It’s all about the weather

In the last couple of days, we’ve had just about every kind of weather there is: beautiful warm temperatures, cold temperatures, sunny skies, high winds, rain, hail, rainbows, and a stunning sunset.  Thankfully, we haven’t had snow, but the temps at the campground in the Steen Mountains dropped to 12* the night before last!  Uf-dah!  It’s hard to figure out what to wear when I get up in the morning.  I’ve worn shorts, jeans, short sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, raincoat, and heavy jacket.  My coat rack that hangs over the bathroom door is packed with an assortment of outer wear.
Last night, I had both ends of the rainbow out my front window, but I just couldn’t seem to find any pots of gold.  :(  The storms have been barreling through on a stiff Northwest wind.
Every couple of hours, a storm would blast through while I was working the VC today, and this one left a coating of hail on the deck this afternoon.  I got a little chuckle out of watching all the California quail scurrying about trying to find a harbor from the hail.  They were trying to hide under the bushes, and in the lee side of the deck to avoid those icy pellets.  I even had a barn swallow trying to come inside through the picture windows.  When I was walking Emma at lunch time, one of those micro blasts of hail came through, and we made a bee line for the rig.  Those little hail pellets hurt!

Despite the adverse conditions, about 25 brave souls stopped in the Visitor’s Center today.  They tended to stay longer than usual just to warm up and get out of the elements.  :)  Most were from Oregon and Washington, but some came from as far away as Germany, New York, and Ohio.  Apparently we got a little too rowdy, as one of the staff came and closed the door between the VC and the offices.  :)  Sorry about that, but I think my job is to interact with the visitors and make them feel comfortable.

As usual, I brought my laptop with me to keep me entertained in between visitors, but was shocked at an email I received from Sprint when I got it set up and running.  It said I was nearing my limit of roaming minutes for the month (and it’s only the 9th), and they could shut off my air card service very soon.  Egad!  I’ve never had that happen before.  I’ll be calling them on one of my days off to see what’s up with that.  In the meantime, I found out that there is wifi at the volunteer pads, and it turns out it is much faster than the air card is.  So, I guess for now, I won’t be taking the laptop with me on work days any more.  :(  At least the computer I use in the VC as a cash register has spider solitaire.
I leave you with last night’s sunset.  As I looked past the RV pads towards headquarters, the rainbow was at my back.  Nice views both directions!

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Wonder Woman…Ha Ha

So, here was the problem.  The top hinge on one of my kitchen area cabinets had pulled out, and there was no way of tightening the screws into the wood any longer.  My neighbor, Jim, suggested breaking toothpicks and stuffing them into the too large screw holes.  I took his advice,…
and this was the result.  A nice tight fit, and an even hanging cabinet door.  Wahoo!  It didn’t take me too long to do this repair, but I did have to stand on a stool, and the screws were a full arm’s reach for me above my head.  I know you guys out there are thinking this is no big deal, but for me, it was an accomplishment!  Wonder Woman!!!  :)

Several days ago, while I was outside with Emma in the evening, a pretty strong storm came blowing through the valley.  I noticed my female neighbor across the way running around frantically, and trying to roll up her awning before the winds ripped it off.  She was also on her cell phone at the same time.  It turns out, she was trying to call her husband, who was fishing, for instructions on how to roll up the awning.  She had no idea.  Her teenage son was also nonplussed.  He went back inside the trailer.  :(   I went  over and asked if I could help.  In no time at all, we had the awning safely stowed.  I know there are “blue chores” and “pink chores”, but don’t you think both members of a couple should know how to do the other’s chores, just in case?  Her remark was “Wow, you must have done this before, thanks!”  My response was “No problem, just paying it forward.”

I’m really no Wonder Woman, but do you think it would be alright if I got a Lone Ranger type mask and a cape just in case?  :)  (Of course, you won’t find me walking around in brightly colored tights!…Ugh!)
I leave you tonight with the wonderful double rainbow from a few nights ago…thanks to the photographic talents of my friend, Jim Smith.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

An ugh kind of day

I woke up with a sore throat this morning to go along with the coughing I’ve experienced for the last day or two.  Ugh!  Then in the late morning, I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned.  Ugh!  I hate going to the dentist, but luckily this was a pretty quick in and out.

The sneezes and runny nose began in the afternoon.  Ugh!  I haven’t had a cold or anything else distressing in over five years.  Fulltiming seems to be a healthy lifestyle for me, until today.  Ugh!  I think I’ll blame it on all the excitement of getting a new rig and the fact that my grandson, Joseph, has been coughing away since I got here.  :(

I’ve decided to go up to the “cities” (Minneapolis/St. Paul) tomorrow to the Camping World store there to get a 50 amp surge guard.  My 30 amp surge guard has saved my bacon several times over the years, so I want to be prepared for my new rig.

I’d like to thank everyone for their uplifting comments on yesterday’s post.  I’m really excited about picking up the new rig on Friday.  I’m trying to work out the details of getting it into Andy’s driveway alongside my present rig so the transfer of “stuff” will be as efficient as possible.  I’m hoping this upper respiratory distress will be gone by then.  :)
I leave you tonight with this double rainbow scene along the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.  This was the view out my front window.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy