Defensive living.....

 8:01 am - Thursday - July 3rd - LPG&RVR - 65° F, humidity 30%, wind 1 mph out of the south by southwest.....mostly clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 85° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were driving the 'Grand Loop' in Yellowstone National Park.....

....it was a magical summer!

We haven't been shopping for a couple of weeks, so we decided Wednesday was the day to make the 20 mile round trip drive to Alturas to do just that.  The drive does not have the feel of a 20 mile drive.  There is never very much traffic, often we may see only 2, or 3 vehicles each way, and the scenery is always stunning.  We left home around 9:30 am making stops at Dollar General, Grocery Outlet, and Holiday Market, and were back home before noon time. While TLE put away the groceries I headed out to the 'lido deck' to relax.

The mosquitoes are making their presence known again, and I think it is time for the golf course and RV park to be sprayed again.  Mosquitoes are an issue here at LPG&RVR from about mid June to the end of September, and we have reached that point where we must deploy every anti-mosquito defense we have......

Citronella candles

Mosquito coils....we light them, and they smolder for about 6 hours, and are really quite effective

Of course!  This, for me, is the most effective mosquito repellant I have found

Small Tiki Torches, or as we call them, "smug pots"...a nice addition to our defenses

Mosquito proof dining canopy

....and when the mosquitoes are bad, which they are right now, all of these defenses barely hold them at bay.  For our interior defense we have the 'Katchy'.....

......this handy electrical device catches a lot of mosquitoes, and other small flying insects.....

The one TLE removed 24 hours ago was three times as dense with flying insects

......this adhesive pad shows the results of about 24 hours worth of defense....big mosquitoes, and very small 'no see ums'.  Thankfully we do NOT have this issue at The Wilson Wilderness.....lol!  When you live as close to nature as we do, this can be one of the consequences.  I don't write much about this issue, because what would be the point?  It is what it is, and we have learned to cope.  Once they spray again the problem will recede more into the background.

It was not nearly as warm Wednesday as it was Tuesday prior to the thunder showers, so I was able to relax on the 'lido deck' until nearly 3 pm.  The temp Friday will be 76° F, and that will be the last daily high in the 70's we will see for quite some time....at least for the next 2 weeks.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sometimes the 'weather guessers' are right....

 7:17 am - Wednesday - July 2nd - LPG&RVR - 62° F, humidity 37%, wind 1 mph out of the northwest......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 88° F.  On this date in 2019 I finally set up some shade for our VW Beetle at Ramona Oaks RV Resort near Ramona, CA.....

......we only drove the car once a week into town to shop, but when we did it took all the way to town for the A/C to cool down the car interior.  After this the car was in the shade all afternoon each day.

For our second day off work TLE and I worked around the 'lido deck' watering plants (her), and resecuring the front sun shade on the coach (me), as well as doing some weeding (both of us), otherwise we spent the rest of the morning, and into the early afternoon sitting on the 'lido deck' doing what we do best.....relaxing.  Even though it would get to 90° F it was comfortable on the 'lido deck' until 1 pm, when we finally retreated into the cool confines of the Newell for the balance of the day.

The Weather.com app warned of thunder showers in the afternoon, but we get those warnings almost every day lately, and nothing ever materializes, however, on this day they did, and big time.  We got the whole ball of wax over 2 hours.....loud thunder, bright flashes of lightning, wind, and quite a bit of rain, especially for July 1st.  The temperature plummeted from 90° F to under 67° F in a matter of 30 minutes.  We were able to turn off the A/C before 5 pm, and enjoyed cool zephyrs blowing in the coach windows out of the northwest for the rest of the evening.  We did not see that happening at the beginning of the day.  Sometimes the 'weather guessers' are right. That water proofing we sprayed on the patio and window awnings back at TWW really works well.  The rain water just slides off the fabric onto the ground, and the area under the patio awning stays pretty dry now.

