Busy Social Calendar

We are definitely back in the swing of things here at Lake Medina RV Resort. Yesterday I couldn't get Jazz walked for stopping to visit with folks and it was the same this morning. Michael and I started out for a walk and didn't get far before we met up with Pat on his motorcycle. He insisted Mike come along with the guys for a ride. It was rather windy and chilly today for motorcycle riding but off they went. The guys got back about 2pm.

Jazz and I went for a nice walk up and down the major hills this RV resort has. After getting back to the RV, I started cleaning. We were grubby--we left home 2 weeks ago and I hadn't vacuumed or anything in that time. Took me a while to say the least. Jazz kept me company snoozing on the couch.

I am baking a rhubarb crisp to take to the New Year's Eve celebration tonight. The park is providing the meal, residents are providing appetizers and desserts. There is to be dancing and entertainment so we should have fun and we are celebrating a New York New Year's at 11pm!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family.

Lake Medina

Michael was up at 5am, I think he forgot he is retired and we were out of the RV park in Waco, TX by 8:30am. It was a easy, relaxing day driving on the "red roads" and going through the small towns. We arrived in Boerne, TX about 1pm and stocked up on groceries at Wal Mart where we also got fuel for $2.09/gallon.

Lake Medina RV Park hasn't changed much, it is still the greatest, friendliest place! We pulled in about 3pm and it has been non-stop visiting since we got here. Two years ago we spent two months here and loved it. It is such a welcoming, beautiful, and quiet place. The RV park is located within a Texas ranch that has been in the same family for over 100 years. Many of the residents of the RV park have been coming since the park opened in 2000. There is absolutely none of the cliques that exist in some RV parks. The park is located on Lake Medina which is a lake used for irrigating farm land thus the level fluctuates greatly. When we were here two years ago, the lake was dry with only a small creek running through the bed of the lake. Last year the lake was near flood stage, this year, it is approximately 15 feet down.

Our friends Angie and Ralph who are full timers are here and Angie prepared a wonderful dinner for us tonight. We haven't seen them since they stayed with us the summer of 2007.

From the left, my sister Ann, my Mom, me and my niece Niki

My Niki in her fashionable new rubber boots

Leah riding Cocoa

Life is great!

A Sad Day

It was a sad day this morning when we pulled out. While we are glad to be moving on to see other friends and family and to find warmer weather, we are sad to be leaving family behind again. I am blessed to have the most wonderful family and I love them dearly.

We traveled from Sheridan, AR to Waco, TX today, getting a little over 8mpg and seeing diesel for $1.95 per gallon, of course, we paid $2.09 just before we saw the cheaper version. At Texarkana, TX, we exited the freeway and traveled the red roads. We are tucked into a very quiet RV park about 10 miles outside Waco and tomorrow we will travel through Crawford, TX where President Bush has his ranch.

It was 72 degrees when we arrived here today, wonderful!!

These photographs are on the wall of my niece's living room, aren't those girls beautiful??

Red neck cooking in Arkansas. Bacon makes such a mess when cooking it indoors so my brother-in-law Danny (Niki's Dad) and Niki's husband Eric are cooking the bacon outdoors. Doesn't Eric look attractive in that hat???

A beautiful Arkansas sunset. Santa brought me a new camera and I learned to use the "sunset" setting.

They Are Gone

Niki and the great nieces (gosh that makes me sound old) finally talked Michael into staying an extra day. We went to church this morning with the Dutch visitors and the rest of us greatly swelling the attendance!

After church we all gathered for a farewell lunch at Ann's then the Dutch friends said goodbye with many tears and hugs. It was great to see them and we thoroughly enjoyed their visit.

The afternoon was spent cleaning up, going for a walk and getting the RV ready to travel tomorrow. I am sad to be leaving but glad to be on the road again.

Shopping and Dining Out

Everyone went off to different places yesterday with Mom, Danny and Michael staying home to recuperate! Boy and I headed to Hot Springs, AR which happens to be the birthplace of Bill Clinton but is also the home to many antique stores. Boy is a collector of antique tobacco items and other things. We had a great day and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. The Dutch ladies went shopping--they love our stores here--things are much more expensive in Holland so they always bring extra suitcase space for taking home treasures. Ann took Leon and Edward for a hike near Hot Springs in spite of the fact it misted rain most of the day.

