tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14059219839048819602023-11-16T02:40:11.252-05:00Misadventures with RangersA little space for me to think out loud about Life's twists and turns. Join me as I roam the home, here in Ohio and off in the wilds of Wyoming.
"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care."
President Theodore RooseveltAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.comBlogger226125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-16138641329826700532012-12-01T10:51:00.000-05:002012-12-04T11:12:27.780-05:00Decorating Yooper Style and My First On-line Tut!I read several blogs by Mommy bloggers. They make a little money blogging, which is cool, and they write ebooks, which is also cool. I love reading the Mormon Mommy blogs. It's nice to know that there are still folks out there living their faith, no matter which one it is. Journaling has always been a part of the LDS tradition, and it's cool that the younger kids have adapted by blogging. But come on, how many sweet stories, fabulous quilt projects, and to-die-for desserts can I read about? <br />
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I read nature blogs. Mostly by birders and travelers, with some cool botany sites thrown in for good measure. Most of these are quiet, thoughtful, and serene. Which is nice. (But one of my fav's is <a href="http://seagullsteve.blogspot.com/">Bourbon, Bastards, and Birds. </a> Yeah, you heard me. Steve, the ranking self-proclaimed #7 Birder in the world, throws in a healthy dose of total disrespect of all sorts of crap. I, by the way, am the self-proclaimed World's Laziest Birder.)<br />
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I also read lots of quilting blogs. I really enjoy the ones by people who are just plain ol' folks like me who aren't promoting their latest book or fabric line. Just folks who like to make stuff when they can. <br />
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I love my fellow Ranger blogs the bestest. But we tend to get yelled at about blogging. Go figure.<br />
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So bring on the Wacky Moms-who-are-not-the-Mormon-Mommy Bloggers. Like many, they are well educated and for whatever reason, staying home for the child-rearing duration. And nuts as hell. Instead of having the 4:00 Betty Ford cocktail to try to stay sane, they are blogging. Are they ever. Kinda why I do it, but I've also developed a taste for the 4:00 BF cocktail. One of these days, I'll add a few of these folks to my side-bar reading list, if I can remember how to do that. But you might check out the <a href="http://underachievingdomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/">Under-achievers Guid</a>e and <a href="http://iwanttopunchinthethroat.com/">People I Want to Punch in the Throat</a> for a taste of what I'm taking about. They know where you can stick that Elf on the Shelf. And it ain't the shelf.<br />
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So in honor of these nutty women, I present to you my First Tut. (For those of you reading a blog for the first time, a Tut is a Tutorial. Please pronounce it Toot in your head.)<br />
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Instead of reading something worthwhile, or making delicious and nutritious food for my family, I've been screwing around, trying to give our loverly home that Yooper look. (You do know that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is called the U.P., eh? Say that out loud. . . . Yoop, residents of which are called Yoopers. Everyone who lives in the lower Peninsula is referred to as a Troll, since they live below The Bridge. Sadly, we are trolls and Yooper-wannabes.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQEHNtRyx-nhceGWqvxlprrFFjFYBLvXNmtIFFeKxWZEcVSx4xNTIRr8tV5I7TUjkyw1FzNn3K7Qe0pSBIAuBcHnrO07nf_wJhfnASPviGC4v9ku0Mfn5CpqwDou0-7qbKIScNOS6Mq8M/s1600/rtixxw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQEHNtRyx-nhceGWqvxlprrFFjFYBLvXNmtIFFeKxWZEcVSx4xNTIRr8tV5I7TUjkyw1FzNn3K7Qe0pSBIAuBcHnrO07nf_wJhfnASPviGC4v9ku0Mfn5CpqwDou0-7qbKIScNOS6Mq8M/s320/rtixxw.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Da Bridge, eh.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Anywho, this year I'm going with the PoorWhiteTrash look for our winter outdoor decorations. Okay, not quite true, I'm refining the Yooper look--which includes as much black and red buffalo check as I can find.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Tut by Ranger Anna</span></span></div>
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Here's how you, too, can have this great, festive look for your home! Just 5 easy, peasy steps!<br />
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Step 1. Say to yourself, "The front porch looks like shit this year. Especially the ugly couch thing."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrpmdQrRjAETQisIGPTTMuznKbP1ZUri0f3og8DXesFnKYni0Aaw9AWxNngGuaKxc0E0tDIb8tQl-3C7cgsvNgz5Ffm-kX-Lxc1SQENTSkPYCnQuEbKJPGBxJZ9No4GNrXXBtcZw3earR/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoEzK1MOJTHWtsNO_XaAnsI_xSL_c580_b7pTdFlKOdxRpWcIwNqo2S0D5pWCAUwavdEgdJywvC8bUR_LDTdD2Uh3iXssMu9Mapz29hlNZdvwjVxZNyqhGqlacr2JTUPvn2oxEWq7Fcoc/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoEzK1MOJTHWtsNO_XaAnsI_xSL_c580_b7pTdFlKOdxRpWcIwNqo2S0D5pWCAUwavdEgdJywvC8bUR_LDTdD2Uh3iXssMu9Mapz29hlNZdvwjVxZNyqhGqlacr2JTUPvn2oxEWq7Fcoc/s320/1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Step 2. Go to a store and find some buffalo check ribbon. (My heart nearly lept with joy when I saw it! How pathetic is that? Or is it more pathetic that someone thought it up? I bought a ton of it, and didn't even look for coupons.) Post on Pinterest about your fabulous find!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blatant shout out to the company that makes this stuff! God Bless 'em.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Step 3. Dig your HoAnne's coupons out the the recycle bin and carefully read thru them.<br />
