It was one of those nights when I couldn't sleep, so was sitting in my recliner reading when out of nowhere the wind began to howl. It was as if someone flipped the switch on a huge fan. I kept waiting for warning sirens to begin blaring, or the phone to come to live with weather warnings, but there was nothing. I put on the porch light and peeked outside just in time to see the cat tunnel and tent go flying into my garden.
Then there was a snapping noise and I braced myself for whatever tree broke off to come crashing through the roof, but there was nothing after that. So I did what anyone in an RV would do. I went back to bed, ready to be transported to the Land of Oz.
You can see the top of the tree in the back of the photo. Thankfully it didn't come down on anything or anyone. Long Live the Windy Queen
It's not often that Marti and I get to meet up, but when we do we take advantage of it. She and her husband had rented the cutest little cottage for the month of July, and since I had to go back to the area for a doctor appointment it provided me with a place to crash for the night. Here's my bedroom...I fell in love with it instantly.
The weather was nice, so we spent some time sitting in the "outdoor kitchen", which is a covered porch decorated with this great old cast iron stove and all sorts of things from the past.
They also had a little sun room to enjoy.
The entire place was tastefully decorated with items from the past and lots of books antique cameras.
After I left her house in the morning I did some wandering before I went home. After a shopping trip in Woodman's for some gluten free items I went to Barnes & Noble. Here I found the next version of "How Can That Be Gluten Free", so naturally I bought it. It also gave me a chance to visit Jonathan, a friend of mine that does a lot of theater work. After glancing at the book for a bit I realized I needed to purchase some "teff" flour, so went over to Festival Foods to pick up that. Now I'm ready to move on. I made a brief stop in Winona to meet up with my pickleball group who was celebrating Bill's 75th birthday. He said he wanted a six pack for his birthday, and since he is known for always having a banana with him, he was presented with a six pack...of bananas. I was trying to wrestle one away from him when they snapped this photo.
And then there was one last stop in Lake City on the way back to the campground when my eyes spotted a sign that proclaimed "FABRIC". I wandered about the quilt shop for a bit and picked up a couple of things that struck my fancy and then I really did have to boogie as I promised Left Brain I'd be home for supper. Long Live the Wandering Queen
Since I'm making the most of this 65th birthday, we got tickets for the family to attend The Lion King on Sunday. That's one of the best parts of living in the cities...the entertainment is incredible. Here's a clip from the ad running on TV for this production:
Oh it's good to be old. Long Live the Queen of the Lions
Ok, I am truly in my element now. I found a garden center that sells field stone for $18 a tubful, and it's a large tub.
My first visit I thought I had plenty, but after lugging them home and putting them in place it was obvious I needed another batch.
It's a good thing my shoulder has healed because first you place the rocks into the bin for measuring the quantity. Then you pull them out and place in the back of the car. Once home it's hauling them out of the trunk into a pile to be washed. Then it's one more move to put them into their new homes. Since rocks look really weird if they are just sitting on the ground, you need to dig a small depression to settle them in and then back fill the area with dirt. I'd normally say soil, but this stuff is purely dirt. My little garden is really looking established now with a meandering line of rocks at the edge. The most fun area is in the full sun, where I piled extra rocks to tuck in some hens and chicks and ajuga. This is the area that had the septic connection, but that site is no longer used, so I wanted to cover up the concrete and pipe and make it blend in with the garden.
One of my favorite flowers is the butterfly weed, and they look the best cascading over some rocks, so now the look is complete.
It's so good to have a garden again. Long Live the Queen of Rocks
I finally had my last physical therapy session and things are going well. I've been playing some heavy duty pickleball without any pain and that's a good thing.
There have been two pickleball clinics that I attended during this therapy with lots of repetitive arm movement and running. I've never worked so hard in my life. But hopefully this will provide me with some much needed skills to further my game. There is a ratings clinic coming up, but we'll be back on the road by then, so I'll have to wait until we reach Arizona to find out what level I'm playing at. Its nice to finally be out of pain, with only some minor tingling in the arm and hands during the night and early morning. I'm working hard to learn to sleep on my back, but after 64 years of sleeping on my stomach, it's hard to change. Long Live the Queen
