"DON'T JUMP!!!!" as the 1st Lady looks out over the Mississippi at Lover's Leap

"Now WHERE is that pot???" Sue keeps saying to herself!!!

Susie.....THE life of the party!!!!!

ALWAYS......we LOVE to eat!!!!

Cedar Creek friends....great Creekers!!!

Sue and Chuck enjoying a dance...

Tues, Jul 20, 2010: A brief catch-up on the weekend.....

OK....I will be brief about the weekend....and will begin with the end: WE HAD A GREAT TIME!!!! (But, what would you expect.....eh????)

Thursday morning, the 1st Lady and I were both a bit worried about the heat and humidity and Howser.....the sagging hulk of Me after I came right up to the edge of having a heat stroke last Monday!!! Sooo, with some thought, discussion, we came to a decision by 8am that we would NOT take TheHowserHouse rv and just on up and stay 20 minutes from the The Cave Campground....at her mother's home in Monroe City. Soooo, scurried around as we had loaded everything into the RV and many items HAD to go with us: food for the meals at the rally, clothes, lawn chairs, etc., etc.......and, luckily by 10am we had lost 5 pounds each as we made the transfers from the RV to the car.......and then we had to change clothes AGAIN as they were soaked from the sun beating down upon us as we sliced our way through the walls of thick humidity that morning.

We drove straight up to Monroe City, put the cold things into the two fridges that her mom has in her home, made an appetizer for the Happy Hour/appetizer Welcome gathering, and then drove the 20 minutes over to the cg. And........soooo, great to see everyone. We did NOT go to any Cedar Creek RV Owners Club rally last year as we spent the summer working insurance adjusters, roofing contractors, tree cutters, RV repair shop, truck getting painted and all new glass put in, etc., etc ., etc. I look back now and shudder, thinking how did we survive that......and, if we had had the heat and humidity that we have had this summer, we wouldn't have.

Fun Times......yep, that's what they are when our Club members gather for a rally. Of course, not all Club members were there, but we did have members from New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Texas. Hope I didn't overlook anyone and their state from this list. We had several new couples with us......new members who have joined since the 1st Lady and I were there two years ago.

We returned to Monroe City after dark.....and then on Friday, we returned to tour the Cave....the infamous Mark Twain/Tom Sawyer cave. We enjoyed the hour's tour.....not many WOW moments as it is a cave that your follow your guide through the narrow channels of limestone that run beneath the hills close to the MO River........but we had a good guide and it was interesting.

Many of the members went on the Riverboat that makes an hour trip up and down the Mississippi, but since we have done that as an evening cruise with dinner on board, we had decided to not do it again. Sooo, the 1st Lady and I did some shopping and looking on the main street of Hannibal......and, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!! We then went to the restaurant....Fiddlesticks.....where we were to meet the rest of the group.....about 52 or so people...for a buffet dinner there. The 1st Lady and I went a bit early and enjoyed the cocktail lounge where we had a leisurely drink.....a pleasant way to end the afternoon.

Dinner was good.......not outstanding, but just some down home cooking with chicken, beef, mashed potatoes, beans, corn, etc., etc......the usual food for that type of a meal. Leaving the restaurant for the cg, we ran into the 1st Lady's brother and wife, his daughter, and her two children....so we had a short visit with them before they ate.

More fun, more laughter, more chatter, more just being together with friends was the menu of the evening as a VERY small campfire was built....and.....haha, we all scooted our chairs back to get away from the heat!!!!!

Saturday morning........those who wished to do so opened up their Cedar Creek 5th wheels for others to see how they were arranged, modified(if any), and this always gives others ideas about what they can do to improve and enhance their own rigs.

We did lunch downtown with two and a half other couples, then visited Riverview Park, a great little coffee shop down, and Lover's Leap as we returned to the cg. Then it was soon time to have our potluck dinner......which was really, really good as there were many different "pots" of food...including LOTS of baked beans......the dish of choice for many that day....haha.

