as we wend our way into New Mexico and Texas over the next few weeks.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Happy St. Patrick's Day to You All!
Just couldn't stand to see my daughter outdo me so had to figure out how to add these cool animation holiday things to our Blog. I'm impressed, don't know about the rest of you thinking "What is Dee thinking doing this?".
Weather here is absolutely gorgeous - we hit 90 degrees yesterday. Larry was out on the patio trying to read the auto manual and photo says it all!!!!
Guess the warm weather put him to sleep.
It was a tough week for us. March 1st my only remaining sister passed away very unexpectedly - Medical Examiner thinks she either had a massive stroke or massive heat attack. Her request was to be cremated and no services, so we didn't make the trip back to Boone. There was a Memorial Service on March 9th. Hazel would have been 72 this month, which seems so young now that I'm approaching a big zero year myself.
Things are winding down here at the Resort - year end parties (we have at least 4 parties to attend ourselves) and several people already leaving to travel back to their homes. We extended our stay until May 5th so we won't depart this area along with thousands of others.
Tuesday one of my classmates and her friend is driving to Mesa to have lunch with us. We going to the Midwestern Meat Restaurant (owned and operated by former Iowa residents) and the food is always wonderful. Of course, our favorite thing to order is breaded tenderloin sandwiches and made the old fashioned way like they used to make them back in the late 50's in Iowa. You just couldn't beat good old pork tenderloins back in the day.
We wish some of you were here to share the corned beef & cabbage and my speciality "Green Cake" for St. Patrick's Day. It just isn't St. Paddy's Day without the green cake! Some would argue it's the green beer that makes the holiday though. Our grandson, William, is flying off to Ireland Saturday, March 12th for a week. His golf coach and the Astoria, OR golf team are going there for spring break to golf for a week. It's quite a trip for a 16 year old. Sure wish we could fit in his suitcase. A big bonus is that they get to participate in the annual St. Patrick's Day parade while they are there. What a lifetime experience this will be for him.
More later on. Take care of yourselves and stay healthy.
Weather here is absolutely gorgeous - we hit 90 degrees yesterday. Larry was out on the patio trying to read the auto manual and photo says it all!!!!
Guess the warm weather put him to sleep.
It was a tough week for us. March 1st my only remaining sister passed away very unexpectedly - Medical Examiner thinks she either had a massive stroke or massive heat attack. Her request was to be cremated and no services, so we didn't make the trip back to Boone. There was a Memorial Service on March 9th. Hazel would have been 72 this month, which seems so young now that I'm approaching a big zero year myself.
Things are winding down here at the Resort - year end parties (we have at least 4 parties to attend ourselves) and several people already leaving to travel back to their homes. We extended our stay until May 5th so we won't depart this area along with thousands of others.
Tuesday one of my classmates and her friend is driving to Mesa to have lunch with us. We going to the Midwestern Meat Restaurant (owned and operated by former Iowa residents) and the food is always wonderful. Of course, our favorite thing to order is breaded tenderloin sandwiches and made the old fashioned way like they used to make them back in the late 50's in Iowa. You just couldn't beat good old pork tenderloins back in the day.
We wish some of you were here to share the corned beef & cabbage and my speciality "Green Cake" for St. Patrick's Day. It just isn't St. Paddy's Day without the green cake! Some would argue it's the green beer that makes the holiday though. Our grandson, William, is flying off to Ireland Saturday, March 12th for a week. His golf coach and the Astoria, OR golf team are going there for spring break to golf for a week. It's quite a trip for a 16 year old. Sure wish we could fit in his suitcase. A big bonus is that they get to participate in the annual St. Patrick's Day parade while they are there. What a lifetime experience this will be for him.
More later on. Take care of yourselves and stay healthy.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Chevy Tracker Gone/Chevy HHR In
We kind of went shopping this month and ended up buying a 2007 Chevy HHR for a tow vehicle. It's not the white painted vehicle we wanted but it will do; fully loaded-even has "butt warmers in front seats", leather interior, sun/moon roof, and the ac will cool you down quickly. Best part is it tows all wheels down without much fuss and doesn't accumulate miles while being towed. Our Tracker was a '99 model with over 131,00 miles on it. Still have to get our permanent plates from Oregon but that takes a few weeks. Photo below taken a week ago.
Larry spent last Tuesday at the garage getting the towing mount bracket put on, electrical hookups done and the auto braking system installed. Took the better part of the day, beginning at 7:30 a.m. to get all of this done.
We've been working about every day here, not long hours at a stretch but enough to keep us confined to the RV Park each day. Things are a little better this last week though. The Resort is almost to capacity right now, 2005 spaces, so people are everywhere busy, busy, busy.
