I have had a little brown-out spell in my blogging, because I've been unable to post! I was getting an error message from Blogger when I went to the New Post page. Anyway, here I am, at long last.
The past month has been eventful! On June 16, Jack and I took Ruby (the RV) and Eddie (the cat) down to Brownsburg, Indiana, and parked Ruby in front of Annette and Steve's house. Annette's my sis, for those of you who have not figured that out, and we had told them that we'd build them a deck. This was to be a thank you for their having helped me with moving my stuff out, and for their keeping my things in storage all this time.
So that's what we did! On Tuesday, we drove down, Wednesday we completed the plans and ordered the wood, and on Thursday, we got the delivery from Menard's at 7 am! Jack and Steve and I worked on digging holes for posts, putting concrete blocks down at the bottom of these holes, putting in posts, backfilling, installing beams and then joists, and finally the deck boards.
This was no simple deck, but included also a full pergola with beams, joists, and lattice, 3 staircases, railings, a bench, and a little corner table. It's 16' x 18'. It took us 2 weeks to build it. Then we took a couple of days to go to Bloomington to visit a couple of people and to conduct some important business. Then we returned to Brownsburg for the 4th of July. We got to visit with Annette's son and daughter and their kids, and that was fun.
While we were there, we did a little house-hunting, too. We found one that we really like, and we actually put an offer on it. There's another offer on it, and it's what they call a "short sale," so it's far from a sure thing for us. But it's a great house and I really hope that we get it! Brownsburg is just west of Indianapolis -- a city that I've loved forever. It's where Annette lives, but, other than them, we don't know anyone else, so we'd be starting fresh.
I got my RV licensed while we were there, too. Michigan wanted all sorts of proof of residence in order to do that, and I didn't have the documents. So.. whatever. I'll just be an Indiana girl.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Rising Stars
It is a sad day today for me, with Farah Faucett and Michael Jackson both dying today. I loved Michael Jackson's showmanship and music, his dancing, his look. Of course, things got weird for him, and maybe he got weird, too, but I believe still that the world will miss the music that he had yet to make.
While Farah's death was expected, it still reminds us of our own mortality. She was once so beautiful and so strong. I respect how she journaled very openly till her death about her feelings.
Ed McMahon's deaths also came this week. So while everything else is going well for me, this is kind of a sad day.
While Farah's death was expected, it still reminds us of our own mortality. She was once so beautiful and so strong. I respect how she journaled very openly till her death about her feelings.
Ed McMahon's deaths also came this week. So while everything else is going well for me, this is kind of a sad day.
Monday, June 15, 2009
A beautiful day
Today is a gorgeous blue-sky, birds-singing day! Jack and I are busily getting the RV ready for another journey! We will be leaving tomorrow for Indiana to visit Annette and her family. One cool thing that we've done is that Jack built cabinets for the cabover area of the RV. Here are some photos, starting with after we got the bed taken out:
He built a cover for the "nose" part of the floor, so that our stuff wouldn't get sucked into never-never land!
He wired up a new plug for me, using the old plug that's now behind the cabinets:
And here are the finished cabinets. They are made of maple wood and birch plywood doors. That's aluminum flashing trim between the cabinets and it goes well with the trim that we have on the other cabinets! I'm amazed at how well the wood matches what we already have.
We went to the Blessing of the Boats party at Harold & Kathy's on Friday afternoon. It was great fun, with 10 of us going down the river from Harold's to Paris Park in kayaks and canoes. The river was high and fast and the day was, while not sunny, also not too hot or cold and not rainy. :) There was a wonderful picnic afterwards, and music around the fire.
We've been parked at Jack's house for the past few days, while he has been working on the cabinets. As he's done that, I've been working in the house. I got one countertop in the kitchen cleared and cleaned. I've cleared out the buffet and part of the dining table. Because we don't know yet what to do with all the stuff, I'm making piles, organizing the randomness a bit, and tossing the outright garbage, outdated food, and things that have been chewed up by rodents.
He built a cover for the "nose" part of the floor, so that our stuff wouldn't get sucked into never-never land!
He wired up a new plug for me, using the old plug that's now behind the cabinets:
And here are the finished cabinets. They are made of maple wood and birch plywood doors. That's aluminum flashing trim between the cabinets and it goes well with the trim that we have on the other cabinets! I'm amazed at how well the wood matches what we already have.
We went to the Blessing of the Boats party at Harold & Kathy's on Friday afternoon. It was great fun, with 10 of us going down the river from Harold's to Paris Park in kayaks and canoes. The river was high and fast and the day was, while not sunny, also not too hot or cold and not rainy. :) There was a wonderful picnic afterwards, and music around the fire.
