Camper news

This is a good news bad news posting.  Our camper suffered damage on the way to Alaska - we spent around $2,000 and five days in White Horse Canada that we didn't plan on spending.  The frost heaves caused by ice forming beneath the surface of soil during freezing conditions in the atmosphere results in huge bumps in the road.  Many of these are marked by orange cones or flags in Canada but some are not (which we joked that the mechanics in the next town removed them to increase their business).  We hit one that raised the truck off the ground and resulted in the broken spring on the trailer which was replaced by the wrong spring which resulted in a blow out that ripped the lower fender off the camper.    Then the front edges of the fifth wheel started to separate at the edges.  Dennis tried to fix it himself but it didn't work so we took it to a camper repair shop.  They discovered much more internal damage than we ever expected and the damage amount is more than the value of the camper.  We were very upset when we heard this as we loved our fifth wheel.  We made changes to it that made it "ours" and in our opinion it was just perfect.  We expected to use this camper until we stopped traveling.  We certainly did not want to have to go camper shopping and spend more money on a camper.  But this is what we are doing and fortunately today the insurance company called and they are being generous with the settlement (thank you State Farm) and fortunately we found a fifth wheel that we really like earlier this week.  This one is a couple of feet longer than our old one but Dennis says it won't matter in towing.  It has a very nice kitchen with an oversize refrigerator and a lot of counter top area which is hard to find in a camper.  It also has a marvelous pull out pantry which will be fabulous.  It has plenty of clothing storage - love the drawers which the other camper didn't have.  Most important to Dennis is it has a lot of outside storage areas which the other one was sadly lacking.  We found out we can take our desk out of the old one and put it in the new one so that makes us very happy too.   So we will probably remove the white chair and put a desk there which is the same thing we did with the old camper.

Hard to see the kitchen but there is a lot of counter and drawer space

The white chair may go - but may stay.  Will decide as we use it

This pantry will be so great!

Clothes closet and drawers next to sink and additional small closet by bed

The bathroom is on the left with the toilet and tub but the sink is on the outside - I really like that.  The bathroom has a large cabinet for towels.   The camper is a 1999 but it looks very good inside.  We need to have an awning put on the slide out and a few minor things repaired plus a different hitch put on.

Craft update

I have been busy with my crafts - just haven't blogged about it for awhile.  My biggest accomplishment has been a crocheted afghan that about drove me crazy.  When I crochet afghans (and I have probably made over 100) I usually use a mindless pattern that I can do in my sleep but results in a nice warm blanket to throw over someone or a pretty little blanket for a baby.  My darling daughter, Stacy sent me a link to an afghan that she thought I should make.  I immediately said no - requires too much thinking.  But then I kept looking at it over quite a few months and really loved it and decided to try it.   It is crocheted lengthwise which made it quite a bit easier than I first thought but it was still much more complicated than my normal afghans.  I worked on it on the trip to Alaska and was almost half done when I realized I has made an error back at the beginning.  I had to rip out three packages of yarn and take it all the way back to about two inches from the start.  Needless to say, it went in a bag and was put in time out for about a month.  But it is finished now and I love it so much that I might make two more - one for each kid.  :)

I also have been crocheting cowls for a number of family members.  It started when a cousin put a picture of one on Facebook asking if anyone would crochet it for her.  I've now made five - they are so simple but come out very cute.  I made these two for Maranda and then made fingerless mitts from the leftover yarn.

My other project right now is knitting anklet socks for Christmas presents.  I found a pattern in Creative Knitting magazine and it is quick and easy.  I had issues with making socks - seemed like I couldn't get the hang of it but these have been so simple using the Magic Loop method and I love the way they turn out.  I bought quite a bit of sock yarn during the Yarn Hop this year and love the self striping ones. 

Still cross stitching but not as much as before I learned to knit but a lot more than before I retired. It is so nice to be retired and have my daytime hours free to cross stitch.   The project I am working on right now is a very simple one - nothing like the big ones that I enter in the state fair - but very relaxing.

