One Of Our Favorite Texas State Parks….

All of these photos were taken at Goliad State Park, Goliad, TX.  Some are when we had the Cougar…Some are more recent..We LOVE to stay at this park…sooooo much history…

 

 

  I will be out of commission, ( blogwise only, I’m rarely entirely out of commission), until next Monday.  I ‘m leaving tomorrow at 6AM to visit my two grandsons in Zionsville, IN.  This would be just North of Indianapolis…Just North enough that I do NOT have to jump onto that circle of insanity commonly known as I-465, going around Indy….makes me dizzy just to think about it…AND they are notorious for road construction!!

 

  Aiden is turning 3 years old and they are having a party Saturday for his little kid friends, some old kid friends, and some “wannabe kids again” friends and family…His Mimi would be in that latter group (Mimi is what he calls moi)..Chris said they are getting one of those blow up jumping things.  I hesitate to comment here…because I may attempt to get into this thing…or not.  NO, NO, don’t worry…I will consume NO alcoholic beverages until AFTER the party, or at least the jumping part…Mimi doesn’t want to be the only “kid” who barfed inside the blow up thing.

 

  Of course, you know darn well I will take the camera…I haven’t been there since Chris and John finished remodeling their kitchen…I’ve seen photos and it looks lovely…What especially attracts me to this kitchen is the fact that it has a wine bar …As you can see, Chris didn’t fall too far from Mimi’s tree….

..OK, I have packing to do…As for the photos of Goliad State Park in Texas, you really need to go to their website, which I gave the link for…That park is fabulous….It has a wooden walkway that takes you a mile or so right into the town of Goliad, which is also just great!! I hope some of you get there someday!!!!!

Rving….”There's nothing not to like about it. The freedom of being able to pull up, stop, power up anywhere you want – beach or whatever. Set up and have your front yard different every single day. Whatever you want it to be, and to see the country that way – it’s awesome."-Matthew McConaughey, actor

BUSY WEEKEND…AND PERSONAL TRIUMPH..

Whew! This weekend was full and I was suddenly the ultimate multi-tasker.  Starting with Friday afternoon, I taped off the ceiling and moved furniture in preparation to paint our living/dining room. Saturday, while McGuyver and Jim Otto finished siding our garage, I proceeded to paint the ceiling.  This is about as much fun as washing the Hiker.

 

Being vertically challenged, I am familiar with looking UP a lot…but this was looking up a BUNCH!! I was hoping that maybe my 4 chins might tighten up afterward…NOT!

 

 

I finished the ceiling about 3PM, and began taping off the woodwork. 

    At 4PM, Terrie and Tim brought the 3 Grands over to spend the night.  Tim was running his first Chicago Marathon Sunday, and he and Ter had to get up at 3:30AM and head into the city.  I fixed spaghetti, chicken nuggets and deviled eggs for dinner, and S’More ice cream sundaes for desert. As you can see, there are not 3, but 4 kids…Whenever the Heiser kids show up here, our neighbor Jessica magically materializes…She is just like one of our own grandkids…and she spent the night with us, too.

Sunday AM, McGuyver and I got up early..waaaay before the kids. I finished taping off the windows, doors and woodwork, took down the curtains and hardware, and began trimming the walls…About 9:30AM, Campbell came down the steps and the rest followed…I stopped my painting and made sausage and French toast for everyone.  Next came haircuts for the boys, which I had promised Terrie I would do. And then,  I dug out some poster board so the kids could make surprise posters for their Dad…(Gotta keep ‘em busy while I had my head in the paint bucket.) Those kids produced some class A artwork for Tim, if I do say so!!

 

 

 

…. I then proceeded to roller paint the walls, being very mindful of where I put my roller paint tray..

I finished my painting about 3PM. Den helped me pull the tape off, put back fixtures, wall pictures and curtains… and by 4PM, I had finished my project..Oh, I forgot to add that I fixed the kids a pizza about 2PM..this is coming from someone who has trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time.

 

 

I was very pleased to get rid of the pinkish paint that was slowly driving me more nuts than I already am…and replace it with “French Gray Linen”….In my next life I want to have a job naming paint colors…I totally think the name of the paint color influences the color you pick..right girls?? Like betting on a horse because you love the name.

 

 

 

 

 

The kids were excited to  have their Dad come back from the race..We were sent text messages(that would be Den, my phone isnt’ smart enough) about where he was at 10K, 18K and the finish..About 5:30PM Terrie and Tim pulled in..and those kids could not WAIT to show Tim and give him hugs….He could barely walk…and Ter said he was pale and a bit shaky after his shower….(I would have been on a gurney in an ambulance staring at the roof with glazed eyes.)

