Sale Prep

The day before the Mennonite Country Auction is always special. Seeing everyone you haven't seen since last year is special, and anticipation for the sale starts to build.

We were up and showered early, then got Forry's cart carrier mounted on Toad II and loaded the cart. When we got to Menno, I took my laptop and the Canon printer into the office, then started tagging auction items with Cleon. We were able to find and tag everything that had arrived, and made tags for those that we were still waiting for.

It's amazing to watch the activity on the Friday before the Sale. The smell of pork barbecuing permeated the whole place (Curt smoked a dozen pork butts for the dinner tonight.). There were people moving around all over: tables and chairs were being unloaded and washed; tents and canopies were being erected; boxes were being emptied, their contents laid out and covered. Even the smallest of the children were carrying fencing to various places. The odor of apple butter being cooked in a copper kettle wafted its sweet scent over all.

I think Forry enjoyed his ability to skoot around on his cart and visit with everyone. He was able to run a few errands as well. We were visiting with our friends Colleen and Dennis and Dennis, when our friends Leslie and Bill from Seattle arrived. Their "yellow taxi" was a joy to see! After Bill's health episode in Florida last week, it was so good to have them here to hug. They have not missed a MCA sale in several years and will be handling credit cards for us tomorrow.

We had a great meal tonight: pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, baked beans and potatoes, and some chocolate cake. It was great to have the new addition so that we could eat inside as another rain shower came over just as dinner was served.

Just Talking

We spent a whole lot of today just talking with people. As usual, the ladies had their weekly gathering over at the Clubhouse this morning. Forry was going to go over to Mike's to join the guys, but had the time wrong. (He thought Mike's was going to their winter hours, but turns out that won't be for a couple of weeks.)

Then he went over to Section B, where he had heard that one of the fellows was installing skirting on an RV. He talked to him for a while, then the fellow said he would come over later this afternoon to give us a possible quote. He showed up a little after four pm. After crawling under the slide out and checking the insulation built into the coach, he didn't seem to think we would need skirting. The coach is well-insulated (it was built in Yakima, Washington.) and the bay's are all heated. Even with the jacks down, we are fairly close to the ground. Hmm.

I did some work with the Auctria software we will using for the MCA auction on Saturday, pre-entering some of the bidders I knew would be present. But the more I worked through the logistics of how we would hand out auction numbers and correlate them with my list, I decided it will be much less confusing to let people sign in as usual, then add their names to the computer list as we go along.

I will have plenty of help as out friends Leslie and Bill will be there as well as Forrest.

Planting

Well I guess it looks like we are really settling in. Forry dug some holes for me and we planted the four Prairie Winds Desert Plains grass plants I bought in Spokane at Tower Perennials in the narrow area on the edge of the patio. I'm wishing now I had bought some of those pots of pansies I saw at Lowes last week. Forry also planted the rod he got from Jeff last Sunday so that I could hang my bird feeder.

Forry gave his new cart (courtesy of Vic) a workout today. He took the bag of trash over to the cans and then took it up to check the mail. I think he enjoyed the freedom it gave him. He met Louie, one of the park managers up at the mail boxes and asked him about the lack of any electric bills. Louie said several people have commented about not getting bills this month yet. Supposedly they come from the electric company, but we have not received any in the 2 1/2 months we've been here.

The Mariners lost their game today. I'm not sure, but I think that pretty much ends their chance for the Wild Card...

Resting

We literally did nothing today but relax and enjoy life. It was quite warm - in the nineties again. I read this morning that this kind of early Fall warmth is called Old Women's Summer in some European countries. We've always called it Indian Summer, those late warm days before the cold moves in to stay.

The most ambitious thing I did all day was to grill some bacon for BLTs for supper. I got some gorgeous juicy red tomatoes at Tonnemaker's Fruit Stand on Saturday that were just begging for a chance to complement some bacon and lettuce. I don't like mayo in sandwiches (it belongs in salads), so I make them with butter, just the way I like them.

We watched the debate tonight, watching fact checking on the TV as well as on Facebook and Twitter...

Another Busy Sunday

When we arrived at Menno this morning, the tent was already up. The guys started at 7 am this morning. By the time church started, it was ready to go for the MCA sale this coming Saturday. We are going to be using the new church addition for a portion of the festivities, but the auction itself will be inside the tent.

