Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - A Slower Day

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - A Slower Day

We had a light rain move in last night shortly before I headed to bed.  It picked up soon after.  I put my ear plugs in so it would not keep me awake.  I woke up at 4:15 and it was still raining.  I forgot to put water in the Brita pitcher last night, so I had to wait for it to flow through before I could turn the coffeepot on.  

I read blog posts this morning, then went through my emails and cleaned things up a bit.  I've trying to stay on top of this each month.

We are taking the truck to Parsons this morning to have the oil changed and for some routine work.  The appointment is 9:00 at the Chevrolet dealership.  Dean left about 8:15 in the truck and I followed a short time later in the car.  They told him it would take a minimum of 2.5 hours to do the work.  He doesn't want to sit in a waiting room, so we returned to Oswego.  We have things we can do in the mean time.

Since Walmart is right across the road from Chevrolet, I hoped it might not be too busy so I could pick up a couple of things - mainly some type of hand soap.  What we purchased at Walgreen's in NM has been very harsh on my hands.  It's not bothering Dean, but after only three full days my fingers are peeling and sore.  I started using my shampoo last night and it feels a little better today.  When we drove by Walmart, I could see it was too busy for me so I'll just use the shampoo until I can find something different.

When we returned to Oswego, I noticed the parking lot at the grocery store was practically empty.  I dropped Dean off at Bentley, then I drove back to the store.  Fortunately, they had a few bottles of hand soap left so I bought one, plus a large bag of frozen strawberries and juice.  I had not been able to get either of the last two items during prior store visits so I was fortunate to pick up the last few items we needed.  I think we are good for at least a week or more now.

A little after noon, Dean called to see if the truck was ready yet.  They said it would be later in the day before it's done.  They will call us.  Evidently they forgot to order a filter and they were waiting for it to be delivered sometime after lunch.  

I haven't done anything constructive at home today and I'm not sure I will.  It's a beautiful afternoon - we should be walking.  Dean is outside working on the grill.  The last couple of times he used it, it was not heating up like it should.  While it finally got hot enough, he wanted to take a look at it before we use it again.  Evidently this will be my lazy day.  Dean has things he wants to do at the garage tomorrow so I'll get back to my list.  It's okay to rest for a day, right?

It was sometime after 2 when Chevrolet called to say the truck was ready.  I drove the car back to Parsons and dropped Dean off.  He is going to take the truck to a car wash before heading home.  I didn't do anything the rest of the afternoon but look at my phone - playing a game, reading Facebook, looking at Pinterest, and talking to my sister.

When Dean returned he finished working on the grill, cleaning it well and it is now working fine.  At 5 I warmed up leftovers from Sunday evening, did the dishes and now I'm finishing this up for the evening.

It looks like we might have a good sunset...and here it is! 

I made some chocolate chip cookies last night.  I bought a carton of ice cream a few days ago when I was at the store.  We have a cookie each left tonight and plenty of ice cream to go with it.  Yum!

Good night!

Monday, March 30, 2020 - Morning Walk; Getting Things Done---Because I Need To Keep Busy; How A Blog Connection Went Full Circle

Monday, March 30, 2020 - Morning Walk; Getting Things Done---Because I Need To Keep Busy; How A Blog Connection Went Full Circle

I left my window open just a few inches last night since it was still pretty warm.  When I woke up at 4:30 or so, I was COLD!  I laid there awhile, but finally I had to get up.  I shut the window and then turned the furnace up before I made the coffee.  

It sure felt good to post the blog before I went to bed last night.  Being confined, I find I have much more time to get things done.  Typically when we are here, I keep busy quite a lot with family and friends, not that I mind that!  I'm really missing them!!  This morning, I was able to read blogs first thing.  While I do miss the one on one interaction with others, I can keep as busy as I want by myself.  I can always read if there is nothing else to do.  I may even find time to do a puzzle.  I think I have a few in storage at the garage - if I can find them.

