June 30, 2013--Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming

We were out the door at 8:45.  I went to sign up for craft classes.  The ones I choose were jewelry things.  Does that surprise any of you?  I have my first class tomorrow morning at 8:30.  It has to do with wire wrapping of polished rocks.

Bill was looking at rigs for sale.  I was very glad I had the checkbook with me!   I met him in the main building and we toured the vendor area.  There were about half as many booths as at the FMCA Convention, but we did get free popcorn.  Ah, life is good!

Several days ago we found a geocache not too far from Walmart.  Wendy and Mike couldn't find it today so we went with them to see if it had been muggled .  It was still there, but was a really tricky hiding place.  From there, we went in search of several more.  We found four before going back home.

At 4:00, we went to the opening ceremony for the Escapade.  Kay Peterson, with her husband, Joe, started the Escapee RV Club 35 years ago.  Joe died two years ago, but Kay, at the age of 84, was there to talk to the gathering.  She is a very clever, creative person.  It was interesting to hear her today.

Tonight, we went back to the Wyoming Center for the evening's entertainment, The Rivoli Revue.  Ron and Kay Rivoli sang and interspersed humor between the songs.  They were very entertaining.

This was a really busy, but fun day for these two old timers.

June 29, 2013--Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming

At 9:00 this morning we went to collect our registration packets at the Wyoming Center, the main building at the Cam-Plex.  I also bought a convention shirt.  Bill didn’t want one.  That saved us a few dollars.  Actually, he doesn’t wear polo shirts.  That’s my favorite style to wear in the summer.

We went geocaching with Mike and Wendy, RVing friends we have known for several years.  We found eight caches with no DNFs.  That’s a really good day!  

We got home in time to rest before watching the NASCAR race from Kentucky.  We could’ve napped longer.  The race was rained out.  Hopefully, it can be run tomorrow at noon.

Natalia sent me a picture of her little dog, Maddie, riding in her bike basket.  She even has a seat belt.  Maddie only weighs seven pounds.  There was room for another dog her size.  She’s so tiny!

Dark clouds were gathering in the west tonight, but so far, no rain.  We are parked on gravel so rain shouldn’t be too much of a problem.  

June 28, 2013--Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming

We left Walmart’s parking lot at 7:15, and went to dump the holding tanks.  With that chore out of the way, we headed for the Cam-Plex (which stands for Campbell County Complex).

We were a few minutes early for the beginning of parking for the Escapade, but were soon in our spot with an electrical hook-up.  If the weather gets hot we can use our air conditioners.

I had one more cabinet that needed to be cleaned out, so as soon as we were settled into our assigned spot, I got busy.  It took quite awhile to get it finished, but I was successful.

We hadn’t taken time to get groceries earlier this morning.  We went back into Gillette to stock up.  We don’t know what our Escapade schedule will look like or how busy we will be.  We now have plenty to eat for the next week.

I saw a sign at a car wash.  “Bugs in your grill give us a thrill.”  Cute, eh?

June 27, 2013--Gillette, Wyoming

Because of a trip to the laundromat this morning, we didn’t accomplish much else.  We didn’t even attempt to do any caching.

This afternoon I spent some time working with a new beading program.  I downloaded it two or three months ago, but haven’t had a chance to spend any time on it until today.  The program will allow me to do some designing.  It has been several years since I have tried to do any very complicated work.  Hopefully, I haven’t lost my touch.

Tomorrow we move back to the Cam-Plex for the Escapade, sponsored by the Escapee RV Club.  The FMCA Convention focused solely on motorhomes and their needs.  The Escapade covers all types of RVs.  

Tonight we needed to spend some time getting the coach ready to roll.  That involves getting everything stashed where it belongs.  It can and will be a big job.

June 26, 2013--Gillette, Wyoming

This morning we set out to once again try our luck at geocaching. Today we found seven with no DNFs.  After our dismal showing yesterday, our confidence was boosted.  What a difference a day makes!

We went to lunch at Los Compadres, a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to Bill.  The service was fast and the food was good.  And as usual, we brought home enough for another meal.

