MURPHY TRIES, BUT WE CAN'T BE BEAT!

After  a couple of days without our pump and the heat continuing to make it impossible for John to change a pump, I just started to play with valves a.  I could have, but nd switches.  Somehow, I managed the correct switch positions and we had water.  Nan and John one, Murphy zero!

Then, Murphy decided to attack once more.  I had photography that I wanted to download to Picasa and the port on my computer was not securing the USB connector.  

For days I could not blog.  To put it better, I did not want to blog without photos.  Rick tried to help.  But since all my photos come from my Droid Smartphone, he did not have the answer.  

Yesterday, I decided to email all my photos to me so that I could blog.  During this process, I saw a strange, to me, looking symbol.  I clicked on it and voila, there were about fifteen options that I could do with the photos and one was.....send to Picasa!  My phone, obviously, is smarter than I.  
Nan and John two....Murphy zero.  


Sequoia National Park was next on our list, so that is where we headed.  And the heat followed us leaving Jojo with cooler temperatures. 

We are convinced of one thing.  We need solar panels for the motorhome.  Our generator ran continuously for three and a half days in order to air condition the motorhome while we were boon docked outside the park.  

Here are a few photos of Sequoia.

John, the tree hugger!

Tunnel rock - you can easily drive a car through the tunnel created by the rock.

Small stream and waterfall coming down from the mountain.

Castle rock off in the distance.

The final waterfall of the rock stream from the mountain.

The six and seven thousand feet altitude created some shortness of breath for John so, we did a little and decided to return next year to see  more.  Gee, just gives us a good excuse to return!

Till next time, God Bless!

  

CLOUD HALOS THE MOUNTAINS AND FAIRY DUST IN THE DESERT

Stratocumulus clouds again surround Blair Valley.  A few Winds blow sandstorms over the dry lake coating everything.  Wind speeds are twenty to thirty miles per hour with gusts over fifty.  

We are prisoners here in Blair Valley, California. Advisories warnings state that driving high clearance vehicles is not advisable. Like it or not, here we are.  And I don't like it.  

I found this explanation of why the clouds are surrounding the mountains and find it interesting enough to share with you.  


Orographic Clouds forced by the earth's topography

Orographic clouds are clouds that develop in response to the forced lifting of air by the earth's topography (mountains for example).

Photograph by: Holle

Air passing over a mountain oscillates up and down as it moves downstream (as shown in the diagram below). Initially, stable air encounters a mountain, is lifted upward and cools through expansion as it rises. If the air cools to its saturation temperature during this process, the water vapor within condenses and becomes visible as a cloud.

Upon reaching the mountain top, the air is heavier than the environment and will sink down the other side, warming as it descends. Once the air returns to its original height, it has the same buoyancy as the surrounding air. However, the air does not stop immediately because it still has momentum carrying it downward. With continued descent, the air becomes warmer than the surroundings and begins to accelerate back upward towards its original height (beginning the cycle again). It is during the upper-most ascent phase of this cycle that clouds develop. In regions where air is descending, skies are clear.

Photograph by: Holle

The lifting of moist air can result in the generation of clouds, while lifting drier air may not produce any clouds at all. The oscillations continue as the air moves further downstream from the mountains but are eventually dampened out by mixing and friction.

The desert floor sparkles as if fairies have tried to send a bit of shiny cheer.  I am not cheered today.  It is grating on my nerves today.  I long for peaceful breezes, not howling winds. 

Our dust allergies are creating itchy eyes and much use of tissue.  Oliver and Olivia's eyes are runny from the stinging sand getting into their eyes.  John and I use our sunglasses to help keep the sand out of our eyes.  

If windows are left open in the coach, everything is coated with fine sand interlaced with minerals that sparkle in the sun. I love the sparkles.  I do not love the stinging sand.  

Yesterday, Sunday morning,  the weather was sunny and peaceful.  We sat outside and read.  It was a peaceful and beautiful calm day.  It did not last.  The wind started.  It grew more powerful blowing sand stinging our legs and faces. 