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Step 3. Drive 15 miles to your nearest store only to find that they haven't had any checked polar fleece in the store since August. Buy a whole bolt of red polar fleece and half a bolt of black instead. Use those half-off coupons! Drive home, enjoying a bunch of the festive candy that was staring you in the face in the check-out aisle. Oh, those devilish merchandisers! <br />
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Step 4. Carefully cut the fabric, measuring accurately in your beautiful crafty
corner. Or just slap it on your kid's bed and slice it up. Carefully fold the fabric and take it to the porch. Wrap the cushions with the red fleece and create delightful stripes with the black strips.<br />
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Step 5. Voila! A guaranteed to be fabulous, jaw-dropping Christmas display! All 15 of the cars that drive down your street each day will love it! (And check your supply of explanation marks to be sure you have enough to finish!!!)<br />
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And don't forget to feed your snowman! He looks tired after being all inflated and proud of himself for several hours last night...poor little guy...maybe the Elf on the Shelf could give him a little something to make the days more bearable!<br />
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How's your holiday decorating going? Mine goes on until Valentine's Day! I'd have a linky party if I knew what the hell that is! How adorable is that? Leave me a comment and I'll read it or not!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-83997191134234592952012-11-28T20:16:00.003-05:002012-11-28T20:20:01.523-05:00Yo, Homies!Dig this: <a href="http://dawnandjeffsblog.blogspot.com/">Dawn of Dawn's Bloggy Blog</a>, posted this from one of her bloggy peeps.<br />
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Gizoogle.net.<br />
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Freakin' Hi. Lar. E. Os.<br />
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When you actually Google it, type in something, anything. I tried National Park Service, my trusty employer. I got this:<br />
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<h3 class="r">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.gizoogle.net/xfer.php?link=http://www.nps.gov/&sa=U&ei=bLC2UPSmMoqp0AWW7oCoBQ&ved=0CB0QFjAA&usg=AFQjCNEnaRHJk50I6mdVAEHDSLzfyc4jiw">U.S. <b>Nationizzle Park Service</b> - Experience Yo Crazy-Ass Tha Ghetto</a></span></h3>
<div class="kv" style="margin-bottom: 2px;">
<cite>www.<b>nps</b>.gov/</cite><span class="flc"> - <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nQJ4IQ8zVUEJ:http://www.nps.gov/%2Bnationizzle+park+service&hl=en&ct=clnk">Cached</a> - <a href="http://www.gizoogle.net/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=related:www.nps.gov/+nationizzle+park+service&tbo=1&sa=X&ei=bLC2UPSmMoqp0AWW7oCoBQ&ved=0CB8QHzAA">Similar</a></span></div>
<span class="st">Charged wit tha trust of preservin tha natural resourcez of America.</span><br />
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<span class="st">Way too funny! Now before you show your kids, know that every other word is the f-bomb, and is f-bombing Hi. Lar. E. Ous. </span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st">You can't really search stuff with it, cuz you know, iT's a PAroDy! You'll just get the spinner-of-death, but give it a whirl anyway, biaches. Or type in i-ranger.com. You'll see what I'm <i>not </i>writing here. I drop the f-bomb all the f-bombing time, but I can only type it so many times. What if my kids ever figure out how to read this? I yell at them not to use the f-bomb, and DH hates it (such a frickin' prude), but I suppose they could figure it out sometime. DH will probably never figure it out....</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<span class="st">So.</span><br />
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<span class="st">Type in Martha Stewart and get this:</span><br />
<h3 class="r">
<a href="http://www.gizoogle.net/xfer.php?link=https://twizzle.com/MarthaStewart&sa=U&ei=yrK2ULSlOcHC0QWe6YCoCg&ved=0CD0QFjAI&usg=AFQjCNF2TtJJ-YqsZoRNX8d-s3IHhId28Q"><b>Martha Stewart</b> (<b>MarthaStewart</b>) on Twizzle</a></h3>
<div class="kv" style="margin-bottom: 2px;">
<cite>https://twizzle.com/<b>MarthaStewart</b></cite><span class="flc"> - <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_bvJLJ1Z9vUJ:https://twizzle.com/MarthaStewart%2Bmartha+stewart&hl=en&ct=clnk">Cached</a></span></div>
<span class="st">23 Nov · <b>Martha Stewart</b> @<b>MarthaStewart</b>. There is confusion bout Everydizzle Chicken. Y'all KNOW dat shit, muthafucka! It was started by mah crazy ass n' published by mah crazy ass just like <b>martha stewart</b> Living.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="st">or Grand Old Party (GOP) and get:</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
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<h3 class="r">
