CHALLENGES.

Blogging is going to be sporadic as I recuperate from rotator cuff surgery. Therapy once a week for a total of 16 weeks and remaining in a sling for those weeks necessarily hampers my activities, as in NO driving. Count down, 13 weeks to go.

I’ve been fortunate to have Jim take care of me, drive me around to my appointments and even give a private serenade on the side. He has taken up harmonica as you can tell from an earlier blog. Quite challenging for him. I face the challenges of getting well, obeying doctor’s instructions and limiting activities-hard for me.

One of the real treats of my “down” time was having Kathryn, my husband’s daughter, bring her husband Hank to meet me. Catching up with family matters, pictures mostly, since we have shared by email necessary dates and information for the family genealogy. A natural  interest in our respective ancestors is a fascinating subject. Now Kathryn has married into a large, active family with plenty of exciting new faces, including Hank’s mother who lives near them. She is 94 years old.

And we cooked. Hank knows his way around the kitchen and loves fixing breakfast. Here he is testing one of Kathryn’s waffles.  And I managed a couple of crock pot dinners with their help. We ate, and snacked and toasted a glass of vino or two. Hey, isn’t that what family gatherings are all about? In part, anyway. It tickled me to see Kathryn with her nose in the papers while eating, a habit she must have inherited from her dad. She loves crosswords and Hank prefers sodoko.

Kathryn has a friend in Angels Camp she and Hank are also visiting. Hank spent time in the Motherlode as a kid with his family, so the area is familiar to him.

Jim took our picture before they left. Her half brothers and sisters were working and unable to visit while here, but we expect to see much more of them in the future and fix that.

Kathryn’s children live in Southern California, and like all adult children, they have their own busy lives, too.  But, someday, we hope to all get together. Isn’t that cool?

 

Lake Cushman, Washington – Day 4

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s cousin’s recreation lot at Lake Cushman near Hoodsport, Washington. We will depart on tomorrow.

Yesterday was cousin reunion day. At 10:30 AM, Mary and Melissa headed out to go canoeing…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Shortly thereafter Dave took his dog Toby for a walk. While he was gone, at 11:30 AM cousin Bobby arrived. Shortly thereafter Dave and Bobby went to view the lake. Melissa and Mary returned at 12:30 PM. Melissa had never backed a trailer before. Shortly thereafter they gave it up and Melissa drove around the block and came straight into the driveway…

While Melissa, Mary and I were unhooking the canoe trailer and maneuvering in to its storage place…Dave and Bobby returned from the lake. It did not take the three cousins long to get into family discussions…

Mary is the oldest, Dave (right) the next in line and Bobby (center) the youngest. Up until two days ago Mary and Dave had not seen each other in over 60 years. Dave and Bobby had not seen each other in over 50 years. Mary saw Bobby about three months ago. Earlier there had been a 34 year separation. They had a lot of catching up to do. Later in the afternoon we enjoyed an afternoon outdoor salmon feast…

Rain threatened…but never did come. Later they all gathered around Mary’s computer to look at lots of old family photos. Bobby left at 6 PM after they all had a grand day together.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Yesterday was a cloudy day at 68 degrees. Forecast for today is cloudy/sunny/showery and 72 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Was. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

FAMILY & FRIENDS FUN

People began arriving about 9:00 on Saturday. Setting up their ice chests against a shady wall of the house. Above is Bob and Norma.

I bought a ping-pong table thinking the kids were getting older and maybe tired of the trampoline. Ken, Ted, Richard and Doug went to work on setting it up.

They finally realized it was necessary to read the instructions. After that, things went smoothly.

Everyone was catching up since last year. Grandmother Eunice, mother to Bev and Cathy. Eunice, Cathy, Wendy and Kristanne realized they were all dressed in tie dye.

Bob and my son, Ken, have a few beers and visit.

The kids get gifts from Grandma Eunice.

Tyler ducked the squirt gun. A great way to stay cool.

The kids like to check the totem to see how the stuff they put on last year held up.

Cathy wanted her picture taken with my adventurous hat.

Eunice did too.

Brother Bill and cousin Terri discussing their favorite snacks. There was probably an equal amount of food inside the house as outside. Everyone kind of spread out.

The good eats just never end. Virginia, Cami and her mother, Laurie, take a break from the heat outside.

Anthony and Clint give up the squirt guns for several games of ping-pong.

Must have been a serious conversation, Stewart, Virginia and Laurie. Earlier there was a card game going on outside and the guessing game, What’s Yours Like, going on inside.

Brother Clark and Ken discuss the barbecue.

The kids never seem to tire of the squirt gun wars.

I caught the smallest and the tallest. Jacob who just graduated high school this year, is 6 foot 2. Abbie, the youngest,  is dwarfed by him.

The trucks are loaded with tubes and everyone is anxious to go to the flume.  I tried to get a picture of everyone who came and failed miserably this year. And, I stayed away from the flume, so Kris took pictures for me.

Everyone is getting into their river shoes and ready to go. Ken, Rob and Susie. Rob is foster daughter Susie’s fiance.

But, flume pictures and more tomorrow. I’m slow today because of so many interruptions.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

HOLIDAZE

Our annual family reunion is really a family and friends reunion. The first to arrive on July 4th was Wendy and Paul Lothrop from Southern California. Long time friends of my daughter Kristanne.  it was designed to be a surprise for her because she hadn’t seen them in a about two years and didn’t know they were coming.

Doug was cutting tile for one of three tables he rebuilt.

Kristanne and Austin arrived next. After having a chance to visit with Wendy and Paul, and since we were waaaay behind schedule with extremely hot weather, my inability to do very much, and a lot of things left undone for too long, Doug put Kris to work on the barbeque table he rebuilt, staining the wood trim and later two coats of Varathane.

Austin hung the flag, washed and tested all the squirt guns to make sure they worked, emptied the garbage and sorted recycling for a run to the dump before the big event on Saturday.

He only had to toss one gun.

On Friday, the young cousins arrived. Abby got sparkles in her hair and the boys sported newly painted mohawks for the occasion. Later Kristanne fixed a mohawk for Austin, too.

Sisters, Bev and Kathy. Bev is mother of the boys and Abby.

Kathy always brings something zany for the kids, this time some 4th of July sunglasses…

…and some weird teeth for herself. Boy, what Hollywood can do to make you look old.

Ted and Bev set up the first tent. The kids played on the trampoline and had squirt gun wars all day, while Wendy kept us all fed.

Doug put Ted to work patching tubes that went dead.

Virginia, Cedric, Theo and Owen arrived late on Friday, but the kids got some trampoline time in and we adults played a game called What’s Yours Like?

It is a guessing game, brings a lot of laughter, and the good thing, is you can snack and drink with the game without worrying about getting your cards or board wet or spilled on or greasy. More reunion stuff tomorrow. Have to visit the Chiropractor this morning.