Holiday Greetings

Only a few days left until the "Holiday" madness is over for another year! Don't get me wrong--I love giving gifts! But the fun of Christmas shopping is gone. Shoulder to shoulder with coughing, sneezing, grouchy shoppers while the PC "holiday" songs blare over the public address systems? Yuck. Give me an internet connection, Willy, John Denver, Elvis, etc. in the CD player and THAT works for me, now. UPS is my friend!

Meanwhile, Keith has finished up his second pipeline class and gets a couple of weeks to recoop before hernia surgery! He plans to put a chimney in the garage so he can heat with his wood stove--which means he'll get to tromp around cutting wood for it! Hmmm.... If I put a tv out there, and stoke the fire, he can lay around out there on his couch and complain, instead of being in the RV!!!! I like it!!!!

It's going to take an adjustment period for the dogs and me to get used to having Keith underfoot again! He's been gone 6 days a week since the end of May and it is certainly strange to have him back! Poor thing is back to eating at home, instead of trying out a different restaurant every night, and I'm back to having to COOK! :( But at least I won't be getting those nightly phone calls, telling me he had lobster, or alligator, or a fabulous steak for supper--while I was having a tv dinner, out here 15 miles from the nearest, ho-hum restaurant!

But hey! Day after tomorrow is our 40th Anniversary! We ARE going out to eat--I don't care how far we have to go!

Okay, I'm done rambling....

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you--regardless of what Holiday you celebrate!

P.S.

I just remembered a story I wanted to share.

When the new Stuper Walmart opened, they were selling black cloth shopping bags with "Walmart" printed on them in bright green, for a buck each. So, I bought 3 to go with my 2 Save-A-Lot bags and do my little "Going Green" effort. Besides, the plastic store bags are beginning to rule my life!

So, I went to the grocery store a week or so ago, laid the bags down on the belt before I started unloading my cart. The teen-aged checker looked at them and looked puzzled and said, "Do we sell those here?" (black bag/green lettering on both sides) Then she wanted to know what they were for! I told her to put my purchases into them. (duh) THEN she started bagging into the plastic bags and then putting them in my bags!!! I just paid up and came home... :-( Poor, clueless child!

I've got some ugly Holiday fabric stashed away with my quilt fabrics. I think I'll stitch up a few more bags and try again... See if I can find a checker with a clue...

First snow?

The weather gurus think we'll get our first snow starting tonite. We'll see..... Since I've already seen pix of snow in Midland, TX, it would seem to be about time for us!

I started dragging in the Rubbermaid boxes of Christmas geegaws today. Set out a bunch of snowmen dust-catchers, the cute little Avon Nativity kids, and my Hallmark mini snow globes. I had to go to eBay and find the 2002 one of that set to bid on--there's 5 in the series and I have 4. :( Can't have THAT! As for a tree--I am undecided. I have a 4', skinny, fake tree that I've used for several years, but since we're on our 'home ground' this year, I'd like to buy a small, live, potted tree. We'll see....

Keith finished his pipeline dozer school and got his certificate on the 24th of Nov. Yesterday they called and asked him if he was interested in taking it again, since they had some no-shows for the Dec. class. Let's see, free motel, per diem that doesn't count against unemployment, and a gas allowance, plus another 3 weeks of improving his new skills..... So, I'm a Union widow this month, again. Just me and the 3 stooges, who bark hysterically whenever a car or truck goes by...just in case it's 'Dad' coming home.

As for the proposed pink cowgirl shirt--I couldn't find fabric that inspired me, and my pattern isn't nearly small enough, so I scrapped that plan and bought a really cute, barely used shirt on eBay, instead. Almost all my shopping is done, including Keith's gift for our 40th Anniversary!
I think I'll decorate and start another pair of knitted socks... :) And bake something! Maybe a black walnut rum cake. Have to be careful about that 'baking business', tho, since there's just me here to hear the 'call of the baked goods' most of the time!

But first, I have to get those 4 big boxes out of here! They're kind of in-the-way around the RV!


Wait! I nearly forgot! I have to help process our winter meat supply this week, sometime. Our son and family went to church, then directly to our grandson's first piano recital, then home. As they pulled into the drive, he spotted a herd of does beside the machinery shed, slipped into the house and grabbed his gun and bagged and tagged his first deer of the season. Then ended up dragging it for 1/4 mile, in the pouring down rain, back to the shed to hang. Didn't do his Sunday duds a bit of good, but there'll be fresh, corn-fed venison on the table this winter! (Last weekend, he and his dad cut, split and stacked a lot of wood for the furnace, so he's feeling very "manly" these days!)

Today I put out a string of solar-powered lights. Wasn't until it got dark and I could barely see them that I realized just where I'm living this winter! Not a lot of 'solar' in IL in the Winter! Wind-powered--now THAT would make them glow! LOL! It seems to blow here all the time!

Now it's nearly time to snuggle under my down throw and watch Jeopardy... until one of the stooges thinks he or she needs to go outdoors.

DECEMBER?

