Family Time

Our next stop was at my sister’s house near Waynesville, MO.  My other sister, Deane, and her daughter, Kylie, joined us there for the week-end.  Janis and Don took us all out Friday night for one of the best catfish dinners we’ve ever had!   We’ll definitely want to go back there to eat the next time we’re in town!

Janis and Don’s house is in the country and is a fun place for outdoor activities and a haven for wild life.  On Saturday, we took turns riding  ATVs on the trail that they had made through the woods behind their house.  Ron and Kylie also enjoyed shooting targets at their shooting range, while Deane and I opted for some quiet time on the deck.  One of Janis’ good friends from high school brought a cake over for us and stayed to visit for awhile.  It was fun to see her again!  Later we all cooled off with a frozen drink and a dip in the pool.

The feeders in Janis and Don’s yard attract a variety of birds and small animals.  We spent most of our time outside and, after dark, stayed out to watch the flying squirrels as they flew from tree to tree.  After we went inside, we looked out the kitchen window and saw a family of raccoons foraging for food under a tree.   

Don picked up pizza for dinner  from one of our favorite places.  TK’s has been there for as long as I can remember and we like to get pizza from there every chance we get.  We had a really nice week-end and we’re glad that we were all able to spend it together.  

Kylie, Deane, Don, and Janis

We left Janis’ house on Sunday and drove into Illinois to meet Jeremy and Kelly and Erin and Chris and the grandkids for dinner. It wasn’t on our route, but we wanted to see them one more time before we went to Tennessee.  We initially planned to stay overnight and leave on Tuesday, but Monday was Luke’s first day of school and Jeremy was afraid that Luke wouldn’t want to go to school if he knew we were there.  After an early dinner, we all went to Jeremy and Kelly’s house and stayed until it was time for the kids to go to bed.  We have had a wonderful summer with family and, even though we’ll be back with them soon for the holidays, it always makes me sad when we leave. 

Fun and Friends in Southwest Missouri

We had a problem with our truck on the way to see Mike and Kathy. The check engine light suddenly came on and Ron couldn’t get the truck to change out of second gear!  We turned around and ‘limped’ back into Marshfield to the Chevy dealer and got there 10 minutes before it closed.  We were praying as the guy used the diagnostic computer, hoping that he wouldn’t say we needed a new transmission.  God was definitely listening to us!  Turns out that a switch inside the transmission was stuck!  He cleared the code on the truck and he said “that might have fixed it but, if it doesn’t, bring it back in the morning.”  It has been shifting fine ever since.  What a relief!  Thank you, God!  We continued on to Mike and Kathy’s house got there just in time to get set up and go inside to eat the delicious meal that Kathy had waiting for us. We made plans to go to Kathy's work place to join her for lunch the next day..

 

Kathy works at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Store, near Mansfield, MO.   'Bakersville' includes the seed store, flower and vegetable gardens, and a pioneer village that has a bakery and a restaurant.  The seed store sells only pure, non-hybrid, non-GMO, non-treated, and non-patented seeds.  The restaurant serves a vegan meal each day, made from vegetables grown in their gardens.  We met Kathy for lunch there on Tuesday and again on Thursday.  A large jar sat on the counter to collect donations for the meal.  The meal served on Tuesday was a pasta dish with herbs and garden tomatoes, baked breaded eggplant, sliced garden tomatoes, green beans, a cucumber salad, bread from the bakery, and a refreshing pineapple lemonade.  We were surprised that a vegan meal could be so tasty!  Later that evening we went out for Mexican food and margaritas….maybe not as healthy as lunch, but just as good!

Saw this sign on the seed store!

Kathy, Ron and I drove into town to meet Mike for lunch on Wednesday.  Afterward, the three of us all went for a ride on the Gator.  We stopped and visited with one of their Amish neighbors for a little while and then looked around in their leather shop.  Kathy told us that this family had made the harnesses for the horses at Branson’s Dixie Stampede!  As we pulled out, a barefooted Amish boy raced along the side of the Gator until we reached the road.  We continued our ride down some of the back roads, passing more Amish farms along the way.  When Mike got home, we packed a picnic basket and had our dinner with wine at a local winery.  It was a fun day! 

We were having a great time with Mike and Kathy but, when Friday came, it was time for us to move on to our next stop.

On the road again!

We’ve had a busy week, checking off all the last minute things we needed to have done before getting back on the road. We went to the last of our medical and dental appointments (√), put new brakes on the truck (√), got our fall clothes from storage (√), returned library books (√), washed the truck and trailer (√), did laundry (√), bought groceries (√), and got haircuts (√).  Yes, even Ron needs his hair cut!  He uses the clippers to get that slick ‘Mr. Clean’ look.  ;-)

In the midst of all our mundane chores and appointments, we had the pleasure of meeting Mike and Carrie Paden for lunch on Wednesday!   Mike and Ron worked together at the university before Ron retired, and Mike is now a retiree as well. He and Carrie recently returned from a trip to Alaska!  We enjoyed getting to spend some time with them and hearing about their trip.  We all agree that we’d like to see another trip to Alaska in our future.  It has been 6 years since Ron and I spent the summer there in 2005.

