Standiford Family Web Log

Sent camping again this weekend. I got off work a bit early and Beth had Friday off so we were able to leave early for the campground. Got set up and then ate. Sat with some friends for a while and taked. They are leaving in about three weeks and heading up to Alaska. They are going to be gone about 6 weeks.

Saturday was VERY hot (high 99) so we didn’t spend much time outside. Beth went through boxes of her mother’s jewelry. I sat at read a Dilbert book called Dilbert 2.0. It is the last 20 years of Dilbert cartoons. Ddin’t get real far because it is a big book.

Spent some more time chatting with friends. Drove down to Swiss to get some more bratwurst. We also bought some German summer sausage. This is the best I have tasted since the family stopped butchering and making their own. Even comes in a cloth bag instead of the plastic stuff that most modern summer sausage comes in.

Saturday night we got a little rain. I woke up about 1:30 and saw the lightning and heard the thunder and remembered that the windows were down on the car. Went out but Beth had already gotten up and closed them and dipped the awning. The wind was picking up some so I put of the awning. I don’t think it stormed very much but it was enough that the weather on Sunday was a lot cooler. Still didn’t do much - just a weekend of rest and relaxation.

I did slip and fall at the campground. Some of the sites are rather narrow and the edges slope rather badly. I slipped and slid down the side about 6 feet or so. Skinned up my elbows and one knee and twisted my back. I wsa supposed to go too the chiropractor Monday evening but she is sick to it has been postponed until Tuesday morning. Hope she is feeling better in the morning so I get adjusted.

Went camping again. Decided to drive all the way to campground and eat at the Creekside Cafe. We were a little late getting started so we decided to eat first and then set up. I’m not sure how it happened but EVERYONE in the place got there at the same time. I’m not sure how many tables there are but honestly, they all filled up at the same time. And we were the last ones in. So, we had to wait about 1 1/4 hours to get our food. We can’t decide if this was a fluke or if we need to not do this again. By the time we ate and got set up it was time to go to bed.

Slept late Saturday. Then I worked on the water heater again. I needed some wire so we drove into Owenville to the Walmart and picked up a bit. Also bought a game called Ladderball. More about that later. So, back at the camper, I used the wire to repair the ground on the relay for the 110 side of the water heater. Still didn’t work. I’ve got one more thing to try next weekend and then it is time to call in the professionals.

Beth got me a samll Weber grill for Father’s day. After I gave up on the water heater I assembled the grill. Cooked Hawaian pineapple brats and hamburgers. The brats were for supper and the hambergers were for lunch on Sunday. The brats are some from the Swiss Packing Co. about 12 miles from the campground. We got four different kinds when Ron and Thelma were here and we have been cooking them one kind each week. I’ve like them all.

We watched the movie Paul Blart, Mall Cop. Didn’t think I would like it all that much but it turned out to be pretty good. Kinda like a funny Die Hard movie. Also watche Marley and Me. Kinda disappointed in that one.

Sunday, we worked on reorganizing the ‘basement’ of the camper. Then, I assembled the Ladderball game. It is made of PVC and has three ‘rungs.’ You toss bolos at the rungs. The bolos are like golf balls on strings. The top rung counts at 2 points, the middle counts as 3 points and the bottom counts as 1 point. After lunch Beth and I played a game and I whooped butt. Later we played a couple of games with some friends of ours. He is a pretty good horseshoe player and they won both games. Sat in the camper and talked to them until about 5:00 and then packed up and headed for home.

Went to church on Monday night again. Beth had a CPR class on Tuesday and Wednesday night. She is now certified for CPR. I cut the grass and trimed on Wednesday night, cut some branches off the tree in the back yard, put those branches in the chipper and then cut up some other brush that was in a pile in the back yard. Sure was busy. Thursday night I cut two wheel barrows of wood from the tree we cut down in front. Loaded one of them in the car for camping this weekend. Friday after work we left for the campground. Had a great fire Friday night. Beth wasn’t feeling well this weekend so she didn’t do much - including sitting around the campfire. But I was there until about 11:30 pm. Slept until about 8:00 am Saturday. They were going to have a Huck Finn fishing tournament (you dress like Huck and use cane poles) but I didn’t get down to see that. Couldn’t have dressed up because I didn’t know what it was and didn’t have any clothes along that would work. Had an antique tractor pull on the campgrounds Saturday afternoon. It is a club / league. The tractors cannot be any newer than 1959. They had weight classes from 15oo to 7500. A lot of the tractors pulled in multiple classes. After they pulled they would add weight and then pull again. It got a little warm but had a good time. All the sun and fresh air wore me out though and I ended up going to bed about 8:45 pm. There was a country band and dance but didn’t go down for it. Just too tired. Even missed the fire. Didn’t leave the campground until about 4:3o pm.

