Saturday July 30th 2011

This is getting kind of boring!!!  Another hot and humid day but they call for a chance of rain!!  I didn’t water the garden which is very dry.  I did pick a couple ears of corn though…(it did rain a little late in the PM)

The corn isn’t very big and it isn’t completely filled out.  Sure tastes good though.  I’m going to have to start picking it and getting rid of the stalks so the others will get a little more water.

Work today was really slow!!  I think it is almost to hot for people to travel.  There was a person that called today for a reservation and they said they pack up and leave about 4AM so they can travel during the cool part of the day.  Can’t hardly blame him.

This morning we took a ride to Matthews to look around and see if we could find where Daniel and Kiley are moving to.  We sure hate to see them move, they are really good neighbors.  I had the camera and I didn’t take any pictures, bummer!

I think it is kind of funny that the day is so slow and nothing going on but at 6:58PM a camper comes in and then there are people that want to stand and talk.  I like to talk but I also like to leave on time.

Another lazy night!  Called Bren and talked to her for awhile and also called Dee, seems everyone in SD are doing fine!

Time to call it a night….Night Yall..

Friday July 29th 2011

Well today is going to be another hot one.  Kind of glad I’m working the office today.  I need to rest up from the last two days.

This morning I had a few things that I wanted to do.  I took the air conditioner apart and cleaned the evaporator coils and put it back together a couple of times.  The insulation over the coil was coming loose so I taped it up and hopefully it will stay up there.

I did some weeding and cut a couple really small Mimosa trees that were growing next to our mobile home.

The garden is getting dryer.  I’m not sure what all we will get.  I picked four ears of sweet corn and had two for lunch and they were very good even though they were really small.  I think the lack of water had something to do with it.

Work this afternoon went pretty good.  Kept kind of busy but not to  bad.  Nothing that was stressful for sure…

Nothing going on at home tonight and getting off at seven in the evening it is late and not much time to do anything.

We watched a little TV and called it a day….Night Y’all…

Thursday July 28th 2011

Our poor garden!!  It is so hot and dry out most of the plants wither during the day but they perk up some at night.  The tomato plants look great but aren’t doing a lot  There are tomatoes on them but they are very slow turning.  The Heirloom is probably the biggest plant and has lots of blossoms but no tomatoes.  Can’t figure that one out.

Today at work I will start on a mobile home that has a hole in the floor.  Mark took me over this morning and we assessed the situation. Doesn’t look to bad but pressed board and moisture don’t mix well at all.  Looks like there had been a leak at one time or another and the floor just gave way in that spot.  I ended up taking out a four by twelve foot section at the end of the mobile home which wasn’t easy.  They use staples to hold the flooring down and these staples were really in there tight.  Took me all morning to get the flooring up and get the piece under the wall even with the floor joist.  I’m starting to get sore and of course it isn’t real cool inside but we opened all the windows.

This afternoon I trimmed a tree while waiting for Mark to get back from Lowe’s and I also repaired some skirting on another trailer and finished a job at the other trailer where I had fixed the floor.  Had to put the carpeting under the floor molding between the kitchen and living room.

Mark got to fix the duct work for the air conditioner, I removed the skirting so he could get under the mobile home.  I really didn’t want to do that job.  The air conditioner works good, blowing cold air!

After that I replaced mini blinds which took me the rest of the day.  I had never seen mini blinds like these, they have three drawstrings on one side and one on the other.  The one is for raising half of the blinds to make a larger space to see out or see in… what ever.  Got them all up before quitting time though.

When I got home I decided to mow parts of the lawns.  What a dirty job! Dust blows everywhere!  Got it done though, I just didn’t want to do it tomorrow and get all dirty again before going to work.

Linda made another batch of green beans and ham!  Delicious!  These should last us a couple of days because I’m the only one eating them, well, she does eat just a little.  I sure don’t like her meals!  She is losing weight though and I guess that is what counts.

Tonight I will take it easy and watch a little TV if I can stay awake… I did get to see the weather and it looks like next week is going to be hotter than this week!  August is almost here!!!  Night Y”all..

Wednesday July 27th 2011

Well, same old thing today, going to get hot but I think I can handle it.

I slept in this morning until 6:40AM!!  I think I must have been pretty tired. Getting up even at 6AM doesn’t leave much time to do anything in the morning.  Sparky takes up a lot of my time.  He needs attention for an hour or so.

This morning at work I got to tinker with a golf cart that quit running yesterday. I started with the simple stuff like filling it up with gas etc. Can’t be easy.  I checked and it’s getting spark so I checked the gas lines.  Looked OK so I started taking the one off that was farthest away from the tank.   Looked pretty dry.  Mark suggested trying another fuel pump. Good idea, not possible though.  The hoses are just to short to reach and I’ve been working on this for over three days already this morning!  There was just no way to hook up the other pump so I took it off and put it back together.  It was already 12:40PM and I was all wet and greasy.  After getting it back together I decided to try it one more time and Viola! It started and ran.  I think the Lord did it, it sure wasn’t anything that I knew that I did.  I don’t think it runs right yet, Bits said it was either stop or wide open and she could smell gas, but the golf carts always stink.  Anyway, it is running for the time being.

This afternoon Grant and I went to Russell Street.  I started loading the last of the branches and before I was done, Grant was done.  The grass is really dry and not growing so we went on back to the RV Park.  After unloading, I sprayed Roundup again on the places I missed.  After that I pulled these weeds that seem to like Roundup…

If you let these grow the get about four feet tall and the roots go all over and start new plants.  If you mow them down they just spread out then the mower can’t get them.

After doing that I picked up some trash that was blowing around and figured it was about time to go home.

After work I stopped and looked at a pump and tank for the well.  I figured it was worth $175, not as big as I would like but it will work and hopefully pretty good.

I made some of my soup tonight, it is Ramen Soup with Okra in it.  The Okra really gives it a good taste I think.  Also had a chicken sandwich…

I don’t know why people say that Okra is slimy!  I don’t think it is, I think it is very good, hope it’s good for you!!

Not a lot going on tonight either, I’m tired so will take it easy…Night Y’all..

Tuesday July 26th 2011

It didn’t cool off a lot last night, not sure if got below 80 degrees.  It is warm this morning though and will probably get really hot.  Doesn’t seem to matter if the garden is watered or not, when the sun hits it for awhile the leaves wither and droop until the sun goes down. 

I picked some things from the garden, lots of Zucchini!  Had some Okra, string beans and a tomato.  I fixed one Zucchini for lunch with the Okra. The zucchini was probably eighteen inches long and weighed a couple pounds but was still very good.  I took a bunch to work again to try to give away, wasn’t to successful this time, I will probably end up throwing them away.  I also picked  a bunch of jalapeno peppers.  I will probably give them away also because we have a BUNCH of them!

I had to take a picture of my slippers that Bren and Darin gave me about a year and a half ago, I use them a lot in the morning and they have really been abused….

I really need to get me a pair of crocks.  I do a little gardening in the morning that is why they are so dirty.  I leave them outside now because they are really getting nasty.

Work again today didn’t go to bad but the golf cart won’t run.  Not sure why but Grant and I went over to the mobile home park and pulled it back to the shop, I may get to work on it tomorrow, probably the fuel filter or something like that.

Mark said his garden this year is the worst he has ever had.  He is going to mow down the string beans and corn and till it under. I think the heat and lack of water kind of did his garden in and it just didn’t do good.  Our garden isn’t very good either but I picked an ear of sweet corn and cooked it.  It wasn’t very big but is was very good.  I will probably start picking the corn now, should have quite a bit.

Work was slow today, I got to finish my book!  I did a few odd jobs but mostly kept cool in the office.

Daniel called me tonight and said there was a water pump with tank in the paper for sale so I will go check it out tomorrow to see what it looks like. I think I will put in a new well and want a new pump and a larger tank.  Ours works OK but I think a new one will be better.

Watered the garden again tonight.  I am still happy with the garden. We have gotten quite a bit of stuff from it and it has kept me kind of busy. Hopefully the tomatoes will start ripening soon. We have had a couple and they are delicious!

Nothing going on tonight so I guess I will sign off….Night Y’all….

Monday July 25th 2011

I woke up early today, guess it is anticipation of the trip back to Sikeston.  I did get to post my blog this morning for the last couple of days.  It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day!!

We got on the road about 9AM and now I’m tired.  I get tired when I drive though, guess we have made this trip so many times that it really isn’t exciting anymore.

In Peoria we drive past this little drive in called Lou’s.  We keep saying we are going to stop and get a hamburger so today we thought we would try it. It looked like it might be open and there was a lady out front so I asked and she said they opened at eleven, another twenty five minutes.  I can’t wait twenty five minutes.  Our drive takes us seven plus hours and we have to pick up Sparky before the kennel closes. Sooooo  not this time.

When we got into Missouri the price of gas drops about twenty to thirty cents a gallon so we filled up in Peavely MO.  Our little car is doing fine, averaging around forty miles to the gallon of gas!

Linda keeps saying she wants to stop in Kimmswick MO so I figure a few minutes won’t hurt…

Notice all the cars???

This is the Blue Owl Restaurant that she wanted to eat at but of course it is closed on Monday but she did get a menu!

Kimmswick is a quaint little town (tourist trap) that probably has a colorful history but it is closed on Monday. I tried!

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.  I was really getting tired and was glad when we got Sparky and then got home.  Daniel said it rained last night but everything looked like it was as dry as unbuttered popcorn!  The garden was all wilted and really looking sickly but then, it is sunny and hot so I guess I can understand that.

I had a couple things I wanted to do after unpacking.  I wanted to flush the water heater so that took quite awhile, nothing is easy.  I really worked up a sweat but I used the water to water the garden then I checked to see what was ready to pick.  One tomato lots of Okra, lots of Zucchini and I’m not sure about the corn, it doesn’t look like it is quite ready yet.

After messing around in the garden I had to take a shower, I don’t know what I got into but it was really making me itch.

I need to rest up, I seem to be pretty tired tonight but I did stay awake until the weather, hot and getting hotter!  What a forecast!  Guess it’s better than cold and getting colder!

Time for bed….Night Y’all..

Sunday July 24th 2011

Well we had a great day yesterday at the reunion and had a safe trip to Rockton and back again.  Got to visit with Marilyn after we got back and shampooed her carpet.

Today is church day and we will go to Harvest Time.  I need to find a picture of Dalmus and Jane and Kara for the blog…

This picture was taken a couple of years ago, went to breakfast at “Egg Heaven” which was excellent!  Back to the here and now, we went to their house for dinner and as usual Jane made a great meal!  Had pork chops, chicken lasagna, rice pilaf, zucchini, and a zucchini cake with ice cream for desert.  Linda will have to get back on her diet even though she didn’t do to bad.

We spent the afternoon visiting and catching up on all the going on things here in Sterling and Rock Falls. 

At church tonight I met a really gorgeous young lady and she even gave me a hug…..eat your heart out Frank….

Actually this is Maggie, we have visited them in Texas when they still went down for the winter and always have a good time with Frank and Maggie! Spent a lot of time saying hi to everyone at church and just talking.  Sure makes us want to go back home but don’t think that is going to happen.  Sikeston is more or less our home now and we enjoy it there and I enjoy the job!

After church we headed back to the motel and going to take it easy for the night and I will probably post three days of the blog, haven’t done it for awhile..  Night Y’all….