Sunglasses protected our eyes from the relentless wind and sand. A mask protects John from the blowing sand and dust.  

I am concerned about John with all the find sand, grit, fairy dust in the air. 

Just a year ago he was fighting for his life in the ACCU, Adult critical care unit of the hospital. Respiratory failure was the diagnosis. I am always concerned about him, but this is really getting me down.  

It is enough to be awaking during the night to check his breathing, trying to keep him active enough, but not too active.  

When we get closer to the San Diego area I am going to have to find a Physician to check him out.  His blood pressure and energy level has become erratic.  

Finding an unknown Physician is troubling.  What I will try to do is find an Internist at Loma Linda Hospital.  I believe, but am not sure that it is a teaching hospital.  Teaching hospitals are usually up to date on the best and latest treatments.  

On a positive note, John and daughter Jojo went into Julian, California and came home with two pies.  An apple cherry and a strawberry rhubarb.  Wonderful pies.  

Until next time....please keep us in your prayers....

God bless!

  


   

ENJOYING THE JOURNEY?

Earlier, when we would begin our trips, I could hardly wait to arrive at our destination - so we could enjoy our vacation.  We would drive "straight through" for sixteen or twenty hours - in order to be there sooner and start our vacation.  We would arrive totally exhausted, but we were there, it was time to enjoy!  (After we rested for a day.)


Then I learned that the journey was part of the vacation and that I needed to be thankful, slow down and appreciate the drive.  


Why am I talking about this now?  Because I have learned another lesson in "enjoying the trip,"  the journey.  


John and I have talked about selling the house and full timing for over a year.  It was a dream in the distant future, something to chat about, to read information and blogs, to investigate.  


As the last eighteen months have progressed, the talks were more frequent. We talked about traveling to the art and fiber shows as part of our full timing.  We would just make our journey fit the show schedule.


Selling our house became part of those wishful discussions.  We sure didn't want to full time and have a house back in Indiana.  So we interviewed Realtors and set the plan in motion.  


We decided, before listing the house, we wanted to do some work to increase the value and decrease the waiting time for the sale.  The cherry hardwood floors were already down.  That was one thing we had in our plan book from the day we moved in fourteen years ago. 


We made a list of all the other things we wanted to do prior to the day of listing. We also set a goal, an unrealistic goal of January first. Now keep in mind that this goal was set the second  week of November.  


Today is January eighth and we are still working!  Gee, what a surprise.  Our second goal of January fifteenth is fast approaching. We will not meet that goal either.


Let me digress about ten days.  John's health is not the best.  He has emphysema.  He is on three inhalers and oral medications.  He has to stop and catch his breath often.  To add to that, he has always been a slow worker / mover.  It is just his nature.  I have tried to challenge him to walk faster, work faster, think faster, drive faster.  But that just isn't John.  Finally, I have accepted it and am thankful for what he does in his own speed.  


With his emphysema and my arthritis, setting up our sales booth has become a greater challenge at every show. We drive to the city where the show is located, unload, set up the booth, greet customers for two or three days.  But we are exhausted.  


When the show is over we are back to packing up, transporting merchandise back to the motorhome and reloading the basement with the shelves, displays and merchandise. All the time, I'm grouchy because I hurt all over and John is just trying to breathe.  Now does any of this make sense to you?  Not me, not John.  I have had two huge meltdowns in the last few days.  How ridiculous. 


We have decided that we do not NEED this extra work.  The money is not worth it.  The work is hard on us physically and hurts our relationship.  You just can't put a dollar amount on health and relationships.


I will continue my art work. I love my art work.  It is part of me.   I will sell on line ..... if and when I choose!  I do need to work on an excellent website and establish an Etsy and Ebay outlet for my work.  


