Summertime, And The Livin's Been Busy

OK! I’m back! I know you’ve missed me because of all the emails I’ve received wondering where I went. I read them all, both of them! I’ve been collecting things to write about, but it is difficult since I lead such an uninteresting life. Here it is - for what it’s worth - enjoy.

We last visited back in mid May. Since then WonderMom and I have been kept busy by our children, their children, my family in Upstate, some friends, and some memories.

June began with Cutie Pie’s birthday #4, and we had a small family party for her here at the ranch. She had been counting the days, and was thrilled when it finally got here. WonderMom made her a beach cover for all of the swimming she planned for the summer - if it ever warmed up!

Shortly after that, we had the annual swarming of the prodigal children as Shimmy, Sysguy, Thing 1, and Thing 2 invaded from the west, while Socket, Mistletoe, and Pickle invaded from the east. Cricket, Paco, Scooter, Sweetie, and Cutie were already here. It was a grand affair, and we loved seeing them all together again.

Our first adventure was the newly remodelled zoo with a special Africa exhibit. We saw the lions, tigers and ... giraffes (no bears in Africa)!

Socket and family couldn’t stay for very long, but we did have a good visit with them, and Pickle got to see and play with her cousins for the first time in 2 years.

Shimmy, Cricket and I took Scooter and Thing 1 to the local air show in mid July. I always enjoy air shows, especially with the Thunderbirds on show, but the two kids could care less and didn’t like the noise! We’ll leave them home next time!

Shimmy and family retired to Cricket’s home where there is more room for five rambunksious kids to create havoc without driving the ‘old folks’ nuts. From there they went on other adventures such as Fun City in Iowa, and swimming in the local pond.

We had a few dinners here, one with my sisters from Upstate who came to see our seldom seen kids. I fixed some bodacious ribs on the grill for that meal, and a nice leg of lamb on the grill for another. We mostly ate out other than that so WonderMom didn’t have to make any huge meals this year - she made plenty of smaller ones though!

After the kids all went back home, things settled down a little, WonderMom and I went Upstate for a wedding reception (the wedding was 2 weeks earlier in Las Vegas) and reacquaint ourselves with some of my paternal aunts, uncle, and 1st and 2nd cousins. It was a nice party and it was good to see the family again (I’m the prodigal from that side of the family!)

In between family activities, I put on a couple of presentations for the local senior center computer club; one on the iPod Touch, and one on Moving video tapes to DVDs. WonderMom hasn’t been sewing so much this summer; she’s been too busy reading. She must have read 20 books so far. When she discovered she could order books from any library in the state on-line thru our local library, she was in literary heaven

This past weekend was kind of the grand finale for our summer. We attended my 50 year high school class reunion. It’s hard to believe it has been that long, but it must be true because there were a lot of old people there. Sunday morning we attended a breakfast and tour of the high school. This was a real treat, because it is the first time WonderMom has seen the building close up and inside. What makes it special is that the building is on the national historical register. It was built in 1934 as a WPA project. The design is Art Deco and the brickwork is fabulous. It was great to walk down those halls again.

The classic main entrance

Statues at the entrance

The entryway frescoes painted in 1936 - restored in 1987

Well that’s been our summer here at the ranch. Looking forward to an equally busy fall wihat with grandkids’ school programs, and birthdays coming up. I’ll try to do better on keeping up so my 2 fans have something new to read - maybe.

Drying Out!

We've been drenched in rain this Spring, as you have been if you live anywhere in the midwest!  The back yard is squishy, and the worms are climbing trees!

I hope the sunny weather of today and tomorrow is a portent of sunnier climes. The farmers really need to get into the fields so we can replenish our ethanol stocks!  Also, our basements need to dry out.

Not much new to report since last time.  We're expecting a visit from OfficeCat from AZ this week.  It'll be good to see her again.

WonderMom has been busy power washing the deck so I can put some preservative on it.  We got the yard cleaned up and the lawn mowed - finally.  It's been busy.

The big excitement today was the spotting of a bird we've never seen in the wild before.  We heard this tap-tap-tapping in our big shade tree.  WonderMom spotted it first.  I got the camera and took a bunch of photos:

It's a Pileated Woodpecker.  Not particularly rare, but not normally found near inhabited areas, usually in the deep woods.  Apparently they have been moving closer to civilization the past few years.  Anyway, it was a real treat for us to watch it work.  It's a pretty big bird, about the size of a crow. The photos aren't great because it was pretty high up in the tree and I had to blow them up a lot to get a good look at it.  But at least I got her (I think) on the record (can't say "on film" anymore, can I).

Is It Spring Yet?

Here we are more than half way through April and the tulips are just beginning to bloom, the magnolia tree had almost no blossoms on it, and the trees are just starting to show a little green.  Weather has been nice for a few days, but now it's back to rain which is expected to last into Tuesday.  Any time now!