Big Thanksgiving "Fry" is now History. Yum! 9 adults and 4 kids picked one of those birds clean! Lots of food and a whole lot to be thankful for, as always. We ran heaters all morning and finally got the temp up to about 62 in the garage--hardly balmy, but better than outside!

The night before, our son delivered our old fireplace insert stove and set it in front of the garage.... Better late than never! :) As of last nite, the stove has been relocated to what will become it's permanent place in the garage. Now it's time to polish it up, restoring it to it's former glory (it served us well for several years, when we were still raising our kids!), while Keith installs a chimney--and then begins cutting wood, of course! Guess I'll have to put up a Christmas tree in garage.... LOL!

Meanwhile, Keith is now a certified pipeline dozer operator--waiting for a dozer seat of his own! Plenty of jobs down in MS, AL, and LA, but there's a big one coming down into IL in a few months that could keep us here in the Midwest for a while... I'd kinda like to go to AZ for the rest of the Winter, but he's having "too much fun" being broke and close to the kids and grandkids....

Yesterday was gray, gloomy and in the 20s. Today is gray, gloomy and in the 50s. Just your typical winter, here in 'corn country'. Supposed to rain soon... I got part of the Christmas lites strung on the porch--if I wait for a sunny day, it could be January! Our front yard Christmas tree has grown too tall to light without a bucket truck, so I'm threatening to put all those lights on the front of the garage! Involves a ladder, which I'm not allowed to use, so I don't know if I'll pull that one off....

Our grandson discovered that the jar full of coins was empty and, since he knows that's our Christmas shopping money, went in search of hidden gifts. The joke is on him... his were in the plain brown box that was next to him on the couch! This year's shopping was 100% online--what fun! No crowds, no running through the rain, no fender-benders.... I got some great bargains on some cool stuff! Love the Discovery Channel Store! I'm signed up with BigCrumbs.com, which gets me some 'cash back' when I shop the stores that list with them, including eBay! And for the more cerebral giftees on my list--I found a store called ThinkGeek.com! :)

Meanwhile, Keith has been doing his version of sneaking around to get me the 'perfect' gift for our 40th anniversary on the 24th! Of course, I am the financial goddess here, and so I know he made a down-payment at a jewelry store! :)

No pics this week.... been busy with the little ones. I had to take our grandson to the dentist one day--for a root canal! At aged 10! Poor child was born with bad teeth. Today we're off to his first piano recital.... :) How quickly they grow up!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Well, the winds of change are blowing. The leaves are nearly all on the ground, and there's SNOW in the forecast for tomorrow! Right now it's 63 degrees and misting rain....

Big Turkey Day plans are in motion. Everyone is gathering at our house (er, garage, since the RV only holds 5 or 6 people!) We've got 2 turkeys and a turkey breast ready to thaw and inject and fry in peanut oil. Meanwhile, I've done a great job of parceling out the dishes. :) Aside from clearing the garage and making it festive enough, shooting up the birds, I have 2 pumpkin pies, a persimmon pudding, and bread to bake! :) If I had more kids, I'd have less to cook! LOL!

Keith finishes pipeline school today and will know if he passed and we can start hunting a job. As usual, he's sure he can't be good enough... We really messed up, tho. We overlooked the fact that he had a room in the Drury Inn for 2 weeks and we could have taken the kids up to swim and stuff on the weekend. :(

I just scored a cool Christmas gift for our grandson! Back before we were robbed, we had 2 SLR cameras, with lenses and filters and all the goodies. Gone now. So, Connor has discovered film cameras and we didn't have the Minolta that Keith bought in 1968 in Thailand to pass on to him--I ran a lot of film through that camera.... sigh. BUT I went on eBay and found and won a similar one, bag and all, for $23.00!!! It came today, I've loaded it and shot some images. Everything is working fine--I just have to get a roll processed before I break into a 'happy dance'!

Meanwhile, I wish you all a happy holiday with friends and/or family.....

Re-done bowls

If you're interested, here are the re-beaded versions of the 2 bowls:

November already!

Today is my daughter's birthday! 37? My Mom turned 80 on Sunday! Who ARE these old people? I can't be old enough to fit into that picture!!! I do have to admit that the bathroom mirror has an aging crone hanging out in it, every time I look, but I'm going to replace that mirror with a better one....

I bagged up about 20# (more or less) of coins today, to take to the bank tomorrow and get turned into 'lighter' money! I didn't count it--but it should net me a few bucks.... I've found that this is a good way to save up for something totally frivolous.

We finally have WATER on our hill! Oh, the pump was bringing up a trickle--enough to get by on. But Keith slaved away for 2 days, pulling the pipe out, replacing the cone on the bottom and driving it back in. He did all this by hand, by himself, because he didn't want to go borrow a tractor and loader to make the job easier! What a doofus! Sure is nice to be able to take a shower AND wash my hair at the same time!!! :) My goal is to catch a warm enough day to scrub the 5th wheel, which is something we haven't been able to do since LAST summer!

