Well, we finally got a few consecutive days strung together that no one had dr appointments, craft shows, work, or other obligations. Jack & Di rented a car & we booked a couple of hotel rooms (free hot breakfast & wifi included), and we boogied on up the coast ... << MORE >>

Whoohoo!!  Dick, Diana, Jack & I have been busting our humps these last couple of weeks, and lemme tell ya why!

In between sewing for the upcoming craft shows (one on the fourth & one on the 17th), and visiting what seemed like every dr between hither & yon, and getting shots in my you know what, and more trips to the fabric store & Wally-world (geez, have I told you lately just how much I've come to HATE Wally-world???  more on that LATER), we have all been running around like crazy people trying to solicit donations for this wild-haired idea Dick & I had.  See, I started questioning Magic Valley Park's rate release...people were asking, and you know how I hate looking stupid or ignorant...*especially* if I can help it!

Sooooo, I asked Fran & Joe about the rates and what they planned to do for camper retention...thank you, Encore, Harry, Bev & Gail, for giving us the party idea... Well, I found out that rates weren't going to be released and there was no plan for retention.  OK, so I'm a glutton for punishment, but I decided we needed to do something about that.  And the something I came up with was a Camper Appreciation & Early-bird Registration party.  OK, that was given the go-ahead.  Oh, and did I mention that we only came up with this idea a couple of weeks ago????

So, I write up this letter of solicitation & start presenting it to the local community businesses.  You know, the ones that are highly patronized by our campers.  I'm looking for any kind of give-away, prize or assistance with the party I can get.  We went here, there, and everywhere!  A lot of places were highly & immediately receptive to the idea, and they cooperated fully and gave us some terrific door prizes.  Di was highly successful and even got the local Best Western Hotel to donate TWO 2-night stays in a mini-suite, TWO breakfast buffets for 2, AND TWO dinner buffets for 2!!  How sweet is THAT!!??  Dick & I went into the local car dealer, looking for some coozies & a hat or two, and we came out with FREE LIVE ENTERTAINMENT! 

On the way home from the MRI that didn't happen (oh, don't even ask!), we passed a party store, so of course, we stopped in, knowing we had NO budget for decorations, and NO idea for themes yet....and came out with 3 packs of pretty & colorful napkins and 4 small paper bags that coordinated.  We were kinda counting on HEB (grocery) to kick in some helium balloons, but, somehow, that never happened, despite our best efforts and a half dozen trips to see the Community Investment rep.    Anyway, you should have seen what Di was able to produce with that little bit.  THEY WERE A HIT!!  She stuffed a couple napkins into each bag, cut out a couple of designs from another napkin & glued 'em on a stick, then stuffed some krinkly shred into 'em, and oh, my GOSH, they were absolutely fantastic!  What that woman can do with a napkin!!!  We have our own personal Decorating Diva.  Think what she could do if she had a BUDGET.  I'm scared to even imagine.

Back to the prizes.  We eventually did get a ton of really great prizes, and even some that standing alone, weren't so great, but when combined, came to a decent reward.  So, Wednesday was the final craft show I'd entered, and (again, with Di's help) I was able to recoup the money I'd spent of fabric & supplies, and even made about $50 in profit.  Unless, of course, you put it to labor.  Then I'm probably in the hole, but what the hey, I had fun.  After the craft show, Dick took me out to Mission (30 miles away), and I got another steroid shot in my Sacro-illiac joint.  Painful, but, thankfully, they now know to knock me out fully, with 10 cc of kickapoo juice.  They tried only 5cc, but only once & now they know better.  10 does the trick.  So, Thursday, we spent running around, getting the last of the prizes together, then stuffing goodie bags & making sure all the door prizes were accounted for & orderly & ready to be given out.  Poor John (another workamper here) - we coerced him into baking at least 4 dozen homemade cookies....after all, in his former life, he was the head baker for Safeway stores in Alaska, so it's nice to have his expertise.  Oh, and he's ALWAYS practicing on us....perhaps that's why we don't lose any weight. ?? 