Saturday July 23rd 2011

What a morning!!!  It is raining like crazy, thunder, lightning, not windy fortunately but still warm and humid.  I got Linda up about 8:15AM and I wanted to be on the road by nine or a little after.  Didn’t work.  We needed some more pistachio pudding for the salad she made last night. I walked to Wal Mart, not far, but far enough and got the pudding but guess what??  I forgot to order the chicken and I was right there.  Probably good thing I didn’t though, what we got was fresh and they had a really super good deal on six pounds of chicken.  Anyway, nothing seemed to go right, they rang up the wrong price and of course you have to go stand in line to get a refund but it wasn’t busy and it came out to be over $10!!!  I guess that was OK.  Now we are late getting on the road and I have no idea where we are going, good thing for the GPS!  It doesn’t like detours.  It took us right to the front door of where we were going but there weren’t any cars there so I had to check and make sure.  It was the right place and we were almost the first ones there except for cousins Loren and John.  I was then happy and relieved that I wasn’t the last one..

Saw lots of relative that I didn’t know and some I did know.  I knew my brothers!  Well, I knew some of my cousins too.  Here is a picture of some of us…

The outside two are cousins Bill (L) and John (R) then on my right is Fred and on my left is Ed (brothers).  We usually get our pictures taken together.   Notice Fred and I don’t wear shorts, wonder why???  I don’t like shorts I guess, not sure about Fred.

Here is a picture of Dad, Mom, Barbara, Kenneth, Ed, Fred, Betty Gay, Dennis and me.

I didn’t have them in order…Dad, Mom, Fred, Kenneth, Ed, Betty Gay, Barbara, Dennis and me.  This picture has to be at least sixty years old and I remember the sweater I was wearing because we teased each other about our clothes, notice, I wasn’t very old and I can’t remember what I did yesterday but the sweater I remember, very odd…

We had a great time up there and lots of visiting and meeting new relatives(?).  Guess they were related somehow or another.

Had a good trip back to Sterling to see Linda’s sister Marilyn. I shampooed her carpet for her.  This was planned, not a spur of the moment thing.  Got a sandwich at Wal Mart on the way home and had a bite to eat in the motel.  Linda bought a recipe book so she is reading that and I’m puttering on the computer. About bedtime though so I’m going to get off here….Night Y’all…

Friday July 22nd 2011

Today we head for Dixon, Sterling, etc.  Northern Illinois.  The Family Reunion is tomorrow in Rockton IL. almost to Wisconsin…

I figured I better water the garden a little this morning, we will be gone for a few days and it may get thirsty!

We got on the road about 9AM after dropping Sparky off at the boarding kennel, Delta Vet Clinic.  He probably doesn’t like it there very much but he seems to be happy when we pick him up.

On the way up Daniel called and said that we had a heavy shower this morning, that will be good for the garden!  Our thermometer in the car registered about 95 all the way up here, well it did drop off to 90 here in Dixon.

We stopped in Sterling to meet a relative, by marriage, that I have been corresponding with for quite some time now.  Don and Sheryl live in Rock Falls and are Christians.  We had a great visit at Angelo’s, had a great hamburger also…

Sheryl reminds me a lot of Coyita the pastors wife in Morehouse MO!  We did have a great visit but our relatives, at least the ones we both know, are only a few.  We have met new friends though and will keep in contact with them… 

The picture didn’t turn out real good with the sun shining in the window behind Linda and me but it is good enough.

After getting unpacked at the motel we drove to Franklin Grove to see Marian.  She looks so much better than the last time, she smiles and talks but I don’t think she will ever walk again.  She doesn’t have the strength to stand up and she is scared of breaking the other hip.  Don’t blame her, she is 95 years old, takes a long time for bones to mend and while mending the muscles deteriorate! I believe she is resigned to sitting from now on.  Got a pretty good picture of Marian and Linda….

Looks pretty good doesn’t she???

We stopped at Wal Mart to get the stuff to make a pistachio salad to take to the reunion tomorrow.  The little refrigerator isn’t big enough to hold the bowl so we have to use the cooler.

Long day, long drive.  Time for bed….Night Y’all….

Thursday July 21st 2011

Another day to work in the heat!  I watered the garden this morning because I knew it wasn’t going to rain and it was going to be really hot. I think it is already in the 80s and it’s about 8AM.

I got to do something different at work today.  One of the mobile homes has a hole in the floor and I get to fix it.  Mark gave me the basic instructions and I had all the tools that I needed to do the job. We pulled the carpeting back and checked the hole and used a hammer to make it bigger!  I measured the length and width after I spent an hour cleaning the floor joist off and trying to clean out under the the very corner of the kitchen cabinet.  The floor had been worked on before  and they didn’t really do a very good job, well, I’m new at it and I probably won’t do a very good job either.  I gave a piece of the flooring to Mark so he could get a piece of plywood to place in the hole.  After lunch Mark went to Lowe’s and I watched the office.

When he got back I went and picked up the saw and cut the board that I needed 75x19 inches.  He also had a couple of 2x6 boards that I needed for the ends and a piece to scab to the other 2x6.

I was pretty proud the board almost fit the first time but I knew I needed to cut about a quarter inch off and a little off one side.  After I did that it fit really tight. There is a little problem though, it is bigger than most of the sides it is against.  It took about 2 hours to get it to fit, screw it in place and replace the carpeting.  I thought I did pretty good.

After that I had to look for things to do to get my time in and the more I looked the more I found to do and almost worked past quitting time, not good!

Well, I’m glad I mowed yesterday, I just don’t feel like it today.  I think that I will put some more water on the garden and take it easy!!!  Night Y’all…

Wednesday July 20th 2011

As the week goes along the hotter it gets, it is supposed to top out on Thursday around ninety six degrees!

Today at work I put slime in the golf cart tires.  They have a really slow leak but enough that we have to air them up every time we use it.  This one is the one with the Roundup Sprayer on it.  I think I’ve gone through $300 worth of Roundup.  I think the weeds are getting immune to it.  Takes a long time for them to die and they are starting to recover faster.  I sprayed some of the areas that are coming back to life again.  Oh well, they will die this winter.  We have some weeds that aren’t phased by Roundup.  They just grow faster, like it’s fertilizer!  I pulled a lot out by hand and they have a long root!

