Awake: 5:40am Temp 46 sleep 6+11 sunny overnight @ Nicktown.
K & I attend 8:00 am Mass, then join the K.K. members for an hr. Hot topic today: none; too many subjects of similar interest to fairly judge.
Kathy doesn’t care to join me for lunch with the Rotary group today (I told her we won’t be cleaning highways) & she missed not only a splendid meal but also a good meeting.
Our lunch consisted of: meatloaf, mashed potatoes & gravy, red bean soup, buns & cake.
After returning to the bus, K & I walk over & briefly visit our neighbors: Chuck & Shirley. We observed that Chuck was limping & in answer to our inquiry he filled us in on his injury. Yesterday, while maneuvering a 325 gal water tank (mostly empty, but still heavy) from his truck it lurched forward, falling off the truck & onto his leg. A visit to the ER, several x-rays, & (3) stitches later he is now healing.
The other day I watched Chuck slowly climbing the outside stairs & using (2) fly swatters, one in each hand. Since they have been so nice to us all these yrs, we decided to give him an electric hand held “Bug Zapper.” I doubt if he’ll be killing (7) in one blow, but I just bet he’ll enjoy seeing them burn in hell. Wouldn’t you know it; Shirley has to get one up on us by giving us a loaf of her homemade bread, which by the way, is top dough.
The Foote gang, minus Kevin, arrive @ 2:20 with big smiles. Although we are now, more or less….baby proofed, the boys still need some casual monitoring; i.e. we were outside enjoying the warm temperature, walking the field & tramping through the forest a little when Andrew insisted he was cold. Kathy said to him: “I don’t think you’re cold. Gramma usually gets cold first & she’s not cold.” But he ignored that comment & slowly but carefully headed toward the motorhome. I suspected no one was paying attention as he climbed up the stairs, took off his shoes (an honorable act indeed) & disappeared from view.
Since I am a little more tuned in to the abundant buttons, switches, & levers, that when pushed, pulled, turned, etc could cause trouble or damage to him or our home on wheels, I quietly snuck over & inside to see what was happening. Here the little rascal had taken the foot stool down from the couch in the bedroom, was trying to upright it so he could climb high enough to push buttons for lots of lights + open & close the pocket door. He watched with interest when his big brother Matthew did it & now, he knows. He was so cute as he looked @ me with those BIG innocent eyes. A few minutes later, he was happily tramping thru the nearby forest with the rest of us & the door was definitely closed on our M. H. Anyway, we enjoy them immensely & look forward to their next visit with other ideas to keep them happy, safe, & occupied.
When the Footes arrived, they brought the package that Matthew called & told me about. I waited until the coast was clear & then, with a huge smile, opened this treasure package to find out it’s exactly what I was hoping for: more Nescafe Excella Coffee from Japan. This shipment should hold me for the rest of the year. A BIG “THANKS" goes to YOU ERIKO. Next time in Seattle, I’ll try & get another one of your speakers working.
More excitement: looking out our living room window to the southwest, I spot a large cat with a rather long tail; my Leica binoculars beg to differ. It is a groundhog; last Thursday we covered this animal thoroughly on Hot Topics. What can I do?….call the nearest big game hunter…..Al, I say to myself.
Within (30) min we hear a nearby rifle shot; outside, I see Al dressed like a hunter should be; his tripod retracted, rifle with large scope @ his side, Sherlock Holmes pipe smoldering & a big grin expression. Al tells me: “I got him right between the bark.” He shot one of my tree stumps swearing that it looked like a groundhog. As we are talking, we both could see the animal weaving thru the trees making his escape; too late for Al to expand the tripod to get a steady shot.
Living in the suburbs of Nicktown can be scary but also fascinating.
Dinner: Tuna noodle stoup & 4-bean salad.
After dinner, Ray & I Skype for a good (20) min with a wonderful signal.
Later, we Skype with Nick & family; the signals were not good but I did manage to get my BIG “THANK YOU, ERIKO” message out.
Start DVD movie: “Indiscreet.” This movie was slow starting; Kathy was much faster stopping. To be continued.
High temp=72 Lights out: 11:41pm
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