Karen's Blog

Mission Accomplished

5/16/2022

The weekend was a success! Everyone arrived safely, we got tours of Andy's wide-ranging projects, we had beautiful weather for a supper at the campground Saturday night, and most importantly we got Elliot graduated. I think he'd been practicing his graduation smile.

I arrived on Thursday afternoon in sweltering heat and needed to run the AC all night. By Sunday night, I had to run the furnace a little! Friday morning I met and had a great visit with a woman next to me. She had lost her husband to ALS about a year before Butch died and decided this past winter to begin camping again, starting with a tent. She plans to work toward a small trailer if she continues.

Saturday, Pat and I were sitting outside when another woman pulled over in a Minnie Winnie and asked for help. She had bought this RV three weeks earlier and this was her first trip. She thought she had filled the fresh water tank but they were already out of water. Her husband had suffered a stroke several years ago and was unable to help her. I only saw one water inlet so thought she was doing it right. But when we talked to her later, we found out she had made several trips back to the water station before someone showed her that the actual fill was inside a locked compartment. Through all this, she kept the most amazing attitude. It must have been newbie weekend, because on a trip to the dumpster, Pat ran into a couple of guys trying to figure out how to dump their tanks.

Andy has always said that his life is a grease fire and I don't think any of us would disagree. Besides two houses (long story), they have three dogs and two cats. Holly, an Australian shepherd, dislikes most males and especially Elliot. Max, a very large cinnamon colored retriever is old, showing his age, and pretty much clears a room when he walks through. Andy says that Frank Clark, a black Lab, thinks that Elliot's girlfriend Bethany is actually his girlfriend, but he lets Elliot drive her around town because he (Frank) doesn't have hands. And on and on. We visited the other house to see the progress on a wrap around porch, new downstairs bath, the in-ground trampoline, and the windmill that Elliot built with his welding skills.

As I said in my previous blog, Elliot is the last of the eight grandchildren to graduate so that also finishes a couple of traditions. I have done a scrapbook for each of family trips, holidays, and his or her activities. Elliot's presented a special challenge since many of his high school activities were cancelled due to Covid. And I have always made 'mortarboard' cupcakes, a recipe that my mother originally discovered. I can't really blame Covid, but maybe my age--they turned out a little subpar too. I wasn't able to find the bigger chocolate covered graham crackers this year and the M&Ms I bought were caramel which I didn't realize the were bigger than the regular. Transporting them in to town, a few tipped over and got a little smeary. Sorry, Elliot.

Despite all, it was a wonderful weekend. For the most part, the weather cooperated and it was so great to see them all. We had a lovely evening for an outdoor meal on Saturday and Elliot's diploma was signed.

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The Final Countdown

5/13/2022

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A reference to a movie that our boys watched 857 times when they were in high school about a time traveling aircraft carrier. At this moment, it refers to the end of an era in my life: my youngest grandchild will graduate from high school this weekend. Consequently, Agatha and I are camped at a favorite spot--Johnson Sauk Trail north of Kewanee, Illinois. I love the stand of pines that covers half of the campground.

Grandson Elliot has provided plenty of entertainment in his first eighteen years, and I'm sure there will be more to come. His career plans have ranged from playing baseball for the Chicago Cubs and working for Wendy's in the off-season (because of course he would have to have a job in the winter) to underwater welding. For his eleventh birthday party, he requested that his friends bring an item for the local food pantry instead of presents.

During high school, he has pumped gas at a full-service station still in operation in Kewanee and has developed a following of older women to the point that he makes more in tips than in wages. A couple of years ago, when I was looking for a camper, he wanted me to buy a big toy hauler, he would quit school, and we could hit the road together. He ditched that idea when I told him as a former teacher, I could home school him on the road. He plays first chair trombone in the concert band and has been active in robotics. He plans to enter an Air Force technical maintenance program in August. I think he should run for office eventually, but I may be biased.

While we anticipate his future, we will have a great gathering and celebration this weekend. Daughter Kate, her husband and son are on their way from West Virginia. Son Pat from Texas will join me at the campground the next two nights. His wife Jill is unable to be here since next week is her last week of teaching fourth grade before retiring! And we are so thrilled for her. But it will be the first time, I will have all three kids together since Christmas. I'm not sure Kewanee is ready for this.

