Rained most of the day. Fortunately, I grilled a bunch of stuff Saturday, made a bean and corn salad so I had my picnic inside. Grilled yesterday or today, it still tasted grilled! I had some really great brats from the meat market - horseradish and cheese mixed in the brats. Really good! Love horseradish. AND, I ate the last of the sweet corn I bought the other day.
The rain did break for the fireworks. I couldn't see much because of the tall oak trees here in the park, but I could sure hear them! Don't know how good they were but they sure were loud!
JULY 5, Monday Last week was such a perfect weather week, I am totally spoiled. It started raining yesterday, over 3 inches this time. About an hour south, they got NINE inches of rain overnite. We are still in a flood warning. Fortunately all that rain south won't mess with the rivers up here. I just have to worry about the rainfall northwest of me.
Spent the morning running errands between rain drops, surprised when I got to town, the number of places closed for the Holiday. I expected banks and the post office, but not grocery stores, etc! WalMart never closes! Stopped at Good Will, crawled around on the floor (I'm sure I looked really cute) looking for some more books by Elena Skrjabina. Figured if there was one there, there might be more. No such luck. I’m just getting greedy, I guess! When all else fails, try Amazon.com!
The other day I had to go to several places to find the right size bulb for the light over the table. All of my 12 volt lites use the same size except that one - and it evidentially isn't a popular size! Finally found it at an auto parts place. They had 6 in the box - I took them all! Home to change the bulb, it still didn’t work!
Who was the dumb SOB that thought putting breakers and fuses in the back of cabinets and near the floor was a good idea! I want to hang him by the...thumbs! What's wrong with eye level and cover them with a fancy little door or decorative panel! I've managed to flip the breaker and replace the fuse; my knees will never be the same. Definitely not the job for an ol’ fat lady, blind in one eye with hand tremors!
I felt like an old brood sow wallowing around the floor trying to get that taken care of -- but it's done -- everything is working -- I'm proud of myself! Doing stuff like that at the house wasn't a problem - I could get to everything without have to roll on the floor!
While on the floor I decided to replace the register over the heating duct in front of my sink. Standing on it all the time, the plastic finally started to crack…luckily I found a metal one in the right size for the RV at the hardware store. I’m sure it was much cheaper than if I had to have one ordered through an RV supplier.
My hips and knees have really been bothering me - need to take some weight off -- but I have never 'recovered' from when I took that fall coming out of the RV while enroute to Iowa
JULY 6 Tuesday Another humid rainy day. Went to turn on A/C, it kicked in - went 'pop' -- NOTHING! I so love maintenance problems. First I checked the fuse box - OK -- then the breaker box! There's the problem - fixed -- A/C working -- so I started the day out on the floor and standing on my head!
Sticky day for errands! To the post office to mail a couple of boxes and then to the carpet place for a non-glazed ceramic tile. The guy was really nice, gave me a broken tile from the warehouse.
Off to Menards to get a couple more metal register grates; picked up the last two they had in that size. It isn’t always easy to find RV size parts in a non-RV store! But, oh, the price is so much better if I can.
On to Aldi's for some odds and ends – want to make some casseroles so I don’t have to cook every day… and another chocolate bar, love that German chocolate with hazelnuts! Then to HyVee green house; found some catnip and one more double shepherd hook.
Guess I cannot put off cleaning the RV any longer – to rainy to go outside or take Li’lBit out for a picnic -- can't think of a thing to do to get out of cleaning! If I don't rake out this mess (things really pile up fast in an RV!), I'll trip, fall and break my neck. Well, maybe not, there isn't enough floor space uncluttered to fall! And the way Li'lBit and Holly have been shedding, I have enough cat & dog hair to knit a sweater. I have nothing else to keep me from cleaning the living room!
JULY 7 Wednesday More Rain! 3 inches last night, another 3 inches expected this morning! I could avoid all of this by arriving in Iowa a little later, but then I'd be in central TX heat, humidity and dust. My lungs prefer Iowa! I think the TX dust is harder on them than the Iowa mold! Great trade off, huh! But I do love the sweet corn up here! Might try to finish cleaning today -- or tomorrow -- or next week! Oh, I just love to clean!
Had hopes of getting some good news regarding my search for Helene Scriabine from the Iowa City newspaper, but they don’t seem to have archives back to 1996. They referred me to the University of Iowa library. I cannot believe a newspaper doesn't have their old papers on some kind of micro-technology!
University of Iowa was very cooperative and is mailing me the obit. I never really got into genealogy, someone else in my family was doing it, so I kinda ignored the whole process. I'm really excited about doing this. I also found 4 of her books about her life during the Russian Revolution and during WWII on line and have ordered them. Is this an obsession? I think so!!!
A produce stand has opened up under the canopy of a vacant restaurant in town. Picked up two kohlrabi. I have seen them in the store but have never fixed them. According to what I've read, kohlrabi tastes like broccoli stems. Can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled and mashed. Guess I'll try them!
Bea and I went to Perkins for their fish platter for supper.
July 8 Thursday Woke to sunshine, humidity down to 88%!! Now the picnic table can dry out. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Don't have to run the A/C; can have the windows open, the sun is shining – I’m in Heaven!
Good news and not-so-good news! An RVing friend that does genealogy found the obit for my author (I still have the one coming from the University of IA). The obit gave the name of the funeral home, but not of the cemetery. Called the funeral home. She was cremated and the ashes delivered to the family. Funeral home had no info on final resting place of the cremains. Son lives in Connecticut; last entry I could find on him on the net was about 5 yrs ago. He is 80+ years old. I'm not going to search further. There is a scholarship fund in her name at the University of IA and I will donate to that. I still have 4 of her books coming! Maybe we were friends in another life -- or will be in a future life! I admire this woman!
JULY 9 Friday My sister’s day off so we hit the road. I have wanted to head into Des Moines to go to Penzy’s Spices to see if they carried spice bottles that would fit a spice rack I picked up at a garage sale. Guess that is why the thing was on the sale table – next to impossible to find the right size bottles.
We took the long way around to get to Des Moines, headed to Kelley Iowa to see one of the last working phone booths. When we pulled into Kelley, population about 300, my sister commented that we should be on the right street. And there it was. I said, “There it is, there’s the phone booth!” My sister glanced over, her eyes got as big as saucers, she started to laugh and I thought she was going to miss the corner and take us into the city park! But there it was, the Kelley Iowa Phone Booth. A couple of pictures and we were on our way. I understand there is another working phone booth, this one trimmed in blue, in Kensett, Iowa on the Minnesota border. Doubt I'll make it up there this trip.
Off to Penzy’s Spices, lunch at Ryan’s Buffet, didn’t leave enough room for afternoon pie and coffee before we left Des Moines! Stopped at the book store. No, I didn’t buy any books! Headed home. Nice Day!
JULY 10 Saturday. Terrific day for setting outside and reading. Mister God, This is Anna by Flynn. Short 180 pages; quick afternoon read.
While outside, two ladies here to visit the Big Tree House, from Cedar Rapids and her relative from California, asked if I had a cell phone. They locked the keys in the car. Finally got in touch with the right AAA for them to set up road service. Back to the book. Lazy Day!
No need for TV for entertainment tonite. 2 vehicles just pulled in next to me with bikes on the back...pitching a tent. Obviously haven't tried it many times before -- good thing they still have the instruction book! Hey! Take your entertainment where you get it...but they better not scare my little wrens away!
The wrens have been busy most of the week moving into the bird house just under my window. I love the warbling of the wrens. Now, I can only hope that Tinga will pick up the sound of the wrens and get rid of the sound of the sea gulls and crows that she picked up in Rockport!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment