When the storm blew through

A few blogs ago I mentioned our annual yard party and the disaster it became. Well, here is the evidence:

The day before, in 97 degree weather, Len and son-in-law Steve erected a large tarp in the side yard under which would sit the picnic tables, people in their own lawn chairs and food line. Many years ago Len found the frame to this old wagon abandoned in a woods. He got it home, build the deck and we have used it as a serving table since. Len build the picnic tables. We kept three and gave one to our daughter in Maryland.

The tarp they hung is very heavy and quite large. Terri and Steve used it last year when they married as their reception shelter. At the yard party, when the winds whipped through, the poles holding up the tarp tumbled and the tarp collapsed on our guests.

Dark clouds rolling in.

The band stage immediately before.

The band stage immediately after.

A close-up of the damage.

Fortunately on one was hurt and no permanent damage done to equipment.

Leonard is back from visiting his Mother in Louisiana. Life back to our current normal. Awaiting word for final parts to arrive at dealer.

Secret lilies

Welcome to theeastsheadwest to Randy and Pam. Thanks for stopping by.


Several years ago my daughter Amy (the archaeologist) was working on a project in West Virginia. They were doing a dig that included ground surrounding abandoned farm houses. In the yard were plants she called Secret Lilies. Amy dug up some roots and brought them home for me.

I had never seem flowers like these before. In the very early Spring, there is a growth of dense long thick foliage. Within weeks the foliage dies and completely disappears. Months later buds appear from the ground and within a day grow about two feet tall topped by these beautiful array of lilies.

Note, the foliage behind these lilies is what is left from a clump is Iris, not from the lilies.

Leonard flew down to Lake Charles, Louisiana yesterday to visit his Mother, who was released from hospital on Wednesday and is settling into a different nursing home. He will fly back to NJ on Monday. He was surprised at the airport by his younger daughter, Cassie, and her 3 children. They plan on spending more time together today. A real treat for him.

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Update on repairs - Leonard called the dealer yesterday. They report the back cap has been received. HOORAY! However, they admitted they FORGOT to order the back inside wall and did not realize it until the cap came in. What the .......

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They ordered the wall and SAY it should be in next week. If that is the case (which we find hard to trust) our repairs could be done the week of August 23 or sooner Okay, we will try to be optimistic. We have but 35 days before we are committed to be in North Carolina. We are praying all repairs will be done by the latest on August 27, giving us two weeks to get were we want to be.

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The timing could work out well as last week Leonard was told the driver expects to be back to work in 4 weeks. That means Len's last day could be August 27 with the driver returning to work on August 30. The deal is that he will work until the repairs are done or the other driver returned to work, whichever is first.

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This job has been a blessing for two reasons. One - if gives us some much needed funds. But the most important benefit - he is not sitting around the rig all day stewing about our situation and driving me nuts.

Storybook Land and other things.

Posing in front of the train......

So much as happened in the last week but first, this is the one good thing. Yesterday we took the girls to Storybook Land which is about 10 miles from Atlantic City. I used to take my own girls there many years ago. My gosh, it has grown but it is still the ideal small park to take toddlers and children up to about 10.

Charlotte loves "equipment" In fact, for her birthday when she turned 4 this past Wednesday, we gave her a bulldozer and front end loader for her sandbox at her house. Of course it is MUCH smaller than this fun one.

Yup, Pop Pop can fit into the spinning cars (barely). You note I am not sitting there.

Flying dragons!

Abby's first Merry-go-round. It was a hit. So much so, we did it twice.

Pop Pop, I'm tall enough if you go with me please........

Okay, Okay. Did this twice too!

Now, I welcome to my RVing blog Randy and Pam and also to Betty who is of the Texas Yellow Rose blog. Glad to see you all here.

Much has happened since I last blogged! NO, we do NOT have our fiver fixed. More on that another day.

Last Sunday we had our annual yard party. Daughter Terri and her husband Steve have taken over this project. Setting up on Saturday was torture. It was 97 with heat index like 110. Sunday, equally hot and humid. I received phone calls all morning from friends and family who just were not up to coming out in the heat. Who can blame them. On the other hand, most of Terri's friends were here. Shows what a different age makes. The band was set up and playing, people were eating and enjoying the music and each others company.

Quickly the skies changed. Just as quickly the winds picked up. The tarp Len and Steve spent a great deal of time erecting on Saturday collapsed on guests. Speakers, etc were quickly covered but the wind was so fierce tarps blew off the bandstand leaving expensive equipment exposed to rains and wind. Heavy speakers were blown off the bandstand and across the yard.

People grabbed what they could and ran to the house. Many people left at that time. Some grabbed food and ate in their cars. So far the band believes most equipment will be okay. Much of it is sitting in our shop this week drying out

I had taken pics of the large tarp being set up. Terri took some of the damage. Once I get them from her I will post. Down the road about 2 miles 8 telephones poles were blown over like dominoes. The weather stations reported that the county was exposed to several small tornado type winds.

On Tuesday Len's mother, who was admitted to a nursing home a month ago, was left sitting on the stool. She tried to lift herself and fell, fracturing her hip. She has not really walked in two years. She was operated on Thursday. Lens sister-in-law and brother are looking for another nursing home. This was her 4th fall in less than a month. Much credit must be given to each of Len's siblings who have been providing for much of her care.

She is being released from the hospital tomorrow. At this point, they don't know where she will be going. She is refusing to eat. The doctor says she is malnourished. She was told if she does not eat, she will die. She is still refusing and is not allowing them to feed her intravenously. Len is flying down to Louisiana on Friday. He is hoping to spend some time with her.