I finished my 4th beaded gourd bowl last nite and put away the beads, for now. I actually picked a bunch of beads out of one and redid it, to make it better. I may actually have one that's good enough for next Spring's Art Show. Now I have to get busy and finish the quilting on the quilt I started 2 years ago. It's for my newest great-niece--who should arrive from Korea sometime in the next 3 months!

The new love seat has replaced the hide-a-bed couch in our living room, and the dogs are having a terrible time! The back of the love seat doesn't make a good bed for them to lay on to watch out the window, poor things! Sure is nice to have that big, heavy thing out of here and replaced by a piece I can actually move! There was the awfullest pile of dog hair behind that couch!!! Ugh.

Time to fetch in the laundry, before it gets dew on it and freezes! (Hooking my dryer up to 220 is on Keith's list of things to do this week...)

HAPPY NOVEMBER!

Saturday....

51 degrees and cloudy with drizzle. Ahhhhh.... Nearly Winter in the Midwest!

Keith got into the 3 week Pipeline class at the Union training grounds in November. Rumor is that they have to stay in a motel in Terre Haute to collect their travel money and per diem. He is not thrilled about THAT. I figure a person can stand anything for 3 weeks! LOL! Maybe he'll get a job somewhere warm this winter!

Meanwhile, I'm off to the nursing home, armed with decorated cupcakes and a new sweater, to 'celebrate' my mom's 79th birthday, with her and her 78 year old brother--and whatever other relatives show up. 'Celebrate' doesn't seem like quite the right word for someone who's stuck in a nursing home, with no short-term memory, but that's all I could think of....

Wasting time with beads and gourds...

I am so artistic! Shame I can't find a market for my 'stuff'! :) These are 2 of the 6" gourd bowls that I've lined with tiny glass beads. Ya can't USE them because the beads are pressed into a beeswax/pine tar coating. But they look purty on the wall! :)

We had a friend of Keith's as a "boarder" here on our Hill for a couple of weeks--until he, too, got laid off from a nearby job. We had tucked his 36' fifth wheel in behind ours, Keith brought home our truck camper, and we STILL had room to slide another unit in! Our dogs were tickled silly to have an extra dog around, and an extra "dog person" to play with. They had a hissy when he pulled out today!

Still no word on whether Keith (and hopefully his buddy) will get into the November pipe laying class being offered by the Union. It sure would be nice! And would almost assure them of work by giving them special skills. Meanwhile, we are still waiting on Indiana to get the Unemployment Insurance straightened out....

Back to my latest bowl creation....

Finally Fall!

Brrrrrrr! THIS is more like it! :) Sunshine and sweater weather!

It's getting a bit crowded here on the Hill! A buddy of Keith's brought in his 36' 5th wheel while he's working a job nearby and Keith got his big truck/camper brought back from it's summer spot in Indiana, so parking is at a premium here! I suppose we could put another RV up here, if we needed to.... :)

Meanwhile, Keith has had 2 weeks of running someone else's combine--but he's still ready to go every morning! It's a whole different ballgame when you don't have to pay for repairs and fuel!

And life goes on.....

Nomads? Not so much!

So, at this rate, I may have to turn in my "nomad badge"! I have been sitting on this hill since MARCH!

Keith got worked himself right out of a job in Indiana, so he's back under foot and there's no more nice paychecks coming in. :( We did sell the tractor, tho--so we're good for a while. He spent all week running a friend's combine, so he's a tired but happy camper! Got his 'farming' fix. The Union says there's nothing coming up, so I've been haunting the Jobs boards--with no luck, so far! I applied at the new (yuck) Super Walmart, but they haven't called....

Fall may be here, but this business of having to run the AC in October is just bizarre! We didn't do that when we lived in Florida!!! Raking leaves loses it's charm when you're in shorts and tshirt, dripping sweat! 90 degrees, for crying out loud!

Busy "Grandma" week this week. I had 3 year-old Dawn 2 days and Connor spent the night last nite. He's taken up the drum, and brought it along to be sure he got his daily practicing done! I made him set it up outdoors.... LOL!

And there ya have it, for now!

HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY!

Mobile Home

DING DONG, THE TRAILER'S GONE!!! Which trailer? That 70' mobile home left here 2 years ago, by our 'renter'. He had squeezed it crosswise on top of our hill (which has a usable area that was about 100' wide!) He never paid the person he was buying it from, and left the State! After that, thieves came in and stole things out of the trailer, and since no one could see our garage and storage trailer which were basically hidden behind the huge mobile home, they cleaned out all the stuff we had that could be sold or scrapped!

When we tried to move back here with the 5th wheel, there was nowhere to park it! The sheriff told us to do whatever we wanted with it because the real owner was going to be incarcerated for quite a few years. So, Keith dragged the monstrosity off our hill, down the driveway, around the curve, just off the road--out of site but still on our property. Once in a while, someone would stop by and ask about it but no one would take it away. :( Meanwhile, occasionally windows got broken, more stuff was stolen out of it, etc...