Temperatures will return to normal Wednesday, but by Friday they should be down to 78° F for a day, or so, then back into the 90's through the 16th.  Hard to believe we've already been back 2 months, and have just 3 to go before we head south again for another winter at TWW.  Oh, I did take a picture of the new solar powered LED light we installed in the dining canopy....

....after dark.  I am surprised at how much light it provides.  You will recall we hung our Edison bulb string lights inside last year's dining canopy, which meant we had to run an electrical cord out to the dining canopy to power them. It was not much brighter than this, and it is all solar powered.

Thanks for stopping by!

July and summer have arrived.....

 8:10 am - Tuesday - July 1st - LPG&RVR - 68° F, humidity 31%, wind 4 mph out of the northwest....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 90° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were northbound on US-191 in Montana.  Good friends Tom and Darlene McCloud took this picture of our rig.....

....this is one of my favorite pictures from the last 14 years.  Next to driving US-395 for its sheer beauty, this is our 2nd favorite highway.

I've been slacking on taking daily pictures, and for that I apologize.  I guess I'll have to paint the pictures with words.  As is our habit on days we do not work we slept in until almost 8 am.  We were both really tired after the week 'vacation' in Montana, and were really just running on fumes Saturday and Sunday.  Finally Sunday evening arrived, and with that the prospect of being able to sleep in was now a reality.

The forecast high for Monday was 96° F, so we did as much outside as we could before the rising temperature forced us back inside the cooler confines of the Newell where we did not have to turn on the A/C until after 1 pm.  As I wrote yesterday, we are both still acclimating to 90+ temperatures.  It seems the older we get the less we can tolerate heat, and we are now into the hot part of the summer, and with the arrival of July comes the summer heat.  The forecast shows mostly 90+ days for at least the next two weeks with just a few days in the 80's.

TLE spent a lot of time Monday morning tending to her flourishing plants, and garden, and they are flourishing.  She has developed quite a green thumb over the past few years.....

This is an onion she has allowed to grow and flower

We've now had that aloe plant for a year, and it is thriving

We're going to have to get her a shed to house all of her gardening supplies 

.....I think I forgot to write about the LED light we bought for the 'dining/gaming deck' dining canopy.  I found it on Amazon, and it is really bright.....

....I should have taken a picture of it last night so you could appreciate how bright it is, but for now you'll have to take my word for it.

I spent a lot of the heat of the day catching up on my YouTube channels which I follow, while TLE ran load after load of wash through our splendid Splendide combo washer/dryer.  It is so nice to be able to wash and dry our clothes without sitting in a laundromat.  TLE can start a load, and then go about her business until it is done.

It wasn't until 9 pm that we were finally able to shut off the A/C when the temp finally dropped to 77° F.  That's the nice thing about living at 5,500' elevation in the summer here in Likely, CA....the heat does not stay in the air overnight.  We're sleeping with all of our windows open at night and the low temps are still in the low 50's overnight.

Well, I guess I did take some pictures after all......thanks for stopping by!

Thank you.....

 7:53 am - Monday - June 30th - 73° F, humidity 20%, wind 1 mph out of the north......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 96° F....the hottest day this year so far in Likely, CA.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were at Tahoe Valley Campground having cocktails with our co-workers.....a wonderful group of people.....

Left to right: Moi, TLE, Marilyn, Harry, Merlin, Mel, John and Deb

.....who had been coming to TVC for years to spend the summer, and work at the campground.