Wednesday night I cut the grass when we got home from work. Sure is growing fast. Then on Thursday night I got out the weed wacker and did the trimming. I really need to finish cutting up the tree in front. Still have bit of wood there to cut and haul but the chain on the saw got dull. I took it in and had it replaced plus had the oiler checked. I have it back now so maybe I can finish up.

Went to the campground on Friday night. Got a late start but still got all set up and everything before dark. There was a horse show at the campground. Some group was having a benefit horse show for St. Judes Childrens Hospital. They had a rodeo on Friday night (mostly trick riding I guess) but we got there too late to see that. I planned to get up on Saturday morning and go down to see the calf-roping but it was at 8:00 and when the alarm went off I decided to sleep in. We did go down to see the horses but most of them were out on a trail ride. Beth went fishing after lunch. We went back down to the stables for an auction in the PM. Beth got a pottery thing that she saw in the Creekside Cafe. Got it for a bargain. I bid on a couple of items but I guess I didn’t want them bad enough. Had a campfire on Friday night. Only three couples down this weekend but one of them had two grandkids so it was a small group around the fire.

Beth went fishing again Sunday morning. I think I’m going to have to try it again since  it appears the fish are biting better than they did last year. It started to thunder so I did as much of the outside stuff as I could before it started to rain. It finally cleared up and we packed up and headed for home. April had called and said the power was off but it was back on when we got home.

Beth and I both took vacation on Friday and Monday. Went down to resort on Thursday night. Friday morning I did a little work on the camper dump valves. The rods were bent so I took them out and straightened them. They work a lot better now. I still have to put a small support at the outer end of them so they don’t get bent again. Ron and Thelma got there on Friday. They spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday with us and left about 10:30 Monday morning. I hope they had as good a time as we did. They were able to meet a lot of the friends that we have been camping with for the last three years.

R & T wanted to go to a winery so we went over to Saint James Winery. On the way we stopped in Cuba MO for lunch. Also were able to show them the murals in the town. There are 12 total. Ron forgot to bring his camera. Couldn’t believe it. If you want to see the murals go to http://cubamomurals.com/murals.html. We drove down Route 66 about 4 miles to see the world’s largest rocking chair. It is 42 feet tall. http://rwarn17588.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/worlds-largest-rocking-chair-set-up-in-missouri/

Then backtracked to Saint James. Went down to the Swiss Meat Company in Swiss Mo but they were already closed.

April and Kayden came to the campground for a while on Sunday. It was really a good weekend. We had thought we were going to stay until Monday afternoon but because it was going to be 90+ we decided to pack up while it was still fairly cool. Stopped at Swiss on the way home with R&T. Stopped to eat on the way home. Took the Focus for new tires then got a few items from Loews. Have church tonight and then back to work tomorrow.

We remember all the fallen heroes

Spent the weekend at Lost Valley Lake. Beth and I both got off work early so we got to the campground in good time. Sat around on Friday night and chatted with our friends. Saturday afternoon there was a bluegrass band called ‘George Portz and his Friends of Bluegrass.’ Not only were they great musicians but they were entertaining. Every musician in the group has won multiple chamionships. George Portz is the National “Open” Fiddle Champion. He grandfather and his mother were also National champions. He said his son did not win the national championship because of another student of his (George’s student). Her name was Allison Kraus. I tried to confirm this on the internet but was not able to do so.

Byerly RV was there with a number of new RV’s set up and also had their ‘parts’ trailer there. It was handy. Several people from our group bought stuff.

The weather was good and we spent most of our time just talking. Came home about 3:00 pm. As I am wrting this Beth is on her way to the ER for some kind of bug bite. It looks like a blister and she has a red line going up her finger. And it itches. I’ll let you know what she finds out.

Here are pictures of the house. The first is when we first looked at it six years ago. The second is with the new siding, gutter, downspouts, painted shutters and the tree gone.

House - Before

House - After

April graduated from St. Charles Community College yesterday. She got an Associates Degree and graduated with High Honors. Really proud of her.

April and her proud parents

Today we worked outside the whole day. We unloaded about 1 ton of edging blocks that I bought from a guy at work. They we worked on the moving more wood from the tree we cut down. It is almost done. Also, I built a wooden step to take down to the camper. Sometimes, due to the lay of the land, the first step is very high so this will give us an extra step if we need it.

Went camping this weekend. Really did not do a great deal other then rest and relax and visit with friends. The campground did have a country band on Saturday night so we went up and listed to them for a while.

Made a quick trip to Indy on May 3 to pick up the topper for Brian’s Blazer. Rented a trailer and hauled over to Indy. Picked it up. Made a quick stop at friends house in Plainfield and hauled home. It was a very long day.