In the evening we all met for dinner at a Chili's in Hot Springs. There were 20 of us for dinner and Boy and the rest of the Holland folks treated us. We split up after dinner with the Holland ladies going off to do more shopping, meeting back up at Danny and Ann's for coffee and desserts.

This morning at 6am, it is 70 degrees and very humid. The Dutch folks rose very early, 4am, to take Leon to the Little Rock airport. He has to return to Holland for work and the rest of the gang will remain in the US until January 1. They are all leaving Arkansas tomorrow for more US sightseeing.

Breakfast by Ann this morning was delicious and I am going to catch up on some housekeeping chores today in preparation for leaving tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. We have had a wonderful, wonderful time with our family and Dutch friends.

Yesterday on Christmas Eve Mom and I were crazy enough to venture to Wal Mart for a few last minute groceries. We finished readying Niki's home for visitors. Michael and I managed to get in a couple of long walks with the Jazzy dog, too.

In the late afternoon on Christmas Eve, our Dutch friends arrived. My parents, Martha and Rubin (my father is deceased) decided to host an exchange student in 1993. They were the American parents to a delightful girl, Maaike. Through the years even after Maike left Arkansas, she has stayed in close contact with my family, journeying to Arkansas frequently and even to Montana sometimes bringing her parents and sister and boyfriend. In April Maaike and Leon were married and my sister Ann, her husband Danny and my Mom made the trip to Holland for the wedding. This Christmas the entire family decided to come to Arkansas to celebrate Christmas with us. Maaike brought her parents Boy and Gerda, her husband Leon and his Mother, Annie; Maaike's sister Marika, her boyfriend Edward and her child Melisa.

Mealtimes are chaotic and fun with our enlarged household. Today for our Christmas Day celebration, we traveled to Niki and Eric's home where more chaos reined! Marika and Edward were staying there with Marika's daughter who is the same age as Niki and Eric's Elizabeth. Santa had paid a visit and the living room looked as if an explosion had occurred!! We had a delicious breakfast and opened what seemed like a mountain of presents. The Dutch friends brought lots of chocolates and cookies. Niki's present to all of us received the prize for the best ever. She put together an album of Mom's life that had us all in tears, it was so special. Thank you Niki, we love you so much.

We came home and relaxed a little--the Dutch folks took a drive--Maaike has lived here so she was the navigator. Mom's sisters stopped by to visit during the day, too, with their families.

Michael is a little under the weather and today we also found out that Nat had fallen off a ladder and was in the hospital in Big Timber. He broke his nose and is bruised and sore.

Remember I have said that here in Arkansas we visit and eat, then eat and visit--a lot of that went on today for sure. Everyone has gone off to their respective spots for the night as I write this and the house is quiet. We are so thankful for our wonderful family and for friends such as these Dutch people who travel great distances to spend this holiday with us. May God be with you in this season and the coming year.

Mini Ice Storm and More Eating

We woke during the night to the sound of rain on the roof and wondered what the morning would bring. There was a little ice on the steps and vehicles but it melted quickly as the morning warmed up. It continued to rain off and on all day.

Yesterday Mom and I drove to Clinton, AR to the home of my aunt and uncle. This is my aunt who sends me the quilts to quilt. My Uncle Si has Parkinson's disease and is confined to a wheelchair but is still alert and enjoys visitors. Aunt Marg had more quilts for me to take home. We enjoyed lunch with them and then headed home getting caught up in the Christmas traffic.

Friends of Danny and Ann--Pat and Harley who have visited us in Montana--joined us for a wonderful dinner last night. Danny smoked pork and venison on the smoker all day and it was delicious. He about froze while doing it, it was very cold and windy yesterday.

Today Mom and I gave my niece an early Christmas present. Niki is a nurse and works full time and has two small daughters, Elizabeth and Leah. Mom and I cleaned her house and did the laundry.

About 2pm Mom took me to town where I met up with Niki and we took off to get our hair cut getting home after 5pm. Michael, Danny and my brother Ross installed Mom's new flooring in her bathroom today.

A busy day, maybe we will slow down tomorrow, you think???

