Summer's Coming to an End

August came to an end with some early fall weather -- woke up on the 25th to a 47 degree morning and spent most of the day in a sweatshirt with the space heater going! By late afternoon the temps were desperately trying to make it to the 70s but failed in the attempt. Normally Iowa has some scorching days in August and September, but this has been an unusual spring and summer. Of course, my sister is happy with the cooler weather. The kids have started back to school and with classes pre-K through grade 5 in her school, hot sweaty kides are not conducive to good learnin'!

Nearly each morning I heard the flock of geese heading to the marsh which made the feel of autumn in the are much closer to reality.

Finally found a 'black box' so I can get my ol' TV ready to switch to HD. Can't say I'm really impressed. Now I keep loosing signals -- I really do dislike technology. Oh, the picture has improved, but I guess I'm just old fashioned. I still prefer my old analog 'bag phone' that never lost a call to these new digital things. Guess it's time I 'get with it' and come into the modern age....but just don't understand why we try to fix something that ain't broken!

Spent lots of time cleaning all of the little hidden spaces and corners. I had so much stuff from the truck stacked here in the RV and it needed to get back to the truck. It sure is nice having the truck home!

There is a place on the slide-out that must have a leak -- on the back wall -- by the window -- during heavy rains, I noticed the water has been running down the outside wall and window and not channeled away from the wall. I found some damp carpeting after the last rain storm but thought the window hadn't be closed securely -- that may not have been the problem. Hopefully, the RV service place will have time to get me in for a day or two to fix some stuff that was damaged during the spring high winds - the antenna for one! Also would like some of those high-rise caps over my roof vents so I can keep them open during rainy days. Just little odds and ends.

Since I hadn't been using my charcoal grill very often -- too much trouble stoking it up for one person -- I opened the wallet and bought a small eclectric grill. Have used it nearly every suuny day since! Actually, I'm using it more like an outside oven -- saves heating up the RV.

For days, I tried to locate an odor in the RV -- except for my nose, it had escaped me! Thought the dog had buried something under the chair or sofa -- but ended up to be a moldy cucumber in the fridge -- can't understand why I didn't notice it when I opened the fridge. Guess I need to clean and defrost it more frequently!

Put a phone call through to Ed and Linda at the RV park in Gatesville to make sure they saved me a space. I'm ready to go home -- emotionally ready -- not phsycally ready -- the longer I stay in one place, the more I have to pack up!! I'm getting a real good case of "hitch itch" -- 4 months in one place is too long -- I love it here -- after the weather settled down, it has been damn near perfect. But Texas is calling -- I can hear it calling my name.

As the month came to an end, the storms and winds were fewer and farther between, but I did wake up one night to the sound of wind blowing out of the west and hail pounding down on the RV. When I got up to close the windows, I noticed it wasn't raining or hailing -- it was the sound of the acorns blowing out of the trees and slamming into the top and side of the RV and truck....the joy of parking in an old oak grove!

One chilly morning I realized I had forgotten to make bread for the birds the night before -- so I opened a box of Jiffy Mix and added some beans and corn to it -- they love it spiced up with some cinnamon! The left over corn and beans became corn and bean chowder -- another advantage of the cooler weather -- good chowder and soup weather.

Since arriving in Iowa, I have become a "Culver's Addict." That is the restaurant with the "byte with a bite" sign on the door -- and I made really good use of their WiFi hotspot until I got setup with the WiFi in the park. Wednesday is fried chicken night and I always feel so miserable when I leave there! Come to think of it -- Bea and I seat out so often, I have eaten way too much on this trip. But eating out is so much fun -- no cooking, no dishes to wash! My kind of meal!!

The early hours of August 28 brought another thunder-boomer. Lost power -- lots of thunder and lightning --not much wind or rain. Did find out that there is no water in the park when the power goes out! Evidentially there isn't automatic alternative power for the well and pump. Of course, I hadn't refilled my fresh water tank after we emptied it to use the water to wash the RV. Lesson leaned!

Thank heavens I rememered to pick up Richard's gooseberries! Brenda's husband is the first (and only) person I met in Texas that knew what gooseberries were -- and liked gooseberry pie! So, I ordered a case of canned gooseberries to take home to Brenda (there are only 8 cans to a case) -- but now Brenda will have to make Richard his gooseberry pies -- at least 8 of them!

August ended with a cookout at my sister's and a Labor Day weekend cookout with Kathy and Jim.

The weather is terrific for this time of year -- but always on my mind are my friends down on the Texas Gulf Coast and hurricane season. Looks like they are starting to roll in one right after the other.