After our second cup of coffee we headed to the park.  It was a little cool (55) but there was just a light wind.  I've got a few more pictures to share with you this morning:

Morning sunrise as we entered the park

 Before heading home we took a drive through town.  Dean wanted to get the phone number of the auto repair shop so he could call about having the the car worked on.  He knew it the number was posted at the shop.  He called when we were home.  We can take it in Wednesday morning.  The truck goes in for work tomorrow morning.  Everything seems to happen at once.  

When we returned home I fixed our breakfast shakes.  I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to make shakes.  If I can get frozen fruit we will continue, if not, it will be eggs/bacon or pancakes.  

Before Dean left this morning we put our mat outside.  We plan to grill some hot dogs tonight for dinner, so hopefully we will be able to set outside while Dean cooks them.  It's supposed to rain later this evening.

Before he left after lunch, I asked Dean to show me how to record some shows.  The remote that came with the new satellite is different than the one we had in the house. Since I don't watch much TV I had never tried to record shows with the new one.  I really enjoy some Food Network shows - Pioneer Woman; Trisha Yearwood's show and there is a new one...I can't remember the name but something like Farm Girl?  Then I watched one of Ree's shows from last year that I had not watched before - making pizzas.  Yummm!  Now I want a 3 pepperoni pizza!!!

Love these white puffy clouds - they look like cotton!

I had a few morning chores to do, dishes, change sheets, laundry.  Routine stuff that helps fill the day.  

 I finally added the states to our travel map on Bentley from last summer/fall and this winter.  Wyoming, Montana and California are now on the map.  Dean's been after me to add these, so we'll see how long it takes him to notice.  Lol!

When we visit Matt & family this summer (we sure hope the virus will be contained by then), we hope to pick up a few more eastern states.  

 It's been awhile since I last cleaned the earrings that Dean bought me for our 10th anniversary.  I wear them most of the time.  I put them in a small container of warm water with a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid, then stirred it around a bit.  After several minutes I took a soft brush to them.  They are now sparkling clean again.

We haven't been to Pittsburg since mid-January when we went to see little Jameson before we left.  On our way back we stopped to pick up mail at UPS that had accumulated.  I called today to see if anymore had come in.  There wasn't any, so I guess that means we have been successful in getting everything changed over - I hope!

The tulips opened up more overnight.

 Next on my agenda was to go through my cookbook.  It's has become a bit of a mess so today I fixed that.  I often see something I think sounds good so I'll print it and put it in the book.  I went through all the recipes and threw away maybe 15-20 sheets that I decided I would never make - too many new ingredients would be needed.  Now it will be a little easier to find a recipe when I need it, as I made sure they were divided in to the right topics as well.

 My cookbook consists of two sections:  1) recipes I have gathered since I was first married back in 1974; and 2) a cookbook that my Aunt Lil made of family recipes back in the mid-90's.  It's not just a cookbook as it also includes some family history of the Stapleton and Poor families (my mom's family).  I enjoyed reading through all of the stories again this morning.  I was a little teary eyed thinking of all our family that is gone now.  Going to Grandma Stapleton's was always fun.  She was the best cook!
  

Cover of the Family Cookbook (Stapleton's & Poor's)

I was just putting the last recipes in the the cookbook when Dean returned for lunch.  We've been eating quite a bit lighter at noon.  We typically have meat and cheese with a few crackers, some veggies and an apple.  Dean watched one of his favorite noon shows - Gunsmoke, before heading back to the garage.  This morning he burned the brush that he cut yesterday.  He took the hitch and generator out of the truck this afternoon since we don't plan on going anywhere with Bentley anytime soon.  He ran the generator for awhile, and checked on the brush pile after he returned from lunch.  He always finds something to do, like I do here.

Do you see the steps in the middle of the trees?

These are the steps going down.  Towards the bottom there is a bridge, then you can walk up the other side of the ravine (the steps in the picture above).  This is known as Lover's Lane at our City Park.  I haven't been down it in years.  

This tree really popped overnight!  