This morning dawned bright and early...seems they always do, especially after a rough night (a couple of really bad coughing spells of mine kept us both up), and it was damp and chilly with off-and-on downpours....so, I expected turnout would be limited, but oh well, if 25 people came, I'da been calling it a success.

OK, so, the party starts at 9:30 am, we're over there setting up at 8:15, and here comes a couple.  According to them, they're here for the prizes.  HUH????  Is it 9:30 already???  HECK NO, it's not even EIGHT-thirty yet!!  Well, about all I can do is ask 'em to have a seat and wait till we get the tables put up...and then comes along a very unhappy camper.  Actually, they're not even campers.  Just unhappy that there's someone from outside the park having the audacity to be here and who were we to be having this party anyway?? Well, as you can imagine, not everyone is pleased, and some are even really p*ssed, but, oh well, we're doing what we can with what we've got.  BUT, long story short....you wouldn't believe how many people turned out!!  OVER 80!!!  And, according to all records, we had twenty eight couples sign up for next year!!!  OMG!  What a response.  Of course, you know what that means now, right?  Yeah, chances are good we'll be doing it again next year.  Yup, even we have committed to return to Magic Valley as next year's camp hosts.  Same site, same arrival day...whoohoo.  At least we know it'll be warmer than anywhere else in the country. 

Party on!! 

Waaaaay back in December last year, way before Christmas even, Jose & I and Jack & Di went to Mexico, mostly to get a haircut. Usually when we travel over there, we shop a bit (and yeah, it's all junk, but it's cheap), eat lunch (cheap, cheap, cheap) or ... << MORE >>

Thanks, Sarah, for the longtoe pictures - of SNOW!!!  No matter how cold it gets down here, and it has been down to 28* (for FOUR HOURS!!) it is colder & wetter elsewhere. Our resident population is about 80% Canadian, with most of them originating in the middle provinces ...

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Whoohoo, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU, too!  I'll trust that everyone had a merry Christmas and of course, Santa was good to you. I know this because ALL my friends are wonderful people that deserve all the best and to have all their dreams come true. I ...

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OM MY GOSH!  And I thought no one would notice!!  Well, I'm glad to report, people ARE reading my ramblings and tehre are some that actually WANT to hear what we've been doing and see where we've been going!!  OK, well, I've got a lot of ground to cover, ... << MORE >>

Thanks to Microsoft Streets & Trips, and Brandi's most excellent directions, we found our way to Cat Spring and Blisswood without issue.  Of course, we did have a side trip or two....we were on our way to drop off a travel bug (see what you've done, Tim & Staples!??) along the way, and what do you suppose we saw?  A MONSTER yard sale.  Not just ANY yard sale, and not your average, run of the mill, Saturday morning yard sale, but an honest to gosh ESTATE sale, running three days in a row!!  But, wouldn't you know it, not due to start until THURSDAY.  And today is only TUESDAY!  Well, we doubled back to peek at the goods, since it appeared there would be lots of garden stuff, and lo & behold, the lady of the house came out to see why we were in her driveway.

After explaining that we were only passing thru, and wouldn't be coming back this way, and that we were from Florida (hey, we have the plates to prove it!), she opened up and let us see her all her goodies.  And, my, oh my, did she have goodies.  After going thru her gardens, carport & garage, the only thing either of us wanted (and I assure you, only ONE of us wanted) to purchase was a clay/pottery-type shallow bowl in a wire stand.  I figured this would make a decent table-top birdbath, if I put some pebbles or shells in the bowl.   Five dollars later, we were on our way once more, heading to the geocache that was only slightly off our route.  Well, the cache was unable to hold our little travelbug, since our bug was a little plastic doggie, and the cache was little more than a pill bottle stuffed in a cannon barrel.  So, we simply took a picture, updated the cache log & moved on toward our destination - Blisswood, at Cat Spring.  