But, Saturday, people showed up with a tractor and dragged it off! Waaaaaahoooo! Certainly improved our property value! LOL! I haven't a clue who they were or where they took it, but it's GONE!

Meanwhile, Keith is at the VA today, getting stress tested and other stuff--he'd rather be working! It's supposed to rain tomorrow and the next day, so I have today to clean up the litter he left in his wake yesterday before he shows up again. He's barely home long enough to drop off his dirty clothes, get clean ones and scatter stuff all around!

I've started my beaded gourd bowl, so gotta get the house done and get back to it!

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

Ahhhh....Fall!

I love cold weather! It was 46 last nite--about 40 on Friday nite! I had to light my fireplace. :)
Keith came home with a nasty cold that he caught from the checker at Walmart.... I keep telling him that's an 'evil' place, but he keeps going in there! He has other choices! I, on the other hand, am forced to make a weekly trip to the wonderful world of Wally... It's the only game in town! And in a few weeks, they'll be opening the MegaWally!

The guys finally got rid of the terrible noise that my Subaru was making...brake pads were worn clear down and the rotors were all rusted up. So I'm back on the road! Don't have to dread driving into town any more. Waaahooo!

I'm still putting little beads into wax lined bowls. :) I'm about ready to tackle a gourd bowl! And, I've already picked up, rubbed through and frozen all the persimmon pulp my little freezer will handle. (My back wasn't really thrilled with the picking up part, either!) There are gallons and gallons on the ground and still on the trees, but someone else will have to get them this year!

We're back to surfing the Internet for a winter spot that comes with a JOB. Keith's still working but it's just a matter of weeks.... A nice construction job near Yuma would be good..... :)

Is it Fall, yet?

Has this summer gone on forever, or what? Just think--wouldn't we have enjoyed it in, say, Arizona???? YUCK.

So, not much has changed. Keith is still living in the truck camper in the little campground near his job, working 6 days a week. I'm lounging around here at 'Redneck Hill'--keeping an eye on "things". He drags in here Saturday evening and out again 24 hours later. Me? I just chase after 3 dogs and putts around the yard--until I sprained my ankle a couple of weeks ago. Spent the last couple of weeks sticking little seed beads into little wax-coated clay bowls. I'm working my way up to doing a gourd bowl. Heckuva way to spend most of our 39th year of marriage, huh?

The old Goldwing has a new home. Keith got the 'hots' for a little pickup truck for a work car--seeing as how I'd drowned ours. The towtruck guy just happened to have one--with the transmission in the back...and really wanted a motorcycle. Long story short--the little truck is running up and down the roads, hauling work clothes, lunch buckets, iced drinks and various empty containers and the tow truck guy has to periodically clean the bugs off his teeth! Sad to see our old, faithful Goldwing running around without us, but not as sad as watching it sit under a layer of dust, slowly rusting away in the barn...

Did I mention that we sold the old combine? Waaaahooo! The new owner in PA finally has a truck coming for it Tuesday--he paid for it weeks ago!!! Now if someone would break down and buy the tractor we brought back from Florida a few years ago.... After all, the 'new' little truck needs new shoes and the Subaru needs new brakes. Always something....

Tomorrow, we're off to Seelyville with the baby tractor in tow, to redo a gravel driveway for some friends...followed by what is bound to be a well-grilled dinner! HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Mobile again!

Waaaahooo! After 2 weeks of being stranded on Redneck Hill with nothing to drive but the Big Yellow Bird, I have wheels that have an engine behind them! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I seem to have found a 'real deal' on cars.com: A 2000 Subaru (I've wanted one forever!) Forester with 71,000 miles on it--for cheap! :) And as a plus, I have claimed half the garage!!! Life is much better. Now to sell one of those pieces of equipment that are parked on a lot out along the highway to PAY FOR IT! There's always a catch....

Meanwhile, Keith is still living in the truck camper and working, working, working. And obsessing about Ranger transmissions... He traded our beloved, unused Goldwing for a little pickup--with the transmission in pieces in the bed. Now he has a transmission rebuild guide, a workbench (in his half of the garage) covered with oily pieces-parts (except for the 2 pieces that weren't there) and a project for the one day a week that he's home. But he has plenty of time in the evenings to read up on all the ins and outs.

A lady called from Louisville, wanting to adopt our Molly B as soon as she gets moved into her new house--we'll see..... She sounds really nice and has 2 girls who really want a dog.

So, I think I'll go get my Subaru out of the garage and go put some gas in it and see what happens after that....

