It rained off and on yesterday. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining when we packed up the truck and camper and it held off till we got to the campground. We waited in the truck because they were big raindrops and that’s usually a sign of a brief shower. We have camped in this particular site several times so I backed in slick as a whistle. We were both starving so I fixed us some sandwiches and we set the camp up.
We are a disposable society. Gone are the days when Grandma cut the buttons off of worn out shirts or made a quilt using the old blanket inside the new pieced top and backing. Who gets their shoes resoled anymore? The toaster stops working? Get a new one! Our grandchildren and their grandchildren have lost all touch with making do with what you have. Now it’s all the latest and the best of everything. New, new, new!
The dog days of summer are past, the nights are downright chilly, and folks are getting out to soak up the last of the warmth from the sun. Mr. FixIt and I had a slow start to our day. I made my streamlined French Toast for breakfast then headed over to the farm to mow. Mr. FixIt worked on putting the stuff away that he pulled out to install the new garage door. He’s still pretty beat up from working so hard this week and I wanted to get things done so we’d have today to relax.
Playing with the light. “Wedding Pumpkin on Knitting”
I got home from my camping trip in the late afternoon. Mr. FixIt was so glad to see me, but he was so stoved up from putting in the new garage door on Thursday that he could barely move. This frustrates him tremendously because he is a real go getter. But, between the two mini strokes and the back pain of the last three years, he’s gotten way out of the habit of working that hard. So he’s going to pay for it for the next couple of days, I’m afraid. I don’t mind doing all the hooking up and unhooking anyway. It keeps my skills sharp and it’s good exercise.
I gave Jan seeds from the white pumpkins we decorated with at our wedding in October 2018. She has planted them every year except this one. She surprised me yesterday with a little wedding pumpkin that came up as a volunteer this summer!
Our friend Jan came to camp with us last night. She just bought a beautiful used Roadtrek 170 and hasn’t slept in it yet so this was her maiden voyage. What a beautiful camper van! I don’t know if Mr. FixIt and I could both sleep in it. The bed is really small. But the front chairs turn around and there is a way to turn one of them into a narrow twin. It might be something to look at down the road when we don’t want to tow anymore. It would be a great way to just jump up and go at the drop of a hat. In other words…my kind of travel.
Gail had to be in town yesterday, so I spent the morning deep cleaning the camper. I hadn’t really done much other than sweep it out from time to time and it needed some serious attention. I usually end up throwing bags of things in the camper at the last minute when I’m going someplace, so I collated and organized those, too.
Any of you who have followed me for any length of time know my happy places. With Mr. FixIt and my family…at The Farm…on the tractor at Marshmallow Ranch…or in the Camper. Yesterday was such a cozy day and I was definitely feeling my happy titer rising. Gail and I knitted for awhile, then went to town, hoping to visit with Lonnie at Mama’s Attic before she closes up shop, but she was closed till today. I’ll try again later. By the time we fiddled around town, I was starving so we went to The Roadhouse for lunch.
Gail’s early morning walk that I slept through!
Mr. FixIt goes to the bowling alley every Sunday to hang with his friends. He doesn’t bowl regularly anymore. He subs for a league he’s been on for over thirty years. When I made breakfast Sunday morning…and cleaned the kitchen right after, by the way…I had a great idea. I looked on the reservation site for the state park I’m camping in with Gail and my site was open for Sunday night? Why camp for four nights with your bestie when you can camp five, am I right? I ran it by Mr. FixIt and he said “Go for it!” He’s the coolest husband ever! So, off I went!
Photo Credit: 9/11Memorial.org
Those of us who were glued to the TV for days will never forget where we were or what we were doing that dreadful day. We must never forget. For those who forget our history are doomed to repeat it. Our world changed that day…one of those pivitol moments where you can never go back to the way it was before. A collective grief. And now, a place rebuilt from the ashes. A place to remember, but also a place to live…the way those lost would want us to live.
When Mr. FixIt and I were drinking our morning beverages yesterday, he asked if I wanted to go to town with him. Our Bonus Daughter and her daughter were having a yard sale. Our only great granddaughter was selling lemonade so, of COURSE we had to go. Clearly I had other things lined up that need doing before I head out to camp with Gail tomorrow, but the biggest takeaway from losing Mr. Virgo is just how quickly it all can change. I slipped on my tennies and we were off.