Arkansas Road Trip

Last weekend, Gene and I drove to Fayetteville, AR to visit Carole and her family. They moved there last December, and we had yet to make the trip. We dropped off the dogs at Andy's first, and from there it was about a 4 1/2 hour drive. We arrived Friday evening and had take-out chicken, the kind Bill and Hilary favor. Honestly. Saturday morning, we got loaded up and headed to the Elk River (southern Missouri) for a day of canoeing. Gene and I had Maddy (9) and Kate (7) in our canoe, while Dave and Carole took Sofe (5) and the ice chest. The outfitter drove us 8 miles up-river and unloaded us. The weather was hot and the river was beautiful. When we stopped for lunch, Carole and I discovered, to our dismay, that the made-to-order sandwiches were still in the refrigerator at her house. So lunch was chips, bananas, and Little Debbie snack cakes. Later, we came upon a low water road, which required us to portage over it, and down some steep rocks, back into the river below. You know, if there's going to be an accident, it's going to be me, and it was. Long story short, my foot slipped, went between 2 rocks, stuck, canoe coming at me, etc. etc. I bled for awhile, wrapped a towel around my lower leg to slow the swelling and did my best to "cowgirl up". It's a week later now, and this is one ugly leg. Good thing the river didn't have sharks! So Saturday evening, we took everyone out to supper and got a brief driving tour of Fayetteville. It's a lovely old, college town, with a surprising amount of money! Lots of Fortune 500 people/companies. Sunday morning, we drove back to Andy's to attend baby Hadley's baptism. While I was doing my hair Sunday morning, Sofe asked me what a "baptise" was. I did my best to explain it to a 5 year old... Finally home Sunday evening and tired of driving. But it was a good trip. I'll include some photos for your viewing pleasure.

It's really hot and humid here right now, dog days they call it, so we're out before the sun comes up, watering and choring, so we can get in as quickly as possible. Probably ought to rent some movies... This coming Thursday is Gene's last day at KSU. He still doesn't have a start date for Ft. Riley, and I don't think that bothers him at all.

Take care everyone and I love y'all!

Joan

The Goon Squad in Kansas

Well, they've come and gone and I think a good time was had by all. Brent and Maureen flew in from Maryland and arrived at our house Saturday afternoon. They had never met Gene, nor visited the Flint Hills. They liked both. On their way to our house, they drove through Emporia and Council Grove. Being the world travelers that they are, I didn't even bother with directions, knowing they'd find our house eventually. We took them to church Sunday morning, then did the driving tour of KSU and Manhattan. Supper at Brick's. Cheryl and Dave didn't arrive until late Sunday evening, along with 13 yr. old Reid and his best friend Anthony. We spent all Monday at the lake, swimming and boating. Our neighbor let us use their wave-runner, so we had that in addition to our boat. We had the pop-up shelter for shade and plenty of cold beverages, so it was a lovely day. Most people only need one foam noodle to float about on, but Brent, in all his largeness, needed 6! Maureen and Cheryl came to my swim class Tuesday, along with Brent. When he realized it was all chicks, he opted to read on a chaise in the shade. Wuss. He walked over to the post office and the grocery store, which caused all sorts of talk in town. Everyone he came into contact with, looked him all the way up, which is a very long way, and invariably said "you're not from around here, are you". And of course, they asked if he played ball at KU. Spent the rest of Tuesday in the lake. While we were at the pool, the boys wanted to shoot guns and Gene obliged. A few of our trees may be mortally wounded, but not many. Then Wednesday morning, they were off! Leaving Gene and I with one day to clean up before we left for Arkansas (blog to follow).

Since I never figured out how to place photos, I'll just put them in here and you'll figure them out. The one that really cracks me up, is Dave aka Mr. Safety, looking down the barrel of a gun! Good thing Cheryl didn't see that one! And the one of everyone around the coffee table, is a jigsaw puzzle in process. Pretty wild bunch. Anyway, it was a fun time and I'm sure they'll be back. Gene and I were commenting after they left, how lucky we were that everything worked while the house was full, you know, the septic tank didn't overflow, no severe weather, etc. So on Thursday, the electricity went out and the hot water valve on the washing machine blew! Talk about timing! So, that's it for now, I'll get the Arkansas story out soon.