My next project for today is to go through our files to see what I can move to our file cabinet at the garage.  I need to work on our income tax but that will wait until tomorrow when I have nothing else to do, so I can focus on it.

My story about how blogs can go full circle:  While we were staying at Pilot Knob in Winterhaven, CA we met up with friends of my sister Crystal.  When we visited with Sharon and Larry at their RV, I remembered to tell Sharon I had received a message from "Joyce" asking me to tell Sharon hello when we saw them.  I didn't know who Joyce was, but she lived in the same town as Sharon and she thought she had met my sister Crystal once when she worked in the Courthouse.  Both Joyce and Sharon worked there at the time.  Are you following me?  When I told Sharon she knew exactly who I was talking about, but she didn't realize she also followed our blog.  I never thought anything more about this.  A few days ago my step-dad's niece posted she was in the ER at a hospital near where she lived.  I commented on her post.  Later that day or the next day Joyce sent me a note that she seen I had commented on her daugher-in-law's post per her ER visit.  I explained to her I had known Michelle since she was just a child - that her uncle is my step-dad (her mom's brother).  In a second note I mentioned Dan (her son) and Michelle had even visited us while we were in the park at Oswego a while back.   She had no idea Michelle and I had a connection, and until then I didn't know who Joyce actually was.  I find this so interesting and fun, how our blog brought Joyce and I together in a mutual connection, yet we already had a connection that neither of us knew anything about until my comment on Michelle's FB page.  

When Dean came home, he wanted to know if I wanted to take a ride before we had dinner.  Sure, I would.  We took a drive east of town and drove out near Hallowell and Faulkner just looking around.  It started to rain shortly after we left town and is still raining (7:51pm now).
He had planned to grill hot dogs for dinner, so I cut them in half and cooked them in a skillet on both sides.  We added the condiments we liked and added a few potato chips with it.  Later we had a chocolate chip cookie and a dip of ice cream.  A nice easy meal.

We watched TV and I visited with my sister Cindy on the phone before we called it a night.

Sunday, March 29, 2020 - Morning Walk; Chores at Home for Me, At the Garage for Dean; Online Church: Laundry & Cooking; American Idol

Sunday, March 29, 2020 - Morning Walk; Chores at Home for Me, At the Garage for Dean; Online Church: Laundry & Cooking; American Idol

I woke up a little after 5, but laid in bed for awhile.  I just wasn't ready to get up yet.  Pretty soon here came the diesel.  This time he must have went to the door as I could hear someone knocking, knocking and knocking.  Finally, his co-worker either came to the door and they left, or he just left without him.  I'm not sure which. 

I came downstairs and made the coffee.  It was quite a bit cooler this morning in the mid-40's but I think it's supposed to warm up this afternoon.  After I went to the grocery store the other day, I realized I needed several other items.  After having my first cup of coffee, I changed, put my ball cap on and headed to the store.  Since I went off and left my list laying on the table, my memory served me well this time and I managed to get everything I needed.  I think we will be good for the next 2 weeks for sure and might be able to stretch into the third week, except for things like milk, eggs, etc.  

Back home I enjoyed another cup of coffee before we left to walk in the park.  There was a little more wind this morning but after our first lap we were warmed up.  Of course, I took a few more pictures to share:

In 2 days, look.... the red buds are blooming

City crews put this nice fence up around the swimming pool filters.

 I'm not sure if anyone even drove through the park while we were there this morning.  It was cool but a gorgeous day.

I wish the red buds stayed all summer  - they are so pretty.

After we returned, we had our morning shakes, then I started laundry.  Soon Dean headed to the garage.  Once my morning chores were done, I set down to finish yesterday's blog post.  I just couldn't get into it yesterday.  Dean is cutting some limbs and brush around the property and this afternoon he will gather them up to burn later.

Notice the tulips in the center flower area.

City crews mowed on Friday.  The park looks great!