<a href="http://www.gizoogle.net/xfer.php?link=http://spectator.org/archives/2012/11/28/grand-old-parties&sa=U&ei=OLO2UILBKOau0QWAnIH4Dg&ved=0CC0QFjAD&usg=AFQjCNE0Tte9dC3XMIsA_WfGkYUW59Egsw">Da American Spectator : <b>Grand Oldskool Parties</b></a></h3>
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<cite>spectator.org/archives/2012/11/28/<b>grand</b>-<b>old</b>-<b>parties</b></cite><span class="flc"></span></div>
<span class="st">13 hours ago <b>...</b> Da Republicans n' Democratz retain they original gangsta character, mo' than a century n' a half afta they founding.</span><br />
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<br />
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<span class="st">or Mitt Romney and get:</span><br />
<span class="st"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="http://www.gizoogle.net/search?q=Mitt+Romney&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&prmd=ivnsuo&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=yLO2UJf1LqrD0QXOsoBI&ved=0CCUQqAI">Shit fo' <b>Clitt Romney</b></a></h3>
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<tr><td style="font-size: 78%; line-height: normal; padding: 7px 8px 0 0; text-align: center;" valign="top"><a href="http://www.gizoogle.net/xfer.php?link=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865567663/Mitt-Romney-and-Prezzy-Barack-Obizzay-to-meet-for-White-Crib-lunch.html&sa=X&ei=yLO2UJf1LqrD0QXOsoBI&ved=0CCQQpwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNFUnS3ajCoR4CZiDv1ccgOyGmwfew"><img border="1" class="th" height="72" src="http://news.google.com/news/tbn/iiytDScNhnYJ/6.jpg" width="72" /></a><span class="grn thc" style="text-decoration: none;">Deseret Shit</span></td><td valign="top"><div style="margin-top: 5px;">
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/mitt-romney-obama_n_2204233.html?ir=Polistics"><b>Clitt Romney</b>, Obizzay To Hook up For Lunch At White Crib</a><br />
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<cite>Huffington Post</cite><span class="f"> - <span class="nobr">4 hours ago</span><span class="nobr"> - <a class="fl" href="http://news.google.com/news/story?q=Mitt+Romney&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=d-Lmr_kCW90rkmMFv2FioJ8FfQE_M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yLO2UJf1LqrD0QXOsoBI&ved=0CB4QqgIwAA">1290 related articles »</a></span></span></div>
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<span class="st">WASHINGTON -- Prezzy Barack Obizzay will host his wild lil' former polistical rival <b>Mitt</b> <b>Romney</b> fo' a private lunch all up in tha White Crib Thursday, they <b>...</b></span></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 4px;">
<a href="http://www.boston.com/polisticalintelligence/2012/11/28/mitt-romney-join-prez-obama-for-white-house-lunch-thursday/wXaqpVQbKUOpgChJSvL2BK/story.html"><b>Clitt Romney</b> ta join Prezzy Obizzay fo' White Crib lunch on Thursday</a><br />
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<cite>Boston.com</cite><span class="f"> - <span class="nobr">9 hours ago</span><span class="nobr"></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 4px;">
<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865567663/Mitt-Romney-and-Prezzy-Barack-Obizzay-to-meet-for-White-Crib-lunch.html"><b>Clitt Romney</b> n' Barack Obizzay ta hook up fo' White Crib lunch Thursday</a><br />
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<cite>Deseret Shit</cite><span class="f"> - <span class="nobr">6 hours ago</span></span></div>
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<span class="st">Okay, okay, just one more for the holidays:</span><br />
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<h3 class="r">
<a href="http://www.gizoogle.net/xfer.php?link=http://www.elfontheshelf.com/BoutUs/TheTradition.aspx&sa=U&ei=SbS2UK3EIY-N0wWBwIHgBQ&ved=0CCoQFjAB&usg=AFQjCNG7tAcuRTF5Uq6Ev18cR_Jk6YfOIQ"><b>Elf on tha Shelf</b> > Bout Our Asses > Da Tradition</a></h3>
<div class="kv" style="margin-bottom: 2px;">
<cite>www.<b>elfontheshelf</b>.com/BoutUs/TheTradition.aspx</cite><span class="flc"> - <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:f7yfefFGLv8J:http://www.elfontheshelf.com/BoutUs/TheTradition.aspx%2BElf+on+the+Shelf&hl=en&ct=clnk">Cached</a></span></div>
<span class="st">Da
Elf Tradition. I aint talkin' bout chicken n' gravy biatch yo. Have yo
ass ever wondered how tha fuck Santa knows whoz ass is naughty n' whoz ass is nice, biatch? Da Elf on tha Shelf�: A Christmas Tradizzle is tha straight-up special <b>...</b></span><br />
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<span class="st">I really should go do something vaguely useful....... been playing here way toooo long, homies! </span><br />
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<span class="st">Oh, wait, really.... just one more......Gizoogle your college, mofo! <b><br /></b></span><br />
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<span class="st"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span class="st"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-45301056950641413742012-11-18T13:17:00.001-05:002012-11-24T20:50:11.715-05:00More November NuttinessIt's the most wonderful time of the year! Our November is as busy as predicted--but knowing that it will be like this makes it tolerable. We've had a couple of monkey wrenches thrown our way, too, what a surprise.<br />