This afternoon Grant and I went to Russell Street and I picked up limbs. I had limbs in four different places and I started at the end and got three piles picked up altogether. The last load I had cut but they were just where they dropped and I got a lot picked up and loaded on the truck.  The first load I took over to the burn pile while Grant mowed.  The trailer was easy to load and really hard to unload.  The truck is hard to load but easy to unload.  Will probably just use the truck from now on.

By five o’clock I was about beat!  I was ready to quit for the day and Grant was too.  When we got back to the shop and got everything unloaded I took the golf cart and went and sprayed some more weeds. I have about a half hour to go so wanted to get a little bit accomplished, not much, but do something.

I decided to mow our lawn today, I really don’t want to do it tomorrow, the day before  we leave.  I didn’t have to mow the whole lawn, it was just spots that really grow fast, the rest looks good and I’m sure it will be OK until next week.

Time to take it easy and relax, take a nice cool shower and chill the rest of the evening….Night Y’all…

Tuesday July 19th 2011

I went and got some gas for the mower and filled up the car also.  The gas stations in town are ten cents a gallon more than the station out here!  Figure I better do it before it goes up and it will because they are usually a few days behind the city.

I did a little mowing, some of our grass grows like crazy and most of it doesn’t grow much at all.  After I finished and was putting the mower back in the garage I noticed that I hadn’t put the mowing deck down!  Still looks better than it did.

I’m pretty sure that work won’t be very hard today.  The usual cleaning jobs and then sit and read and wait for seven o’clock.  The day actually went pretty fast.  I only got a couple of campers in and they were pretty spread out.   Pumped a couple of tanks of propane and sold a couple bags of ice.  That was about it.  Actually since I know what happened after I went home, I will put it in here… There were three more campers that came in after I left!  That is almost as many as I checked in!!!

Tonight I’m having left over pork burritos! They were good, Linda had one of here dinners, a fajita for her supper which I didn’t like much, she let me taste it.  The fact is I don’t like much of anything she has to eat. Nutri System, maybe if you don’t like the food you won’t want to eat very much! That could be it!

A little TV tonight and to bed…Night Y’all….

Monday July 18th 2011

Got to water the garden!! It really seems like it is thirsty.  Picked the first tomato this morning, it wasn’t really ripe but it was kind of orange and I wanted it to be the first so now it is sitting on the counter waiting for it to turn red. 

Lots of things to do in town today.  I decided to get new tires for the car. I would have waited until I got fifty thousand miles but we are going to Sterling IL this weekend, even farther, and I would like to be sure that we have tires that are good enough to make it all the way.

I also bought some new clothes, not something I like doing but I guess it’s about time.  We also bought a few groceries and headed home. It is to hot out to do much of anything so guess we will just take it easy the rest of the day.

Not much going on tonight either, watch a little TV and go to bed.  Night Y’all…

Sunday July 17th 2011

Boy it’s hot out already.  There are heat advisories out for today so the old air conditioner will be running full time again today! 

Went to church this morning and it was a really good Sunday School class and church was also good.  When I got home I just had a sandwich. Nice for a nice warm day.  The garden is wilting and I need to water it but will wait until after church tonight.

This afternoon Linda fixed some string beans, potatoes and ham.  Most of the string beans are from the garden…

That is really good stuff, food fit for a king, or maybe somebody that’s hungry!!  I ate to much but boy was it good!

Church tonight, further study of Revelation.  Why Babylon fell… His sermons have been really good on Revelation..

Strange, when the sun sets the garden perks up!  I watered it tonight and also fertilized it.  I think it needs it.  The Heirloom tomato plant is big and has a lot of blossoms but no tomatoes yet.  Some of the other ones have tomatoes and won’t be long before we can pick some, I hope.

The one in front is the Heirloom, big but no tomatoes, what a bummer!  Hopefully it won’t be to long before it starts getting the tomatoes on it.

Time to say good night…Night Y’all…

Saturday July 16th 2011

Just checked things out around the old homestead!  These are flowers from this Spring that I planted and they are annuals.  I think they look nice.  Almost none of the perennials grew…

I think they look pretty nice, lots of different colors and combination of colors!!  I think I paid twenty or twenty five cents for the packet of seeds.

I probably should have watered the garden but I think there is a chance of rain so it probably won’t.  Doesn’t usually rain until I water the garden.

Work was a little busier today, not many came in but sold quite a bit of propane.  Got out of work on time tonight.  The last camper came in as I was leaving and I had already taken care of them by phone.  I showed them where to park and I left for home.

Another nice quiet night at home.  Talked to Daniel for a little while, until the mosquitoes got so bad we had to go in.  Daniel and Kiley will be moving later, not sure when but we sure hate to lose them as neighbors, what a bummer.  Now we have to wait to see who moves in and see if they are half way decent people that we can get along with.

Well not much going on, we will go to bed after the weather forecast which will be “hot and humid” for the next few days with a twenty percent chance of rain…..Night Y’all….

Friday July 15th 2011

I think I will take it easy this morning.  I’m still catching up from yesterday!

The garden is straightening up…

Not the straightest yet but getting there…

Quite a difference!  Can’t remember when this wind was but was only about three or four days ago!  I figured it would straighten up eventually.

I took a picture of some grass.  Sounds funny but I put a piece of big grass on top of the neighbors grass, they look different…

The piece of grass in the middle isn’t very big but the grass under it is like plush carpeting (almost).  Grows like crazy!

Didn’t do a lot this morning just walked around looking at “stuff”.  Got a picture of more corn, this has ears on it…

Probably be a few weeks yet before it is ready to pick.

Work went well today, probably the quietest day I’ve had since I started. After getting the chores done at work I rummaged around in the trunk of the car and found a book by James Patterson.  Need something to do, can’t just sit and vegetate!

Oh, before I went to work I cooked myself some lunch.  Linda is on a diet. I grilled some sausage and then found a box of macaroni and cheese so I fixed that and mixed the two together..Good stuff..

I guess my plating leaves something to be desired but I don’t think it makes it taste any different!

