The week started out with unseasonably low humidity and cooler temperatures and it was SO nice! We took advantage of it and re-arranged our garage to work in an additional shelf unit for my garden tools/ supplies and to make our bicycles more accessible. It works much better now. I am so grateful for a garage. It wasn't something on our "had to have" list when buying a house but it sure is a nice addition.
The lovely weather continued through Thursday and it made our camping trip with Emily and grandkids to Johnson's Shut-Ins very pleasant. It wasn't so cool that it made swimming not fun - it just made it great when we were not swimming. We rented a camper cabin again because we brought along the dogs and, since they are not allowed down at the shut-ins, we were able to keep them in their kennel at the cabin. That was nice. It was also restrictive because we couldn't check in until 3:00 pm and we had to be out by 11:00 am the next morning like a typical hotel stay and it meant we didn't have as much swim time. That was sad and it ended up that Steve and I only went once late Wednesday afternoon. It was also very stressful for poor Sally. She was not happy most of the time. Linus, on the other hand, was Mr. Mellow. Going forward, we will not bring the dogs to our Johnson's Shut-Ins trips and we probably won't rent a camper cabin again. With our twin air mattresses, Steve and I will be just fine in a tent. In addition, Steve and I probably went down the actual shut-ins for our last time this trip. We are just too unsteady on our feet to feel secure with all that rock climbing. We are lucky we didn't fall and break anything this time! But, that is OK...going forward, we will still love the water of the upper pool. It was so fun to watch the Southerland kids explore and enjoy the shut-ins. And, they did a great job with the camping. We put Noah and Quinn on a full-size blow-up air mattress in the back of our Element for the night and they would have done great had the mattress not lost all its air. We haven't used it in years so we were not aware of a leak. Sorry, boys. Lucy was on a twin blow-up mattress in the cabin, Emily and Larkin took the futon and Steve and I were on the queen size bed. Dinner was super easy - hot dogs, veggie sticks, grapes and s'mores. Breakfast should have been easy as well only Steve couldn't get a fire going enough to cook decently. We bought firewood the night before and thought we had enough for the morning but clearly we didn't. It wasn't until Emily went to the camp store to buy cereal for the kids and picked up an additional bundle of wood that we finally got breakfast going. Thankfully, I had brought a pie iron so I made pancakes in that. We managed to cook bacon on the wimpy fire but didn't get eggs done until we had more wood so it turned out to be a very drawn out breakfast and, by the time we finished, it was time for Steve and I to pack up and check out of the cabin. Happily, Emily and the kids were able to fit in another swim after we left for home. Overall, we had a great time and we learned a few things what NOT to do going forward. It is also SO nice to be only two hours away instead of four like the old days.
We were camping Wednesday and Thursday. Monday was garage organizing and finances. Tuesday was shopping and getting ready to camp. Friday was a bit more shopping (to take advantage of sales on corn on the cob and strawberries) and the temple. That evening, we watched the 1964 film "Lilies of the Field" after Elizabeth Crippen mentioned the movie a week ago and I decided I needed to see it again. Happily, the library had a copy. A great film and it was fun to see Arizona again as it was filmed in Tucson. Elise joined us late Friday evening after she had gone swimming with the Southerlands in Ballwin. She is spending the weekend with us and yesterday, we three went to a Cardinals game. Typical Missouri August weather was back but we always get the cheap tickets with seats waaaay up high so we enjoyed a nice breeze. And, even though we were so high, we got seats right behind home plate which was fun. The Cardinals were playing the Royals and, since Whitey Herzog was affiliated with both teams in his career, they offered a bobble head in his honor to the first 30K fans. It was a good game and we won!
Elise will head back to Columbia this evening after Beckie joins us for dinner and after "cookies" which we are reinstating. It seems like an easy way to get to know people in the ward. Naomi LaFond and her husband and baby girl are coming tonight. How fun to have old Columbia acquaintances in new places.
It has been a great week with typical summer activities. And, how fast this summer is going! We are looking forward to two last Grandparent Day Camps in the next two weeks and another drive to visit Julina in Indiana after that and then summer will be over! I sat in on a St. Louis Civic Orchestra board meeting Tuesday night as we are trying to figure out our 21-22 season with the Delta variant looming large over our heads. We are going forward cautiously and it is so frustrating to still be dealing with this coronavirus. Just get your shots, people! Until next week, then.....
No comments:
Post a Comment