After resting, we visited with Judy, my new beading friend.  She told us about a new dump station the city had built.  That’s always good information for RVers to know about.

Later in the afternoon, we drove to the park with the dump station to check it out.  It has plenty of room for our rig so we will go use the facility before we go into the Cam-Plex (fairgrounds) on Friday.  That is our scheduled day to park for the Escapade.

Judy and her husband, Wally,  came for a visit this evening.  She and I talked about beading, of course.  I’m not sure about Bill and Wally.  I don’t think either one of them ever run out of things to talk about.

June 25, 2013--Gillette, Wyoming

We went out geocaching this morning.  I’m sorry to say, it is the most disappointing day we’ve ever had.  We had four DNFs before we ever logged a cache.  That’s terrible and also embarrassing.

After giving up on caching we went to the Rockpile Museum.  Its main focus is about Gillette in the “good old days.”  They also had several videos about coal mining that were very interesting.

Bill wanted shrimp for lunch so we went to Long John Silvers.  I ordered a piece of fish.  It didn’t hold a candle to Mississippi catfish, but it was OK.

We had a visitor this afternoon.  Judy and her husband are also parked here at Walmart.  They too are here in Gillette for the Escapade.  She is a beader so we had a lot to talk about.  

After supper, I went to see some of the things she has made.  She has made some beautiful things, mostly necklaces.  They also have a big black cat named Freeway Too!  While I was in their motorhome, her husband came to our house and visited with Bill.

As I came back home, we all stood by the MH to visit some more.  Two other RVers came to join in.  Its fun to meet other motorhomers.  The only reason the “party” broke up was because the mosquitos came to join in the fun!  They can break up a party faster than anything I know.

June 24, 2013---Gillette, Wyoming

The sun was shining brightly this morning.  The temperature may get into the 90s today.  Ugh!  We’ve had al sorts of weather extremes since coming to Gillette, but nothing with high heat.

This morning, Bill and I went on a tour of the Eagle Butte Coal Mine.  The last two times we have been in this area we have tried to get on a tour, but weren’t able to accomplish it.  Today we were successful.  

It was a great tour.  We learned about the equipment used in the pit mining process.  We saw the huge trucks dumping loads of coal into the hoppers.  The coal then goes on a conveyer belt where it is loaded on the trains.  A truck can carry enough coal to fill two rail cars.  Each train is 100 to 150 cars long.  We were also able to see a drilling machine doing its things...drilling holes for blasting the coal to loosen it.  

We were particularly interested to hear about the reclamation process.  That is very important to the area.  We went past several reclaimed areas.  I was glad our guide pointed them out, because they showed no sign of having ever been mined.

We were so glad to have finally been able to take the tour, which lasted two hours.

Before going home, we went to Taco Bell for lunch.  With happy tummies we went back to the MH for naps.

Late this afternoon we had a thunderstorm.  It lasted about 45 minutes and then moved on east.  We were very glad we were parked on pavement at Walmart and not on a dirt lot.

June 23, 2013, Gillette, Wyoming

The sun was shining this morning...not a cloud in the sky.  It was quite cool, though...45°.  However, it didn’t take long to start getting warmer.

The tow trucks were busy today.  If I counted correctly, 15 coaches had to be pulled out just in our little corner of the world.  One man told Bill it was going to cost him $150.00 to get his rig drug out.  

A lot of people, including us, decided to let the mud dry some more before trying to escape.

While we were waiting, we watched the NASCAR race from Sonoma, California.  It was a good race.  There were a lot of lead changes and that made it interesting and exciting.  One of our favorites, Jeff Gordon, came in second.  That’s one of his best finishes lately.

When the race was over, Bill decided it was time to try to get the coach out of the muddy mess of the area around us.  He had a plan to use our leveling boards and a rug that someone had left behind.  It was a good plan.  He got past the muddiest part and was able to keep going until he found a place dry enough to park the MH for a few minutes.