We've been parked at Jack's house for the past few days, while he has been working on the cabinets. As he's done that, I've been working in the house. I got one countertop in the kitchen cleared and cleaned. I've cleared out the buffet and part of the dining table. Because we don't know yet what to do with all the stuff, I'm making piles, organizing the randomness a bit, and tossing the outright garbage, outdated food, and things that have been chewed up by rodents.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Fun on the Muskeegon
What a great day today was! We awoke to -- get this -- SUNSHINE! First sun we've seen in several days. After Jack got back from his morning meeting, we loaded up the truck with more stuff and then drove it up to the Osceola County dump off 2-mile road. While it was $10 more to dump there, they are much easier to get to, and the access to the site was easier. Yucky job, nevertheless.
We took the truck and gassed her up, washed it, and returned it to Chuck and Kay. What a really important and wonderfully thoughtful thing they are doing, letting us use their truck! (And the answer to "why not just get a dumpster?" is this: It's over $300 for the first WEEK, and then a daily charge thereafter. As long as we would need it, it just wouldn't be practical .. not for this job.)
After that, we came back to Ruby, changed and gathered some provisions, and headed back out. This time, we were off to Paris to meet some friends, and arrange logistics for kayaking!
We set sail and kayaked from Harold's house near Hersey down to Paris Park. Great fun on a fine day. While there were clouds, the temperature was perfect. The water was high and fast, and there actually were some small rapids in places. How I do love kayaking!
We made our way back up to Harold's with the kayaks on trailers, and then set up food for our feast. Brats on the grill, potatoes, salads, pie and cookies left us all happily full. The Tres Amigos (3 of the guys) played and sang, and a good time was enjoyed by all!
We took the truck and gassed her up, washed it, and returned it to Chuck and Kay. What a really important and wonderfully thoughtful thing they are doing, letting us use their truck! (And the answer to "why not just get a dumpster?" is this: It's over $300 for the first WEEK, and then a daily charge thereafter. As long as we would need it, it just wouldn't be practical .. not for this job.)
After that, we came back to Ruby, changed and gathered some provisions, and headed back out. This time, we were off to Paris to meet some friends, and arrange logistics for kayaking!
We set sail and kayaked from Harold's house near Hersey down to Paris Park. Great fun on a fine day. While there were clouds, the temperature was perfect. The water was high and fast, and there actually were some small rapids in places. How I do love kayaking!
We made our way back up to Harold's with the kayaks on trailers, and then set up food for our feast. Brats on the grill, potatoes, salads, pie and cookies left us all happily full. The Tres Amigos (3 of the guys) played and sang, and a good time was enjoyed by all!
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Should I Retire?
I got this question from a fellow in my Navion Yahoo group. He was wanting to hear opinions on this topic as he considers his own path. Here is my response:
Hi, JD!
I am writing from the other side. I mean.. I wish that I'd been able to convince my dear husband to retire and hit the road with me full-time sooner. Now, don't get me wrong; we had lots of travel time together. Michael and I traveled together for 25 years, going on month-long journeys across this country every year, in various RV's. We saw all four corners of the country, spending at least one night in every state of the union, except Alaska.
He'd promised that he'd retire when he was 59 1/2, but that day came and went and he did not retire. 62 came and went. Finally, he said that he'd retire on October 10, 2006. He was 63. But on August 15, 2006, we found out that he had a brain tumor. A malignant brain tumor -- the sort of thing that does not get better.
We had 14 more months together, full-time, since he was no longer able to work. We did continue to travel, although I was now doing all the driving, all the hooking and unhooking, and making all the arrangements. Just 6 months before he died, we traded our 38' RV in on our little Navion, and he and I traveled 8,000 miles in that, before he became too incapacitated to travel.
Now, don't be sorry for me, please. :) Michael and I had 25 wonderful years, and, while it was shortened, his life was happy and good. We were fortunate in so many ways.
My point in sharing this is to say, without hesitation, "DO IT." If you have things that you want to do, do them. Dance like no one's looking, because no one is. Say "I love you," more. Laugh all you can. Learn something new today. Look at each other more. Love each other. And, yes, retire. No one ever lay on his death bed saying, "I wish I'd spent more time at work.
Of course, we all are going to die. But don't die before reaching for that dream for yourself.
Retirement's like a long weekend. I daresay you don't get to the end of the weekend with relief, because you were bored over the weekend! The only people who are bored in retirement are those who are bored with work and life in general. Bored = boring. If you're interesting, you'll be interested, no matter what you do.
Good luck to you!
Hi, JD!