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Wrench #1 is that in order for the boys to get jobs thru VBR, we have to contract with yet another company who are the actual providers of humans who help out. So last Tuesday, we <i>"had"</i> to attend an<i> "open house" </i>to meet with these providers. The <i>"counselor"</i> from VBR said we <i>"had to choose a provider before leaving." </i> Well, I don't think so, sister. We did, but only because I'm too damn tired to fight the system any more. And the system is screwed up, trust me. So now that we've done all this crap with VBR, we do it all over again with "Capabilities." My final criteria for picking a company? They were the closest. I don't know why VBR actually believed we could make informed decisions standing around in a HS gym after 1 minute discussions, but there it is. Crap. I don't know when "Cap" will call, but it will be yet another pain.<br />
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But here's my real concern. FTD is content to stay at home, in his room with his computer and video games. He doesn't want lots of stuff. In fact, he really doesn't want <i>anything</i> or want <i>for</i> anything. So why oh why are we forcing him to get a crappy job he doesn't want to earn money he doesn't need or want? A job where he will likely be treated like the Village Idiot at that? Why do we go thru the hoops and hassles? The job he's going to get will suck up a job that someone else might actually want and/or need. Why spend the extra tax dollars so he can go be miserable? So why do I bang my head in the wall to force him to work? Why am I trying to force my Protestant work ethic down his throat, only to have him barf it back up? He's content here. <span style="color: #0c343d;">He's found his bliss. How many of the rest of us can say that? </span> Maybe he'll outgrow this phase and develop some wants. He'll never be able to support himself, and again, I thank you all for paying your taxes to help him out, so why are we doing this now? <br />
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Monkey Wrench #2. Then let's throw this into the family mix.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BIL and 4/5s of his offspring.</td></tr>
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My Sis's hubby is very, very ill. Not terminally, but this isn't something from which he'll recover, but he will hopefully be able to manage. His kids are worried about both him and my Sis, but they don't know what to do or even to say. There's no book of instructions that comes with your parents. We've been thru this with our own parents, so fortunately we sorta have a handle on it. My sis and bro and I certainly had no 'expereince' when our folks passed. I hope we can help the kids get thru this, and hope we have a longer rather than a shorter time. I do know that we got thru it with the excellent help of <a href="http://www.hospicenwo.org/">Hospice of NW Ohio.</a> To this day, I still can say that Hospice saved my Mother's life. True dat.<br />
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Well, how's that for downers?<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">Now for some uppers.</span><br />
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First, DD's train club exhibit at the Toledo Zoo is up and running. I'll do a whole post on that later.<br />
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Next, BadAmy participated in Toledo's {first} Indie-Mart yesterday. (It's a craft show, but for the hipsters in town.) She sold a lotta yarn, but not all of it, so start checking her<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/BadAmyKnits"> Etsy</a> shop for updates. Our little Village of Whitehouse also had an Artist's Show and Sale yesterday. Two of my favorite potters-who-are-not-my-daughter were there, along with several other "traditional" artists. And a certain young man put in his annual appearance as Santa. It was a wonderfully warm, Indian summer day, so very few people were up for Santa, cute as he may be. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTXBhpDkc5UkqC1ogWAntHtzciLEtEdpGnvMRDmDW8V__eewl_vqy8Q0anWTmRFmeotk_6lG_Q3TS3YCKTTcgiwF1cQsfscOG6srWnMvAEOYcUyv150ZCkVTNf3a31HdEmqn1ID8YN2jx/s1600/1117021243a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTXBhpDkc5UkqC1ogWAntHtzciLEtEdpGnvMRDmDW8V__eewl_vqy8Q0anWTmRFmeotk_6lG_Q3TS3YCKTTcgiwF1cQsfscOG6srWnMvAEOYcUyv150ZCkVTNf3a31HdEmqn1ID8YN2jx/s400/1117021243a.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa lost 40 pounds since last Christmas! Good for him!</td></tr>
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And for one more upper, today is my birthday. I finally convinced my DH that I really and truly don't like surprises. I only buy stuff I really, really like. Since we don't have kids who will want this stuff when I kick the bucket, I'm trying not to accumulate stuff I don't love/actually need. Well, okay, I've got way too many Christmas decorations... but I like to play with my toys. (And everyone knows fabric doesn't count. I also have a rag quilt done for a Christmas present, just need to start snipping the hems. More on that later.) But anywho, we got a new faucet for the kitchen sink. After 18 years here in the 'new' house, stuff is starting to break. And tomorrow the tile guy will be here to start working on the tub surround for the whirlpool tub. That small, little bathroom will end up being the most expensive place in the house. And I usually don't let anyone in there. (BadAmy and I refer to it as the Girls' Bathroom, aka, the not skanky-used-by-boys one.) Okay, this hasn't been my best move, but I'm going with the 'resale value' thing, not the 'greedy, materialistic, I coulda spent my money better' thing. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WYY_ajKa8ZajwQiIWqZgQHM0OsBsRQp4cMhMTUdVHzNSBZB-lfipOse9_AjLx5MIc5JQgV4MAxEPI14CXFBwycN4W0Z2HVY9QaftkfpxKgJ8Q-ksdZ5m-aDtNFKwBrLluxgrlUNmVs6U/s1600/contemporary-bathroom-tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WYY_ajKa8ZajwQiIWqZgQHM0OsBsRQp4cMhMTUdVHzNSBZB-lfipOse9_AjLx5MIc5JQgV4MAxEPI14CXFBwycN4W0Z2HVY9QaftkfpxKgJ8Q-ksdZ5m-aDtNFKwBrLluxgrlUNmVs6U/s1600/contemporary-bathroom-tile.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite this one, but close. And soooooo close to finally being done. After 18 years, we'll finally be able to use the whirlpool tub!</td></tr>