I followed him into Gillette in the Honda.  He found a place to park at Walmart and we settled in for some time to rest.  The weather these past few days had taken its toll.

We walked two blocks to KFC for dinner.

June 22, 2013, from Gillette, Wyoming FMCA Convention

We didn't have rain during the night, but our address is still at the corner of Big Muddy Avenue and Loblolly Lane.

A pancake breakfast replaced the donuts this morning.  While we were eating, a fierce rainstorm went through.  By the time we had finished eating, the sky was blue.

We went to the vendor area again.  It was still busy, but nothing like it was on Thursday.  We haven't purchased much, but its fun to look.

Bill went to the rescheduled class on LED lighting and I people watched and worked on my iPad.  When he found me we decided to go somewhere for lunch since we had to go into town for gasoline.  Big surprise!  We ate at BK!

We got back to the motorhome there was a piece of equipment (I think it use to be called a steam roller.  It is used to pack down fresh asphalt.) rolling back and forth in the mud, trying to pack it down, I think.  The interesting part was that he nearly got stuck.

At 2:15,  a terrible storm blew in.  Extremely high winds blowing the heavy rain sideways, hail, and lightening and thunder that lasted for over an hour.  Oh, yes!  I forgot to mention that we were under a tornado alert until 6:00.  Wow!  What a day!

By 7:00, most of the clouds were gone and the sun was shining.

June 21, 2013, from Gillette, Wyoming FMCA Convention

We had a very hard rain during the night.  We are parked on grass, but the roads beside and in front of us were like rivers of mud.  It was so bad in our area they quit running the shuttle busses on our street. 

In spite of the mud, we were able to make it to the main area for donuts and hot chocolate.  I was later getting to the food than Bill was.  (He’s such a chow hound!)  The lady in front of me took a bite of her donut and said, “Well, they aren’t Krispy Kreme.”  And they were kind of dry and sticky.

I was carrying my donut in my left hand and was having trouble holding the hot chocolate with my right hand, which is back in the cast.  I had my priorities right and didn’t want to put my donut down to take care of my hot chocolate.  I sat it down and asked the lady next to me to please put some half and half in my cup.  I glanced at her and thought she looked familiar.  When I heard he talk I knew who she was.  Bill and I met Vicky in Roanoke, Virginia in the summer of 2000.  For awhile we kept in touch, but that hadn’t happened for several years.  We were so glad to see each other.  Her husband, Bob was there also.  There were several thousand people in attendance so a chance encounter was a miracle.

Bill had an early class so he left us.  After quite a few minutes of “catching up” we went our separate ways.  I found a place to sit and wait for Bill.  We went back into the vendor area to see the booths we didn’t get to see yesterday.  While roaming around we saw several more people that we knew.

We went back home for lunch and naps.  And then the entertainment began.  People in all sorts of vehicles were getting stuck in the mud.  What a mess!  Two big motorhomes across from us decided to leave and immediately got stuck.  A wrecker had to pull both of them out.  Lots of people were standing around watching.  We could have made some money if we had been able to charge admission to the “circus.”

It was cold and windy most of the day, with some showers and a little bit of hail.  We decided not to go to RV Forum Happy Hour.

June 20, 2013

We got off to a rather slow start this morning, to what turned into a fairly busy day.

We were too late for the free donuts which are a tradition at the FMCA conventions.  That hasn't happened at any other conventions in the past, that I can remember.

The vendors' show opened this morning.  It was packed with RVers.  We got to see about half of the displays.  But we'll back tomorrow, never fear!

From there we went to a gathering of Country Coach owners.  We haven't been to many of their  meetings over the years.  So we weren't surprised that we didn't know anyone.  We had a good time anyway.  We were surprised by how many people had purchased more than one CC.  Some of them three or four.  That's big bucks!

We went back home for lunch and some rest time, before heading out in the Honda.  Our first stop was Walmart and our last one was to mail a package at UPS.  In between, we looked for three geocachers, but didn't find any of them.  We did see a rabbit, an antelope, and two deer, though.

