All Quiet

It was very quiet and peaceful today. We slept in, then showered, ate breakfast and then watched the Mariners game. It was very quiet here at the RV Park. It was hot today. I was cooking some wheel macaroni to make crab salad and really heated up the RV. I guess I should learn not to do such things in the heat of the day...

Sultry Saturday

It's been a week of intermittent thunderstorms. We've seen big cumulus buildups all around us every day. At least one rain shower and some thunder and lightning have entertained us every night. It got warm today, with scattered clouds all around. It was nice when one of those clouds was overhead, but when it was just sunny, it was sultry and hot. The humidity must be quite high. This is the sky over to the north of us this evening.

Earlier this afternoon we went into town and to Couer 'd Alene Park over in Browne's Addition to ArtFest. Our friends Dennis and Colleen had their Recycled Spoon booth at the festival. We got to visit a bit, but were glad to see that they were quite busy today.

We returned home to watch the PBR's "Unfnished Business" on TV. The broadcast was from Decator, Texas and featured eight former PBR champions who came back "for one last ride." It was amazing to see some of these great riders ride again - and two of them even made the 8 second mark!

Find My iPhone

My usual routine at night is to plug both my iPhone and my iPad in to the charger on my nightstand. But last night I couldn't find my phone. When that happens, I usually have Forry call me and we find it under a cushion or lying somewhere in the RV. But last night that didn't work. It wasn't in the car either.

Then I remembered the "Find My iPhone" app on my iPad .Sure enough the phone had fallen out of my pocket while I was sitting in the waiting room at Group Health while Forry was having his eye exam. Knowing where it was made me feel better and calmed Forry down. (He tends to get excited about that sort of thing.)

This morning we headed back to Group Health as the app was still showing the phone being there. When we walked into the waiting area and asked the ladies behind the counter about the phone, I told them my iPad was telling me it was there. They were pretty impressed by the app and promptly handed over my phone.

Since we were already in town, we went to the two different places that were recommended to us for estimates for getting the Suzuki fixed. It's going to be pricey!

Later this afternoon I got ambitious and made another batch of chocolate chip cookies. This time I added extra flour to the recipe and barely chopped the walnuts. Then I made only four large cookies per cookies sheet sprinkling them with coarse ground salt before I baked them. They were really good! Forry ate so many he didn't want any supper!

Today It Was Eyes

THUNDER! THUNDER! Cracking right overhead! See the flashes of light? There was a smallish thunderstorm earlier with a few drops of rain that quickly moved through. This one is a lot bigger and a lot "hotter." It's raining fairly hard, but fortunately no hail.

Today Forry had his annual eye exam (mine won't be due until Fall since that's when all the cataract fussing of last summer ended.) today. He came through with flying colors. No change in his prescription, no need for new glasses, no change in the status of his barely there cataracts.

I think we have finally gotten all of Forry's "To-Do" list checked off. The next task on our mutual list is to go visit some car repair shops and get estimates on the repairs to the Suzuki's fender due to the damages from our earlier tire blow-out.

A Very Busy Day!

When I called yesterday to see about dentist appointments.for the two of us, I was hoping to get in sometime before Forry's surgery. The receptionist was pretty excited and said they had just had a whole Hutterite family cancel and had room for both of us today! The only downside was that we had to be in Moses Lake by 9 AM!

So we were up by 6 and out of here a few minutes after 7:30 and pulled into the dentist's office right on time. The upside is that our sweet - and oh so competent - niece Becky is the dental hygienist. She finished up with both of us in time for us to take her out to lunch. She took us to a new-to-us place, Michael's Market and Bistro. We had some really good salads. Well, Becky and I did, Forry had a Reuben.

After Becky had to go back to work, Forry and I hung around, drank our ice tea, and waited for Leslie and Bill. They were on their way back from their trip to South Dakota to get their new drivers' licenses. They arrived about 45 minutes later and we kept them company while they ate lunch. It sounds like they enjoyed Teddy Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota as much as we did. It's still one of my favorites.

After Leslie and Bill headed on to Bothell and home, we went back to Spokane via Odessa where we stopped and bought Fire and Hail Insurance for the wheat. That way took us back to Spokane by way of Harrington and Davenport. We haven't driven that route in many years. It was a nice day of driving and lovely people. Another good day.

Errands

We ended up running a couple of quick errands this afternoon. It had evidently gotten quite warm inside the motor home while we were gone last weekend. The glue holding the velcro in place on the back of our key holder actually melted enough to drop the board it is mounted to off of the wall. I know I have some more of the heavy-duty Command velcro somewhere in the rig. The trouble is, I gave it to Forry -- and who knows where he has stashed it.

So we made a quick trip over to Lowes and I bought some of their Scotch brand. It's not velcro, but their own version of interlocking strips. It might be overkill, but I bought the package that said it would hold ten pounds.

From there we went over to Costco, which was packed! I went back to the pharmacy department and picked up the bottle of Vitamin E I was looking for. When I had passed by the check-out stands I realized that they were 8 and 10 people deep waiting. I took a chance and asked at the pharmacy counter if I could pay for the vitamins there. The clerk laughed and commented that "Didn't I want to wait in line a half hour?" We both laughed, I paid and I was able to quickly by-pass the gauntlet of people and get back out the door.

We had a couple of hours of very steady rain this morning, but ended up with sunshine this evening. There is  unstable air all around the country it seems with lots of thunderstorms and tornadoes,

Decoration Day

Maybe it's an old-fashioned term, but I grew up calling it Decoration Day. We would go to the cemetery on the hill above Ritzville with buckets of peonies in the trunk of our Mother's car. She would generally have a large old knife with her that she would use to cut away the grass that had grown over the edges of the stones during the previous year. Mom knew where her parents' graves were located - she didn't have to check the map like I have to. She would cut away the grass and wash the stones, then leave her flowers in the urns.  I have very vague memories, I think, of going there even earlier with Grandma Kubik.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized that my father also had a set of grandparents buried in the Ritzville cemetery. Since he never went to the cemetery with us, I don't know if Mom was even aware the Blackwells were buried there. When we were in North Carolina looking for Grandma Haight's family graves, I discovered that her parents had come west and lived their last years in Ritzville.

My Dad's parents were cremated and their cremains are in a crematorium in Spokane. I went there once with my Auntie June and found it a very depressing place. I think I've been back only one other time. We scattered my Dad's ashes in Cow Lake as he wished and our Mother's and Aunt Maggie's ashes are scattered amongst Sister Sherry's roses.

Forry's grand-parents are buried in the old rural Lutheran cemetery (that is now on Hutterite Colony property) while his parents are buried at the Menno Mennonite Cemetery near the ranch.

That's a lot of graves to decorate. I think it's more the idea of taking time to remember those that came before us. Then you add to that the idea of remembering all of our deceased servicemen and women, it makes for an awesome day.

Time For a Quiet Day

After a VERY busy couple of weeks with lots of traveling and visiting, we are worn out. We debated about driving the 90+ miles down to Menno for church this morning, then over to our Godson Peter's son's second birthday barbeque party, but we just couldn't dig up enough energy.

So instead, we stayed home with Auntie Violet a spent a very quiet day. We watched the Mariner's final game in Toronto. Unfortunately, they were unable to pull off a sweep. Then we watched the Finals of the PBR in Las Vegas. This was the last competition before the summer break.

And then I read and rested. Forry did his Sudoku puzzle and napped. I made nachos for supper. It was a nice quiet day.

Up Early for Breakfast

I rolled over this morning after I looked at the clock and went back to sleep. After all it was only six o'clock and we weren't meeting Leslie and Bill until 9:30 for breakfast. The next time I woke up it was 8:30 and we had to hustle to get ready to go!

I had been wanting to check out the Mirabeau Hotel with its MAX Restaurant for the past couple of years. It had been built after we left Spokane to go full-time and I had heard it was quite nice.

Leslie and Bill's bright yellow Rubicon was already there when we arrived and they were waiting for us. They also had a friend with them that Leslie had met on one of her half-marathons. She and the lady with purple hair had bonded as they walked the last of it.

It was a lovely, warm morning and MAX had breakfast tables set up outside on their patio. They have an incredible menu which we all enjoyed. I had a Dungeness Crab Benedict while Forry had his usual biscuits and gravy. The food was delicious, but I think I was a bit full from our feast last night and couldn't finish it all.

Leslie and Bill were going to make a stop at Riverfront Park to check out the Red Wagon in the park, then head out on their trip to South Dakota to renew their licenses. We headed back to the RV where we watched the last of the Mariners game as they beat the Blue Jays and I started on the laundry.

Celebrating a Birthday!

It doesn't seem possible, but that fellow that I stood in the lunch line over sixty years ago turned 76 years old today! I don't know where all the years have gone, but I do know that sharing them with my best friend has been wonderful. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FORRY!

Early this afternoon we went to Spokane Othotics where Forry was fitted with the brace he'll be wearing for a couple of months after his back surgery on the 9th. It's a whole lot different from the molded one I wore five or six years ago. This contraption is all Velcro and black fabric with several pieces that fit together to make the brace.

Late this afternoon our friends Leslie and Bill arrived on their journey from Seattle to South Dakota. They're going to renew their driver's licenses as they are RVers with a South Dakota address. I had made reservations at Clinkerdagger in the Old Flour Mill where we had a wonderful birthday dinner. It was so good to get to see them again -- and we'll meet them for breakfast in the morning before they head on their way.

Here a Doctor, There a Doctor

And that was the story of our day. First was a visit to the cardiologist, who scolded Forry for not coming in more often (it's been fifteen years since his aortic valve repair and I think it's been a couple years since he's been to the cardiologist.); told him to stop taking fish oil (said it was ineffective);  and cleared him for surgery.

The next stop was at Group Health where he had a physical by the physician assistant; another EKG; and had his  blood drawn. Now, I guess if everyone gets their reports over to the orthopod's office, we'll get this surgery done yet.

We got the letter from NorthWest Orthopedics today confirming that Forry should report to the Sacred Heart Surgery Center by 5:30 AM on June 9th for the surgery at 7:30.

Back Home Again

We got back to Spokane and Auntie Violet just about 4 o'clock this afternoon. It was a bittersweet day as we took Granddaughter Havela back to Sea-Tac Airport this morning to catch her flight back to Chicago and her new home in Illinois.

This is the picture Daughter Mary Mae took yesterday of Forry and me and our two oldest grandchildren, Havela and Varick. It was good to have the cousins with us for a couple of days.

This is our oldest daughter Mary Mae with her niece Havela. Such pretty ladies!

We were home in time to watch the Mariners beat the Orioles, but I think Forry napped through most of it. I know I did!

Hesston College Chorale

We had a wonderful blessed evening listening to the Hesston College Bel Canto Chorale at the Kirkland Congregational Church. Granddaughter Havela was touring the Northwest with the group from her Kansas college and was featured in two of the numbers. They were awesome!

It's late and we are back at the hotel. Daughter Mary Mae and Grandson Varick stayed with us last night and went with us to the concert. They left a few minutes go for their home in Mount Vernon. We'll take Havela to the airport tomorrow noon for her trip back to Chicago.

It's been a fun couple of days in Seattle enjoying family and friends.

Grandkids!

If happiness is grandkids, having each of the oldest grandchildren here is wonderful! Daughter Mary Mae and Grandson  Varick arrived earlier this afternoon at the Residence Hotel by Lake Union that we are staying at and we were able to take them out to dinner.

Then this evening MM and I drove over to the Congregational Church in Kirkland to meet the vans with the Bel Canto Choir from Hesston College and picked up Granddaughter Havela. They are giving a concert at the church tomorrow night, and we get her until five o'clock tomorrow afternoon when she has to be back for rehearsal.

We're not sure what are plans are for tomorrow, but we're just enjoying listening to them and having them with us!

Celebrating Birthdays - Sunday

It was a lovely day for a drive, it had rained most of the night so the air was nice and clear, we were all packed and left for Seattle by ten. We had reservations at the Residence Hotel at Lake Union and pulled in just after three.

Our friends Bill and Leslie, joined us shortly and we talked the rest of the afternoon away. It's been way too long since we've seen them! A little after five, we walked across the street and down to the waterfront to the Crabhouse where we celebrated Bill's birthday with a wonderful dinner. We started with cups of crab soup and warm sourdough rolls. Forry had a spectacular crab cake - fully two inches high, while Leslie, Bill and I shared a whole Dungeness crab, served with asparagus and pilaf along with sides of mushrooms and broccolini. Bill was comped with a birthday crime brûlée which Leslie and I shared while Forry and Bill shared Key Lime pie. What a feast!

We came back over to the hotel and talks and talked. Too Bill had to go to work on Monday or we'd probably still be at it!

Hooray for Nephews!

Nephew Jared's lovely wife Becky called about ten-thirty this morning saying that they had finished moving Jared's office downstairs and were ready to come help us take the carrier off of Toad II. We met them out at the Storage Place. I had written the code on the key when we were there last year, so no problem getting in this time. Right after we arrived, Becky called and said they had arrived as well.

They made quick work of taking the lawn chairs, rug and canopy out of the carrier, then Jared just slid the carrier right off and into the shed - oh, to be young and strong again! We cleared things out of the way in the back of the toad and Jared wheeled out the trike and put it into the shed as well.

We offered to take them all out to lunch, but Jared wanted to show us the building his firm had renovated. So Becky took the kids and went off to Carl's Jr to pick up hamburgers and chicken nugget "stars." While she was gone, we toured the beautifully restored building that used to house Spokane's street trolley cars. It has the original large doors where the cars entered and were turned around on a turntable. The building is right alongside the Spokane River with great views. They have preserved much of the old brick and hardware. You can see the care that was taken to ensure historical accuracy mixed with modern energy saving.

We sat outside on the very nice back patio (with its built-in barbecue) enjoying the sunshine and the lunch Becky had brought back. Jared and Becky's little girl will be starting kindergarten next fall. She and her brother are very active bright children that are fun to watch. We see them just often enough to get a kick out of seeing how quickly they are growing up.

Our sunny day ended with the predicted thunderstorm late this afternoon. We had lightning and lots of thunder, then almost three hours of a steady downpour. It is still overcast as the sun goes down. We may see more rain before the night is over.

A Busy Friday

Hmm, let's see. Three loads of laundry. What else?

We measured Toad II with the carrier on top. Looks like it won't fit in the parking garage at the hotel in Seattle as it only has 6'6" clearance. Called Nephew Jared to see if he could help us take it off and store it in the storage unit tomorrow. Bless his heart, he said he would!

Cooked some red potatoes and eggs; made potato salad using the Walla Walla sweet green onions I got at the store a couple of days ago. (The cashier didn't know what they were. I tried to explain to her that they were the onions pulled out when they thinned the rows and that they used to give them away. I don't think she ever quite figured it out...)

Grilled a rib steak using Bourbon flavor salt and pepper.

Watched the Mariners beat the Red Sox 2-1 with a walk-off hit by Nelson Cruz.

It was a good day.

Another Anniversary

We were having a quiet day at home when Shannon, our agent at NW Farm Credit Agency, called and said she had a check for us. She wondered if we were still in Spokane or if she should go ahead and mail it to our mailing address in Mount Vernon (I had talked to her earlier about acreage, so she knew we were back from Arizona.). We told her we would come over and get it, which we did and even got it over the the bank and deposited it.

Since we were in town and out and about, Forry suggested we go ahead and go out for dinner as it was our anniversary. We ended up going to Gordy's Szechuan up on 30th, one of our favorite places. We shared an appetizer of Sesame Prawns and tonight's special, stir-fried Smoked Bacon with Cabbage and Peppers and rice . Of course, we had to end the evening sharing a dish of vanilla ice cream with their Gingered Orange Peel Chocolate Sauce. For not having planned anything, it turned out to be a lovely evening.

I'm not sure where all the time has gone. Today marks 57 years as a married pair, and I still kinda like the guy!

RAIN!

It started to rain a bit last night and when I woke up about 5 AM, it was really coming down hard. Everything has been so dry that it is a very welcome rain. We got about 3/10 of an inch, while Sister Sherry said she got over an inch at her farm near Touchet. This is very timely for the wheat. But not so good for the hay farmers who have been cutting hay and don't have it yet bailed.

We had an early morning this morning as we met Pastor Matthew at Frank's Diner for breakfast at 8. He and his family are leaving on a  long sabbatical on Saturday and he wanted to see Forry before his surgery. We had a good visit - as well as a very good breakfast.

It was a good day to curl up on the couch with a book. We didn't do a whole lot once we got home, just enjoyed the rain.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Forry bought me a hand mixer for my birthday. I had given mine away along with my big KitchenAid mixer and other baking supplies when we downsized and became fulltimers almost ten years ago. I had been grumbling lately about the occasional cookies I buy because nobody seems to make chocolate cookies with walnuts anymore. There seems to be such paranoia about nut allergies that I seldom seem cookies of any kind with nuts in them.