The unspringy weather hasn't slowed us down at all though.  WonderMom and I took advantage of the nice weather to clean up the flower beds in the front yard.  Still have a lot of work to do in the back, but that'll have to wait for the next dry spell.

Need to get the tomato and pepper seedlings from Cricket to get them ready for putting out next month.  I was looking at them when we were at her place for Easter.  Had a great time with them, BTW, and guess what, the new puppy like me!

Speaking of Cricket, she and Paco have sprung for a new (to them) van, a newer ('06 I believe) Sienna, a burgundy red, LE model.  She showed up with it last Thursday when she visited before taking her brood to see the dentist (good reports all around BTW).  Lucky for us we had our new (to us) '08 Prius parked in the driveway so she could be surprised, too!  And Shimmy complimented us on getting a car the same color as our house - sea foam green or something!  See photo!  That's WonderMom reprising her role as a car show model!

Also picked up a few new items from the Apple store, and they all shipped on different days - free shipping all around.  The FedEx folks stopped by four different days last week! 

And finally, WonderMom picked out a new glider to replace my overstuffed (and over used) lounge chair.  It takes up less space and is actually more comfy. 

I think (hope) were done with the buying spree for a bit. 

We went out to dinner with our friends from up north, whom we haven't seen since last November.  It was good to see them again.  We got all caught up on family happenings and summer plans.  We always enjoy our infrequent get togethers with them. 

More when it happens!

It's Good To Be Home

It's been a good winter for us, especially given the rough one the folks back home here had.  We had to turn on the heat for a few days in January and February, and got to use the AC twice in March, but most of the time was it was pleasant.  That's what we go for!

WonderMom had a great winter with her quilting as I documented in our Westward Ho blog.  She felt accepted and became a part of the quilting group in our RV park and even joined the local chapter of the AZ Quilters Guild as a member at large.

I spent most of my time doing computer stuff - boring, I know - but it's what I do!  I was able to video the annual talent show AND a small play this year and create DVD for sale.  I enjoy doing that kind of work, but it is time consuming.

Our several outings with OfficeCat aka Cruise Director, and NASCARguy were chronicled in the various posts in the Westward Ho blog, here and here.

We also enjoyed our visits with Shimmy and her family in CA.  The boys, Thing one and Thing two, are growing and maturing a lot in our absences.  Wish we could see them more.  Looking forward to their visit this summer.  I'm hoping Socket and his family can make it this year.  It'll be good to have them all together again.

Our trip home was mostly uneventful.  We ran into some dust/sand storms in NW AZ, but there were no places where you couldn't see the cars ahead of you.  Had to keep the outside air vents closed to keep the dust out of the car.  The bird seems pretty airtight.  We also ran into some patchy fog Friday morning east of Tulsa on I-44.  Gas prices were down dramatically from last year!  The highest we paid was $2.13 in Grants, NM.  Everyplace else was under $2.00. 

Our neighbor, Dale, who watches our house while we're away, had already gotten the water turned on, the water heater turned up, and the waterbed plugged in.  It was all ready for us to move right back in. He does a great job for us!

Cricket and her family arrived here shortly after we got home and got the house opened up.  Along with hugs and kisses, they brought food for the weekend, so WonderMom didn't have to do any cooking or shopping right away.  We'll be going to her house this weekend for Easter. 

That's about it for now.  We're getting things organized (we brought a lot of stuff back home) and stowed.  Got the computer network up and running, with some problem.  We have a little old iBook that just runs the upstairs printer.  I made the mistake of installing a bunch of updates that were waiting and it wouldn't boot up afterwords.  Had to wipe the drive and reinstall the OS, normally a simple procedure.  However!  The OS that was on it is only available on a DVD, and this iBook doesn't do DVDs!  The external DVD drive I used to install the OS last time, decided it didn't want to work anymore either!  So I had to settle for an older OS version  that I had on CDs.

Meantime, WonderMom is already working on her first quilt of the summer!

I'll be back as things happen, if they happen, just in case someone actually reads this blog.

Always Too Late!

Here at year-end, WonderMom and I are preparing for Christmas, of course, but also for our annual retreat to the Valley of the Sun. And again, we have remained in the Plains of Winter too long. We, along with a few! other midwesterners, are ice bound. Last night's ice storm pretty much shut down a whole lot of the area. The world remains ice coated 24 hours later, with the promise of new snow to hide it from us (sigh!). Here are a couple of photos of the more attractive? aspects of the weather.

Weird Icicle!

Winter's Beauty!

     

This guy figured no one would be outside to see him. I got lucky and was able to sneak up to about 50 feet from him to get these shots. It didn't take him long to leave the area, with a flash of his white tail.