When we got back to the convention site we went to an RV Forum tHappy Hour.  There were a dozen people attending.  Most of them we knew from the Forum meeting in Quartzsite.

By the time we got home the wind had started to blow, followed a couple of hours later by lightening.

June 19, 2013

Happy Birthday, Brent!

We went to the main building of this complex at 7:00 this morning so I could register for a beading seminar.  There was a long line of people signing up for a wide  variety of things to make.  I was able to get the one I was hoping for.  

Bill went to the seminars he tried to attend yesterday.  The first one he didn’t have much to say about it.  The second one that he really wanted to get a lot of information on...LED lights for the interior of the coach...was a bust.  The presenter was a no show!  That doesn’t happen very often at the FMCA Conventions.  Just Bill’s luck to have it happen to him.  Now he will have to do an in-depth search for information on his own.

My beading class was at 1:30.  I enjoyed making a beaded iris, but I probably won’t make another one.  However, it’s fun to meet people from all over the country.

Tomorrow, the vendors show opens.  There will be lots of things to see.  And if the wind continues to blow it won’t matter because all of the booths are indoors.

We have had high winds all day long.  This afternoon at 5:00 was when the show coaches opened their displays.  It was just not the kind of day to be outside.  We chose to stay in our MH and let the wind rock us back and forth. 

June 18, 2013

This morning, Bill said there were two seminars he wanted to attend today, one at 8:00 and one at 10:00.  In just a few minutes he came back.  The times were correct, but the day was wrong.  Poor old Grandpa!  He has trouble remembering what day it is.

We decided it would be a good day to go geocaching, so off we went!  Any time we are a strange place we seem to make a lot of u-turns hunting for the cache site.  Today was no different!  But we were able to find four “treasures” before we decided it was time to go to Burger King.  BK is not as good as In-N-Out, but OK.

Not too long after we got home, the weather took a turn for the worse.  Dark clouds rolled in and a strong wind began to blow from the west.  It really rocked the coach.  And we got some rain, too.  Not a huge amount, but enough to make the roads here at the fairgrounds rather muddy.  Before the storm moved on, we had more strong winds, this time from the east.

By the way, tomorrow is brother Brent’s birthday!  Sh-h-h!  Don’t tell him I told you.  He’ll be 41.  I can remember when I thought that was really old.  Not anymore!

Today’s Totals:  Geocaches, four---U-turns, six.

June 17, 2013

We left Douglas, Wyoming at 7:15 this morning.  Bill was in the front in the driver's seat and I was in the back still in bed getting a few extra z- z-z-z's.

On the way north to Gillette we saw several flocks of sheep. There were lots of lambs frolicking around, while staying close to their mothers.  There were also lots of antelope.

As soon as we got into Gillette we went to the fairgrounds where the convention is being held.  It took about 30 minutes for us to get parked at our site.

After lunch we went back into town for gasoline, not only for the green Honda, but for the red Honda generator.  We also went to Walmart for a few items.

At the Visitor center we made reservations to go to a coal mine next Monday.  The last few times we've been in Gillette we have tried to visit a coal mine.  For various reasons we were not able to get to a mine.  Maybe this time we'll get lucky.

I spent quite a bit of time getting geocaches loaded in the GPSs. In past visits we've found about 10 caches here.  I loaded 33 more today.  That should keep us busy for a while.

Today’s Travel Totals:  Mileage, 118---Critter sightings, lots of lambs and about that many antelope.

June 16, 2013

I finished the quilt last night, a few minutes after midnight.  Whee! Meredith and Michelle did a great job on it.  My only contribution was the edging.  I think this quilt goes to Connor.

This morning, Bill and the girls shoveled dirt into the planter boxes they built last week.  The boys were drafted into helping.  When they finished, Bill took a nap.  He was tuckered out.  Meredith and Michelle did the planting.

We spent most of the morning watching the NASCAR race from Michigan.  At the ads, we worked on getting the coach ready to roll.

At 2:45, we left Michelle and her tribe and headed for Wyoming. The trip north on I-25 took us through green ranch land.  Several fields had herds of horses, some with colts.  And we saw quite a few antelope.

Just after crossing into Wyoming (honk, honk!  Yahoo!), we saw five camels.  Wow! Things just get more exciting by the mile!

As we left Loveland, it had started to rain, but it didn't last long. The further north we went, the better the weather got.

We saw a cowboy with a small herd of horses, including a little one.  That might be a Sunday afternoon activity for the rancher. The horses seemed to know where they were going.  The cowboy didn't appear to be working too hard.

Not too long before dark we pulled into a small city park in Douglas.  We’ve stayed here before when there were just a couple of rigs or so.  Tonight there were about a dozen, all heading to the same place as we are...Gillette and the FMCA convention.

Travel Totals: Mileage, 186---Critter sightings, antelope and five camels.

June 15, 2013

After a very brief rain last night, we woke up to a beautiful blue sky day.  No dark clouds or lightning or thunder.  Just clear blue skies.  And not as warm as yesterday.

Michelle and her family are taking care of a friend's 7 month old dog named Holiday.  She loves peanut butter.  So I fixed her a treat this morning.  I spread about a tablespoon of Jif on a paper plate and set it on the grass.  She pushed it all over the backyard while trying to lick the PNB off.  Finally she put her paw on the plate and that solved her problem.  When the plate was clean, I took it into the house.  She followed me in and reclaimed the plate.  I guess it wasn't as devoid of peanut butter as I thought.

In the middle of the afternoon, we went to Meredith and Dwaine's for a cookout.  It was the last time for us to enjoy their beautiful backyard and watch the boats on Boyd Lake.

Joshua drove Michelle and me home while the others were taking a walk at the lake.  Before Michelle got in the van, Joshua asked if we should leave her.  When she got in, she said "Were you going to leave your mother?"  Joshua said, "She's my grandma and that trumps you."  Yep!  The kid won points with me, once again!

At bedtime, we had a huge lightening storm, followed with hard rain for about five minutes.  What’s the deal?  Colorado needs more “splash” and less “flash!”

June 14, 2013

Meredith and her furry crew came at 8;00 this morning so we could go to garage sales.  That's a treat for me because "Oscar, the Grouch" pretends the Honda won't turn in the direction of garage sales.  Sad to say, he has "warped" Brent, probably beyond repair.  Luckily, I succeeded in raising the girls with an appreciation for the finer things.

We went to an estate sale in Fort Collins.  It was in an older, but well maintained neighborhood...except the house where the sale was.  It hadn't been lived in for 42 years.  The company in charge of the estate sale described the house when they first got there to set up the sale.  The owner was a hoarder with walkways between all of the stuff.  Add to that, 42 years of spider webs and they had come into a real mess.  We had never seen such a place as that even though the webs were gone.  It was an adventure!

After a quick trip to Walmart we picked up hamburgers from McGraff's, met Bill at Meredith and Dwaine's, and ate lunch.

Meredith and I were resting when the dermatologist called with my biopsy report.  It was a basal cell carcinoma.  Ugh!  Will the fun never end?  I was able to get an appointment at 3:15 to have it burned off.

Our last errand of the day was to Sam's Club.  By the time we got back to the MH we were really tired, but it was great to spend the day with Meredith.  I'm glad she was able to take the day off so we could be together.  Bill and I plan to head north on Sunday.

June 13, 2013

June 13, 2013

It was not as hot today as it has been for the last few days. However, my eyes were burning from the smoke in the air.  The wind in the fire areas is causing a variety of problems.

It's a shame some of the rain doing so much damage to the Eastern part of the country can't be shipped over here.

Staying inside today seemed like a good idea so I made good progress on the quilt project.  I put most of the binding on.  The corners are all that I still have left for me to do.  Hopefully, it will soon be able to be crossed off our "To Do" list.

Bill and I went to Meredith and Dwaine's for dinner.  That's always a pleasant happening.  Joey and Hapa take very good care of us when we are at their house.  Hapa, especially, makes sure I'm well protected.

