It's June

Wow, can't believe it's been since the end of August since I've written.   I could have written aobut the following:

1. The beautiful fall.
2. Christmas with the families
3. The coldest, snowiest winter ever in Springfield. 
4. Water pipes froze a few times.  Froze but did not break. 
5. Spring flowers

But here it is in June, so you'll just have to imagine all that I would have written.   I'll start fresh.
We are doing well.  A few more aches and pains.  Seems like the high pollen count with the humidity gets to us on some days but still overall - we are well.

The tulips, daffodils and irises have all passed.  But the lilies and the hanging pots are doing well.

Memorial Weekend has passed.  There was a National Street Rodders show in Springfield.  We had several staying with us that weekend.  A couple of my favorites

This coming weekend is the local VW chapter rally.  They're going to have it here at the campground for the first time.  They're estimating around 300 cars/vans/etc.  One stopped by to see us earlier.

We've started receiving our state fair volunteer information.  Getting excited about heading up to Iowa in August.  This will probably be our last year for a few to volunteer.  It will be our 15th year. 

If it would stop raining we may get to enjoy the outdoors again.  Hopefully it won't be another 9 months before I write again. 

In the next one, I will hopefully be able to tell you that we do NOT have any more mice in the camper.  Such a story there.

Until the next time.  :) 

End of August

Still trying to catch up from this past summer before talking about Fall.  The last weekend in August we were fortunate to visit with both our families.  Sharon's brother, Kevin and nephew, Lyle participated in the Warrior Run (I think that's the name of it).  It was about 5 miles from the campground we were staying at.  We were going to go watch them but Kevin called and said there wasn't a good viewing area and the terrain was awful for walking.  So, we visited with Connie (Sharon' sister-in-law), Donna (Sharon's sister) and Arlyn (Sharon's brother-in-law) until they were done.  They took quick showers (at the campground) then we went out to eat.  Again, did I think about the camera, NO.  I'm getting very bad lately.

We ate at Jethros, which is a BBQ and Jambalaya restaurant.  Sharon was going to have gumbo but it had spicy sausage in it.  So, she'll just have to wait until we go back to Mississippi for true gumbo and crawdads.

On Sunday, I had a reunion with my siblings.  We met with Sharon's family on Saturday.  Sharon took her camera on Sunday so we did get a couple of pictures.

Some of Marcia's family in this picture.  Her son, Mike, husband, Steve, daughter, Michelle and son, Matt.

Two of Pam's daughters made it, Samantha and Mykie.  In this picture is Jeremy (Sam's husband), Sam, Jersey and Mykie.

 

 

 

Here's Pam with granddaughter, Raegan.

 

 

 

 



And here are my siblings, Marcia, Ron and Pam.  Also in the picture is Marcia's husband, Steve.  If they see this picture, I'm gonna get it.  Makes me wonder if they read these posts.  Ha Ha

The next two days, we took off.  Didn't do anything but lay around the camper, watch tv and read.  It was so much fun.  Later in the week, got new tires on the truck and camper.  Did laundry before the trip back and just got everything ready to head back to Springfield. 

The month of August flew by but we had a great time.

Last Day of the Fair

Thought I'd be done talking about the fair.  NOT!  The last day for us is a sweet/sad time.  We're glad we're to the last day - usually tired but so sorry the fair is over.

We get up early - yes - I'm up and out the door before 8am.  We have breakfast on the fairgrounds then we take in the things we haven't seen or want to revisit.  We have until 1pm when we go back to the volunteer office and start "tearing" down the info and getting ready for next year.

So, this morning we had breakfast at Cindy's Place.  It's kind of nice.  The girls come to the tables (only at breakfast) to see what we want.  Sharon had scrambled eggs/toast.  I had French toast and bacon.  Then we caught the tram up the hill.  Stopped in at Pioneer Hall to watch a fiddling group.  Then we started our walk downhill.  Took in part of the civil war reenactment.  At the time we got there, they were talking about the clothing of the time.

It's been awhile since we saw the chain saw carver so we watched him finish up some of the last pieces.  The auction would be that afternoon.

Then we received a request from Connie to see if we could pick up a duffel bag Kevin saw at the fair.  So that meant we needed to go into the Shoppers Mart.  Definitely not a waste of time.  Bought a couple of new pillows - we did need them.  Getting headaches, etc.  Didn't buy any knives this time.

Had dinner at the Pork Producers.  We both had coupons for a free dinner.  Really didn't want them to go to waste, now did we.

Now, it's off to work to finish out this year's fair.  Got home around 9pm.  The next few days would be finishing the scheduling for next year's fair.  Having dinner with Paula and Ernie at their new Event Barn - forgot to take the camera.  It's truly amazing.  August is almost over.

Iowa State Fair - Second Installment

I know for some of you this is old news but continuing our adventures at the Iowa State Fair.

You can't go to the fair without seeing the butter sculptures.  This year is a tribute to the Lincoln Highway.

This last picture is Sara repairing the cow after the damage.

