ALAN, EDDIE, & JOEY

MY GRANDSONS WERE HERE FOR THE WEEK-END.  NOW THERE ISN’T MUCH FOR THIS AGE GROUP IN A 55+ RV PARK

BUT, HERE THEY ARE PLAYING WITH MY PILE OF BRICKS.  THIS PILE IS EDDIE’S WOOD CARVING SHOP.

I WAS CAREFUL TO RAKE THE FALL LEAVES ON TO THE PATIO BEFORE THEY ARRIVED SO THAT THERE WOULD BE A PILE OF LEAVES TO PLAY IN.

WE HAD A GREAT FALL CAMPOUT. THE PARK IS ABOUT EMPTY SO I CALLED AND TOLD THEM TO BRING BIKES AND SCOOTERS TO TERRORIZE THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THE WEATHER WAS WARM ENOUGH TO WEAR SHORTS IN THE AFTERNOON.

WE ONLY HAD A COUPLE OF PROJECTS ON THE AGENDA. THE FIRST WAS TO MOVE THE OUTDOOR CAT CAGE.

THE BOYS TOOK TURNS POUNDING THE ANCHORS BACK IN.

NOW IT’S IN THE RIGHT POSITION TO ATTACH TO THE PORCH NEXT SUMMER.

FALL COLORS

FALL COLORS? ONE OF OUR MAJOR OBJECTIVES IS TO STAY IN “SUNNY & 80” WEATHER, SO WHY IN HELL ARE WE ON “THE MOUNTAIN” IN LATE OCTOBER DOING A BLOG ABOUT FALL COLORS?  ESPECIALLY WHEN OCTOBER IS ONE OF THE TWO PRIME MONTHS ON THE LOWER MOHAVE DESERT FOR “SUNNY & 80”.

A COUPLE OF REASONS: FIRST, THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS TO BE HERE THE SECOND WEEK-END OF OCTOBER WHEN AMY AND THE BOYS HAD A COUPLE OF EXTRA DAYS OFF FOR COLUMBUS DAY AND A TEACHERS DAY.  MARY AND I WERE NOT ABLE TO TAKE THE WEEK OFF BECAUSE THERE WERE TOO MANY DEALERS ON VACATION ALREADY, SO WE SCHEDULED THE TIME OFF AS SOON AS WE COULD, AND ENDED UP WITH THE END OF OCTOBER.  THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT DANIEL, AMY, AND THE BOYS ARE JOINING US FOR THE WEEKEND!!!

THE FOUR YEAR ALBUQUERQUE ASSIGNMENT  FOR DANIEL IS QUICKLY COMING TO A CLOSE, AND THE NEXT DUTY STATION IS DAYTON, OHIO.  BEING AN EIGHT HOUR DRIVE FROM THEM, ALLOWED US TO SEE THE BOYS TWO OR THREE TIMES A YEAR.  WE’RE REALLY GOING TO MISS THAT, SO A FALL CAMPING TRIP ON “THE MOUNTAIN” AND SPRING BREAK IN APRIL ARE MIGHTY IMPORTANT TO US.

THE SECOND REASON, IS WE NEED TO WINTERIZE THE TRAILER, WHICH AMOUNTS TO CALLING THE PLUMBER, PUTTING AWAY THE LAWN FURNITURE, AND REMOVING ANYTHING THAT CAN FREEZE.  ACTUALLY WE HAD PHONED A NEIGHBOR BEHIND US IN EARLY OCTOBER TO CHECK ON THE WEATHER, AND THEY REPORTED ALL WAS WELL.  LAST WEEK ONE DAY THEY CALLED US BACK TO SAY HARD FREEZE WARNINGS AND SOME SNOW WAS IN THE FORCAST FOR THURSDAY.  WAS THERE ANYTHING THEY COULD DO FOR US? HELL YES, THE KEY IS HIDDEN UNDER THE ROCK, AND GO INSIDE AND TURN ON THE FURNACE AND CRACK THE KITCHEN FAUCET SO IT DRIPS AND THE WATER WON’T FREEZE UP, AND THANKS FOR CALLING.

THERE ARE NO FALL COLOR PICTURES TO COMPARE TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BUFFS OF MARQUETTE OR MARI-LEE WOODS SOUTH OF FRANKVILLE, SO DON’T LAUGH AT MY PICTURES.

EVEN THE RED MAPLE IS PART OF THE LANDSCAPING AT THE HOSPITAL AND NOT NATURAL.  THE ONLY FALL COLOR IN THE WEST IS YELLOW FROM THE ASPEN TREES.