Not much going on tonight.  Bren called about 10PM and shared what was going on at their home and with the kids etc.  The kids are growing up fast!

Well, that’s about it for today, farewell to another day….Night Y’all…

Thursday July 14h 2011

Going to be another hot one.  Got to remember the zucchini!  I told the lady I would bring her some but I really wonder if she will be there.  I have one yellow squash I am putting in there and I wonder if they would like some jalapeno peppers???  I will put eight or ten in there and if they don’t want them they can do whatever with them.  I forgot yesterday that she told me she was going to a “sister reunion”!  She had to explain that to me. She comes from a big family, twenty one brothers and sisters but not from the same mother.  They had to hire  a detective to track down all the kids. She didn’t say how many different mothers there were but the kids are all one year apart except for the last one and she is five years younger.  There were also a couple illegitimate kids that they couldn’t find.  Wish I would have had a camera with me to take a picture of her and her husband.  Anyway, she was there waiting!  I told her about the jalapeno peppers and she was really happy about that, said she may stop before she leaves just to say goodbye!  Thought that was very nice.

Today is another find something to do day.  I finished cleaning up  the mobile home spot and then trimmed a tree that you couldn’t walk under. I loaded all the limbs in a trash can on the golf cart and when I got to the shop I lost the trash can.  It was heavy and I couldn’t lift it so Grant was there and he helped me get it back on the cart and he had to hold it while I drove to the burn pile. We have a big burn pile.  When we burn it we have to get the fire department to come and watch for awhile.

By the time I got finished with all that it was time to take the golf cart back for Bits.  I see her truck there and out of the three golf carts this is the only one that runs good.  Time for lunch.  I ate to much and when I eat to much I get tired.  Guess what???  I am tired.  I’m trying to find things to do and decided to spray Roundup over in the mobile home park.  The blacktop roads have grass growing in some of the cracks so I’m trying to get all that sprayed. After an hour and a half I just couldn’t stay awake so I went back to the shop and got the weed eater out and worked with that for about twenty minutes then blew the dirt and grass over the sidewalks. On the way back to the shop Grant asked if I was done with the spraying and I said I sure am ready to quit! He asked if I wanted to mow and I said “sure” and I asked if he was going to spray and he said “no” I’m quitting for the day.  Well his dad called him for a question about the mower deck and after that he asked how he heard him if he was mowing.  Grant and I got a good laugh before he answered and he said that I was going to finish mowing.  Dad asked what are you going to do and Grand said “I’m going to watch the living room”!  He was tired and was going to take a nap I guess.

Well I finally made it to the end of the day and I sure felt a lot better after mowing.  Now I can go home and mow our lawns.  I would just as soon not but the grass is really growing, especially Daniel’s.  I got it done and after cleaning the deck it was almost dark. 

Time for a bowl of cereal “and” some cucumbers and onion stuff.  Tastes pretty good!  Not together of course. 

Can’t believe how dirty I was!  Glad I didn’t take a bath!

Well, I am having a hard time staying awake so time to go to bed… Night Y’all…..

Wednesday July 13th 2011

It is actually summer and another hot one. Like I say though, I would rather have the heat than the cold.  Yesterday I took in a bunch of zucchini and gave it away.  A lot of people don’t like zucchini and we have a lot more than we can use and the times that I have taken it in I have given all of it away.  The tomatoes look pretty good even though they aren’t changing color yet, they are getting ready.

Today was an odd job day.  Mark isn’t telling me what to do so I go find things that look like they need to be done.  There is an empty spot in the mobile home park and I figured it looked pretty bad with a lot of junk laying around so I started cleaning it up.  There was a lot of coax cable, telephone line and I’m not sure what all the other stuff was so I picked it up and took it to the dumpster.  On my second load, there was a lady (not actually in the dumpster) taking the cable out and I figured she wanted the metal out of it, but she wanted some of the splitters on it.  She said she was a dumpster diver, very nice lady.  I told her there was a floor jack over there that seemed to work and if she wanted it I would bring it back to her. She was very happy about that. I loaded up another load of junk and she was outside so I stopped with the jack and she said, “yep, I’ll take it”. When I stopped for lunch I remembered an orange three way electric splitter and I walked to their camper and when she saw me carrying it she said “you’re kidding right"? and she said after you give it to me I’ll tell you what those things cost…$25.  I didn’t want it and she gladly took it.  I asked if they wanted any zucchini and she was happy to have some but I have to pick it and bring it back in tomorrow.  She said they were leaving early in the morning, well, he was, she had a sister here in Sikeston she is staying with and she would come out and pick it up in the morning when I come to work. Hope I don’t forget it!

This afternoon I started looking for odd jobs again and Grant came and found me and asked it I wanted to go do Russell Street with him.  Sure! There is so much to do over there that it will take me a long time to get it done. When we got there I started loading branches in the truck and when it was full I tied it down and started trimming again. The Hedge row is looking better, you can see through it now. I think if it was up to me I would cut it down to about five feet (it is about twenty five now) and clean all around it so it could be mowed and then let it grow.  Mark said go for it. Well, we have enough to keep us busy for a long time right now so that will be left on the back burner.  When Grant finished mowing and we were heading back Mark asked if we were finished.  NO! Maybe for the day but I have more branches there now than before we went.  Next week I will haul branches while Grant mows, then maybe we will catch up (some).

The day went fast, I still had a little time so I sprayed Roundup for a half hour then headed home.

Linda is starting her “Nutri-system” and so far she likes it, it is more than she is used to eating and it doesn’t taste to bad.

Lazy night, it was hot today and I’m tired so I am going to vegetate tonight.

Night Y’all…

Tuesday July 12th 2011

Today there isn’t a lot to do before work, had a few things to do before going into work like getting Linda’s prescription which was a surprise, it was $90 and the lady asked if I had insurance, well, I do but it’s Medicare and I don’t think they pay for prescriptions.  The lady asked for the card anyway and checked.  Ended up being $18!!!  I was pleasantly surprised!