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If it's done by Thanksgiving, maybe I'll let the family take whirlpools. . . but only if they agree to use the same water!!! Ha! Toss in a little chlorine and it's like the hot tub at the motel. . . . .<br />
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I hope Thanksgiving Day finds you with loved ones, in a warm and cozy place, with wonderful food and fellowship. We'll be eating at 5, and I'll set a place for you. Peace and blessings to you and yours!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-81792558444515772042012-11-09T09:52:00.003-05:002012-11-09T10:02:17.047-05:00Who is Ranger Anna?Okay, I'll play.<br />
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I've been reading a couple-a blogs where the blogger lets the bloggees know a little bit more about herself. And since I've got no original or even vaguely interesting thoughts or projects right now, here goes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNowiAC31Uaje4UDLrNNtVqspf6QLXsCjGheeatRjCgPdvzlw3teBHR7Oni2iAlsVSDB-hBYJcSNIslhnZronnzCkIyyWf99-z6Hs0ujs6Kw-nA06emgTAfNm5i9wE_PF8rucnwiezPas/s1600/Acadia+boat+me.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNowiAC31Uaje4UDLrNNtVqspf6QLXsCjGheeatRjCgPdvzlw3teBHR7Oni2iAlsVSDB-hBYJcSNIslhnZronnzCkIyyWf99-z6Hs0ujs6Kw-nA06emgTAfNm5i9wE_PF8rucnwiezPas/s320/Acadia+boat+me.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting on a dock in the bay..... okay, it was really a boat in a fjord. I have a ski-slope for a chin. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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1. I'm a mid-western girl thru and thru. Actually, I'm really a Great Lakes girl. I totally wrap myself in the sturdy mid-western values (think Prairie Home Companion here), and I need my Big Water Fix on a regular basis. If you haven't stood on the shores of a Great Lake, you haven't been in touch with the 75 percent of you that is water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fWfm5kG8MsrQJ52LODhyphenhyphenDIQdcA7nRY_2UqHYX0zUjq6zFN6qE3R9eVG89YPPRFZ0iw2MjgHKUbXicDi3UybNGzYnKVFQ_XJEPLBCVgERRYf2zdvBX6Xb80dbIXCSR5sKjCA8qe3Bj5ig/s1600/basinMap2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fWfm5kG8MsrQJ52LODhyphenhyphenDIQdcA7nRY_2UqHYX0zUjq6zFN6qE3R9eVG89YPPRFZ0iw2MjgHKUbXicDi3UybNGzYnKVFQ_XJEPLBCVgERRYf2zdvBX6Xb80dbIXCSR5sKjCA8qe3Bj5ig/s320/basinMap2.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did you know that the Mighty Maumee River is the largest watershed of any of the Great Lakes? Now ya do.</td></tr>
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I'm Heinz 57 American. My Dad was born and raised in Toledo, and his Mom was from West-by-God. His Dad's roots remain a mystery, despite my Sis and BIL working their fingers to the bone trying to find something about the guy. Zip. Zilch. Nada. And since he worked for the B&O Railroad, there should be records, but there ain't. Hmmmmm...... WITSEC?<br />
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My Mom was born and raised on an island in the Tampa Bay. Did you hear my use my Florida accent when I said that? She was a very head-strong and determined young lady, which explains a lot about me. Did I ever write about my 'rents WWII work? Remind me to do that next week, if I didn't already write about it. Anywho, I spent my first and only vacations as kid on the beach at Indian Rocks, Fla. So I have a hefty amount of salt-water in my veins, too. Oh, wait a minute..... Well, you get my drift.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbz_ycXzxNcbNzRfa_5iNwy2X7gfF2vssKd9NjpG9aB7yXdF35ysSMqJodjGczSLN4pei9BpEIneELZn_-8ZMEm8Ow4M9vwpemJI-ZMzJsAAjFTWf_gE_LKMmc_uITjJJfKa9Fxn0mqhT/s1600/TC_map1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbz_ycXzxNcbNzRfa_5iNwy2X7gfF2vssKd9NjpG9aB7yXdF35ysSMqJodjGczSLN4pei9BpEIneELZn_-8ZMEm8Ow4M9vwpemJI-ZMzJsAAjFTWf_gE_LKMmc_uITjJJfKa9Fxn0mqhT/s320/TC_map1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terra Ciea use-ta be a real island. Not no more. </td></tr>
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2. I'm a mom. Dang that's hard work. I have the world's greatest step-daughter. A mere technicality in my opinion, since she lived with her Dad and then her Dad and me for the majority of her growing up years. I think of her as my daughter. We had rocky times (due to the insanity of her birth mother), but now we be bffs. Yea. See side bar for cutest pic evah of her and my darling SIL.<br />
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I have two sons. Both adopted. Both have autism. I write about them a lot. Things are very, very rocky with one of them right now, which has me plunged back into that perpetual state of grief where parents of kids with special needs always live. I've said before that it never goes away, cuz it don't. See sidebar for pics of Thing One and Thing Two.<br />