Several park residents are coping with pneumonia and Valley Fever. Larry's brother has had pneumonia and the hospital rooms and hallways were filled with patients so he was not admitted for treatment. So far we have missed getting the viruses going around. Valley Fever is a mold type fungus, spread by air, that affects the lungs and recovery is prolonged. We truly hope we don't get this.
Our daughter Suzy began her radiation treatments in Portland, OR on the 21st. She has 14 more to go before they are completed. The same day (21st) our niece, Joni, received her diagnosis of breast cancer also. She is to have lumpectomy next week sometime and then she will have radiation following. Unfortunately Dee and 2 of her sisters all have had breast cancer so their daughters didn't have much of a chance avoiding that cancer gene. Joni is undergoing genetic testing to positively identify the gene for her daughter. Suzy hopes to have the testing done also.
Hope all of you are staying warm and that your weather is improving some.
Larry spent last Tuesday at the garage getting the towing mount bracket put on, electrical hookups done and the auto braking system installed. Took the better part of the day, beginning at 7:30 a.m. to get all of this done.
We've been working about every day here, not long hours at a stretch but enough to keep us confined to the RV Park each day. Things are a little better this last week though. The Resort is almost to capacity right now, 2005 spaces, so people are everywhere busy, busy, busy.
Several park residents are coping with pneumonia and Valley Fever. Larry's brother has had pneumonia and the hospital rooms and hallways were filled with patients so he was not admitted for treatment. So far we have missed getting the viruses going around. Valley Fever is a mold type fungus, spread by air, that affects the lungs and recovery is prolonged. We truly hope we don't get this.
Our daughter Suzy began her radiation treatments in Portland, OR on the 21st. She has 14 more to go before they are completed. The same day (21st) our niece, Joni, received her diagnosis of breast cancer also. She is to have lumpectomy next week sometime and then she will have radiation following. Unfortunately Dee and 2 of her sisters all have had breast cancer so their daughters didn't have much of a chance avoiding that cancer gene. Joni is undergoing genetic testing to positively identify the gene for her daughter. Suzy hopes to have the testing done also.
Hope all of you are staying warm and that your weather is improving some.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
We've Been Feeling the Cold Here!
This is what it looked like at the front office entrance to Mesa Regal this morning (one of the other Workamper couples took this photo). It was down to about 29 degrees last night. We had about 30 minutes of no electricity early yesterday morning also. The electric company has been experiencing power overload with the cold weather and has not been unable to fill the needs like it should. Luckily we have propane backup and also a generator as back up when we have no electricity. Many of the elderly here have all electric park models so they just had to tough it out when they got up. Weather should be better in a few days after this cold front gets through the country.
Hope you all are staying warm where you are. Don't envy any of you that have snow along with the cold.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Month is Almost Over
January is almost over - hard to believe the time has gone so quickly. We've seen the Wayne Newton show (he rates a 5 out of 10, great musicians and back up singers but his voice is about gone!), visited big RV Show and Gem show and enjoyed great weather here).
Our visit to RV Show was a very busy day, beginning with a wake up call at 5 am so we could be on the road at 6 am with friends who were driving. Ugh, most of you know how I hate early mornings!!! Anyway, it is about a 2 hour drive from Mesa. At least we stopped for breakfast on the way. Thousands of people were there at the show. Best part was getting to see one of my high school classmates. Chuck is a vendor for his business that makes display plaques and frames -he invented and holds the patent on the frames. Business was very heavy so we had little time to actually visit with each other, but it was great seeing him and also meeting his wife June. Chuck made our Dolphin plaque for our RV a couple of years ago. Anyway, it was a long day in the sun.
Dee's big project this week was making a beaded watch band with glass beads and Swarovski crystal beads. The instructor and other class students are all going bead shopping this coming Tuesday to find supplies so they can make more of the beaded watchbands. These are fast to put together once you have the supplies.
On the 21st, Dee traveled to Tucson (40 snowbirds on the charter bus) for the annual Quilt Show. Beautifully displayed quilts were abundant and several quilt-related vendors were on hand so the time was well spent. There was also an American Native Art show going on at the Convention Center which had beautiful artwork and jewelry on display. Well worth the time to see.
Saturday the Workampers got together for a picnic at one of the couples' site. Ron cooked the hot dogs and everyone brought a covered dish and snacks. About 40 people were there. Temperature was in the 70's so we couldn't have ordered a better day to have some fun.
Next Saturday is the annual Gourd Festival in Casa Grande and Dee is going over with the tour bus company for the day. She has 2 high school classmates that are going to meet her so they can spend the day together. They will have a great time.
Enjoy the rest of the month. Hope your weather warms up if you are in one of the cold zones.
