To all who have been with us in prayer and thoughts. Thanks so much and please continue. We are in Newcastle, CA Arrived last Saturday--a week tomorrow. It's better than we first heard with Steve but still a long road ahead. Thankfully he only lost the big toe right foot and the toe next to it. And his spirits are holding up well. I'm a wreck but getting along. Have developed a lousy sore throat for which I swear I will get some Vicks and wrap it tonight. They say that's an old wive's tale, but I think it workd!!
So thankful for friends here who have a place to park our RV and open their home to us.
Jerry will head back to MN next week depends on the weather forecasts. I will stay here in CA for a couple weeks to help Steve as much as I can when he gets out of hospital. He has no insurance and no disability as a part time school district employee. He does not want to relocate to MN but who knows what happens next.
Steve's the messy one (is it Oscar)of the odd couple while I'm the neatnik (FeliX)so I will be taking a rake and shovel to his apt. so I can have some semblance of comfort while holding up here. Pray for patience for me because I don't tolerate messes and dirt.
Hospital staff have been exceptional and he is getting the best of care. We spent yesterday in Woodland with Sandy, my dear friend from the old days of working for EDD. Jerry acquired some woodworking plans from her that belonged to Bob, her partner who passed a couple years ago, and some old hand tools. He's pleased as punch. I questioned if he should take them because Bob could be cantankerous and I swear that sometimes his spirit visits us in MN as Jerry also has Bob's custom leather jacket. Jerry can give me enough "stuff" without help from Bobby's spirit!!
We ate at Morrison's in Woodland for a super birthday lunch for me (yesterday) and her (11-18) delicious and the martini was just what I needed to settle me! For my birthday there was a gorgeous harvest moon---I guess I'll not forget this 64th when I was mooned big time in CA.
But things here are worse than last year--congestion and traffic and on and on. It only confirms that we made the right decision moving. I could not survive this any longer and miss the slow pace of home in MN, Mayberry to which I've adjusted more than I knew.
Well this is the latest and better than expected physically for him but who knows what lies ahead....."yeah, the Shadow?"
I created this blog to record our RV trips and ;morphed into life in our retirement lane and telling my tales of life. Now my tales of life are on widowhood, my new and probably my last phase of l I have migrated to Facebook where I communicate daily, instantly with family/friends all over. I write here sometimes. COPYWRIGHT NOTICE: All photos, stories, writings on this blog are the property of myself, Patricia Morrison and may not be used, copied, without my permission most often freely given.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
LIFE THROWS WHAT IT HAS AT US
WE ARE IN LAS CRUCES NM AT AN RV PARK, SPENDING ANOTHER DAY WAITING OUT BAD WINDS. Yet that is not the worst...we received a bad news phone call from CA -from Kevin our son Steve's friend Sunday night and the news only gets worse from here. Unchecked diabetes. Our big boy is in Sutter hospital in Roseville CA for treatments but now it looks like he will lose a foot. Talked to him this AM and he is very depressed.
We will take all the prayers we can get.
We are backing out of the conference we hoped to attend in Tucson and all other plans. We will proceed to CA. God knows there is nothing we can do but be with him.
Thankful for all the friends there who have stepped up to visit him. This may be the last blog post for several days now. Just when things look ahead---HAH!
We will take all the prayers we can get.
We are backing out of the conference we hoped to attend in Tucson and all other plans. We will proceed to CA. God knows there is nothing we can do but be with him.
Thankful for all the friends there who have stepped up to visit him. This may be the last blog post for several days now. Just when things look ahead---HAH!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Taos and how we arrived
We spent a very long full day here today in Taos, NM which is (was)on my Bucket list. Quite a place, an artists' enclave. Unfortunately the pueblo was closed to visitors today--so too bad for them they missed us!
I purchased a beautiful green pottery bowl from the artist, Mercedes Mercado in her gallery. It called to me--tones of green that are in our library/study at home with impressions of leaves around the bottom and up the sides in burgundy/brown/eggplant tones. And what set it off, pottery intricate beading all along the top rim and around each leaf. It resembles beading on antique silver pieces. I've never seen anything like it. It so called to me that I picked it up. That's a no no in the galleries, but I could not help it. Mercedes came right over to me, "Do you like my work?" How could she tell--only because I was nearly drooling. She told me she worked over two days producing it. Jerry's not as impressed as I am but he knew it would make the rest of the trip with us when he noticed my sighing. The bowl becomes our 41st anniversary bowl!
Other than that I purchased packets of various NM chile, including some from Hatch Valley. I'd had some of it years back from my friend Roberta whose Aunt sent it from Santa FE. The flavor is remarkable unlike any other..
Now yesterday would have been an easy drive from Denver, but noooo. We expected to arrive in Taos about 4:30PM; we did not get here until 10:00PM! CO has become much like CA and more like So. Calif, San Bernardino, etc. Lots of traffic.
For once we were glad to get to NM which is never the state we long to reach on our travels. CO from Denver to NM border is high desert--think NV! So the road to Taos was a nice diversion, into the mts. Everything was going fine. But past Angel Fire, 18 miles from Taos a 4:30PM, we came upon flashing lights & firemen in the road stopping traffic. Volunteer firemen. And there we were stopped.
There had been a fatal automobile vs. motorcycle accident along the road ahead. Guess which one had the fatality? A criminal investigation was underway. They closed all lanes so we sat for what was estimated two hours. Now this was a two lane mt. road. We in our RV bus with tow vehicle could not turn around and go back anywhere unlike the cars which did so. Ahh well, that's the great thing about the motor home--we have all the amenities so we could sit and relax. We were thankful we'd not been involved in this accident. Two hours later there we still sat. The volunteer firemen were trying to make the best of a bad situation too--they wanted to go home. We served them coffee and cookies which they appreciated. Then word came, "another two hours." Well still not much we could do..wait it out. I napped. Then the worst news came, "road will be closed indefinitely." Not good.
A highway patrol officer advised that perhaps they could let us proceed to the top of the mt. where there was a turn out which would afford us the chance to turn around and return back from whence we came. By this time it was pitch dark! They gave Jerry a ride up the hill to check it out. He decided we would proceed there and spend the night--the road would be open in the morning. I was ready to give up on Taos this trip. But we drove slowly up the hill--many switchbacks on this mt. rd. We pulled into the turn out to settle down for the night--it was now 9:10PM. Then the highway patrol officer knocked on our door announcing, "Good news. The road has just been opened, proceed to Taos." Well we were relieved but it still took another 50 minutes on a windy road, max speed barely 15 mph at times. And that is how we arrived 6 hours later than planned. But still safe.
This is a unique picturesque area of NM. Yet we must be in accident land--we saw 3 fender benders today on the pueblo road. For a town with a resident population of 6000 and innumerable tourists during the season, there is a disproportionate number of vehicle accidents. Taos is reportedly ripe with Indian spirits--perhaps the spirits dislike man's rubber wheel horses.
I purchased a beautiful green pottery bowl from the artist, Mercedes Mercado in her gallery. It called to me--tones of green that are in our library/study at home with impressions of leaves around the bottom and up the sides in burgundy/brown/eggplant tones. And what set it off, pottery intricate beading all along the top rim and around each leaf. It resembles beading on antique silver pieces. I've never seen anything like it. It so called to me that I picked it up. That's a no no in the galleries, but I could not help it. Mercedes came right over to me, "Do you like my work?" How could she tell--only because I was nearly drooling. She told me she worked over two days producing it. Jerry's not as impressed as I am but he knew it would make the rest of the trip with us when he noticed my sighing. The bowl becomes our 41st anniversary bowl!
Other than that I purchased packets of various NM chile, including some from Hatch Valley. I'd had some of it years back from my friend Roberta whose Aunt sent it from Santa FE. The flavor is remarkable unlike any other..
Now yesterday would have been an easy drive from Denver, but noooo. We expected to arrive in Taos about 4:30PM; we did not get here until 10:00PM! CO has become much like CA and more like So. Calif, San Bernardino, etc. Lots of traffic.
For once we were glad to get to NM which is never the state we long to reach on our travels. CO from Denver to NM border is high desert--think NV! So the road to Taos was a nice diversion, into the mts. Everything was going fine. But past Angel Fire, 18 miles from Taos a 4:30PM, we came upon flashing lights & firemen in the road stopping traffic. Volunteer firemen. And there we were stopped.
There had been a fatal automobile vs. motorcycle accident along the road ahead. Guess which one had the fatality? A criminal investigation was underway. They closed all lanes so we sat for what was estimated two hours. Now this was a two lane mt. road. We in our RV bus with tow vehicle could not turn around and go back anywhere unlike the cars which did so. Ahh well, that's the great thing about the motor home--we have all the amenities so we could sit and relax. We were thankful we'd not been involved in this accident. Two hours later there we still sat. The volunteer firemen were trying to make the best of a bad situation too--they wanted to go home. We served them coffee and cookies which they appreciated. Then word came, "another two hours." Well still not much we could do..wait it out. I napped. Then the worst news came, "road will be closed indefinitely." Not good.
A highway patrol officer advised that perhaps they could let us proceed to the top of the mt. where there was a turn out which would afford us the chance to turn around and return back from whence we came. By this time it was pitch dark! They gave Jerry a ride up the hill to check it out. He decided we would proceed there and spend the night--the road would be open in the morning. I was ready to give up on Taos this trip. But we drove slowly up the hill--many switchbacks on this mt. rd. We pulled into the turn out to settle down for the night--it was now 9:10PM. Then the highway patrol officer knocked on our door announcing, "Good news. The road has just been opened, proceed to Taos." Well we were relieved but it still took another 50 minutes on a windy road, max speed barely 15 mph at times. And that is how we arrived 6 hours later than planned. But still safe.