After dinner, a sock hop was held and music from OUR era of music history was played....and several of us enjoyed dancing to the tunes we have sooooo many memories about. Great fun.....lots of laughs!!!

Sunday morning.....a huge rain front moved through and the 1st Lady and I decided this would be a great time to just enjoy being with her mother.......so we remained there for the entire day.
Monday, we decided to start on back to the sticknbrick......returning last night about 6pm.

As I said......a wonderful WARM...errrr, HOT time we had at the Rally. This morning at the cg and in all of Hannibal, they had a real Missouri gully washer....receiving 7-9 inches of rain in a very short time. The campground flooded and those who were there just barely got their rigs out, pulling them through 1-2 feet of rushing water up to the highway. Hannibal has never had a rain like this in recent history.......and soooo, for those of our friends who were still there, they had quite the experience to talk about!!!! SOOOOO GLAD THEY GOT OUT SAFELY!!!!!

Today......all day I have worked on things for the upcoming reunion....the HowserMusicFest which begins Friday evening at the Lake of the Ozarks. More to do......but, I have great help from some of my former students......many of them band directors themselves.

And soooo......that is the story of the past few days, and.....as always.......

LIFE IS JUST INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!

Monday, July 19, 2010: Back in the sticknbrick.....

Back in F'town late this afternoon......and, I will write much, much more in detail tomorrow. Soooo, stay tuned and return tomorrow evening......OK????

LIFE IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

SAT, July 17, 2010: NO WIFI that any good!!!!!!

Briefly..... we are at a coffee shop with free WIFI in the city center of Hannibal. Having a great time after some change of plans on the morning that we came up here. More explanations later......and we should be back at the sticknbrick by Monday evening.

Soooo much fun to be with OLD friends once again........haven't seen some of them in two years. Problems???? TOO DAMN HOT AND TOO DAMN MUCH HUMIDITY!!!!!!! 110 degrees heat index right now.....absolutely horrific!!!!!

OK....this has to be quick....with a full report most likely on Monday night. Stay tuned....and have faith in this sagging.....REALLY sagging in this horrible heat......this sagging hulk of Me!!!!!! I will be writing more regularly from Monday onwards!!!

LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!

Wed, Jul 14, 2010: A busy two days....

OK....I was alive yesterday when I awoke......YEAH!!!!! And....the day progressed as I got up at 6AM...yep, that's right.....6 in the morning and was on the ladder quickly before the sun even came up over the eastern trees across the street. And.....in about 3 hours, I had washed the RV.....all four sides and it looked pretty good. Later in the morning I slipped out and washed all of the windows on the outside as the drips from the roof had really left their marks.

During the VERY hot afternoon, I mostly remained inside....but, I did get out and move a few things into the basement of the RV.....straighten up the inside as I could turn on the a/c from my 30 amp plug-in on the outside of the garage. Made a couple of trips to Walmart....and then after supper, I spent two hours getting really wet as I began to finish the job of mowing the lawn. I got most of it done, but I wore out, the sun set, and I didn't feel like holding a flash light in my hand as I pushed the mower around the lawn.

Today........I continued to load the RV with the needed items for this 6 day trip to Hannibal, MO for the Midwest Cedar Creek RV Owners Club rally. I am NOT too happy at this point with the campground that was selected......very, very weak Wifi, if any at all, no swimming pool so I hear, and no air conditioned rooms or pavilions for our gatherings. Now...I could be eating these words, but from what I read on the website these things are missing!! NOT what needs to be missing with temps in the upper 90's and the heat index at 105-110!!!!

I met with Michael Goldsmith this afternoon to finalize the plans for the Howser Music Fest which is at the end of next week. We made several phone calls to various people to obtain some ideas and to ask for some assistance. But...I think everything is going to be just super.......as the numbers are growing with each passing day.

