It's hard to believe, but September is upon us. By the time that Joyce gets back from Europe, we will be staring at October! Baseball season will be over(for us), I will be up on the roof every weekend to clear off the leaves, and the long, warm, sunny days will be history. But a 2 week motorhome trip would fit into the first half of October nicely. But that depends on the weather.
A week from today Joyce and Kristin head off on their big adventure to Europe. They should have nice weather in France and Italy. England's weather doesn't look so hot, but I think England is more of an indoor place anyway. It's going to be pretty quiet around here with just me and the cat. I just hope that I can get all of the things on my list done in 3 weeks.
We have a week in Hawaii the end of October to look forward to, then it will be long pants and flannel shirts until February. And, the first of October will be time to plan chapter 2 of "Spring Training in Arizona". By the time February rolls around, we will probably have not seen the sun more than a couple of times since we left Hawaii, the tan lines will have faded, and I will be experiencing serious shorts, sandals, and Hawaiian shirt withdrawels! We will have company in Arizona for a week or so in March. Ron & Diane (cruise buddies) from Tulsa Oklahoma will be hanging out for some Spring Training baseball. We're all looking forward to that.
Daughter Kristin is planning to move to Austin Texas with 2 friends for the winter. We're not quite sure how that will work, as none of them have jobs to go to, and I know that the cost of living is lower there, but............ If that does happen, we will incorporate a side trip to Austin into our Arizona getaway. Then into the far off future of next Summer/Fall, we are in the thinking phase of another major motorhome trip for the summer, and Germany for Octoberfest. It seems like there is always something on the horizon. Life is good!
Ernie
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
One year ago today
Today is the first anniversary of "Joyce and Ernie's Big Adventure." One year ago today, we were spending our first night in Hermiston Oregon, where it was 107 degrees!! The wheels are begining to turn for the sequel. We're thinking about trying to go again in 2010. I haven't had a decent crawdad since we left Louisiana! But until then, we will be satisfied with a week in Hawaii in October, then a month or 2 in Arizona for Spring Training. Plus Joyce has the 3 weeks in Europe next month.
While she's gone, I've got 3 cars to detail, and a motorhome roof to clean and re-seal. With a little bit of luck we may be able to sneak in a 2 week motorhome trip to Montana the first part of October.
Otherwise there's not to much happening here, but I couldn't let the anniversary slip by without a little blurb. Joyce is anticipating summer's return next week!
Until then, Ernie
While she's gone, I've got 3 cars to detail, and a motorhome roof to clean and re-seal. With a little bit of luck we may be able to sneak in a 2 week motorhome trip to Montana the first part of October.
Otherwise there's not to much happening here, but I couldn't let the anniversary slip by without a little blurb. Joyce is anticipating summer's return next week!
Until then, Ernie
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Re-retired
Last Thursday/Friday was my last day of my 10 week temporary employment. It went relatively well, except for the working nights part. I was asked if I would be interested in returning for another short stint next year. I think that I would, but it would have to be daytime hours. So we will see what happens. But for now, I need to get back in my retired mode!
The weather has been crazy the last few days with temperatures in the mid to upper
90's. The forecast for today is 100+, which would be an all time record! Not just for this date, but ever!! We should be sitting out in the sprinkler all day, but instead, I am going to the Mariner's game this afternoon with friend Pat. Then we are going to the Moody Blues concert with Pat and Steph this evening at an outside venue. This should be a good endurance check.
No RV plans for the remainder of this year yet. Maybe we can sneak off for a week or two after Joyce and Kristin get back from Europe the latter part of September. It would depend on what the weather forecast is. We tried RVing in the snow on our "Great Adventure" last year, and we would rather be where it's warm, dry, and sunny. Neither one of us is partial to snow.
This past weekend, we took my mother with us to Keith and Sheila's for the day. She always enjoys getting out for the day. It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive each way. Her hearing is about as bad as it gets, so she doesn't get very much of the conversations. But at 94 she can't complain,(but she does!)
I'm sure there must be some other important things going on here, but I can't think of any. So until then, stay cool!!!!!!!Ernie
The weather has been crazy the last few days with temperatures in the mid to upper
90's. The forecast for today is 100+, which would be an all time record! Not just for this date, but ever!! We should be sitting out in the sprinkler all day, but instead, I am going to the Mariner's game this afternoon with friend Pat. Then we are going to the Moody Blues concert with Pat and Steph this evening at an outside venue. This should be a good endurance check.
No RV plans for the remainder of this year yet. Maybe we can sneak off for a week or two after Joyce and Kristin get back from Europe the latter part of September. It would depend on what the weather forecast is. We tried RVing in the snow on our "Great Adventure" last year, and we would rather be where it's warm, dry, and sunny. Neither one of us is partial to snow.
