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Monday, March 31, 2008

Second Snowiest March on Record

Well, we can count the winter of 2007-2008 Spokane's third snowiest winter on record. A whopping 87.8 inches of snow fell this winter and we are not through yet. Coeur d'Alene's snowfall reports are between 178 and 220 inches for the winter. Out of the 11 days since the start of spring we have had snow 10 out of 11.


On Saturday we woke to 5 inches of that fluffy white stuff and roads slicker than greased lightning. Lots of fender benders everywhere. That storm also dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Northern Idaho. At Spokane International Airport at least 5-6 inches fell. Snowfall totals at the airport for March was 15.8 inches. The record for snowfall in March was set in 1897 with 16.4 inches.

According to the weatherman we are to see milder temperatures real soon (I will believe it when I see it). I am looking forward to temperatures in the 80's and 90's although I will probably have to wait until that one day in July when summer begins and ends.

I had some picture of the snowstorm but for some reason when I went to download them from my camera to the computer my pea brain failed me and therefore I have no pictures at this time. Could it be "oldtimers" settin' in.

As always, In the words of my Father, "That's it for Today".

Thursday, March 27, 2008

So Many Blogs - So Little Time

I have always been a reader of many things, newspapers, pamphlets, books, flyers, anything I can get my hands on. I began reading at a very early age. Probably around age three or four. I remember reading from the Bible in church when I was five. I also started school when I was five. Since I knew a lot more than the kids in the first grade after three days the teacher passed me to the second grade. I started school in a two room school and every Friday was spell down day. All the kids got up on stage and the teacher started with the lower grades and you took turns spelling words until you missed. The last person standing got the prize. I remember spelling down this one particular fourth grader. I was so proud of myself and I took the prize home that week.

Now that we are in the age of computers, a lot of my reading is done on line. I keep up with 6 or 8 newspapers. Since I have discovered blogs and journals its really hard to keep track of how much I read. I read some 30-35 journals daily. I also have some I read once in awhile and a few that only post infrequently and I check them from time to time.

It is amazing how much you can see and learn from blogs and journals. I can sit in the comfort of my armchair and travel to many places and see lots of wonderful pictures. In the space of just a few minutes I can be all over this great country and even to Mexico (Yes I follow Jorge too!!). I also read a couple of blogs from Canada (Hi Sandra). A lot of the authors of blogs I read go to the same place and take pictures of the same thing but I never tire of seeing them. Ellie and Jim, Doug and JoAnn, Jo and Fred all met this winter and took a trip to Mexico. I loved following all three journals each day, they were doing the same thing, yet the writing styles and pictures were different. Better yet what made it for me was I got to go along. Thanks Tres Amigos!!

If you have a blog or journal you think I need to add to my collection, drop me a note.

For now I will go to bed and fall asleep dreaming of great places to vist.

In the words of my Father, That's it for Today".

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Monday Sunshine

Well, Today has been a great day filled with sunshine. I can't believe that big old yellow ball in the sky came out early in the morning and stayed out all day. There was a little breeze but not uncomfortable. I guess that is a prelude ast to what is to come. The weather forecast for the rest of the week is rain and snow flurries. Didn't some one say spring is here? I don;t believe it.

Work is going pretty well, not nearly so stressful as last week. Another 100 percent quality assessment made my day.

Leftover Easter dinner for Monday's dinner. I love leftovers. They always taste better the second day and the third and the fourth.

A lot of my full timing RV friends are on the move or getting close to it. Everyone seems to have the "Hitch-Itch", myself included. I think it might have to do with the fact that I have been cooped up all winter. Would like to take a drive this weekend. I need some new pictures to share.

Not much news in this post but at least it is here.

In the words of my Father, "That's it for Today".

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to Everyone. It has been a very blessed weekend.
Easter is unusually early this year. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox or start of spring on March 20.

It will be 152 years before we see Easter this early again (March 23). The last time it was this early was 1913.

The earliest date Easter can fall is March 22 (in the year 2285 - 277 years from now).

The odds are better for late Easter. It will fall on April 25, 2038. The last time Easter was that late was April 25, 1943.


After a traditional Easter dinner, Ham and all the trimmings. I am ready for a nap.

In the words of my Father, "That's it for Today".

Friday, March 21, 2008

Camping With Grandma


Hello:

My name is Kimberlei and my name is Lauralei. Hi I'm kimberlei I am on the right. Hi I'm Lauralei I guess I'm on the left ---I think--- I'm just kidding I know what side I am on.

