Jan 13, 2021 - Useful RV Products and Websites

. . allstays.com/Campgrounds (almost every possible place to camp) allstays.com/c/wal-mart-locations.htm (which Walmarts allow overnight parking) Allstays smartphone applications (Find RV parks, Walmarts allowing parking, and more on your phone.) adventurerv.net (a good supplier of RV parts and accessories) Awning LED Lights (Fits in the 1/4" utility slot, no need to remove before rolling up the awning, stays installed.) Bathroom Scale (very compact, take it on cruises with an "all you can eat" buffet) boondockerswelcome.com (be...

Dec 25, 2020 - The Christmas Card

. A snow storm came through here in Minnesota in the past couple of days, a blizzard actually, plunging temperatures and winds gusting up to 50 mph, a good time to hunker down here at the lake cabin, take a senior nap or two, and watch few old black & white films on "Turner Classic Movies". I haven't been in snow for a couple of years, normally being in Florida or California now, but I had to get ready for it. . My friend Steve Weaver, knowing I'd be stuck up here while he was in sunny and warm Morro Bay, California, decided that a good...

Dec 17, 2020 - I'm gonna need a bigger boat

. Three weeks ago, I had a dream where I was being attacked by someone, I couldn't see who it was, but he was big and strong, and I fought back as best I could, waking up as I was hitting the floor. I'd rolled right out of bed. . Some dream, and I was stiff and sore all over for the rest of the day. Married for 53 years, I'm a widower sleeping alone, except, of course, for my Pomeranian "Lily", who has a spot somewhere on the other side of the bed. When my wife Hazel was still making herself visible, I never fell out of bed. The side...

Sep 18, 2020 - Annual Bemidji Fishing Trip

Bemidji, MN It is the annual week-long Bemidji fishing trip at Kohl’s fishing Resort. There are 6 of us, Jim’s brother Ron and his wife Mary, and 2 long-time friends, Jerry and Eileen (Jerry owns the boat, making him a REALLY good friend!). The weather all week has been erratic, dropping down as low as 28° but getting as high as 70° with winds varying from calm to white-caps. The fishing for the week was disappointing but the companionship was great, and the trees are starting to show some splendid color.

Sep 9, 2020 - Television

. (Updating a 2017 entry) I've always been a big television fan. When I was a kid living in North Minneapolis after World War II, my dad bought the first television on the block. I remember the truck from Dayton's department store pulling up in front one afternoon, and the driver helped my mom unpack the box, set it up and plug it in. That night, almost everyone on the block came over with their Samonite folding chairs, and laughed themselves silly watching Milton Berle walking around in a circle on the sides of his shoes. They called...

Aug 20, 2020 - Lake Shetek,

2020-08-20 - Lake Shetek, MN After a night at Walmart, it was nice to hit the road. We drove through southern Minnesota which is rather flat farming country. Unfortunately, the Spam Museum was closed today so we had to put that on our bucket list for the future. Who could resist going to a museum whose slogan is: "Puts a whole new spin on cubism". The small towns' population averaged about 250 people and they didn't even have a Dollar Store or Subway in town. Windmills dot the corn and soybean fields here and and the location of the...

Aug 18, 2020 - I waded across the Mississippi River!

Hello! It's-a-me, Megan. I waded across the Mississippi River! Bucket list item crossed off. We went to Itasca State Park today to check out where the Mississippi river begins. The journey there was beautiful. Minnesota is the state of 10,000 lakes and it did not disappoint. Every mile or so, even just from the highway, we would drive past a lake. Zac got to see cattails, which he couldn't remember ever seeing before. - Lake Itasca State Park was gorgeous. We paid the entrance fee and drove past tall pines and marshy land before pulling up...

Aug 18, 2020 - Bellevue, IA to Winona MN

Note to those thinking to camp in a Wisconsin state park- you need a state park pass which costs $38. per year for the first vehicle and a smaller amount for the towed vehicle - a total of around $50.00. That is on top of the daily camping fees. That might be worth it if you plan to stay in different parks across Wisconsin but for us, though we wanted to stay in a Wisconsin park, we decided not to go through the hassle of getting the pass which are NOT available for purchase a the state parks. I'm not sue if this is because of the COVID but...

Aug 11, 2020 - The refrigerator door fell off. Again.

. This has happened a couple of times before, maddening. The screw-in / screw-out lower binge assembly (using a metric #10 wrench) gets loose with use, and eventually it reaches the point that it comes apart, crashing to the floor, with everything stored on the inside door shelving flying in all directions. . I cleaned everything up and put the door back in, but this time the plastic locking handle separated and broke right in my hand as it headed for the floor. Dometic hasn't made this model in years, going to a better system (I wonder...

Aug 5, 2020 - Clint's Blue Cheese Burgers

A few weeks ago, I was up in International Falls, Minnesota, where I lived for 10 years, to visit old friends. Clint invited me over for "burgers on the grill", and called my other remaining friends, Dave and Jim, to join us. I left that town in 1985, and really...

Jun 23, 2020 - Pale Horse, Pale Rider

When my wife Hazel died of cancer last year, my children helped me out tremendously, taking care of all the details for the funeral, everything, including making arrangements for the burial plot and a tombstone to be ordered. At the time, I though they were just ordering a single stone in the Spring for Hazel, they'd purchased a double plot, so I knew where I would be winding up, but I figured when the time came, I'd get my own stone. So, when the photo below popped up on my cellphone yesterday, sent by one of the family, I was so shocked...

May 21, 2020 - It's not easy

. The link to the left goes to one of many articles I've read about coping with (there is no "getting over") the death of your spouse. Hazel and I were married for 53 years, and I miss her terribly every day. Not just once a day, but pretty-much all the time. . Jump to full entry