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3. I'm a wife. Hardest job ever. Sharing your life with someone opens you up for all sorts of stuff--the good, the bad, and the ugly. My DH is 14 years older than me. I fell in love with the big jerk before I figured this out, and by then it was too late. But who can resist a guy in uniform? It was dang near love at first phone call. See side bar for DH doing his thang. He's silly. A 72 year old fart, masquerading as a 12 year old. Oh, and he's lost 40 lbs since that pic was taken. I'm so proud of him! Sadly, I found most of that poundage. Damn this middle-aged business!!<br />
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3. I have two useless Master's Degrees. I earned them in 2 years. Yep, over-achiever all the way. See note about my Mom. I went to a small, Presbyterian liberal arts college called Alma College. I may be unemployed, but I can take on any topic at a cocktail party. I loved Alma. Still do. If anything horrid were to happen to my DH, I'd move back to AC in a heart beat.<br />
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My B.A. is Environmental Education~~Majors in Nat. Sci (a group major so I had to take 2 more classes than a plain 'ol major) and El. Ed, and minors in Sociology and 2ndary Ed.. See note about my Mom. <br />
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4. I love to organize stuff. Big events. The bigger the better. Just do what I tell you to do, and it will work out fine is my organizing philosophy. Committees usually suck (which is blasphemous for a Presbyterian to say, we invented the evil things. Sort of a self-abuse thing we do), so I try to avoid them at all costs. By the by, my next really Big Event is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4zeyijWJcU">Whitehouse Winterfest </a>in Feb.. Oh, yeah, you'll be hearing a lot about that.<br />
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5. Crap. Can't think of anything else. Oh, yeah, there is that ranger business, but I'm not s'posed to write about that. Hells bells. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16uEOL5wPlITSDcz3gTiol05aa6dBSh8LrEozwGd59kOCxJhXan0a7SwFRXslOhy8XLjF1F7soVLQ82Q8_3VLiu1UP8u-73PWRixgBh8D9mrq7ulSQD0aYHts5ygs6AI3mwUOfIHUzsUM/s1600/images-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16uEOL5wPlITSDcz3gTiol05aa6dBSh8LrEozwGd59kOCxJhXan0a7SwFRXslOhy8XLjF1F7soVLQ82Q8_3VLiu1UP8u-73PWRixgBh8D9mrq7ulSQD0aYHts5ygs6AI3mwUOfIHUzsUM/s320/images-1.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm so freakin' iconographic.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Well, there you have it. And last but not least, I'm the World's Laziest Birder.<br />
<br />
You're it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-63428110017605109672012-11-04T16:23:00.000-05:002012-11-04T16:25:34.077-05:00Thankfully NovemberI love November. I love it so much I was born in November. Good planning on my part, eh? Then my first niece was due on my birthday, but decided to have her own, so her big day is 10 days after mine.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwpBYaCb1Vz29tUjSuFWM1PVhJg9uFsdzySijyUXZqqdBLnHDJsiZDeMMln6AN4JmdU_QEPTsiJ9KyutVAeSlLGtoRTin1mLvTGUL76rDX_H_Vo1kXiKSYnT8eOaoGKxVxt9amn6-Xwyv/s1600/0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwpBYaCb1Vz29tUjSuFWM1PVhJg9uFsdzySijyUXZqqdBLnHDJsiZDeMMln6AN4JmdU_QEPTsiJ9KyutVAeSlLGtoRTin1mLvTGUL76rDX_H_Vo1kXiKSYnT8eOaoGKxVxt9amn6-Xwyv/s320/0165.JPG" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sally Seam Rip-her with her Pi clock. Yep, a math geek. And she looks more like me than her Mom, my Sister.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Then I fell in love with a guy whose birthday is in November.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6ev3bLsN5L0h2r7ISOdStGMmxZv0KXOP1ELWcqJ1IU1st99x0HwEZxKFz2kNww0DjAHqp0wXjXKhHyf6KUdrDSdRjYXN4qrNf-HG43kJBPBVK0K3KVO3p6ahxLYCj71qaovSNKzQ643f/s1600/IMG_4066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6ev3bLsN5L0h2r7ISOdStGMmxZv0KXOP1ELWcqJ1IU1st99x0HwEZxKFz2kNww0DjAHqp0wXjXKhHyf6KUdrDSdRjYXN4qrNf-HG43kJBPBVK0K3KVO3p6ahxLYCj71qaovSNKzQ643f/s320/IMG_4066.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DH with our grand-nephew who isn't crying. DH usually puts most babies into screaming fits. This was a first.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One of my grand nieces, Miss D, was born on my birthday. Took her a while to grasp the part about we "share" a birthday.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddlH_bqnkis_mYTQt08DHqTvktlG3wO3vp1Tjz1O9PpJ-o_AHVhi12ht4KE4uu2Y8bQzZ3JHT17F07neWhDBcLkfLAQmTdI9ch-sWOIZqthgqGxOicaItRP0Vs3JrKwbMgxnWPhTZZqHZ/s1600/100_5708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddlH_bqnkis_mYTQt08DHqTvktlG3wO3vp1Tjz1O9PpJ-o_AHVhi12ht4KE4uu2Y8bQzZ3JHT17F07neWhDBcLkfLAQmTdI9ch-sWOIZqthgqGxOicaItRP0Vs3JrKwbMgxnWPhTZZqHZ/s320/100_5708.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss D is pretty much camera shy. This is one of the few pics I have of her. She's in the red, on the receiving end of a hug.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Yep, I love November.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PkVEyaKr4VMfjUwwWnYnFhafNtkThspXpUrIZ6FvzbZzwZck76KgkEMXPSpE4vTdy2q-5sIIKjj7yhIiui_9e7QY5vYTd-2hZ0i0b_KYfRhgpksKtEZx-K6q8xHn56Gu0uHSXaE9JlS0/s1600/IMG_8903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PkVEyaKr4VMfjUwwWnYnFhafNtkThspXpUrIZ6FvzbZzwZck76KgkEMXPSpE4vTdy2q-5sIIKjj7yhIiui_9e7QY5vYTd-2hZ0i0b_KYfRhgpksKtEZx-K6q8xHn56Gu0uHSXaE9JlS0/s320/IMG_8903.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not November, but Oct. 31, 2011. The only Trick-or-treaters we've ever had. Sally and her sister Shay, with their kids. Sally is holding Shay's older son, Lil'Ripper is in the middle, and Shay has her younger giraffe, er son.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
