Sorry about the confusion...

but it seems I am moving one more time! I will be going here. Thanks for your

patience. If you are confused by all this - think what it's doing to me!!

I hope I have moved you all to my new blogroll, and I'll try to be by to visit

you shortly. We are on the road now!

I'm leaving my garden and traveling, you see,

So Cindra made a new blog for me.

I'll post while traveling far and near,

So

Please come see me
by clicking

HERE.

HELLO, FROM IOWA !

There is a two hour time difference here in Iowa - and I haven't caught up yet. It was a very fast paced trip for us. Five days was straight traveling - trying to stay ahead of the snow and make it over the mountain passes. Due to the weather, we decided to forego the sightseeing on this first leg of the trip, and just drive straight through to Iowa. T still has relatives here in Iowa so we are visiting, as well as making some day trips so Terry can show me some of his old haunts - from when he was growing up in corn country.

The country is all so beautiful, everywhere. We left Washington state and came over some Idaho passes that were breath-taking. There was snow in the higher elevations, and along the sides of the roads, but nothing we had to drive on. Thank God - that's not something I want to do in a 32 foot motorhome.

Montana hills were full of tamarack trees which are changing colors - beautiful golds and yellows in the green. And more snow on the mountains. I've always liked Montana.



Wyoming is a beautiful, open state, and I love the red rock there. They even put it in their roads - and makes me feel like I'm in the land of Oz!

Traveling always makes me think of those that came before. First on foot, then on horseback and wagon trains. I always wonder what they thought about the country - and since they couldn't travel the distances we can today - did they think the world all looked the same? It amazes me to think of the work and technology it took to get from that point - to our highways and freeways and where there are today with travel.

South Dakota was where we starting getting cold weather. The land is every changing -driving through mountains and then into long rolling hills. It's all beautiful to me. Lots of corn fields there, too. Of course, we stopped at Wall Drug.













When we crossed the state line into Iowa, it dawned on me that it had been a long time since I'd seen a pine tree! There are no mountains here either, but beautiful rolling hills. It's all farm land where we are - acres and acres of corn fields. And beautiful two story farm houses - each with requisite barn and corn crib. I'm fascinated with the corn cribs. And I'm really liking Iowa!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON

Happy Birthday, Scott!

My son is 34 years old today - but he'll always be my baby boy. This is the card I sent him for his birthday. I doubt he'll think it's as cute as I think it is - but he'll humor me.

Cindra Jo often times sends me birthday cards that say "To My Mommy"; those cute little ones that toddlers send. Other times she'll send sentimental ones. Scott always sends beautiful, sentimental cards, and Brookie sends either sentimental cards, or cards with jokes about being in our family.

I love cards of all kinds - the funny ones, the cute ones, the sentimental ones that make me cry. I have listened to a lot of women complaining, over the years, because their kids forgot to send them a card for their birthday. I always tell them that my kids never forget.

Of course, when it is about two weeks before my birthday, I start asking them every other day or so, "You are aware of a very significant day coming soon, aren't you? A day which should be at least a national holiday?"

Gotta go - T is ready for me to move - we are hoping to get out of this state, across another, and into a different one by the time we stop tonight! (And I still have to call Scott and sing Happy Birthday to him!)

We Almost Left!

We got up this morning at 5:30 am and started the coffee - and have been on the go every since. But we haven't gone!

T hooked the car to the back of the motorhome and I loaded a few last minute things, including our cat, and when we tested the lights and the brakes, we found the left turn signal wasn't working on the car (well, actually, it works on the car until the car is connected to the motorhome, when it no longer works). After our guy showed up to blow all our water lines out, poor T worked on the lights for a couple hours. The problem was finally found - but the solution requires a trip to the motorhome store for a part.

We did shut everything off and close up the house. We drove through the gate above, and put the lock and chain on it. Now we are sitting down in the valley at a garage a friend owns. T had to unhook the car and now he's off to the mororhome-store to find a card part. I'm sitting in the motorhome in the parking lot (it's in a rural area), just chilling out with my cat. I've checked my emails and now I'll look at some blogs - I LOVE our wireless internet!

When T returns and gets us repaired - we're going to decide what we want to do. As it's nearly 1:oo p.m. our time, we will probably spend the night parked right here and just take off in the morning. Sister Caryl says if we end up staying the night, she'll come pick us up and treat us to dinner - what a deal. Hopefully tomorrow, we'll be spending the night in Big Sky Country.

I've Gotta Cut Back on the Caffeine!

I think I'm crazy. I must be crazy. You know the definition of insanity? It's doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results!! I drank coffee until I went to bed last night, and then started drinking coffee again at 6:30 this morning. And I'm sitting here wondering why I'm so jittery! Duh! It happens every time.

I'm a little bit like a dog chasing his tail right now. I'm starting things and then moving on to something else - and not getting anything completed.

I ran errands most of yesterday and didn't get much packing done. I had to go to sister Caryl's and leave her the information and things she'll need to handle our mail for six months. I had to go to my son's house and leave him his birthday card (his birthday is Tuesday) and some other things I had for his family. I kissed and hugged the grandkids good-bye again (I saw them Friday night when Becca had her 14th birthday party and kissed and hugged them good-bye) and I told them again, that I'd write them letters and call them. I had to get some groceries to take with us. I had to go to four stores looking for a water pump for the pond (wouldn't you know one of ours would go out now!), and I met my best friend for lunch, because I won't see her for six months, and because her birthday is Tuesday, too, and because she and I have been best friends for nearly 24 years and we always do lunch for our birthdays.

It is nearly an hour and a half down to the valley and back from where I live, so going down to do anything, is a lengthy deal. When I got home, we had to load up my house plants and drive them to the friend who will nurture and water them for me until I come home. Then I folded a load of clothes that hubby had washed, cooked him some dinner, cleaned up the dishes...and got on the computer for awhile before I fell into my big chair to drink coffee, read my newspaper, and just breathe!

Now I'm up drinking coffee again before I finish packing and cleaning today. I LOVE my coffee! Seriously. Sometimes I can't wait to go to sleep at night so that it will be time to wake up and I can have coffee. The coffee pot is on a timer and is always ready when I wake up! And if I'll stay in bed - hubby will bring me a cup - he's done it every since we've been married. I drink my coffee about half coffee, and half fat-free hazelnut liquid creamer....mmm, mmm, mmm. Gotta go get another cup and get busy now. Later.

My Sister Sent 5X5 Meme (whatever the hell a meme is)

Quilly-Sister sent me this 5X5 whatever, and I'm going to do it for her, even though my time would probably be better spent packing, right now. I rarely ever participate in these type things, just as I never send forwards (so don't forward anything to me!). I think I'm doing it because she so sweetly told me that if I didn't want to, I didn't have to. Wasn't that sweet?!

Usually when someone sends me something to fill out, there are dire predictions included which detail exactly what will happen to me if I don't. Predictions that always include doom and misfortune...such as I'll get hit by a train, or my pet will die, etc. - so since this one didn't, and because my little sister was so sweet, here you go, sister!

Five Minutes to yourself. How would you spend them ideally?

- reading which ever book I'm in the middle of
- watering my garden
- dead heading flowers
- talking on the phone
- reading the daily newspaper

Five Dollars to spend right now. How or where would you spend it?

- pack of cigarettes
- a paperback book
- bag of candy
- latte, extra hot/extra sweet
- at a garage sale

Five Items in your house you could part with right now?

- television
- bathtub (and before you ask, I ONLY shower)
- stove
- rocking chair (don't need any furniture that isn't big enough to lie on)
- hubby's car magazines

Five Items in your house you absolutely, positively could never part with?

- cell phone
- telephone
- address/phone book
- chair and a half
- certain books

Five Words (or phrases) you love?

- I love you
- Hi, mom
- Let go and let God
- mmm, mmm, mmm
- Grammy, I'm 'beaming

Lots to do before leaving....

Today the forecast is still for sun - so today we load the motorhome. By tomorrow it is suppose to start raining, and will be much cooler. I'm looking forward to seeing out the motorhome windshield again.

Our plan is to leave home Tuesday morning - so I won't be 'blogging' too much now. I still have so much to do before we leave, and people I want to see. I'm hoping to get most of the loading done today - it's a big job as we are going to close down everything in the house and have our water pipes blown out. Since it freezes here in the winter, all canned goods, etc. have to be taken out of the house. This is NOT the part of going that I care for.

As you can see by the picture above, once we get on the road, we have lots of help navigating. That is Raymond in the glasses. Between Ray and that GPS - we always know where we are. And with Raymond along, we also get stories of the areas we're driving through - of course, they're all from a 'bear' perspective (and I don't believe most of it). Some of you know Ray, and how irritating he can be. I've tried every way I can think of to get out of taking him with us this year...but he and Ted E. Bear have never been left alone without us....so I got overruled. Oh, joy.

The Queen of Reading, or, This is Too Close! And what was your name?

This is Jean, the sister that is the 'Queen of Reading'. Walls full of books on bookshelves in her home - and she's read them all. Jean doesn't just read the light stuff like I do, she's into all this history, and biographies, autobiographies, and serious stuff. She enlists our sister, Caryl, to purchase on eBay for her - slim pickings in the little town Jean lives in.

This picture was taken last month, we met at this state campground which is half-way between our homes. Jean spent two days with us in our motorhome, and of course, we hit the used book store in the nearest town. T even took us to two other small towns nearby - but no bookstores there.

Jean is the one in the big shades and long sleeves....she's the little bitty thing and doesn't 'do' sun, is always cold...even when it's in the 80's. I'm the one with puppy dog tails....won't get rid of that hair and can't stand the heat it builds up on my neck...and I love the sunshine and weather in the 80's! My ideal home would be somewhere where I could wear flip flops 12 months of the year. And I only wear clothes in hot weather so that I don't scare people into running blindly down the street and into traffic.

