Rainy Country!

It was gorgeous this morning.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was warm enough to open all of the windows.  It even got warm enough for us to turn on the fans.

Then it started to get dark.  And then it got darker.  And then it started to rain.  It rained so hard and the sound of the raindrops hitting Auntie Violet's roof was so loud, I looked outside sure that I would see hail!  But it was just rain.

We took a quick trip a couple miles down the road to Kroger's Grocery to pick up some stuff to keep Forry fed while I am gone for a couple of days.  In contrast to the Costco we were at yesterday, this store was very busy -- and they had lots of fresh blueberries!

A Rainy Day in Indy Town

It rained on and off all night last night and it was still drizzling when we got up this morning.  It's chilly enough that we no longer have the windows wide open night and day -- another sure sign that Fall is moving in.  I spent part of the day doing laundry -- it's hanging on the dryer in the living room -- and it's still damp!

Forry spent part of his day looking through his manuals, still trying to figure out what's going on with the bedroom slide.  So far, no progress...  Though he did buy a new tool when we were at Costco later this afternoon.  He found a wireless inspection camera with a flexible camera tube.  So in the morning, he should be able to get a good look at the inner workings of the slide.

We did go to a Costco Warehouse Store about eighteen miles from here this afternoon. It was the saddest Costco I've ever been in. The parking lot was only about a quarter full and the store was eerily empty.  It's the first time I've ever been in one that wasn't just bustling.  There were only two people setting up to give out samples.  And to top it off, there were NO blueberries in the fresh produce room!

And FINALLY! --- Indiana

We got a nice early (for us anyway) start this morning, once again heading east on Interstate 70.  It was only a couple of hours of driving through more corn, milo and soybean fields in Illinois until we reached the border and the Indiana Welcome Center --

We are finally beginning to see a wee bit of evidence -- besides the cooler days -- that Fall is upon us.  There are smidgens of reddish color showing in the trees along the freeway --

And then there are some subtle hints of gold and yellow --

'

Interstate 70 morphs into Interstate 465 which is essentially a large loop around the city of Indianapolis.  We took that for a few miles then turned off onto Southport Road which took us to Indy Lakes, a Fishing and RV Camp.  Our friends, Leslie and Bill, had stayed here earlier this year and recommended it. 

We got parked and situated in our back-in spot with no problems. We plugged in water and electricity; put down the jacks; and put out the two front slides.  Then Forry went to put out the bedroom slide -- and one end of it didn't slide! He stopped real quick, but the back side is out about five inches -- and won't go back in.  And the front portion of the slide is stuck in!  Forry's been on the phone with the fellows at Uhlmann who had some ideas about what to do, but we'll wait until morning, so that he can work on it in the daylight.



Heirloom Engines

I thought I was going to lose my husband today.  We had seen this display alongside the freeway yesterday.  Nothing doing, but that we go looking for it today.  The American Farm Heritage Museum is just outside of Greenville, Illinois.  It wasn't really open, but there were a couple of volunteers there working on Christmas displays.  They said many of their tractors and farm equipment were off at various area fairs right now. It's totally a volunteer run facility.  They have special Thrashing Days and Tractor Pulls.

We went into one of their large mostly empty buildings and that's where I lost Forry!  He spotted this rather strange engine and was totally fascinated.

It's a Reid Gas Engine made by the Joseph Reid Engine Company of Oil, Pennsylvania. It has a two pistons that drive these huge fly wheels.

Forry was puzzled as to how it worked and what it was for -- and so was the volunteer who was there.

He asked me to see what I could find out from Safari (Internet) on my iPhone.  Because of this brass plate on the side, I was able to find out!  It's an oilfield engine from the late 1880s.  The cylinder on the side is a pump that forced fuel and air into the working cylinder.

I think Forry did everything but crawl on top of it.  I have at least a dozen different pictures of it on my camera (that he borrowed).  He even called his friend Dennis to see if he might know anything about it.  Dennis had heard of Reid engines, but had never seen one.

Missouri to Illinois

We continued east on Interstate 70 this morning heading towards Saint Louis. We got another look at the Missouri River then skirted the city on Interstate 720 until it joined up again with I-70. We also crossed the Mississippi River shortly after it had been joined by the Missouri. I kept trying to get a picture and kept having trucks come along and block my view. I got this little bit of it as we approached the shore...