If you're one of my fb peeps, you know that every day in November, I (along with lots of other folks) post at least one thing a day for which we are thankful. Despite all the pains in the buns that come from having kids with special needs, we still have much to be thankful for. And I count you among them. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1FDjUFYHC7au27xmcvdzWB9UZgPHeNJvZf9PUP2Eq4mbvHx64LWtdyftwyDiZJ6Ve7vjkGP5LQToaMAv-4RDGKm1A6iJBd4DzBDCyk9FoyGOlW0btRig0oXoygg_Qr4jgjiX8IeqSnXe/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1FDjUFYHC7au27xmcvdzWB9UZgPHeNJvZf9PUP2Eq4mbvHx64LWtdyftwyDiZJ6Ve7vjkGP5LQToaMAv-4RDGKm1A6iJBd4DzBDCyk9FoyGOlW0btRig0oXoygg_Qr4jgjiX8IeqSnXe/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
In other news, DD's class was here yesterday and had a nice time. His trains were a big hit, as usual. And our Girl's night was loverly, too. I wish I had a Friday night that we could get together, but that won't happen for a while, because it's time for. . . .<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Kzmx6MSZpfVkxJqeW5bZ-1_8A7iXHs7nhZPlaJ1wt6YbgSWfpHZ1C3QV-lm9TXnNbRaYPkVLSsKYeW19_kowjE_1ryo6Vj7XwOCC8gmZe4Dtx8-lUJI91SQMqWTmWB8t69b0kVa5iZs7/s1600/IMG_3813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Kzmx6MSZpfVkxJqeW5bZ-1_8A7iXHs7nhZPlaJ1wt6YbgSWfpHZ1C3QV-lm9TXnNbRaYPkVLSsKYeW19_kowjE_1ryo6Vj7XwOCC8gmZe4Dtx8-lUJI91SQMqWTmWB8t69b0kVa5iZs7/s320/IMG_3813.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swanton Area Railroad and Model Club, six track O gauge layout.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHR7Kdcl1cEmqOim7QLuY-hiWX1vmGCLlxZn7X1GJleWcx5mSlvO42kEOuR7xjEASw3_EoKWC8bgS6X4HroXqgMp1t9F9JyRCPrFvpmQfgHBOm6KfUy0JxcVzajAxKknw-Z6Kl9KQzAqb/s1600/IMG_3814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHR7Kdcl1cEmqOim7QLuY-hiWX1vmGCLlxZn7X1GJleWcx5mSlvO42kEOuR7xjEASw3_EoKWC8bgS6X4HroXqgMp1t9F9JyRCPrFvpmQfgHBOm6KfUy0JxcVzajAxKknw-Z6Kl9KQzAqb/s320/IMG_3814.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toledo Zoo~~Natural History Museum, turned train station.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHEvz33MyrGOm05RapFmGi6TGEWgBegfvKnYK-HbBdLJXZ0OMGlVz_oXgS87SnXtbACGF0aV7G-NuD5c9vyesJhHut4RT1lUXdtxXwooCx0QoZSBaqVgIAehtE3CUJTYCezuclH7qoBrB/s1600/IMG_3829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHEvz33MyrGOm05RapFmGi6TGEWgBegfvKnYK-HbBdLJXZ0OMGlVz_oXgS87SnXtbACGF0aV7G-NuD5c9vyesJhHut4RT1lUXdtxXwooCx0QoZSBaqVgIAehtE3CUJTYCezuclH7qoBrB/s320/IMG_3829.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DD 3 or 4 years ago. My little guy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
. . . trains. Lots and lots of model trains. This group has been one of DD's fav's and I'd go almost so far as to say, a savior for him. They accept him as their own. We all need a group like that.<br />
<br />
Anywho, this year the Club will be doing multiple layouts again. We'll do O-gauge at the Zoo, beginning next Sunday when we haul the modules in, then spend the next 4 days putting up the houses and stuff, and the annual painting of the fence. This display stays up for 8 weeks, and we run trains every night from 4 to 9 or 4 to 10. Our family covers Tuesdays.<br />
<br />
While this is going on, we set up the the Homesprung Holidays at Wildwood Preserve. That runs for 10 days, from 10 until 8 or 9.<br />
<br />
But wait! There's more! The HO division (smaller trains = Half O gauge, get it, HO) will set up their stuff for two separate one-day shows in Swanton, and then at the Children's Wonderland in Sylvania, Ohio. This is the first time to run there. It's open from around 11 to 8 or something and runs for a couple of weeks, so DD and I will take 2 afternoon shifts. I already let this teacher know that he'll be 'working' for at least 4 days in the next two months. One of the other club members will sign his work-study papers, so he won't be counted as absent, we hope. (It's not like we care about that, though.)<br />
<br />
I've been going thru my toys to see what I'll use for my modules this year. Probably pretty much the same as the past two years, I think. We'll see. <br />
<br />
So to make a short story long, November is a fun month for us. Yep, the weather usually sucks, like today when it's cold, nasty, and dreary and the days are the shortest, but for us, it's our uber-busy, holiday month. In December we sit back and enjoy the views, old movies, and family and friends. And resting is what January is for. Oh. And of course starting two new quilting block-of-the-month clubs! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtOpwDhd7hFwia6zQUnJrNa7k08DPmyYKsGdP3qlQQGCFeZTIz7IfjCCKE08wPISUxFPrRMU7vo28CAa7x5BWQbUWhhecPkk1XIIEQmItpLhYOi16juZTHlJ55f7hepo8Pbb0VQ9MglDE/s1600/Sugar+Block+Club+Button+200+px.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtOpwDhd7hFwia6zQUnJrNa7k08DPmyYKsGdP3qlQQGCFeZTIz7IfjCCKE08wPISUxFPrRMU7vo28CAa7x5BWQbUWhhecPkk1XIIEQmItpLhYOi16juZTHlJ55f7hepo8Pbb0VQ9MglDE/s1600/Sugar+Block+Club+Button+200+px.png" /></a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-52424954615190444722012-10-29T10:48:00.000-04:002012-10-29T10:48:46.642-04:00Party TimeI've been home for 3 weeks and have managed to get 99.9% of the summer crap stashed away. I won't let myself do any of the fun stuff, like sew, hike for no reason, play with trains, or throw a cocktail party for the girls until the junk is under control. So now it is, so this Thursday will be Cocktails with the Girls night. Since most of my friends are either still working and/or caring for the 'rents and/or grandkids, and/or they have real lives, it'll just be a few of us, and I hope you're one of the girls! Sorry fellas, but next time it'll be for boys and girls.<br />