 

Tim said he began cramping up in his calves about mile 20, and had to slow down…not to mention he was having some heavy chest pain, nausea and felt like giving up….but he DIDN’T give up!!!!!! I guess that’s what this race is all about….pushing one’s self to accomplish what you deemed impossible… I guess you have to run it to understand it…They say it changes who you are and how you see the world once you run a marathon.

» Heiser, Tim (USA)
Sugar Grove, IL
24741-Bib
40-44
41-age
02:00:39-time at halfway
-
04:16:35-finish time

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible."
- John Hanc

“Thank you to all my friends and family who provided encouragement and advice to me for my first marathon. What started as a joke and a dare a year ago, came to fruition today. I especially want to thank the love of my life, Terrie, who woke up with me at 3:30am to go down there and my best friend, JT, who sacrificed a Sunday morning to be there with me. When I made the final turn and thought I was...n't going to make it the last 300 yards, I looked up in the stands, and there they both were cheering me on...it meant a lot. I've been running for a while and never thought I could complete 26.2...it's one of those things you check off your bucket list. But get ready everyone...we're all doing together next year. Thanks again”  -quoted from Tim on his Facebook page

WE LOVE YOU BACK TIM!!

Good Luck In The Chicago Marathon, Detective Heiser!!

  Sometimes I am not very prompt at realizing we have someone new following the Cave Dwellers…A big shout out to Hobo Joe…Ya just gotta love someone with that name (though I’m quite sure Joe isn’t a real Hobo..or..maybe he is..doesn’t matter.)…”Hobo” brings to mind stories about Den’s Grandma Jenny, who lived just across the street from where we live now.  Back in “the day” there were many transients/Hobos who use to jump on the trains that traveled by this neighborhood.  There was a network back in those days..a network for those train catchers to let them know who in those towns along the railroad tracks was friendly…Den’s Grandma was well-known for giving these hungry souls a hot meal for free.  That’s why that term “hobo” is very endearing to me…What a life they must have had…Soooo,  welcome aboard, Joe!!! I guess all of us who RV must have a bit of the hobo living inside us, eh??

Now that McGuyver is playing farmer, he doesn’t get home until dark.  That leaves moi to get our deck all cozy for a late cocktail by the campfire….

 

 

I CAN MAKE A PRETTY GOOD CAMPFIRE, TOO!  I EVEN SPLIT THE WOOD WITH THE CAMP AXE FOR THE KINDLING…NICE FAAAAAR!  OF COURSE, I WAS TUTORED BY THE GREAT FIRESTARTER/FIREFIGHTER HOSE CAPTAIN DENNIS CAVE….

 

 

 

 

Last evening was sooooo beautiful out…No need for a jacket, all the lights and candles lit and NO wind…It was dark by 7PM, and I really enjoyed just vegging by the fire with a glass of wine….Dennis showed up about 8PM, ready for a beer…and glad he didn’t have to build a fire or  bring up any wood..I did all of that…Hey! I’m not always Maxine..Well, my attire was Maxine, but I was more like  June Cleaver on the inside…(how’s that for a blast from the past??)

We are having our 3 grandkids from Sugar Grove overnight tomorrow.  Their Dad is running in the Chicago Marathon Sunday and Terrie is going with him.

  They have to leave at 4AM.. It is about and hour or more to drive in..then park…then enter…then find your “corral” (hope they stay in front of the horses)…So the kids are staying here with us. I’m sure we will follow the coverage on TV…Terrie is also becoming a runner. She did the Cancer Run a few weeks ago…and she is now going to run in the Chicago Hot Chocolate 5K shortly….(I’d just go for the drinks)..

The first weekend of November, our daughter Chris and her hubby, John (see previous blog) are running in the Indianapolis Marathon….

McGuyver and I (or maybe just I) are traveling down that weekend to help watch the boys and have a visit…

I have  no idea what drives someone to run a marathon.  It certainly has to be a personal challenge to one’s self…I challenge  myself too…Some days it’s a challenge not to start cocktail hour at noon!

WHERE DID I GET THESE KIDS?? I’M A SLOTH!