After supper again this evening, I finished mowing the lawn......and THAT really makes me happy!!!! It was sooooooooooo damn hot and humid this evening.......whew!!! When will this weather crap here in Misery ever end?????

OK....you get the picture: I am heading into a cyberspace void from all indications. I WILL get into a McDonald's about every other day to try to post some info about our activities and some pics if the wifi is strong enough so that it won't take me an hour for one pic!!!!!

And soooo, the rat race for the next few weeks begins tomorrow morning!!!! Two days after we return to the sticknbrick next week, we are off again for the Howser Music Fest at the Lake of the Ozarks. Then the morning after that is completed....Monday, the 26th, I have to be in Cape G. for my pre-op with the doctor and then also at the Surgery Center with the surgery on my right eye will be done. Then on the 28th.....back in Cape for the cataract removal....and then next day, back to Cape for a 24 hour checkup. Whew.........going to be go, go, go.....for a period of time coming up!!!

But....as always.........(even in the miserable heat/humidity).......

LIFE IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!......and, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!

Monday, July 12, 2010: WHEW.....I REALLY overdid it this morning in the hot sun!!!!

NOT a choice I should have made........

Up at 6:30....had some Fr. Roast and then around 8am, I fixed some ciabatta toast with blueberry jam.....knowing that I had some intense physical work this morning outside that HAD to get done.
We are leaving on Thursday morning for Hannibal, MO with the RV to attend a Cedar Creek RV rally for 6 days. Soooo, I NEED to the Cedar Creek 5er cleaned up....as I have not cleaned it on the outside since we returned from Texas. .......and the roof, white "rubber", still has ash markings on it from the burning of the sugar cane in the RGV.

Getting the ladder out, the hose connected, the proper cleaning liquids, sponges, brush, etc., etc. and then getting all of the cleaning things transported up the ladder to the top of the 12 foot high RV took a few minutes. I was happy that it was cloudy which would make this unpleasant task a bit better without the hot sun beating down on top of that room, making it very hot to work on. Well......as I do not have a stiff enough push brush, I usually do this on my hands and knees, scrubbing every square inch of the roof by hand.

And, I was going along quite nicely, when all of a sudden the clouds parted, moved away....and the damnable hot sun began beating down upon me and the roof. OK......I started taking more breaks, getting into the garage for a bottle of water, and then returning to the roof. Finally, after 3 hours 45 minutes, I finished it!!! However, I was really feeling weak by the time I climbed down that ladder for the last time. I rinsed off of the sides, but it was already too late as the sun had dried that dirty water on the sides of the RV........more work for me to come....eh???

Went into the garage, leaned down to put something away....and I felt really dizzy....then my hearing in the right ear went away.....and I slowly raised up, but by then I suppose my pupils had dilated because I couldn't stand to look out of the double door on the garage....I couldn't see for the really intense brightness. Then I began to feel faint.....sooo, laid down on the cooler floor of the garage....and after a few minutes, I manage to crawl over to the back door of the garage where there was a tiny cool breeze blowing from the west into the garage through that doorway.

I sat there with water in my hand, sipping a bit at a time....and waiting for my hearing and vision to return to normal. Well........it took at least 15 minutes, if not longer.....and then I managed to get inside the sticknbrick.....and laid down on the cool tile floor in the patio room for about 15 minutes. Then.......I managed to get into the shower and stood there for quite some time.....the 1st Lady checking on me regularly. Afterward the shower I just laid down for about an hour.......totally weak, shaky, and a headache beginning to come on like a tidal wave.

For the rest of the afternoon, I just remained in a horizontal position most of the time......totally exhausted, sipping water, and just doing absolutely nothing. I had earlier had a message from some students in Eldon who were in the Park Hills area and thought we might get together, but I knew that I had to get that 5er washed.....which, of course, I didn't get done, totally!

