And so it begins, again

Good afternoon.
Sorry for my absence, but that only means one thing. An RV trip!
That's right, Our first trip of the season. We got there and back safe, and no major issues. It was a good trip. Here's a pic of the view from our campsite.
 

Details to follow when I have a little more time.   :-)

A little hosta post

Good morning.
Our crappy cold spring continues. And it looks like the rest of the month will be more of the same.  :-(
But, I did bundle up and worked out in the yard a bit yesterday.  I expanded a hosta bed I have around a tree in the back yard.

There was just the inner ring of hosta's. I dug out the sod to make a wider ring, added more soil, divided the hosta's in the inner ring and transplanted the so I'll now have a nice wide swath of them. These are a dwarf hosta called Golden  Tiara. It gets only about 10 inches tall and wide. A light green with a yellow edge.
And here's some more shorter Iris. These are a little taller than the one's I posted yesterday, and a lighter purple.

So even though it's been very cold for this time of year, the perennials keep growing.
I also left the furnace on in the mo-ho. The forecast is for a low of 28 tomorrow night. I've never had the furnace on this much in April before. Oh well. With the thermostat set at 40, it isn't using much propane.
And with that, it's time for another work week.

cold spring

Good morning.
It's been a miserable weekend, weather wise. Barely 55, with a stiff cold wind from the north. 
I did manage to get out and divide and transplant a few hosta's on Sunday. Spent the rest of the day inside, but did do some cleaning.
Monday, Craig and I bundled up and mowed the lawn.
It wouldn't be bad out, but that wind, gusting to 35, was cold!
We also checked on some campgrounds for our final trips, but made no decisions.
Our new stylist is starting on Monday of next week. She's coming in Friday for a key and a run-through on opening the Salon. And it's looking to be a fairly busy week, but first, I have one more day off.  :-)
It's looking to be a carbon copy of the last 2, but I'll deal with it.  ;-)
And I managed to take a few pics of the yard, as spring marches forth....

Euphorbia polychroma

A short, purple, early Iris

Beacon Silver ground cover

Perennial beds waking up

Weigela 'Canary'

Because of the wind, I didn't get that large pile of branches burned. Maybe next week.
 And with that, time for my morning work-out. I need to do a good one this morning. My inability to work outside is hampering my weight loss plan so I need to do a good calorie burn.   :-)

my Sunday post

Good morning from another cold day in Lansing.
The high for today is only forecast for 51. A full 10 degrees short of our 'normal' high. It's been pretty much that way for the entire month of April. Near normal, to below normal. And looks to finish the month the same. I told you we'd pay for that gorgeous weather we had in March.  :-\      Looks like I'll need to leave the furnace on in the mo-ho a couple more nights until it stays above freezing.
Anyway, it ended up a fairly busy week at the Salon, and next week's looking good also.
We seem to be getting more questions as to when we plan to retire. Craig will be 62 next January, and eligible for early Social Security. We keep telling them with our health insurance going up double digit every year, we may have to wait until we're eligible for Medicare. Then, we'll get much better coverage, for 1/4 what we're paying now. It's pretty sad, Medicare has better coverage for the price, than my Blue Cross.  :-(
Medicare part A is $99 a month, and we're each paying $386 a month. (and it goes up again in June) And our coverage isn't as good as Medicare part A.  :-(
Anyway, enough of that for now. With no rain forecast, I'm going to bundle up and burn a big pile of branches, and hope to do a little weeding.
Now, with the Salon cleaning done for another week, time for my shower.

weekend review

Good morning.
Well, we continue to pay for that beautiful 2 weeks in March. We had frost again this morning. Leaving the heat on in the mo-ho all week as more freezing temps are forecast for later in the week. Most of April, so far, has been normal to below normal, and looks to stay that way for the rest of the month. The only good from it, is flowers that are currently blooming, are lasting a long time.
Despite the cold windy weather, I managed to get out and do some work. I trimmed up a large Sunburst Locust tree, divided and transplanted more hosta's, and did some spot weeding in the lawn. The tree guys also came and cut down the dead green Ash out in the corner of the yard. They were quick. 3 hours to cut down, cut up, and remove everything.
In other news, my weigh-in went better. Down another 2 lbs this week.  :-)
Called and set up my physical for the first Monday in May. Will have my blood tests done later this week.
And another work week starts today. Looking a little slow so far, but we'll see how the phones ring.  :-)
With that, time to go....

Monday morning post.

Good morning.
I  woke up  to another rainy morning, but with mild temps in the low 60's. We're suppose to have another day of off and on rain. Yesterday, the rain let up before noon, and stayed away until early evening, so I did manage to get out, and trim back some arborvitaes and divided and transplanted some hosta's. I also replace a light fixture by the front door, while Craig replaced a rail on the split rail fence.
And I saw this on the back screen door.....