We’re back on the road today, but won’t be in Pigeon Forge until next Monday.  We have a few stops planned between now and then.

Breakfast fun, yard décor, and music!

Galen and Karen treated us to a fun breakfast of ‘Amazing Omelets’ while they were here.  And they ARE amazing!  First you grate everything you want to add to your omelet and have it ready in separate little containers. Karen also had a little container of cooked/crumbled bacon ready for us.  We each put our names on a ziplock freezer bag, added 2 eggs, and squished it around with our hands until the egg whites were thoroughly mixed with the yellow in the bag.  Then we added our other ingredients and squished them around until they were mixed well.  Next, we put all of our zipped bags into a pan of boiling water and let them cook for 13 minutes.  (It helps to leave the air in the bag so they will stand up while cooking and not fall over to melt on the edge of the pan).  After 13 minutes, we took them out of the water and let them sit for a few minutes so they would cool down enough to remove them from the bag.  Then pull the bag away from your omelet and let it fall out onto your plate. We added garden tomatoes to the top, and had fresh fruit and blueberry bread on the side.  Yummy!  A great thing to fix on your next camping trip!

I have wanted pictures of the yard décor at a nearby farm house for quite awhile but, until now, we never took the time to pull over and stop.  I’m so glad that Karen wanted a picture, too!  I hope you enjoy this clever ‘flower garden’ and fence row!  I’d like to be able to walk along the fence and get a closer look at all that they have added!

A garden of antique blue bottles

                                     

A clever way to display collectables.

                                   

We also took time to play a little music, which is always fun, but it made it all too clear that I need to get back to practicing a little each day!  

Ron looks like a strolling mariachi in this picture!  LOL

                          

Visiting friends...and Amish workers

Our good friends, Galen and Karen are here visiting for a few days!  We’ve been showing them around town, doing some geocaching,  and playing music together.  Mutual friends, Bill and Susan, live in Columbia and we met them for dinner Monday evening.  Ron and Bill had offices in the same building for years but didn’t know each other, until we all happened to meet in Mountain View, AR a few years ago!  Crazy, huh?

Galen and Karen

There is a lot of activity going on here right now.  Lorisa is having a new roof put on her 130+ year old farm house.  After shopping around, she learned that she could get the best price on metal roofing from the Amish community just north of here.  Because the roof on the house is so steep, she is also paying them to do the work for her.  David is putting the roof on the barn and the other out buildings.

Amish don’t like to have their picture taken.  They believe it’s an unacceptable act of pride, and letting themselves get involved in the world of photography leads them away from true humility.  This is similar to the belief among some cultures that a photograph robs the soul.  They also believe that photographs violate the Biblical commandment, ‘Thou shalt not make unto thyself a graven image.’  Out of respect, I took these photos from a distance and without recognizable faces.

Removing the old chimney

                                         

The men stayed and worked late yesterday because they wanted to get as much done as possible.  They need to spend the next few days on their farms, doing silage and won’t be able to finish the roof until next week.  Lorisa offered to fix dinner for them but John, the Amish man in charge, responded with:  “No, thank you, we will wait and eat when we get home.”  Then, after a short pause, he looked up and added:  “…...but Amish NEVER turn down ice cream!”   She said she would have Ashley pick up some while she was in town.  “Oh, no, I don’t want you to do that!”   She insisted that she wanted to buy it for them, and when she asked what flavor she should get, he answered without hesitation.  “John likes Cookies and Cream,” he said with a big smile.  I guess dinner must have smelled pretty good to them, too, because they ended up eating Lorisa's homemade enchiladas, rice, and beans after they each ate two bowls of ice cream!

Wheels and deals!

We had been having problems with the wheels on our truck coming loose.  It all began when we got new tires put on, a year to a year and a half ago, and progressively got worse each time we had our wheels balanced and rotated, which was always when we were back in Missouri…and always at the same garage.   We finally realized that connection and went in talk to the automotive manager where we bought the tires.  The mechanics thoroughly checked out all of the wheels and then the manager called their insurance company, who sent an automotive engineer out to inspect it, too.   It was determined that the holes in all of the wheels were wallowed out and the studs were damaged in one of the rear wheels, which was most likely because the wheels hadn't been tightened enough when they were put on.  After a long week of wondering if we would be saddled with the expense of replacing the wheels ourselves, we received a check from their insurance company!   Ron found 'almost new' wheels on the internet for a really good price. We are SO relieved to have the problem resolved, and even happier to have their insurance company pay for it!  It’s amazing how much smoother the truck rides now!   As soon as Ron takes care of the routine maintenance, the truck will be ready to get back on the road when we leave in a few weeks!