BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Odessa, WA
It is currently 16 degrees on our back deck....and the target for tonight is 13! YES --13 degrees. We are so outta' here! Our poor animals are frozen, as we are. Even Al said it was cold today and it has to be dog gone cold for him to say that!

We are hoping to head south tomorrow. Our target is to get outta' here shortly after 1:00 PM after the water is shut off and we drain the house. We may only make it to Moses Lake, but at least we are heading south. We are going straight to Tucson this time....no side trips. We are trying to get ahead of a storm that is suppose to roll in and provide a lot of that frozen white stuff that is called ss.ss..nn..oo..ww.

More as we roll along.

This and That, and It is cold!

BRRRRRRRRRRR -- IT IS TIME TO MAKE LIKE A DUCK AND HEAD SOUTH! We have been to Seattle and back and I have to tell you....it is cold here in Odessolet (as one of my granddaughters calls it). Right now it is a whopping 40 degrees outside and about the same inside! Heater isn't keeping up very well tonight. And if I put on any more clothes I won't be able to move.

Al had his last Seattle doctor appointment today and the doctor gave him the okay to drive again, with a few limitations. He doesn't want him driving in real congested area's and prefers that he limits his driving on long drives to 4 hours at a time (which isn't a problem with a bladder like mine...we stop every two at least!) AL is feeling much, much better as well....and his new medicene seems to be really helping. Thank goodness.

So with that good news...we are hoping to be outta' here by the end of the month.

The trailer came home Sunday (thank you Sun Country) and is road ready, so now I have my work cut out for me...get the rest of the "stuff" in it. As I look at this pile of "Stuff" we seem to move every 3 months or so I wonder just what I could cut out. I could cut out the "bill" box, but that wouldn't be very practical....I could cut out the dog toys, but that would be less practical. I could cut out our clothes, however that could get expensive in the long run. I have decided to leave more clothes here however...especially the warm ones. However, I will take enough to get me to a warmer climate...like Arizona. I do remember that is does get cold in Tucson in January/February however, so I will be like a good Girl Scout and "be prepared".

News that really isn't news and other nonsense!

I ask you, why are gas prices so friggin' high in Washington State? Headlines in the Spokane newspaper a few days ago was "Spokane gas prices highest in state"....and it goes on to say that gas is higher in Washington than in any other state. Friday gas was $2.71 here in Odessa. Now, you might say, "well, you are in a small town." Not relevant. In Davenport (another small town) it was $2.59 same day. In Spokane it was $2.66. Today it was $2.59 in Odessa. I don't understand. I see in todays news that gas prices are actually under $2 in some areas of the country. St Louis being one of them...and Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri. Why can Missouri lower prices and we can't? Can we say gauge? And just why is gas so high in the first place? I know, some of you will say it is because of foreign oil...but what about the oil we have stored? Is that to be used for an emergency? Again, why? I remember my mom and dad complaining when gas went up over $.30 a gallon! Okay, I just really age dated myself! It doesn't seem to long ago whey we were complaining when it went up over $1. We would drive around and look to see if we could find gas under a dollar...that made sense--NOT! Okay...off the soap box!

It is getting cold here....it was 30 last night. We had both cats in bed with us last night, cuddled up so close we couldn't move. Of course, neither of us made them move. They are like little, portable, furry, heaters. The high tomorrow is suppose to be 48---me thinks it is time to get out of here and head to Tucson. Of course, I thought that 2 month ago. I still don't know if Al is going elk hunting, so our departure date for Tucson is still up in the air. The 5th wheel is in for maintenance and as soon as we get it home I will finish getting it packed and be ready to go just in case he decides not to hunt. We do have a doctor's appointment in Seattle on the 25th, and any time after that is time to leave as far as I am concerned. Not that I have ran out of things that need to be done around here, I just don't want anything to do with them right now...I want to go get warm.

Last weekend was opening of deer hunting season here. All the hunting gang from Seattle, minus one, came over. Frank has been down with pneumonia, so he had to miss deer hunting...which, I am sure, upset him. I left town as I do every year so the boys can have the house. I went to Spokane and spent the weekend with Al's cousin and my best friend. We had a great time...Jeannette and I went into Couer d'Alene and poked around the shops there. She and Gary spoiled me this weekend...and I loved it. And, just for the info, 3 deer were taken this weekend. Jesse & Rowland Brasch and Jim Jardine each got deer. And I almost got one on the way home...a nice big buck jumped out and ran across the road right in front of me!

I talked with my 81 year old aunt tonight. Oh boy, that was fun. All I heard from her is that she is dying (well, aren't we all?) that she hates where she is living (she is the one I moved to Colorado last year...it's taken me a year to get up enough gumption to call her!) She hates Colorado, it's cold (they had snow today), she hates her nursing home, blah, blah, blah. If I get that way will someone shoot me? She has always been a complainer, but she has it down to a fine science now! I think it will another year before I call again. Oh, and of course, it is my fault she is where she is. Makes no difference she asked to move there and my cousins and I made it happen. ARRGG.