Arkansas Arrival

We are here! Friday we made it to a wonderful state park in south eastern Oklahoma called McGee Lake State Park. Electric and water hookups and we had the entire campground to ourselves. Michael saw his first ever armadillo and Jazz really wanted the critter to play with her. Cardinals and ducks talked to us and just about dusk we heard a chorus of coyotes. A wonderful place to spend the night. Our RV site backed right up to the lake.

Saturday morning we made our way to Arkansas to my family home. The entire Barnes/Hill family lives either on the farm that belonged to my Grandfather or very close by in the case of my niece and her family. It is great to be here, my sister Ann and her husband Danny have a RV electric hookup and we are snug and comfortable. Last night we had dinner at Mom's and then headed to Little Rock for the Yuletide Symphony concert. A great evening, beautiful music.

Today we all headed to church. My brother-in-law Danny is the minister of the church I attended while growing up. Lots of friends from days ago and family still attend the church. Today their choir presented the Christmas cantata and it was beautiful. Niki's (my niece) two daughters were cast as angels complete with halos, a serious miscasting I told them! After church it was back to Danny and Ann's for a wonderful lunch of stuffed beef tenderloin and all the fixings. I am still stuffed hours later. That is one of the things this family does best--we cook and eat, eat and cook!

The afternoon was spent visiting. It is cold here with a nasty wind blowing. Michael and I stayed home tonight while everyone else went back to church for the children's program.

I won't be posting any photos for a while although I have taken some great ones. Danny and Ann live in a high speed internet dead spot here and only have dial-up which isn't conducive to posting photos.

Dodge City, Kansas

At about 2:30am on Wednesday morning both Michael and I were wide awake so we got up, got ready, finished loading the last minute stuff and left Montana. We had chains on the truck to get down our driveway which was snow packed. We stopped about a mile from the house on our gravel road to remove the chains. Michael was out removing the chains and asked me to get in the driver's seat and pull the truck forward, OK, but when I went to get out of the truck to go back to the passenger side, I put one foot down on to the icy road and the next thing I know I am flat on my back, whacking my nose on the door pocket as I am going down, wrenching my back and shoulder. Not a nice beginning!!

We traveled well all day although the wind in the Casper, WY area was as usual, gale force rocking this RV! About 4pm, we pulled in to Gering, Nebraska into a city park with electric hookups and nice warm bathhouses. It was about 18 degrees. When we left MT, it was 10 degrees. In Gering, we turned on the furnace, our heating blanket and Jazzy's heating pad and we were snug as bugs in a rug. Due to our early awakening hour, we were in bed before 8pm and asleep!!

Today, we traveled east on I80 until the weather deteriorated and we started trying to head south to avoid the ice storm that seemed to be chasing us. About 5pm, we pulled into Dodge City, Kansas. And, we are as usual wondering what in the world induced Trailer Life to give this RV park "9" ratings. We usually use www.rvparkreviews.com to find our RV parks; we find that RVers are more honest than Trailer Life, but we have had no internet. The park is between two busy highways and right across one of these highways is a very noisy railroad track. Oh, well, we are only here for the night.

Fuel is about $2.45/gallon here and we have been getting less than 8mpg, the wind has not been kind. It is not as cold here and we might make Arkansas tomorrow depending on the weather.

The elk herd near Lonn and LoraLee's.

Olive oil at less than 10 degrees, notice it isn't clear anymore!!

Michael in the RV when it is less than 20 degrees outside, coat and wine!
Jazz under the blanket when it is less than 20 degrees!

Our site in Gering, NE this morning, sunshine that didn't last long, those clouds in the background caught up with us bringing icy fog and snow.

We are Off

We had a heat wave today, it got all the way up to 10 degrees above zero! Our friends Mark and Gemma had the two of us, and Denny and Ellen over for dinner last night. It was a great evening and good to see these guys before we head south.

Today we have been loading the last of the stuff into the RV. I loaded the stuff into the freezers and there is no need to even turn the refrigerator on, it is so cold in that RV!!

We went over to Lonnie and LoraLee's this afternoon to take them a checkbook and mailing boxes. LoraLee collects our mail then sends it to us wherever we happen to be.

Bright and early tomorrow we are off for warmer country. Let's hope we have good roads and warmer weather.

