icky oil

Good morning.

Well, as I'm sure many of you have heard, the gulf isn't the only place with an oil spill. Right here in Michigan, we've had a spill of over 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo river.
It came from a pipe taking oil from Indiana to Canada. It doesn't come through Lansing, which has the Grand River, but flows just south of us through the cities of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. The river runs right along the Fort Custer Recreation area we stayed at earlier this year. I even took a pic of the river when we were there since it has a very nice boat launch for Kayaks which no one will be using now for the foreseeable future as they've banned everything from the river.
They've even evacuated up to 80 properties along the river because of toxic fumes.

The river is very popular with Canadian geese, which as you can see aren't going to fare well during this catastrophe.

Having a spill in a river is almost worst than in a lake. In a lake it just floats around, but a river just carries it along, and with the water levels high due to a lot of rain, the river is flowing faster. Right now it's a long ways from Lake Michigan, and there's several dams and small lakes in between. Hopefully they'll be able to get it all before it reaches Lake Michigan.

And in other news.....

It's been another busy week in the Salon including today and tomorrow. It's been warm (mid 80's) and sunny, and looks to be a nice weekend.

And to leave you with a more pleasant view, a pot out on the arbor by the pond.

Fountain grass in the middle, with 3 varieties of sweet potato vines and purple petunias.

Have a great weekend!

trip #6

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon, and now I'm ready to share our trip.
Like I said in the previous post, this trip took us to Maumee Bay State Park, which is just outside of Toledo Ohio. One of the reasons for this particular trip was to watch the Great Dragon Boat Races. So Saturday morning took us downtown on the river.
Dragon boats are long narrow boats with dragon heads on the front.


There were 40 entries from local businesses and organisations.
They had a drummer in front to set the rowing pace, and a person in back steering.

The participants were pretty much amateurs, and it was fun to watch them try and coordinate their rowing.

The winners again this year for the 4th time were from a local college and of course were on the schools rowing team. I didn't think that was quite fair, but it's all in good fun and a fundraiser for local education.

Then, since we were downtown, it was over to the farmers market to pick up fresh veggies for our dinners. Then, next door to the market is the Libby Glass factory outlet, where I was really temped to get this martini glass.

But thought better since I couldn't possible drink a martini that big! But we did find some cocktail glasses to buy. And with the downtown so busy from races, we went across town to Loma Linda's. Like Tony Packo's, it's been a Toledo institution since 1965.

Surprisingly, Craig posed for a picture. Of course, it was after lunch and 2 margarita's. hehe.
It didn't look 45 years old, but we soon discovered, they've built on several times. It was quite the sprawling place. And very busy!

And the food was delicious! and inexpensive! Then it was back to the campground where we tried to sit outside, but the heat and humidity was too much, and the sky was getting dark, so inside to watch the weather. And soon after, a storm came rolling through. It rained buckets! and fierce winds too! Thank god we weren't in a tent!
It ended about as fast as it started. It was then cool enough for a little bike ride through the campground.
Dinner was pork cutlets on the grill, and marinated grilled zucchini, with some store bought potato salad.

Sunday morning I couldn't go for an early morning bike ride because of more rain, so it was games on the puter. By the time Craig got up, the rain ended and we had a nice walk with our morning coffee.
Then it was off to Fort Meigs for Drums along the Maumee.

This is a massive fort that's been restored that's up river from downtown. This weekend they were having groups of fife and drum players performing.

After watching some of the bands and touring the fort, it was time for lunch so off to

Tony Packo's! For some great Hungarian hot dogs! If you want to try them where you live, you can order everything you need on-line.

Then back to the campground for a bike ride now that the 'cold' front had blown through and the sun had finally come out.

For dinner it was barbecued chicken on the grill with corn on the cob, and a store bought macaroni salad.

Monday morning it was packing up for the drive home, which happened with no incidences.

It was a good trip!

another trip

Good afternoon.
Sorry for my absence, but between the no Internet issue, and another trip, I haven't been able to post. But then, I'm sure you probably haven't even noticed. ;-)
We've just returned from Maumee Bay State Park. It's just outside of Toledo, Ohio. It's one of our favorite campgrounds. The most spacious of any we've camped at.
We went and returned safely, so it was a very good trip. It was ungodly HOT! 96, 94, and then only 88. We had only a 30 amp hook-up, but managed to keep the mo-ho fairly comfortable. At least we weren't in a tent :-)
And here's a pic of me near downtown Toledo. They've wiped out most everything across the river from downtown, and looks like it's ready to develop once the economy picks up.

Despite the hot, humid weather, we had a very nice weekend, and I'll share more pics and such when I have some more time. Right now, Crag has dinner ready, and I'm hungry!

prepping the mo-ho for a trip.

Getting ready for another RV trip takes planning. We only have so much time for each trip, so we want to maximize it. We usually leave after work on a Friday. So in order to get as much work time in as possible, and still get to the campground at a reasonable time, we make sure everything is ready when we get out of work on Friday. That means we back the mo-ho in on Tuesday, hook up the Kar Kaddy, and load the car.
We're fortunate that we have the perfect set-up for this.
As you see in this first pic, the motor home fits nice and snug between the garage and some trees next to the lot line.

You can see in the second pic the car on the kar kaddy behind the mo-ho.

We can remove the gate, and drive the car around the house to get it on the kaddy. This way, we're ready to go when we get home.

Before we back in in, we put out the bed slide and put in the clothes we want. I also have already cleaned it up since the last trip.

After we back it in, hook up the kaddy, and load the car, I turn on the fridge to get it to cool down so I can load the food on Thursday morning before I go to work.
So on Friday, we come home, change our clothes, grab the laptop, and we're on our way!
Getting the kaddy and car preloaded saves us at least half an hour, which doesn't seem like much, but that gives us an extra half hour to relax upon arrival.

finally, my weekend update...late

Good morning.
It's so good to have the Internet again!
And now to bring you up to speed in our boring life. :-)
Last Sunday, after coming home from cleaning the Salon, I was doing a blog post and loading some pics when all of a sudden the page froze. I soon discovered my Internet connection was gone. I rebooted the modem....nothing. I rebooted the router.....nothing. I restarted my puter.....nothing. So a call to tech support eventually was determined that my modem went bad. They would ship it out asap and I should have it Monday or Tuesday. Of course, I didn't receive it until Wednesday.
Anyway, with no Internet, I had a lot of free time. I got nearly the entire mo-ho waxed. I scrapped and peeled caulking from the windshield and reapplied. The windshield leaks thanks to all the vibration from the roads, and when I first caulked it it was great, but all the vibration eventually cracks the new caulking and I have to redo it. Fortunately, the water just gets on the dash.
Monday found me cleaning the windows on the mo-ho, and weeding and deadheading in the garden. Craig while always busy with bookwork and laundry, mowed the yard and fixed a wonderful cheese layered meatloaf for dinner with asparagus and scalloped potatoes.

Tuesday morning with no Internet got me in a cleaning mood and I scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom. Craig was beginning to like me without Internet service.
Then we worked on fixing the car kaddy fenders. They put plastic fenders on the kaddy, and over the last few years, cracks have developed around the lights on both of them.

So we decide to give it some extra support.We drilled a hole in the center, and added another pressure screw.

It's not a real screw, but a plastic thingy with rows of flexible threads that fold when you push it through a hole, and spring back out to catch and hold.

It worked real good. Then I got some super glue to seal the cracks. We'll see if this helps any.

Then it was pork cutlets on the grill with baked potatoes and corn on the cob.

And of course, Wednesday was back to work.

See, you didn't miss a whole lot did you?

I'm back!

Good evening.
Yes, I'm still here.
I've been without Internet access since Sunday morning.
With tech support it was determined my modem had bit the dust. They shipped me a new one that didn't arrive until today. I had serious withdrawal issues. But I'm better now.
The weekend was busy as is this week at work.
I'm tired and just not up to all this typing, so I'll get you up to date tomorrow morning.

mo-ho and food.

Good evening.
I know, a rare evening post. But it's too hot to work in the yard, and we decided to have an early dinner, and there's nothing on TV right now.
We picked up the mo-ho, after work today. Here's the brand new hydraulic jack.

They also put on new springs. They were able to use the main housing and just replace the hydraulic jack. It'll be nice to have them all working correctly.
The Salon has been very busy this week, and I'm soo tired of taking the long way to and from work. The traffic volume has gotten much worst this week as more people look for a way to get across the river. There were 25 cars waiting to turn at the intersection when I got there. I hope the repairs on the bridge go quickly.
And for dinner, we grilled boneless chicken breasts with a barbecue sauce, and baked potatoes and asparagus. Just delicious! Tomorrow, home made pizza! I can't wait!