As we crossed into Illinois, it started to cloud up and by the time we got to our campground it was starting to rain. Everything is VERY lush and green. We did see some corn fields that were drying out and even saw one that was being harvested. The soybean fields are a mixture of yellow and green -- they look like they are a long way from being ready to harvest. The lush green is quite a contrast from the drought look of Kansas.

Since it is now officially Fall, I keep watching the abundant deciduous trees for signs of changing colors, but so far have only seen a few red Sumacs.

We are parked for the next two days at Timber Trails Camp-In outside of Mulberry Grove, Illinois. The camp is pretty much in a treed woodlot and Forry was concerned that he would not be able to get TV reception with our satellite. But we are parked in one of the pull-throughs on the outside edge of the camp -- right next to a field of corn stubble -- and we have great reception.

We got our cheapest diesel yet today -- 52 gallons at $3.629 using our Frequent Fueler card at the Flying J near Warrenton, Missouri. We should have made a stop at Triple A while we were in Columbia. I had to BUY maps of Illinois and Indiana. We'll need to find a AAA when we're in Indianapolis and stock up on East Coast state maps.

A Drive in the Country

I was unhappy that we didn't get a better look at the Missouri River when we crossed it on Interstate 70 on our way to Columbia.  There are absolutely no turn-outs or view points along the river where you can take a look at it.  So this afternoon we decided to take the Toad and drive back west to see if we could get a better look.  I snapped this photo from the Jeep window -- and that's about as good a look as we got!

Unlike many of the rivers of the West that literally run between barren deserts, the trees and underbrush surround these rivers to the point you really cannot get a look at them unless you are actually on the bridge -- or maybe on a boat!  We took a loop on some of the back roads between the old river towns of Rocheport and Boonville and never got a good view.

This "horse" and wagon were at Peach Tree Farm where we bought some peppers and peaches.

A Quiet Day at Home

I think we were due for "one of those days!"  We were barely up in time to watch The View and I was thinking I could have skipped it as it was all about a soap opera ending that I have never seen...  BUT, I had to get up and get something to eat so that I could take another dose of my lovely antibiotic.  By this evening, I had hit the half-way point, five days done, five to go!  I can certainly understand why people quit taking these darn antibiotics when they start feeling better and don't finish out the whole dose.  My swollen gland is pretty well gone -- there's only a small nodule that isn't even easy to feel.  My upset GI system is almost more annoying then the original problem.  Whine, whine, whine!

We really did have a lazy day.  I walked up to the office and paid for another night so that we can stay here until Saturday.  We just didn't realize how tired out we really were!  We don't have to be in Indianapolis until the 28th or 29th.  I'll be flying out on the 30th. Forry is going to be staying behind to baby-sit Auntie Violet. He's concerned we may end up dealing with frozen pipes if he comes with me...

I'll be flying into Spokane on Friday morning; help get things set up in afternoon; work at the Mennonite Country Auction on Saturday; then fly back to Indianapolis Monday afternoon.  It was sort of fun to discover that Debi, my travel agent, and her husband will be doing the same thing at their MCC auction tomorrow. The Mennonite world is awfully small some times!

Kansas to Missouri

We left the flatlands of Kansas today on Interstate 70 and headed into the rolling green hills of Missouri.  The further east we drove the wetter and greener it got. 

I wasn't fast enough to grab the camera as we approached the breaks at the Missouri River and only got this quick shot of the cliffs on the far side.

There is evidence of a great deal of flooding along the River and much of it is still not inside its traditional banks.  I'd like to go back tomorrow and take a better look.

We came as far as Cottonwoods RV Park in Columbia, Missouri today. We'll lay over here for two nights, getting back to our more normal way of traveling instead of moving every day. There is a large group of people here with a club called "Folks on Spokes." They are on a "2011 Missouri Excursion."  They all have bicycles and appear to camp in their RVs in an area that they then explore on two wheels.

On the Road Once More

We left the corn, milo and soybean fields of the Newton area today and headed north on I-135 to Salina, then east on I-70 into the Flint Hills. We fueled up with 60.033 gallons of diesel at $3.739/gal. at a Pilot  Travel Center in Salina.  That's the cheapest diesel we've found yet!