Had a few other things to do and Wal Mart’s of one of them.  It is already hot and it’s only about 11AM!

Work was really slow today, can’t blame people for not wanting to travel in 100 plus degree weather.

Got home almost on time!  We weren’t going to do anything tonight because it is  to hot.  We watched TV and the wind started blowing about 9PM and blew like crazy.  Guess we got some rain with it which was good.  Daniel and I watered the garden earlier, and then the wind!  Blew the corn down pretty good.  I moved the camper to help slow the wind down but I think it was already to late…..

I think the corn will recover, may take it a little while though.

This was an excellent night to go to bed….Night Y’all…

Monday July 11th 2011

Here comes another hot day!  I think it is supposed to be hotter today than yesterday.  I’m off today and we have a few places to go and a few things to do.  I got on the computer this morning to check for a motel in Sterling or that area.  We stayed in the Rock Falls motel last time and it was nice but this time it was very expensive. The Super 8 in Dixon was a lot cheaper so we booked that for a few days. (this is for our family reunion the 23rd of July)

We have a time share that I have disliked ever since we bought it. I can’t get ahold of anyone and can’t get them online. If anyone wants a time share I will give it away!!  Yep, free!!

We spent a few hours in town and it just keeps getting warmer. Stopped at Adli’s to get groceries then home.  Didn’t stop at Wal Mart, will probably go there tomorrow.

I picked some cucumbers and Linda made some cucumber and onion stuff. I figured that one jalapeno would give it a little different taste. I helped a little with peeling the cucumbers..

It tastes good but I’m sure glad we didn’t use more than one jalapeno in it.  It is kind of spicy!

I took a nap again this afternoon, I was pretty tired and I think it was just the heat.

Not a lot going on tonight, again, just taking it easy.  I did take another picture of Linda’s carnation. I think it may be about done…

I wonder if the plant will make it through the winter???

Time for bed….Night Y’all..

Sunday July 10th 2011

Whoa!!  It’s warm already this morning and they say this is going to be one of the hottest days of the year!  Well, with the humidity they say it is supposed to feel like 104, give or take.  Sparky and I checked out the garden and there are a couple of stalks of corn with ears so the corn is coming along.  The tomato plants are really coming along. The “Heirloom” plant has lots of blossoms but no tomatoes yet.  The cheap plants seem to be getting lots of little ones, wonder how long before they turn red?? I should know but the ones that came on first don’t seem to be getting any bigger, just hanging around!

I guess the forecaster was right, I went to church and almost froze but didn’t take long to get warmed up outside and in the car. Probably around 90 already, I turned the air off in the car so I could get warmed up.  In Sunday School I had to change places, the AC was blowing on me and I just couldn’t take it anymore!  Had a good Sunday School class, Becky was teaching today.  The regular teacher has had physical problems and I haven’t met him yet.

I had to take a picture of the garden and you can’t really see it but the leaves on the corn are curled up from the heat…

I guess if you look close you can see that the leaves are curled.  Our thermometer (analog) reads 104 and the other (digital) reads 103 and this is in the shade.  I know the TV station in Cape will probably be 8 to 10 degrees cooler, doesn’t matter, it is hot and now the forecast for tomorrow is supposed to be hotter yet.  Sure makes the AC work hard.  We set it up to 81 and today I set it on 82 but it keeps it very comfortable in here, not cold by any means but comfortable, takes the humidity out of the air.

Doesn’t Sparky look clean?  He isn’t, he just looks that way.  He loves it outside and I think if I let him, he would roll in the dirt in the garden but he still looks pretty clean.

After church I grilled some hot dogs on the grill and by the time I was done I was sweating!  It is really hot out!  Had a good lunch and this afternoon I took a nap!!  I am tired most every afternoon but can’t take a nap.  I don’t feel very good after a nap anyway but I can stay awake in the evening after taking a nap.

At church tonight they had the Lord’s Supper and I was really curious about it.  One church we went to had the Lord’s Supper and it was depressing and, well, it was more like a solemn funeral and when you leave there, at least me, I felt really depressed.  I know Jesus went through more than I can imagine but it is FINISHED, DONE, He paid the price, I am thankful, glad, happy that I’m saved and I know that it isn’t a celebration but I don’t think I should feel depressed after the Lord”s Supper. Enough of that…

Even after the sun has gone down it is still in the upper 80s. Very humid and according to the weather forecaster it is “mugly”.  Nice word for the weather….

Didn’t tell Linda but I left the thermostat on 78 tonight.  Very comfortable with the overhead fan spinning at high speed.  Time to go to sleep though.. Night Y’all….

Saturday July 9th 2011

Well, it is sunny and going to get quite warm today which is a lot better than cold with rain and snow and ice etc….

I want to use the weed eater today and I really don’t want to start to early. I see the neighbor, Larry, is weed eating and it’s not quite seven so it would probably be OK.  I’m going to wait for awhile though. Sparky and I still have some walking around to do yet.

I started the weed eater around 8AM and I have a few things around our house and around Daniel’s that I want to get.  Weeds don’t really look very good when they start growing up on the sidewalk and onto the edge of the house.  I had to do a little around the garden also.  The grass really grows fast in the garden and I try to keep it pulled but it is a lot fast than I am. Larry and I both worked on Daniel’s house. He had shoulder surgery and is unable to do much of anything that requires physical labor.

I was soaked after doing all the weed eating so I had to take a shower before doing anything else.

Well, work was OK.  I hate to use the work “stupid” but some of these people driving campers shouldn’t be allowed on the road!  There was a couple come into the campground in a pretty good sized diesel pusher, they had been there before, and the man directs the lady into the parking spot. She shouldn’t be driving and he shouldn’t be giving directions.  He had her backing up around a corner with a tow vehicle behind!!  They did make it but they really needed help and refused it, so….  Others think the grass is to drive on and park on!  Grant and I spend two days mowing and I can’t believe people think it is to drive on!! I left a note for one lady that the gravel roads and gravel sites were for driving on and parking on and to “STAY OFF THE GRASS” with her vehicle.  She even ran over a sewer connection and broke it. Oh well, guess it is a business.