For us the fair wouldn't be complete without visiting the Discovery Gardens

This year inside the Agriculture Building was a sculpture of a buffalo made out of scrap iron found in one of the Iowa rivers (couldn't remember which one).

One evening we went to the six hitch horse show.  It was amazing.  Pictures are a little blurry.  Sorry

In the atrium of the Cultural Center was a balloon artist.  The ferris wheel actually turned.

Next installment will be the last day of the fair.

Update #2 - Iowa State Fair

Fair arrived on Thursday, and we were there about 8am.  That is correct, I did drink some coffee on the way in.  We like having breakfast on the first day at Campbell's before checking out the fairgrounds.  Then we ride the trams around a couple of times, to check out the various food stands.

Then we stop in and visit the friends we have made at the Varied Industries Building.  We share info about what vendors have returned, the new foods, etc.  Of course, while we were there I had to see Floppy.

Then we checked out the Legos exhibit in the south atrium.

We love people watching on the streets of the fair.

This year we watched the ice carver.  Here's a couple of pictures.  I won't show all of them since I have them step by step all the way.  :)

We had to be to work at 4pm.  So that took care of the first day.  More later.

Update #1

Can't believe it's been this long since I updated.  Where has the summer gone?  I'll try and remember the summer happenings.  I know if I updated as I went but then .......

On August 1 we headed up to Iowa.  This was our 14th year volunteering at the Iowa State Fair.  We had a tire blowout on the camper near Osceola, IA.  Yes, again.  We thought we had all new tires on.  We replaced the wrong tire before heading out.  So the spare was the new tire.  Now, we have a new spare tire.

Before the fair started, we help out at the volunteer office helping to finish up the last few details of the program before the fair starts.  There is a training session and a potluck on the Monday before the fair.  We also get a tour of the fairgrounds with a fair board member as our tour guide.  Provides us with more information to help us with new items or changed items.


We ride in the fair trams.

The food is always delicious.  The fair provides the meat and drink: chicken catered from Hy-Vee and water, lemonade and ice tea.

Since retirement, Sharon and I have ridden in the state fair parade on the Wednesday before the fair starts.  We meet at the volunteer office and take the trams over to the parade route.  We're at the beginning of the fair so we get to park at the base of the Capital.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we also blew a front tire on the truck on our way back from the fairgrounds one day.   Let's just say that this was a much more expensive trip then we had planned on.  We have new tires on the truck and a couple of new ones on the camper.

Next update, I'll talk about the fair.  We had a really good time. 

Fourth of July

Well, have a couple of hours this afternoon while Sharon watches the Cubs and before the employee barbecue so thought I'd write a few words.

The summer is going fairly well.  Sharon's having foot and leg issues.  She has plantar fasciitis.  So after standing for awhile her foot aches and her legs swell some.  The doctor won't prescribe anything for it because of her other meds.  He just said learn to live with the pain.  Yep!  That's what he said.  We're only going to work 4 days a week now.  That's helping a lot.  So things should improve somewhat before the fair starts.

We'll be heading up to Iowa on August 1st and staying at the KOA in Adel.  Looking forward to seeing our fair friends again. 

Last week my sisters came for a short visit.  We put a lot into Wednesday and sort of wore them both out.  So we stayed inside the cabin on Thursday and played games.  We took a small drive around town and stopped at the national cemetery.  We had visited Wilson's Creek battlefield the day before.

We're standing in front of a flag found on the battlefield right after the battle.  Pam is on the far left.  She was doing fairly well.  Lost most of her hair after the first chemo treatment but looks good in the turbans and hats.  She's so coordinated.  Marcia's in the middle.  She got her brace and new shoes for her feet.  Marcia has Type II Diabetes and has been diagnosed with neuropathy.  She's now seeing a specialist that specializes in saving feet and legs due to diabetes.

It may sound depressing but everyone is doing well and we sure do have a great time when we get together.

At the cemetery we found a section of soldiers from Iowa.  We learned that after this battle, Iowa's governor mandated that a regimental unit couldn't be named the "first" due to the fighting of this infantry group.  Visiting this national cemetery was very moving.  It's the only cemetery that has both union and confederate soldiers buried.  They were brought here after the battle.

We've decorated the office for the fourth.  Took some pictures of Scott & Diane and a couple of the newer workcampers out front underneath our award sign.

At the beginning of June, Scott & Diane took the employees and families to a Springfield Cardinals baseball game.  It was a very cool evening.  You guessed it, Sharon wore a sweatshirt and was still cold.  They lost.  But we all had a good time.

This week the weather has been beautiful.  A few times we were able to sit outside reading in our recliner lawn chairs and enjoying the scenery.

We went shoe shopping at the mall yesterday.  Believe it or not, I didn't buy any shoes.  Guess just didn't find anything I wanted.  Sharon found a couple of pairs, though.  Nice support shoes without having psychedelic colors.  That was the hardest part, finding plain colored shoes. 

Over the next couple of weeks, we're hoping to get the cupboards cleaned out with our extra day off.  Think it will happen.  Maybe.  We'll see.