Love to all, Joan

Speed demons

Museum quality gals

More Midwest Weather and Cute Photos

I'm getting pretty tired of this weather...

Wednesday when I went to town, I was able to see some of the tornado damage. It really is unbelievable. Two of our church families lost their homes, and a third home burnt up when it was hit by lightening.

So last night, the weather alarm goes off and says a dangerous storm is over Tuttle Creek Lake and anyone living nearby should go to the basement and instantaneously, BANG! the lightening and thunder and wind hit! Not much of a head's up on that one. Then the hail came and of course, Gene manages to sleep through most of it, until I wake him up and say "it's getting too scary, the dogs and I are going to the basement". He went back to sleep. It was so loud, we couldn't hear each other talking, in the same room. When it finally blew over, we had a broken window and 3 trees down. In the light of morning, we saw my veggie garden totally flattened. Bummer. Lots of limbs down and 2" of rain in the rain gauge. Neighbors in the canyon lost shingles and Aggie's vinyl siding looks like Swiss cheese. Christel asked me to keep my eyes open for her laundry (it was on the clothes line...outside). We spent all this morning cleaning up, chainsawing and checking on neighbors. What a mess, but at least we still have a house! I'll be glad when severe weather season is over and it's just hot.

And...I've got some cute photos from Father's Day. I'll just post a few and make real copies to mail out.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, keep your fingers crossed for good weather in the midwest, we could all use a little break.

Joan

Wild Weather!

Well, last night almost did blow us away! First of all, Monday morning brought softball size hail to parts of Manhattan. Out at the regional airport, all the parked cars had windows smashed out and vehicles destroyed. Luckily, we only got 2 1/2" rain, no hail. Tuesday, another 1/2" of rain. Then all day yesterday, they kept warning us of "deadly weather" expected. It hit us at about 5:35pm and I've never seen such violent weather. The dogs and I were hiding behind the kitchen bar first and peeking out the big windows, and when it got too scary, we went downstairs. Tornadoes were being reported all around us, just across the lake and outside of Manhattan, but again, we dodged the bullet. Gene got caught in it, just at the mailboxes and when it hit, he said he couldn't see anything!

This morning, on my inspection lap around the canyon, we had several large tree limbs come down on our property, and the road down to the lake is blocked with a tree. One of the boat docks has come loose, as the lake level is way up, so tonight after work, we need to go down and coral the dock. My poor little gardens sure took a beating, they're looking very flat. And our next door neighbors cabin took a hit when a big tree broke off and crashed through their screen porch.

All in all, we were very lucky. The horses are fine, we're fine, a little soggy (3 1/2" rain yesterday in about 20 minutes) and so far, it doesn't sound like anybody got hurt in any of the funnel clouds. So we'll count our blessings, and spend the weekend doing clean-up.

So, that's what happening here, have a good weekend and I'll see some of you next week.

Love, Joan

No, we haven't blown away...yet

Just thought I'd check in with some recent photos, and let y'all know that contrary to what you see on the news, we have not been blown away by any tornadoes. Lots of rain, lightening and thunder, along with big wind, but that's May in Kansas. The neighbor's house, up on top, did get hit by lightening last week. Another advantage to living down in the canyon.

Since I don't understand photo placement, I'll just tell you what I'm posting and you'll have to figure it out for yourself. The garden photos are from the other day...I really like this time of year. We've got iris on the hillside, some roses and the jungle is getting into it's rain forest mode. Last weekend, we saw Andy and Kristin for a few hours, which means we saw the munchkins. Brody inherited the John Deere tractor from his cousin; it's a crack-up watching him drive around, he knows how the accelerator works but the steering wheel is just ornamental as far as he's concerned. And I've also included a recent pic from The Enchilada Lounge. Did I tell you...we're actually going to be paid to play at a new businesses open house?!

I just got back from my third lesson, on the therapeutic riding horse. I'm doing better, trying hard to remember to breathe in and out and relax in the saddle. Today, we rode up and down a hillside without incident. Maybe this weekend, I'll feel up to working Boaz, in the round pen. My fear issues are not completely resolved, but I'm working on it.

Well, that's all the news that's fit to report for now. I'm looking forward to visiting so. Cal. in 2 weeks, and seeing the California family. An In-and-Out Burger would be good too...

Take care, all my love to you!

Joan