Internet

When we thought we were leaving on Sunday or Monday, we made arrangements to have our internet and phone services put on vacation and when we changed our plans, decided to leave things as they were to avoid confusion. So, we probably will not have internet service and therefore, no blogs for a while. Hopefully we will get out of the frozen north soon!

Cold and Projects

It must have been meant for us to stay home for a few more days. Michael constructed a new coffee table for us today. I have been wanting a leather topped coffee table--being the frugal man that he is, Michael decided he could make one. At a garage sale this summer we found a nice oak, mission style coffee table. He put thick foam on top, covered it with leather we had purchased and inserted buttons, it looks fabulous!!

I think I blogged about my king size quilt top that didn't get quilted because the backing fabric I ordered was not wide enough. Well, I added some borders to that fabric today, got the backing fabric and the batting loaded on the quilting machine and tomorrow I will start quilting, I hope. King size quilts are huge, this may be my last!

It is so unbelievably cold here. As I write this blog, it is 17 degrees below zero at almost 6pm. It never got above 10 degrees below zero all day. Jazzy spends very little time outside, only the necessary! The birds are eating us out of house and home. We are looking at heading south on Wednesday, the first day it is above zero!

Way Too Cold on a Sunday Morning

Just a quick update, it is 25 degrees below zero this morning! Sure hope it is warmer in Arkansas when we get there!

Really Cold

It was 20 degrees when we got up and was starting to snow. By 9am, it was 10 degrees and really snowing and it has gone downhill all day from there. 12 degrees below zero as I write this with about six inches of new snow. We have postponed our departure tomorrow, it is just too cold to be traveling in a RV.

We had a nice early Christmas with Michael's son and his family this afternoon. Nat joined us too. Michael's daughter and her family who live in Billings were also coming but the highways are just too treacherous. We had turkey and pork tenderloins. LoraLee made a new chocolate eclair dessert and wouldn't you know it, she accidentally left it behind, I think I may have a snack soon! She also left the rest of her homemade rolls!

We are toasty warm with a fire in the fireplace and the woodburning stove downstairs.

Bike Loaded and Lunch With Friends

We were slow getting around this morning, took a walk and then Michael hooked up the RV, pulled it forward and we loaded the motorcycle on board. He didn't want to do this chore on Saturday when it was 30 degrees and snowing.

Then, on to Big Timber for lunch with Jeane and Jill at the Grand. Michael went out to his Dad's to try and get the weather station working. Jeane, Jill and I had a great, relaxing lunch, I will miss them while down south although both have promised to visit this winter.

After lunch I spent time getting my friend Kelly's Christmas present ready to ship and other errands. Michael picked me up and we did the post office and UPS run.

The weather station just would not give us a wind mph so I got on the phone to Oregon Scientific and received outstanding customer service. With a little tweaking, Michael was successful and now Nat knows just how hard the wind is blowing in the windy city of Big Timber. I'm not so sure he really wanted to know!

We stopped and visited Jim and Beryl in the nursing home before dragging ourselves home, I sure hope it is early to bed for me tonight!

Odds and Ends

We took our morning walk, waiting until the sun came up before we started out. We hiked to the top of a huge hill on our neighbor's ranch, huffing and puffing!

The RV is just about loaded with the exception of the stuff that can't go in until the last minute. We picked the most frigid day of the year to leave, the forecast is for a high of 5 degrees on Sunday and a low of -9!! Jim and Ellie--how would you like to be staying in a RV at those temperatures. Depending on conditions, we may end up staying in a motel a couple of nights on the road!

Last night we enjoyed our last get together for the year at the home of Robyn and Claire with George and Shirley. Robyn made homemade chili and it was delicious and the bread pudding was excellent! It was another late night, our social life this holiday season is busy! Today we are going into town, I am having lunch with Jill and Jeane.

We did have sunshine yesterday with a cold wind.

Not Sleeping

Is not sleeping a symptom of getting older?? Seems like when we get together with friends the topic of sleep or rather not sleeping comes up. Michael rarely sleeps past 5am and in Montana in the winter, that is just too dang early to get up. Now me, I might sleep until 3am or 5am just depends on the night.

