August 30, 2007

Yesterday we bought a new cell phone and camera. The water dried out of the old phone and camera but they still would not work. We had insurance on our phone so we went to the Sprint store to get a replacement. They said we needed to call the 800 number and one would be sent to us in a few days. There was a $50 charge also. But, we could buy a new one for $29.99 and if we would agree to a new two-year contract, we would get a mail in rebate worth $29.99 for the phone. Well, we were born at night but not last night so we bought the new phone. We also discontinued the insurance on our phone.

Now that we had found a phone at a reasonable price, we needed a camera next. We were in a large mall in Merrillville, Indiana so this was a good place to look. We found an Olympus camera at the Radio Shack store that we both liked. It is small enough to fit in a pocket and takes good quality pictures. It was on “sale” so we bought it. Now we are happy again.

Today I went fishing with my brother, Bob. We went to a small lake in the area where the local fishermen were supposedly having good luck. It is a beautiful lake and we did have good time fishing. It was rather windy today and we needed to use two anchors to hold the boat in position for fishing. The rope on one of the electric anchors wrapped around the shaft and quit working. We tried to fix it while on the lake but found we didn’t have the correct tools. We continued fishing for another hour and then decided to leave. Here are some pictures with the new camera.

This is Mud Lake where we were fishing.

The leaves are starting to turn.

This is Bob looking at the anchor.

This is Bob trying to untangle the rope that wrapped inside.

After giving up on the anchor, it was back to fishing.

Isn't this a great picture of my bobber in the water. I'm still a little nervous about having the camera in the boat. It is not waterproof and the lake is deeper than Sugar Creek. So this is the best picture of me fishing.

It was another great day with my brother. Our next outing will be on Lake Michigan this Saturday to fish for perch.

August 28, 2007

Today Bill, Jeanette, Char and I drove south to Turkey Run State Park. This is one of the most beautiful places in Indiana. It was about a 2-½ hour drive through some remarkable farm country. I think we enjoyed the drive to and from almost as much as the Park. We walked on a few of the trails and took lots of great pictures.

Looking down Sugar Creek.

The morning sun shining through the trees gave us some very spectacular pictures.

On one of the trails, we crossed Sugar Creek on a suspension bridge about twenty feet above the water. Normally, Char doesn’t like this type of bridge because of its movement and I don’t like the height. Today was so perfect that we crossed without any fears or concerns.

We stopped for lunch at the Turkey Run Inn Restaurant. After lunch we went for a canoe trip on Sugar Creek. It was absolutely a perfect day for a ride on the water. We leisurely drifted down the creek for a little more than one hour. We thought we had reached the prearranged stopping point and pulled into the shore near people unloading their canoes. After getting out of our canoe, we realized we were at the incorrect location and decided to travel further down the creek. While leaving the shore, we lost our balance, the canoe tipped over and we went into the water. The water was only about a foot deep but deep enough for Char and I to get completely wet from head to toe. Everything in the canoe went into the water including our camera and cell phone. The people on the shore helped us empty the water out of the canoe and get back on the creek. In less than 5 minutes we were at the correct stopping point. As we headed for the car, we were very wet, embarrassed about our canoeing skills and frustrated about possibly ruining our camera and cell phone.

Bill and Jeanette make it look easy.

We are still dry in this picture.

For those of you we talk to regularly, please give us a day or two to get our cell phone replaced. Even though we tipped into the water, we still feel we had a wonderful day and want to go back again sometime. Our only regret was that Bill or Jeanette didn’t have the camera to take a picture of us in the water.

August 26, 2007

There are many benefits to retirement. Most of the time, we can go anywhere at anytime and do whatever we want. Not much keeps us from having fun. For the last two days we have been at my brother’s house cleaning up the fallen trees. Also there to help was, Bob’s daughter, Julie and her two girls, Tammy and Melissa.

Janet, Julie and Melissa unloading small limbs from the cart.

Julie, Tammy and Melissa moving the small limbs to the burn pile.

I used the chain saw while Bob used the tractor to push the tops to the burn pile.

This is one of the few times when Casey, Bob's dog, wasn’t running around checking on everyone. Locust trees have small thorns that can hurt if they stick you. Everything came to a halt when Casey got one in his front paw. Melissa, Tammy, Julie and Janet were called on to hold him while Bob removed the thorn. He is good as ever now.

It is nice to have a Mom around to remove those nasty splinters.