We arrived shortly after 1, just as planned, and Mike was there at the gate, waiting to lead us to our hideaway for the day.  It was quite charming and nicely appointed with shabby-chic antiques.  The kitchen was limited to a coffee pot, toaster, refrigerator & microwave, but for our short visit, that was plenty.   We'd found some breakfast pastries & fruit at the grocery store, so we were well prepared, and Brandi had even stocked us with a quart of milk, some apples & oatmeal, and Mike had thoughtfully provided a 6-pack for Dick.  What good friends!!

That night, after Mike & Brandi completed their farm chores, and we'd had a quick tour of the ranch, they took us to town for Mexican.  And dinner was not complete until they had the waiters come surprise us with an off-key & heavily accented rendition of Happy Anniversary, complete with huge, glittery felt sombreros and a yummy soapailla.  Ah, yes, payback is a B.  You may remember, we pulled that trick on Mike many times, aging him quickly during our stay in Florida.  Ah, yes, what good friends!!

The next morning, we went with Mike to feed the animals and take some pictures.  As we went around the ranch, we noticed a few things that needed attention, but rain appeared to be moving in (it's been a couple years since we'd seen rain, but we did remember what it looked like!) and Mike & Brandi had to run some calves into market - don't ask, we don't want to discuss that part, so we took off for the day.  Brenham was calling.  For those that don't know, Dick is a HUGE ice cream afficiando.  Well, not that HE's huge - but his appetite for ice cream is insatiable.  Or seems to be, anyway.  And Brenham, TX is the home of Blue Bell Creamery - originally a butter-making plant, they made ice cream for the employees to eat.  Pretty soon, ice cream production overtook butter production, and, as they say, the rest is history.  After the factory tour (which was very interesting & educational), they took us to the ice cream parlor, and loaded us all up with 2 very large scoops of whatever flavor(s) we wanted.  Yum yum said the tum tum!  Of course, we found a couple of caches up in Brenham, as well, but our adventure was slightly shortened by the terrific thunderstorm that rolled in.  Y'all have got to see the pics we've posted: Click HERE for pictures!!

We also have some video out on YouTube, under my "kcallander989" account.  Be sure to check 'em out - some of 'em are quite funny!

When we returned to the ranch, we'd found that Mike & Brandi had to knock off work, due to the same thunderstorms we'd experienced an hour away.  They fixed us a nice dinner, taught us a card game that had WAY too many rules and MATH to be fun, but was anyway (especially when Dick & I "collaborated" without anyone noticing).  And Brandi hit us with an interesting proposition!!  She was wondering if we'd be willing to change cottages and stay thru the week with them.  They were having a big (important) equine event, and the lane needed clearing, the pens needed putting up, the electric cables needed buried, guests needed greeted, and, yes, the animals still needed feed & attention.  Hmmm....so, what else did we have to do?  The camper had been all packed up, bills were current, the bird feeders were full, the plants were watered, well, why not!?

So, the next morning, we packed up & Brandi cleared our extension with the owner, Carol, and we moved on to the next house.  Once we got settled in, we went straight to work.  Dick helped Mike clear the trees in the lane, enabling the horse trailers to come in without having to traverse the field (and them to leave in the event of a hurricane) and Brandi worked to put some loose ends together & I just kinda tagged along for the ride.  For me, it was fun, since it was only gonna be a couple of days, but for Brandi, it was work!!  We checked up on the work that had been done down in the Oasis, another part of the ranch, and found it was not up to her standards at all.  Now, she has high standards, but that's what's needed in her position - they manage the place as if it were their own, and she wants it to turn a profit.  After chores were done for the day, we cleaned up & went back to town...yep, the very same one where we'd found the cache & estate sale.  That seemed to be the closest grocery store, and since we now had a full kitchen and dishes, and were gonna be there a few days, we couldn't keep mooching off our hosts, so we had to stock up.  We also knew there was a Whataburger, so that was where we headed for dinner.  After we pulled into the parking lot, we looked around and saw a real restaurant across the street.  Yep, off we go!!  And they had a salad bar!!!  Jackpot!!  After a good & reasonably priced dinner, we crossed over to HEB (the Texas version of Publix) and stocked the pantry.  We got enough to last us the rest of the week and even have Mike, Brandi, and the kids over for dinner. 

