Pumpkin Carving

By Uncle Hans

We had our annual Pumpkin carving/Salsa party the other night. ..............

 

..............once the pumpkins were cleaned out and ready to carve, we took a break for spaghetti.........

.....we ran short of time (one of us has an early bedtime as she has to go to first grade school in the morning), so we started with the salsa as the carving was going on............

....we made three batches. One for Jake (extra jalapenos), one for Renee and I, and one for Hannah (she puts corn and black beans in hers)........

.............we roasted up some seeds, mmmmmmmmmmm good!.............

...........Renee found an idea for a "pumpkin in a pumpkin" in a magazine so our jack-o-lantern has a poor little guy in prison..........

...........The others looked pretty good, too. Jake is the artist for one, Hannah for one and Annie and Laurel for the painted one........

......the usual "ooh. aah" picture. (oh! the memories of that first Blatz Pumpkin in Milwaukee!!).......

.....a picture is worth a thousand words.

(We are very short of little people, so 5 adults had a lot of fun and we used Annie as an excuse................)

Happy Halloween !!!

By Uncle Hans

TO DO LIST

WITH THE FALL WEATHER AND COOLER TEMPERATURES COMES THE FALL “TO DO LIST”. THE FALL LIST GETS CRAZY LONG BECAUSE IT’S JUST TOO HOT IN THE SUMMER TO DO ANYTHING. THE SPRING LIST IS TO WAX THE CAR AND PICK-UP, SIMPLE.

MARY STARTED OUT WORKING ON HER ZEN GARDEN, WHICH MARTY AND HER BUILT LAST SPRING BEFORE IT GOT HOT.

SHE’S WORKING ON GETTING IT ALL PAINTED, AND DECIDED ON BLUE AS AN ACCENT COLOR.  I’LL GET SOME PICTURES WHEN SHE’S ALL DONE.

I STARTED OUT WITH THE ANNUAL WASHING AND WAXING OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE TRAILER.

 

THE LIST WILL KEEP US BUSY FOR MANY DAYS OFF TO COME.

   “SUNNY & 80”

Seattle

By Uncle Hans

We got bit by the "wanderbug" again and got out the Love Shack for a weekend trip to Seattle. The first stop was an unsuspecting motel. If you look closely, I am stealing water from their outside spigot because I forgot to top off the water tank before we left...........

............we drove straight through, leaving at 0500 Thursday morning and arriving 0830 in Seattle at Renee's sister's. The only stop (other than gas and stealing water) was in Melrose to have breakfast with Dick and Rosie. If you add together all the time travelling to the airport, parking, security, waiting for the plane, flight, flight delay, waiting for a rental car, driving to the sister's, etc, just plain driving there does not take much longer. You can figure a day lost either way, and the sights are more interesting on the ground than at 35,000 feet.......

.....we took the kids, they live on the shelf above the refrigerator. They are very entertaining and make the miles go by quicker. A little un-nerving, though, to have something land on your shoulder at 70 mph.........

...........Renee likes to crochet to make the time go by, she makes dish cloths...........

.........we found a part of North Dakota that was pretty. We also crossed over the northern part of the new Frac oil fields. Lots of activity there and new roads everywhere.......

.......we were headed into the Rockies by the first sundown..........

......waiting in Seattle (actually Puywallup) were sister Laura and her daughter Brooke. Tinker liked them both.

Brooke offered Renee a manicure while they visited..............

...............after two fun-filled days we set out for home. The mountains made the Love Shack work really hard. Our pass on interstate 90 is 6300 ft high. We noticed a burning smell, more and more, but assumed it was the brakes or the transmission. Then Renee was looking through some things on the floor for her boots, when she found a patch of melting carpeting! Turns out there was a hole in the muffler, right below the floor, and the hot exhaust was melting the carpet through the floor!. We had no fire, but the acrid smell got pretty bad. Renee trimmed away all the melted stuff and the smell went away. A new muffler is scheduled for next week.....

...............The 1750 mile trip took two days on the way home, we camped out in a rest area in Montana somewhere. One sign we were happy to see..........

..............next trip? Who knows. Talking about Texas in March. The kids love Texas!.........

By Uncle Hans

OH HAPPY DAYS

TODAY WAS THE DAY, I FINALLY TOOK OUT THE BEDROOM AIR CONDITIONER AND PUT IT IN THE SHED FOR ANOTHER SEASON.

I’M TELLING YA, OF THE FOUR SUMMERS THAT WE’VE SPENT ON THE LOWER MOHAVE DESERT, THIS LAST ONE WAS THE WORST!  IT STARTED EARLY, IN MAY, AND THE HEAT JUST WOULDN’T LET UP. HERE IT IS THE END OF OCTOBER AND WE’RE FINALLY LOOKING AT “SUNNY & 80”.

MAIL CALL

I FINALLY RECEIVED MY LIC. PLATE FOR THE SCOOTER.  LOOK OUT MOHAVE VALLEY HERE I COME!