Temporary stupidity... or The day I should have gone back to bed,

First comes the excuse. I'd been up half the nite with a tension headache, finally treated it with a hefty dose of muscle relaxers and a bit later, the headache was gone... I got this bright idea to run into the convenience mart for donuts and stuff. The nite before, it had rained A LOT, and I went around a curve and there was a little 'high water' sign--and water over the road. Now, anyone raised in the Midwest knows the rule "Never drive through standing water".... but, water always gets over the road there when it rains. So, I just kept going. (Here's the part where I mention that I had opted to take the car instead of the truck.) By the time I realized that the water was deeper than I had ever seen it, I was 2/3 of the way through. And then the car just shut down with an ominous thump. Dead. More details, including the wading out and hitching a ride home and telling the husband and calling the tow truck guy and going back to watch the car being fished out... (I FORGOT that I now have a camera phone--it was a great picture, if I'd remembered to take it!) I knew when the guys pulled out the dripping water filter, that this was NOT going to end well! I was right. Engine is totally locked up, fried, kaput, 'dead in the water'.... Insurance? On a 1994 car? The junk yard is paying $100 each for dead cars...

And now, Keith is back in Indiana--with my pickup, of course--prepared to go work in the mud tomorrow, and I'm sitting out here in the boondocks with only a HUGE yellow RV hauler in my driveway for transportation. Right beside it sits the 'the little red corpse'.

So, after we'd left the car sitting at the garage with it's hood up, drying in the sun in preparation for a fruitless round of automotive CPR, we went back to our 'country estate', had breakfast, made a few plans and then headed out to the truck to make a run to the auto parts store. I remembered that the black water tank was needing dumped, and there was a breeze (our RV buddies will appreciate this one...), so I went around back, pulled the handle to empty the tank--and black water exploded out of a brand new break in the drain hose, pouring stinky sludge out under our home. :( Ah, the joys of Rv living! And all this before 10 AM!!!

Meanwhile, Internet service out here in the woods is becoming almost non-existent! Cramping my style bigtime! Verizon tells me that if I owned the fancier air card, I could get a signal booster for it... It's been moved down a notch on my 'want list'.

So there you have it. A day in the life... Now if I can keep a connection long enough to post this....

4 dogs????

As if we didn't have enough canines running this circus, someone dropped off a puppy at our door the other nite! She's an adorable puppy, but boy was she hungry! I'm trying to get her into a rescue before we have to move our house to Indiana. No way we're going to keep her!!!

Meanwhile, Keith is still living in a campground in Indiana, working 6 days a week and then driving back here to spend a nite. We keep thinking there will be a couple of rainy days so we can move, but, unlike last year when he was lucky to get 5 days of work in a row--this year is DRY! So, the dogs and I are living alone out here in the Boondocks, with the local 'rabble' firing up their 4 wheelers after dark and running around the countryside, tending their 'patches', I guess...!

That's the latest... Not exciting!

The Arizona Saga...

I guess I won't be needing to order that online Spanish course any time soon. The rejection letter came today. "The Board wishes to continue it's search...blah, blah, blah" Obviously we weren't nearly as pleasing in person!

So, on to Plan B. Next week we will probably be moving back to Jamestown, where we were last Fall. Keith is there working on an off-ramp or overpass or some darned thing! We liked that campground and its location--45 minutes from our daughter's front door! :) And only a couple of hours from our grandkids and an hour and a half from the nursing home where Mom is.

Sure would have liked managing that place in Arizona, tho.....

Dinah

The People Go to Arizona Without The Dogs...

Here are a few shots of the Slaughter Museum. I'll try to get a page of photos up soon, for those who care.

We've been there, seen the place and love it! We've met the guy in charge, met the current managers and don't have a clue whether the job is ours, yet. We are supposed to know one way or the other in a couple of weeks...

I won't bore you with the details, but if you're ever anywhere near Tombstone, or Tucson even, and are at all interested in Wild West history, you should make the drive down to Douglas and over 15 miles of dirt road to this Museum and Ranch in the San Bernadino Valley.

So now we're home again, waiting for a call from the Union so Keith can go work, and waiting to hear about whether we'll be managers of such a cool place!

Dinah

Getting ready to go visit...

Soon we will know if our future lies in Arizona! Getting nervous about this whole 'face-to-face' thing on the Ranch...
http://www.slaughterranch.com
Tomorrow the dogs get taken away to Doggie Prison, and the next morning, we're off on our adventure! Poor little puppies... a week in a concrete box... Yuck. But, as long as they are cared for, there's not much else we can do with them. Anyplace we left them, they wouldn't be happy because it isn't 'home' with their people.

Big excitement last nite... Not really, but it's what passes for excitement here. After midnite, 2 or 3 guys parked their quads at the end of the driveway, tromped out into the brush to pee and then sat there in the dark, chatting. That got old quick! Keith had to go out, fire a shot, and suggest that they go talk somewhere else! They went. Why in the world these people have to wait until the middle of the night to go out running around on the roads on their 4-wheelers is a mystery to us... What are they doing that they can't do in the daylight???

Scam Alert: If someone comes to your door and says that due to the warm weather they have to check for ticks, and asks you to take off your top and twirl around... DON'T DO IT! IT IS A SCAM! They only want to see you naked!
Darn. I feel so silly! Wish I'd known this yesterday!!!

Doggie Prison

Yup, our 3 little stooges are sentenced to a week in the kennel, while Mom and Dad are off to Arizona! We have flight reservations, a car rental lined up and we're headed for Tucson and the Slaughter Ranch for a little face-to-face time with the couple we will probably be replacing, and our prospective employer--on his dime! :) Such a deal!