And soooo,.........I am STILL a bit weak and with an intense headache. I suppose it was just heat exhaustion.....the first step before a full blown heat stroke. Just glad I managed to finish and get out of that sun and horrific humidity when I did!!!!! I might have come sliding off of the top of the RV completed passed out......and with more damages being done by sliding off of the roof.....DAMN!!!! THAT was close....wasn't it??? The strangest thing was was that my eyes were dilated so much that I could not bear to open them to the outside light......worse than being in the Dr.'s office 10 days ago!!!!!

Severe thunderstorms and HEAVY, HEAVY rain this evening has produced flash flood warnings here for F'town.......roads flooded and all streams out of their banks, from what I hear on the news. Hopefully, in the morning it will not be raining and I can get outside and work on the RV BEFORE the sun comes up or through the clouds again. I will pay more attention to my aging, evolving body and the warning signs it is giving me.........things were a bit to dicey for me today!!!! And soooo, I am off to put myself into a horizontal position for the night.....but, as always.......

LIFE IS JUST REALLY GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

Fri/Sat, July 9/10, 2010: Rain...but a beautiful Sat

OK......yesterday was Friday....and it rained off and on most of the day, with the forecast for rain during last night.......didn't come to fruition! We just hung out here in the house.......doing a few things like prepare for our trip up to STL today, however....we did go up to Farmington so I could get my 67 hairs on my head shortened. We decided to eat a very late lunch at Colton's Steak House....or, whatever it is called. A new restaurant in Farmington, this was the first time I have been in there, or....for that matter, in a Colton's anywhere. It was OK.....my steak was over-cooked as I had ordered it medium rare and it came out to medium well, if not well done! The salad was really quite generous and the blue cheese dressing, while a bit runny, it was quite good!!!! The rolls were hot and yeasty, but as always, these places never bring out enough butter.....(gripe, gripe....hmmm, need to be more positive you say?? Eh???) Ahhhh, the baked potato was wonderful, flavorful with butter and sour cream....great!!!! ( Is that better???)

Returning to the sticknbrick, we began doing some online research on both of our laptops.......checking on vanities, jacuzzi tubs, and all glass showers as we are beginning to really want to update our older bathroom. It has that tired look.....and we are quite tired of the way it looks!! Hence.......our decision to make a run up to the city to look at a few places where we can get some creative ideas for the room we have.

We have to stick to the same footprint, with the exception that we might enlarge the window and make it wider. Can't lower it as underneath it is the brick facade on the front of the house.

Soooooo, today...Saturday.....a beautiful day, we left here at 8:30 and we were in the middle of the city by 10AM.......at a place called Henry's Plumbing. Well, it had some gorgeous fixtures, some super showers, and some very spacious jacuzzi tubs, as well tile work and other ideas. We spent at least 2 hours there, wandering around, measuring....oh yeah, when we do these research trips we always carry a tape measure and notebook/pencil for measurements so when we get home we can see if these ideas will work.

From Henry's, which was just off of I-44 and on South Kingshighway, we went to the Galleria area on Brentwood. There is a wonderful new little area with a few shops and cafes/restaurants across Brentwood on the east side where the fun and thought-provoking Crate and Barrel Store is located. Another hour of looking, discussing, measuring cabinets, chairs, storage sections, and finally purchasing some new cocktail glasses, coffee cups, and bathroom magazine rack and waste basket. LOVE that store.....both of us do!!!! Prices are quite reasonable and they have such unique items from which to make selections........I'm about to talk myself into going back there soon!

We decided to do lunch at the Euro-Bakery which has all kinds of wonderful sandwiches, salads, soups, coffees, and beers. It was a great decision as the food was quite good, the prices were very reasonable....$23.00 for our sandwiches and drinks.....and the atmosphere is really nice. We had first decided to eat outside at the tables on the sidewalk, but after going back outside after ordering, we returned to the a/c inside the cafe. Their bakery items were delicious looking, but....hmmmm, we were really quite full after lunch, so turned our eyes away from the offerings and ambled out the door! I had the Tuscan panini and the 1st Lady had a wonderful turkey sandwich on sourdough bread......both excellent choices. My sandwich was filled with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, fresh baby spinach leaves, and a wonderful basil pesto sauce.....all laying between two heated slices of freshly baked ciabatta rolls!! Outstanding!!!!