A snail! It crawled up the screen, and sat there the entire day. I don't think I've seen one in all the years we've lived here. He was gone this morning.
And Craig's new beef stew recipe was a success! Melt in the mouth meat, with a flavorful thick gravy.

And I'm waking Craig up early this morning. We have to run to Charlotte, MI. It's the county seat of Eaton County where our Salon is located. Craig has discovered our Partnership license had expired. Not sure why they didn't send us a reminder. Craig thought it was due in April, but in fact, was due in March. So that will be a 20 minute or so drive there. We both have to go because we need to sign it in front of the clerk.
Anyway, that's my Monday morning post.

play day

Good morning.
The work week ended busy. Over all, a good week.
We got home early enough to sit on the deck for a short time. The weather has gotten a bit milder the last few days, but with that, it also brings rain. Lot's of it. Over night, we got nearly an inch, and it's still raining. Forecast to rain off and on for the next couple of days.
I, of course, cleaned the Salon this morning, and already put together a beef stew in the slow cooker. Craig thought that since it was going to be a wash out today, some slow cooking comfort food was in order. I agreed.  :-)
He's trying a new recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I had a nice talk with our new, soon to be starting, stylist on Friday. She seemed very excited to move over here from her other place. I went over our phone system, what the Salon fund covers, charge card procedures, and such. Gave her a bunch of papers for her to reference.
And with the rain today, it might just have to be a play day. We'll see.  :-)
Now time for coffee and the Sunday paper....

Friday

Good morning.
After a decent Wednesday and a slow Thursday at the Salon, today and tomorrow are completely booked.
I should be able to turn the furnace off in the mo-ho later today. It looks like the freezing temps are finally over.
So far this month, we've been below normal temps. I knew we'd pay for that freak heat wave back in March.
I also got the new wiper blades for the mo-ho delivered Wednesday, and hope to get them installed today after work. The weekend is looking like a total wash-out, as rain is predicted for the entire weekend. Craig is also planning on mowing today for the same reason.
Also today, I do an orientation meeting with our new stylist. Basically show her how the phone system works, give her a copy of the lease to look over and sign, give her a key to a supply locker and the front door, and explain what's included in the Salon fund part of the rent. She's not exactly a 'new' stylist, but one who has been working at other salon's and will be 'new' to us. She lives on this side of town, but currently works way on the other side of town. It will be interesting to see how many customers follow her over here. As an incentive, we've offered her a reduced rent for the first 2 months to help with the transition.
This means for the first time in 15 years, we'll be fully staffed. That will be nice.  :-)
And with that, time to get ready for work.

to damn cold

Good morning.
It's been way too cold this past weekend. A high of only 45 yesterday.  :-(  We should be near 60.
I finished un-winterizing the mo-ho, but now have to leave the furnace on as the next couple of nights are forecast to go below freezing.  :-(
Good news, all mo-ho systems are go. Everything has checked out and is working .  :-)
No work in the yard yesterday as besides being only 45, it was cloudy and windy. We even saw a few snow flakes. yuk.
And my weigh in didn't go well. Gained a pound. Must have ate more than I thought. Of course, if the weather had cooperated, I could have worked in the yard and burned it off. Oh well, I'll try another week.
And now it's time for another work week. Looking a little slow, but we'll see how it goes.

Monday morning post

Good morning.
It's a chilly 39 out this morning, with a projected high of only 55, and possible rain. But yesterday was sunny, and near 60, even though the wind at 30, gusting to 40 nearly knocked you over.  :-)
I did my usual cleaning of the Salon, and spent the better part of the day un-winterizing the mo-ho water system. That entails draining out the antifreeze, flushing the lines, filling the fresh water tank with a bleach solution to sanitize the tank, running that through all the water lines, and letting it sit for 4 hours. Since I didn't get that finished until mid afternoon, I let it set all night. Today I'll drain all that out, fill with fresh, and flush the lines one more time. Then the water system will be ready to use.
While the system was sanitizing, I did some weeding of flower beds. I'm also redoing a section of one of the beds. It was basically a wild flower section. Had a mixture of Bee Balm, Spider-wort and Garlic Chives. They all self seed, and that makes for a collage of plants, but also a chore to weed as there are no individual clumps, but a mass of scattered plants. So, I ripped that out, and transplanted a few shrubs and clump forming perennials that will be easier to weed around. Trying to lower the maintenance of my yard a bit.  :-)
I also went online and ordered 2 new wiper blades for the mo-ho. The cheapest I could find around here were $42, and I could get them from Camping World, since I'm a Good Sams Club member, for $34 with free shipping. That was a no-brainer since we have time until our first trip to get them.
And of course, it was also Easter, and that means Craig's Easter dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes, butternut squash, and deviled eggs. He'll only buy bone in ham. He says that's 'real' ham. And I must say, it was tasty!
Now, I'm still 'studying' for my upcoming physical early next month, so I tried real hard to watch how much I ate. Did pretty good. Didn't eat nearly as much ham and potatoes I wanted to, but filled up on squash and Lima beans. I probably ate more ham than I should have, but it was Easter.   :-)
Anyway, I do my weekly weigh in on Wednesday, so I'll see then any impact. So far, I'm down to 171 from 178, trying for a goal of 165. We'll see.
And with the beautiful sunny day, I took a couple of pics....