This has been very difficult on Len's siblings. As many of you know, we left NJ in February to fulltime travel. Until we came back in NJ late May to get our fiver repaired, we spent all but 4 weeks assisting in her care. This included Len lifting her many times a day. He was in constant pain. Since returning to NJ he has been seeing a chiropractor twice weekly. He is at last pain free. He knows he is not able to lift and move her as he was doing. This, in itself, pains him.

So many people our age are providing elder care. Some also have responsibility for grandchildren. We all love our parents, children and grandchildren. But each of us must look deep inside ourselves and determine what level of care we are capable of performing. Sometimes we find that at this age, it is more than we are physically equipped to handle. This is a very difficult decision.

Remembering Scotland

Today I welcome Nellie and Jonathan who are also keeping a blog of their RV adventures. Check out their fun blog at http://www.midlifecruiser.blogspot.com/.

Yes, we are still sitting still. Well almost. On Sunday we moved our fiver about 25 feet back off the driveway onto the lawn. For many years Len and I hosted a yard party for our friends and family. Another one will be held this Sunday. Every inch of the driveway will be needed for parking as up to 140 guests attend.

This year daughter Terri and husband Steve are taking over as official hosts. Len and I will assist. As Steve is in a band, live music will be provided. Two years ago when we had our party, he was lead singer in a country band. Our driveway was used for country line dancing. He now plays classic rock. Will there still be dancing as their friends still like the country style.

We are so hoping the weather cools. It is predicted to be 97 on Saturday but DOWN to 90 on Sunday. Fortunately the side yard is shaded with tall, tall oak trees and there is usually a cool breeze.

Update on repairs. I called the dealer last week. Some parts have arrived including the cabinets. However, not the back end that includes the inside wall and the back cap. These are the main items I would think.

I remarked to Len that I am afraid that even after the items arrive at the dealer, they will still take their time getting us scheduled and doing the work. He made a good point. They have to pay for the parts, we have the insurance check. They don't get paid until the work is done.

As we have no pictures of recent travels because we have not recently traveled, I am attaching a few from our trip to Scotland back in September 2008. The trip was lovely but our timing was horrendous. There we sat listening to how our investments were tanking due to the financial crisis throughout the world and especially in the USA. OUCH!

I sure wish I could remember the names of these places. Perhaps a reader can help? This ancient castle sits on a cliff looking over the North Sea.



Another castle ruin.

We toured the inside of this castle. If I remember right, it is a relatively new structure built in the 1800's.

A quaint fishing village.

Standing along the shores of Loch Ness.

So much to see in this world. We have been to parts of eastern Canada, a short distance into Mexico, toured around Scotland and Ireland. We have seen many sites in this country but have only scratched the extreme surface. I have a bad case of the hitch-itch. Raring to go!!!!!

STILL sitting STILL

Oh yea, we are still in NJ waiting and waiting and waiting. We were assured our repair parts were ordered on July 2. Well how about that! We took the rig to the dealer on May 24.

We are told it takes 3-4 weeks for them to arrive. If their service so far is any indication of how long it will take for them to repair our fiver, we will not be happy uncampers. Except - they will be hearing from us daily. We will make such nuisances of ourselves one would think the work would be done ASAP just to get us out of their face.

We are scheduled for a NOMADS project in September in North Carolina. We would like to spend some time traveling before that commitment.

What have we been doing during that wait? Len is still working the temp job. This is a blessing. He would be unbearable to be around if he had to sit around the rig all day.

Last weekend we went to Maryland, got the granddaughters for the weekend. Amy and Scott were sanding floors and needed the girls away from the house. Okay with us. We really wanted to take the girls on Saturday to Storybook Land which is a nice smaller amusement park down near Atlantic City. The only day we have had rain for weeks was all day Saturday. We will keep a check on weather predictions and make plans to get them again before we leave.

This is Abby. Abby always (well usually) has a smile of her face.

Abby would wrestle with this bear. Sometimes the bear would win, sometimes Abby.

Charlotte spent time with cousin Justin sharing Popsicles and playing with Play Doh.

Got some satisfaction....

In the spirit of RVing AND the 4th of July I am posting this picture that was taken back in April at the Escapees Park in Livingston, Tx.

So today I talked to the salesperson at the Montana dealership. His last name is the same as the name of the dealership. That might help.

I explained what we have been going through. He checked on things and told me our order has been placed. He indicated that it would take a minimum of 3 weeks for Keystone to fabricate a new back cap and make the cabinets. I told him I expected that but I did not expect for it to take 38 days for the order to be placed.

He gave me his apology and said he will keep on top of the status. I told him we expected to travel this summer but due to the delay of ordering the parts, most of our plans have been put on hold. He asked that I call him if we have more concerns. He can put money of that!

To each of our friends who visit us here, have a great 4th. And welcome to Rick and Paulette who have joined our group of followers.

It's a Zoo

Granddaughter Charlotte is visiting with us for 5 days. The first two days were extremely hot so we did not do much. But yesterday the temps were in the 80's and the day was beautiful.

Our town of Bridgeton, NJ has a very small zoo. The admission is free but donations are gladly accepted. This zoo has mostly small animals such as Lemurs, fox, and various birds. They do have a few large animals, the most popular are the white tigers, a Bengal tiger and black bear.

Here is Charlotte with one of the many peacocks.

No real elephants, but she liked posing with this metal one.

A couple of the cute little wallabies.

At the water wheel entrance.

We still have no word of when we might expect the parts to arrive at the dealer from Indiana. We are looking at being here for a length of time. Not how we wanted to spend this our first summer on the road.