As you can see by the pictures, it was a dreary overcast day today. We had occasional rain showers off and on all day. We ran into -- what will probably be the first of many -- toll road east of Topeka.  It cost us $2.50 to travel the twenty plus miles from Topeka to Lawrence, Kansas where we are spending the night.

We are also staying at our first Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park.  The Lawrence/Kansas City Jellystone Park was a KOA facility until last year.  The Yogi Bear group seems to have a great many RV parks the further east we go, so this probably not be the last one we stay at.

I solved the mystery of the plant I couldn't identify a couple of days ago with a book, Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, that I bought yesterday at the Kauffman Museum gift shop.  It's called appropriately enough, Snow on the Mountain, Euphorbia marginata, and is a member of the Spurge family. My blogger friend Ann also had a picture of it she couldn't identify, so she will be happy to know I found it as well.

The swollen saliviary gland is gradually going down with the help of the antibiotic.  Actually, the antibiotic's side effects are now more annoying than the swollen gland.  It's going to take a bit of will power on my part to take the Augmentin the whole ten days...

Kauffman Museum, Bethel College

This afternoon we went to visit Kauffman Museum at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas.  We had been there many years ago (when our girls were in college here).  For a small museum, it is pretty spectacular and is very well designed.  Charles Kauffman was a taxidermist.  His preserved animal collection formed the core of a diverse collection that he donated to Bethel College. The museum emphasizes the cultural and natural history of the Central Plains and the immigration of the Mennonites to Kansas in the 1870s.

Forry was very interested in seeing the Museum's collection of the copper plates that were used to print the pictures in the 1290 page book, The Mirror of the Martyrs printed in 1685.  He had helped to set up the traveling exhibit  when it came to Whitworth College in Spokane a number of years ago, sponsored by the local Mennonite Churches.

Only 30 of the original 140 copper plates used to illustrate the book have been found.

An Interesting Monday

For the last couple of days, I've been dealing a swollen gland under my right ear.  It's got painful, so after we couldn't find an Urgent Care open this weekend, we finally went to the Emergency Room at the Newton Medical Center this morning. They were pretty efficient, but in the middle of checking it out, a guy came in who had cut the end of his finger off, so we had to wait for the doctor to sew him up.  She was pretty sure (since eating blueberries this morning hurt...) that it is an infected salivary gland and started me on an Augmentin regimen.  Hopefully that will take care of the problem quickly because it hurts...!

We had an invitation for lunch at noon at Walt and Clara's.  It was close, but we made out of the clinic and got there only about ten minutes late.  Roger had ridden his bike over on his lunch hour as well.  We had a feast of bean soup, fresh fruit salad and mulberry pie.  After lunch we had a good couple of hours visit with Walt and Clara, then picked up my prescription and headed home for nap.  It got hot enough today that we had to turn on the AC.

After supper we headed out to Roger and Carmen's 14 acres.  They have a nice mixture of trees, a pond, a couple of creeks, some prairie grass and grass.  It's a fun place to walk through.  There are even some fall flowers blooming in spite of this summer's drought conditions.  I know this one is Liatris spicata or Gayfeather --

But I have NO idea what this one might be.  There are white leaves at the top of the green-leaved plant --

But the white flowers are actually tiny and on top of the white leaves around the green centers...

I'll be interested to hear if any of you know what it is!

We sat outside of their back door and watched the sun come down before Carmen fed the guys warm brownies just out of the oven and ice cream.

Sunday

This is Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton, Kansas.  The Mennonite Church USA Executive Board has been meeting there the last few days and this morning we met our friends, Walt and Clara and Roger and Carmen there for worship. This is actually the back entrance of the church from the parking lot.

We've been driving by this corn field the last few days as we came from Spring Lake RV Resort near Halstead into Newton.  These are actually bailed cornstalks.

Roger told us that many corn fields had just been bailed whole without harvesting as the crop was so poor due to the drought.  This particular field had a circle on it for irrigation, so it was most likely harvested before they bailed the stalks.

We think this is a field of soybeans --

It really doesn't look very good and the pods are small and few --

We have had thunderstorms and rain the past two nights. Roger said they had gotten two inches of rain at their place last night.  Everything has been so dry that the rain has been very welcome.

I put some spare ribs and sweet potato fries in the oven for supper tonight.  It's the kind of chilly weather that makes one think about oven meals.  We've had to dig out jackets and sweaters as it is fifty degrees colder in the mornings then the 98 degrees it was the day we arrived!



Meeting Over & Wonderful Dinner

As I said last night we started a wee bit earlier this morning -- a whole fifteen minutes!  And we finished an hour early.  Some of our Board Members had to leave by 2:15 in order to get a flight out today, so we shortened some breaks and finished up by 2 PM instead of 3 PM.  That gave me time to get back to Auntie Violet in time to have a badly needed hour's nap before we headed back into town!

We were back in Newton by 5 PM at the BreadBasket, meeting dear friends Clara and Walt and their son Roger and his wife Carmen.  What a treat to visit with these folks that we have known for so many years (Walt is now 91).  Their move from Washington to Kansas has been a big loss to us!  On Friday and Saturday nights, the BreadBasket has a German buffet with swiebach rolls and apple butter; cottage cheese varenyky (both with ham gravy and with syrup); sausage, sauerkraut and a bunch of other ethnic food. (And we did have both the coupons from the paper AND the Senior discount!)

We will see our friends again tomorrow morning at church -- such a pleasure to look forward to!

A L-O-N-G Day of Meetings

My meeting started at 8 AM this morning and I didn't get home until 9 PM tonight.  I am tired!  First of all, I'm not used to getting up and being anywhere that early.  AND I'm not used to putting in that long of a day!

We accomplished a lot today, my brain is on overload.  Tomorrow we get a bit of a break as we don't start until 8:15...

Good night!

The Executive Board Meets

This afternoon Forry dropped me off at Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton for the first day of the Fall Mennonite Church USA Executive Board meetings.  We spent the first part of the meeting getting acquainted with the three new Board members.  I found myself sitting by and talking with a young woman who had been good friends with our Daughter Dawn and Todd when Todd was a student at AMBS in Elkhart, Indiana.  What is that thing about there being only six degrees of separation between any two human beings?

Late this afternoon we adjourned to the Mennonite Church USA's newly remodeled offices in downtown Newton for an Open House.  The first persons I saw when I walked in the door were Walt and Clara!  They are long-time members of our home congregation of Menno who had moved to Kansas to be near their youngest son a couple of years ago.  What a delight!  We made plans to get together with them for dinner on Saturday after my meetings are over.

After the Open House, some of the Board members walked down the street to Prairie Harvest, where we had a wonderful meal of Cajun beans and rice.  A nice respite before we went back for another two hours of committee meetings.

A Nice Lazy Day

We had a lovely lazy day today.  We got up late -- just in time to watch The View -- then showered and putzed around the house.  I cleaned out the refrigerator and washed the sheets and a couple other loads of laundry.  I did a few things on the computer that I had been putting off, canceling my subscription to the Spokane paper and some other things I don't use any more.

Forry finally got caught up on his calendar Sudoku games and even got ambitious enough to drop the gray water.  We were out of orange juice, so headed into Newton for groceries.  We checked out the location of Shalom Mennonite Church so that Forry will know where to drop me off for my meeting tomorrow.  We were going to eat out while we were in town, but both places we wanted to eat at were closed.  So I ended up buying a roasted vegetable pizza to bake at home.

There have been clouds scooting across all day today and I even heard a couple of small showers on the roof last night.  By late afternoon the sky was clearing off and we saw a gorgeous sunset as we were driving back to Spring Lake RV Resort.

Spring Lake RV Resort

Their brochure says they are the largest RV park in Kansas. I think there are 179 RV sites plus half a dozen rental units. The map shows a creek running through the park along with six ponds.  I don't know if that's all so, but we're going to be here for a week, so we'll get it all checked out.  We were TIRED when we got here!  Plugged in, got jacks down and slides out, turned on the AC and just shelled!

We've been driving for six days straight.  We usually don't do that. Normally, we drive one -- or maybe two -- days and then take a day off to rest up or sight-see.  The last part of today's drive was a bit nasty.  We drove I-70 from WaKeeney to Salina, Kansas, then took I-135 south to Hesston.  We were following the GPS which had us take Ridge Road down to connect with Highway 50 where Spring Lake RV Resort is located.  That would have been fine, but about a mile from Highway 50 (we could see the traffic on it!), there was -- without any previous warning -- a sign saying that the road was closed! There were barricades, but no detour signs.  Knowing that we had seen a lot of bridge work along the way, we were hesitant to drive that last mile in fear we would get part-way, find a bridge out and be unable to turn around (this was a two-lane narrow country road...). 