I'll be interested to see how much money the My Coins Count raised this morning. The milk bucket that the kids dumped their small buckets into was almost half full. It's pretty obvious that there's going to be more than enough to get the two $1000 match offers. Pretty impressive - and that's not even including however much is contributed Saturday.

We stopped by the storage unit at the ranch to see if there might be a garden rake and/or a small shovel in there, but no such luck. Jeff and Barb and Colby and his bride Maria returned just as we finished up. They had been up checking on the winter wheat. It was good to have a chance to visit with all of them.

On the way home, we went grocery shopping at Safeway in Moses Lake. I've not been for a couple of weeks and Forry was complaining he had nothing to snack on. (He really doesn't appreciate my telling him there are lots of plums and pears available. I don't think he classifies fruit as a snack...)

It got almost up to 90 degrees this afternoon. There's been almost a forty degree temperature change over the last couple of days.

That Blankety Blank Printer!

I brought home the printer that we worked on Thursday night at Cleon's that we want to use at the MCA sale next week. We just couldn't get my laptop to recognize it that night! I've been busy until today when I  finally sat down with the laptop and the printer. I went online and got the drivers for the Canon printer. But I could still not get the two to recognize each other! It just would not print.

Finally, Cleon texted me and asked if I gave up? I responded that yes, I was giving up! So he said he would come out and get it. When he arrived, I told him I had the drivers for it, but just couldn't get it to print. He tried shutting the printer off and turning it on again. And by golly, it printed!

So I guess we are in business! We are using a new software program called Auctria that will allow us to have auction bids transmitted electronically which will enable me to calculate totals and print receipts. If it works, life shall be much easier next Saturday!

We did go over to Tonnemaker's Fruit Stand for our weekly produce run this afternoon. We got another yellow watermelon, some late peaches, a few red pears, some plums and pluets, a few cucumbers and both red and yellow tomatoes. In October they will be going to winter hours, so we may have to plan and call ahead.

New Toy

Greg from Meditech called and said the hitch extension had come in and he had the carrier all put together. This is the carrier for the electric cart that our dear friend Vic is giving to Forry. So off we went to Moses Lake in the rain. We stopped first at Lowes and bought covers for patio furniture which Greg had told us worked better than the ones custom made for the carts that he sold.

Then over to Meditech to put the carrier on. It is very nice - but a whole lot bigger than I had expected. Next, (after a stop at Goodwill to drop off some stuff) over to Pam's where she had gotten the cart out of the garage and charged up. With her help, Forry got the cart loaded on the carrier. We tried one of the covers I had purchased, which turned out to be way too big. (Bless Pam's friend Rhonda's heart, she actually got it back into the box so that I could return it!) We tried the second cover, which seemed to work, then stopped back at Meditech so that Greg could check it out.

With all deemed okay, we stopped back at Lowes to exchange the cover for a smaller one. (I want to cover the Forry's reclining exercise bike which sits outside.) I had been eyeing a small taco place called El Rey as we've gone back and forth, so decided to stop by for supper. So good! We'll definitely be stopping there again.

Just Another Day

All was quiet today until the mowing started. The price we pay for this beautiful park-like setting is listening to the weekly lawn mowers. Of course, there is so much grass that you hear the mowers several days in a row.

I started on the laundry, but only got one load done. I'll finish it up tomorrow.

I spent part of the late afternoon talking with our friends Leslie and Bill. They are in Florida visiting Leslie's Dad who is terminally ill. Bill collapsed while at Epcot, fortunately a nurse and a doctor were there and started CPR. They were trying to decide whether he should have an angiogram at the hospital in Celebration or be transferred to Orlando to a larger facility where they could put in stents if necessary or even a bypass. I encouraged them to go to the larger hospital... Please keep them in your prayers!

Tonight was the first night of the Women's Bible Study. In order to accommodate the ladies who live there, the ladies meet at Monroe House in Moses Lake. There were nine of us there tonight. It's a goodly chunk of the older women of Menno.  We started at six and were finished by 7:30. It was my first time driving back to Sun Desert after dark, but all went well.

Inverters and Batteries

Ah, we have nice bright lights tonight. Even though Forry has had the charger on all day on the old batteries, there wasn't much oomph left in them and the house lights were pretty dim.