This past weekend, we took my mother with us to Keith and Sheila's for the day. She always enjoys getting out for the day. It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive each way. Her hearing is about as bad as it gets, so she doesn't get very much of the conversations. But at 94 she can't complain,(but she does!)
I'm sure there must be some other important things going on here, but I can't think of any. So until then, stay cool!!!!!!!Ernie
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Mid July Already
2 More weeks! By the time I do the next update, I will be done working for the year!! Then it will be time to kick back and enjoy the rest of the summer and the early part of fall. And with a little luck we can throw a travel adventure in somewhere before Hawaii in the latter part of October.
Patrice, Paul, & Anthony were out from Chicago for 6 days the end of June/first of July. We had a good time and a very busy 6 days. The weather cooperated and we spent most of our time outdoors. We did our part for the economic stimulus by supporting restaurants and gas stations a little more than normal! They headed home on a red eye out of Seatac on Friday the 3rd.
The 4th was spent at Gail & Randy's. We even had a warm sunny day for once. They had about 20 people over for lots of food and a few beers (for me). We hung out well into the night and the mosquitos were feeding on us. We got home to find our cat (Hairold) hiding in a cubbyhole of the organizer in the computer room. He was totally traumatized by the fireworks. It took him a couple of days to get back to his normal ornery self.
My mother celebrated her 94th birthday on the 7th. Joyce and I went to pick her up to take her out for ice cream in the afternoon. We had arranged that with her on the 5th, but it was a total surprise to her by the 7th. So we altered the plan, and ended up with a very short drive to the local McDonalds. Hadn't been in a McDonalds for years, but how can you go wrong for ice crean? Ice cream is ice cream.
Last night we had friends Pat & Steph over for a barbecue and a couple of rum & Cokes. July is begining to be a tough month for weight control!! Then we topped it off with a little Ben & Jerry's ice cream! So today to get things back under control, we are going out with Gail & Randy to eat at a place that is supposed to have the best Reuben sandwich around. We may have to up our daily walk distance by a mile or so for a while.
I will attempt to include some random pictures............Ernie
Pictures from the top:
Hairold
Joyce and Kristin before
Joyce and Kristin after
E & J, Josh & Brynn, and Patrice, Paul, & Anthony (at Ivar's)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Summertime (and the livin is easy?)
Here it is the 2nd full day of summer, and it looks like we went back in time to April. Mostly cloudy, showers, and maybe 70 degrees. But I will take that over temperatures in the 90's with humidity to match, which is what a lot of folks are having now.
Today is our 24th wedding anniversary! Seems like only yesterday. How can this be?
Since I am still working nights, we have no big plans for the day. We thought that we would go up to the Snoqualmie Casino for their Happy Hour for a drink and a couple of appetizers.
We went to Keith and Sheila's for Fathers Day. Had a nice dinner, visited, played a little ping pong with Grandson Chandler, and had a good day. Skylar greeted us at the door in his power chair, and was talking up a storm. While there we stepped into the motorhome for a few minutes just to check things over. We kinda got the urge to just "drive off". We may still try to squeeze a week or so away into the month of August. It always amazes me that the motorhome smells new, even tho it is now 8 years old. It must be the combination of the wood and the leather. I like it! On Monday we went out to dinner with Josh and Brynn for Fathers Day as they worked on Sunday.
We have Patrice, Paul, and Anthony ariving from Chicago on Sunday. They will be here for 6 days, so we will be busy doing the tourist/tour guide thing. We are looking forward to it. The Mariners are out of town all next week, so the guys will be attending a Raniers game in Tacoma. As usual we have a list of things to do that is longer than the number of days to do them in. Not having to work for the week is especially apealing to me. Then after that I only have 3 weeks to go, then I will be retired again!! Speaking of retired, Joyce is into her 2nd week and doing quite well.
She has enough to keep busy with around the house, and she now has the time to work on her upcoming trip to Europe.
We are trying to extend our Hawaii trip in October for a few more days. We have never stayed on Oahu before, so it would be nice to have at least 10 days to explore. We haven't ruled out the possibility of a Cruise in early October and/or in January. In fact we want to do both, but not sure how that would work out. If the weather was good, we could take the Motorhome to Florida for a late January cruise, then head for Arizona for some "Summer" in February and March.
I'm sure that I have failed to include something in this rambling, and since Joyce has a lot of free time now, she just may add a P.S. For those of you in the Seattle area, summer will be back! For the rest of you, I hope your A.C. is working!
Till the next time, Ernie
Today is our 24th wedding anniversary! Seems like only yesterday. How can this be?