From there, we went out on Manchester Road to some of the shops as we are also looking for patio furniture to replace what was destroyed in the May storm last year. Not finding anything that we are quite ready to spend a chunk of cash on.....we looked and left....two different patio furniture shops.

Receiving a phone call from Dr. Jeni and Darrel, she asked if we could watch Ava and Max at our sticknbrick as Darrel was planning to race in Farmington. Soooo, off we went southwards and then decided to meet them at a nice QT truck stop on I-55 south. They arrived soon after we did, we picked them up, and we all headed south. I stopped at the incredibly delicious McDonald's.....that's a bad joke.....and the kids played in the playground inside there, along with munching on some food. Now......when Dr. Jeni calls, we will load them up and return them to Farmington close to the race track so they can return to their home in the Washington area.

Today?????? A really good day......some creative ideas to consider as far as the remodeling job in the bathroom, along with some ideas on a vanity, sinks, flooring, glass walled shower, and jacuzzi tub. Soooo....a worthwhile run up to the city.

LIFE IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

FRI morning: A question for ALL readers on here....

As you have may have read, I am going to my cataracts removed in a couple of weeks. I have 2-3 choices as to the lens that will be implanted in my eyes, but I am just not sure which ones I would like to have. Is there anyone of you who have this done the past few years.....and, if so.....which lens did you have put in????

Any experience in this and discussion in the comments will be very, very much appreciated!!!! I am trying to gather as many opinions as I can before I have to make this important decision.

THANKS!!!!!! And, because of all of you......

LIFE IS REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

Wed/Thurs: July 7/8, 2010: OMG......RAIN, RAIN, Gloriaous RAIN!!!

Yep.......the bottom line???? I now have to begin to mow our yard once again. I can HEAR the grass growing with each passing rainstorm, of which there have been many over the past 30 hours or so!! And....these storms which have been passing over and around us are to continue for another 24 hours.

Yesterday....Wednesday....and, what the hell did I do???? Well.....another god-awful sign of old age reared it's ugly head yesterday.....SHIT!!!!! I totally......TOTALLY.....forgot to take the Buick into the city glass shop here in F'town for the 8:30AM appointment yesterday morning!!!!!!!!!!! I just cannot effing believe it!!!! I had cleared the appt with the insurance company, had made the appointment, and told them I would be early.......but, it was 7:15pm last night when the 1st Lady mentioned "didn't you have an appt. for the front window to be replaced today?" WHAT is happening to my memory.....hahaha!!!! The Evolution of the Sagging Hulk of Me!!!

Soooo, this morning I had the car at the shop by 8:20....and, apologized to the owner of the shop, the father of a former band student of mine.......and, he wasn't upset as they had been quite busy yesterday, so he told me. By 4pm this afternoon......I got the call to come pick it up. I paid my $50, as that is all I have to pay for window replacements.......and the ins. company then paid the rest...$838. and change. OUTRAGEOUS for the front window, especially one that I have replaced two other time in two years with glass cracks running across the entire thing from side to side!!!

Today.....after dropping it off at the shop, I walked home through the muggy humidity......and I realized quite quickly that I should have brought a butcher knife with me.....not because of the neighborhood that I walked through, but because the damn humidity was sooooo thick and heavy that it DID need to be sliced/cut with knife in order to get through it!!!! TERRIBLE!!!!

However, by early afternoon, the storms began to roll in, one after another, and the rains poured again...and again....and again....and just about 30 minutes ago, the umpteenth storm came through dropping lots of rain here.