Michelle and the boys went to pick up a friend's dog.  They are "dog sitting" for two weeks while the friends are on vacation.  The dog is seven months old...still totally a puppy.  She was very excited to be in the motorhome.  Thankfully, Michelle had a tight hold on the leash.

                            

June 12, 2013

I spent part of the day working on the quilt.  Michelle was in her office all day so she was able to answer questions for me.

Bill worked on our inverter most of the day.  It was too hot to be outside working, but he did anyway.  

We will be leaving here on Sunday so Bill doesn’t have very much work time left here.  And I don’t have many more days to work on the quilt.

I took a break at 3:00.  Joshua, Connor, and I went for treats at Inta’ Juice.  They serve fruit concoction smoothies.  We all agreed that our smoothies were ever bit as good as Jamba Juice, maybe even better, because it is close.  Joshua thought this was a really good treat on a warm day like today.

Back home, I continued working on the quilt project until about 5:00 when Meredith and the furry beasts came to take me on a jaunt.  We went to PetSmart and I was in charge of Hapa.  Both dogs were well mannered.  However, as we were leaving, another dog was coming in.  As usual, Hapa “protected” me, but I had a tight hold on her leash.

I told Brent it was a great thing for me because I don’t have a dog of my own.  I have to borrow a dog.  That’s pretty pathetic, isn’t it?

June 11, 2013

Today was reserved for errands.  Yippy, Skippy!  Bill was not too swept away with the idea either.  He won't even consider letting me drive, because when I have a pain in my right hand it is sometime so severe it takes my breath away.

I haven't thought of a way to convince him I am use to pain, because I've been dealing with a big pain for 53 years.  But that's a different story altogether!

One of the things on today’s list was to get the stitches removed from my basal cell carcinoma surgery last week.  It all went well with that one, but he biopsied another place.  I’ll know in a week or so about it.

The temperature today was very close to 100 degrees!  Ugh!  We were supposed to have high winds today, but that hasn't happened yet.  There is a wildfire on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.  The smoke is drifting this way.

Michelle, Meredith, Dwaine, and I went to Windsor to a Geocaching meeting.  There were quite a few people attending.  Some of them we have seen at past gatherings.

June 10, 2013

June 10, 2013

I felt much better this morning after a good night’s sleep.  I had a lot more energy than yesterday.

Michelle took a personal day off from work today.  After going on a couple of errands, we got the quilt spread out on the dining room table.  It was larger than the tabletop so Michelle suggested we spread the quilt on the floor in the basement.  Good idea!

The first thing we did after smoothing the quilt out was to trim the extra batting and backing fabric from around the edges.  There were some supplies we needed...thread and such...so we made a trip to Walmart.

When we got back to work on the project, Michelle took a picture of me sitting on the floor getting ready to start working on the quilt.  She sent a text picture to her siblings.  Brent’s reply was “I think there are labor laws that frown upon forcing the elderly to work sequestered in a basement!  Stress fracture.  Is that what happens when you miss a stitch?  What did she do to earn having to sit on the floor?”  It is so good to know someone in “Sippi”  cares about the treatment of his mama.

And if any of you are wondering how this elderly person was able to get up off the floor...well, grandson Joshua has lots of muscles.  He pulled me up as if I weighed no more than a feather.

Michelle had another good suggestion.  We moved the quilt back up to the dining room table.  It was much more manageable size now.  We were able sit on chairs to do the next phase of the project.

We weren’t able to finish the quilt, but both felt good about the progress we made today.

June 9, 2013

It was a beautiful day today.  After all the wind we had yesterday, it was nice to have a calm day.  However, the temperature was higher today.  I guess it was a tradeoff.

Meredith and Michelle wanted planter boxes, so they commandeered their dad to help them build a couple of them.  One was large and the other was quite a bit smaller.  The three of them worked for several hours, then Dwaine came to help.  Before long, Ron joined in the “fun.”  By then, it turned into a project by committee.  I decided it was a good idea to “stay out of Dodge.”