I've been blogging daily since October of 2012, when we began working at Amazon in Campbellsville, KY.  Some call what I do 'journaling', but I have always associated journaling with hand writing your daily thoughts in some sort of journal book.  I guess the tech term 'blogging' has replaced 'journaling' in today's lexicon.  In reality both are the same, but now one uses a computer, laptop, or phone instead of a pen to publish their story, or thoughts as the case may be.  Blogging has been a daily habit for me going on 12 years now, and I think I've only failed to post a missive on very rare occasions.  As of today the 'statistics' show I've posted 4,926 times, excluding today's post.  TLE reads my blog to get my perspective on each day.  As you know, I don't post often about what TLE did on any given day, but pretty much only about what I did, or experienced.  Everyone has their own story to tell, and this blog is my attempt to tell my story as seen through my eyes, heard through my ears, and based on my personal experiences.  There have been times when I've thought about closing down 'Whatsnewell', and there may come a time when that happens, but I cannot imagine when that would be, or for what reason.  You've been with me through so much in the last dozen years.....a double hernia operation, a stroke, a heart attack, the excision of a cyst from my right cheek, almost cutting off the end of my left middle finger on a bike ride, and several cancerous excisions.  If it has happened to me you know about it shortly thereafter.  Some think I am too transparent, but I don't see it that way.  With me its 'what you see is what you get', and I'll let it go at that with just one more comment.....thank you for reading my daily ramblings so faithfully....I am truly humbled, and grateful that anyone  other than my family reads my blog....lol!

Even thought we only worked 2 days in this current work cycle, it felt like 4.  TLE and I are still in recovery mode from our trip to Deer Lodge last week, and were so looking forward to being able to sleep in Monday morning, but I get ahead of myself.

Sunday began slowly, but by the end of the day we had rented 23 carts.  As you know, Sundays are big departure days in campgrounds such as ours, so things are usually a little more laid back on the golf course, but we had a lot of people coming to play golf from offsite, so it felt just as busy as Saturday.  After staging enough carts to keep TLE happy for a while I headed down to the 'Night Office' to trim around the trees, and the office prior to mowing.  While I was at it I also trimmed around the two back in sites (#19 and 20), which I had mowed on Saturday.  I usually try to trim first as it makes the mowing easier, however, I mowed them as an afterthought on my way back to the Clubhouse Saturday.  Next up I retrieved the 2 bag Husqvarna and began mowing the grass at the 'Night Office', which took me the better part of 45 minutes.  From there I headed up the hill to the three residential grass areas to give them a a quick mow before giving TLE her lunch break.

The high temp Sunday was close to 95° F, and it felt every bit of that.  With very little wind for most of the day it felt even warmer than it was.  I've pretty much acclimated to high 80's, but when you get into the mid 90's it takes a little longer, and I am not there yet.  I was in the sun mowing and trimming for quite a while in the morning so I was inclined to spent more time in the shade after lunch.  A lot of our cart rentals went out from noon on, and as a result I had only washed and stowed 11,or 12 carts when 3:30 pm rolled around, so there will be more than 10 carts for Dave to deal with first thing Monday morning.  Typically when temps get into the 90's people go out early and finish early, so I'm able to get all the carts put away so Dave starts his four day work week with a clean slate, but that was beyond my control Sunday.

I don't take a traditional lunch break, but TLE does, so when she goes home for lunch on 90+ days she turns on the front A/C so that when I go home at 3:30 pm it is already cool inside the Newell, for which I am very grateful.  She called me around 5:20 pm to advise she was ready for pickup, and by 5:30 pm we had begun our four day weekend.  We slept in until 7:45 am this (Monday) morning, and it is now almost 9 am as I finish with my 4, 927th blog post.  This month has been one for the record books for my blog....we have had almost 90,000 views this month....almost triple the norm....again, thank you so much!

Thanks for stopping by!

The return of 'Cart Boy'.....

   5:44 am - Sunday - June 29th - LPG&RVR - 52° F, humidity 32%, wind ZERO mph out of the south by southeast......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 93° F.  On this date in 2020 I used my drone for the first time....you can just see Mt. Rushmore in the background....

It's always a little tough going back to work after a four day weekend, but after a 5 day whirlwind trip to Montana and back it is even more daunting.  My instinct was to sleep in Saturday morning, but I had no such luxury.  Had to be up by 5:30 am to be ready to function, and work by 7:30 am.  It is the price you pay when you squeeze in a 5 day vacation to your normal schedule, and I am a person who likes a schedule, so when we mess it up like we did there is a price to pay....lol.

Saturday was busy, but it did not feel that way; it was very quiet....almost eerily so.  We rented 21 golf carts even though the park was not very full, which is not unusual the week before the 4th of July weekend, when we will be very, very busy.  We're in a warming trend which will see the temps hit into the mid 90's this week, so standing in, working in, and parking in any shade available is your top priority.  

It's been over a week since I last mowed those tee boxes for which I am responsible, so I headed out on the 2 bag Husqvarna around 10 am to do just that, and returned to the Clubhouse around 11:20 am.  I topped off the fuel tank, and then headed down to sites 19 and 20 to mow them in advance of the upcoming long weekend.  There were also a number of sprinklers set to water dry spots.

After TLE's lunch break I spent the last 2.5 hours of my shift washing, and stowing golf carts, and and done so to 19 of the 21 carts rented by 3:30 pm when I headed home to change clothes for the weekly putting contest.  On such a quiet weekend there were only 12 participants on the putting list, so Mike made it double elimination.  The magic I had last Saturday did not show its head this Saturday, and I was gone after the 3rd round.  I'm not saying I didn't put well, but not well enough on the critical putts. For some reason I tend to do better (I don't know why) in larger groups.  The first time I placed 2nd this season there were 38 putters, and last Saturday there were 40 when I finished 2nd again.

TLE and I were home by 5:20 pm, and having dinner shortly thereafter putting another LPG&RVR day into the rear view mirror.....thanks for stopping by!

Whirlwind.....

 5:42 am - Saturday - June 28th - LPG&RVR - 50° F, humidity 39%, wind 1 mph out of the south by southwest......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 89° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were in South Lake Tahoe having breakfast on the 'lido deck', and watching World Cup Futbol.....

.....seems like a lifetime ago.....11 years...WOW!    

When you're having a great time, time always seems to pass by so quickly, and that was the case with our 5 day stay in Deer Lodge with my sister and her husband.  Seemed like we were just really getting settled, and it was time to make the drive back to Missoula to catch our return flight to Medford.  Our first flight of the day had a scheduled departure time of 1:15 pm in Missoula, so we were on the road by 10 am to make the 90 minute drive to Missoula, drop off our rental car, take the shuttle back to the airport, go through TSA, and then wait about an hour for the boarding call, but I get ahead of myself.

We were up around 7 am Friday, and having our first cup of coffee a few minutes later.  Slowly our other family members began to drift into the kitchen, and then we were all together for a final family pictures.....

......we took two.  Bob took the first one, and then Richard (far right in first picture) offered to take one with Bob in the frame (far right in second picture).  Soon it was 10 am, and we were saying our 'until next times' before getting in the Hyundai Sonata for the drive to Missoula.

The 78 mile drive was completely uneventful, with us arriving at exactly 11:30 am at the rental agency.  Within a couple of minutes we were in their shuttle and on the 15 minute drive to the airport.  We were through TSA Pre-check within a couple of minutes and at our departure gate soon thereafter; just a tad over one hour before our scheduled departure.  Our plane left on time, and since we were flying back to the Pacific Time Zone, gained an hour.  We landed in Portland at 1:40 pm, and within 45 minutes were getting on our final flight of the day to Medford where we arrived at 3:20 pm without incident.  By the time we retrieved our baggage, called for the hotel shuttle to come get us, and were in the VW it was 4 pm, and we still had a 3.5 hour drive back to LPG&RVR......

......I drove the first leg back to Merrill, OR (just south of Klamath Falls) where TLE took over for the final 90 minutes.  We arrived back at our Newell at exactly 7:30 pm, just as we had planned. We had barely unpacked and sat down to rest for an hour before our bed time when TLE pointed out the amazing sunset happening outside our window.  Of course, I had to memorialize it.....

......it will probably take us a few days to recover from that whirlwind trip, but being with family is always worth it, especially when you like your family.....lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

Family time.....

 7:19 am - Friday - June 27th - Deer Lodge, MT - 53° F, humidity 48%, wind ZERO mph out of the southwest......a few clouds today with a forecast high of 76° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were in Keystone, SD (Mt. Rushmore) having lunch with good friends Tom and Darlene McCloud....