I did make three other trips out and about in F'town....each errand having only one mission....and then I would return home.....and then the 1st Lady would remember something else that needed...."just has to be done today"......and off I would go to take care of her "much needed" tasks that had to be completed today!

Tonight.....we warmed over the Warsaw Burgers that I had fixed last night.....one of my very easy, but one of my favorite little ground beef meals. Ground beef, a can of cream of celery soup, some sour cream, onions, garlic, salt/pepper.....all browned and then the liquids added....and then two cans of those triangle rolled rolls in a tube.....and put the very warm meat mixture into each roll, wrap the dough around the meat and then bake them until the roll is golden brown. REALLY TASTY!!!!!! Love it!!!! Some fresh corn on the cob, a glass of my dark red medicine...hmmmm, believe it might have been 2 or 3 doses....and "supper" was complete.

Tomorrow.....need to get my 67 hairs on my head trimmed back a bit, check with the RV dealer up the road to see if I can store our Cedar Creek during the winter, as if we DO got to New Zealand in the spring, we will not go down to Texas for the three months of winter. New Zealand will not be a cheap trip, so we can probably save a few dollars by remaining in the sticknbrick all winter.....not "my cup of tea", but we do want to make this trip an extended trip.....one that will be 6-8 weeks in country, so the word "inexpensive" does not apply here.

And sooooo, the past two days have been her and are now gone......and as always.......

LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!

Mon/Tues, Jul 5/6, 2010: Two days of a quiet house......

Well........what the hell do I discuss tonight????? Why, you may ask?? Well, because not one damn thing really has occurred in my evolving Life yesterday or today! I am almost at a loss for words, but:

I have watered all of the plants, shrubs, bushes, etc in the yard BOTH mornings(we REALLY do need some rain)

I cleaned the house, changed the beds, did the dishes, did some laundry, swept out the garage, cleaned the bathrooms, and folded the laundry to put away!!

What else did I do???? Well........I have read, I have researched the surgery for cataracts, I have written a few replies to messages to me on FB, I have talked on the phone with my great friend today, and.....the best thing to occur since Thursday......the 1st Lady returned home from her long weekend with Darrel and Dr. Jeni and their three rugrats, and Rachel. They were all in Branson, but I had my eye doctor's appt on Friday so I was unable to go with them. NOW....the house is clean......and our lives can continue on their daily routines which we have established for ourselves.

This week I have to begin to get the RV back in travel shape, inside and out.....as next week on Thursday we will go to Hannibal for the Midwest Rally of the Cedar Creek RV Owners Club....and there are about 30 Cedar Creek RV's expected from several states. Looking forward to it!!!

Soooo, tonight I am going to turn in early, do some reading on the Lee Child's novel that I have had going for quite some time. My eyes always give me problems reading when I am laying in bed.......hopefully that will improve in the next two months!!!! But....any improvement will be better than what my eyes are at this point in time.......seeing double images, often looking like I have my eyes open UNDER WATER, things blurring beyond the readable stage......just NOT good!!!! However........

LIFE IS JUST REALLY GREAT!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

Sophie....entertaining all of the guests at the Hanner House!!

Danielle....proudly enjoying the performance of her daughter, Sophie.

Grandpa Hanner with his VERY new grandson, Brian!!

Sophie....waiting for the fireworks.

Sue enjoys(??) her annual Holiday cigar....her contribution to the evening's fireworks display!!!

Is the camera out of focus...or, it is the haze surrounding the cigar Sue is smoking to celebrate the 4th????

Fireworks at Vance Vineyard.....

July 3/4, 2010: The Hanner House Hosts......

Yep....the title says it all!!!! Yesterday, as I was doing some laundry during the afternoon, Sue called and told me to come on out to their place for the Vance Vineyard Fireworks, which would be very visible from their yard behind their home. So a few hours later I drove out.....and the house was full with family.....tons of people, to say the least. Soooo, one more didn't seem to make any difference.