Thanks to Brother Pat, I do have lovely shelled walnuts in my freezer! I went ahead and ordered the smallest of cookie sheets and racks along with Slipat pads. The combination microwave convection Advantium oven in Auntie Violet does not do the best baking job. I set the temperature the requisite 23 degrees less for the convection ovens. Even the small baking sheets are too long to turn on the turntable in the oven. The first batch of cookies was quite brown on one side and not-at-all-done on the other. So I resorted to baking them for four minutes, then removing the pans, turning them around and baking for four minutes more.

The cookies were good, but the recipe I used (from the chocolate chip package) needed to have more flour added as the cookies spread very thin. I was disappointed that the clever scoop I bought was one size too big to use with the little pans... But, by the time I was done baking, neither my quality control expert nor I were very hungry for supper!

It's Monday

It's Monday and we keep checking things off of our To-Do List. Today it was Forry's annual check-up with the dermatologist. Like many farmers of his generation, he is prone to skin cancers on his hands, face and neck. Today, there were only a couple of little lesions to be frozen or cut off. And of course, he left with instructions to return next year.

We made an earlier stop at the Group Health pharmacy to pick up our three month supply of prescriptions. It's nice not to have to wait for the mail. When we're here in Spokane, we can pick them up at no additional cost.

After Forry's appointment, we went on over to Safeway and picked up groceries. It wasn't quite as busy as the last time we were there, so that task went quickly as well.

It turned out to a nice day today in spite of starting off overcast. There were scattered clouds around this afternoon and we even had a few scattered raindrops.

A Blessed Mother's Day

Lazy Saturday

As we sit here on a lovely summer evening watching a Mariner's game on TV, we've agreed life doesn't get a whole lot better. I can't say that we really did much of anything today. Forry drained the black and gray tanks and I wrote a couple of checks for magazine and newspaper subscriptions.

We thought about heading into downtown to Group Health to pick up some prescriptions, but figured we're going to have to go in on Monday for Forry's dermatology appointment, so might as well wait and do it then.

I did carry out all of the recyclables to the blue bin. We had quite a bit of cardboard both from Costco and my baking packages of yesterday. It is so nice not to have to store them in the RV until we go over to the Waste-to-Energy plant.

It really was a nice day today. It got up to 80 degrees with just enough of a breeze to be enjoyable.

A Journey to Ritzville

I was waiting for my order of small cookie sheets (that fit into my small oven) that were supposed to be delivered before 8 PM tonight, so told Forry I couldn't/wouldn't go down to Ritzville with him to pick up his wheat check. BUT, I got an email about ten AM that my order had been delivered, so I walked down to the office to pick it up. There was no one around when I got there, but as I was turning back around I saw the manager's dog, Dorry. When I spoke to her, she started barking. Almost immediately, the manager, Dan, showed up. He said he could always hear the dog bark, even when he didn't hear the bell. So I got my packages.

Then, of course, I had no reason not to want to keep Forry company while he drove the 60+ miles to Ritzville and back again. So that's what we did. (I did get a soft ice cream cone as a thank you for riding along.) We even made it back to Spokane in time to deposit his wheat check at the bank - which stays open until six on Fridays!

Mail, Laundry and Hearing Aids

It was a different day today. Forry had made an appointment yesterday while we were at Costco to have his hearing aids checked. He left a little after 10:30 to go over there for his 11 o'clock appointment. Sounds like the tech cleaned his aids and turned up the volume a bit. Hopefully, they will work a bit better now.

While he was gone, I started on the laundry. Seems like it's just like meals, no matter how many you do, there's always more...

Forry stopped at the office on his way back and picked up the mail that Daughter MM had sent. Our new driver's licenses came! Now we are good for another five years. There were a few birthday cards in the box along with another wedding "save the date" magnet. It's beginning to sound like this is going to be a summer of weddings.

It was another gorgeous day today. I do love this time of year!

A Busier Day

We were a great deal more ambitious today than we've been for a bit. We wanted to make a trip to Costco to replenish our meat supply, but waited until after three when the afternoon's wheat market was in. Forry had a bit of wheat left that he wanted to get sold...

We stopped by the former Suzuki salesroom (now 509cars.com) to see our friend Thomas and talk to him about where they had their body work done. We need to repair and/or replace the fender and skirting that was damaged when we had the front tire blow-out in Arizona. We'd also like to find a matching Suzuki tire rim in place of the substitute the Kingston tire shop found for us. Thomas gave us the names of a couple of places they used so that we can get some estimates.