 

 

 

 

Below is what we are giving Aiden for his 3rd birthday.  John, his Dad,  is a big golfer and I’m hoping to ensure that Aiden will beat the pants off of his Dad in this game someday…Actually, this would have been a great game for  Odel to have around while recovering from knee surgery…!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

What can you actually TELL from a darn paint chip?  I’m shootin’ for something in between these two colors for our living room.  That project starts tomorrow….and could take a while..our living room/dining room is pretty big.  Good thing that at least ONE of the walls is the brick fireplace…no painting there unless it’s dripped on…That would get me sent to my room.  OK, time to figure out just how to loosen the caps of the ceiling fans and  pull them down without dropping the whole fan on the dining room table….Stay tuned, this may be the funniest thing since the freezer moving episode…..

 

"I go running when I have to. When the ice cream truck is doing sixty."
- Wendy Liebman

Why We LOVE John Wolffe

  Our weather here has decided to become tolerable once more, but only after a frosty couple evenings.  I made a little cashola at our garage sale….

…so I decided to get some shelves for the basement …and buy some paint for our living room…I know, I know…I should be doing something FUN with it…like maybe… having dancing men come over when McGuyver goes into the cornfields…Alas…the only men that even wanted to come over were busy with bingo at the “home”, so painting our living room rose to the top of the list..As long as I am going to be a Harvest Widow, I may as well put it to good use, right?…(Plus, I won’t have Dennis standing over me telling me I missed a spot.)
Monday, Dennis and I went up to Uncle Jr.’s and Aunt Jeanette’s to put the plastic on their screen porch…They have a lovely screened patio they sit on, but in the winter they cover the screens so the snow doesn’t blow in.  It is becoming waaaay too dicey to let either one get on a ladder for ANY reason, so McGuyver and his trusty co-worker, Dementia Donna,  “got ‘er done”!!
A couple blogs ago, Kenny  had a photo of his grandson, Riley, riding in a toy police car.  He commented that Riley was getting too big to get in it, and maybe someone should tell him he no longer fits in the toy car…Well, Kenny….I now present to  you our son-in-law , John Wolffe, A.K.A. “Wolffie”….(Chris’s hubby).  I didn’t have the heart to tell John the same thing…Just look how much he is enjoying himself…..

…Makes a Mother-In-Law proud, yes he does.  Is that a beer in his hand?…Imagine that... HMMMMM…

  My fall flowers are in full Autumnal bloom…Sedum, Mums and Marigolds…My Hibiscus, bottom right, is still producing buds and flowers…Someone needs to tell this poor thing his time for “center stage” is over….”Exit, stage right”.
Our neighbor broke his foot a month ago and has been hobbling around on crutches and in a cast.  I feel his pain…No, wait a moment…I never felt THAT kind of pain, I’m sure!!  He is still on crutches, but his cast has now been replaced with a walking boot. Well, last night Den and I were sitting on our deck with campfire and cocktail (NO, REALLY?)..Mike came out to light his grill and….out of propane.  McGuyver went over and helped him get his filled propane bottle from his truck to the grill…No way could Mike carry that tank AND  walk on crutches…
 

HAVE I TOLD YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS MAN? (MCGUYVER, NOT MIKE!!)

This week’s weather has been just fabulous so far, and we finally decided our grass needed at least one more mow…Plus, yesterday McGuyver got the call, and he will definitey be in the corn and bean fields next week, so yesterday he mowed our yard..hopefully that will be it!

 

Next weekend I am going to Zionsville IN for our grandson, Aiden’s, 3rd birthday party…When I come back, I am preparing to arm myself with paint, roller, paintbrush, ladder, dropcloth….hmm, what else?? Oh, yes…extra wine…and I will be painting our living room. I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR!!! Yes, there will be some photos…especially if the dancing men surprise me..

  Dennis also got to work on our garage siding, trying to get it finished.  All he had was the front, but to finish it, he needed the correct equipment to finish the job, and it was being used at another job.  I need to explain that Den borrows lots of stuff from Otto Construction, whom he worked for after he retired from Cat.  Jim Otto has more stuff in his “man cave’ than anyone I know…Today, McGuyver went out and “got after it”….

…Won’t be long till this garage is done….finally…and lookin’ pretty good, Den!!
Well, not too much is exciting around here, unless you count getting 2 new deep cycle batteries for the Hiker…HEY!!!! THAT IS EXCITING TO US!! ONE MORE STEP TOWARD MOVIN’ ON SOUTH FOR THE WINTER!!  So now, it’s almost time to see what I can come up with for dinner…We  have been enjoying a campfire nightly on our deck with our cocktail hours..Better get all we can, looks like Texas is a NO GO for fires…Thanks for stopping by…and until next time, remember…..
“It is unwise to meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup"....-unknown
…thanks, Chris…