I am writing from the other side. I mean.. I wish that I'd been able to convince my dear husband to retire and hit the road with me full-time sooner. Now, don't get me wrong; we had lots of travel time together. Michael and I traveled together for 25 years, going on month-long journeys across this country every year, in various RV's. We saw all four corners of the country, spending at least one night in every state of the union, except Alaska.
He'd promised that he'd retire when he was 59 1/2, but that day came and went and he did not retire. 62 came and went. Finally, he said that he'd retire on October 10, 2006. He was 63. But on August 15, 2006, we found out that he had a brain tumor. A malignant brain tumor -- the sort of thing that does not get better.
We had 14 more months together, full-time, since he was no longer able to work. We did continue to travel, although I was now doing all the driving, all the hooking and unhooking, and making all the arrangements. Just 6 months before he died, we traded our 38' RV in on our little Navion, and he and I traveled 8,000 miles in that, before he became too incapacitated to travel.
Now, don't be sorry for me, please. :) Michael and I had 25 wonderful years, and, while it was shortened, his life was happy and good. We were fortunate in so many ways.
My point in sharing this is to say, without hesitation, "DO IT." If you have things that you want to do, do them. Dance like no one's looking, because no one is. Say "I love you," more. Laugh all you can. Learn something new today. Look at each other more. Love each other. And, yes, retire. No one ever lay on his death bed saying, "I wish I'd spent more time at work.
Of course, we all are going to die. But don't die before reaching for that dream for yourself.
Retirement's like a long weekend. I daresay you don't get to the end of the weekend with relief, because you were bored over the weekend! The only people who are bored in retirement are those who are bored with work and life in general. Bored = boring. If you're interesting, you'll be interested, no matter what you do.
Good luck to you!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Pitter Patter
This is the color of the grass and leaves where we are, in Paris Park, just north of Big Rapids. This was a lazy day for us, as we awoke to rain, falling heavily onto Ruby's roof, creating small lakes in the grass around us.
We've had a good weekend. On Saturday, we participated in the church's "work day," and stayed busy till about noon. I mostly trimmed trees and tore out vines around the edge of the parking lot. Today I can feel this in my arms! After the work, we all went to Pizzeria Vivo -- that new Italian place! It was fabulous again.
After that, we went out to "the house," where we did more work in the garage/workshop. Jack was flattening out the rails and stiles for the cabinet that he's making for Ruby's cabover area. I also did a load of clothes, and pulled stuff out of one of the cabinets in the kitchen. Urf. There were some VERY old spices in there. At this rate, it'll take me another 3 weeks just to get through the kitchen.
Sunday was church and then a potluck to honor Pastor Jon's 30th anniversary of his ordination. He is much-loved here and it was a happy occasion!
It was beginning to look rainified, so we decided to go to a movie in downtown Big Rapids. Night at the Museum II was playing, and we heard it was good, so off we went. $12.50 for matinee tickets. And ... are you sitting down? LOL it was $13.00 for 2 bags of popcorn. Just popcorn. And it wasn't even all that good. Sheesh. Jack says "That won't happen again!"
Last evening, we played dominoes till we were tired of it. We both love Mexican Train. :)
Thank goodness the rain held out till today, when it's been coming down in buckets nearly all day! We've just hung around here, mostly. Jack made a plan for Annette's deck and then we put together a materials list. Then we went shopping at Lowe's and Menard's to see who's got the best stuff and the best prices at this time. (they vary.) Looks like Menard's is gonna win, Annette! You DO have a Menard's down there, don't you? (Yes, looking at Menards.com, I find that there are a couple that are close! :))
We've had a good weekend. On Saturday, we participated in the church's "work day," and stayed busy till about noon. I mostly trimmed trees and tore out vines around the edge of the parking lot. Today I can feel this in my arms! After the work, we all went to Pizzeria Vivo -- that new Italian place! It was fabulous again.
After that, we went out to "the house," where we did more work in the garage/workshop. Jack was flattening out the rails and stiles for the cabinet that he's making for Ruby's cabover area. I also did a load of clothes, and pulled stuff out of one of the cabinets in the kitchen. Urf. There were some VERY old spices in there. At this rate, it'll take me another 3 weeks just to get through the kitchen.
Sunday was church and then a potluck to honor Pastor Jon's 30th anniversary of his ordination. He is much-loved here and it was a happy occasion!
It was beginning to look rainified, so we decided to go to a movie in downtown Big Rapids. Night at the Museum II was playing, and we heard it was good, so off we went. $12.50 for matinee tickets. And ... are you sitting down? LOL it was $13.00 for 2 bags of popcorn. Just popcorn. And it wasn't even all that good. Sheesh. Jack says "That won't happen again!"