 I tuned into our church online service this morning.  It sure is short without announcements, music, specials, children's time, etc. but as usual Jim did a good job.  Dean tried to watch it from the garage but it wouldn't connect.  

This is one of the shelter houses in our park.  Enlarge these pictures to see the rock designs.  

 Once Dean returned at noon, we had a quick lunch, then he headed back to the garage.  When he finishes his work in the yard, he'll call me so I can meet him to cut his hair.

You can see from the flag blowing in the wind why it was a little cooler this morning.

Leaves are starting to appear on the trees! 

 I'm going to make "Momma's Easy No Yeast Dinner Rolls" this afternoon.  It only makes a few rolls, so I'm anxious to see how they come out.  I'll TRY to remember to take pictures, and if we like them I'll share the recipe.

Good morning from Oswego Riverside Park!

Dinner tonight is hamburger steaks cooked in mushroom soup.  My friend Kathy made this for me many, many years ago when I visited her.  At that time I think her oldest son Johnny was a year old or so.  Marc was probably 6 months.  I loved this meal and made it several times over the years; but I don't remember if I've ever made it for Dean.  Kathy, do you remember this?  I have a picture of the two boys sitting on her couch together.  It seems so long ago. 

It was time to make the easy biscuits that I mentioned in yesterday's blog.  It made just enough batter to fill my silicone cupcake pan (6 rolls).  It took me about 10 minutes from start to finish to mix it up, then 20 minutes in the convection oven.  They look pretty good.  

I think they might have too much baking powder in them, but otherwise they taste good.

The recipe said to bake for 18-20 minutes.  I think I would try 21-22 minutes, as the bottoms weren't very brown, however they were done.

Here's the recipe:
Momma's Easy No Yeast Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:  1 cup flour; 1 tsp Baking Powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup milk; 2 Tbls Mayo

Steps:  Combine all ingredients in bowl, spoon into a greased muffin pan.  Bake at 375 F for 18-20 minutes or till done and golden brown.  


So I have to confess and tell you what I did, even though I am embarrassed to do so.  I used a Tablespoon of baking powder instead of a teaspoon, so its no wonder it has a strong baking powder taste.  I'm anxious to try them again because other than the slight after taste they were pretty good.  Quick and easy.

Todd stopped to talk to me while he was out mowing.  We were having a nice conversation when Dean called to say he was ready for me to cut his hair.  I drove to the shop and soon had that done.  While I was there I asked him if he found the mat to put out at Bentley.  He said come upstairs and help me find it.  He just wanted to show me he had put lights upstairs.  We bought 4 new lights to put downstairs.  He had already installed two. Today he installed two more.  The two older ones that he took down, were then moved upstairs.  There were no lights up here before, so it will be great to have light when we are looking for a specific item.

If I don't make a note for the blog sometimes I forget about things that occurred during the day.  Yesterday, we talked to several of our grand-kids.  It was so nice to hear their voices, and what they have been doing to fill their time while being out of school for the rest of the year.  Starting Monday their "official spring break" will be over, and they will begin doing online studies.  It will be an interesting time for them all.  It was also Grandson Tucker's 17th birthday.  Tucker and his dad (Brett) went hiking and camping in Arkansas.  They had planned to stay over Saturday night as well.  However, the weather forecast was not good so they finished their hike earlier Saturday morning and came on home.  

Dean returned from the garage near 5:30.  I readied everything and as soon as I heard him pull in the drive, I began to finish up our meal.  I browned hamburger patties, then let them cook over low heat in a mixture of cream of mushroom soup, and a package of brown gravy mix with 1 cup of water.  While that was finishing, buttered corn was heating in the microwave and mashed potatoes were almost done.  We each had one of the biscuits I made earlier with butter and honey.  (The honey provided a great improvement.)  Best part, there is enough for another day this week.  

We are settled in now to watch American Idol.  I ran out to take this sunset picture. 

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have a place we can park near family, and even though we can't spend time with each other right now, we know everyone is nearby and only a phone call away.