Since I am still working nights, we have no big plans for the day. We thought that we would go up to the Snoqualmie Casino for their Happy Hour for a drink and a couple of appetizers.
We went to Keith and Sheila's for Fathers Day. Had a nice dinner, visited, played a little ping pong with Grandson Chandler, and had a good day. Skylar greeted us at the door in his power chair, and was talking up a storm. While there we stepped into the motorhome for a few minutes just to check things over. We kinda got the urge to just "drive off". We may still try to squeeze a week or so away into the month of August. It always amazes me that the motorhome smells new, even tho it is now 8 years old. It must be the combination of the wood and the leather. I like it! On Monday we went out to dinner with Josh and Brynn for Fathers Day as they worked on Sunday.
We have Patrice, Paul, and Anthony ariving from Chicago on Sunday. They will be here for 6 days, so we will be busy doing the tourist/tour guide thing. We are looking forward to it. The Mariners are out of town all next week, so the guys will be attending a Raniers game in Tacoma. As usual we have a list of things to do that is longer than the number of days to do them in. Not having to work for the week is especially apealing to me. Then after that I only have 3 weeks to go, then I will be retired again!! Speaking of retired, Joyce is into her 2nd week and doing quite well.
She has enough to keep busy with around the house, and she now has the time to work on her upcoming trip to Europe.
We are trying to extend our Hawaii trip in October for a few more days. We have never stayed on Oahu before, so it would be nice to have at least 10 days to explore. We haven't ruled out the possibility of a Cruise in early October and/or in January. In fact we want to do both, but not sure how that would work out. If the weather was good, we could take the Motorhome to Florida for a late January cruise, then head for Arizona for some "Summer" in February and March.
I'm sure that I have failed to include something in this rambling, and since Joyce has a lot of free time now, she just may add a P.S. For those of you in the Seattle area, summer will be back! For the rest of you, I hope your A.C. is working!
Till the next time, Ernie
Sunday, June 7, 2009
What A Difference A Month Makes
We are now into the 2nd week in June and we went from freezing in April to sweltering in June. I believe that we topped out last Thursday at 93 degrees. That's about 15 too high for me. But Joyce thought that it was just right!
I have now finished 3 weeks of my "Back To Work Adventure". I have questioned my decision to do this several times, but I keep telling myself that it's easy traveling money. The problem is now that my time is eaten up by work, we don't have any time to travel! If I do this again next year, I hope to have better timing. But I thought since Joyce is still working part time, what the heck. Now as things turn out, she is soon to be unemployed, and we would have had a month or so to travel this summer. I finish work the last week of July, and she starts weekly Italian lessons the first of August in preperation for Europe in September. Timing is everything. We do have a week scheduled in Hawaii the last week in October. This is the week we were supposed to do in January when my mother was hospitalized, and we had to cancel. Since we had prepaid the accomodations, I was able to reschedule so we will be there for my birthday. And, right now airfares are about 65% of what they usually are. We may extend the stay on Oahu if I can find a good deal on a condo for a few more days.
Last weekend we had some of Kristin's friends and some family friends over for a graduation party. The weather cooperated and we were able to spend the day out on the decks. Kristin and Joyce did all of the food, and everything went really well.
Kristin just left today for her summer job at YMCA Camp Colman. She will be there for 3 months, but will be home for a day or so now and then. She would like for camp to turn into a full time job, but right now that doesn't look like a happening thing.
When she gets back from Europe she plans to start seriously seeking a full time job.
I'm out of things to write about so, Aloha,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ernie
P.S. As Ernie mentioned above, I am soon to be unemployed. This Friday is my last day at the YMCA where I've worked for approx. 21 years all told. Unfortunately, myself and 3 other long time employees had our jobs eliminated due to restructuring and reorganizaion. There were layoffs at all the YMCA"s in Seattle. In all fairness, we were offered an option to take another job within the YMCA. However, i declined the offer. After talking it over with Ernie, we figured this would be best for our future travel plans. I am sad to leave but at least the YMCA is literally just down the block from where we live and I can always drop in for a visit. I will mostly miss all the wonderful friends and co-workers I will no longer be able to interact with on a daily basis. I will especially miss my good friend Molly who was like the other half of my brain - we worked together for so long we could practically read each other's minds. Even tho I worked part time it was a big part of my life and I will miss it. --Joyce
I have now finished 3 weeks of my "Back To Work Adventure". I have questioned my decision to do this several times, but I keep telling myself that it's easy traveling money. The problem is now that my time is eaten up by work, we don't have any time to travel! If I do this again next year, I hope to have better timing. But I thought since Joyce is still working part time, what the heck. Now as things turn out, she is soon to be unemployed, and we would have had a month or so to travel this summer. I finish work the last week of July, and she starts weekly Italian lessons the first of August in preperation for Europe in September. Timing is everything. We do have a week scheduled in Hawaii the last week in October. This is the week we were supposed to do in January when my mother was hospitalized, and we had to cancel. Since we had prepaid the accomodations, I was able to reschedule so we will be there for my birthday. And, right now airfares are about 65% of what they usually are. We may extend the stay on Oahu if I can find a good deal on a condo for a few more days.