Well, I thought I'd give you a wrap up of 2008, from my POV. If you're not interested, this is a good place to stop reading. I'll see you at Westward Ho & Back over the next 3 months.

2008 has been a mixed year for us, some good, some not so good.
The good:
Pleasant summer weather - no 95 degree days with 95% humidity;
A great visit from Shimmy and her family in July;
A good crop of spring flowers and summer tomatoes;
A well done remodel of the bathroom;
Many visits from/with the local grandkids;
A great visit with Socket and his family down in tarheel territory;
WonderMom's first venture into competative quilting!;
And finally, an election that ended favorably.

The not so good:
Socket lost a part of his right index finger in an industrial accident;
We lost our winter gardener, house sitter, and good friend in AZ.;
The financial world tanked and we all lost money one way or another;
W's still in office!. Talk about staying too long!

So all in all, the good outnumbered the not so good. WonderMom and I are still in good health and looking forward to a warm winter and a good 2009. Hope your year was a good one, your holidays are happy and spent with good friends or family, and your 2009 is a good one.

We'll be heading west in a few days, and I'll be blogging at Westward Ho & Back if you're still interested.

My Two Cents

YES, WE CAN!

YES, WE DID!

I've been relatively quiet about this past presidential campaign and election, except at home with WonderMom.  I just felt I needed to express my views on the candidates and the election results.  We're fiercely Independent voters, having NEVER voted a straight ticket!  We commonly vote Republican for state offices to counter the overwhelming Democratic candidates coming out of Upstate... and did so this time.

I'm obviously an Obama supporter, and happy he won.  He did win!  McCain didn't lose, he was beaten by an opponent who had better ideas, a more forward looking, well thought out, and eloquently presented plan for the future.  A candidate of a caliber we haven't seen in my adult lifetime.

I'm sorry, but I don't want my president to be a 'regular' guy, a Joe Sixpack! All of that senseless rhetoric just avoided talking about the real issues, and McCain's plans for solving our problems.  I want my president to be smarter than me, and savvy enough to hold his own when dealing with those who would take advantage of us.  I didn't see that in McCain, who asked us to trust that he knew how to solve our problems, and "had the scars to prove it".  And then there was the lipsticked dipstick!  What a bonehead move by McCain's campaign.  The real McCain started to re-emerge in the last two weeks of the campaign, but it was too late, and he had the iceberg in tow!

Mr. Obama has renewed my hopes for the future of my kids and grandkids.  I still believe they will not have the same level of lifestyle my middle class job afforded me to provide for them as they were growing up, but maybe not as depressed as I had imagined.  We will see.

I have high expectations (probably too high) for Mr. Obama, and I strongly disagree with his position on amnesty for illegal aliens.  You can't have everything, I guess.  I'm certainly willing to give him a chance to change the course of the country before I complain about him.  His performance on the campaign trail showed me he was a thinking man, not a platform slave.  He can assimilate new information and change his plans and directions as needed. He knows he doesn't have all the answers and is very good at picking the right advisors.  But he will be the decider, after carefully weighing of the facts.  I expect him to have some serious disagreements with his Democratic congress, and get his way most of the time.  I expect him to select members of his administration from all quarters of the political spectrum, and use their advice in shaping his decisions and the future of this country.

Much is being made of the fact that Obama is the first black POTUS.  That's a good thing because it is a sign that we Americans are starting to grow up!

Maybe the black community voted for him because he was black, and I think they were entitled to do so, but I believe he was evaluated on his character and abilities and found to be superior.  

It never crossed our minds, that he was black once we got to know him. Did we hold him to a higher standard than we would a white candidate? Probably, because we are a product of our past, however, our bias is not based on skin color, but on attitude and ideals, both of which we found agreeable in Mr. Obama.  This is the same criteria to which we would hold any candidate.

OK!  That's it.  Comment if you like, disagree if you are of a mind to.

It's Finished - Finally!

The Bathroom is finally finished!  After almost 2 months, most of which was waiting for ReBath, the bathroom is finally fully decorated and appointed.  Well there is still some calking to be cleaned from the window, but WonderMom is happy.  Here are some photos of the finished product.  They don't show it too well because it is too small to get a decent photo from inside!

This shot shows the new toilet, 

refinished vanity with new lavatory

and the newly installed GFCI outlet, 

small corner shelf on the left,

and vinyl flooring.

Yes, it is a tight fit on the potty since the

 new tub is an inch wider than the old tub.

This shot shows the new shower curtain on the

curved shower rod, and the overhead 

storage doors covered with wallpaper

With the curtain open you can see the new two-headed 

shower, and some of the details in the shower itself.  

Also it shows the wallpaper border.

I forgot to show you WonderMom's 

decorative creation for the new loo!

She has been working on this wall

quilt for almost as long as I have 

been working on the bathroom.

(Yes Cricket, the border is all one piece!)