Work was slow today so I finally finished my book.  Talked to a lady today that didn’t have much of anything good to say about our “president”. She had a lot of good “biblical” points about our country none of which were good.  I think she had some really good points and most people don’t see what is going on, “everything is going to be ok”!!  Sorry, open your eyes!

Enough of that, I got out of work on time today but I still have to say that most campers are really nice, only a few that need some lessons in respect for other peoples property.

We took it easy tonight.  I forgot that a few days ago we lost the internet here.  I haven’t been pleased with it since we got it.  It has been slow and a lot of times it wouldn’t work.  I was going to cancel it but the man came out and put the transceiver in a different place so it would use a different “repeater”.  Works great, it’s even pretty fast.  Guess I will keep it.

Take care everyone, Night Y’all….

Friday July 8th 2011

David and Marian are leaving today to go to Branson and Yellville AR.  His brother had called and wanted them to stop in this weekend because they were going to be home and then they (David and Marian) would be heading back to AZ.

It rained last night and is still kind of raining which really helps the garden. I checked and we have at least one ear of sweet corn and there should be more soon.  Probably be a couple of weeks before it is ready though.  The string beans are starting to come on and should be able to pick a few next week sometime.

I decided to use some things from the garden for lunch.  I had one yellow squash, three zucchini, one jalapeno pepper, two bell peppers and then I added some portabella mushrooms and onion to the mix…(mushrooms and onions weren’t from the garden)

I think it turned out quite well, I think some smoked sausage would have been nice but this was probably pretty healthy. That jalapeno had some kick to it!!!

Work went well today.  I kept pretty busy and the time went by fast.

Linda warmed up the burrito mixture for supper so had a good supper. She also fixed a fruit smoothie later.  After a long day the smoothie tasted pretty good.

Well, that’s about it for today catch you tomorrow..Night Y’all…

Thursday July 7th 2011

Well, today is another hot day and I will be working on my own today, mowing.  I sprayed some Roundup first thing because the wind wasn’t blowing to hard and I saw a few spots where the weeds had started growing again.  Roundup last from four to six weeks then needs another dose.

I started mowing the RV Park and by noon had most of the pull through sites done.  After lunch I started mowing the back in sites with the push mower.  Lots of work!!  Bits came and got me and said the men’s shower wouldn’t shut off and it was the hot water.

I took a look at it and saw the washer (rubber) was broken so I walked over to Ag Mart and bought some new ones.  Didn’t take long to fix but sure cut into the mowing time.

Well, here’s some more from the garden, the mystery plant was a yellow squash, probably already said that, but we did get some cucumbers!  The cucumber plant is really growing fast.

Back to work… About 2PM Bits told me that they left the key to the truck and the trailer so I could mow Russell Street.  To late to do it now.  I still have a lot of mowing left to do here in the park.  Russell Street will have to wait until next week.

Linda fixed her famous pork burritos for supper.  Very good, the picture I am going to show is one of the burritos and it has a jalapeno on it!!

I’m not sure why but the jalapenos from our garden are “HOT”!!  She only put one in but the pieces almost bring tears to your eyes!  Bet the jalapeno bread will be hot!

David and Marian decided to leave tomorrow, I think they are bored, not much to do around here and I work most of the time.

After I got home from work I mowed our lawn and half of Daniels lawn.  Mr Tucker mows the front yard and I mow the back yard, now I’m really tired.

When I got done mowing I took a shower and Linda fixed hot caramel sundaes!  They were really good, hit the spot.

Tired again tonight, don’t know why! Watch TV and go to bed again… Night Y’all…

Wednesday July 6th 2011

Another hot day!!  David and Marian took off today to go to St Louis to see the arch.  Well, they didn’t find it, and if I’m not mistaken they just didn’t go far enough.

Went to work at 9AM and since Grant isn’t feeling to good I will be mowing today.  I mowed the mobile home park and some of the other parts.  Mark, Kim and Grant will be leaving tonight to go to Branson and Springfield for the orientation for Grant’s college.  The will be gone four days and sounds like a little fun at Branson.

It is very hot and not much of a breeze.  Drank a lot of water but actually the day went pretty good.  When I got off work I stopped at the grocery store for some chicken.  We like the chicken from Food Giant. It is really cheap too and I really like that.

Linda fixed potato puffs and baked beans to go with the chicken.  Wow, great meal.  For desert we had Key Lime pie.  This was from Aldi’s and it is very good.  The one from Wal Mart is Edward’s and I think it is as good as that.

Marian wanted a picture of all of us on the sofa so I set up my camera and this probably turned out the best.  Munchkin is in the picture but Sparky, at least in one picture, had his ears in the way so he isn’t in this picture.

We watched some TV but I was really tired and I think we were all tired so just took it easy AGAIN tonight….Night Y’all…..

Tuesday July 5th 2011

It is going to be hot again today, I go into work this afternoon.  This morning I fixed some cinnamon rolls, David and Marian really like the cinnamon rolls…

I didn’t get a real good picture of them but they were very good.  We had some left so I sent them over to the neighbors.  The boys really seem to enjoy them.

Linda fixed eggs and sausage gravy and I made some biscuits.  That turned out quite well, it was a very good lunch.

Work went pretty good, kept kind of busy but not to bad.  Didn’t have time to do any reading though so I still have part of a book left to read.

We had left overs tonight. David and Marian brought quite a bit of stuff back from Lambert’s but Linda and I ate almost all of ours, that is the problem with Lambert’s, they make us eat to much!

I picked quite a bit of stuff from the garden…

The zucchini is really going wild!  I decided to pick the bell peppers to see if that would help the plants bring on more peppers.  I also picked a couple of jalapeno peppers.  Haven’t tried them yet though.

