Domestic Bliss (Boredom)

Hi all, Dianne here.  Well, we've continued mowing, watering, pulling weeds, and generally keeping our house in Pendleton ready for the realtor.  Not too much interesting to write about, so we didn't.

Our "grandpuppy," Cinnamon, came to keep us company while we worked in the yard.  She loves to run and play with our two dogs.  Surprisingly, her short little legs do pretty well against our made-for-speed whippets, and it's fun to watch them chase each other around the yard.   

Roger here...  When we are working at the house and leave the yard to run errands,  Jasper and Cinnamon lurk around by the driveway gate until we return.  Jasper 

is usually on full alert while Cinnamon lays down and chills out with her nose under the gate. 

 Chaplin, who is always in a fog, does not seem to realize when we leave and is usually sprawled out in the sun somewhere in the yard, looking as if he died several days ago.  

Thanks to a suggestion from one of you, I purchased a CD set of "Birding by Ear" and am trying to learn how to identify birds by their song.  The photo of Roger shows his expression while enduring our boring drive back and forth to Pendleton from Summit Lake as he listens to my birding CDs.  (He was mugging for the camera.)  (Roger here...  the bird tape is mind-numbing!  We eventually reached a compromise  - bird tapes on the outgoing trip, music on the incoming trip.)

   He might complain, but he's learning some songs, too.   We've decided Summit Lake is just too far to drive back and forth, so we're going to stay at a private campground which is much closer when we're in the area next time.

Anyone who knows cats knows how eccentric they can be.  Our cat, Charlie, is no exception.  His eccentricities include wanting our sliding doors inside the motor home open at all times.  If you shut one to use the facilities, he shows his displeasure by pounding on the door until you open it for him to enter.  Of course, if you do that, as soon as you close the door again he immediately wants back out. 

 His other eccentricity occurs EVERY TIME I make the bed, no matter where he is or what he's doing, he feels he just has to help by jumping up and laying down exactly in the spot I'm trying to make.  

 He also wrestles with our dog, Jasper.   Jasper takes it upon himself to scold Charlie every time Charlie tries to sharpen his non-existent front claws on the sofa.  They actually interact much more than Jasper does with Chaplin, our other whippet.

Our daughter, Amanda, and granddaughter, Kaia, came to enjoy dinner and a camp fire again while we were at Summit Lake.  Kaia has decided our new lifestyle isn't so bad, especially since she has all the comforts of home including the 

Jonas Brothers on TV and the Disney internet site,

 no matter where we are.   We can still make brownies together, and they turn out just as good as they did in my expensive Thermador dual-fuel range in the house.

Roger here...  Many of our friends and relatives don't realize this, but Dianne is an O.W.G. - Opportunistic Wood Gatherer.  She inherited this affliction from her grandmother, Clara, who was one of the thriftiest persons I have ever known.  She actually cut the ends off toothpaste tubes to squeeze out the last little bit before tossing the tubes in the trash.   (Dianne here:  funny he should mention this; I just now did the same thing to MY toothpaste tube! -- "Waste Not, Want Not.")   By the way, so no one misinterprets my little bit of fun, Dianne's grandmother, who lived to be 105, was one of the best persons I have ever known.  I miss her very much.

Anyway, back to Dianne's O.W.G disorder.  When we stay through the weekend in a state park, Dianne patiently waits for the weekend campsites to clear early Sunday evening.  She then lurks among the empty campsites gathering wood (often partially burned) from the fire rings and dragging it back to our site where the pyro-queen assembles her own unique 

conflagration.  During Amanda and Kaia's last visit, Kaia (in her constant search for snack food) asked where Meemaw was.  When I said that she was stealing firewood, she responded, "Oh, again!  Can I have a coke?"

We are now at Prophetstown State Park near West Lafayette, IN - in my opinion, the best Indiana State Park Campground - outstanding facilities, including full hookups, with beautiful, spacious, very private sites.  More on Prophetstown the next time.