Canton Texas

Another new experience for us - First Monday at Canton Texas.  This is a HUGE flea market that started in 1850 that is held every month on the Thursday - Sunday before the first Monday of the month.  It is 100 acres with sometimes 6000 vendors selling everything you can think of and a lot of things you can't think of.  Have you ever thought of making a guitar using a bed pan?  Didn't think so - but someone there did.  There is junk - saw a package of adult diapers that were open and a few missing but the remaining were were sale and there is brand new items as in beautiful clothes that you won't see in the stores.  I told the kids that when we die to take all our stuff there to sell - they will make a lot more.  :)  There was so much stuff there that we own or owned or my parents owned and now they were for sale for a lot more than I could believe at times.  A mixing bowl that my mom had and Stacy still uses was $65 there.  It was fun just looking at things and trying to figure out what it was - one time five of us were gathered around a table trying and trying to figure out what some tools were and we never were successful. 

One thing we learned the first day - there is a pecking order here.  Those driving scooters ruled - do not get in their way - they will run you down.  Some had wagons behind their scooters, some had another chair behind them and then a cart behind that.  Second were people with carts - and most had them. They will also try to run you down if you get in their way.  Some of the people had their carts so piled high I don't know how they saw over them.   We were in the minority walking around with just bags to put our purchases in. 

We took our fifth wheel and arrived on Wednesday and stayed until Monday.  The weather was hot the first few days so it was so nice to come back to the camper and relax in the air conditioning for awhile then walk some more later.  A cold front came through on Saturday and was welcomed by all shoppers.  Stacy came on Saturday and we had fun shopping with her.  Of course it was the day with the biggest crowd but the place is so spread out that you don't notice how many people are there most of the time.  There are a number of buildings that have the newer or nicer things and they get pretty crowded at times. 

It was a lot of fun and I imagine we will go back again sometime.

First day at the RV Park

By Friday neighbors had moved in

Everyone and their dog was there

Food vendors were the same as you see at the fairs

These were cute little shops to go through

The pink flamingo was very tempting.  :)

Shops were right across from the campground

Vendors were from many states.

One more picture

One more picture from the blue grass festival - this one is for Izzy.  The girls are all taking violin lessons and if Izzy keeps playing, I bet she will want this violin someday. 

Other summer activites

Earlier this month we went to the Black Top Nationals - a car show that is held on Douglas each year.  Saw some great cars - can't imagine how much they have invested in them.

Of course we attended Audrey's first ballet recital.  The class was at the park board so there were only a few students and it was pretty casual.  But she was adorable.

We also made a quick trip to the Texas panhandle, over by Amarillo to meet Laura and see a property she was interested in but didn't buy.  While there we visited the Palo Duro Canyon state park. 

At the beginning of August Jessica and I went to the Taylor Swift concert which was great.

In September we attended our first (but certainly not last) Winfield Bluegrass Festival.  It was so much fun!  The stages and the vendors are all close together so you aren't walking all day, the people are all friendly and the music is just the best.  We took lawn chairs and I took some knitting and it was so enjoyable to just sit and listen to good music and laugh at corny jokes.  The vendors were very interesting with all the different music instruments and sheet music.  I took the accordion as a kid and was surprised to see accordion music.  Now I would love to learn to play the dulcimer.

Fiddle player from US but the accordion player was from Ireland

Our favorite - John McCutcheon

Pasta for sale!

  

Alaska Trip

These are some of my favorite pictures from the Alaskan trip.  I took over 1200 pictures then picked out my favorite 200 to print and put in an album.  I am really happy with the album as the pictures are in order of the trip and I have notes on some of them if they need explanation.  I know we will treasure this album for years as the trip was a trip of a lifetime.

4th of July in Canada - not much celebrating

Bald Eagles in Seward

Emerald Lake

Exit Glacier

helicopter with water bucket

Moose!

Loved this view of snow capped mountains

Don't see these in Kansas!

Mount McKinley - we were so lucky to see it so many times

Mt Foraker, Mt Hunter and Mt McKinley 20,320 ft

River Boat at Fairbanks

Summer is gone?

Ok - where did summer go?  Can't believe school starts tomorrow.  Has it been a busy summer?  Hmm, well just a tad for me anyway. 

