Now We're Cooking!

 While at Target picking up stuff that we needed for the RV, I came across a sale on all the grilling stuff.  We haven't grilled for years and suddenly I had a desire for grilled food, so I picked up a small gas grill and a bunch of accessories and a storage box to put them in.

When I got home I rearranged the outdoor seating to make space for a table to set it on and went to work assembling the grill.  I have no idea how to do this, but I'm sure Left Brain will be able to adapt from charcoal to gas once it's set up.

I put up the ivy behind the benches and installed the white wooden door and rack to make the entry way a little more attractive.  It's always fun to dig out my pretties and set them around the yard.

Then I decided the new seating area needed a rug, so another visit to Target and voila...it's complete.

I decided I didn't care for the white trellis I had between these two trees so I removed them and installed five black wire trellis in their place. These will hold up much better to the winter snow and wind.

The cat cage got a good cleaning and I added a welcome mat at the
bottom, a rug on the second level and a drying mat on the top so their little paws are more comfortable.  It's all about their comfort. Also the landings are old and disgusting looking, so this is a little upgrade.  I purchased a tarp to put on over it when it rains to keep everything dry and will use it when we are gone over the winter to protect it.

Bit by bit things are coming together and pretty soon I can think about actually playing and finding my pickleball people. 

Long Live the Queen of the Grill

Always Have a Plan B

Left Brain wanted to go for a convertible ride today so I suggested we stop at Linda's Café first for lunch as I was craving a Rueben and fries and they make the best Rueben!  It's usually so busy there so I was pleased to see lots of parking spots. Maybe they're closed?  Nope, the sign was flashing OPEN.  However, the sign on the door said they were closing at noon today.  Bummer.

Off to Plan B.  There's a little hole in the wall bar in Dayton that is said to have excellent burgers that we've wanted to try so we headed out in that direction. It was just a little greasy spoon with a very limited menu and we both got the burger & fries basket.  OMG! These are wonderful burgers!  Half a pound of hamburger hand patted from the Osseo Meat Market, a local market nearby.

It was a perfect day for a drive through the countryside and we were amazed at all the construction. Lots of single family homes at just under a cool million going up. It seems ridiculous to me to have these huge houses for a single family, unless they have a dozen kids but most families have only one or two.  Who can afford these?  Course, this from an old woman who lives in a shoe, er...trailer.  We've gotten so used to having small digs that I wouldn't know what to do with all that space.

Even with a tiny space it's amazing how much stuff a person collects. When the rain hits my plan is to take things out of the closet & cupboards and see what's in there, 'cause I can't remember.

Long Live the Queen of Plan B...and sometimes C

Stormy Weather

 We woke this morning to the gentle sound of rain pattering against the windows. Such a peaceful sound...for a while.

Then the winds came up, the sky turned dark and the tree tops were whipping back and forth.  Did I mention we have five trees on our property?

I was concerned about our awning so Left Brain brought it in for a while and then things started to settle down.  Nope.  Not over yet, now we have rain with a mixture of hail. I was starting to get a bit worried and wondering where does one go for safety in a trailer?

This is the inside view of the damage

Then the wind abated, the rain stopped and the sky got lighter again.  We fared very well, but this home owner didn't do as well.  The tree that fell pushed in their slide.

Here are some shots of the other tree that came down, luckily it landed right between two sheds.

This one landed right between the two sheds with no damage at all

They tied the tree to the truck to pull it off the trailer.
You can see how it pushed in the slide. Ouch.

This shows the back of the tree that landed between the two sheds

Long Live the Queen of Breaking Wind

It's For the Birds

 

The lady in red stands guard near the kitty condo

After a couple days of raking leaves the yard is cleaned up and
plants are starting to poke through the soil. The weather is still cool but perfect for outdoor work.

One of the first things I did was hang up all my bird feeders only to have a neighbor tell me we're not supposed to do that because of the Avian Flu.  Darn it!  I love feeding the birds and it's one of the best parts of coming to Minnesota.

But before I could get them taken down we had a visit from the pileated woodpecker.  I've never had one so close before. They are so big!

So all the bird feeders have been washed, cleaned with a bleach/water solution and stored away. Hopefully we can set them up again in June.  It's embarrassing when the bird feeders are cleaner than my house right now, but I can work on the inside when the rain comes.

There's one bright spot in the garden, one of the heuchera is up. It seems the yellow ones pop up first.  It's not much but sure is good to see a sign of spring.

Someone in the campground snapped a shot of this coyote going through the park. I guess we'll have them where ever we go.

We're enjoying nice weather right now and the rain is coming sometime tonight. Then it should get much warmer, but nothing like

Okay, it's actually a groundcover 
growing between two rocks.
Like I'd show you my bodacious
booty in a thong...get real.

my friends who are still in Arizona. Once the weather gets really warm I can rock my new thong!

Long Live the Queen of Birds

The Mice Won

 After washing every kitchen utensil I own I set it on the stove to dry overnight.  I took a much needed shower and went to park my tired tookus in my recliner to relax.  As I was bringing my soft fleece blanket up to surround my aching body a bunch of stuff shook out of it.  OMG!  It was white rice and little brown mouse turds.  Ewwh.  After shaking it out outside I dumped it into the laundry and took Left Brain's blanket, since he's always too warm anyway.

One more vacuuming job to get rid of that mess and then settled in to read until bedtime.

Now for the best part of the day, climbing into a nice bed with clean sheets and WTF!  There's something in here.  Kitty litter?  No, we just got here.  Wood ticks?  No, I'm sure that's not it.  Yech!  Mouse turds?  While silently screaming in my head I swiped the unknown particles from my bed and went back out to the recliner to read until my heart started to beat normally again.

The bed felt smooth and clean and in the morning I could see that it was more rice and while I couldn't see any little mouse turds, I'm sure they were in there.  The mice had the last laugh that day.  Left Brain later found a nest (thankfully not occupied) in the glove box of his car.  I haven't had the courage to look in mine yet.

Oh the joys of living in a campground.

Mouse?  What mouse?