This is a unique picturesque area of NM. Yet we must be in accident land--we saw 3 fender benders today on the pueblo road. For a town with a resident population of 6000 and innumerable tourists during the season, there is a disproportionate number of vehicle accidents. Taos is reportedly ripe with Indian spirits--perhaps the spirits dislike man's rubber wheel horses.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Traveling email address
Not sure what our local ISP--Ace has done this time....but while we are on the road please use our traveling email address which is
morrisonsRV08@myrvspace.com
I have to call ACE tomorrow as they seem to have disconnected all my email--dang. I want to be able to access it via the web but they've messed up again.
Sometimes the locals with the MN nice are too dumb to know what they don't know.
I think from now on it's just easier to go with the RVspace.com.
Yesterday we saw the magnificent Red Rocks and the ampitheater where there have been many world famous musical performances from John Tesh to Nat King Cole to opera to Grateful Dead. Nature's acoustics. Fascinating and gorgeous, when we get better set up will try to post photos. Unbelievable majesty--and interesting history. The ampitheater was a 1938 CCC project. Too bad we can't do things like that today but the attitudes of folks have so changed--no one wants to work like they did then. And of course we have too much $$ handed to people so why should they work for anything? Ahh get off that soapbox...we are different but not better today as a society.
We are on our way to the AF Academy & Taos NM today...on the road again.
morrisonsRV08@myrvspace.com
I have to call ACE tomorrow as they seem to have disconnected all my email--dang. I want to be able to access it via the web but they've messed up again.
Sometimes the locals with the MN nice are too dumb to know what they don't know.
I think from now on it's just easier to go with the RVspace.com.
Yesterday we saw the magnificent Red Rocks and the ampitheater where there have been many world famous musical performances from John Tesh to Nat King Cole to opera to Grateful Dead. Nature's acoustics. Fascinating and gorgeous, when we get better set up will try to post photos. Unbelievable majesty--and interesting history. The ampitheater was a 1938 CCC project. Too bad we can't do things like that today but the attitudes of folks have so changed--no one wants to work like they did then. And of course we have too much $$ handed to people so why should they work for anything? Ahh get off that soapbox...we are different but not better today as a society.
We are on our way to the AF Academy & Taos NM today...on the road again.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
We are in Denver
We've had the best travel weather...arrived Denver Thursday afternoon. This was our first trip along I 76 off I 80 toward Denver--the area looks like NV or WY all along there--high desert...yuk.
Denver itself is another big city--lots of yuppie stuff, people eating at all the outside tables in the restaurants during this nice warm spell., unusually warm for Halloween. About 76 degrees. But the cold is on the way. We are visiting Jerry's sister and her sig. other. Downside--bunch of Obamanites....which most of Denver appears to be. This place reminds me of So. CA, shootings every day, crime, etc. Not for us. Two shootings of trick or treaters last night. Traffic all over and just like CA. Glad to head off.
Only one incident as we took the too early off ramp to get to the RV Park which is also a senior citizen (or as they say here, older peoples) mobile home park. One exit too soon had us in the worst skid row area--actually there are lots of those in Denver. Thank God Jerry is such an excellent driver with our big bus and towing the truck--somehow he maneuvered us through and out of there safely. Well we almost took some one's antenna along with us which was hanging outside their trailer---oh what a siege. I sat quietly panicking and whimpering in the passenger seat and wished I'd brought along my rosary beads. But we made it, so hope that's the big deal for this trip! I was looking at the GPS and the directions and saw the wrong off ramp, so told him, "take this one!" Wouldn't that be the time he listens to me--usually not so! Husbands! Well, you didn't think I'd admist it was my fault did you!
We leave tomorrow for the AF Academy and onward.
Denver itself is another big city--lots of yuppie stuff, people eating at all the outside tables in the restaurants during this nice warm spell., unusually warm for Halloween. About 76 degrees. But the cold is on the way. We are visiting Jerry's sister and her sig. other. Downside--bunch of Obamanites....which most of Denver appears to be. This place reminds me of So. CA, shootings every day, crime, etc. Not for us. Two shootings of trick or treaters last night. Traffic all over and just like CA. Glad to head off.
Only one incident as we took the too early off ramp to get to the RV Park which is also a senior citizen (or as they say here, older peoples) mobile home park. One exit too soon had us in the worst skid row area--actually there are lots of those in Denver. Thank God Jerry is such an excellent driver with our big bus and towing the truck--somehow he maneuvered us through and out of there safely. Well we almost took some one's antenna along with us which was hanging outside their trailer---oh what a siege. I sat quietly panicking and whimpering in the passenger seat and wished I'd brought along my rosary beads. But we made it, so hope that's the big deal for this trip! I was looking at the GPS and the directions and saw the wrong off ramp, so told him, "take this one!" Wouldn't that be the time he listens to me--usually not so! Husbands! Well, you didn't think I'd admist it was my fault did you!
We leave tomorrow for the AF Academy and onward.
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