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It Can Only Get Better

5/2/2022

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Last weekend's forecast: Friday-some rain, windy; Saturday-all-day rain, windy; Sunday-partly sunny, cooler, windy; Monday- afternoon and evening rain, windy. But a shakedown camping trip to Lake Darling had been scheduled since February, and we aren't ones to let a little forty-mile-an-hour breeze and pounding rain to dampen our fun.

I arrived at the dump station to fill the fresh water tank and probably could have done it with a large upside-down funnel, since the skies had opened up shortly before. There had been enough rain that the camp sites, badly in need of gravel, offered a sort of spongy parking base. My camper started out fairly level until the levelers began to sink. And shall we say set up was a breeze? Because there is no point getting out lawn chairs, grills, awnings, etc. in the rain.

So my little space heater was welcome, and Agatha doesn't leak so I chalked those two things up on the plus side. In the afternoon, we did some visiting and the rain ceased long enough to grill some steaks and have a campfire. For about 47 minutes. The return of precipitation forced six couples under my awning, from where we could gaze at the sputtering fire fifteen feet away.

The next two nights, we crammed in Ken and Harriet's camper with plenty of sides to accompany Letha's ham and beans and Ken's smoked meat loaf, so as usual we didn't starve. A trip to Cantril and the Dutchman's Store on a rainy Saturday provided diversion. Good food and good company can go a long way to overcome dreary weather.

Shower report: I think the DNR has added hooks in the showers, but they have also changed out the shower controls so that a push of the button gets a two-second burst of water. You can't even get the water hot! They need to work on that and add a few truck loads of gravel to the sites. Agatha goes to the doctor tomorrow to have the water issues addressed that Camping World "couldn't get to" last fall. My next foray is to Johnson Sauk Trail in Illinois next week for grandson Elliot's graduation. Right now the forecast looks pretty good but surely that will change.

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A Day (or Two) in the Desert

3/9/2022

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After a quieter weekend, with a couple of walks and a trip to a winery in Ojai, we took off Monday morning on a four and a half hour drive to Anza-Borrego State Park where my sister-in-law Harriet and her husband are camphosting. For a lark, Joanie and I had arranged a stay in a vintage Airstream trailer near the park. More about that later.

We arrived early afternoon and spent most of the afternoon at the campground. Perfect weather allowed for a couple of walks and Ken grilled a tri-tip for a wonderful supper, followed by my first campfire of the season. We even were treated to a visit from Lower Loop Larry, the roadrunner.

Tuesday morning, we were up and at 'em early and picked up our guide, Harriet, for a more in-depth look at the area. The park has some incredible stone and wood shelters and an ampitheater used for groups and talks by rangers. Some of the shrubs are starting to bloom, including the brittlebush, pictured here.

No visit to this area is complete without checking out at least some of the 130 iron sculptures by Ricardo Breceda scattered around the desert on private land. There are dinosaurs, mammoths, camels, tortoises and an immense sea serpent, among others. The detail is fantastic. The woman with the cross has a rosary made of stones and iron.

We also visited the ABDNHA Borrego Botannical Garden in Borrego Springs--a small but excellent display of desert plants. Then back to the park to the Visitor's Center to see the displays about the history of the area, the plants and the animals. Of course we picked up a few souvenirs in the gift shop before we hit the road for the long drive back to Ventura.

The only fly in the ointment was our lodging. The outside of the vintage Airstream was cute enough with a pleasant sitting area and a nice grill. The inside was another story. Among the things that didn't work: the fridge, the bathroom door, and the faucet in the bathroom sink. There was no light in the bedroom and the kitchen cabinet doors were broken. TV and wifi reception were poor and a tacked up cloth strap was apparently supposed to serve as a towel bar in the bathroom. I do not recommend Palm Canyon Hotel and RV Resort!

Today, we will relax and do pretty much nothing very strenuous. Tomorrow I will spend most of Butch's 79th birthday doing something he loved: flying. Thankfully, the 6-10 inches of snow that was once forecast for my arrival home seems to have been downgraded considerably. All in all, a great trip!

