Stuff

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY

June 2 - 15, 2014

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CONTENTS

RV LIFE

PET PEEVE

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW

CRAFTS

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RV LIFE:
On the road again tomorrow. We're heading to Branson, MO to meet up again with our Cedar Creek RV Owners Club. A 320 mile drive which is longer than we'd like, but we wanted to RV in Kentucky to fill that in to our map.
We've been quite spoiled by this State Park. Large sites, not a lot of sites, so the noise is minimal and really only filled on the weekends. It's so nice to be able to let Devin stay outside on his long tether without worry of tangling in the power cord, satellite dish, or sewer connection. Speaking of sewer connection, that we don't have at this park...
A bit of a pet peeve/rant...We reserved two weeks here, but could only get a non sewer hook up site for that length of time. Why oh why do the people who book for a weekend, just two nights need sewer hookups? The dump station is convenient on the way out. Because of these weekend warriors, we have been without sewer and had to use our portable sewer tank to drag, you know what to the dump station. It would be nice to need 5 day commitment for the sewer sites.
I found a definite advantage of RV'ing and still having a house. Many of the wonderful places we've visited, we attended local art shows. Oh the beautiful things we've seen, but did not purchase because we had no where to put them. At the time, I was saying, thank goodness we don't have a house. Just think of the money we'd spend and the "stuff" we'd collect. But now that we have a house (soon), I wish we could revisit these places and pick up local art.
Will we ever go back to the Pacific NW?

I would love to pick up some of the beautiful driftwood we saw on Rialto Beach. I can just imagine the furniture I could make!

I did bring back some beautiful stones from Dry Lagoon in California.

I want to make cabinet knobs like above with the stones I collected.
In New Mexico, there was a shop that had all kinds of items made out of Onyx.

This store does do mail order.

Then, while in South Dakota, we went to a great arts show in Custer St. Park. We saw beautiful iron works & bar stools made from rough logs and buffalo hide.
But then, when I think of the things I'd like to purchase, I think of the dreaded "stuff" that we just got rid of 3 years ago.
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AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Let me take a minute to take this all in. Wow.
This book will get you thinking, about survival, guilt, forgiveness, mercy, hatred, kindness and so on. This story is mainly about the holocaust, so if you don't enjoy reading about that, then this is not for you. Also, it is not an uplifting book either. It is a dark story both in the present day storyline and the holocaust storyline. There is no nicely fitted happy ending.
In the beginning, the story is somewhat slow going, but give it time and it will draw you in. We are told the story of a holocaust survivor and the side of her tormentor, along with the after effects in present day of them and the people they come in contact with.
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CRAFTS:
Oh the luxury of being retired. I can sit all day listening to audio books and knitting. The dogs beside me, the lush green lawn, the shade trees, a glass of wine, and TIME to just enjoy it all. Retirement is a wonderful experience!

View while outside knitting

I finished another shawl/scarf thingy. This was another Mystery Knit-a-long. I ordered the yarn and beads as a kit by the shawl designer. Unfortunately, she is in Malaysia and by the time the yarn got to the US, and then sat in Customs for OVER A MONTH, in NYC, the MKAL was well under way. So it really wasn't too much of a mystery, since I looked at everyone's show & tell photos.

I still have the dilemma of what to do with my finished projects. Maybe once we're settled in the house and some of my RV'ing friends come for a visit, I'll offer some of these to them.

This design was called "When the Flowers Bloom". I hope you can see the flowers and leaves.