Okay, back to the subject of enjoying the journey.  Now that we have decided to withdraw from the shows, we do not have to be in Tennessee mid March!  That means we do not have to "break our necks" to get the house ready to sell so fast in order to get out to southern California and back to Tennessee!  Whew, what a relief.  


Yesterday, we both worked outdoors. John installed new outdoor lighting.  I mowed part of the pasture that needed some TLC.  While mowing, it was so nice to look over the ground, at the trees, to watch the wild life even if it was voles and rabbits running from the tractor.  I began to enjoy the journey to full timing.  


We burned downed trees, branches, brush.  I cleaned the chicken pen and around one of the barns.  I enjoyed the journey a bit more.


Today, is a day of rest for us.  We will enjoy this journey too.  We are going to the motorhome to watch the New York Giants play Atlanta in their wild card game.  We must support at least one Manning since our poor Colts did so miserably this season.  


I have two more beams and the fireplace brick in the family room to paint.  John has four columns to finish and to put baseboard down where we installed the new hardwood floors. (kitchen, front, family, dining rooms and the entry.)  Now THAT was a journey!  Oh yes, I must paint the columns and baseboard.  Oops, there are windows to wash and cabinets and wood trim to polish.  Oh oh, there is one closet left to empty.  And my studio!  Eeeek! We both know that there will be more tasks to raise their ugly heads, don't we.


Tomorrow, we continue the journey to clean the barns.  Can anyone say dumpster?  We continue to work outside as the weather allows.  I am amazed that we are outdoors working in January.  I am thankful for the Journey.


One thing we have continually asked ourselves during this journey is why didn't we do these tasks earlier for ourselves?  Why didn't we get the new appliances so we could enjoy them?  Why didn't we do .........Why?  


Maybe the reason is to teach us to enjoy the journey.  Every journey that God blesses us with.  

We Have a New Great Grand!

New babies are so precious.  Especially when they are our grand children and great grands.  Today, Harper Howe entered the world at 6 pounds 7 ounces and she is just beautiful!  I even have the photo to prove it! 

We have been waiting with a bit of anxiety.  She has created a stir for the last 2 or 3 weeks.  There was an irregular heart beat.  Cause for concern!   An ultrasound showed that there was an umbilical aneurysm and the physicians were fairly confident that the increased pressure created by the aneurysm was pumping too much blood into the heart creating the heart rhythm problem.  But we had to wait until delivery to be sure.  On top of that, our little darlin decided to present her tush, rather than her head.  Therefore, a Cesarean delivery was scheduled for this morning. 

The parents to be were to be at the hospital at 9:00 this morning.  The hospital personnel told them that it was "all clear" for their delivery.  When they arrived, they went through the registration process etc.  And then they waited, oh, oh,  the OR was needed for an emergency delivery.  Then another emergency... they had to wait their turn for the operating room.  Finally, it was time and Harper entered the world, easing every concern we had about her health. 

Megan had visitation all planned.  First she and Adam wanted to be with her for the first hour.  Just a nice quiet time to bond with their loan from God.  Next they wanted the grandparents for the next hour followed by the greats!  We calculated that if Harper was born between nine and ten o'clock, that would mean Meg and Adam would be alone with her from say, ten to eleven, followed by grandparents from eleven to twelve o'clock.  Then, last but not least the  greats at noon.  Now, I added about ninety minutes to that schedule based upon past experience.

I passed some of the waiting time reading and then I decided to spin some yarn.  But when the ninety minutes stretched to two hours, we decided we would make our way toward the hospital, hoping that we would get a call and we would be close by. 

We went to Camping World to make a couple purchases for the motorhome, then drove by Sam's Club. We decided that since it was a Sunday crowd, we did not want to stand in line, so we just moseyed on down the road.  While driving, we called daughter #1 - Karen to see what the progress was and she informed us of the delay, but said she was on her way to the hospital.  We knew from that it was going to be a bit longer, so off we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant to wait.  The good food helped distract us and made the time go quickly and suddenly, we get a text from Meg telling us to come meet our new little one. 

She is so petite and cuddly!  The hospital has swaddling blankets that make them feel nice and secure.  She looked so cute in her white blanket and her pink and white hat.  She's just a "knock out".  Can you tell I'm a bit biased?  Oh well. 

Well, the rest of the day is history. 

Yesterday, we spent time spring cleaning the motor home in preparation for next week's trip to the fiber festival in Wooster Ohio.  I was amazed at how much dust and grit there was from the desert of California.  Now all the wood is cleaned and polished, mirrors are shiny, windows are clean, exhaust fans are cleaned, etc, etc.  I even cleaned closets and drawers!  We are ready to roll and are looking forward to meeting up with our friends that we have  not seen since last fall and those we have not seen for the last month or so.  This begins our busy time with art shows and the fiber festivals.  Having our home on wheels makes our travels more comfortable and we are looking forward to hitting the road on Thursday. 
The gas prices have gone down fourteen cents a gallon.  Nice timing, don't you think? 
Well, it's been a great week and a marvelous weekend.  Till next time....God's blessings to you....

On the Road Again

Returning home is not as exciting as heading out on a trip.  But Everything has a cycle and this is just part of it.  We have started our list of what we missed this trip and hope to make the things on our list our plan of "attack" next year.  We plan to start earlier in order to have more time on the road.  Since my show season begins with the Smokey Mountain Fiberart Festival, I will always have to be home for that event.  The next week end is the Black Swamp Market Day in Bowling Green, Ohio.  I sure am going into these events rested and totally relaxed.  That won't last long since the push is on for the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival the first full weekend of June, located in Franklin, Indiana - Just south of Indianapolis. I will be teaching wet felting classes at two of these shows.

As we have driven through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, I  have seen so many abandoned homes, farms, businesses.  Some appear to be ghost towns along the side of the road.  Here in Texas, many are in the  oil and gas fields.  This coupled with the dry grass, some pumps not in operation tells a story of hopes and dreams of the future.  It is a history lesson of families who gave it their best, some had success and some failed.  But failing at one thing, most pushed on to find success in another realm.  That's life, isn't it.  We don't give up with a failure, we push on, an on until we reach our goals. 

We boondocked or as they say in California, drydocked in another Wal Mart at El Paso, TX.  This one had a security guard that pointed the spot for us to use.  Now that's service!  We did some shopping, returned to the motor home for dinner and played more Nabbit.  John won both games last night.  I'll get him tonight. 

The border patrol is and has been out in force.  We passed 2 inspection sites in California, one in Arizona, and two in T.  We could have had a motor home full of Mexicans as they looked in the driver's side window,  asked how many were traveling in here and if we were citizens. 

Well, we are heading to Dallas, Fort Worth.  See you on the road! 

Santa Barbara Sunshine to Sierra Mountain Winds

We left Leo Carrillo State Beach with a lot of sadness.  We had to tell Jojo good bye for almost 2 weeks.  Even though she would be working all week, just to have known that we were near would have made me feel better.  It was way too long since we had last been with her.  Somehow, I was able to let my tears go on the beach in order to not ruin our goodbye hugs.

We moved north on both the 1 and the 101 toward Santa Barbara.  This route is absolutely breathtaking.  What am I saying????  Ninety nine percent of what we have been seeing has been breathtaking.  I marvel at God's handiwork.

As we traveled north, the Pacific was so beautiful.  Every turn in the road brought new excitement.  How could the next scene be more outstanding than the other I don't know.  Not only did we see water scenes, but we saw miles and miles of fields fill with strawberries, blueberries, avocados and vegetables. 

Santa Barbara was larger than I remembered it.  We walked the beaches and took State street out to the pier where we had a wonderful lunch of shrimp, calamari, oysters, scallops, a wonderful slaw with pineapple and onion rings.  We ate outside and watched the fishing boats return with their day's catch.  Sail boats completed the peaceful scene.  A very nice day.  