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Of Presidents and Kings

3/5/2022

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We have been busy. On Thursday, we journeyed to Simi Valley to the Reagan Library. I'm a big fan of Presidential Libraries and have been to the Truman, FDR, Lincoln, George W. Bush, Johnson, and of course the Hoover, which is only ten miles from me. They do such a great job of depicting the history of the period. The Reagan seems a little more over-the-top than the others on adulation of the former president but worthwhile nevertheless. We toured Air Force One, saw the Berlin Wall and the Cold War exhibits, and visited the grave site.

Friday, we snooped around Ventura, first to the Museum of Ventura County. Another love of mine are small, local museums. There are so many wonderful ones around the country. The Ventura museum has a permanent exhibit about the Chumash people who have lived in the area more than 15,000 years. An exhibit called 'Crossing Borders' displays art works by first generation immigrants to the area. There is an extensive display of work by Margaret Garcia. A highlight is an exhibit of quarter-sized figures by George Stuart of people instrumental in the American Revolution. The detail is incredible and included are King George III, King Louis XVI, Washington, Adams, Franklin, Monroe, and Madison as well as Baron Von Steuben, a German who trained the troops at Valley Forge and British General John Burgoyne--"Gentleman Johnny"--who tried to invade down the Hudson Valley from Canada but was too weighed down by the accoutrements for fine living to be effective in staving off the colonists.

Next we went to the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura, founded in 1782 by Father Juniper Serra. The lovely Church was completed in 1809. After a walk down Main Street of Old Ventura, we returned to Joanie's for a little beading and to rest up for a great supper at her daughter and son-in-law's. Excellent day.

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What Time is it, Really?

3/3/2022

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I probably should have forewarned my body and mind what I planned to do to them the first two weeks of March. On Tuesday I flew from Iowa to California, springing ahead two hours. I have not yet adjusted to that change; I was awake this morning before 3:00. The end of next week, I will fly back and turn my body clock back two hours. Two days later, we will spring ahead an hour again as we switch to daylight savings time. I'm probably too old for this.

Anyway, here I am basking in sunny California--although yesterday it was only a few degrees warmer than it was in southeast Iowa. I am visiting my friend Joanie in Ventura. Joanie and I go way back. We lived together in a rooming house during my junior year in college and have maintained contact ever since. They lived in Burlington, and our husbands became fast friends, both golfers and private pilots. Our kids were similar ages, and through the years we exchanged visits, recipes, book recommendations, child raising tips, grandparenting experiences, knitting patterns, and redecorating ideas. My son Pat met his wife Jill at Joanie's son Nate's wedding to Jill's sister, so now we are friends-in-law. She lost her husband George in 1991, so after Butch died, we exchanged visits a lot during the pandemic. Several years ago she bought a second home in a mobile home park to be near a couple of her kids and insisted this year that I come for a visit. We drink a lot of coffee, a glass or two of wine, and never run out of things to talk about. It's one of those friendships that all of the money in the world can't buy.

So here we are, having a great time. Yesterday we went for a long walk in a lovely nearby park and then headed out to explore. We stopped at the visitor's center for the Channel Islands National Park and enjoyed the displays there. We walked out on the Ventura pier and had fish tacos for lunch. A visit to a craft store nabbed us a couple of items we needed for a beading project we're working on. All in all, a great day and more plans for today. Fortunately, none of those plans require that we actually know what time it is.

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The Glampers Ride Again

2/27/2022

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It was time for our annual season planning session and we were once again at Camp Quaker Heights near Eldora, Iowa. The camp boasts a lovely but simple and practical lodge with dining room, kitchen, and ten bedrooms with baths and they rent it out even to strange groups like ours. There is a TV lounge in the basement with about fifteen recliners but we haven't taken advantage of that because we can't stop talking long enough to move.

The purpose of this world shaking event is to plan our camp outs for the season. We aim for at least one a month and in each quadrant of Iowa. We also try to hit as many state parks as we can that we haven't visited before. This year we have Marble Beach in northwest Iowa, Pammel Park in southwest Iowa, Lake Wapello and Red Haw in the southeast quadrant, and Pulpit Rock (not a state park) in the northeast. We will also be venturing to Clinton Lake in Illinois.

