Rain, rain, rain.....................and a little more rain!

Clarinda, IA - 65 and overcast.  Phyllis has dumped rain from the gauge almost every morning.  .65, .4, 1.0, 14

 On one of the sunny days I rode recumbent trike down to the airport, put on 5 miles including riding around the apron of hangers and coming back.
Yes, we are just under 1,000 feet above sea level here.






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I fastened our two lawn chairs between back of the trailer and the spare tire.  Not sure I like them there, may see how they look behind the propane tanks, above the battery, on the front of the trailer.

Working in the shop one day I devised stops on the table saw sled to cut corners from some blocks.

The blocks were stacked to bring downstairs bed up 8" so Phyllis can use the bed as a work table for laying out her quilt materials.

Friday night Patty Steckleberg drove over from Shenandoah, IA and rode with us as we picked up Theresa Minard here in Clarinda and Bernadine Behlers in Corning and went to Creston for their Square Dance.  At left is a line-dance between the square dance tips.  (A tip is pair of two calls for square dancing)

Caller for the evening was Fred "Who" Logan from Des Moines.  Saturday was his 77th birthday and cake was made for him.

 Two pictures at left are dancers in line for the refreshments after dancing quit at 10:00 pm.

Sunday morning, at coffee after church service, the ladies were visiting and I tried to catch all in these two photos.

When I was gluing the blocks together to make the riser for the basement bed I had the nail from the nailer (driving 2.25" nails) go into the 2"x4", hit a knot and come out the side of the board.  Of course, I was holding the board and it went into the front of my thumb and came out the side - where the dark dot is.  This was taken day later when it was a little swollen and red.  It will feel better as soon as it quits hurting!

 After church Sunday we went for a 6 mile ride, stopping at HyVee to pick up some things on the way home.  Nice and sunny that day.  Started raining that night - glad I mowed the lawn Sunday afternoon.

Later Sunday afternoon we went for a drive down to College Springs and west to visit Luther Compton.  He will be 93 this June, has had several small strokes, but seems to be getting along well.  Has no use of right hand and some bother with right leg.  However he was in good humor and he and Phyllis visited about a lot of people in the neighborhood of the past - and present.  Marie was in Shenandoah with two other ladies at a play -- she came home shortly before we left. 

Driving home from Comptons we went past Coin, Iowa where we ran the grain elevator from 1974 to 1994.  Only one Quonset building, the yellow Chief building and the Butler building remain from when we were there.  The complete drier facility and bins are gone.  Of course, the wooden elevator building was burned down in the 1990's being replaced by the "Morton type" office building.

Grain elevator used to sit where the green-topped building sits now.  We built the yellow "Chief" building in the late 1980's.  The low Quonset building on the right existed then.

The large grain bin is only one left - we had that built in the '80's.  The 4 smaller bins and one large bin as well as the continuous dryer were between where that bin is and the "Butler" building on the right.  Things change.

Taken of TV last evening.  Tornado watch was just south of us, on the other side of the Iowa/Missouri state line.  We just got rain out of it.

Taken out our picture window to the south.  Clarinda Regional Health Center is across the street to the left.  In center is "bunkhouse" for the 24/7 helicopter crew; beyond it is the building for the 4 ambulances that serve our area.  Not uncommon for sirens in our area and the helicopter going out or coming in.

While working on this blog I am playing some VCR tapes from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's.  Above is our oldest granddaughter Ashley when she was about one year old, living in Wisconsin.



One sunny day Phyllis did her shearing thing.


Got call that our pickup topper will be put on this Friday so will be making a trip to Omaha then.

Later, Lynn

Bright Sunshine in SW Iowa

Clarinda, IA 65 degrees with bright sunshine.  Was 35 degrees when woke up and a bit brisk, but this is better.

Lilac bush just off our back deck.  Blooms are a bit small, but really vibrant and dark colored.

This afternoon is an "outside day" and I mowed the yard and then put down fertilizer with weed killer in it.  I took this picture from the lawn mower of Phyllis washing front picture window on house.

 Last evening we had dinner guests -- Cork and Lyn Sliger from Grant, Iowa.  Cork was like a "big brother" to Phyllis when he lived with her folks to finish high school in Clarinda when his folks moved to Kansas City back in the late 1950's or maybe 1960.  He worked the farm with father-in-law Melvin Cabbage for that year and has remained friends over the years, though we had not seen them for quite some time.