Now it’s day 2 of the clean up. As you can see, I am still using the chain saw, Bob continues driving the tractor, Janet is loading the heavy pieces in the bucket and Char takes the pictures when not helping load and cleaning up the small stuff.

Looking at his expression, you can imagine what Bob is thinking. He is happy that I am here to give him some helpful tips on how to replace the chain on his saw. Just kidding.

Here I am standing in the tractor’s bucket and using a hand saw to remove a limb that is on one of Bob’s storage buildings.

It’s looking better. You can see a leaning tree that still needs to be removed and a couple piles of the small limbs that will be burned later. Bob will have someone come in and remove the stumps and roots in the next few weeks. Bob wants to remove several more of the messy locust trees. His neighbor will cut them down for the wood.

This is one of the piles of wood we cut. Bob's son, Rick, wants this for when he goes camping.

I think we all have a few achy muscles now. Neither Charlotte nor I have done this much physical labor in quite a while. I am glad we were here to help and I know our assistance was greatly appreciated. It was fun being with Bob and his family again.

August 24, 2007

My brother, Bob, coordinated a night out for pizza with some of the family. My brother, Roger, his wife Judy, their son Edie, My Uncle Russell and his friend Lorraine, my brother Bob and his wife Janet, Charlotte and I went to a terrific restaurant, Stevettys Pizza, at Hudson Lake, Indiana. Hudson Lake is a very small town on a small lake in northern Indiana. It is off the main highway so you have to know where to go to find this quaint little place. The waitress proudly informed us that this restaurant has been in business for approximately 60 years. Ownership and the name have changed a few times over the years but the building is still the same. It is small with seating for about 25 people in each of two rooms, one for smoking and one for non-smoking. The menu is a variety of pizza and a couple of sandwiches. The pizza was marvelous and the service was excellent. This restaurant made me think of Linc Fisch, Karl’s father. This is the type of out of the way place he would find and share with his friends and family. Linc, if you are ever in Northern Indiana, try this place. I’m sure you would find it cozy, friendly and very enjoyable.

Everyone left the restaurant happy and very full. Remember the name, Stevetty's Pizza and the town, Hudson Lake, Indiana for an enjoyable evening out.

August 23, 2007

Water, water, water - there is lots of water everywhere in the area. It has been raining for the last several days. The ground is soaked and it takes a lot of time for the rain water to drain away. There is flooding in much of the area. We had a very strong storm hit today with lots of lightning, heavy rain and strong winds. My brother, Bob, had several large trees blown over around his house. He is fine and there was no damage to any of his buildings.

A large rock was flipped up by the roots of this tree and was wedged between two large sections.

This tree fell towards the neighbor’s house.

Luckily only the corner was damaged. The gutter and some fascia will need to be replaced.

A large part of this tree is still up high waiting to fall.

There are lots of trees to be cut up and big roots to be removed.

These were very large Locust trees.

It will take a while to clear all this away. Once his insurance agent finishes reviewing the damage, we plan to help with the clean up.

We were a little nervous in our motor home because the lightning and strong winds. Our RV Park didn’t have any major damage. There were a few small limbs blown down but nothing serious. The storm caused a power outage in our area for several hours. My Mom and both brothers invited us to join them at their homes while we were without electric. We thanked them and declined all invitations. Because we live in a motor home, the loss of electricity doesn’t bother us. We have our own generator and coach batteries so we were fine. It is nice to be self-sufficient when we encounter adverse conditions such as today.

August 22, 2007

We had a great day with my Mom today. She wanted to go shopping for a new light fixture for the kitchen and a new showerhead in the bath. It was fun looking for things for the home again, especially when spending someone else’s money. Mom found what she wanted plus a few additional things. She found everything in one store, Menards. This was my first time in Menards and I was very impressed with the selection and service. As we wandered through the store several times associates came up and asked if we needed help finding anything. It has been a long time since we saw that much friendly help in a store.

Later, my nephew, Eddie came and helped me install everything. Eddie is a plumber and can do everything. It sure is nice to have family members with lots of skills. The new florescent kitchen light is brighter and will use less electricity than the old incandescent one. Mom is very happy with her selection.

We also went to the store that supplies her oxygen equipment. She wanted to look at the new models available. They had a lightweight portable unit she liked. She decided against changing because the new unit didn’t allow the same amount of time out shopping without recharging as her current system.

It is nice to be home and around our families again.