We stayed at the Sunrise RV Park.    It was expensive!  $55.00 /  night but we had to hook up to electricity to recharge batteries in order to get the generator started so we could boondock during our trip to Death Valley.

Talley Winery was on our itinerary.  They had a lovely setting.  Rows and rows of vines in precise order blanketed the hillsides. After leaving Talley Vineyards, we visited the J Lohr vineyards.  Oh my!  I thought that Talley had a vast vineyard but J Lohr went on forever and as far as the eye could reach. 

Bakersfield was our next destination.  We were to boondock at the Camping World.  We had some supplies to pick up and wanted to have the oil changed.  They were unable to do the oil change which was okay since were were actually not at 3,000 yet.  They were, though able to help us with a lack of knowledge about generators.  This motor home is providing us with a HUGE learning curve.

 Our greeting to Bakersfield was oil wells.  A question I ask is why, when we have oil wells there, in Alaska, in the Gulf, just to mention a few places, are our gas prices determined by the price of oil in Lybia?  A gas station right next to an oil field and refinery was selling gas for $3.86!  Go figure.  We have read that gas in Death Valley will be over $4.00 a gallon. 

Wal Mart and Fresh & Easy were next on our list for shipping.  We replenished some of our supplies and headed for the Sequoia National Park.  The entrance to the park on  highway 178 is another experience.  The rapids are beautiful as they plummet down the mountain.  We are now in the Sierra Mountains.  What a difference in terrain.  The mountains went from lush green to brown.  This is considered the high desert.  We were planning to spend a few days in the Sequoia N.P., but a winter storm was predicted with high winds.  They said that 25 mph winds would gust to 50 mph.  The more we drove, the more the winds began to plummet us.  

We find that we have planned to much to do and see.  Anyone surprised?  We need to learn to plan our trips better so that we don't feel that we have to run from place to place.  After our "conference" this morning, we have decided to spend today and tonight here and then go to Death Valley National Park.  We are taking Las Vegas out of our itinerary.  Not only will it provide us with more time in Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Forrest, but it cuts down on a full tank of gas at the cost of over $200. 

Happy trails, to you......until we meet again....(sound familiar?)

Loading Up!

We are loading up and heading out in the morning. Clothes are in. We have food to load then we are ready to rock and roll! Checking the road conditions from here to St. Louis, our first stop. John wants to check out the Feather-Craft store in St. Louis, then the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield. AND I want to find Cabellas and their cave!

California, here we come....ready or not.

OH, Good Grief!

Today, we received a much anticipated telephone call from Edmundson RV. After their receiving parts that were defective and more parts that were the wrong parts, our motor home is ready. We can pick it up after lunch break tomorrow.

BUT...... Right now, there is rain falling....freezing rain.....or should I say that there is ice falling from the sky?? The forecast is that we are to have freezing rain. Enough freezing rain to cause power lines to fail, power outages to prevail, travel to come to a stand still.

Now keep in mind...we were supposed to leave here a month ago....do you hear me??? Four weeks ago! We have packed then unpacked and packed again then used clothing that we packed. We have repeated the laundry drill over and over...therefore we have the right to claim the title of repacking champions.

Right now, I am actually listening to rain falling - hard. Oliver went outside and slipped then fell on the ice covered patio. The snow that was already on the ground is now covered with a sheet of ice. What else can happen weather-wise? Geez. I think that next year we will leave here right after Christmas.

Nothing can be done about this. I can't change a thing, John can't change a thing...OH YES, we can change our attitudes. Enough whining.

We were to leave here and travel I 70 through ST Louis. This evening, after some research, we found that if we would go to Memphis then over to Oklahoma City, we would miss the bad weather conditions. Sounds good doesn't it. BUT, we must be able to get down to Edmundson's RV to pick up the motor home. Then we need to be able to get the motor home into our drive and to be able to load the things in the house into the motor home without falling and hitting our noggins, breaking an arm, or just landing on our bum! This is getting funny...kinda. If all else fails, it looks like things will be decent by Thursday, Friday at the latest.