This is a unique group that has no dues, officers, or rules. Events occur when someone (or several someones) just takes it upon themselves to organize one. Of course we enjoyed great food and conversation, beautiful sunsets, walks, and visits from the local deer. Activities at events may be planned or spontaneous. This time, Jackie, one of our crafting experts, brought pictures to bead for anyone who wanted to fork over five bucks and participate. I haven't started mine yet because it looked pretty addictive. And I may need a magnifying glass.

We thought perhaps we had a mystery on our hands: The Open Door on Cabin Four. We could see from the lodge that one of the cabin doors was standing open on Friday evening and still open on Saturday. So when we went for our walk Saturday afternoon, first Sandy and Shelly warned intruders we were coming by ringing the large bell, and then we investigated. Fortunately, there were no dead bodies or live raccoons or bears in the cabin so we shut the door firmly and it was still closed on Sunday.

So I am back home and doing laundry, trying to decide what wardrobe switches I will need for my upcoming trip on Tuesday to California. Hopefully, I won't need my parka.

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Family Photos

2/22/2022

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All of us have seen numerous photos from the 19th century of stern faces of families gathered around a Victorian gingerbread mansion or a sod house on the prairie. For some of those people, I have no doubt, that may have been the only picture taken of them in their entire lifetimes. Even when cameras became more ubiquitous in the 20th century, film and film development was expensive enough that we were careful not to "waste" shots. Of course digital photography changed all that and poor results can simply be deleted. Which means we take a lot more pictures and can waste some shots on silliness.

In my two steps forward, one step back effort to pare down my belongings, I have been through a lot of old slides and photos. I have been struck by the trend from the somber faces of the 1800s to smiling. but still posed, portraits of the mid 1900s to the whimsical groupings of today. In 1980, we celebrated my mother's sixtieth birthday. She came down for the weekend and we had a lovely dinner in Iowa City, took her to a performance of The King and I at Hancher, and then surprised her with arrangements to have a photographer, who was also a friend of my brothers, to take a formal family picture at the Iowa Memorial Union. When the photographer finished, he said "I've always wanted to do this, but I know you people well enough to ask. Everyone turn around and face the wall." Hence the picture above, which is the one I have framed.

A few years later in 1988, we decided to commemorate our silver wedding anniversary and the 100th birthday of our house by having professional pictures taken. Again, we had the traditional grouping of the whole family plus shots of just the kids and also of Butch and me. But through the whole afternoon, our granddaughter Brooke, then 3, refused to smile. This child had always seemed to have been programmed at birth to break into a beaming smile any time a camera was pointed at her, but not that day. We called to our neighbor Karel to come over and make Brooke laugh. She appeared in a gorilla costume (doesn't everyone have one laying around?) but as you can see, Brooke did not find it humorous. We then included the gorilla in the photo, told everyone to make a face, and ended up with this gem.

Whenever the Nortman family gathered, my mother-in-law always wanted a photo of just her seven children--no spouses. (Perhaps she was afraid that we were better looking.) So began a long tradition of always taking an "outlaw" picture. This one is probably out of focus because the outlaws are also the better photographers.

What's in your albums?

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The Writing Life

2/1/2022

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February looks like it is holding a lot of literary moments for me. I have a new Frannie Shoemaker book coming out February 10 and preorders are rolling in, more than for any of my previous books.

It has been a challenge to write. Frannie and Larry take a camphosting job in an Iowa Park in May 2020. The parks at that time were experimenting with reopening the campgrounds in a safe manner with a number of COVID protocols in place. My Beta readers were extremely helpful. Two have camphosting experience, one is a diehard camper, one also writes mysteries but also spent five months as a contact tracer at the beginning of the pandemic, and one is a retired librarian. I know how to pick 'em. So I am in the process of formatting the ebook for upload next weekend and then will tackle the paperback.

Friday, our young local author, Chuy Renteria, will be doing a book signing for his new, highly acclaimed memoir, We Heard It When We Were Young. The event will be at our new gallery in town, The Brick Street Gallery, along with an exhibit of Chris McMahon's imaginative art works. If you're in the area, join us from 5-7.