It's starting to look like our nomadic life is going on hiatus for a while... We're going to go farm and play hosts on the Ranch! Not exactly a 'stretch' for us... The climate is different and it's a looooong way from the grandkids--but that's why God invented airplanes! LOL! We think we MIGHT be able to handle this nice, steady job, and Keith is nearly beside himself with all the History involved! We'll go and see and be seen and maybe come back with a solid job offer. :) Heck, this guy already likes us so much that he hasn't called any of our references, even!

Meanwhile, back in the Midwest, the Union finally put Keith to work. He's off in the wilds of northern Indiana, living in his pickup camper in the Flyin' J parking lot and driving a finish scraper, building an airport runway. Kind of sucks, but a couple of real paychecks will be really nice! Figures that they'd put him to work, just when we need to take a week off.... *sigh*

Saturday nite was fun. We went to hear Whisper Down...an up-and-coming band made up of a bunch of old fogie college people--who just happen to have talent! LOL! It was Josh's premier with his new DRUM SET! No more keypad drumming for him... His mom and dad woulda been so proud! Lime Green Rose Hulman t-shirt and a black baseball cap turned backwards.... And swinging those sticks like he'd been doing it for years--instead of a couple of weeks!

And now, I must go back to the hum drum business of sorting clothes, packing away the serious winter stuff for another life, digging through the summer stuff and pitching out anything that doesn't fit, boxing up the 'maybe' stuff that we might want sent to us--should we be living in, say, ARIZONA! Oh, and maybe, for fun, I'll shred more papers in my new paper shredder--my Mom's Day gift. (I know, it's a far cry from flowers and candy, but I AM enjoying making all those reams of phone bills and such turn into confetti....)

Ya'll keep your fingers crossed that we come across as good in person as we have on paper and the phone....

Arizona?

The job in Nebraska seems to have vanished...they said they'd be calling back within 48 hours--a week ago! That one was not meant to be!

BUT, now we're actually negotiating/interviewing for a much better position in Arizona! Sooooo much better. :) Good money, free housing, benefits, plenty of time off... Scenic location! We'd be babysitting 147 acres of ranch and museum, steeped in cowboy history, in a mountainous area.... I think the next move is that the owner is flying in to meet us!

Granted, this is not the dirt moving job Hubby has always wanted--but it a steady income, doing what he's been doing most of his life--and I get a job out of the deal, too! We'll see....

Job search

Some things just aren't meant to be... The caretaker job I found in AZ would have been a really good match for us--if we were completely debt free and had a pension check coming in... I think we would have enjoyed running the ranch and museum in SE AZ for years to come--but not for $1000 a month! Oh well... We're still negotiating on the NE job... They at least want to pay real money!

Meanwhile, it rained in the Midwest, for a change. The farmers can't get into their fields and the construction jobs aren't running! It may be time to go apply for jobs at Walmart! UGH. Maybe Taco Bell? Double UGH.

Hubby got the salvaged guttering put on the garage, ahead of this last bunch of storms, we've planted more trees, eaten the asparagus, stuck more peony bushes into the ground, and started sorting through the storage junk mess that the thieves left for us. We're making progress! :) The supposed 'owners' of that junk mobile home called and begged for a week to get it off our property--it' s been 2. So, Hubby has started junking what's left inside. So far, we have an almost new water heater and a Maytag washer and gas dryer--plus electrical outlets to install in the garage... Next move is to call the local scrap buyer to come get the husk...lots of aluminum in the siding!

I entered stuff in the Art Show, but didn't win any prizes. Since 90% of the exhibits are paintings and they only had ONE JUDGE, this isn't too surprising... I might still sell a piece or two before it's all over, tho.... :)

More rain and storms due in here today... I'm starting to believe that the last 8 soggy months are a product of Global Warming!

Hanging out in IL....

Still too wet to work in the Midwest!

Obviously, the "Campground Hosts" gig didn't work. Those slots were already filled.... Anyhow, we're back on our "Hill" where there's no rent and the IL electric companies have doubled the rates! We've been 'reclaiming' our property from last year's thieves. They didn't leave much, but mess. It's starting to look civilized up here, flowers have come up, the peony bushes are growing and we've planted more cedars. Getting ready to do some fencing...


The fence will only be 3' high, since that's how
tall the free fencing is! But that will keep the dogs IN and put up a barrier of sorts across the driveway. We've blocked off the drive-through, which will also slow down traffic when we're not in residence...










Hubby signed up for a training class the Union is scheduling for next month that might land him in a pipeline job this summer. One of the things that will help him get onto this job is the fact that the Company wants people who will move with them as they progress across IL and IN... :) That would be US! We'll see how it goes....

There were 5 deer right across the road this morning, when I took the puppy out early. Of course, I had no camera at hand.... Looked like a 'family'...there was a buck, doe, yearling and fawns... Way cool!