We are looking forward to Joshua Tree National Park in California and Leo Carrillo State Beach, CA. When we arrive, all this will be a memory. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing NancyJo.

What do you think? When will we get out of here?

T Minus 4 .... Finally

In four days, we are outta here! OH Happy Day! After installing the cherry hardwood floors in the majority of our home and being dog tired from the effort, we are ready for a break. We have and more delays than there are M & M's, but finally, the brakes are fixed as well as the list of other fixes on the motor home. Sigh......

Zack (grandson #1) and Danielle's wedding is Friday evening, then we are free to roam westward. Ya know, it seems like yesterday that I was rushing from Indy to Cincy to be with my daughter and help with my first grandson. Oh, what a joy he was! (and is)..... And his big sister was such a hoot. Now, they are adults, making their own decisions, planning for their futures. What is a grandparent to do? We pray. We pray for them to have God's guidance and wisdom as they make their life choices. We pray for their safety as they go through life. That, my friends, is what we are here for...... to pray for our children and our grandchildren. That is the best thing we can do for them.

Speaking of children, our first direction will be westward to California. Daughter # 2 is there. She has been there for a long time (a mother speaking here). It will be so good to see her and share her new life for a while.

After California, we will head for Texas - taking our time. We will then spend the rest of our time exploring the "wild, wild west".

I will be taking my spinning wheel, fiber to spin, wet felting supplies and my new to me antique circular sock machine. Oh my gosh........what a learning curve there is to mastering making socks on that dear ole antique Legare 400. Let's see, I've started and restarted a sock so many times that I have lost count. BUT....each time, I get a bit further along on the sock. Today, I finished the heel and started on the foot before I dropped stitches and took it off the machine.....again! big, big sigh along with an eyeroll. Oh yes,,,, John will be taking his new rigid heddle weaving loom. Thanks goodness we have plenty of room!

I don't think I will be able to work on the CSM any more until we are on the road. Tomorrow, we shop for my shoes for the wedding, get a wedding present, pick up some food items from GFS, do some health food store shopping. Then we make a stop at the vet for micro chipping of Noah, the cat and Oliver, the dog.
purchase more ink for the printer so that I can finish copying information for the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival that is coming up in June.

I am co-chair of the festival and this will be my first year directing the activities from a computer in route to many destinations. The classes have been scheduled, most of the vendors are set, competitions are in the planning stanges, so most of the work is done.

We pick up the motor home Thursday, pack and be ready for the great escape on Saturday. My suggestion was to take the motor home to the wedding and head out right afterward, but for some strange reason there was a veto....spoil sport!

We have another winter storm watch,...another 6 inches of snow predicted....oh happy day! Calgon....(motor home), take me away!

Until next time....

Trip Modification

After some thought, we have decided that we are trying to pack too much trying to pack too much into two months. We have cut our trip to the south east, Florida, Gulf Shores and New Orleans from our trip. Instead, we are heading to California to see Jojo and to Texas to enjoy new sights and experiences. In essence, we have cut our miles in half! Less time driving, more time enjoying!

We made that mistake last fall on our trip to North and South Carolina and Virginia. Being our first extended trip, we tried to pack too many "places to see" into 4 /12 weeks. This time, we travel smarter, not harder. Wow, we leave in just over a week!

On a fiber note, my waste yarn finally arrived yesterday. Now I can begin to use my antique circular sock machine! I've made only one sock so far and that was with Mary Ann, a wonderful and patient teacher. Now, to have a go at it on my own! I'm so sure there is a very steep learning curve, so here I go! That's okay though. John will be learning to weave on his rigid heddle loom and I will be on my Legare 400 making socks. You know, all that travel time we are saving? That time will be spent weaving, making socks, fishing, hiking etc. Sounds like a super trade-off to me!