Things Are Looking Up

This mornings walk with Honey was a little chilly but not real bad.  There are blue skies over head amongst the clouds that continue to pass.  The forecast is for partly sunny weather today with full sun tomorrow and more rain heading into next week.  I hope to get many of the sunshine activities done in the next couple of days.

Mia returned in the evening yesterday with our granddaughter Emily, heretofore Em.  Em and I took the golf cart and went around to the different community advertising boards to post a 3"X5" card with an item we have been trying to get rid of since we bought this place.  There are two outbuildings on the lot and one is a shed that when we took ownership was completely finished with plaster board inside and was painted entirely black with a double florescent fixture hanging from the ceiling.  Except for a sofa bed it was complete devoid of furniture or anything else.  We quickly painted the interior white and added some shelves and started trying to unload the sofa bed.  Since there are few people in the park during the winter we only made a half ass attempt at posting it.  Yesterday we made a full on effort to post it all over the park.  It is free, all they have to do is haul it.  I certainly want no part of that, the damned thing is heavy.

The park is serving breakfast this morning so we (I'll) be going down to mix with the members and have a meal.  The menu:

                        Grand Slam Scramble                           Double Dipped Cinnamon
                            Hash Browns                         or                    French Toast
                            Toast                                                             Bacon or Sausage

You get a huge plate of food for $5.00 or you can opt for a smaller plate at $4.00.  Needless to say, there is nowhere locally that you can go for this much food this cheap.  The difference between a small and large is very slight.  We always tend to go with the small.  It starts at 8:00 am and I am usually one of the first in line.  The girls (Mia and Em) have made no movements that would indicate they plan to get up anytime soon so I will likely be going alone.  I'll get them a small French Toast to go and bring it back if they don't rise and shine soon.

It rained again last night and kind of squelched our plans to have a fire.  I am hoping to fire up the new fire pit tonight.  Mia brought a bag of white rock that we will distribute around the base of the ring today.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.

Things Didn't Change Until Late Afternoon

The tug of war with Honey continued this morning even though I took her out during a break in the shower action.  There are so many trees that hang over the roads here in the park that she was upset because the water was dripping on her.  Needless to say we didn't take a long walk until just now.  It seems the weather has decided to clear up late this afternoon so we went for a stroll down past the creek and back.  There were actual sun breaks.

I ended up doing pretty much nothing today.  Oh I fixed my meals, took my Board of Directors Application to the office, and did a couple of small items and clean up around the lot but I essentially messed around and watched old movies the vast majority of the day.  Sometimes you just need to veg and I saw no reason to go out with the rainy weather continuing until just an hour ago.  There are patches of blue sky and I am hoping tomorrow will be a different story.

Hope all is well and thanks for dropping by.

Overcast, Cold And Then More Rain

I got up yesterday with the temperature in the low forties.  It was a chilly, early morning walk with Honey.  After making breakfast I took the trailer down to the transfer station just outside Sultan and dumped the load.  I took several cans of old paint left in the shed that we poured kitty litter into so they would meet the requirements of disposal.  One can didn't pass inspection and I had to bring it home.  It was the fullest one and I don't think there was enough kitty litter in it to make it hard enough to pass.  I came back to the trailer and unhooked the trailer, loaded the car for Mia and she left for home.

While the day was dry, it continued to be cold.  I took Honey for her long morning walk through the park.  I wasn't getting any warmer as we walked.  The scenery was beautiful again.  So many are missing spring in the park.

I came back to the trailer and worked on the front box, getting it level and putting the three pieces together.  It was overcast and cold so I didn't drag out my saws to build more.  I decided to go in for lunch and except for walks I didn't go back outside again.

I have decided to run for the Board of Directors again, so I downloaded the application and worked to figure out how to make it a document I could fill in using the computer.  I had success and ended up with a type written application.  I was going to post a picture of the completed document but thought better of it in the end.

It started to rain last night around midnight and hasn't let up yet.  According to the weather device my daughter gave me we have had 1.7" of rain since midnight.  The temperature has gone up to nearly fifty but with the wet it feels significantly cooler.   The weather map shows clouds wandering through the area and indicates the rain should let up in and hour or so.  I suspect that I will have a tug of war with Honey on her morning walk.  I think she hates the rain more than I do.

That is all I've got.  Leading a pretty uneventful life here.  Hope all is well and thanks for dropping by

Perhaps I Spoke Too Soon

I got up and had breakfast and then took off down the road a few miles to the garbage transfer station.  I wasn't particularly surprised to find it closed but I did wish I had known before I made the drive down.  Apparently this transfer station is only open Thursday to Monday.  I will be making a quick trip down there this morning before Mia leaves.

Mia has meetings on Thursday evenings for a group that she belongs to so she will be taking our laundry and some retail returns of things we bought but don't need and heading home later this morning.  She has a big shopping list that should keep her pretty busy.  She will wait around until or grand daughters High School dismisses her and providing she doesn't get in trouble at home between now and about three tomorrow afternoon, she gets a ride to Gold Bar to spend some time with her grandparents.  I will return her home Sunday.

I was able to get out yesterday even though I believe I spoke too soon and the Gods are still not sure if they like me.  It continued to dribble all day yesterday.  I put my cut off saw under the makeshift tarp I put up for the smoker on Monday and I was able to cut and put together the frame part of the box for the front of the trailer.  The rains kept me from leveling, cleaning and screwing the pieces together.

This time of the year is so quiet in the park.  Very few people other than those who choose to live here are actually at their campsite.  The weekends tend to bring more but even that is light compared to further into the year when things warm up and the three day weekends arrive.  It is sad because they are missing out on so much.  Everything is greener having gotten a burst of refreshing, wet water from the record rainfall we had this past winter.  There are flowers growing and the ferns are amazing colors of green.  Then we have the rhododendrons that are just starting to bloom and depending on the lineage will continue to flower between now and the end of May.  The birds have made their springtime nests and you can hear them singing every morning.