Last evening, we played dominoes till we were tired of it. We both love Mexican Train. :)
Thank goodness the rain held out till today, when it's been coming down in buckets nearly all day! We've just hung around here, mostly. Jack made a plan for Annette's deck and then we put together a materials list. Then we went shopping at Lowe's and Menard's to see who's got the best stuff and the best prices at this time. (they vary.) Looks like Menard's is gonna win, Annette! You DO have a Menard's down there, don't you? (Yes, looking at Menards.com, I find that there are a couple that are close! :))
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Pickin' & Grinnin'
We've been picking through the garage at Jack's house today, making room for a someday garage sale or huge donation to Goodwill. What a job! The garage is full of, not only Jack's workshop, but also a huge stash of food. And one thing that I've learned is that food and garages don't mix very well.
Some of the canned goods seemed fine, but other stuff is oozing out of the edges. Many cans are dented or outdated. The boxed stuff is all hopeless, having been chewed into, outdated, or just ... icky. There was a brand new box of See's candy, all wrapped in plastic, and under the plastic, a gold box with a gold tie. Jack and I each said, "Oooh!" only to turn it over to see the hole where the mouse had entered.
There were many gallons of juices and water. We saved what we could for the local food bank, and we poured out the rest, and we'll recycle those bottles.
And there were more clothes in the garage, mostly fine, all with tags still on. I bagged those and took them into the house, adding to the huge pile of bags there.
For those of you who are wondering, this is not my stuff, but Jack's and his former wife's. I'm just helping him to get started in cleaning up the stuff, so that the house may once again be a place where a family could live.
So.. are we making headway? I have to say that, after taking 3 vanloads to the foodbank, a vanload to recycling, a truck and trailer to the dump, and filling the van again with stuff for recycling and the foodbank, and partially filling another truckload for the dump, there really is not that much difference in the way the place looks. I know that we'll get there eventually, but not today.
We took a couple of days off from working in the house, spending most of Friday working at Artworks, and Saturday we did some laundry and ran some errands.
Also, Thursday evening, we had a delicious dinner with Linda and Mike. Then on Friday, we went out for Italian food at a new restaurant on north State Street. Their pizza was amazing! We went with 12 other Big Rapids/Tucson people, and it was really fun.
Last night, we enjoyed a pork tenderloin cooked on the grill, artichokes, and sweet corn. Tonight, Jack's concocting a meal from baked beans, the leftover pork, a Vidalia onion, and a green pepper. And it's ready! :)
Some of the canned goods seemed fine, but other stuff is oozing out of the edges. Many cans are dented or outdated. The boxed stuff is all hopeless, having been chewed into, outdated, or just ... icky. There was a brand new box of See's candy, all wrapped in plastic, and under the plastic, a gold box with a gold tie. Jack and I each said, "Oooh!" only to turn it over to see the hole where the mouse had entered.
There were many gallons of juices and water. We saved what we could for the local food bank, and we poured out the rest, and we'll recycle those bottles.
And there were more clothes in the garage, mostly fine, all with tags still on. I bagged those and took them into the house, adding to the huge pile of bags there.
For those of you who are wondering, this is not my stuff, but Jack's and his former wife's. I'm just helping him to get started in cleaning up the stuff, so that the house may once again be a place where a family could live.
So.. are we making headway? I have to say that, after taking 3 vanloads to the foodbank, a vanload to recycling, a truck and trailer to the dump, and filling the van again with stuff for recycling and the foodbank, and partially filling another truckload for the dump, there really is not that much difference in the way the place looks. I know that we'll get there eventually, but not today.
We took a couple of days off from working in the house, spending most of Friday working at Artworks, and Saturday we did some laundry and ran some errands.
Also, Thursday evening, we had a delicious dinner with Linda and Mike. Then on Friday, we went out for Italian food at a new restaurant on north State Street. Their pizza was amazing! We went with 12 other Big Rapids/Tucson people, and it was really fun.
Last night, we enjoyed a pork tenderloin cooked on the grill, artichokes, and sweet corn. Tonight, Jack's concocting a meal from baked beans, the leftover pork, a Vidalia onion, and a green pepper. And it's ready! :)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Icky Sticky
That's what you get when soaps leak out of their bottles. And soap will leak out of its bottle if it's stored long enough. Today we were working on cleaning up the laundry room, so that Jack could hopefully find the water leak. After 5.5 hours in this tiny room, we got the stuff all out of the cupboards, but there is just so much of it that, even with our working on boxing and taking out to the van all day long, we still have a ton of it on every horizontal surface in there. Have I mentioned how overwhelming this is? Ray, your bulldozer idea is looking more and more appealing, believe me!