The next day, the guests started arriving, and that's when the rest of the fun really started.  First thing we did was feed the animals, then put up the hummingbird feeders with new syrup, then, on the way back to the barn, we stopped to put a board over the cattle guard, so that the horses could cross over, and, um...well, let's just say, I learned why the animals didn't cross them....seems the bars are far enough apart that their little feetsies would slip through and they would get stuck.  Sorta like what happened to ME!  I was trying to hurry across one to the other side, to help Brandi pull the board over (she was pushing, I was to pull from the other end), when, all of a sudden, WOOMPF!  Down I go, with foot stuck in the rails, and under the board.  Brandi rushed over to help me up, but, umm..well, she had to run back, to move the board off my leg so I could pull my foot out.  Today, a full 12 days later, the bruise is huge & green/black/blue.  And the secret ones - those on my butt & thigh - well, they're just deep purple.  Dick wonders how I managed to get bruises on the front of both my shins, the back/bottom of my bottom, and the side of my thigh.  I have no idea, but I did. 

Well, that set the tone for the day - one crazy thing after another!!  Typical situations when dealing with the monied public, and we're glad we were there to help keep things in perspective.  We like to think we kept Mike & Brandi laughing & in good spirits throughout the day.  I know that they enjoyed their dinner - especially when they found me baking the chicken in a frying pan!!  (there was no other baking dish)  And the brownies turned out nicely, even if I did forget to put the turtle part in before baking.  We just poured it over the strawberry frozen yogurt and called it DE-LISH!

The next day was a little easier, as most guests were already in their spots, and we just had a few little glitches to work out.  But, with boys as handy as ours, everything worked out well and everyone had fun.  Even in the rain.  Yep, hadn't rained ALL SUMMER, and here it was - raining every day during this outdoor, equine event!!!  We could only hope that Woody Acres was getting the same weather.  And that our camper was safe & sound.  And DRY.  Remember the window leak?  It had been caulked, but we pulled the slide in, just to be safe.

Sunday dawned, bright & beautiful, and after we (and the animals) all had breakfast, it was time to pack it up  & head for home.  What a fun anniversary week it had been.  We are grateful to our friends for allowing us to be a part of their adventure, but we're glad we didn't sign on to work there for the summer - it's WAAAAY more work than we two old fogies want to take on.  I can understand their desire to bring the ranch up to its potential, and I know they are proud of their accomplishments.  They also have a deep concern for the animals and don't want to see them suffer with illness or stress or see them starved, so they are continually fighting for the animals' welfare.  It's a never-ending fight, and we wish them all the best.  Maybe next summer we'll give 'em a month or two of our time - after all, Roger 'Roo & Willie the Camel did capture my heart!

We have heard reports that Georgia is about underwater now, and we hope that our friends there all have canoes for shoes and everyone is safe. 

Y'all take care, and don't forget to say a prayer for our service men & women, still fighting to keep us safe.

OH MY GOSH!!  What is this WET stuff!!  Now, wouldn't you know it, we have been almost a FULL YEAR since seeing any significant rain fall (I mean, more than 12 drops at this point would be significant), and we set out this morning for our adventure and the skies ...<< MORE >>

Well, after a few more lovely blue screens:
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You'll just NEVER guess where WE went today!  ARRRRRGH!  If you guessed Corpus Christi, you'd be RIGHT.  And if you guessed Best Buy, you'd be even MORE right!  And ya know why?  Can you guess??  If you guessed BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH, you'd earn a gold star!!  Oh, yes.  Last ...<< MORE >>