Have a great weekend!

And still more daylilies

Good morning.
Yesterday was a dreary, cloudy, humid day. And I pretty much felt the same. So I was pretty much a slug. Did a little weeding, and watering, but not much else. We spent most of the afternoon just chillin on the deck with cocktails, enjoying the yard, and talking.
I did make a tasty dinner of barbecued chicken, baked potatoes, and asparagus.
We did finally receive a call from the ford dealer in the afternoon, and as I suspected, the jack needs to be replaced. They were able to order a rebuild kit, that will save me some money since the jacks come in pairs if purchased new. They said it should be done Friday. It will be nice to have it working properly.
And here's some more daylillies I've got blooming. Didn't I say I have over 50 varieties?

And now, it's time for another work week.

flowers and such

Good morning.
My morning post is a little later than usual, as I was exercising, and watering in the yard. Between the heat wave last week which is kind of continuing, we haven't had much rain so the yard is getting pretty dry.
And speaking of the yard, here's a pic of the pond...

You can see the grass is looking a bit brown as we don't water the lawn. To many flower beds to keep up with, and the lawn will green up as soon as it rains again.
I made an appointment last week to take in the mo-ho yesterday for that hydraulic jack issue. We dropped it off at 8am. Well, as usual, they didn't get to it yesterday, but said it was in the bay and they'd be on it this morning. Why do we make appointments, when it doesn't seem to matter? They never get to the car/truck/mo-ho the day you take it in. I wish I had the skills/knowledge that John has so I could do some of this stuff myself and save me lot's of money, but I don't and really don't want to learn so I guess I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it.

I did get some weeding done yesterday, and cleaned the bathroom.

I also checked out some things to do on some of our trips. At Maumee Bay State Park, we're going into nearby Toledo for the Great River Dragon Boat Races. At a new campground for us this year, Van Buren State Park, we're taking in South Haven's tall ships parade, and Saugatuck's 'taste of Saugatuck'.

And with poor Craig having to get up so early yesterday, even with all our errands, we were home early enough, that I was able to persuade him to make his homemade potato salad, and homemade baked beans. We had that with pork steaks on the grill.

And to finish, some more flowers blooming in our yard....

Above, Ligularia, 'the rocket'.

a pretty blue phlox,

Blue Angel Hostas in full bloom
And Soapwort.

And now I'm off to catch up on some blogs, since at 8:45, Craig is still sleeping. :-)

just be patient

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. I started out on my usual route to work, when after a few minutes I realized I forgot the damn bridge was closed and turned around to go the long way. This longer route has already gotten old. The old way was 4 lanes, the long way is only 2, and it seems I'm always getting behind some slow ass. I keep telling myself "this is just teaching you patience", but it's a lesson I'm not learning well.
Anyway, Friday filled in with more appointments, but Saturday stayed thin. We did get the yard mowed Friday afternoon, but Saturday afternoon, we got home early from work and just relaxed on the deck with cocktails, beautiful weather, and beautiful flowers. Then we made an orange glazed pork stir fry for dinner. It was tasty!
And today, a little more waxing on the mo-ho, before we take it in tomorrow.
And here's some more daylillies currently blooming. Did I say I have nearly 50 different ones?


I just love all the different color combinations!

The daylily post

Good morning.
Wednesday and Thursday have been very busy at work, but today and Saturday are looking slow. I've been enjoying my new car. I love that new car smell! And I get to drive it longer each day since we now have to go the 'long' way to work. Actually we have to go the long way to just about anywhere! The major road we take to work has a bridge that is now closed for some kind of repair. And on this side of town, there's not many places to cross the river. So the next closest bridge is 3 miles out of our way. It felt like forever driving home last night after a 11 hour day! But it's scheduled to be closed for just a month, so that's not too terribly long.
And the heat wave that has had us in a hot humid grip for the last week is finally over. We're back to the mid 80's for the weekend. Maybe I can get some yard work done.
And to end this post, some more daylillies for you viewing pleasure that are blooming in the yard....

This one was where I had the sprinkler.
This one was where I had the sprinkler also. :-)

Have a great weekend!