Tonight, we had a delicious supper, but it was hurriedly prepared, since Jack had a 7pm meeting at the church. After he got back here, we fixed supper. He had an Asian-style chicken-topped salad.
I had... one of my favorite dinners: the chicken carcass! LMAO!
Here is our dining table all set up. Notice little Eddie there in his bed. We finally found a bed that he'll sleep in!
Another thing: Jack installed the soap dispenser that had come with the kitchen faucet. How cool is this?
Tonight, we had a delicious supper, but it was hurriedly prepared, since Jack had a 7pm meeting at the church. After he got back here, we fixed supper. He had an Asian-style chicken-topped salad.
I had... one of my favorite dinners: the chicken carcass! LMAO!
Here is our dining table all set up. Notice little Eddie there in his bed. We finally found a bed that he'll sleep in!
Another thing: Jack installed the soap dispenser that had come with the kitchen faucet. How cool is this?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
A day off... sort of
Church was good today, and it was nice to be back to see all the people. We had lunch at Bob Evans, and then went to the house to get tools.
Why? Well, today we took the day off from working on the house, and did a neat project for the RV. I've always wanted to have a single-lever faucet in each of the sinks, so, a couple of days ago, we went shopping, I found one for the bathroom and the kitchen, and today Jack installed them for me!
Here is the bathroom sink before...
and after:
Here is the kitchen sink before...
and after:
The amazing thing is that he got them both put together on the first try. Notice that, while it's daytime in the before photos, it's ALSO daytime in the after photos! And nothing leaks!
While we were here working, Jan and Gary came over to visit, and it was great to see them.
I was a little maudlin today, remembering Michael's and my neat Race Day parties of past years. He was king of the grill and everyone loved our food. But I was happy that Danica Patrick came in 3rd! I want her to WIN, but 3rd is pretty good! :)
Oh! And I had a funny experience. A Facebook friend of mine had taken a test: "One word to describe yourself" and the quiz-writer had used MY ART to illustrate that quiz! I was stunned and very surprised to see my art used like that. I mean.. the internet is a big place! The art that they used is this:
I wrote to the quiz-writer and told them that I was aware of their "borrowing" my image and gave them terms by which I'll permit them to continue using it. How totally funny!
Why? Well, today we took the day off from working on the house, and did a neat project for the RV. I've always wanted to have a single-lever faucet in each of the sinks, so, a couple of days ago, we went shopping, I found one for the bathroom and the kitchen, and today Jack installed them for me!
Here is the bathroom sink before...
and after:
Here is the kitchen sink before...
and after:
The amazing thing is that he got them both put together on the first try. Notice that, while it's daytime in the before photos, it's ALSO daytime in the after photos! And nothing leaks!
While we were here working, Jan and Gary came over to visit, and it was great to see them.
I was a little maudlin today, remembering Michael's and my neat Race Day parties of past years. He was king of the grill and everyone loved our food. But I was happy that Danica Patrick came in 3rd! I want her to WIN, but 3rd is pretty good! :)
Oh! And I had a funny experience. A Facebook friend of mine had taken a test: "One word to describe yourself" and the quiz-writer had used MY ART to illustrate that quiz! I was stunned and very surprised to see my art used like that. I mean.. the internet is a big place! The art that they used is this:
I wrote to the quiz-writer and told them that I was aware of their "borrowing" my image and gave them terms by which I'll permit them to continue using it. How totally funny!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Work, work, work!
We've been working every day this week in Jack's house, bagging and boxing and sorting the thousands of things that are accumulated there. I actually made my way clear across one of the bedrooms to the bed! The bed itself is still covered with stuff, but there is now a path cleared to the bed.
Our friends Luanne and Dan came over and we gave them the tour. Sheesh. If it were not so sad, it'd be funny.
Although Annette may disagree, I really do abhor clutter, and strive for a clutter-free home. The way that this house is, the way that Jack used to live, is ... beyond belief cluttered. But we're working on it.
Ray, yes, LOL we have talked about bulldozing. And we're being careful about germs, washing our hands a lot!
Our friends Luanne and Dan came over and we gave them the tour. Sheesh. If it were not so sad, it'd be funny.
Although Annette may disagree, I really do abhor clutter, and strive for a clutter-free home. The way that this house is, the way that Jack used to live, is ... beyond belief cluttered. But we're working on it.
Ray, yes, LOL we have talked about bulldozing. And we're being careful about germs, washing our hands a lot!
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