Late this afternoon, Chris showed up with a helper and a pallet of batteries and the new inverter, which is also big and heavy. The helper - who didn't have any gloves - started taking out the old batteries. I gave him a box of baking soda, so at least he could neutralize the corrosion.

While he was doing that, Chris unloaded the new inverter (about 18 by 10) and started getting the old one out. He thought it would take him about twenty minutes, but it was more like two hours as it looks like the coach was built around it! It's really tucked back in there in one of the bays.

There is still something messed up with the plug-ins. It seems that wires were reversed by the guy who put in the new GFI switch? It was getting late by then and Chris decided he would come back later in the week to finish up.

At least we were able to get sound back for the TV. Only to listen to a disappointing Mariners game. But ROOT Sports showed two episodes of the Bib Bang Theory that we hadn't seen, so it was a good evening.

Fall Weather

Sunshine and clouds; clouds and then sunshine. That's the way it has gone all day today. I even put a sweater on for a while.

I went up and checked the mail box again. Still no gloves, though the tracking site said they had been put in the mail box on Saturday?? So I called the Post Office in Othello. Though our route carrier wasn't there, a very nice man checked out the tracking number and verified that they had indeed been put in the mail box on Saturday. I guess they have some kind of a GPS tracker that can tell them exactly where a package was left. He said he would check with our carrier in the morning and see if she put it in the wrong box.

I took some pork chops out of the freezer, but that's as far as I got. About six thirty Forry suggested pizza. He's been wanting to check out what the Potholes Store had advertised. He drove over there (maybe a mile) and came back with a Hawaiian style pizza. It was pretty good, though half of it was more than enough for the two of us. He also came back with their phone number so that we could call ahead next time.

A Good Day

Up early, but still rushing to get organized and off to Menno for church. No matter how organized I may think I am, I still find myself with a few things undone.

I taught the Senior Adult Sunday School class again this morning. Once again, church ran over long, so it was a shortened session. It's always enjoyable to me to hear others thoughts and ideas.

We rushed a bit getting home as Katherine and Dennis were coming for lunch. We have been wanting to have them over and were waiting until the inverter was fixed. But it's taking so long, so we said what the heck and invited them over anyway, cords on the floor and all. It was a good visit. They seemed to enjoy the crab salads I fixed for lunch along with yellow watermelons. We solved almost all of the world's problems...

Supper was pretty simple. I peeled some of the peaches I got yesterday, and Forry and I ate peaches and ice cream for our evening meal.

Rain!

We woke up this morning to the sound of gently falling rain. It rained most of the morning, then started clearing off again.

Forry had to drain the tanks this morning before we could take our showers. He's finally turned up the water pressure a bit. While nice, it does tend to fill the tanks faster. Just the fact that it's Forry draining the tanks makes me happy. It took almost a year after his back surgery before he was able to do it again.

We drove over to Tonnemaker's fruit and vegetable stand this afternoon. They still had a few peaches, some lovely tomatoes, lots of peppers, plums and several large bins of apples, mostly Golden Delicious and Honey Crisps.

I tried Maria's roasted apple/potatoe/onion chunks recipe for dinner tonight along with a couple of chicken thighs from the freezer. So good!

Groceries

You know how it goes. Every once in a while we need to get groceries. We procrastinated for a couple of days, then after Forry talked to Chris and found out he would not be coming out until Monday, we gave in.

We stopped by for a short visit with Pam, a friend we hadn't seen for a while. It took us a bit to get caught up on all that's been going on in her busy life. From there we headed for the grocery store. And then a stop at KFC for supper and home to eat it.

There must have been a hundred quail along the RV park lane as we drove up to check the mail. They like the big blue spruce trees in the park and run from there to the sagebrush outside the park fence. You can count on seeing them just about dusk. We'll have to be sure and get some cracked wheat for them to enjoy this winter.

Where Today?