Saturday, March 28, 2020 - Blue Saturday; More Rain & Wind; Our Site; Stay in Place Order; Movies

Saturday, March 28, 2020 - Blue Saturday; More Rain & Wind; Our Site; Stay in Place Order; Movies

This morning we received heartbreaking news.  We received word that a dear friend and member of one of the RV groups we belong to passed last night after being diagnosed with this horrible virus.  His wife also it.  Fortunately, she is recovering well, but we are heartsick at the loss of her husband and our friend.  Hearing his name I think of football, quilts, smoking meat and his family.  When a local football game was playing he'd have his phone tuned in to listen to it online at our camp-out each October, updating us all the way.  He made many, many beautiful and amazing quilts and was always sharing pictures of those he had finished, making each of his kids and grand-kids at least one if not more.  He almost always smoked some kind of meat for us when he and his wife hosted one of our camp-outs.  We will miss you Phil!  Hugs and much love to Janelle and their family.  We love you all!

Janelle and Phil at a rally

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It was shortly after 5 when I woke this morning.  We slept with the bedroom windows open last night.  I was already awake when I heard a truck start up, then drive around the road behind us, stopping nearby.  It set there for quite awhile.  He finally honked his horn, and soon after that I heard a door shut and he left.  Someone must have overslept this morning.  Lol!

Other than a few mobile home tenants and us, everyone else currently in the park are part of two crews working on projects in the area.  We rarely here any noise from these guys and when we do it's usually just a diesel truck starting.  There is one guy that has one of those obnoxious horns.  We've heard it twice, but he must be at the other end of the park, and he's only done it during the day.  We are so thankful to have a spot here.  We are parked at the far east and south side of the park.  Occasionally someone will drive around the road by us when they leave, however most of the rigs in this row, have their trucks parked on the north side, so they take a different road out of the park.  If we had to find a park with full hookups I'm not sure where we would be right now.

Shortly after I got up, I heard heavy but infrequent rain drops, and then the sky opened and it rained for at least 2-3 hours.  The wind blew, with a few hefty gusts.  It settled down soon and other than being a little cooler it turned out to be a gorgeous day. 

Last night I mentioned I had bought some bacon.  Immediately, Dean hinted at a "real" breakfast tomorrow, so this morning we had bacon, hash browns and eggs.  It was pretty tasty, however when we eat breakfast at a restaurant, we do enjoy our toast or a biscuit.  Since we do not make sandwiches any longer, and I don't have room to freeze a loaf of bread, I did a little research on Pinterest for a small portion, easy, no yeast bread/roll recipe.  I found one and will try it tomorrow.

I took these pictures from our site.  I was standing on the top step outside when I took this picture.  The tree/fence row is Todd's property line. 

Directly across from us.

Panoramic view from across the street.

Our yard.

While the space is small, we have plenty of room for our grill and chairs in our little outdoor area.  I imagine we have more space than we do at many RV Parks and with little traffic on this road, we feel like we have the park to ourselves.  We've never put our mat out while we've been here before, but I noticed many of the rigs have them, so I asked Todd if it would be alright.  Sure he said, and offered us some blocks if we needed them to hold it down.  Dean was at the garage working, so I called to see if he would bring the mat home when he returned.  He never answered.  After a second call to him a short time later, it wasn't but a minute or so until he pulled in the drive.  When he came inside, I asked him why he didn't answer his phone.  As soon as it rang, he picked it up to answer, and his phone was dead.  We need to find an extra cord, or buy one that he can keep at the garage.  He said I figured if I didn't answer you would be coming down to check on me so I just came home. 

I was on the phone with my sister, when my son sent me a text our Governor was holding a press conference today at 11.  We both figured she would probably put a "stay in place" order on those who are not providing essential services.  Kansas had been in pretty good shape, but now we are seeing several more cases every day.  We listened to the press conference and that is exactly what she did.  It becomes effective at 12:01am Monday, March 30 until Sunday, April 16.  I pray that people will abide by it.  