Whenever Jean and I are in the same place, I have trouble remembering my name. She's the quiet, refined one. Two words that would never be used to describe me. I'm very loud, talk very fast, am sometimes obnoxious, really silly, and right out there with anything I think or feel. Jean's response (in a flat little, disgusted voice) to almost anything I say or do is, "Jesus, Jackie". So we all tease about my name being Jesus Jackie - and that I'll forget that it's really Jackie Lynn. Once in a while, either Caryl or Terry will slip and say "Jesus, Jackie!" to something I've said or done, and it cracks us all up.

Now, usually, Jean and I aren't this close together in pictures. Or anywhere else. Jean is the undemonstrative member of the family. The rest of us tend to touch a lot. My brother and I still hold hands most of the time when we see each other. Jean's not a touchy-feely like the rest of us, and I'm pretty sure she thought I was plenty close enough. We've teased her so much over the years, about the way she ends phone conversations and letters. We all say to her, "I love you, bye", and she'll say, "Okay, then. Bye". When she writes us letters, she signs them, "As always, Jean". Sometimes Caryl and I tease her and beg her to say she loves us. She always replies, "If you don't know how I feel about you by this time, it wouldn't do any good to tell you". When we grab her and hug her, she stands ramrod straight. One of her arms hangs straight at her side, and with the other, she gently pats our back twice. And she won't say those words! But we know she loves us!

Have books will travel...

We've been busy running errands and getting ready to leave. We finally went to the book store yesterday - and now I'm all stocked up and I can go! I need a minimum of a paperback a day to survive!

I am a reader! A big reader. As in, I go NO WHERE without a book. I've been known to read at the horse races, car races, or just waiting for a train to pass - anywhere and everywhere I go. I read the backs of the cereal boxes while I eat my breakfast, and will pretty much read anything.

T has his tv - and oh boy, does he have varied interests! He watches tractor shows, auctions, car shows, medical shows, law shows, does math on the math channel, watches everything on the history and discovery channels and PBS - and sometimes, all at the same time! He's a 'flipper'. And I read. Good thing...since it wouldn't do to get too into a show that will be 'flipped' off to another channel in minutes!

Before my mother got very ill, I remember her reading all the time, too. I think she passed the gene along to us. Sisters Quilly and Caryl have always read. And our older sister, Jean....oh, my god, she is the queen of reading! Nearly every wall in her house, floor to ceiling, is bookcases! I've always read, (Gram said I read aloud to the girls, things like True Confessions, long before we could ever understand the stories!), and I guess I passed that gene on to my kids. They all read - a lot. And their kids (the grandbabies) read now, too.

Especially Cindra's "teengirl', my Sugarplum. (It's okay, she says no matter how old she gets, she'll always still be my Sugarplum). She is definitely a reader. This last winter when we were going through some little town in Arizona, there was a book sale of outdated, old, worn library books. I picked some up, and didn't get at some of them until I got home this spring. I started reading one of the hard backs and discovered it was about a teenager. When the focus stayed on this girl, I read the inside and back of the book, and discovered it was for "young adults". Well if there ever was a young adult - that would be me! - so I decided to read it. And it was GOOD. There was a racial message, a look at faith, and an awareness of what some of our moral obligations should be. It made me think of Sugarplum - who in the situation, would have acted the same as the girl in the book, as she's the same kind of girl...loving, caring, and full of compassion.

When Cindra and her family were here last month, I told Sugarplum that she'd probably enjoy this book I read, and I gave it to her. When they left for Oregon, they stopped two nights along the way. And by the time they got home, Sugarplum had finished the book. She said she couldn't wait to find out what happened at the end. It gave me such a warm fuzzy feeling to have been able to enjoy the same book with her. I'd say she was growing up fast, but the truth is, she's always been an old soul.

I can never wait to find out what's going to happen at the end of a book, either. The difference being - I don't wait. I read the first and second chapters, usually, and then the last one. I know. I know. Not the way to do it. But it works for me. It's the way I've done it for years and I've never NOT read a book because I knew the ending. And I so don't have the patience to wait.

T wasn't quite sure what to do about my reading the first time we went south. Where do you put all these books? How do you pack enough books for 4 months? But he's good! He'll stop anywhere and take me to a used book store to exchange my books, or stop at any book sales I see, but meanwhile, all the bags of books floating around waiting to be traded in, and the other piles of books I had not read yet - were driving him crazy. So he built me an oak bookcase with sliding doors, in the motorhome. I am good to go!

Now - if I could just make myself read something that would enrich my mind! I think sometimes about how intellegent I might be if I read something besides murder mysteries, true crime, horror and grisly serial killer books. And I don't even want to think about what my reading choices say about me!