Linda isn’t feeling to good so we will take it easy again tonight (so what’s new?)   Night Y’all….

Monday July 4th 2011

Well it’s the fourth of July and a very nice morning.  Linda was going to fix us a good country breakfast but she really didn’t get up early enough so we just had cereal and then this afternoon we are going to go to Lambert’s for lunch (dinner).  It rained this morning so the garden is looking good and we decided to run into town about 11AM and look at stuff then go to Lambert”s.

We drove through Lambert”s and it was packed, probably had a hundred people outside waiting so we went to the RV Park and called the shuttle.  I gave him a $5 tip and it was worth every penny.  We could have spent 2 or 3 hours outside waiting to be called and I really felt bad that we got to go in the back door in front of everyone else.

The food at Lambert’s is always good and David and Marian enjoyed it to I think…

We’ve been having a good time and the dogs are alone in the house and not caged!!!  Wonder what the house will look like when we get home???

Well, we were pleasantly surprised, they were both in good shape, breathing etc.  Nothing was torn up or chewed up so I am thinking they did OK together.

We were so full after eating that we didn’t eat anything tonight so Linda made a fruit smoothie that was really refreshing.  We were all tired and couldn’t hardly stay awake so it is time to…wait…have to check pictures..

This is the shuttle and the driver, he was very nice but I’m sure if he wasn’t he wouldn’t be doing this very long.  Like I said the tip was worth the trip..

I was right, it is going to be an early night….Night Y’all….

Sunday July 3rd 2011

Went to church this morning and the Sunday School wasn’t to bad and church was good.  Linda was fixing dinner, David and Marian are supposed to be here around 1PM so she will have it ready when they get here.

I got home about 12:15 and they weren’t here yet so I texted them and they were about 12 miles away so I went out with Sparky and made sure they figured out where we live and didn’t miss our house.  They made it about 12:30 and was nice to see them and they had a decent trip.

Linda made roast pork with rice and then a broccoli and cauliflower dish that was excellent!  We had a good time talking most of the afternoon getting caught up on things that was going on in their lives.

David is checking the routes he wants to take on the way back.  Still doesn’t know which way he wants to take to go home.  It will be a few days so he will have time to figure it out.  The dogs, Munchkin, which you can see in the picture above, and Sparky don’t get along the greatest but they do OK.  Munchkin doesn’t really like Sparky because Sparky is kind of hyper but they were left alone for awhile and they seemed to do OK.

It is kind of fun to watch them play together…

Tug O War time!!

I went to church tonight and they were still in Revelation.  Pretty good stuff!

After church and back at home we visited more and had tuna salad sandwiches which really hit the spot…

We stayed up until 10PM and we were all tired so we went to bed…Night Y’all….

Saturday July 2nd 2011

Have to go in to work at one again today!  I mowed the lawn Thursday and it still looks pretty good.  I didn’t water the garden this morning, did it last night so it should be good.

Work was really busy today, had lots of propane tanks to fill, lots of phone calls and reservations to make and they started coming in right after one PM so I kept pretty busy until 4PM.  Got a little break but not a big one.

Had a problem with the books at closing but figured out my mistake from last night.  Oh well, hope Mark can figure it out.  I probably should call Bits and let her know that she should check the drawer count before starting work.  I am sure she will.

The corn field across the road really looks nice…

Also have a picture of a weed that I was going to pull but thought I would wait to see what it looks like…

This weed sure is pretty…glad I didn’t pull it!!

OK, tonight we didn’t do much….back to this morning….we went to the Farmers Market in Sikeston and we saw Jordan’s Tide….

This is Jordan’s Tide, the guy in the red hat is Dr Rubenacker and his wife is playing the bass guitar(?).  The guy in the front is Rick and he is our song leader at  Fellowship!  I didn’t even recognize him!!! Amazing!

OK back to tonight, Linda fixed breakfast burritos with some green chili peppers she bought at the Farmers Market.  They were very good.

We stayed up and watched the news, well, I think I slept through it but that’s OK, I probably didn’t miss anything anyway….Night Y’all…

Friday July 1st 2011

I think that I’m back on the right date now.  I may have done some other things wrong but I guess I will be the only one that knows especially if no one reads this..

Today I work the office, I go in at 1PM.  I watered the lawn but I’m not sure now if it was this morning or last night.  Whatever!

I went to work and had a pretty good day, not a real busy day but busy enough.  At closing time I had a $50 mistake, I was short and I spent about 10 minutes recounting everything.  Couldn’t find the mistake.  Time to go home and think about it.  Well, I think I figured it out.  I think I wrote down a rental for $50 more that I was given, I will check tomorrow when I get to work.  I’m almost sure this is where I did it.

It did get warm today and it is supposed to get warmer tomorrow.  I didn’t download any pictures but we had a beautiful sunset that I may put in tomorrow I think I may have taken more pictures but can’t remember and I don’t want to download them now.  Tomorrow is another day.  Night Y’all…

Thursday June 30th 2011

Hope I haven’t already posted a blog for July 1st.  I’m having a lot of trouble with this computer.  I have another computer but I don’t want to have to download a bunch of stuff like the Windows Live Writer and try to figure that one out.

I work all day today and I will probably be helping Grant with cool sealing a roof.  The mobile home is hard to cool and hopefully this will help.  We got started pretty early but it is getting hot out and hopefully we will get done before noon.  I finished my part a little after noon and Grant will have to finish after lunch.  I’m sure I will find some more things to do after lunch. I started mowing after lunch and mowed a few sites while Grant finished the roof.

After mowing I did some spraying then picking up trash around the campground.  I was getting tired and by the time 5:30PM rolled around I was ready to go home. 

I was going to pick up chicken after work and went to three different stores then finally ended up going to Wal Mart.  I was late getting home.

We had a good supper and took it easy the rest of the night.  I was tired! Watched a little TV and tried to get the computer going but not much luck, maybe tomorrow…Night Y’all….

I am having trouble with the dates, hope the last few are OK…..