Some Assembly Required

By Uncle Hans

The damned kids have hit my mailbox again!  That's  the fourth time in 18 years.  When this was a problem at my house on Spooner Lake, I built a box out of steel square pipe and that solved the problem.  I should have moved the box with me.  I think the weapon of choice is a baseball bat, while leaning out the passenger window.  This nice $30 plastic box did not stand a chance....

 

.....so now it is off to the machine shop to buy materials for a new "vandal-resistant" box.....

  ......so far, I have $40 invested in the aluminum flat and angle stock ($40 is the minimum at the machine shop, these are probably $10 worth of scrap parts in reality)  Add a $30 trip to the hardware store for nuts bolts, magnet latch, numbers, and I am ready to start building.....

......then, I burn up my old drill by working it to death.     A heart attack, I think.   Add $42.95 for a new drill.  I also broke two drill bits.  This aluminum is harder than I though, tough enough for a baseball bat, I'll bet!!.....

......Add the numbers and we are ready to mount the thing.  Now bring on the little vandals!  This happened between 0700 and 1000, as I left for work early and returned to find the pieces strewn across the driveway.  I called the cops as usual and they made a full report as usual, but justice will never be served.

    But when I did this 25 years ago in steel, they hit me one more time.  The box was unscratched, but the mounting post was loosened and had to be reset.  The bat did no damage (probably hurt the kid more than the box!), so they resorted to bashing it with the from of their vehicle.

      But I took IMMENSE PLEASURE in finding some plastic grill parts in the dirt at the base of the mounting post.......

By Uncle Hans

Dog Daze Of Fall

By Uncle Hans

One recent morning we crossed off the last day on the calendar, so that meant the big day was here.  We had been looking for a dog for a while on the internet and found one not too far away.  He was born August 18,  but the breeder would not release him for 8 weeks. 

But that day was today!  And a beautiful sunrise promised a great day......

.....a three and one half hour drive brought us to the breeder's house and she met us at the door with our little"bundle of joy".  There were a few tears and lots of cuddles....

.....his name is Charles le Chein (Charles the dog in French) after Charles Steinbeck's famous dog from his book "Travels With Charley".   He is an apricot Standard Poodle, likely to get to about 75lbs...

.......the breeder is interesting.  They are a couple that adopts children that "don't fit in well"  with social problems.  Years ago, one of the kids had a therapist that used a therapy dog, a Standard Poodle.  They were so impressed with the effectiveness of the dog that they decided to start breeding, figuring they could make some money AND do therapy for the kids at the same time. Now, every kid has a dog (or two).

The house is a disaster area, with 8 loveable but unruly kids and an average of 15-20 poodles of all ages, all running free.  The ominous looking grey poodle in these blurry  (everything in that house was a blur) pictures, is, you guessed it, the Mom.  She was a first-time Mom, but very mellow and being separated from her pups was causing her no apparent anxiety.  Incidentally, she had 10 puppies, and the gross from the litter was over $10,000.  The breeder  has another litter out of the red dog due any day.......

......the ride home was long, with some potty stops, but Charley took it all in stride.  He has his Mom's mellow personality (we hope).......

...... the first night was OK.  First nights are usually NOT OK.  He took possession of his new bed right away.  we set him up barricaded in the master bathroom, as it has a tile floor for "accidents".  That went pretty well during the day, but being barricaded and alone only a few feet from the only beings he even knew a little did not work out. Of course, he ended up in bed with us.

       A stroke of genius hit me about midnight.  I moved his bed to two chairs off the end of our bed and he spent the rest of the night either in his bed (80%) or snuggling with us (20%).  And no more crying, of course, once her was near his new "peeps"

    I am sure this is not his last blog........

By Uncle Hans

The End Of The Ski Season

By Uncle Hans

Here is the problem.  This is my neighbor, Danny.  He is an excellent skier\, as you can see.  What does not show in the picture is that he got up on two skis and dropped one.  That is very embarrassing for an excellent skier.  The problem is not Danny, who is "strong like bull", but, rather, the motor on the boat is too weak to pull him up effectively.

........this motor is an 85hp, 20+ years old and underperforming.  It's a long story, but my trusty old 90hp died of oil injection pump failure.  The long-sought-after replacement was a marvelous 115hp which promptly died of a water pump failure.  The 85 is the longer-sought-after replacement for the 115, but it is old and tired and not strong enough to pull up Danny on one ski................