We had a quick lunch, then Dean headed back to the garage.  I worked on a few things around here, but most of the afternoon I didn't do much of anything.  I guess it was my resting time.  I had planned to make a different meal for tonight, but once Dean returned I wasn't in the mood any longer, so we had leftovers from last night.  I'll save the hamburger I took out of the freezer for tomorrow evening.  

After dinner, we took a short drive before we returned home.  We watched a couple of movies.  The first one was "Mr. What?"  It was a great movie even though it was not what most would consider theater quality - but the story line was great.  We followed it with another called "As Far As The Eye Can See".  Both good movies, with "Mr. What?" being my favorite of the two.  

Friday, March 27, 2020 - A Busy Day for Both of Us

Friday, March 27, 2020 - A Busy Day For Both of Us

I woke up at 5:45!  The fresh air must have been a great sleeping aide.  I wanted to be at the grocery store as close to 6am as possible, so I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, got dressed and drove across the highway to the store.  It's convenient being so close to a grocery store.  I was able to get everything I wanted except frozen chicken tenderloins.  Instead I bought some chicken thighs/legs.  They will be great for grilling.

Back home, we had our coffee and then walked our 2 miles.  It seems like the time just flies by while we are at the park. 

The trees are starting to bloom, brightening things up in the park.

After breakfast, Dean headed to the garage.  He's a man on a mission to get the garage in order the way he wants it.  I had a list of things to do here as well.  First was to vacuum while it was still cool outside.

I was going to call Dean to remind him to bring the cooler back from the garage so I could use it to store frozen items while I defrost the freezer, when I noticed his phone was still laying next to his chair.  He also forgot to take his large glass of water this morning.  So before I left, I made him a glass of water, grabbed his phone and headed to the shop.  When I got there I told him I wanted to make sure he brought the cooler home, but of course, he had already loaded it in the truck.  

We missed the sunrise, but there is a shade of pink above the trees.

The tulip tree is still blooming!

Dean is such an organizer.  His garage is so nice and neat - well, unless he's in the middle of a project.  Once it's done though, he likes everything to go right back where it belongs.  He still has a few more organizing to do, lights to hang, etc. but he's made great use of the space.  We need to have some rock hauled in for the driveway to the garage.  He would also like to get the water hooked up, so those are a couple of projects will be looking into soon.  We wish we could just move Bentley to the lot, but right now that is not an option.

After returning home I wanted to proof yesterday's blog.  I was just too tired to finish it last night.  I was almost done, when Dean pulled in.  He brought the cooler inside, and while he made lunch I unloaded everything from the freezer.  I shut off the refrigerator, then set two bowls of hot water inside for about an hour and a half.  Of all the things I dislike about this RV, it's how bad this freezer frosts up.  I defrost it about every 3 months, but the good news is -- it's done for another 3 months.  


Before:

After:

Dean left after lunch, taking my car to the garage.  We've noticed the right front tire/area has started making noise that doesn't sound right.  He wants to take a look at it and see if he can figure out what is going on. You always hope car/truck repairs will not be expensive, but I'm not sure that's even possible anymore.  I'll hope for the best.

I had some leftover pie crusts from a few months ago.  I wanted to get them out of the freezer.  Fortunately, I had bought a can of LuckyLeaf peach pie filling quite awhile ago.  So now I'm waiting for the convection oven to reach 425 so I can bake it.  Peach is Dean's favorite fruit, so I think he'll be happy!  Too bad he won't have any ice cream to eat with it.  Of course, he might be willing to go to the store to get it!

The pie is in the oven.  Tonight I am making chicken stir fry for dinner with a side of rice.  We are looking forward to it as it has become a favorite meal.

Peach Pie

Dean just returned from the garage to give me the bad news on the car.  The strut is bad and needs to be replaced.  He did some research and the recommendation is to replace both if one goes bad.  We'll look in to that a little further.  We've put over 13,000 miles on the car in less than a year, saving us almost 3/4 of the cost of the car in saved diesel fuel.  With this repair, hopefully it will keep running for several more years.  