A few margaritas later.....a hamburger that was not eaten for dinner.....it was soon time for the 9PM fireworks display. But first.......their granddaughter Sophie, the daughter of Danielle and Ozzie, wanted sing for us. Such a talented little three year old.......stayed right in tune, knew the words well, and HAD to stand on a little table for her stage. She also requested that we have a spotlight on her......haha!!! You can certainly tell that she is the daughter of Danielle, who is quite vocalist....an opera major graduate from the UMKC Conservatory of Music......and, of course, little Sophie has had her share of performances already in her Life!!!

As the Vance Vineyards display was also sponsored by the F'town city, so I heard, the display was quite nice, albeit the same type of fireworks that are always seen at these occasions. Am I jaded to these displays???? Well, perhaps.......as they all begin to seem the same each year. Not that they aren't very pretty, and, not that this display was small.....because it was not!!!!! I was soooo glad that it was as big as it was.......and very thankful that sooooooooo many hundreds of people had the opportunity to see this...in their own "backyard".

Following this....I drove back to the sticknbrick.....and by that time, the evening was over.

Today.......Fr. Roast coffee in my cup as I took my breakfast outside on the patio......a lovely morning, albeit the strong hints of a very warm day to come.....it was really nice outside this morning!!!!

I watched some of the morning talking heads shows on the TV.......and then.....Sue once again called and said to come out. Soooo, I did...and was greeted by a large Margarita being thrust into my hand......terrible way to begin the afternoon (haha)!! Less family there....just Audra and Kyle with their kids, and Danielle and Ozzie with Sophie and their new little boy, Brian. Another guest, was Jim Harryman.....my former neighbor from across the street who now lives in Perryville, MO.

Lunch was served......and then we spent most of the afternoon visiting and playing some table games.....lots of laughs, lots of fun!!!!

Returning to the sticknbrick about 8pm.......another day is now gone. And soooo, the 1st Lady should return tomorrow....if not then, she will be here on Tuesday. All depends on when they return to the Washington, MO area.....and if she feels like driving on down here tomorrow evening.

And, as always........and especially on the 4th of July......

LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!

Friday, July 2, 2010: Plans made....Plans changed!

OK.....up and finished with the morning rituals by 6:45AM today....time for a cup of that dark Fr. Roast coffee as I read the NYTimes....and then it was out the door, another cup of coffee in my travel cup, and in Cape G. by 8:30, sitting in the parking lot of the Eye Consultants large offices.

At 9AM....I was called right on time to begin the eye exams.....and they were THOROUGH!!!!! GREAT....that is just the way I was hoping they would be. This place WAS busy.....tons of people sitting in the waiting/reception room, which was quite large. In fact, there were even two friends from here in F'town sitting there....!

Long story made short......when I had finished with all of the exams, the asst......I suppose that was his title.......commented that I definitely have a problem with my eyes. Well.....think I knew that or I sure as hell would have not been sitting there...haha!! The Dr. then came in...and did some more looking around inside my eye......and when he finished, he said....that I needed to get those cataracts removed as they were both getting pretty bad. Soooo.......I have one surgery scheduled for Wed. July 28.....and then next one for Aug 11.

He explained the procedure and that it only takes about 15 minutes......etc, etc.....and, he answered all of my questions really well with tons of explanations, not that I can remember them all...but, at least he was thorough in his answers. Soooo......

Our plans have been made for these surgeries.....and our plans for the months of August and September have now been changed. I am hoping that we can go on out to Wyoming about the 1st of September for a month.....hoping!!!!!! I did call our friends out there....Mac and Gail.....to tell them things have changed for our arrival...that we will not be there for their 50th wedding celebration on the 30th of July. And.......they asked if I wanted to rent our site for 9 days to another RV the end of this month.....and I said that sounded great to me!!! THAT is what we can do if we are not there.......and I am glad we can pick up a few dollars since the lot is vacant anyway!!!!

