EARLY CAMPING

It's April 12, 2012 in North Dakota and in a normal year there is still snow on the ground.  This year however, has been a very mild and warm (relatively speaking) winter.  I "got the fever" early since the weather has been so nice, so I started getting my camper ready for some outings and decided to take it out this past weekend.  Most campgrounds don't open until at least Memorial Day.  I called ahead to the New Rockford City Campground and found out that they would allow camping there this early but the water isn't turned on yet.  That was fine with me as I am fully self contained.  Electric hook-ups were on which meant that I could camp with all the comforts of home.

So I packed up and headed out for a weekend of early camping.  I needed to make a "shake down" run with the camper so I would be sure that it will be ready for this summer of activities......Please stay tuned for THAT!!!!!!!!

Heading out on Thursday proved to be a bit of a challenge as it was quite windy that day.  But then what else is new for North Dakota??  That night and the following day it rained most of the time.  But there were two positives from that experience.  1).  We need the rain up here this spring as it has been a bit on the dry side so far and the farmers need the moisture in the ground.  and 2).  My camper doesn't leak!!!!

Saturday morning was a gorgeous day with the warm sun shining, no wind and the sky so clear and blue as is typical of the North Country.  In the early morning I was able to take my walks which is always so refreshing when it is so pleasant outside.

I pretty much had the whole campground to myself as was able to enjoy the sunrise, and take my walks where ever I wanted to.  How many times have I said this, "Life doesn't get any better than this!!"

THE OPERA HOUSE

Who would’ve thought that a small town in north eastern North Dakota would have such culture?

New Rockford, North Dakota is such a place....

Have you ever heard of the Dakota Prairie Regional Center For the Arts?   A friend introduced me to these events last year and what I am about to describe is the second event that she and I have experience together in the past several months. Last Fall, we went to the drama/play, The Woman In Black. What an experience!!!  Have you seen this play or this movie?  You should, because it is a very moving and deeply thought provoking production.  This winter the Opera House had a production of a Christmas play. We missed that because of previous obligations, but we knew we wanted to see more of what this fine, local, cultural event had to offer.

New Rockford is a town of about 1,500 population. This weekend, the Spring of 2012, we went again to the latest production of the DPRCA.  (Google it to see what's up.)  The spring production is a musical/play entitled: ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE.    We love the short lived life and music of Patsy Cline and thought this would be an experience we would really enjoy. That is an understatement!!!! After all, how well could a small town drama group portray such a superstar???

Susie Sharp played Patsy Cline. Who is Susie? She is the New Rockford City Librarian! Patsy's friend and “business manager”, Louise, was played by Kathy Teschner who is the administrative assistant to the middle school principal at Ft. Totten ND. For any of you who are fans and followers of Patsy Cline, you would appreciate the historical accuracy and significance of the players in this production, not to mention the wonderful and entertaining music of the era. At least WE appreciated it!!!!

“Patsy” sang no fewer than 28 of Patsy Cline's hits during this performance. To top it all off, the musical accompaniment was portrayed as The Grand Ole Opera’s backup band. This included musicians who played piano, drums, fiddle, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, steel guitar and Dobro, LIVE.   As I said before...Who would’ve thought??? And all of these musicians were local!!!! What talent we have here in the Northern Plains!!!

Now, why would we want to travel all across the US in order to see Grand Musicals and Stellar Performances when all of that, as well as Grand Symphony performances (more on that later) are right here in our back yard???? I can answer that for you, but I'm sure you know the answer already......

DOWNSIZING

If you have been following my blog recently, you have probably picked up on the fact that I am simplifying my life and DOWNSIZING!  Most recently my efforts have been on cleaning up my 5th wheel camper and getting it ready to sell....It's just too big for me. 

But no, I am not ready to get out of the RV and camping mode yet.  I probably won't go on any long trips anymore but rather, confine my travels to the Northern Plains.  There are so many sights to see in the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, etc.  There are probably more things to see in these states alone so that it would take a lifetime to partake of them all.  (Especially for old geezers like myself!!!!)

When I was in California last spring, 2011, on my second of three trips to the west coast, I bought a small trailer.  My intentions were to leave the trailer there and live in it whenever I visited my family.  I did lived in it for three months that spring and found that even though it was quite small, it suited my needs just fine.  In fact, I liked it so much that I pulled it back home to North Dakota and made the decision to replace my 5th wheel and pickup with this smaller unit.  

I then bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee a month or so ago.  I recently  hooked up to the trailer and it's a perfect fit.  It pulls nice and the whole set-up is much smaller.  I am sure it will be better suited for access and maneuverability around some of the small camping areas up here in north country. 

Out with the old (big)

and in with the new (small)

This is where I lived for those three months right after I bought this small, older trailer.  Like I mentioned before, my friends, Steve and Sharon allow me to park at their place each time I travel to California in my RV.  Here I am parked right next to Scott and Lisa's 5th wheel.  Thanks again guys for your hospitality.