Meanwhile, I've entered some of my 'stuff' into the County Art Show... Judging is today, followed by a reception. I entered my "Distracted" quilt...the one I made last month with Hubby under foot and unemployed! Plus, I put in a beaded leather pouch and Indian medallion necklace. Most of the stuff in the Show seems to be 'wall art'--sketches, paintings, and 3 little art quilts. A cash prize would be nice...SOLD would be even better! :)

I still can't believe I managed to assemble this thing SO wrong! Ah well...hence the name "Distracted"! The beaded pieces I put in just because my $20 admission fee covered 3 items....

So, today's project is to begin sorting through the stuff I stored last Fall, get out some warm weather clothes, put up the down parkas, vests and heavy down comforter for starters... I love sucking the air out of those plastic storage bags... :) AND getting all that bulky stuff out of the trailer makes it feel a lot bigger in here!

Gotta get busy. Weatherman is threatening us with a week of rain, again. Doesn't sound good for Hubby getting work soon!

Moving day

So, after patiently waiting for a month for his previous employer to actually call him back to work, Hubby has decided it's time to move on. We're off to our "Hill" in Illinois today. We're not sure that parking there is a good idea, but it's either there or in our son's driveway! Why is that? Well, this is the property that thieves treated like their own for several months a year ago. It worries us to think about leaving our home sitting there while we go visiting or shopping--but, whacha gonna do?

Anyhow, we'll make sure the theft insurance is paid up, and go park our house and reclaim OUR property. If and when Hubby gets a call from the Hall, he can take the truck/camper and stay on the job site to give our finances a chance to recover. We've been looking at jobs in NC and TX, if something doesn't turn up locally.

Keep your fingers crossed that the Verizon Wireless service is good enough for me to get back online when we get there.... We've used the cell phone there, so I'm hopeful!

Campground Owner Story

I forgot to do the 'dumb owner' story! I think I mentioned the fact that the guy who owns this place is a bit on the 'odd' side? Like, he owns a whole lot of really nice equipment for keeping up the campground. There's a small tractor, a garden tractor, an expensive riding mower, a big leaf vac, a log splitter, golf cart, a chipper/shredder, and more... ALL of which spent the winter sitting out in the weather, uncovered despite the fact that there are 3 big shelters in the campground. Well, the other day the guy next door stopped at the dumpster to toss something and discovered a gasoline powered leaf blower in there. The plastic handle was broken (from being out in the sun, no doubt) and the pull handle had broken off the starting rope. So, he fished it out, fixed it, and fired it up. It runs beautifully! So he goes and offers to give it back to the campground guy--but he doesn't want it!!!! So, we gave the neighbor $20 for it. I DON'T UNDERSTAND!

Almost Spring!

Ah, Southern Indiana in early Spring. BLUCK! Rain, fog, chilly one day, muggy one day, windy most day... and soon we'll be having thunderstorms and tornadoes.... Not that much different from where I grew up in Illinois!

But, I whine. LOL!

We filed our taxes yesterday. I am so grateful that Al Gore invented the Internet! LOL! This is the first year we've filed ahead of the April deadline since 1972! Of course, it's also the first year that we haven't had to pay the IRS--might have something to do with it! Always before there was SS to pay into, self-employment tax, and all those annoying little things, plus the accountant's fee!
This year we're getting back a chunk of what was paid in all year! :) It still annoys me that the great state of Indiana gets to keep half of the money we paid in, just on account of having worked here.

Speaking of work! This is the 3rd straight week when there hasn't been any! Too muddy for most companies to go to work--and the one Keith's been working for claims that they are just waiting for permits and he should just sit tight... right.

IF they actually call him back soon, I may have found us a new place to park. Up the road a few miles is a National Forest, which has 6 campgrounds--each of which needs a 'volunteer' campground host who 'donates' 24 hours of their time per week, doing stuff like collecting money from the incoming campers, picking up random trash around the campground, answering questions and passing out maps... This job pays nothing--except for a full-hookup site for no fee! For those who don't know, a full-hookup site in a "play" area like the one we're in, goes for $400 or so, plus electricity, every month. The campground we're currently in charges $300 in the winter--we don't know yet what their summer rate is. We do know that with a pool, miniature golf and several "season" campers, it will be a noisy, busy place all summer.... So, if they'll have us, we'll be 'volunteers' this summer! I have PLENTY of time to do the job. :) Stay tuned!

Dogs. WHY do we have 3 dogs? Oh, I remember--we're saps. #3, also known as Hair Ball, Mr. No Nuts, or Trouble is leading everyone a merry chase. There is now NO DOUBT that the little demon inherited a whole lot of Yorkie genes and very few Bichon ones. He's cute, and likes to cuddle and is smart as can be--he's also a 100# dog in a 6# package! And he intends to RULE! He gets on the bed at nite--and chases off any other dog who might try to get up there. We watched him tear into one of his sisters the other nite (she had pounced on the toy he was playing with) and it looked like a wolverine going after a grizzly. Poor Kizzee was trying to escape and he just kept after her! He also thinks he has to chase off anyone who drives into the campground, or walks past, or sneezes, or closes a door.... No one is going to sneak up on US!