On Wednesday, we continued to load the RV. Our medicine cabinet in the RV is a good size for one in a RV but it had only one shelf so everything was just piled in the cabinet and if you opened the door too quickly, everything fell out and you better be sure the toilet lid was closed! My sweet husband put another shelf in the cabinet yesterday, isn't he a good husband??

In the afternoon I went down to my friend Shirley's home and gave her another computer lesson on dealing with photographs. Michael went into town to visit our tax accountant before we leave and to finish installing his Dad's weather station. He wasn't successful with the weather station--more research is needed!

The wind has been howling the last two days, I don't think I could deal with the wind if we stayed here in the winter time, it just never stops this time of year.

More RV loading today and I am almost finished with my friend Kelly's Christmas present.

Loading and Loading Some More

Tuesday we took our early morning walk in the snow and cold. Last winter when Jazz was so sick, she would just poop out on walks--would just stop and not be able to go any farther so Michael would pick her up and carry her. Well, now when you want her to go somewhere she doesn't want to go or you stop her from chasing a deer, she stops, jumps up on Michael's legs and begs to be carried and as you can see in these photos, Michael suckers!!

Good thing she only weighs 20 pounds.

We loaded stuff and more stuff into the RV, Michael is about finished with his packing, I still have a little more to do.

Mid-afternoon we headed into Big Timber. Nat needed a new thermostat and as a Christmas present we gave him a weather station. Michael installed new wiring and the new thermostat and started reading the directions for the weather station. The wind was literally howling in Big Timber. Nat said he wasn't sure he wanted to know how hard it was blowing with this new weather station. Today Michael has an appointment with our tax accountant and he will finish installing the weather station.

In the evening we went to Steve and Jeane's for dinner, always a most pleasant time. Jill and Terry were there too. Steve and Jeane live in a wonderful old home that was an original carriage house for storage of horse drawn carriages. Jeane's taste is exquisite and the home is decorated beautifully. We had a wonderful time visiting with good friends and the food was great--for dessert, a chocolate cake with peppermint flavored filling, YUM! We were home rather late last night, so the blog gets posted in the morning!

Off to pack some more.

Wrapping, Baking and Sewing

All the Christmas presents that are here are wrapped, the post office still owes me one present. I got all the wrapping done when I got up so early this morning.

We took a walk in the new snow, got our exercise--Miss Jazzy seemed to enjoy it very much this morning.

As we started out on our walk, I caught sight of an eagle. The photos aren't great, he's in the top of the tallest tree and is an immature Bald Eagle. Doesn't it look bleak here in our country??

He's fluffing his wings getting ready to take flight.

I did some cookie baking today to give as gifts to friends and neighbors. My snickerdoodles have altitude sickness, turned out flat as pancakes!

After the baking, I went downstairs to sew. I have been trying to get our king size quilt top finished so I can quilt it before we leave and take it with me. I ran out of border fabric and the mailman brought me some more with today's mail. Got all the borders sewn on and measured the quilt. I had ordered backing fabric a month ago and ordered what is called a fatback which was supposed to be 120 inches wide. Well--it is 116 inches wide so it is way too narrow. I gave up--the quilt won't get finished before we leave.

It has snowed off and on all day and is cold, about 20 degrees. The fireplace and the glass of wine seem just right tonight!

Snow and Loading the RV

Yesterday we started loading the RV. We have had a terrible time with mice this summer and fall and can't seem to get the nasty critters locked out of the RV--so everything had to come out of the storage bays so we could clean. I did a thorough cleaning inside, too and started packing. I have said before--I know why people full time--then they don't have to load and unload. It is supposed to be frigid cold here by the weekend so I couldn't load some things for fear they would freeze.

Michael worked on the taxes in the afternoon and hopes to visit with our tax man this afternoon. In the evening, I wrapped a few Christmas presents.

I am up early this morning, just couldn't sleep, too many lists in my head! We have about 2 inches of new snow. I have a fire in the fireplace, a cup of coffee and the Christmas lights on, what more could anyone want?

Two Parties

Thursday it was 9 degrees, tonight it is 50 degrees, go figure!

Last night we went to the home of friends and neighbors, Dava and Stuart for a Christmas open house. We had a wonderful time, lots of visiting with friends and neighbors and wonderful food. Dava and Stuart along with their sons, Jacob and Tucker are one of the few families left in our valley who make their living by ranching. It was a great party.