THE FIRST TRIP WAS TO SMITH’S GROCERY STORE WHERE I DO MY BANKING.  I TOOK THE BACK STREETS ALL THE WAY AND STAYED OFF HWY 95.

THE SECOND TRIP WAS TO FOLLOW A BLACKTOP ROAD THAT WENT ON FOREVER, WITH NO SUNDAY TRAFFIC, AND ENDED UP AT A LAND FILL. 

THE THIRD TRIP, I WAS GOING TO ACT LIKE A REAL BIKER AND HEAD UP TO OATMAN FOR A BEER.  I GOT ABOUT HALF WAY UP THE MOUNTAIN AND REALIZED WITH ALL THIS PRACTICE AND FOOLING AROUND THAT I WAS ABOUT OUT OF GAS. I DID A U-TURN AND HEADED BACK TO TOWN FOR A GAS STATION. 

NOW I’M SMILING, ONLY 1.2 GALLONS TO TOP OFF THE TANK.  THE TANKS HOLDS 1.6 GALLONS, I LEARNED THAT WHEN THE GAS GUAGE GETS TO EMPTY THAT I HAVE ABOUT 35 MILES LEFT. THE REALLY GOOD NEWS IS THAT I GOT 95 MILES TO A GALLON!!!

I THINK THE NEW HONDA SCOOTER AND I ARE GOING TO GET ALONG JUST FINE, AND WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE MY NEW “DON’T RUN-OVER MY ASS” YELLOW RIDING JACKET.

   “SUNNY & 98”

CUB SCOUT COOKING

WHILE WE VISITING IN ALBUQUERQUE, EDDIE AND ALAN WERE WORKING ON THEIR COOKING REQUIRMENTS FOR CUB SCOUTS.

ALAN DID INDIVIDUAL PIZZAS ON THE BBQ GRILL ON SUNDAY NIGHT, AND EDDIE SPENT ALL DAY SATURDAY SMOKING CHICKEN FOR GRANDPA REX.

THANKS BOYS !!! SMOKED SAUCER CHICKEN IS MY FAVORITE, AND PIZZA ON THE GRILL IS MARY’S FAVORITE.

ALBUQUERQUE BALLOONS

THE ALBUQUERQUE BALLOON FIESTA IS HELD EACH YEAR IN OCTOBER.  WE STAYED WITH THE SAUCER’S AND AMY AND DANIEL HAD US UP AT 4 AM TO GO ACROSS THE VALLEY TO THE FIESTA GROUNDS. IT’S 5 AM, STILL DARK OUT, AND THE PLACE LOOKS LIKE 5PM AT THE STATE FAIR.

THE LOCAL TV STATION HAS A SET, AND THE NEWS ANCHORS ARE WORKING LIVE.  DANIEL LEADS US RIGHT DOWN INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD WHERE THE BALLOONIST ARE ARRIVEING AND UNLOADING THEIR EQUIPMENT.

NEXT THING YOU KNOW, WE’RE HAVING COFFEE AND DOUNUTS ON A BLANKET IN THE GRASS.  IN THE DARK SEVERAL BALLOONS TAKE SHAPE AND LIFT OFF ABOUT 6:15 AM.

 

WHEN THEY HIT THOSE BURNERS THE BALLOONS GLOW IN THE DARK, LIKE THE YELLOW ONE IN THE PICTURE ABOVE.

THIS IS THE DAWN PATROL, AND IT SIGNALS THE BEGINNING OF THE “MASS ASCENTION”.

DANIEL HAS PLACED US RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF ABOUT 500 HOT AIR BALLOONS, PREPARING AND TAKING FLIGHT.

UNBELIEVABLE, NOT SOME SPECATOR SECTION ON THE SIDE LINES, BUT RIGHT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL.

 

  “UP, UP, AND AWAY, IN MY BEAUTIFUL BALLOON”. YUP, IT WAS THE 1960’S AND THE 5TH DIMENTION.  THAT SONG WAS RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD ALL MORNING.

 

IT ALL STARTS WITH UNLOADING THE BASKET (GONDULA) AND UNROLLING THE BALLOON.

THEN THEY HOLD OPEN THE BOTTOM, AND USE A GAS POWERED FAN TO BLOW AIR INTO THE BALLOON.

 

SOMETIMES IT TAKES A LAST MINUTE ADJUST OF THE BALLOON.  THERE IS ALSO A CREW PERSON HOLDING ON TO THE TOP OF THE BALLOON WITH A LONG ROPE.

 

ONCE THE BALLOON IS FULL OF AIR, THEY POUR ON THE HEAT AND THEY ARE READY TO FLY!

 

OUR THANKS TO AMY AND DAN FOR GETTING US AROUND THE BALLOON FIESTA WITH EASE.

 

IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEE MORE BALLOON PICTURES, CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE AMY’S PICTURES.