It is beginning to cloud up at 3:30.  I just checked our weather app.  There is a 40% chance of rain at 4:00pm, but when I checked the radar, it doesn't look like it will actually reach us.  I hope not as we have many days of rain forecast in the next couple of weeks.  The ground is just beginning to dry out from the rains a few days ago.  It is almost 4:00 now and it's sunny again, it did miss us.  Dean went back to the garage for another hour or so.

I prepped as much as I could for our evening meal, waiting for Dean to get back to finish it up.  Once he returned it that didn't take long to finish it up.  I didn't think it tasted quite as good as the last couple of times I made it, but it was still good.  Afterwards, Dean helped me do the dishes and I sure appreciated it.

Staying at home is sure providing lots of time for Dean and I to get things done; me here in Bentley and Dean at the garage.  We sure miss our missing the kids and grandkids though.  

I'm thankful for the wonderful weather we've had this week.  It's been nice to get outside in warm weather.  Thanks to everyone who follows along!  I appreciate each one of you.  I'd love to hear from you if you care to comment.

Thursday, March 26, 2020 - Beautiful Day for A Walk; Cleaning Bentley; Changes to the Blog; Visiting the Garage; Dinner on the Grill

Thursday, March 26, 2020 - Beautiful Day for A Walk; Cleaning Bentley; Changes to the Blog; Visiting the Garage; Dinner on the Grill.

I was awake at 5 this morning.  I had originally planned to go to our local grocery store this morning at 6.  Senior shopping is being offered from 6-7am each morning.  I still need a few things and I prefer buying my meat here.  I just wasn't in the mood to go, so I'll plan to go tomorrow morning instead.

We walked again, and it was a beautiful morning.  My battery was too low to bring my phone along, so there are no pictures today.  I love the mornings when we walk and we talk so much that the 2 miles just fly by!  Yes, it was one of those days.

After our shake, I straightened things up and Dean left for the garage.  He is rearranging  the layout.  It may change another time or two before he is satisfied!  He took time to bring our gravity loungers to Bentley.  While sitting in the garage all winter, we discovered there was quite a bit of mildew/mold on them.  He wet those with vinegar and let them set for the next couple of hours.  When he returned shortly before lunch he used a brush to really go over them, then used something else to finish cleaning them (can't remember what that was). They look great this evening, and we enjoyed sitting in them for awhile.

I spent the morning dusting - a good thorough dusting from top to bottom with my long handled duster, then dusted the furniture and cleaned the bathroom.  It started getting warm, so I will vacuum in the morning while it is still cool outside.  

We need to purchase a lawnmower to take care of our property.  We talked about it quite a bit these past few months.  He loves to mow, and I am encouraging him to get a mower now.  He noticed Todd had mowed here in the park yesterday evening, as well as several others around town.  I can tell he's ready to make a decision on what he would to buy, but it's hard for him to spend that kind of money.  We'll see how long he holds out!

I read a number of RV related blogs.  On my main blog page for Travels With Bentley I have a list of blogs that I follow in alphabetical order.  I've noticed that several of the blogs I follow do not list them alphabetical.  The blog names that post are at the top and the heading is a different color than ones that have already been read.  I wanted to make this change.  I spent some time trying to figure it out but was not having any success.  Patsy with Chillin' with Patsy had her blogs listed this way, so I sent her an email to see if she could help me out.  She sent me a copy of the page I needed to add, and with a little work I soon had the first one posted, and adding the rest were quite easy after that.  Now, I can open my blog page every morning (or whenever I have time) to read the most recent posts right from there.  

We had a quick lunch, then Dean had some errands to run before he returned to the garage.    

I needed to pick up a few things from Cindy, stop by the meat locker, and the post office to see if we had any mail.   Dean mentioned I could stop by the garage to see what he had been doing, so I did that first.  He has two large metal cabinets that he moved to a different location.  It really opened up good space where he needed it.  He had picked up some flyers on mowers from the local hardware store and showed those to me, pointing out pluses and minuses with them.  