At noon, Meredith and I went to Sam’s Club for three pizzas.  Can you believe it, not a soul felt like cooking?  Go figure!

Before Meredith went home, she and Michelle had applied one coat of stain.  Bill will go in early in the morning to add another coat.  I’m not sure what they plan to plant, but I will keep you informed.

I had meant to work on finishing a quilt Michelle had pieced together for Connor.  It is an Oregon Ducks theme.  Mainly it needs the edging finished.  I had almost no energy today, so it still needs the edging.  Perhaps I will tackle it tomorrow.  It may be a challenge because my right hand is still in a cast, but I’ll give it the “old college try.”

June 8, 2013

I woke up at 9:00 this morning, but didn't want to get out of my warm, snugly bed.  At 9:10, Bill said Meredith had just driven up.  I was out of bed in a "flash."  Oops!  I think I blew my cover.  Now "himself" will know how to get me up in a hurry.

Meredith, Michelle, Matthew, two dogs, and I went to Uncle Benny's.  It is a place that sells used lumber, etc.  Michelle was looking for stepping stones.  She didn't find any, but Meredith found a rough hewn log that she will make into a bench.

We took the log, the pups, and Matthew back to stay with  Dwaine , and give Hapa and Joey some play time.  Then we headed for Lowe's, aka "Daddy Day Care" because Bill and Brent spend so much time there when we are in Mississippi.

When we got back to the "dog care facility," I saw Matthew out on the trail walking the furry beasts.  He had good control of the situation.  The dogs were off leash and behaving well.  As they got closer to home, Matthew put them back on their leashes.  They were very glad to see us back home, but were not dragging Matthew along the sidewalk.  He's a good dog walker!

Dinner was a combined effort...Meredith made the beef stroganoff and the brownies, Matthew made the rice, and Michelle, with help from Connor and Joshua, made apple crisp.  She also made a salad.  My contribution...I bought the ice cream!  It was all very good...the dinner and the dessert!

June 7, 2013

Another interesting day in Loveland, Colorado.  The sky went from blue to overcast, to fluffy white clouds, to dark threatening clouds, and back to blue sky, and so on and so forth.

We did have a few drops of rain.  Not enough to even count, but they were wet.  I guess we shouldn’t complain (and we don’t) because some parts of the country are flooding, among other things.  The snow pack in the mountains hasn’t started to melt.  When it does, it will add to the level of the lakes in this area.

Because of this cast on my right hand, I can’t drive.  Let me tell you, it’s really cramping my style.  I’m absolutely certain I missed some very good garage sales today!  Ugh!  And I haven’t even been to Hobby Lobby.  This is getting serious!

June 6, 2013

Happy Birthday, Sara!  Thirteen years old...officially a teenager. Wow!  It is hard to believe she's grown from that tiny, precious little girl to the beautiful young lady that she is becoming.  Where have the years gone?!

Bill took the motorhome to dump the holding tanks.  I think he really just wanted to drive the big behemoth.  He loves driving it.

For dinner tonight we are having Texas soul food...pinto beans, fried potatoes, okra, cornbread, and chow chow provided by Lori.  Meredith and Dwaine came to enjoy the feast.

Hapa and Joey came, too.  They had been in the lake chasing birds.  They were still wet, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone, especially the pups.

June 5, 2013

At 8:30, Bill delivered me to the surgery facility of Loveland Dermatologists.  I had a basal cell carcinoma removed.  Two hours and seven stitches later, with a thick pressure bandage by my right ear, Bill took me back home.

Most of the rest of the morning and afternoon was spent resting.  I was kind of "fuzzy" feeling inside, but that dissipated by mid afternoon.

Joey had stitches in his paw a couple of weeks ago.  He has sympathy for me now.  We ate dinner with Meredith and Dwaine tonight, so I was able to spend time with the pups.

By the time 8:00 rolled around I was feeling poorly.  However, when we got home and Connor brought some really, really good watermelon to us, I perked up.  Two things are sweet...Connor and the watermelon!