Hello we're over at are grandmas. Were going to have some much fun!. The fun thing is that we get to drink beer! Root beer! LOL we are going to be playing card games. And we are all going to play with are webkinz. grandma thought that we could actualy have a zoo because we have so many. lauralei has 4 webkinz. they are a huskey, a hippo, also a black horse and a raindeer. I have a frog a panda bear and a seal. Webkinz are stuffed animals that comes with a code and you go to webkinz.com and you register and then you just take care of them. The cool thing about them is that they dont die. ok now back to talking about what were doing. We're going to sleep out in the camper and were going to have a blast!!!! We are going to play poker also, other games. we're going to stay up late!!! Tomarow were going to a garage sale. sorry if i spell any words wrong. we are going to have snaks and pop. were going to have sooooooooooo much fun! i love coming over to my grandmas. she always has so many great ideas for use to have fun when we come over. we do lots of activitys. my grandma did not type this. i did kimberlei i am a big girl and i can type so i typed this. but my grandma thought that this was pritty cool! :)

-kimberlei

ps. we also went online to chat with some people -that was too much fun. If you ladies are reading this Hi Ladies!!

WEBKINZ!!!!!
Hello my name is lauralei!
Kimberlei has told you about webkinz if you have any kids that like stuffed animals well you might want to listen. As you heard i have 4 webkinz one husky, one little kinz hippo. Little kinz is a smaller version of a webkin they are both the same but different sizes. Also I have a reindeer, and a black horse. Here is some pictures of my webkinz . as you can see on his left foot it has a w for webkinz. make sure you keep your secret code that comes with it. the blue hippo also has the w on its foot. See the tag on the horse make sure when you buy one it has that tag or you cant get on to webkinz world.and there is much more if your daughters or sons have any questions just leave a coment and my grandma will tell me and i answer your questions.


here is some other webkinz animals.



you can make your room and do anything in it. you can invite friends over in your room. only friends that is a member to webkinz.remember to log out of webkinz. dont share the secret code.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE MORE VIST webkinz.com

If you have any questions send a coment and i can answer your questions.

thank you

lauralei

:-)
As you can see I had a really busy weekend. The grandkids are the greatest. Their portion of this blog is unedited(even the spelling). As you can see Lauralei had no trouble with her pictures like I did last week. They did fail to mention the fact that we went to the Large Indoor Yard sale and we made jello easter eggs . I love spending time with my grandchildren. It is what keeps me young.

In the words of my father "That's it for Today".









Who Said Spring?

The calendar is wrong, the weather forecasters are wrong, my eyes are decieving me and that white fluffy stuff out there just isn't so!!



The first day of spring and we woke up to snow. I The ground was covered and the temperature was hovering around 32 degrees. It snowed off and on all day. and when it wasn't snowing it was either sleeting or raining. For a brief minute or two we saw the sun peek through the clouds. So you might say we had it all today. A new season - Bah Humbug!! It's still the same old winter.



Friday's forecast was more snow and snow it did. It snowed most of the day and not little bitty snow either but big flakes. They were so big they looked like saucers. When I went to work at 4:20 AM it was snowing so hard you had to keep the windshield wipers going full blast to keep the snow off the windshield. We actually got a couple inches that stuck to the ground but by afternoon it had warmed up and al the snow had turned to standing water everwhere. I believe the ground is so saturated it can't hold any more.



In the afternoon the grandkids came to visit for an overnighter. We ate pizza and breadsticks, played on the computers, popped into the RV Dreams chatroom for awhile. They have decided they are going to be RV Dreamettes. They had lots of fun chatting. We then retired to the elevenfootrv where we played some games, drank some root beer and had a midnight snack.



Despite the weather it was a great day...of course anytime spent with the grandkids makes it a very special day.



And in the words of my Father, "That's it for Today".

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Signs Of Spring

This is the day I have been waiting for for the past 68 days. At least that's when I started counting. Spring officially arrived at 10:48 pm last night and I slept right through it.



After the long, cold, snowy winter we had here Spring is here at last. You can smell spring in the air. It's just a different smell. The earth is waking up, the grass is greening and the flowers begin to shoot up from nowhere. People are more energetic. They seem to smile more.


Here's a few reasons I know spring is in the air.



The crocus are peeking their little heads through the ground. Daffodils , jonquils and narcissus begin to show their colors. Pussy willows along the creeks start to show their fuzzy faces.


Those orange traffic cones keep popping up everwhere. They seem to multiply on the roads and freeways. It's going to be a busy construction year.


Huge displays of garden seeds become abundant at grocery stores. Makes me want to plant a half acre garden.


My mailman delivered my mail wearing shorts.


I see fat little robins waddling about my yard and hear the chirping of birds in the trees.


It's the end of the sniffling and flue season. Hopefully when the winter went away, my cold will too. Its been hanging around way to long.


White shoes begin to show up in the Department stores. As long as I am buying shoes, I may as well buy a new outfit, and maybe a purse, and another hat would be nice.


There are long lines at the car washes There is nothing I like more than a sparkly clean vehicle but it seems every time i wash the truck it rains.


Snowbird friends migration begins. My friends are on the move. Moving north as the temperatures are getting warmer. That's the thing about RVing you always have a different back yard.


Sweet apple blossoms remind me of the good things in store . I think ahead and can almost smell the apple pie. It's my favorite.


32 degree weather will be gone - well almost - the weatherman is predicting freezing temperatures for the weekend.


Only 92 days till 1st day of summer. C'mon summer!!

and in the words of my father, "That's it for Today".

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St Patricks Day

Happy St Patricks Day!!

Well it has been a great day so far. Had some corned beef and cabbge that was very good and best of all I did not have to cook it.


May your day be touched by a bit of Irish luck,brightened by a song in your heart,and warmed by the smilesof the people you love.

Dance as if no one were watching,Sing as if no one were listening,And live every day as if it were your last.


May the lilt of lush laughter lighten ever road,May the midst of Irish magic shorten every road.May you taste the sweetest pleasuresthat fortune ever bestowed,And may all your friends remember all the favors you are owed.


McQuillan walked into a bar and ordered martini after martini, each time removing the olives and placing them in a jar. When the jar was filled with olives and all the drinks consumed, he started to leave. "S'cuse me," said a customer, who was puzzled over what McQuillan had done. "What was that all about?" "Nothing," he replied, "my wife just sent me out for a jar of olives



Unicorn
A long time ago when the Earth was green,

There was more kinds of animals then you've ever seen.
And they'd run around free while the world was being born.
The loveliest of all was the Unicorn!
There was green alligators and long necked geese,
Hump back camels and chimpanzees.
Cats and rats and elephants but sure a you're born,
The loveliest of all was the Unicorn!
But the Lord seen some sinnin' and it caused him pain.
He says, "Stand back, I'm gonna make it rain.
So hey, Brother Noah, I'll tell you what to do.
Go and build me a floating zoo." "
You'll take two alligators and a couple of geese,
Two hump back camels and two chimpanzees. T
wo cats, two rats, two elephants
but as sure as you're born,
Noah, don't you forget my unicorns!"
Well, Noah looked out through the drivin' rain,
But the unicorns was hidin'-playin' silly games.
They were kickin' and a-splashin'
while the rain was pourin',
Oh them foolish unicorns. "
So you take two alligators and a couple of geese,
Two hump back camels and two chimpanzees.
Two cats, two rats, two elephants
but as sure as you're born, Noah,
don't you forget my unicorns."
And the the ark started movin' and it drifted with the tide,
And the unicorns looked up from the rock and cried.
And the water came up and sort of floated them away,
That's why you've never seen a unicorn to this day.
You'll see a lot of alligators and a whole mess of geese,
You'll see hump back camels and chimpanzees.
You'll see cats and rats and elephants
but as sure as you're born,
You're never gonna see no unicorn.


An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.May the wind always be at your back.May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soft upon your fields.And until we meet again,May God hold you in the palm of His hand.



Go mbeannai Dia duit(May God Bless You)

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Northern idaho

For some unknown reason the cyber god attached themselves to my pictures here so ii had to delete them. I am working to get those ptures restored tothis site. thanks Jenny



Well, since I haven't had any pictures to post for a while I thought I would share a few pics ofone of my favorite places Northern Idaho. Mirror Lake is located just outside Sagle, Idaho. It is a private lake and has a small campground and some of the greatest fishing in the world. I have been fishing this lake for the past 40 some odd years.



Here is a picture of the Grandkids going fishing with Uncle John on Mirror Lake. Note: Kimberlei has two broken arms and still went fishing and caught fish. This was taken a couple years ago.

This is the HandMobile, a classic owned by John and Gail Hand. Unique exterior decorated with hands of their friends and family.
A different kind of mail box, Sagle, Idaho.
This rock has a different story behind it. There was a lady who lived on Beauty Creek in a cabin. She found this rock on the top of the mountain about 10 miles away. She mentioned to a couple of loggers that she would like to have the rock in her front yard. At the end of the logging season when they moved their equipment they used a grapple skidder to transport this rock to her front yard. She repaid them with a fifth of whiskey. She transformed that rock into the focal point of her yard. She dug a hole around the rock and lined it with cement and built a fish pond around the rock where she kept goldfish.
The cabins are all gone now and the fish pond is all but covered up with leaves and debris but the rock is still there and until another logger with a grapple skidder comes along the rock is where it will stay.





and in the words of my Father, "That's it for Today".

Friday, March 14, 2008

Another Friday Bites The Dust

Well, another Friday bites the dust. It has been a stressful week.

Dealing with angry customers is no picnic especially those who think there has been a mistake made and it is not in their favor. They tend to behave like two year olds. Sometimes you have to let them vent, remembering they are not mad at you personally. They are mad at the company you work for.

Something I have found that works for me is to remain calm. Let them talk. They have to take a breath sometime.

When they do it is your turn. Ask questions to determine the facts. Empathize with them. Apologize for what has happened and assure them you will be able to handle their request.

Investigate what has happened, relate it to the customer and tell them what it will take to resolve the problem and then do it.

Confirm with the customer what you have done and ensure they are happy.

Be positive. Customers always appreciate that "warm fuzzy feeling" and a personal touch makes them feel appreciated and special.

I was glad to see Friday afternoon come and it was a payday so that made it better. My stress level just dropped.

That is about it for my week. I had a couple of halfwritten blogs which I failed to finish and post this week, Hopefully I will get to it on the weekend. It is going to be a pretty busy weekend. Rain and snow are in the forecast. As well as grocery shopping, laundry and moving mountains.

And in the words of my father, "That's it For Today".

Monday, March 10, 2008

Time Change, Electricity and Cabbage Soup

Well, it has been a few days since my last post, the weekend has come and gone and not much is happening here. I could make up some things to keep you entertained but that wouldnt be quite right.

I survived the time change but it sure does mess with your mind. It used to be almost daylight when I went to work but now it is dark again. Always daylight when I get off. I read where it saves energy by not burning electricity but you can't tell that on the rooute I take to work. Most houses have at least one outdoor light on, some have two, and some have the outside lit up all over. There are those people who burn their inside lights all night too. And lots of people forget to turn out the basement lights and they burn for days. I would hate to have their electric bills.

That is a plus to RVing or camping. You don't really burn a lot of electricity. You can use solar and the bare minimum of electricity. You can go to bed early and get up early. Use a flashlight or candles if you need light. Propane or battery lanterns also work great. Flourescent or battery operate lights also work well. Think of how much you can save on your electric bill.

I made the usual trek to Walmart on my days off. They needed my money and I wanted to make sure they stayed in business so I helped them out. Got a $20 pair of jeans for $5. Other than that I spent most of the weekend surfing the net. I did take time to go visit the little grand girls. They are so cute and so smart. I know my grandson will grow up to be president someday.

Food for the weekend was Cabbage Soup and Garlic cheese bread. It was quite tasty. Now its Monday and back to work. Maybe this week will be more exciting.

And in the words of my father "That's it for Today".

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Hump Day

Well, here it is Wednesday, the middle of the week, Hump Day or whatever you choose to call it. All I know is I have worked two days and two more to go before I get that two day reprieve.

Yesterday I wrote about journals. Today I will write about blogs. Ever since I have discovered blogs (thru RV Dreams) I have developed an affinity for blogs. I can't read enough of them I have some thirty five blogs and journals I follow every day and many others I read sporadically. The wealth of information that is there is absolutely amazing. I can sit in my armchair and travel to many places every day. Alabama, Nevada, Florida, California, Texas, Utah, Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina and the list goes on and on. One trio of couples met in Arizona and traveled to Mexico together for a fortnight. (Bet you didn't know I knew that word. I read it in a blog) . They had an absolutely wonderful time. And the pictures they posted were absolutely amazing. Thank you, Dos Tres Amigos.

I also follow Tioga and the team wherever their escapades lead them. At the current time they are in Mexico but traveling too far south for where I would want to go. Southern Mexico is not on my bucket list but I enjoy seeing the people and culture through words and pictures. I am also obsessed with building an earth oven for baking. that is on my "bucket list".

Howard and Linda are others I follow and have been since their beginning. They have taken me to wonderful places, swamping with alligators, a farm in Kentucky, the bayous of Louisana, the Gulf coast of Texas and the rocky area of Utah. Howard has a way with words that is unlike no other and his timing is perfect. Every time I think I need to hear some words of wisdom, Howard seems to know it and in the next post or two I will find those words I needed to hear. Thank You, Howard. His pictures also are amazing. Better than a National Geographic. I would write them a letter and suggest they hire him but I don't think he would trade what he has for a nine to five job.

Linda too, is an excellent writer. She took over writing duties a few weeks ago for a week or so. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her writings also.

I would link to all these journals I read but I have not figured out how to put links on here yet.Guess I will have to study up on that. I try to learn something new every day. Maybe adding links will be on my list today.

Thank you to all writers of blogs that let me travel with you thru your writings. Now if I can get out of this armchair I will be out there with you.

And in the words of my father, "That's it for Today."

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Readin' and Thinkin'

Not much new to report today. Still have the cold. Just can't get rid of this hacking cough.

We are on the downhill slide to spring. The weather is cooperating very nicely.

Been reading some other journals lately. I am going to follow a lady who is hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. She is not afraid to do it alone. Now this is one adventurous lady. She is young and has a keen sense of adventure despite those around her who have tried to discourage her she is forging on to make her destination Katahdin, Maine. Now that it has become a reality those same people have rallied behind her to be her support group. May the four winds blow her safely to Maine.

A couple of years ago a young man came into the restaurant where I worked in Tennessee. He was going on the exact same trip. I also followed his journal all the way to Maine. He made it and had a fantastic time. I also had a fantastic time just keeping up with him and lived that trip right aloong with him. It was fun.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if we have a dream and work toward that goal it will eventually become reality. I think there is a lesson learned here.

I am putting the Appalachian Trail on my "Bucket List" to hike at least a portion of it.

And with that said "May the four winds blow me safely out the door to work in the morning".

That's it for today.(My father said that)

Monday, March 3, 2008

Too (Two) Fast Days

Well, the weekend came and went so fast I almost missed it. It is amazing how when your working and have to be at the job five days a week how slow the days go by. You wait all week for the weekend and the two days fly by.



I needed to do some shopping, so I was up early and went to Walmart. Got some groceries and some other things I didn't need. Bought a new set of speakers for my MP 3. Now I have bought three sets of speakers for it and don't like either one of them. Maybe I will start a speaker farm.

Also stopped by the mall where I found some great buys. I was looking for a pair of lounge around pants, found two pair original price $40 and $38, got both for $5 bucks each plus a $20 top for another $5. That made me happy -- always looking for a bargain!! I had a gift card to pay for my purchases so that made me even happier. Free Clothes!!

For Dinner on Saturday, I made Shrimp Scampi and Baked Potatoes. It was very good. I love to cook but have not been doing much of it as of late.

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day in Spokane. It is so nice to see the sun these days. Winter is nice with all that white fluffy stuff and cold days but I absolutely am looking forward to spring this year. The weatherman says Official spring begins this year on March 19 at 10:43 PM. Guess I won't be awake to see it in this year.

As in the words of my father "That's it for Today!".

Saturday, March 1, 2008

March 1

In the news today I read Yellowstone National Park created on March 1, 1872 so I googled it looking for more information. I am amazed at how much information can be obtaind on the early days of Yellowstone National Park. Here is some information I found and also some events that happened on March 1.

On March 1, 1872 President Ulysses Grant signed into existence the world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park. The 2.2 million acres of wilderness was "set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people."

On March 1, 1790 1st US Census authorized.

On March 1, 1803 Ohio becomes the 17th state.

On March 1, 1867 most of Nebraska becomes 37th state (expanded later).

On March 1, 1910 3 passenger trains buried at Stevens Pass Cascade Range in Washington State. 118 die. Worst snow slide in US history.

On March 1, 1932 Charles Lindbergh Jr. (20 months) was kidnapped in New Jersey; found dead on March 12

On March 1, 1941 Captain America appears in a comic book.

On Mar 1, 1954 Ted Williams fractures collarbone in 1st game of spring training after flying 39 combat missions without injury in Korean War.

On March 1, 1968 Singers Johnny Cash (36) and June Carter (38) wed .

On March 1, 1974 Watergate grand jury indicts 7 presidential aides.

On March 1, 1982 New York Times raises it's price from 25 cents to 30 cents

On March 1, 1988 Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe with his record 1,050th NHL assist.

On March 1, 1995 Jozef Oleksy succeeds Waldemar Pawlak on as premier of Poland.


“March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” is probably the most famous and popular saying about this transitional month. But why those particular animals? Some authorities believe that the lion and lamb saying has a heavenly connection. The constellation Leo, the lion, is rising in the east at the beginning of March, hence the “comes in like a lion,” while Aries, the ram, sets in the west at the end of March, and so “will go out like a lamb.”

And on this March 1, In the words of my Father, "That's it for Today".