I've finished a 45" square quilt top...now I just need to get backing fabric. I've been through my entire fabric stash and there's NOTHING I can use! That's what I get for making an almost normal sized quilt! (Okay, it's a 'lap quilt', but that's normal!) I'm going back to itsy bitsy...those are easy to back. I have lots of 18" pieces in my stash!

Guess I'll start the day....
Dinah

Spring thaw?

After weeks of really cold February, we've moved into the 'slop' stage...everything thawed and it rained and rained. Now you can break a leg trying to navigate the MUD. Have I mentioned that Winter in Indiana stinks? Those 2 winters in Florida seem to have ruined my 'Midwest Tolerance' level!

Keith's been working a full week and then not working, just long enough that he applies for unemployment, and then goes back to work before he gets the unemployment straight! But he's making more than unemployment would pay...if it's averaged out.

We heard a story that there are jobs 'out there' for RV couples to babysit oilwells and get paid for just opening and closing a gate and being a presence onsite. I'm looking for something like that. What we REALLY need is a construction job AND a job as gatekeeper on said job... ;) In a perfect world!

Little "Trouble" is now also known as "Mr. Nonuts", but it hasn't affected his overall attitude. He still thinks he should rule the roost! He's also decided that he should pee outdoors and then 'hold it' and poop behind the recliner after he comes indoors! He's consistent, anyhow.... Can't leave him outdoors until he can't hold it...while he's peeing, he's looking for something to bark at--and as soon as he's done he sets up a horrendous uproar in that little yappie Yorkie-like voice that would wake the dead. And since we are in a 'community', we can't leave him out! The neighbor is feeding 2 stray cats on a regular basis (I'm sure that has to count as having pets?) so they are always around, just out of reach--and all the dogs want them! We have pets because????

I've gotten all caught up in the Genealogy trap! Sucked into Colonial America--and I don't LIKE history! I have spent more time amongst the Scots/Irish and Melungeons and Cherokee and all that stuff than I ever imagined possible! Oh well, it does make the time pass.... Beats watching soaps and judge shows all day! LOL! TV is such a wasteland...

So, back to my Tree...


And yes, that IS the brushed and bathed version! When this was taken, he smelled like a GIRL!

Cabin Fever...

Well, no wonder everyone has been fussing at me about my bloglessness! Dec. 27th? Sheeeeesh!

NOT that there's been anything much of excitement in life-in-the-campground! Hubby worked 3 weeks straight, and then the bottom dropped out of the thermometer and we have been hiding in our cave, trying to stay warm! This deep freeze was a month late--and we can't get anyone to feel sorry for us when the temp drops to zero. Like, those people in South Dakota, or the ones up in Mankato. No sympathy at all! :(

Hubby got so bored sitting around with nothing on tv but soaps and judge shows...so he took his chain saw and a box of matches and started cleaning up on of the many brush piles left over from a tornado in the campground last summer. There's a LOT of downed trees back there that the landlord hasn't gotten to. In fact, we haven't seen the landlord do anything except work on the cabin he's been building ever since we got here... Today it got warmed up enough to start the Big Bird and pump up the flat tire--and then Keith went and loaded up his little pile of firewood and brought it back to the campsite--like we're going to need it??? Won't burn in MY fireplace, for sure!

Little "Trouble" is now often referred to as "Mr. Noballs", for the usual reason! LOL! Didn't slow him down a bit! He still zooms around here like a Tribble on Speed! And occasionally piddles on the floor, and can't stay outdoors long enough to poop (thank goodness for wee-wee pads! Which he will use!) The guy next door is feeding all the stray cats in the campground, plus a few neighborhood beagles that wander through to see what he's tossed out...which causes all three of our little stooges to sit on the back of the couch and make an unholy racket any time any of them walks past. "Trouble" can now make the typical little Yorkie racket--the kind of yapping that makes every nerve cringe! But he's still cuddly--when he has time...

So, we've heard from the Arizona Fulltimers...it was 75 in Yuma today. Down in Texas, Marie is about to get her Mexican dental work finished up. Out in Helper, Al finally decided to see a ENT doc about his likely case of obstructive sleep apnea. None of our Florida friends blew away last week--thank goodness! Out in SD, the temps dropped to -25 once... UGH.

I have a new obsession. JUST what I needed! On a whim, I started looking back through the last few generations to find my Native American roots... and got sucked into GENEALOGY! Never could understand 'those people' who would pour over pictures of old Census records and such...and now I AM ONE! Yikes!

The latest weather report here is calling for RAIN! and then SLEET! and then a few inches of SNOW! And then...... Back to minus nothin' temps, for cryin' out loud!

Well, the birthday boy is talking to his grandkids on the phone and then it's time to head for bed...for some reason, he's supposed to go into the Job tomorrow and wait for it to rain, I guess!

Keep warm....