Thursday began with an ominous influx of storm clouds from the northwest....

,

....but is was a beautiful Deer Lodge kind of day anyway.  As I wrote yesterday I strained, or pulled a muscle in my right forearm Wednesday playing golf, and by 9 am it was pretty clear that I should forego anymore golf until that soreness abates (as I write this morning it is much better), so all of us took the day off from golfing.  I took a long nap after composing my latest missive, and just about the time I headed out to the living room it began to rain....

.....in earnest.  Bob and Philip had been outside sitting by the outdoor fireplace when the rain began to go sideways, and right into their corner, which forced them to retreat indoors while the storm lasted.  Eventually the squall passed, and order was restored.....

.....it was the perfect day to sit around talking, and while we talked the rain came and went for a couple of hours......

Jeannie and Hilary

Philip and Jeannie

Richard and Liz....Liz is the daughter of my Uncle  Bob, my mother's oldest brother....she is the spitting image of her mother. 

......we had kind of a late dinner consisting of elk sausage (like ball park sized hot dogs) and a watermelon salad, then retired to the outdoor fireplace for the balance of the evening.....

......talking endlessly about everything under the sun, including many travel stories.  Finally, around 9 pm we all began to drift back inside to our rooms to wind down, and get ready for bed.  It was a wonderful day filled with interesting conversation, a lot of silliness, and laughter, and a perfect conclusion to our time here in Deer Lodge.  TLE and I will be off to Missoula Friday morning around 10 am to return our rental car, and then to the airport to catch our 1:15 pm flight to Portland.  We should be back in Medford, and our VW before 4 pm, and on our way home to LPG&RVR.

Thanks for stopping by!

A return to form......

 7:08 am - Thursday - June 26th - Deer Lodge, MT - 56° F, humidity 47%, wind 2 mph out of the north....cloudy today with a forecast high of 74° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I did some hiking in Yellowstone NP.....

.....and then stopped off at the Roosevelt Lodge for some Elk Sliders.....

Well, Wednesday TLE and I slept in again.  Just like LPG&RVR, it is so quiet here, which is very conducive to deep, uninterrupted sleep.  We finally roused ourselves a little before 8 am, got some coffee, and spent more time talking with our every increasing troupe of relatives.  By Wednesday afternoon our reunion will be 8 strong when my cousin Liz, and her husband Richard arrive for a 4 day stay, and then beginning Friday our group will begin to dwindle again when TLE and I head back to Missoula to catch our flight back to Medford (MEF), which goes through Portland (PDX).  We only have a one hour layover this time.

The temperature got all the way to 78° F, which is about 10 degrees cooler than it is back at Likely right now.  We all headed down to the Pro Shop around 10:30 am to pick up our golf clubs, and rental carts to play another 18 holes.  I was a little disappointed in my play Tuesday, so was hoping Wednesday would see a return to better golf, and I was not disappointed.  By the time we had finished the first 9 holes I had 2 pars, and one birdie, and was playing just under bogey golf (averaging one over par for each hole).  My short game improved a lot, as well as my putting as I get used to the golf clubs, and the speed of the greens.  I had one amazing sand trap shot that landed just 18" from the hole; one of my best ever.

We had a great time with Bob, Hilary, Philip and Jeannie.  TLE and Jeannie don't play golf, but Hilary does, and she has become quite a good golfer.  I never, ever expected to see my sister play golf, let alone become quite proficient at it.  We stopped off at the 'snack shack' located between the 8th and 9th holes for some sliders, and drinks, as well as a restroom break, then continued to the 9th hole.  We had a few small rain showers, but managed to stay dry.

By the time we reached the 18th and final hole I had two more pars, so I felt like I was getting back into golfing form, however, I strained a muscle in my right forearm, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to play Thursday; we'll see.

We skipped the 19th hole (bar) and headed directly home to get showers, and await the arrival of Liz and Richard from Missoula.  I think they finally arrived around 6 pm, and shortly thereafter we sat down to another wonderful dinner prepared by the loving hands of my sister.....wild caught salmon, and asparagus covered with a hollandaise sauce.