Last night the Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey team won the final game of their series with the Kelowna Rockets sweeping them on the way to the WHL Championship series with a team yet to be determined.  All I can say is go Birds.

In other sports related news the Seattle Mariners are looking pretty good early in the season.  It is a long way to the end but there appears to be the start of something.  Of course, word came down yesterday that Nintendo is looking to offload their 55% stake in the club that they have owned since 1992 and Howard Lincoln, the Chairman and CEO, is leaving the team as soon as the sale is final.  Leadership change might be good for the team as Lincoln as been CEO for 17 years.  He has been with Nintendo and the team for over 30 years in various capacities.  Good luck in retirement.

Today looks kind of cloudy so I am not sure how much I will accomplish once Mia is gone.  I will have the dog to babysit and meals to fix so time will be limited for projects but I will try to get something done as long as the Gods cooperate.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.

The Gods May Love Me Again

Yesterday we finally had a day though over cast it didn't rain.  We put up a small tarp to cover the smoker just in case the skies decided to open.

Thankfully it stayed dry all day.  We had gotten a pork shoulder roast the last time we went to Costco.  I looked on line for rubs to put on it but I didn't see anything that even sounded remotely tasty so I decided to go with no rub, spices or dipping sauce.  The smoker did the rest.  It took nearly eight hours to bring it to an internal temperature of 195 but was it ever good.  Moist and tasty.

We loaded a bunch of junk around the lot into our little utility trailer towards the end of the day.  It took a hour or more to couple the hitch to the trailer.  I don't know what happened and I can't tell you how I fixed it.  Suffice it to say that the trailer is hooked and we intend to visit the local garbage transfer station this morning.

We also got our fire pit done.  I had purchased the necessary blocks at Lowes on Sunday but it rained continuously so we couldn't get it put together.  With no rain, it was the first thing I did yesterday.

We are thinking a little white rock to fill in the edges and presto...

There you have it.  Today I will be working on a cover for the ugly tongue protruding from the front of the trailer.

Hope all is well and thanks for dropping by.

Unproductive Few Days

Last Friday morning we left the comfort of our condo with a utility trailer load of tools and materials bound for Pratt's Paradise at Gold Bar.  There are many projects around the lot that need to get done and I was hoping for some solid good weather to begin checking off the list.  Save Saturday it has rained every day we have been here.  It seems that I must have done something in my past that has pissed off the weather gods.  Lately every time we come to Gold Bar with a list of things to do, it rains.  So outside projects are waiting for better weather.

Yesterday I tried to go out and work on the fire pit whenever the rains stopped.  As you can see in the pictures below, it didn't stop long.

So I spent the majority of the last couple of days back in school.  Yep, listening and watching lectures by University of Vermont Professor Mark A Stoler.  "A Skeptics Guide to American History" is a twenty-four part lecture CD that we purchased from Great Courses.  Professor Stoler dents many misconceptions about the history of the country and makes very good arguments about events that occurred throughout the making of America.  He even admits that others, in the future, may very well find arguments that will prove his arguments to be wrong.  It is perhaps one of the most compelling lectures I have ever attended and I didn't have to leave my living room.  My next series is on Abe Lincoln.

I am going to meet an old friend and ex-employee for coffee and catch up this morning.  He lives not two miles from our camping club and this is the first time we have gotten together.  Why do so many unimportant things always seem to get in the way?

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.

Sometimes You Have Fun By Accident

We left home Wednesday to drive up to Mt. Vernon, Washington in part to visit the Tulip Festival that neither of us ever attended.  We have lived in the state within an hour and a half drive for over sixty years and never attended this annual Skagit County festival.  We had decided to tie the visit with my step moms birthday so we could take her to lunch and visit the tulips.  Things didn't quite work out with regard to the tulips.  Seems the weather conditions brought the tulips early and unfortunately they were done early as well.  Normally they would lasted thru April.  We did have an opportunity to visit a tulip garden, RoozenGaarde, a wonderful stroll thru the tulips.

After we took my step mom home we headed to another local town, La Conner, Washington.  Kind of a tourist trap but we hadn't been there for many years so we decided to spend the night at Katy's Bed and Breakfast.  I am certainly glad we did.  We had a great room with a private entrance to the front yard so we didn't disturb the other guest when we had to take Honey out.  Honey was absolutely the best during our visit.  She only got going once when another guest's car alarm went off.

We went to town and visited the LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum.  Honey and I waited in the car while Mia wandered through three stories of fabrics.

Then we visited the Wood Merchant who has just about anything you could possible want made from wood.  Exceptional artisans bring him very beautiful wood pieces.  These folks know how to work with wood.  Sorry, no pictures allowed.

We had dinner downtown and retired to our room for the night.  When we were in Mt. Vernon earlier in the day, we had lunch at the Calico Cupboard and did this bakery every have the really good pastries.  Well there is one in La Conner and after my morning walk with Honey, I wandered downtown to pickup a few goodies to take home.

On my way back to the room I admired many of the homes along the way.  The details and workmanship is excellent.  There is some eccentricity among the classics.

I posted a picture of the box of rolls that I got on Facebook and got a message from my cousin that she and her friend we in La Conner for breakfast.  We made a point of meeting up.  It is amazing to have cousins but more amazing to meet up with them by surprise and with the help of Facebook.  Had a great visit with cousin Cathy and her friend Jill.

I can't remember a better trip.  So much fun with family.

We are off to the trailer for a couple of weeks.

Hope all is well and thanks for dropping by.