Last weekend we had some of Kristin's friends and some family friends over for a graduation party. The weather cooperated and we were able to spend the day out on the decks. Kristin and Joyce did all of the food, and everything went really well.
Kristin just left today for her summer job at YMCA Camp Colman. She will be there for 3 months, but will be home for a day or so now and then. She would like for camp to turn into a full time job, but right now that doesn't look like a happening thing.
When she gets back from Europe she plans to start seriously seeking a full time job.
I'm out of things to write about so, Aloha,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ernie
P.S. As Ernie mentioned above, I am soon to be unemployed. This Friday is my last day at the YMCA where I've worked for approx. 21 years all told. Unfortunately, myself and 3 other long time employees had our jobs eliminated due to restructuring and reorganizaion. There were layoffs at all the YMCA"s in Seattle. In all fairness, we were offered an option to take another job within the YMCA. However, i declined the offer. After talking it over with Ernie, we figured this would be best for our future travel plans. I am sad to leave but at least the YMCA is literally just down the block from where we live and I can always drop in for a visit. I will mostly miss all the wonderful friends and co-workers I will no longer be able to interact with on a daily basis. I will especially miss my good friend Molly who was like the other half of my brain - we worked together for so long we could practically read each other's minds. Even tho I worked part time it was a big part of my life and I will miss it. --Joyce
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Mid May or What Happened to Spring??
Here we are in the middle of May, and I have needed gloves in my morning walk. Joyce has been bundled up like it was December! We need a little of that "global warming" that we have been hearing so much about. Maybe with our crappy winter and spring things will turn around for a nice summer.
I am officially headed back to work for about 10 weeks begining this coming Monday. I will be working nights and probably will not be getting the sleep that I have grown accustomed to since retiring last August. I'll have to get into an afternoon nap routine, and I have just the right outdoor recliner for that. (Thanks Joe& Molly)
I need somebody to step up and take a few baseball tickets off my hands, as work will cause me to miss a few. Good seats in the 300 level behind home plate.
Last night we went to a Blues Dinner Club with a group of friends, and stayed out almost to midnight! Good music with Louisiana style food that was not as good as we had on our trip but, you can't have everything. Randy and I decided that they need to add some barbecue to the menu, but we aren't in charge.
We have finally gotten to the mid 60's to low 70's for our daytime temperatures, so I am in the process of finishing the front door that was installed about 6 months ago. Now if only my lawn would take shape after killing off all of the moss, the outdoors will be in fairly good shape. I just need to finish the annual "staining of the deck", but again we need DRY weather with WARM temperatures.
My mother is back on the road to recovery, but is still in the health center at Judson Park. We do not think that she will be able to move back to her independent living apartment, but hope to get her to assisted living. She picked up one of the so called "Super Bugs" somewhere. We think it was probably at the hospital where she went when she had a stroke in March.(She will be 94 in July)
It's time to go for our daily walk, then get back to work on the door.......Ernie
I am officially headed back to work for about 10 weeks begining this coming Monday. I will be working nights and probably will not be getting the sleep that I have grown accustomed to since retiring last August. I'll have to get into an afternoon nap routine, and I have just the right outdoor recliner for that. (Thanks Joe& Molly)
I need somebody to step up and take a few baseball tickets off my hands, as work will cause me to miss a few. Good seats in the 300 level behind home plate.
Last night we went to a Blues Dinner Club with a group of friends, and stayed out almost to midnight! Good music with Louisiana style food that was not as good as we had on our trip but, you can't have everything. Randy and I decided that they need to add some barbecue to the menu, but we aren't in charge.
We have finally gotten to the mid 60's to low 70's for our daytime temperatures, so I am in the process of finishing the front door that was installed about 6 months ago. Now if only my lawn would take shape after killing off all of the moss, the outdoors will be in fairly good shape. I just need to finish the annual "staining of the deck", but again we need DRY weather with WARM temperatures.
My mother is back on the road to recovery, but is still in the health center at Judson Park. We do not think that she will be able to move back to her independent living apartment, but hope to get her to assisted living. She picked up one of the so called "Super Bugs" somewhere. We think it was probably at the hospital where she went when she had a stroke in March.(She will be 94 in July)
It's time to go for our daily walk, then get back to work on the door.......Ernie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)