August 18, 2007

Today we had a family gathering at my Mom’s place. We used the community room at Mom’s complex. It is a good place for a get together as they have plenty of tables, chairs and a complete kitchen for cooking and easy clean up. Everyone brought a covered dish or two so we had lots of great homemade food. We did a lot of catching up with everyone. We had not seen some of them for a couple of years so we had plenty to talk about. There were lots of stories, laughter and questions about our life style. Not everyone understands or appreciates our full-time RVing adventures. While most are happy for us they could never leave their “things” or home to travel as we do.

The rain started a short time after everyone arrived. It was a good day to be inside and reminisce about old times.

My sister, Debbie and my Mom.


My brother, Bob.

My brother Bob’s daughter, Julie.


My baby brother, Roger.

My brother Roger’s daughter, Shelly, her husband Brendon and Roger’s wife, Judy.

Shelly and Brendon’s daughter, Natalie.

My brother Roger’s son, Eddie and his wife, Jessica.

My sister Debby, her husband, Jessie and her son, Sean.


My sister’s daughter, Ada.

My Uncle Russ and his friend Lorraine.


My Uncle Roy.

August 12, 2007

Richard and Vera arrived in New York this morning. They said Brandie recognized the area as they were driving. Isn’t it amazing what animals can remember? I know when she has been away for a while, she always remembers us. Perhaps in a couple of days, after the funeral, they will get some well-deserved rest.

This is our last day in Colorado and we wanted to see Peggy and Andy Bosomworth. Peggy was out of town on business last year when we stopped. Andy is currently besieged with a reaction to a recent medicine change. He has an itchy rash on his arms, legs and stomach. He finds it difficult to not scratch. Don't scratch, Andy!

We enjoyed a nice lunch, soup and salad, with them at Olive Garden. After lunch, they followed us home to see our Motorhome. We gave them the grand tour as we do with everyone. As everyone knows, we are very happy with of our home and lifestyle. We played a couple of games, LCR and Mexican Train dominoes, and then unfortunately it was time for them to leave. They are a fantastic couple and we always enjoy seeing them. Here are a couple of pictures. (Taken by Ray and Char while Vera is away)

In this picture, I have the better beard but Andy has more hair.

August 11, 2007

We talked with Richard and Vera today. They are in Lamar, Pennsylvania. In two days they have driven 1533 miles and they still have 200 to go tomorrow. Vera’s ankle is bothering her a lot. She will go to see a Doctor on Monday. Richard said he is fine even though he has done a lot of driving. They found out that Susan had passed so they have been pushing hard to make it home for the Wake on Sunday. The funeral will be on Monday. I want to thank everyone who has remembered our friends and Susan’s families in your prayers.

We returned to the Denver area to visit with Jill, Karl and Abby today. While Charlotte helped Jill with the household chores, Karl went to the grocery store and Abby and I went looking for parts to repair a broken string trimmer. I think Abby and I had the most fun. We went to two hardware stores and finally Home Depot to get the parts. They were having a kid’s day celebration at Home Depot and Abby got to build a model car like the Home Depot Nascar #20 that Tony Stewart drives. She had fun hammering nails to put the wooden body together and also pounding in the axles and wheels. We finished putting the decals on at home later.

After lunch at Beau Jo’s Pizza, we went shopping for some school supplies for Jill. Then we drove to her school and helped with a few projects she needed completed. Here are a few pictures of our endeavors.

I’m sharpening pencils. It wasn’t bad there were only about 50 – 60 pencils and I had an electric sharpener.

Abby is making a list of names.

Grandma is working on book bags for the kids.

Karl is the only one who could “cut it” so he is making the background for the pictures and captions of what the kids want to accomplish this year in 1st grade.

This is part of the wall where Jill hung the pictures we put together. Karl typed the captions and cut them out, Char and I glued them on the backgrounds and Jill put them on the wall.

Here are some of the things kid’s said.

I hope I make new friends.
I hope nobody touches my hat anymore.
I want to be a better writer by Halloween.
I hope I can read better.
I hope I learn how to write better than last year.
I hope I go to college.
I hope I get super better at math.
I hope I get to ride the bus.
I hope I can run faster.
I hope we get to go to Camp Jackson two times.
I hope we win the boxtop competition.
I hope we have a pet bunny.
I hope I do the splits better.
I hope we have a pet cat in our class.
I hope I get a lot better at math.
I hope I get better at reading.
I hope we have a pet hamster.

It was a lot of fun being the teacher’s helper even if the room was very warm. The outside temperature was in the upper 90’s today and the air conditioning was off at the school. After school, we went for ice cream at Cold Stone Creameries. This was our reward for helping the teacher.