Our visit to RV Show was a very busy day, beginning with a wake up call at 5 am so we could be on the road at 6 am with friends who were driving. Ugh, most of you know how I hate early mornings!!! Anyway, it is about a 2 hour drive from Mesa. At least we stopped for breakfast on the way. Thousands of people were there at the show. Best part was getting to see one of my high school classmates. Chuck is a vendor for his business that makes display plaques and frames -he invented and holds the patent on the frames. Business was very heavy so we had little time to actually visit with each other, but it was great seeing him and also meeting his wife June. Chuck made our Dolphin plaque for our RV a couple of years ago. Anyway, it was a long day in the sun.
Dee's big project this week was making a beaded watch band with glass beads and Swarovski crystal beads. The instructor and other class students are all going bead shopping this coming Tuesday to find supplies so they can make more of the beaded watchbands. These are fast to put together once you have the supplies.
On the 21st, Dee traveled to Tucson (40 snowbirds on the charter bus) for the annual Quilt Show. Beautifully displayed quilts were abundant and several quilt-related vendors were on hand so the time was well spent. There was also an American Native Art show going on at the Convention Center which had beautiful artwork and jewelry on display. Well worth the time to see.
Saturday the Workampers got together for a picnic at one of the couples' site. Ron cooked the hot dogs and everyone brought a covered dish and snacks. About 40 people were there. Temperature was in the 70's so we couldn't have ordered a better day to have some fun.
Next Saturday is the annual Gourd Festival in Casa Grande and Dee is going over with the tour bus company for the day. She has 2 high school classmates that are going to meet her so they can spend the day together. They will have a great time.
Enjoy the rest of the month. Hope your weather warms up if you are in one of the cold zones.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Summer Season Plans
As of today, we have committed to our summer Workamping season at Timber Lake RV Resort in Mount Carroll, Illinois. If you look at a map near the northwestern section of Illinois and the eastern border of Iowa you'll be able to find this small community. It is located about 30 minutes northeast of Clinton, IA (which is a Mississippi River town). Mileage to Dubuque, IA and Minneapolis, MN is about 1 1/4 hours and 2 1/2 hours to Chicago. Never been to Chicago because huge cities are not our thing!! The Resort has 129 sites located on 159 wooded acres. The owner has been constructing new log cabins on the property. The following image shows the view around Timber Lake.
It truly looks absolutely beautiful. Bet the mosquitoes think so too!!!
We were in a bit of a quandary for about 2 weeks as to which location we wanted to be at. One location in Texas offered duplicate bridge 3 times a week which was really difficult for Dee to pass on. Everyone knows how much she loves playing bridge. Illinois offers cooler temperatures during the summer months. It was a tough call. Other offers came from Wisconsin, Washington and Montana. Each of them had specific enticements and beautiful scenery so we are keeping them in mind for next year.
Last night 3 Men (all over 6'4") and a Tenor (5'6") from Michigan performed at Mesa Regal. All of the songs they performed were a-cappella. Wonderful show, lots of comedy between singing. On Wednesday Wayne Newton, aka "Mr. Las Vegas", will perform 2 shows here at the Resort. We're planning on going to the matinee show.
Friday Dee is going to travel on a charter bus trip to Tucson to attend the Quilt Show. She leaves at 7:15 a.m. and returns late that evening. Monday a group of Workampers are traveling to Quartzsite, AZ for the annual RV Show. One of Dee's high school classmates is a vendor, so she will get to visit some with him. Chuck sells his patented frames for AFMC display ovals. Last year when we planned a trip to the show, it was pouring rain so the trip was cancelled.
That's all for now. More later on about the shows and the trips.
It truly looks absolutely beautiful. Bet the mosquitoes think so too!!!
We were in a bit of a quandary for about 2 weeks as to which location we wanted to be at. One location in Texas offered duplicate bridge 3 times a week which was really difficult for Dee to pass on. Everyone knows how much she loves playing bridge. Illinois offers cooler temperatures during the summer months. It was a tough call. Other offers came from Wisconsin, Washington and Montana. Each of them had specific enticements and beautiful scenery so we are keeping them in mind for next year.
Last night 3 Men (all over 6'4") and a Tenor (5'6") from Michigan performed at Mesa Regal. All of the songs they performed were a-cappella. Wonderful show, lots of comedy between singing. On Wednesday Wayne Newton, aka "Mr. Las Vegas", will perform 2 shows here at the Resort. We're planning on going to the matinee show.
Friday Dee is going to travel on a charter bus trip to Tucson to attend the Quilt Show. She leaves at 7:15 a.m. and returns late that evening. Monday a group of Workampers are traveling to Quartzsite, AZ for the annual RV Show. One of Dee's high school classmates is a vendor, so she will get to visit some with him. Chuck sells his patented frames for AFMC display ovals. Last year when we planned a trip to the show, it was pouring rain so the trip was cancelled.
That's all for now. More later on about the shows and the trips.
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