Tonight we went into Big Timber stopping by the nursing home for a quick visit with Jim and Beryl before going to the home of Jim and Lola for a wine party. There are a group of people in Big Timber who make wine and this was their Christmas party. Lola and Jim go to Arizona in the winter and have also traveled to Alamos, Mexico where we spent time last winter. Once again, the food was good and the wine interesting--chokecherry, currant and even a homemade merlot. Michael has talked about learning to make wine, we'll see what next summer brings when the chokecherries get ripe.

Today Michael hooked up the RV and brought it closer to the house so we can start loading. We also put out big round bales for the horses and hauled some firewood. I have been trying to get a quilt top of my own finished so I can quilt it on the longarm before we leave--I got down to the last border today and I was short 18 inches of fabric---GRRRRR. Called the quilt store in Billings where I got the fabric and they are mailing me some. I may or may not get this quilt finished before we leave!

Even Colder

I complained yesterday about the cold, well today when I got up it was 9 degrees but the sun did shine bringing our temperature up to a whopping 18 degrees by 3pm. We are so ready to go south!

Nat came up for lunch today and when I went into town late in the afternoon my first thought was , "what was I thinking??" Asking an 86 year old man up for lunch when the roads were sheets of ice?? But we both made it safely. I had some errands to run and a Santa Claus present to buy for my dear husband.


Michael and Jazz stayed home and kept the fires burning, we certainly needed fires!

Our view this morning on our frigid walk!

Gosh, It's Cold

BRRRRR!!! 16 degrees when we got up this morning and we have about 5 inches of snow on the ground. The high temperature today was about 20 degrees! We took two walks today, when the weather is bad we don't walk up into our pastures, too steep and slippery, we just walk down our driveway, 1/2 mile each way. Jazzy is unimpressed with the weather!

She kept burying her face in the snow, sniffing out tracks and mice.

Michael worked on the old truck again and I cooked and sewed. Not very exciting around here but restful and fun!

Snow and a little blue sky

This flock of birds appears every November and usually departs sometime in January according to Nat who feeds the birds while we are gone. There are about 70-80 of these birds on some days, 10-20 on others. They can clean out a feeder quickly. I think they are Gray-Crowned Rosy Finches according to my Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

Snow and Other Things

When we got up this morning, it was a balmy 52 degrees with no wind. At 9am when we got to Big Timber, it was 26 degrees and snowing--tonight as I write this we have about 4 inches on the ground.

We ran errands in town, Michael picked up some parts for his truck and I got my concealed carry permit renewed. We also got license plates for the VW--Montana lets you license permanently any vehicle that is more than 10 years old--you never have to buy plates again and the 1959 VW qualifies as more than 10 years old for sure.

Michael worked on the old truck when we got home and I did some cooking and a little sewing. In the evening we headed off to the home of our friends Mark and Gemma. Mark and Michael then went on up the Boulder to the home of Denny and Ellen for dinner. All the ladies gathered at Gemma's for a Body Shop Party. Good smelling lotions and other things. The lady who was to have given the demonstrations did not come, the roads between us and Bozeman where she lives are treacherous. So it was an abbreviated party but we still enjoyed visiting and eating. It was good to see friends and neighbors.

I took this photo out the window of the house, the little tree in the middle has Christmas lights on it and it was so beautiful with the snow.

Cooking and Sewing

Yesterday we puttered, me in the quilting room, Michael out in the garage. In the evening we joined our friends Robyn and Claire and went down to the home of friends George and Shirley for good wine and munchies. When we got home, I realized it was almost midnight central time and I could register for my classes at the Machine Quilters Showcase in early May next year. I got all the classes I wanted and my credit card got a workout!

Up to 50 degrees today, cloudy with cold, wind and snow on the way! On our walk this morning, these horses which belong to our friend Jim were really interested in that little black dog that was running along the path.

I worked on Christmas presents today and did some cooking. I tried a new recipe for Christmas Pecans and they are so good. Michael and I sampled so many I may have to make another batch to give to friends! We also got all our Christmas cards labeled and sealed, ready to send. Are we efficient or what??

A laid back kind of day.