As I sit here in a bit of a post-prandial daze, I thought about where my errant brain had taken me today? Today is Thursday, therefore Ladies Gathering at the park. Every Thursday morning at nine, the ladies meet for coffee at the clubhouse (I've heard the men go to Mike's, though since Forry hasn't gone that's only hearsay.). There's usually a dozen or so ladies, the cast changes from week to week. I go as it's a chance to ask questions and hear what's happening - and to enjoy a bit of estrogen... The big news today is that the park was completely full last night. There was actually one empty site in Section D that was spoken for, but the man was a no-show. The other news is that there is going to be a Section E developed that will be all pull-through sites.

When I returned home, I resumed the cleaning I started yesterday. I was disappointed to hear that Forry had checked with Chris and the new batteries had not yet arrived, maybe tomorrow? Or Saturday?

Later, after a Skype call with Granddaughter Havela and Greatgranddaughter Kahlyn, Forry and I went up to the mailboxes to mail some bills (taxes and crop insurance). Afterwards, we drove around and checked out where Section E is going to be. Unlike Section D which is all shrubs and no trees, the new area already has some small trees planted. The park looks a lot different than when we first looked it over a couple of months ago. We had our choice of many possible sites. That is no longer the case.

We sat outside this evening and watched the bird parade. The swallows put on quite a show as they scour the sky for the flying insect hatch. The sparrows flit from bush to trailer roof and back again. The doves just sort of glide through, pausing to light occasionally. But the killdeers are out in force, running back and forth down the gravel roads, anxiously calling out their names, KILLDEER! KILLDEER! They call and call, even after darkness falls.

Just Musing...

"Can you really do that? I thought it only came in cans." Comment from the grocery clerk after he had asked me to identify the two turnips and the two parsnips I had in the bags (no little number stickers on them!). He had then asked what I was going to do with them? When I told him I was going to be making stew, he seemed quite amazed. What does he think people did in "the old days?"

How can a male possibly think that the dried urine on the hinge of the toilet seat is from his female partner? Don't they realize it's not anatomically possible? (I'm trying to visualize how it could be done...)

Why do the days get shorter so much faster in the fall then they do in the spring when you are waiting for the days to get longer?

How did the first person who made ice cream figure it out? Were there "sort of" precursors to the first ice cream? Was sherbet made before ice cream was? What about gelato?


This was my brain today as I was sweeping and mopping floors. Forry had gone to Rizville to pick up a wheat check and I was home alone for several hours. My brain fascinates me, as it goes to the strangest places sometimes...

Back to Spokane

Once more, it was time to head to Spokane as Forry had a follow-up appointment at Group Health's Eye Clinic. The Spokane Eye Clinic made the appointments for us when they scheduled his cataract surgery and I didn't think to change the time. So we had to leave home by 7 AM in order to make the 9:30 appointment! (While we were there, I changed the time for his October appointment from 9:30 to 11:30!)

While Forry was with the eye doctor I got a prescription filled, then we both went down the hall and got our flu shots. Since we are both over 65, we automatically were given the high-dose version. So that's out of the way for another year.

From the clinic, we went to Costco where I returned three of the shirts I bought last week. I was able to replace the shirt jacket I got for Forry with a larger one, but they were already out of the ones I wanted... Next was a trip out to JCPenney where I picked up the bath mat that I missed getting last week. I even got 10% off using the coupon I got for taking a survey about last week's visit...

We had a bit of time left, so went up to Manito Park and looked at the very murky green duck pond for a bit. They've had a "please don't feed bread to the ducks" sign up ever since they renovated the pond last year, but it's generally been ignored. Now, there is a sign right in front of the pond saying that "the condition of the water is due to feeding bread to the ducks!" This is the first time in the multiple times we've we've been there that no one was feeding the ducks...

Then it was time to head to Cathi's for lunch with our old AHEC crew. All of the now retired team except for Betty, who now lives in Arizona, were there plus three of the spouses. Unfortunately, the two younger ones, Kaarin and Bonnie, were unable to join us. It's going on ten years now since I worked at WSU, and our crew has gotten together EVERY summer since then! We liked each other then, and we still do!

Counting...

I used to be able to sleep in without any problem, but as I've gotten older, my bladder doesn't allow that luxury any longer. So, in spite of my good intentions, I was up by seven o'clock. The wind was still blowing - we are under a RED high fire danger alert - just like it was when we went to bed. The air is very dusty. We saw a lot of recently seeded fields yesterday where the wind was just sort of sifting top soil across the top of the ground.