From there I made my first stop at the meat locker.  I love Fanestil meats and we've been eating their party time ham and turkey for years.  I didn't realize the Locker's hot dogs were also Fanestil and while I was there I noticed they were packaging bacon - also from Fanestil.  I purchased a pound of it as well.  It's only two blocks to the post office, where I expected we had some mail, but nothing has arrived yet.  On to Cindy's to drop off her hot dogs and pick up a few things she had for me.   We kept our distance and visited for a few minutes before I headed back home.

We grilled a couple of the hot dogs on the grill for dinner along with a small bag each of chips.  I made some butterscotch pudding for an evening snack and spent the rest of the evening in front of the TV.  I remember waking up shortly before 10 and thinking I need to go to bed.  It was such a nice evening, we left the windows open to enjoy the evening breeze.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020 - Morning Walk; Marking Off The To Do List; Quiet Evening

Wednesday, March 25, 2020 - Morning Walk; Marking Off The To Do List; Quiet Evening

Dean and I drove to the park to do our 2 mile morning walk again this morning.  I hope the weather holds out to allow us to walk every day.  I know we have more rain in the forecast in the next few days, but you never know what that weather is going to do.  

God Bless America!  

Upon our return to Bentley, I made our shakes before I started a day of laundry.  Four loads later, my laundry basket was empty!  I wonder how long it will take to fill it again?  At least there are just the 2 of us now, and not 8 of us like when we were first married.  Lol!  Actually of all the household chores laundry is the only one I can say I enjoy.  

I spent quite a bit of time on the phone visiting with friends and family today.  I called my Uncle Richard (my mom's brother).  He wasn't at home but I had a nice visit with his wife Joyce.  It was good to visit with her and catch up on what they've been doing since we've been gone.  In the meantime U Richard returned, and I was able to visit with him for a few minutes too.  I love these two so much!

My phone rung shortly after hanging up and it was the President of our local Escapees group.  With all of the social distancing we are to follow, it was decided to cancel the April casual campout that Dean and I was to host.  Dean and I had talked about it last night and I was going to call Alvin this morning to visit with him about it - so it was an easy decision.  Next I called the park to let them know of the change.  Fortunately, they fully understood our decision.  After that I posted information to our group Facebook page to let everyone know of the cancellation.

We have tentatively made plans to visit Dean's son Matt and his family in June.  They live near Niagara Falls.  Our plan is to arrive in time to see Josh and Sarah play summer ball.  There is an RV Park located nearby their home, so I called this morning to ask about their cancellation policy.  Since they only have a 3 day cancellation, I made the reservation for June 26-July 5.  We hope the virus will be under control and we'll be able to go, but if not we'll try to reschedule at a later date.

Pretty sunlight on the trees in Riverside Park this morning.

After lunch I called Marc's children, Kamron and Jaxson to visit with them for a little bit, then followed up with a call to my daughter Misti to catch up with her.  My next call was to my cousin Jim.  I've been concerned about his wife since I knew she would be having hip surgery soon.  I was glad to find out the first of two surgeries is scheduled for Monday.  He caught me up with his family, including his mom (my Great-Aunt Naomi) who will be 97 next week.  She is in an assisted living center and as is the case with most centers, families cannot visit right now.  They are able to Facetime with her occasionally and was able to do that recently.  He told me another cousin had recently had back surgery.  I wasn't aware of that so I'll give her a call in the next week or so, giving her sometime to recover a bit.

Later I called my friend Betsy and we had a nice visit.  It's been almost a year since I last saw her, so we had quite a bit of catching up to do.

Tomorrow I have another list of things to do - but those include some real "physical" work!

We settled in for some TV and neither of us were able to make it to 10 tonight.  That talking is hard work - it wore me out!

I'm so thankful for my family and friends.  What a blessing they are to both of us.