Spent six weeks traveling to Alaska with my brother and his wife!  They took their travel trailer and we in our fifth wheel camper.  It was fabulous and when I get the over 1000 pictures I took sorted I will post some of the best.  So hard to choose as every sight in Alaska was like a picture postcard.  It really is the most beautiful state in the union as far as I have seen and I have been to a lot of them.  The mountains, waterfalls, volcanoes, glaciers, wildlife (lots of bears) and the ocean views just amazed us.  We felt like we were in a dream - both of us said many times we just couldn't believe we were there.  It was a trip of a lifetime.  It was also a trip we won't make again.  :)   The roads are worth putting up with once to see Alaska but not twice.  The frost heaves and road construction made the highways crazy rough.  Often we drove 20 mph and then had to slow down.  The road construction there is when they take the entire road for miles and miles and tear it down to dirt and add some gravel.  The dust is unbelievable and you can barely stand the roughness.  We broke a spring on the trailer and spent an extra five days (and $2000) in Whitehorse Canada.  We did some sightseeing while there so it wasn't a total bummer and many have much worse repairs to make traveling that road.  At least we didn't get a cracked windshield.  The worst of the roads were in Canada - Dawson Creek is mile mark zero of the Alaskan Highway or the AlCan highway and from there to the border is just awful.  But most of Canada was bad - lots of sudden dips that really jar a person when towing a trailer.  All in all it was a wonderful trip that we will never forget and I am so happy we made it. 

We got back on Friday, August 2nd and got the trailer unloaded over the weekend.  I started babysitting the girls on Monday and Tuesday Jessica flew to Wichita and we went to a Taylor Swift concert that evening.   That was quite the experience for both of us.  She put on such a marvelous show!  Jessica loved it and so did I.  Jessica stayed the rest of the week and was a huge help with the girls.  On Friday the 9th we drove her back to Texas and spent the weekend coming back on Sunday.  Had a good time of shopping, movie going and of course soccer.  :)  Saw my daughter that never played a sport as she was growing up score two goals! 

We came back on Sunday, changed clothes and met Jimmy's family at Century II for Music Theater of Wichita's presentation of Mary Poppins.  Oh   My  Goodness!  What a fabulous presentation it was.  I have been to quite a few plays but this one tops them all.    If the tickets weren't so dang high I would go back again this weekend.   The girls LOVED it!   After the play we took them home and they spent the night.  

This week I am babysitting the girls again and they plan to start first grade tomorrow but right now that is up in the air since their school caught fire yesterday.  The district will evaluate the damage today and let the parents know how they will handle the situation.  Apparently there was quite a bit of damage so the kids might be relocated to one of the old empty school buildings for awhile. 

One more big event - Audrey had her first ballet recital last night.  How cute was that.  :)   She loves ballet and tap dancing and was a bit shy at first then just let loose and danced her little heart out. 

As soon as school gets started for the girls I am going to do some sub work for the district putting in pupil information forms in the system.  Have not done that since I worked at Franklin and I am sure it is very different now. 

So - crazy busy is what I have heard retirement is all about and I am beginning to believe it. 

June fun

Summer has arrived in Kansas - we are getting some hot and humid weather and very thankful for air conditioning.  We have already had one 100 degree day but watching the weather in Arizona I won't complain - they have really been hit hard with the high temperatures.

Laura is here now between assignments so we have been having fun with her.  We've seen three movies - the new Star Trek which was really great and Iron Man 3 which was pretty good too.  On Friday we went to Man of Steel - the new Superman movie at the Imax with Jimmy and Maranda too.  The movie was good, not as good as I had hoped but being 3 D and Imax it was a lot of fun.  After the movie we went to Jimmy and Maranda's house and had a great barbecue with home made salsa that was amazing.  Seeing this movie in Kansas makes it more fun - one line even drew applause throughout the theater which is a rare thing at a movie anymore.  Superman says "I'm from Kansas - you can't get more American than that"  Another scene has Clark watching a football game involving KU with KU leading - of course that has created some cute tweets about that being too far fetched, even for a science fiction movie. 

Another day Laura and the girls and I went to Botanica.  The girls always love Botanica and Laura does too.

Visit

Had such a nice afternoon today visiting with my cousin Nancy and her husband from Arizona and my Aunt Ruth.  The girls had a good time too.  Nancy baked cookies and even Lily ate TWO cookies - I need to get that recipe!  George is a big kid at heart and had the girls in giggles most of the time.  So glad we had a chance to get together.

Follow the leader - the leader being George of course