This afternoon, we tackled the bucket of coins we fought home from church yesterday. There were 330 quarters and 412 dimes, one fifty cent piece, 302 nickels and 1524 pennies. Plus a small amount of paper money and one check. My hands were absolutely filthy when we finished!

Another VERY Busy Day

I had so many things to take with me to church this morning, I actually made a list. And I consulted it a couple of time! I was teaching the Senior Adult class this morning today - and next week. So I had the books for that. Then there was the after church Sunday School picnic. I had bought a variety of colored tomatoes at the fruit stand that I sliced nice and thick to make a plateful to go with the hamburgers I knew we would be having.

And of course, today was the start of the "My Coins Count" collection for the upcoming Mennonite Country Auction the first Saturday in October. So I poured about a third of our year's coin collection into a zip lock bag to take with us. (The collecting goes on for three Sundays, so you need to divvy it up.) Then you have to judiciously hand out just a portion at a time so that every child who comes by with their bucket gets some. It's a fun time, especially with the littlest ones who come by the pews anxiously holding on to Mommy's hand with one hand and their collection bucket in the other.

We ended swapping Sunday's with Katherine and brought the large bucket of combined little buckets home with us to count. I had originally said I would do it the third Sunday, but will now do this first one. We need a count as the names of several people who volunteered to have their names in a hat, were drawn. Each had agreed to donate 10% of the dollars collected to the total. There is also an anonymous match of up to $1000 on the line. I was so tired when we got home that the counting will definitely be put off until tomorrow morning!

In spite of our busy week, the picnic was very enjoyable. As usual at these kind of affairs there was an incredible amount of food brought to go with the provided hot dogs and hamburgers. And the visiting during and afterwards was fun. It was a good day!

Sad Day

One of Forry's age-mates passed away last weekend. It's been hard for him as he and Davie were only a month apart in age and have known each other since they were small boys. They were both active in the agriculture program at Ritzville High School. I'm sure the two of them contributed a great deal to Ag Instructor Mr. Webb's grey hair.

The services for Davie Weber were held at the Lind Community Church in Lind. The church was quite full with many of our old neighbors and friends in attendance. They had a light repast and reception in the church basement afterwards and it was good to have a chance to visit a bit.

We stopped in Moses Lake to get gas on our way home. We were both tired as it has been a long busy week and we were glad to nap when we got back to the RV. Since we had eaten at the church after the services, we settled on eating one of the little yellow watermelons we got at Tonnemoker's Fruit Stand yesterday for supper.

I really think my introvert soul has about had enough of socializing for a while, but tomorrow is going to be another busy day...

Unpacking..

I spent a good share of the morning taking tags and labels off the stuff we bought on Labor Day. Forry's socks alone had three different tags on each pair! Then while I was putting things away, I went through the closet and put things we no longer wear in the bag for donation along with the old towels.

There are two sets of washers and dryers over in the Clubhouse. I took our quilted bed spread, the blanket and the two bigger rugs over there to wash them. They charge $1.00 to wash a load and the same to dry. I had timed it just right as one of the ladies was just taking her laundry out to her car when I drove up. It took about an hour and a half, but I had taken my Kindle, so I could sit and read the papers.

After I got home, Forry and I drove over to Tonnemaker's Fruit Stand. We got a couple more of those luscious little yellow watermelons, some red Bartlett pears and some plums along with the usual tomatoes. We passed two semis loaded with yellow onions heading out of the fields. It's hard to imagine how many onions are in one semi load.

As long as I had clean top bedding, I went ahead and washed the sheets. At least I can do that in my little Splendide washer/dryer here at home. Now, I still need to go and make the bed!

Ladies' Day

I had to leave here by 8 this morning in order to get over to Menno in time for the Women in Mission meeting. I'm not often in the area when one of the monthly meetings is scheduled, so it was a treat to be able to go. I spent most of the morning helping Elizabeth and Betty hang up newly arrived quilts so that they could be measured and photographed and the pictures put up on the website for the MCA sale the first of October. Some of the quilts came from Abbotsford BC, that Katherine had picked up last week when she went to get the maple syrup for the sale.

We left one of the quilts up in the front of the sanctuary and hung a wall hanging on the side wall for folks to enjoy Sunday morning. I always love seeing the variety of quilts that show up for the sale.