END OF AN ERA

My RVing in a big rig is coming to an end.  I have decided to sell my 5th wheel camping trailer and my Dodge diesel pickup.  It (the camper) didn't even get out of the shed last year, 2011.  What? did I have other things that occupied my time that year?    The last time I used it was in 2010 when I made a 6000 mile trip around the western US.  I went to California by way of South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.  My friends, Steve and Sharon were gracious enough to allow me to camp in their yard near Lodi, CA.  (THANKS AGAIN, GUYS!) while I spent some quality and rewarding time with my Son and Daughter, and all the grandchildren that spring.

My journey back to North Dakota took me to Arizona where I visited with my niece Mary and her husband Tom.   From there I went through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.  In OK I enjoyed a long time over-due visit with my Nephew Bradd, and his lovely family.  (Tammy, you are the best!)   I so enjoyed my time there with them even though they experienced one of the biggest floods of the area in quite some time while I was camped in the local campground.  The water got so high that I had to move my camper to higher ground!  That area is the home of Will Rogers, and one of his famous quotes is, "Oklahoma gets twelve inches of rain a year.  And I was there there that day."  So was I!!!!!

I intended to travel from Shawnee, OK to Waco, Texas to visit my cousin and her husband Danny, (Kathy, are you my cousin, second cousin, or cousin once remove?)  I like to see us as brother and sister in the Lord!!  How's that?????  Amen?  If I had gone to Waco, TX I would have traveled on to Austin, TX to visit my nephew, Lee and family.  But I had been experiencing some health issues so I headed back north through Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and home again.  As it was, I covered over 6,000 miles and twelve states, some of them twice.  If any of you are planning a RV trip like that I would fully recommend my rig.   A 5th wheel trailer and a diesel pickup.  The whole trip, I didn't even know that I had a trailer behind me!

So now my rig is on the market.  Stay tuned for what is next in my adventures!!!!!!

Colour

First of all, I am not an interior decorator nor the son of an interior decorator.  But I want to make my new living room with my "uncovered" original (cir. 1950) straight grain fir wood floors have a "punctuation mark" --Yuppie speak for "punch" according to the PBS program This Old House . 

I have asked numerous friends and acquaintances alike, "What colour should I paint my walls now?"  I guess I have determined that most of my friends are not interior decorators either.  But I still respect any ideas that they may have.  So I am throwing my question out to my blog readers (all six of you):  What suggestions do you have for the colour I should paint my living room walls?

A friend gave me a left-over paint can that she used on her walls.  It is a neutral brown colour and I "splashed' a little on my wall to see what it looks like.  I was a little disappointed in the look because it looked a little boring.  This photo makes it look like the wall is blue but actually it is white.  I'm not sure if the brown is too neutral but I think that a little more punch, like gold or a darker colour would be better.  Any ideas?  I am open to suggestions.

SPRINGTIME IN NORTH DAKOTA

Could it really be spring time in North Dakota?   After all, it's only March 10th, 2012.  But here I am, sitting out by my fire pit (without a fire)  under a clear blue sky in the middle of the afternoon of March.  It is so warm that I could be sitting here getting a suntan...  (Good thing there is no one here to  take a picture of that, eh?)

I raised my flag on the flagpole for the first time this year after I washed my car on my driveway.  I parked my fish house under  the pine trees which means that the ice fishing season is over for  this year.  Even though we can still get a snow storm in the month of May, the Game and Fish Dept. has advised us to remove our fish houses from the lakes because the ice is deteriorating fast.  Right now, I am starting to look forward to what is in store for the summer months.  Will I be having company this summer that will be taking up my time with fishing and camping??????

Stay tuned for that, as I am really looking forward to what God has in store for me this summer with visits from my family and enjoying His great creation!!!!!!!!!

A WEEK ON THE FLOOR

In keeping with my new theme of trying to simplify my life and reduce clutter, I have spent the last couple of weeks working in my living room.  Out with the old 1980's avocado green and gold shag carpet ! ! !  And out with the same colour scheme drapes, shears, and valance.  (What I will replace these window coverings with I still am not sure....open to suggestions ! ! ! )  I considered posting some "before" photos of the living room but after seeing these "after" photos, I just cannot look at the old living room anymore!

Underneath the carpet I found GOLD.  No, it wasn't hardwood floors.....  It was softwood floors!  Otherwise known as straight grained fir.  Yes, the floor was filled with lots of "character marks".  These "flaws" are several generations worth of life.  How did all these marks, dents, and scratches get there?  Who knows and who cares ! ?   In a house that is almost as old as I am, whatever defects one may find are totally acceptable with me.  Just like I hope that my friends may find my defects acceptable.

The floor had been varnished when it was new but after many, many years of being covered with carpet, the pad underneath had left its marks, so I proceeded to wash the floor with mineral spirits first, then with soap and water.  After a loving application of hand applied paste wax,  the shine shone through and lovingly smiled back at me for bringing back the most natural look that any floor can have.  I trust my new floor loves being exposed to a "new life" as much as I love having it as part of my NEW LIFE. 

I also eliminated a lot of the furniture that was in my living room.  After all, if one is trying to simplify one's life, then why have so much furniture that it just clutters up the place?   Next?  To paint the wall with an appropriate colour.  Again, Open to suggestions.......