Next week, I plan to attend a luncheon to hear Iowa author, Thomas Nye, talk about his books on the Amish. One night I have a Zoom book club meeting with an RV village group.

And the following Saturday, a group of Eastern Iowa writers, the 'Book Bums,' will hold a Zoom workshop and gathering with a variety of topics. This group got started with our Book Bums workshop at our local library in 2014 and continued the early November workshops for five years. The last two years, of course, we have not met in person. Hopefully this year.

Finally, the last weekend of the month I will join a gathering of some of my favorite readers, the Midwest Glampers, at Pine Lake near Eldora, so we can plan our escapades for the upcoming camping season. More research for one of my next books!

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A Look Back and a Look Forward

1/29/2022

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Nine years ago in 2013, I had just entered my 70s. I wrote this blog, bemoaning my no-name generation and the frustrations of aging. Now I have recently entered the last year of my 70s and decided to reexamine my goals and outlook. When I wrote this, we would celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary a month later and the next six years would bring plenty of good times and wonderful travel for my husband and me. Then would come the crash and three years of doctor appointments, treatments, challenges, and finally the loss of my houseboy/driver/boyfriend and husband of 56 years.

My bucket list, if I ever had one, took a big spill. At the time, I had two light mysteries to my credit; I would go on to publish 17 more in the next 9 years. I hoped I would stay productive in the writing field, but certainly couldn't predict my other accomplishments. I learned to drive a small motor home and change flourescent light bulbs. I have used a car wash and checked the air in my tires for the first time in my life. I can dump the tanks on my motorhome and yesterday I reset the garage door opener so that the remotes work again. I didn't want to learn any of these things--or rather, I didn't want to have to learn any of these things.

But life is finite and nothing brings it home more than the loss of a spouse. I'm not giving up. There are more books I would like to write, trips I would like to take, and high points to experience. However, I am more aware than ever that each day is a gift and the future is not a given.

Dying a Little Bit at a Time
9/23/2013

I'm a war baby. During the Depression and the war, birth rates were way down and ours was a very small generation. We are so small that we don't have a name or even a president. Not one president was born between 1924 and 1946. Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama are all Boomers.* So we have kind of sneaked through life sandwiched between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers and no one noticed us much. No big deal; but the upshot is that most of the attention just misses us, especially research and advice. The media began looking at college preparation and choice shortly after I got my BA. They focused on issues raising toddlers as our kids entered high school. 'Empty nest' became a common term long after our birds had flown the coop. We were in our late 50s when magazine articles began to worry about middle-aged crisis.

So what's the point here? Well, as we have aged, we haven't had the benefit of much outside guidance and have had to discover things about getting old on our own. So there was no advance warning to me from talk shows or Dear Abby about the most disturbing realization of aging. And that is, that you aren't going to get it all done.

When you are young, it's like a kid with a toy catalog: "I want that...and that...and that..." There is no limit. So you think "Someday I'm going to build a log cabin on a lake" and a few days later, "Someday I want to visit China." And so on. It's not a bucket list because there is no deadline, no end in sight. So never once do you think, 'Well, if I build a log cabin, I won't have time to visit China. Ever.' But in your seventies, you have to face that fact. Not that you can't do those particular two things, but that you can't do everything. You realize that even though you're not at the end of your road, you can see the exit.

So I have accepted that I am not going to live and write in a garret in Paris or become a Rockette. This will be a shock to some but I have also given up on perfecting my triple axel. I don't think I will run for Congress or sail around the world in a small boat. Actually, this acceptance should make life simpler.

I am not trying to be morbid here; I just want to give you Boomers a head's up to expect lots of discussion of this topic in about five years. Meanwhile, I wonder if I have time to learn a few French verbs this morning...

* This is not to say that we have had no impact. This no-name generation includes the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Barbara Streisand, John Denver, Nelson DeMille, Robert deNiro, Wilma Rudolph, and John Kerry, to name a few.

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Mission Accomplished

The Final Countdown

It Can Only Get Better

A Day (or Two) in the Desert

Of Presidents and Kings

What Time is it, Really?

The Glampers Ride Again

Family Photos

The Writing Life

A Look Back and a Look Forward

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