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Bikes and Babies

7/30/2016

We were so relieved to have a cool north breeze and lower temperatures on Thursday and the rest of the week. Thursday, we kicked back and enjoyed the weather and finished off with a true camping potluck: pork stir fry cooked over the fire, grilled turkey tenderloins, and fresh Iowa sweet corn. Pat, Jill, and Jack joined us, as well as the Walker brothers and wives.

Friday, our camping cohorts left for home because of weekend commitments and we took a bike ride toward Des Moines. Part of the popularity of this campground is due to the great bike trails going north to the High Trestle bridge at Madrid and south into the center of Des Moines. When we returned, Pat and Jill came out for a visit and then we all had tacos at Brooke and Nick's giving us time to bounce that baby some more.

The new camper is everything we hoped as far as far as layout, but we are still waiting for the replacement awning and carpet. AND there is a chance that I will take a hammer to silence the alert beep that is supposed to warn us of full holding tanks but goes off a random just to annoy me.

Meanwhile, I am working with readers for three more audible versions and plodding along with the new Frannie, The Space Invader. Cover reveal coming soon!

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Lady in Waiting

7/27/2016

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After a two-week from hiatus from camping, filled with county fair, family visits, a short trip north with old friends, and lots and lots of heat, we are finally back camping. Since I claimed to be the Queen of Everything, oldest granddaughter Brooke is the Princess of Quite a Lot, Jessi the Princess of Some Stuff, and Sophie the Princess of Whatever's Left. (Sorry, Soph.) Now there is a new Princess, Brooke's daughter, so I need to work on an appropriate title. May have to take some of Whatever's Left away from Sophie, but that's life.

Meanwhile, we are camped at Cherry Glen Campground on Saylorville Lake near Ankeny and the new baby. Cherry Glen is very pretty, although the campground roads are so twisty, I have trouble keeping my bearings. Last night, after setting up, we had supper at the nearby Saylorville Marina on a nearly perfect evening.

Today, our son Pat, the new grandpa, and family arrive from Dallas and we will be granted an audience. Another warm day with some rain hovering over around Omaha, but once we make it through today, the rest of the weekend should be great. And as far as the new royalty, I remember a baby card I saw years ago: Into each reign, a little life must fall.

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A Look to the Future

7/17/2016

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When I started the first time travel book, I was motivated by a wish to have known my grandparents in their younger years. Like the old story of the Blind Men and the Elephant, we only know out grandparents as middle-aged and older and therefore never know the whole person. Photos aren't much help to my generation because most pictures taken in the early twentieth century are of posed, unsmiling people who look like they never had a fun day in their lives, never misbehaved, never showed any emotion. And I know that wasn't true, so it was fun to have Dinah McBriar meet and hang out with her great-grandmother.

Fast forward to the present. This week we were presented with our first great-grandchild, Olivia Jane. I love the name and am glad her parents weren't determined to name her something unique like 'Paper Cut' or spell her name in a way that would cause confusion between her and every teacher she has. She is healthy and her mother is doing well too and we are thankful for that.

But I can't help wishing I had a time travel camper that would carry me forward to see her future. She will be my age in 2089. What events and changes in the world will she have seen that we can't even imagine? Will she look at old photos of her grandparents and wonder what they did for fun or if they had nicknames or what kinds of food they wouldn't eat? What bits of culture will she see in those photos that she doesn't understand because they have completely disappeared by that time? Will her life be easier or more stressful?

The Circle of Life.

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More Camping/NotCamping

7/10/2016

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Our trip here to Thomson Causeway on the Mississippi was instigated by an authors' book signing/roundtable discussion at Deanna's Java Cafe in nearby Clinton. The journey here was a comedy of not-so-funny errors--lost tools, skipped steps, and forgotten items. You'd think we'd get this down eventually. Anyway, it has been a great weekend.

I noticed a couple of days before that the site I had reserved was a shared site with another pad right next to it and a joined campfire and picnic area. So we could have had complete strangers next door and been right in each others laps, which certainly wouldn't be the end of the world, but it was nice to have the complete space to ourselves. Maybe it was the "Beware of the Pitbull" sign.

Friday was extremely windy and we watched a poor pelican trying to make progress into the wind over the river. We gained a lot more sympathy for him when we took a bike ride around the other loops of the campground and hit the open point jutting out into the river. Friday night after supper, lacking dessert makings, we drove into Thompson for some of Bear's ice cream--an excellent choice.

Saturday we headed into Clinton with bags of books and spent a pleasant couple of hours visiting with readers and other authors Misty urban, Teresa LaBelle, and Dionne Witt. Afterwards, we had a great lunch at the Candlelight Inn on a deck overlooking the river before taking in a matinee performance of South Pacific at the Clinton Showboat. What a fun venue--it's like having a play performed in your own living room. The theater (named for Clinton native Lillian Russell) is small enough that microphones are not necessary and it was very well done.

By the time we got back to the campground, we were still full from lunch so opted for a light supper after a bike ride and enjoyed another beautiful sunset and a lovely fire. Another one for the books.

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Bikes and Babies

Lady in Waiting

A Look to the Future

More Camping/NotCamping

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