Well, until I find something else to complain about....er....talk about, (do I sound like my aunt??) I will close this for now.

Irises, Irises and More IRISES!

Now, as most anyone who knows me, knows I love the Iris flower. And I point them out everywhere we go. I have seen them in every country we have traveled to with the exception of Saudi Arabia! I have Iris pictures, plates, etc. all over my house in Odessa. And six years ago I planted 60 Iris tubers all around the outside of the house. Just 60, which have all produced beautiful flowers, purple, salmon, black, yellow, champagne and purple, white and purple, etc. Now, to grow iris sucessfully, apparently you are suppose to dig them up every 3 years or so and "split" them and re plant. NO ONE TOLD ME THIS when I planted mine. WHAT??? It requires addition time and work after the initial planting???? AARRGGG! But, but, I'm retired! I have no time for this nonsense!

Well, after feeling "guilty" for the last year because my poor iris were being "crowded" I decided this year would be the year I would dig them up, split them and transplant them. Little did I know what I was getting into, besides one hell of a lot of work!!!! First of all, these things reproduce like rabbits! After digging them all up, which was a chore in itself and took nearly a week of dig some, rest, dig some, rest, repeat for better than 6 days I finally had them all out of the ground. Al and our son Jerry were really a big help here as I discovered my "digging" talents were lacking...in other words, I must have missed that class in school. Then I looked at all the iris...holy smoke! As Jerry put it "do you really need all of these?" Uh...no! I had over 200 tubers that we staring at me and that was before I split them! I could have Al dig up our extra corner lot and I could plant all of these iris and go into business as an iris farm....not damn likely! Everywhere I looked there were iris...I even dreamed about them.


Well, as of 20 minutes ago, I am officially done with iris! I have split and replanted 120 tubers, which left me with about 500 left over! I have decided I won't battle weeds in my flower beds again, so I planted tubers, then layed black landscaping material over it, being very careful to cut holes where my iris are to come up and then I have spread 22 bags of bark over the entire mess. And while doing this all I could think of "I bet my brother Johnny would tell me I am not doing this correctly" since he was in his past life a landscaper. Oh well....
My back, knees, hips and generally any other place on my body is screaming at me "you stupid old lady, you are too damn old to do this kind of work and not expect us to hurt!" and hurt they do. I hurt in places I didn't know I had! BUT IT IS DONE...at least for another 3-4 years...then I think I will find some young kid and hire him to do this!

Now, what to do with all the tubers I have left over????? I have given so many away that when people in town see me coming they go hide...it's like somebody trying to give away zuchinni...after a point no one wants it. I have even mailed iris to my cousin in Colorado...that's how desperate I am! If you get a box in the mail from me, better not open it unless you want iris! Wonder if they would grow in Arizona??? NO, I am not crazy enough to have two houses full of iris...besides they take more work than advertised!

We have had beautiful fall weather here in Odessa. The days have been warm and sunny and the nights cold and crisp. About 50% of the leaves have fallen off our trees and I love the crunch as I walk on the fallen leaves....and no, I haven't raked them up yet and probably won't -- I will just pray for a good stiff wind to blow them away. The apples are in season and we have a few fresh goldens, reds, gala's and johngolds...just waiting for an apple pie or crisp.

Spinach? Lettuce? Carrot Juice? I think I will eat chocolate

Since the recent out break of E.Coli in Spinach, lettuce and carrot juice, I have came to the decision that chocolate is the only "vegetable/fruit" that is safe to eat/drink! FINALLY! The world has come around to my way of thinking! I will have a chocolate salad, drink chocolate milk and be a happy camper!

Why is it that all of a sudden e.coli is showing up more often? Is it that our farmers/agriculture producers are taking short cuts? Hmmmm...back to the chocolate theory!

AND, I want to know why gas is all of a sudden dropping in price? Did we find a new oil supply? OR, more likely, were we being "gouged" all along....of course we were! Of course if you live in eastern Washington you won't notice gas prices dropping, we are still being bilked for all they can get! Gas was $2.45 in Seattle and $2.79 in Ephrata on the same day. WHY????

My fingers aren't working today!

Darn old age! Darn arthritis! DARN! I am not having a fun day! It is cold today and my fingers absolutely do not want to work! Matter-of-fact my whole body is rebelling today! Tired of working around the house, tired of being sore. But the way I was raised you work first and play second and darn, I can NOT get past that!

And I am sick at heart about all the school shootings, and what has become of our country. And the question always comes to mind,WHY? WHY shoot innocent children? WHAT GOOD DOES THAT DO? Have we become such an uncaring society that we don't care who we kill? Who we hurt? If you have a problem, SOLVE IT! Don't take it out on others! Off the soap box now.