May 4, 2013

I spent all morning working on medical records and really fun stuff like that.  

I also had several important phone calls to make.  One was to pay for the coach insurance for another year.  It was due tomorrow.  Wow!  That was cutting it close!

Another really, really important call was to renew our towing insurance with Coach Net.  That’s one that we certainly can’t be without...especially at times when we get stuck in the sand in Nevada, miles and miles from nowhere.

I spent some time on the phone with my brother, Jim.  It has been awhile since I’ve seen him and Peggy, but we do talk from time to time.  They are very busy with many activities in Santa Fe and they travel quite a bit.  So do we, but thanks to cell phones we can keep in touch.

Tomorrow, I am having a basal cell carcinoma removed from my face.  I really do know how to have a good time, don’t I?

June 3, 2013

We spent the morning getting the motorhome ready for carpet cleaners to do their job.  When they were finished it looked great.  We were very glad to have it looking spiffy again!

While the carpet dried Bill and I went to Sam's Club and Walmart. He is chef for tonight.  At Walmart we got all of the ingredients for meat loaf and baked potatoes.  That was his choice for the menu tonight.

Meredith and Dwaine came to join us.  This has always been a favorite in the Dane family.  Bill does an excellent job.  He is our expert meat loaf maker!

Joey and Hapa did not want to go home.  Finally, Dwaine had to pick Hapa up and put her in the back of the car.  It was a different story with Joey.  He weighs about 80 pounds and is too heavy to pick up.  I gave him some treats and then put more treats in the back of their car and he hopped right in.  I guess it's kind of sneaky to take advantage of a pup, but it worked.

We had a wind storm blow through this afternoon.  Unfortunately, no rain came with it.  That's what we could really use.

June 2, 2013

Today was a completely lazy day for me.  I didn't get up until well after 9:00.  I sat on the sofa with Bill, watching a news program.  I dozed off and on.

Meredith brought warm banana walnut bread.  It was so-o-o good. That was my breakfast!  What a way to start a day...extra rest and a warm homemade treat.  Ah!

After watching the NASCAR race from Dover, Delaware, Bill and I went to Meredith and Dwaine's house and enjoyed sitting in their backyard. It is a very restful place.  We watched boats on the lake and people walking their dogs on the path around the lake.

Joey wanted to play so I told him to find his tennis ball.  Meredith told him, also.  He went to a bush, nosed around for a bit, and found a ball he had hidden there. He's such a smart dog.  He never ceases to amaze us.

For the last couple of weeks we have watched a bird flying to a certain branch.  Today, Dwaine heard some tiny chirps and located a nest.  Two little mouths were wide open, waiting for food.

Michelle's troop came for dinner.  We made our own burritos. Michelle brought Spanish rice and a really good corn dish.  No one in the group went away hungry.

June 1, 2013

Before going to Windsor for their city wide garage sales, we drove to the Boyd Lake area where Meredith and Dwaine live.  She had seen a herd of elk in back of their house this morning.  At a park just north of their house we saw the critters and were able to take some pictures.

We went on to Windsor, went to about 20 garage sales, and got some really good deals.  At one house, Meredith and Michelle ask if they had any Denver Bronco things.  The lady said her husband was a big Bronco fan and she would ask him.  

He came out with a big box of things, said he wouldn’t sell everything, but there might be a few things they could use.  They came walking back to the car with huge smiles on their faces and their arms full of Bronco things.  They were two “happy campers.”

At another place, Meredith found two metal pieces joined by a chain.  She thought it would useful to hang something from a tree in their yard.  She ask the “old cowboy” in charge if that sale what the thing was for.  He said it was called a hobble and was put on a cow’s back legs so the farmer wouldn’t get kicked when he was milking the cow.  Of course, Meredith bought it.  That was too good a history lesson to pass up.  The old guy was happy because he was able to educate us city people.

After going back home to rest, we made a trip to Lowe’s and a nursery.  That just about ended the first day of June for us.

Critter sightings:  Eight elk and three white pelicans.