Then we went over to Costco and restocked. I bought hamburger, pork chops, lamb chops and some rib eye steaks. Of course, that meant that when we got home I had to divvy all the bulk packages up into individual packages to freeze. After raising and butchering our own meat for so many years, I am a bit paranoid about where I buy meat. I trust Costco's quality control, especially as we've traveled around the country patronizing grocery stores that I'm not familiar with. Hopefully, my trust is not misplaced...

Since we had waited until so late in the afternoon to go shopping, Forry was able to have his favorite dinner. He absolutely loves the Costco Polish dogs with sauerkraut. It's a pretty pricey meal -- Costco still charges $1.50 for a "dog and a drink." Add a churro and it makes for a good day.

A Very Quiet Day

You can sure tell we are getting old! We stay out one day, not even very late, and it takes a whole 'nother day to recover. Forry slept in until almost ten this morning. I checked on him a couple of times, just to make sure he was breathing (with his CPAP machine, he no longer snores, so I can't hear him sleeping!).

We didn't do much the rest of the day. Forry took the recyclables over to the blue bin and I thought about doing laundry, but didn't. I read, he watched TV, did Sudoku, and napped. About 4:30 there was a knock on the door. Forry's friend Bob had stopped by for a short visit. We visited for a bit, caught up on families, then he headed home.

I made some beef soup for supper and we settled in to watch the Mariner's game. A very quiet day indeed.

74 Years Old!

 

Thank you every one for all of the Facebook notes, emails and phone calls today wishing me a Happy Birthday! It was a lovely day.

 Forry and I went to see The Longest Ride at Riverpark Square. Not at all what I had expected, but a great love story and a wonderful movie. Incredible photography as well.

A Trip to Menno

The great joy of Sunday mornings in eastern Washington is being able to drive down to Menno for services. Menno Mennonite Church sits out in the middle of the wheat fields of Adams County between Ritzville and Moses Lake. It is about three miles from our ranch and is our home community. And going there is coming home every time.

Today was no different. We left here a little after 8 AM for the hundred plus mile trip to church. We weren't sure how bad the traffic might be on the freeway through Spokane due to Bloomsday, but we sailed right through. We probably could have left a half hour later and been just fine.

We got back to Auntie Violet too late to watch the 15/15 Bucking Battle, but did get to watch the final two rounds of the PBR in Colorado Springs. I even got to watch a couple recorded episodes of The Big Bang Theory while Forry napped.

This little RV park was about half full when we arrived earlier this week. It has been gradually been filling up and this afternoon we actually got neighbors.

Grocery Run

As all things come to an end, so had our groceries. The time had come to make a grocery run. Not knowing this area of the Spokane Valley, we looked on Safari to see the locations of Safeway stores in the area. The GPS in the car had a different notion about where the closest one was, so we went with its advice and found one over by Gonzaga University on Mission.

The trouble with avoiding getting groceries is how many you have to get when you finally decide you must do it. This Safeway turned out to be a very nice store with lovely looking produce. And lots and lots of coeds dressed for the nice warm weather we have been having, much to Forry's enjoyment.

By the time we returned to the RV park and got everything put away, it was time for the baseball game. Before it started, I wanted to watch the Kentucky Derby, so switched to NBC. But the race was already over! One of our neatest day trips was visiting Churchill Downs when we were in Kentucky. Too bad we didn't get to watch the race. And besides, the Mariners game was awful!

Taxi!

We had a quiet day at home today. At least I did. Forry got talked into providing taxi service for Son Sean when he went to get his monthly supply of groceries today. It was sort of funny as Sean bought his Dad a large bag of sunflower seeds as "payment" for his services. Then offered to pay him $2 for gas!

It was a lovely warm day today. The temperature outside was 82 degrees - very nice! I can easily live with that. We are gradually getting used to this new-to-us RV park. As we are in the very back, it's actually pretty quiet. We can hear both the freeway and the trains, but they are both far enough away that we only occasionally hear a siren or a whistle. We can tell when school is out as there are two apartment house buildings next to the park and we hear children playing in the late afternoons.

One of the nice things about this place is that they recycle. That means we don't have bags of aluminum cans, cardboard and plastic bottles stacking up to take to the Waste-to-Energy place on the other side of town. I really like that as I can't stand throwing that kind of stuff in the trash.