    What to do?

  .....Well, I watched this ugly old boat sit on the side of the road for sale all summer for $1,000.  Then in mid-August, I made my move, buying it for $800.  Why would I want an ugly old boat that no one else wanted?......

......because it has a 100hp motor on the back!  Danny made the switch, no easy task and we put the old ugly boat with my old ugly 85 back out on the road and it sold in a week.

for $800

Go figure....

....It pulled Danny up like a charm.  I was so enthused that I went myself, .........wobbling and shaking and on two skis, like always.   I pulled the boat, took it to the dealer for a tune-up and winterizing, and put it away for the long winter. 

    The spring of '14 promises to be a thing of wonder. 

     We may even get Rex up on skis!!

By Uncle Hans

NO INTERNET

WE WON’T HAVE ANY INTERNET SERVICE FOR THE NEXT 10 DAYS, BECAUSE WE ARE RETURNING TO “THE MOUNTAIN” TO CLOSE DOWN THE PARK MODEL.  I’LL TAKE SOME PICTURES AND GET YOU ALL CAUGHT UP WHEN WE GET BACK TO THE LOWER DESERT.

CLOSING DOWN THE TRAILER SOUNDS LIKE WORK, BUT ACTUALLY I CALL THE LOCAL PLUMBER AND LEAVE HIM A CHECK WHEN I LEAVE FOR THE LAST TIME AND HE COMES AND BLOWS OUT ALL THE LINES, ETC.  ALL WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO IS REMOVE THE BATTERIES FROM EVERYTHING AND HAUL HOME ANYTHING THAT WILL FREEZE.

SO WHY DOES IT TAKE 10 DAYS TO SHUT IT DOWN? WHY NOT?   FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO SEE?

SO I’M TURNING THE BLOG OVER TO UNCLE HANS THIS WEEK. IT SHOULD BE DOG-GONE FUNNY TO SEE WHAT’S UP IN SPOONER………

GREEN EGGS AND HAM

UNCLE HANS AND AUNT HELEN

HERE ARE TWO PEOPLE YOU HARDLY EVER SEE IN THE SAME PICTURE UNLESS IT’S A FUNERAL OR CHEESEDAYS. UNCLE HANS AND AUNT HELEN AT CABLE LAKE.

 

  “WEEK #28”

CARPET CLEANING

THE HORN OF PLENTY

CHECK THIS OUT. I BET YOU DIDN’T THINK WE COULD GROW THIS SIZE STUFF ON THE DESERT DID YOU?

 

YOU’RE RIGHT WE CAN’T!!!  ALL THREE PIECES WERE GIVEN TO US FROM FRIENDS THAT BROUGHT THESE HOME TO THE DESERT FROM WISCONSIN.

OF COURSE WHEN I GOT THE CAMERA OUT “AZ” HAS TO JUMP IN FRONT JUST LIKE A THREE YEAR OLD TO HAVE HIS PICTURE TAKEN……

A BIG DAY ON THE DESERT AS WE FINALLY REMOVED THE THE BEDROOM A/C FOR THE SEASON AND STORED IT IN THE SHED.

  “SUNNY & 80”

FOAM ROOF

ONE OF THE PROJECTS ON “THE MOUNTAIN” PARK MODEL IS A NEW ROOF.  IN AUGUST WHILE WE THERE WE HIRED A COMPANY TO PUT  A NEW FOAM ROOF ON THE WHOLE THING INCLUDING THE METAL ROOF ABOVE THE PORCH. WE DIDN’T CARE WHEN THE WORK WAS DONE AS LONG AS IT WAS COMPLETED BY THE END OF THIS SEASON.

THE FOAM ROOF IS APPLIED RIGHT OVER THE EXSISTING SHINGLES.

 

THE FOAM ADDS SOME INSULATION, KEEPING THE TRAILER COOLER IN THE SUMMER, INCLUDING THE PORCH THAT GETS A LITTLE WARM IN THE AFTERNOON.

 

AFTER THE FOAM IS APPLIED A WHITE SEALER IS APPLIED TO FRUTHER RESIST THE HEAT OF THE SUN.

 

MAINTAINANCE IS REQUIRED EVERY FIVE YEARS AND NEW COAT OF SEALER IS APPLIED.

 

WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR A FALL TRIP TO “THE MOUNTAIN” LATER THIS MONTH TO CHECK OUT THE WORK AND CLOSE DOWN THE PLACE FOR THE WINTER.

  “WEEK #29”