We turned right onto a dirt road.  The GPS told us it would be five miles until we could again turn onto Highway 50.  It was actually four very dirty miles.  Then when we got back to the highway, the GPS unit told us to turn the wrong way into the RV park.  It's a good thing they had large signs pointing the right way!

The only other thing we made sure to do was to get out our NOAA Weather Radio; put in new batteries; and program it for Harvey County, Kansas (Region 7, 162.550).  We are in tornado country!  There are two storm shelters in the park, both quite close to where we are parked.

And Finally -- KANSAS!

We followed Highway 83 south from North Platte, Nebraska on down past Oberlin, Kansas to Selden where we turned to follow Highway 23 through the farmland to Interstate 70.  23 was a good two-lane road with narrow shoulders.  We saw lots of fields of corn, milo, and soybeans, some still very green.  The further we got into Kansas, the worse the corn looked except for the irrigated fields.

It was a short run east on I-70 for another thirty-one miles to the KOA RV Park in WaKeeney. It was 96 degrees when we arrived about 4 PM!  Needless to say, we hooked up electricity and water very quickly and went inside for naps with the AC on! This KOA has ice cream and rootbeer floats every evening at 6:30.  It was still in the mid-nineties when we walked over to the clubhouse for some cool treats.

Kansas is indeed the "Sunflower State."  Small sunflower plants like this one are in bloom all along the highways:

Land that isn't currently farmed is mostly grass and small juniper trees (I wonder if this is the Kansas version of CRP acreage?).

Although the last two parks we have spent the night at are grassed, they don't water it.  Since it has not rained recently, the grass is pretty brown and dry.

It was partially overcast this afternoon (as you can see in the above pictures), so we had a beautiful sunset this evening --

We have one more jaunt tomorrow.  We will go to Halstead where we will spend the next week at an RV park there.  We will have Wednesday as a "down day" before my meetings start on Thursday in Newton.

Nebraska

We started off again this morning on I-90, following it as far as Murdo, South Dakota.  From there we picked up two-lane State Highway 83 and headed south.We crossed into Nebraska just north of the little town of Valentine. We crossed the Niobrara River which brought back great memories of canoeing down the river with Daughter Mary Mae and Son-in-law Scott many years ago.  The river was quite shallow and warm and a lot of fun to play in.  We actually had to give MM and Scott a call to try to decide if it was before or after Grandson Varick was born.  Scott couldn't remember either, but MM knew it had been way before when she was working for the National Park Service.

I dearly dislike driving on cement roads!  They give an extremely bumpy ride and I could hear everything in the coach shaking loose as we went.  Hwy 83 is not a very busy road that heads straight south through the state.

This part of Nebraska is mile after mile of grassland and hayfields.  There are occasional working old-fashioned windmills with round stock tanks, often surrounded by thirsty cattle.  It's not hard to imagine the view that homesteaders had as they headed into the vast prairie to stake their claims.

We put on more miles then usual today, ending up making camp in North Platte, Nebraska. We are camped at a place called Lakeside Camping.  The lady sounded a little funny on the phone when I asked about making reservations, but when we got here we could see why. There are only two other rigs here.  This park closes next week for the season.

The North Platte River was still very high and full when we crossed over.  You can still see lots of sand bags around nearby businesses.

And Then to South Dakota!

This is Crazy Woman RV Park where we spent last night.  As you can see, there is not much there in the way of amenities.  The lot is actually pretty flat -- I guess it's my camera angle that makes it look like we're sitting downhill. This morning before we left, we showered and Forrest drained both the black and gray water tanks.

The motorcoach next to us came in right after we did last night.  As I watched how quickly they unhitched and set up last night and how quickly they left this morning, I sorta wondered if maybe we went to a few too many Life on Wheels RV Classes before and when we first started RVing.  We always put down jack pads; test the power at the pedestal before we plug in; and spray the water faucet with our Clorox solution before we hook up the water.  It just takes us a little longer, but then, that's the way we were taught.

And then in the morning before we leave (and we've picked up the jack pads), I walk around to the front of Auntie Violet and watch while Forry turns on both the right and left turn signals.  Next I walk to the back behind Toad and we repeat the turn signal return routine, this time making sure they are working on both the coach and on Toad.  I also check that the brake lights light up on both rigs.  Then I wave Forry into motion and watch to see that all the wheels on Toad are turning (we've had a couple of times when the transmission wasn't quite in the right gear and the wheels locked -- that can destroy tread in a hurry!) Only then do I catch up with the coach, hop in and fasten my seat belt.  As you can see, that all takes a bit longer then just cranking up the engine and driving off. But then again, that's the way we were taught -- over and over!

As we again headed east on I-90, we crossed into South Dakota and swung south, past Sturgis and Rapid City.  The land is still very green and quite a contrast to the dry grass of the far west.

I always enjoy when we move into the beginnings of the Black Hills National Forest.  The darkness of the trees makes you realized why they get their name.

We had planned to drive as far as Murdo today where we will pick up Highway 83 south to Kansas.  But Forry was getting tired, so we decided to make a shorter day of it and pulled into Sleepy Hollow RV Park and Campground in Wall, South Dakota.  I pulled the chaise lounge chairs out of Toad and we set up on the grass outside.  It was a lot cooler on the shady, breezy side of the coach then inside!

We had done all the Wall Drug, Corn Palace, etc. touristy stuff on our last trip this way, so didn't go in for our free glass of cold water, but we did drive by Wall Drug when we went to the grocery store to pick up milk.  Even at almost seven o'clock, there was a tour bus there with most of the parking places in front filled and lots of people on the street.

On To Wyoming...

There were the early birds who left the RV park before our alarm clock radio even came on.  Then there were several who left while we were eating breakfast -- and watching The View.  And a couple more while we were pulling in the slides and disconnecting the water and electricity.  By the time we were on our leisurely way at a little after ten, the transient area of the KOA was pretty well emptied out.  But, there were still a couple of more rigs who were just starting their disconnection process as we left. 

Life is an RV Park is great if you like to people-watch. It is just interesting to watch the teamwork -- or lack of it -- between couples as they hitch or un-hitch.  Some proceed very quietly, each knowing what to do next like a well-executed dance.  Others keep up a constant chatter of instructions, usually male to female -- though occasionally female to male!  And then there are the yellers.  The ones who argue about every step in the process.  The ones where one or the other stalks off in a huff for a while, sometimes coming back to help -- and sometimes not.  And it's even more fun to watch people giving backing instruction...

We followed I-90 out of Billings as it turned south and headed into Wyoming. We came along the Big Horn Mountains through Sheridan and Buffalo, then turned east to Gillette where we are spending the night.  There weren't too many RV parks listed in any of our discount or club books, but we did find a mention of Green Trees Crazy Woman Campground in our Exit Now Interstate Exit Directory. This is a bare bones RV Park with unmarked electric pedestals and water faucets in a graveled area for transients.  There are some nicer shaded sites further up the hill for longer stays.  It's a cash or check only place -- no credit cards.  They do have good free internet wireless.

Billings, Montana

The speed limit for trucks was posted at 25 mph coming down the east side of Homestake Pass (6393 feet) as we left Butte this morning. They were obeying it too as there are lots of sharp "s" curves on the freeway.  Note the evidence of yesterday's bug hatch on the windshield...

We stopped at a Town Pump service station (This seems to be the common "brand" along I-90 here in Montana) near Three Forks to diesel.  Diesel was $4.029 a gallon -- 8 cents cheaper than what we paid yesterday in Newport.  We did some work scrubbing the bugs off the windshield, but their squeegee was so poor, it left smeary tracks....

We continued on I-90 to Billings, realizing again just how far it is across Montana! After considering the options, we elected to stay again at the KOA, arriving a little after 4 PM.  This one in Billings was the first one in what has become an international chain of campgrounds.  The RV park is located on the banks of the Yellowstone River.  After a dinner of steak and baked potatoes, we walked down to take a look at the river.

While the river seems to be fairly full, it was a bit of a walk down to the actual water.  It must be pretty impressive when it floods.

We were the lone RV in our row when we got here, but by the time we got back from our walk all the sites were filled!

Auntie Violet will have lots of company tonight.