After dinner we sat on the patio enjoying the sunset, and talking non-stop for quite a while, but by 9:30 pm I was 'talked out' and headed to our room to unwind before I went to bed. TLE followed 30 minutes later, and by 11 pm we were sound asleep.  No pictures were taken on this day, but a lot of fun and fellowship were had.

Thanks for stopping by!

Round number one.....

 7:00 am - Wednesday - June 25th - Deer Lodge, MT - 54° F, humidity 31%, wind 4 mph out of the south....partially cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 78° F.  On this date in 2012 I was having lunch with my mother, Virginia.....

.....at MacKenzie River Pizza Company in Spokane, WA.  I think she was about 85 in this picture.

TLE went to bed around 8:30 pm Monday night, and I about 10 pm.  We both slept in Tuesday morning until almost 8 am; so, so nice after 'the longest day'.  We lazed around until almost 10 am drinking Americanos, and talking with Bob and Hilary before we decided it was time to get dressed and go play 18.  I've never played this course, although TLE and I have been here two times before, so I was determined to do it this time around.  As you know, I have not played golf yet this year, but have hit a couple of buckets of balls at LPG&RVR.  

Before we travelled to Deer Lodge this time I had considered shipping my club set through an outfit called 'ShipSticks', but the cost to do so was almost as expensive as the rental car we are using, so I decided to rent a set of clubs here at the golf course, although I did bring my own golf balls, golf glove, shoes and tees.  Around 10:30 am we headed over to the Pro Shop to pick up a set of clubs, and a golf cart courtesy Bob and Hilary (thank you so much!).  The clubs are made by Titleist , and are actually quite nice.  The golf cart is a Club Car electric with all the bells and whistles.....Bluetooth stereo, range finder, ice chest, etc.  Bob and Hilary each have their own cart so they can play faster, so TLE and I had the rental all to ourselves.  Hilary and I played from the shorter tees while Bob played from the white tees.

After hitting a few balls at the driving range we headed out to the first hole to begin our round....

I got my only par of the day on the 18th hole.....a nice way to end the round

At the 18th hole

....I hit a good tee shot on the first hole, and actually a pretty good second shot, a decent chip and got a bogey; a nice beginning.  In fact for the first 6, or 7 holes I did decently, lost no balls, and was playing just over bogey golf.  And then the difficulty factor of the course began to come into play.  You really have to hit certain areas on the fairway to have a good second shot, as many of the remaining holes you are not able to see the green from where you land your first shot, so the second shots are mostly 'blind' shots.  Additionally, these greens are extremely fast, and not being familiar with them made it difficult for me to judge which way the ball would break towards the hole.  I began to lose one ball after the other in the sage brush, and by the end of the round I had lost all 6 balls I had brought with me, plus several balls TLE had found while looking for my other lost balls.  All that being said, I hit enough good shots on the remaining holes, in fact I almost drove the 15th green with my best tee shot of the day, and managed to finally get a par on the 18th and final hole; a very nice, positive way to finish the round.  By the end of the round I was getting used to the Titleist clubs, and am looking forward to a return engagement on Wednesday.

After turning in our rented cart, and the rental clubs (they put a name tag on them so I will get them again on Wednesday) we headed to the '19th hole' for some adult beverages.  We sat at the outdoor bar talking for close to an hour before heading back to the house to await the arrival of Philip (my brother) and his wife Jeannie.  Hilary made a great dinner for us (she is a very good 'chef') called Chicken Piccata, which we ate alfresco on the patio.....

It was almost 10 pm when it finally began to get dark

Left to right: Moi, Philip, TLE, Hilary, Jeannie and Bob

.....Philip and Jeannie arrived around 4 pm, and after they finished unpacking we sat around talking while Hilary prepared our dinner.  We didn't eat until well after 7 pm, and had a lovely meal, and then sat around the outdoor fireplace on the patio talking until well after 10 pm before I finally surrendered and headed to inside to get ready for bed.

Thanks for stopping by!