My Chaotic Realm

We finally made it to the Upper Peninsula! Getting here wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, but hey—that’s part of the adventure, right? Friday night, we pulled the RV up to the house to start packing, and in true “oops” fashion, managed to fry the wiring in the entire living room. Turns out plugging the RV into the outside outlet while the hot tub was still on the same circuit was not our brightest idea. So now the living room is dark and moody. Issue#1 on the now-growing list of things we have to deal with upon our return. Don’t worry—Issues #2 and #3 will make their grand appearances later. We kicked off August 9th bright and early, tackling the usual last-minute scramble: packing the stragglers, taking out the trash, and finishing the dishes. All that domestic hustle before… heading to work. Because apparently vacations don’t start until after the real workday. This was our third adventure in the Itasca. Trip #1, I had to meet her on the road (thanks, work), so I drove the tow car. Tr...

 I looked at my calendar and I see that Mercury will be going retrograde tomorrow. Let me get this communication out before that!   The gravel project around the house—meant to cover a 3-foot perimeter where rain falls from the eaves—has been a bit of a rollercoaster. We initially hired someone to remove the grass along the house, with the clear expectation that they would return to level the area, lay down weed barrier, install edging to contain the gravel, and then pour the rock. Unfortunately, that’s not how things unfolded. In the end, we had to bring in someone else to actually clear the full 3 feet, since the original worker seemed unable to grasp how to use the yardstick we provided. And L has been laying down all the weed barrier and guides herself. And then we began pouring the rock, which turned out to be the easiest part for me. I am 6 weeks post-mishap with my knee, and it is much better, but not able to get down in it yet.   Less than three weeks un...

Guess what? We made it! We drove all the way to Texas to witness the Total Eclipse this time. Remember back in October 2023 when we chased the Annular Eclipse? We were fortunate enough to catch that one in Bandera at my Dad's place, despite some challenging weather. This time around, the weather gave us a run for our money on April 8th. But with a mix of map-reading prowess and a touch of weather magic, we managed to stay a step ahead of the clouds. We ended up southeast of Mason, TX, where we had a perfect, uninterrupted view from the beginning of totality until just after it ended. We arrived home late Tuesday afternoon to a warm welcome from all four kitties. After touching base with Tom to arrange Midnight's release from summer camp, we quickly unpacked before hitting the road again bound for Bracken Fen Kennels. Wednesday saw us back at our respective jobs, slipping back into the familiar rhythms of daily life. However, Saturday evening, following the Farmer's Market a...

We have returned from our voyeuristic travels as "Leaf Peepers". Got a lot of leaf shots, and color changes, and even preserved some leaves in my planner. In spite of an issue or two along the way, it was fantastic!! On the way out we found a tasty hole in the wall in Meridian called Maria's on our way to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We found a Buc-ees in Leeds AL!!.  Up and on the way to Tennessee's first state park (Harrison Bay, 1937) which we had stayed at before for the total solar eclipse. We made our way to Chatanooga early the next morning to see Rock City & Lookout Mountain. After a night there we headed to Cumberland Gap, Kentucky, where we saw some historic sites, hiked to the Tri-State point, and made it to Pinnacle Overlook in time for sunset. The park rangers at Wilderness Road Campground went above and beyond, lemme tell ya. Gave us some pointers on places to see, and delivered firewood to our site.  A couple of nights there and we were on the move again, t...

 Bad news first: on Mother’s Day, we discovered we had termites. UGH. Both of us are working OT right now so I guess that was a good thing, as the pest people quoted about $1000. The good news is that we saw our grandson for his 3rd birthday when we went to the Texas Goddess Springfest mid-May in Dripping Springs. A few days before we left she finally got a little time to get the oven pulled out of our old camper. The day before we left she cut and installed the new countertop. She has SKILLS!! Although leaving it until the last minute was a tad stressful.                 At SpringFest, I came across a gal using an Instant Pot. I had been looking at them but was not sure they were worth the money. She gave me a run-through, showed me what it could do, and I loved it. She also provided me some tips on getting a used one, which I did upon our return… a 3qt for $15. Finally got to use it this week and I gotta...

So let me just start with the obvious... the accountability part. I had fewer monthly goals because I knew work would interfere: Make a booklet or journal. ATC Challenge. Mission Inspiration journal challenge. Scrapbook Challenge. Birthday card group. Blog once weekly. And August was a FAIL for all except the Birthday Card group (only because there were no September cards to be made). The September Mission Inspiration challenge was posted 9/2 and I have yet to even start on the August one. The monthly Scrap Our Stash Challenge was posted 8/15 and I have not done it yet. Maybe later today tho..it is a possibility. As for blogging once weekly? Well, that was a fail, obviously, since it is now September 8th. I DID complete all the ATC Jams that were on my desk! and I sent out replies to the 4 or 5 penpals I had letters from in July & August. However, the month was not a complete loss. In the grand sum of things, it was a TERRIFIC month for DOING. I just wasn't doing any of m...

Crossing as much as I can off my tasks list in preparation for my annual birthday camping trip. We'll be leaving out Friday & will return Tuesday. The difference this year will be that we are doing the trip in our ALiner camper instead of a tent. Hoping all the leaks and whatnot are fixed!! We got it used for a terrific price but that means there are things that needed to be done to get it trip ready. Dogs have to be ready as well so I had to get a kennel for Bud. He'll probably sleep in the camper where I am but just in case. And he needed one since he is living with Grandma in a hurricane prone area, just in case. This trip is about getting away and being unavailable to do anything but chill. With that in mind I have posted all my monthly swaps & pen pal mail out as of this morning. Created a few art pieces (tiny ones) for later purposes this afternoon. I have 4pm appt to see Dr Adam and then a shopping trip to see about some additional camper supplies. Planner has...