 Phyllis and Cork caught up with what has been happening the last few years.  Though Cork tried retirement (from semi-truck driving) several years ago, that didn't work out.  He still works for the trucking company, in Bedford, IA, around the shop and doing some special hauling.  Said he would be hauling some display items to a Truck Trade Show in Pennsylvania in a few weeks.

View from our front door with the trailer sitting in front of my shop/storage shed.

Would say that these trees are on our property, but they aren't.  Downloaded photo from the net, think they are cherry blossoms.

Breakfast this morning.




Later, Lynn

Visit to Hiawatha, KS

Clarinda, IA  50 degrees with off-and-on rain.  Phyllis dumped .4 inch from gauge this morning.

Click any photos to enlarge.

Yesterday, Friday, we drove a little over 100 miles south (down to St. Joe, MO and then west on 36) to near Hiawatha, Kansas to Harold & LaRhoda Neher's place.  They are our next-door neighbors in Kenwood RV in La Feria, Texas and we hadn't seen them for a month or so.  -  At right are the Neher's with Rocky.

After visiting for some time, LaRhoda put on a banquet lunch.  Smoked pork chops, cheesy potatoes, creamed asparagus, salad; a true "thrasher's dinner". 

Harold admiring my camera (you taking pictures again?)

Played several games of Pegs and Jokers -- Burl and Donna Penny came over after lunch for the games.  Had to stop for home-made ice cream and apricot cobbler and then played some more.  Ended with tie of 3-3 so nobody were losers.

Had several people ask for pictures of our "new" pickup.  Was going to wait until got the topper on it in a few weeks, but here are a couple photos of it the way we bought it.  2012 Chevy Silverado 1500 LT.  This 3-year old pickup had only 2447 miles on it, had belonged to one of our neighbors here in 

Clarinda and it hardly got out of town.  Is half-ton with gas 5.3 engine.  It is the extended cab, which has the back doors that open only when the front door is open, but with just the two of us, think this will be fine.  Size will be adequate for the 5,000 GVW travel trailer we will be pulling.  Ordered the topper from outfit in Omaha and they have each one custom made in Indiana to fit this year and model/color.

Phyllis had quilted this bedspread for LaRhoda this winter while we were in Texas and had not finished the shams (Pillow cases) so delivered them and took these photos of the completed quilt on their guest bed.

These two photos were taken a week apart.  The hedge in the back yard is really filling out.

Last several days have worked on our new travel trailer - putting up shelves, towel racks, TP hanger, removing one cup-holder off end of couch that was in the way of Phyllis getting around her side of bed; the oven was smaller than in our last trailer and the stone wouldn't fit that is used to even out the heat.  Used a diamond-covered hack saw to take two inches off the side so it does fit.

Not raining outside now, but very overcast.  Puttering on computer and will putter some more with trailer.

Later, Lynn

Little cool in SW Iowa

Clarinda, IA  32 degrees earlier 51 and sunny now.  Been cool every morning, but warms to the 60's in afternoon.

 Went to Circle 8 Square Dance last night here in Clarinda - last dance for the season.  Even though Phyllis & I are not members anymore (We are gone to Texas during majority of their dancing season) we served, along with Jack and Karen Baumgarten as hosts.  Caller was Chris Wildhagen from St. Joe, MO

 Seems have spent much time on doing one of my least favorites things -- yard work.  At our Texas home the Mexican crew shows up every Monday to mow the grass - albeit not the best job - and all we do is keep clean around the flower bushes and the cactus plants.  And, of course, it is a much smaller yard.

 The first cutting was so tall in the main area right in front of the house that had trouble with bagging it, so cut with the riding mower and then came back and ran over, at least 2 times, with the bagger to get the grass and last fall's leaves picked up.

Doing the second mowing, still using the push mower with the bagging attachment, Phyllis offered to help, so I let her.  I was kept busy hauling off the grass/leaves to the compost pile right behind the hedge row in the back yard.

Birds feeding near the back deck.

Squirrel helping himself to the bird feed.

Attended  funeral service for our friend Phyllis Mayer in Shenandoah.

Put up ladder and went along both sides of this 36' long shop to clean the gutters.

Went to Villisca, IA last Thursday for fish fry supper with Oliver and Mary Jo Herzberg and then to their place for some cards. 

 Went to Omaha Monday and ordered a new truck topper for the pickup we bought last week.  Will be couple weeks before it gets in.  Will have it all set up before we pull out with the trailer on May 17th.

Later, Lynn