Women were busy at various projects all morning until we gathered for lunch and a devotional led by Sharon. There was a nice group of ladies gathered, but it was sort of bittersweet as I remembered earlier meetings I attended (Way back before I started working.) when my dear friends Phyllis and Clara were in charge.

I made a stop in Moses Lake on my way home and picked up a few groceries. Seems like we are always in need of food. When I got home, I was pleased to hear that Chris Conners of C&C RV had been out earlier and will be ordering a new inverter and new batteries for the rig. Maybe by next week we'll be fully functional again?

Another Busy Day

We pretty much packed up before we went down to breakfast. We took a load of stuff with us figuring we would put it in the car and then get the rest after we ate. But Forry didn't even get out the lobby door before the lady managing the breakfast came running up and took his parcels from him! She told him she had a Dad who walked just like him, and she knew he shouldn't be carrying all that stuff (even though he had taken the lightest bags)! She helped us load up into the car, then sat him down for breakfast.

After breakfast, we took out the last of our Labor Day purchases, checked out and headed over to Costco. I restocked our freezer, buying pork chops, hamburger, steak and stew meat. We also planned ahead and bought some flannel sheets and another blanket for our bed (looks more and more like we won't be going to Arizona this winter...).

Our next stop was back at the Spokane Eye Clinic where Dr. Ranson took a look at his work from yesterday and pronounced it good. We finished up the eye drops for the first eye yesterday morning, and are now back on the four times per day routine for his right eye.

On our way home, we detoured out by Tower Perenniels where I got four "Jubilee" grass plants to plant in that strip alongside the patio. They had so many blooming plants, it's almost like going to a conservatory when you shop there.

It was certainly nice to get back home. I get to sleep in my own bed tonight!

Surgery Day

I set the alarm on my iPad for 5:30, but either I didn't hear it or it didn't work. I woke up, looked at the clock and it was already 6:10!

It's a good thing we showered last night! We hustled and got dressed and even had time for Forry to have a small plate of biscuits and gravy and for me to grab a yogurt before we drove over to the nearby eye clinic for his 7 o'clock cataract surgery. They took him back at seven oh five, but he said he had a long wait before they took him into surgery.

I had been waiting maybe half an hour when all of a sudden, three EMTs came through the door, followed a few minutes later by a couple of firemen with a stretcher! They headed towards the back, moving pretty fast. A few minutes later, one of the nurses came out and announced to the folks in the waiting room that a patient's spouse had collapsed, but all of our loved ones who were having surgery were just fine! We never saw the crew again, they must have left through the back.

About 9:30, a nurse came out to get me, saying he was ready to leave. I found him drinking orange juice with his right eye patched. They took out his IV, took off his gown and booties and he was ready to go. I don't think whatever they had given him had worn off as even holding on to my shoulder, he was pretty wobbly. We made it to the car and back to the Inn with him walking like a drunken sailor.

The housekeeping crew had cleaned our room while we were gone and Forry immediately laid down and went back to sleep. He dozed and slept off and on all morning and to mid-afternoon. Then he got restless and was just waiting for five o'clock when he could take the patch off - and I could restart the eye drop routine.

I drove us up the South Hill to Gordy's For dinner. Forry's not supposed to drive for 24 hours, but that doesn't stop him from being a back seat driver...

It was another rainy damp day in Spokane.

Labor Day

We took advantage of the Labor Day sale out at JC Penny's at the Valley Mall. We replenished our underwear supply and got new towels for the bathroom. I usually buy a bath sheet for Forry and two regular bath towels for me (one for my hair and one for the rest of me). Since we use the same towels over and over, they seem to wear out much faster than normal. We don't have space to store a whole bunch, so I just replace them occasionally. Works for us.

A year or so ago, I decided to let the piercings in my ears close up to heal after a series of infections. They've been fine for several months, so today while we were out at the Mall, I went to a place called the Silver Safari to get them re-pierced. A very nice young woman named Cathy was able to use hollow needles and re-open the original holes. Sweet! I have a new pair of little roses with posts that I'll wear for a couple of weeks until they reheal.