A better view of the large old Crabapple tree, and my rock garden currently filled with Grape Hyacinths.

Under those Grape Hyacinths are actually quite a few rocks and will be full of hens and chicks when they die down latter this spring.
And now, to help burn off some of that Easter dinner,  I need to do an extra long workout this morning
And that's my Monday morning post.  :-)

yay! it' the weekend!

Good afternoon.
It ended up being a a very busy week. The phone started ringing as soon as I arrived on Wednesday, and didn't stop. I did manage to get out early enough Friday and Saturday to do a little yard work. The weather has been mild with temps in the upper 50's. The colder weather has slowed everything right to a crawl.
We may have a new stylist joining our Salon. She stopped in last Wednesday, and seemed real interested. We'll see if it pans out. We have just one station open. It would be nice, and profitable, if we filled it.  :-)
Upon cleaning the mo-ho last weekend, I discovered that a wiper was frayed.  I can't believe how expensive a new one is.  :-(    I'll probably order it online as the few local places were quite expensive.
And Craig is fixing barbecue pulled pork sandwiches for dinner from our earlier in the week, pork roast. Should be tasty.  :-)

and back to work

Good morning.
We did our usual running around in the morning, including buying me a new pair of shoes for work. I was going to work last week in the rain, and wondered why my sock was wet in my right shoe. Upon closer inspection, the sole had worn right through the bottom. Guess I got my moneys worth from that pair.  :-)
And after a dreary rainy morning, yesterday afternoon cleared up enough to let me do a little yard work. I took these pics....

Flowering Quince

Oregon Grape Holly

And a very large, old, Crab Apple tree. It blooms now just every other year and this year it's full of flowers.
 Craig and I also changed the tires on the PT Cruiser, and Kia. From winter tires to summer tires. I sure hope the snow is done with.  :-)
And with that, time for another work week.

systems check

Good morning.
Sunday was cloudy, cold,(46) and breezy. A good day to spend inside the mo-ho.
And a systems check so far.....
Slide-outs....check.
Hydraulic jacks....check.
Furnace.....check.
Fridge.....check
TV.....check
TV booster.....check.
So far so good. I'll wait another week or so before I un-winterize the water system, since below freezing temps is forecast for the rest of the week.
 And with the slide-outs out, I gave the mo-ho a thorough cleaning. With the mo-ho in the shop so long late last year, I never got a chance to clean it good before we parked it.
I then reinstalled all the various components with new batteries such as the smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, clock, safe, and various remotes and flashlights.
I also put in bedding, rugs and pillows. We seemed to have gotten through another winter with no critters getting inside.  :-)
Craig did his usual laundry and bookwork, and then fixed a tasty Cranberry pork roast for dinner. It was yummy!
Monday, after Banking, P.O. and shopping, we came home and mowed the yard.

I edged with the push mower while Craig did the rider. I also did a quick wash of the outside of the mo-ho.
It wasn't much warmer, (56) but with the sun, it felt warmer.
And Craig made another tasty dinner, this time, taco salad. 
And this morning, while Craig gets his beauty rest, I'm off to a supply store for salon stuff.

It's almost RVing time!

Good morning.
As usual, I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
And as you've already found out, no, I didn't win the Mega Millions jackpot.  :-(
So I guess I gotta work another week.
Anyway, after a busy Saturday, we came home to relax, had a couple of cocktails, and played on our puters. While Craig played Poppit, I surfed the net, researching some of our upcoming trips. That's right, April is when we take our first RV trip of the season.  :-)
Craig called Wednesday and had the insurance put back on, and today, we'll back it out of it's winter parking spot and out into the driveway, so I can check out all the systems, install batteries, and give it a good cleaning.
For dinner, while we watched a Hot in Cleveland marathon,  Craig made a couple of pizza's.

A taco pizza above, and ground beef and mushroom on the bottom.

No, we don't eat both of the pizza's. The ground beef comes in 1lb packages, and that's too much for one pizza. So the second gets eaten cold for lunch the next couple of days.  :-)
 I suppose we could divide the ground beef before we freeze it, but I really like leftover pizza.  :-)
And they finally delivered the new mower blades for my riding lawnmower.

The old ones were pretty beaten up compared to the nice shinny new ones.
And now, while Craig continues his beauty rest, I'll go out and install the new blades.