After leaving the Dr's offices....I went to Starbucks to try to regain my normal(???) vision....since my eyes had been dilated as well as other burning drops put into them for the exam purposes. Soooo, I sat there an nursed a Grande Cappuccino "on the dry side" as my vision VERY slowly returned....somewhat.

From there I went to Shivelbine's Music to check on renting/purchasing a cello for Rachel. She is wanting to be in the Orchestra in the Cape Girardeau school district....and they begin that journey in the 7th grade, so she will need to get a cello!!!

From there, back to the mall.....a bit of shopping, or should I say...looking....and then went to Lowe's to look at bathroom fixtures, vanities, etc, as well as getting some more Petunias for the back patio, since we will be here all summer....ugh!!! However......I am sooooo damn glad that my eyes should be much better after all of these procedures and recovery times!!!!! Can't wiat, honestly!!!! And.......

LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

Wed/Thur, Jun 30/Jul 1, 2010: Again......where the hell do these days go to????

Yesterday........The day began normally with my French Roast coffee on the patio.....cool and breezy and WONDERFUL!!!! The day moved swiftly........Anne-marie went to Farmington to the Bauhaus Kaffe Shop....and while up there worked on her wedding pictures. She had tons of them printed for us and gave them to us when she returned here to the sticknbrick.

I had talked with Sue Hanner during the morning....and she invited the 1st Lady and I over for 7pm......my impression was just for some drinks and snacks. Jeremy and Anne-marie were invited to a little party in Farmington, so they left late afternoon to go up there. And....then the 1st Lady and I went to the Hanner House around 7:30......

Well, as always, Chef Sue was preparing a 5 course dinner for us!!!!!!! Appetizers, soup, salad, main entree, and then dessert with coffee!!!!! By the time we finished, it was after 10pm.......and so, we adjourned from the dining table into the family room to moan and groan about how stuffed we ALL were!!!! GREAT food, GREAT hosts, GREAT friends!!!!!!

I remained up until 1am....as I could not go to bed with that much food inside my sagging hulk, which was sagging MUCH more than usual after pigging out on all of that food.

Sometime during the night Jeremy and Anne-marie returned to the sticknbrick. This morning......it was hectic....very hectic!!!!! They were leaving to go see Michael...and then from there they are driving on to Columbus, OH. The 1st Lady was leaving to go to Cape G., pick up Rachel and then drive to Dr. Jeni's home west of Washington, MO. Then....they were all to leave after 5pm this afternoon with their new motorhome towing their new boat.....with the 1st Lady and Dr. Jeni and some of the kids driving behind them in their new Suburban......to go to Branson for the weekend. As usual, they got a late start......par for the course with Dr. Jeni and Darrel.....and so, it will be QUITE LATE when they arrive down there.

I could not go as I have my appointment in the morning with the ophthalmologist at 9AM in Cape G........and then I will know more about the next few months for our schedule......all depending on his diagnosis of my eyes. Anxious to get this over with.......big time!!!!

And sooo, this afternoon I took a nap while it was quiet in the sticknbrick, did some laundry of towels, bed sheets, etc.......and just relaxed. It is soooo quiet here and I already miss Jeremy and Anne-marie not being here to talk with!!!!!!!! They will fly to NYC this weekend, then fly Tues night to Rome, Italy for 8 days before returning to Columbus. Then they will be moving for a few short months to Philadelphia, PA........a busy time in their lives. We hope to fly up to Philly while they are there to spend a few days seeing the city and the area in October, but it may not work out .....just have to see where our plans lead us after in the morning.

And sooooo, WOW....sooooo damn busy......soooo many things going on right now in our lives!!!! It will either keep us young.....or, age us terribly....haha!!! However......

LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!

The sun goes down as the game gets going!

The number and the man....Pujols!!