We came back to the Madison Inn in time to watch the Mariners win their game with Texas. By the time it was over, it was time to go pick up Son Sean and take him out to dinner with us. Since their race car won this weekend, "Bloomin' Onions" were free today at Outback Steakhouse. (a promotion they've been running all summer called "Bloomin' Mondays.") Though Forry and I shared a meal, Sean had lots of leftovers to take home.

It was another gorgeous late summer day.

Busy Fun Day

We were up early. I finished packing while Forry fixed his Jimmy Dean sausage egg sandwiches for breakfast. We had decided we would leave for Spokane from church rather than driving back home again in the opposite direction. I sure hope we have everything we need for the next four days!

Church was a bit sparse this morning as many folks are away for the Labor Day weekend, but it was a good group. We had an interesting discussion after church with Dennis about someone named Gustavson who had lived on the Schrag place. Forry's going to have to ask his sister if she remembers that...

After church we headed for Spokane - after a stop at the Ritzville Starbucks for frappacinos - and checked in to the Madison Inn. We watched the rest of the Mariners game we had been listening to on the radio in the car and took a nap.

Towards evening we headed to our friend Judy's house to help her family celebrate her 70th birthday. It was so much fun to see old friends and meet many new people. They served a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw, baked beans and fresh fruit. Judy and her Sister Karen had made the chocolate angel food cakes that I can remember their mother Dorothy making for Judy on her birthday. It took six of them to feed the crowd! It was especially good to see Leticia as well as Biz and Steve.

It was a very fun day!

Getting Organized...

We continue to work on getting our campsite here at Sun Desert a little more fixed up so that it looks more like us. Today I dug out my fancy bird waterer (a present from Sister Sherry a couple years back) from my pants drawer where it travels. Though it is pretty heavy, it is glass, so it doesn't go in the back of Toad II with the rest of the yard stuff. The dish was pretty white from the alkaline water we had in Arizona, so I stuck it in the sink with a good dose of vinegar. A half hour soak cleaned it up pretty good and I was able to put it out along the edge of the patio and fill it with water.

All of the sites in Section A are now filled up. We had our choice of four or five back in August, but there are no vacant sites in this area now. Several people had families visiting them today. It was nice to hear all of the young people's voices.

I spent part of the evening getting packed for our trip to Spokane tomorrow. We have a birthday party tomorrow, then Forry will have his second cataract surgery on Tuesday. Not sure what we'll do on Labor Day, but there may be something going on...

Bills

It's the second day of the month, so it means it's time to pay bills. When I went to our credit union app, it flashed a message that Bill Pay was not available today on the app. But, you could go online to the website and use Bill Pay there!? What? Didn't make any sense, but I dutifully went online, typed in the website address and sure enough, I was able to use Bill Pay. Now both of these attempts were done on my iPad! I don't understand, but I got the job done.

After I did our personal bills, I went ahead and took care of the ranch stuff. I think I have finally gotten the billing for the new Costco card and our AMEX card straightened out. It was confusing for a couple of months there.

I exchanged a couple of emails with Granddaughter Kyra who is a freshman at Eastern Mennonite University and got her snail mail address. Now I can be a good Grammy and send her care packages.

Later this afternoon, we had a chat with Son-in-law Todd and we did some preliminary planning about our plans to drive together to Granddaughter Havela's wedding in Illinois the latter part of October. I had talked briefly this morning with Son-in-law Scott confirming our Othello address. It's a great day when I get to talk with BOTH of those special guys!

Company!

While I was over at the ladies koffee klatch this morning, I got a text from my brother Pat asking "What was for lunch?" His timing was perfect as I was having a bit of trouble biting my tongue. I know I'm considered "a bleeding heart liberal," but I was having a bit of trouble listening to an affluent woman whine about how she'd get more discounts and favors if her skin wasn't white! Pat's text was just in time to give me a reason to leave without saying what I was thinking!

Pat was in the area checking on a new field of onions planted for seed which will be harvested next year. He brought a wonderful care package with him. There was a mixed bag of onions and a box with sweet Anaheim peppers, garlic, cucumbers, plums, tomatoes and those little orange tomatoes that are as sweet as candy!

We had smoked pork chops for dinner tonight with Claassen sweet corn (from the MCA meeting the other night), and tomatoes and cucumbers fresh from Pat's garden - quite a feast! Then I sliced my last two peaches with ice cream for dessert. Life is good!