<br />
The real reason I'm having some friends over is because I have to clean the house anyways... DD's class is coming over on Saturday for an outing. All of the kids in his class have special needs, and few of them have any clue how to behave in social situations. As parents, we tend not to take our kids to parties because some fracas involving our kids <i><span style="font-family: inherit;">always</span></i> breaks out. Subsequently, they often lack anything approaching 'guest' skills. So we throw a monthly event to try to teach them some, but most importantly, we do it so they can act goofy and nobody cares. Being stared at in public because your kids are nutty is a pain in the ass. So we don't go out much.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anywho, I turned to my dear friend Martha S. for some party ideas. For the kids. . .<br /><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGt0Yfsl0wjgWcC8vTPloKgvKpeJ7KbuKGDZ1RYrxVxL3wgTwkNEZZBhMLH5HZVDpSA5w4x5jprEyt9BuGf6iodEGHN6ereDiUJ7EpLoy9haTQMTrDFE8Dw-4cD_kKTIbXa4MUycFRtezK/s1600/4017_100708_appleheads_xl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGt0Yfsl0wjgWcC8vTPloKgvKpeJ7KbuKGDZ1RYrxVxL3wgTwkNEZZBhMLH5HZVDpSA5w4x5jprEyt9BuGf6iodEGHN6ereDiUJ7EpLoy9haTQMTrDFE8Dw-4cD_kKTIbXa4MUycFRtezK/s320/4017_100708_appleheads_xl.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrunked Apple Heads in cider for the kids. Easy to make: peel, core, and halve the apples. Carve faces. Bake at 250 for 90 minutes. Cloves for eyeballs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
For the girls on Thurs, we'll have this: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5B4REEjZWiNs_eEi34_fxQhXYnlO5TqGJ7thyphenhyphenVmaTD37LOGCnjB83ONxG9s8TSye7FOnWff5k2EEwOuGDL8WKVTQxtJJf8rH1KGPrKCqhUKVsWlTjo6NKmtIC6re_-apF_RVhyphenhyphen3Fal1C/s1600/5026_102809_cocktail_xl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5B4REEjZWiNs_eEi34_fxQhXYnlO5TqGJ7thyphenhyphenVmaTD37LOGCnjB83ONxG9s8TSye7FOnWff5k2EEwOuGDL8WKVTQxtJJf8rH1KGPrKCqhUKVsWlTjo6NKmtIC6re_-apF_RVhyphenhyphen3Fal1C/s200/5026_102809_cocktail_xl.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
Ingredients</h2>
<div class="item-list">
<ul class="content-multigroup-group-ingredient">
<li class="ingredient first">
Fine black sanding sugar</li>
<li class="ingredient">
1 lady apple, chopped</li>
<li class="ingredient">
1/2 lime, cut into wedges</li>
<li class="ingredient">
1 ounce maple syrup</li>
<li class="ingredient">
1 ounce apple cider</li>
<li class="ingredient">
2 ounces vodka</li>
<li class="ingredient">
Ice</li>
<li class="ingredient">
Club soda</li>
<li class="ingredient last">
1 thin crosswise slice lady apple, for garnish</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="recipe-section instructions">
<h2>
Directions</h2>
<div class="item-list">
<ol class="content-multigroup-group-steps">
<li class="step first">
Moisten the rim of a martini glass with water. Place sanding
sugar in a saucer and dip rim of glass in sanding sugar to coat; set
aside.<br />
</li>
<li class="step last">
In a cocktail shaker, muddle together apple cubes and lime
wedges. Add syrup, cider, and vodka; fill with ice. Cover and shake
until well combined. Strain into prepared martini glass; top with club
soda. Garnish with apple slice and serve.<br />
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and this: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeqIKBG8p6DkxulOxkuQSTpPa7HTei7Wo-MlWZF_uHniSp8iZ7x1ykMo_TKmYPs3dv9e965mXKpp9ZoLYh1sa-pska3lnoIaKkCG2XitjItdha8UVuTQl7655IgGdCAB5r5zdy4sL6lWM/s1600/msd104879_hal09_licorice_xl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeqIKBG8p6DkxulOxkuQSTpPa7HTei7Wo-MlWZF_uHniSp8iZ7x1ykMo_TKmYPs3dv9e965mXKpp9ZoLYh1sa-pska3lnoIaKkCG2XitjItdha8UVuTQl7655IgGdCAB5r5zdy4sL6lWM/s200/msd104879_hal09_licorice_xl.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly any drink, just add ice cubes made with black food coloring....... gunna have to hit the gourmet kitchen shop today, too bad for me.....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
I made the Cider Cocktail last night for practice. My oh my oh my.... I loves my sweet drinks and this one is now my fav.......It's so sweet that I could get seriously tanked on this one.... at least I don't have to drive home on Thursday, which is yet another reason to be the hostess....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Other news is that I'm hoping all of you East Coasters are safe and sound, and high and dry. My Mom grew up on an island in Tampa Bay, and loved when the 'canes rolled in because everyone gathered at the fruit packing warehouse to ride out the storms. She recalled these times as big parties. I'm wondering how my Grandpa felt the year a storm completely soaked the island (Terra Ceia) in salt water and ruined his farm. They had to move to the mainland after that one.<br />
<br />
We'll just get strong winds here in Ohio... so far (Monday morning)
we're just at sustained 15 mph winds, which is not at all unusual.
We'll run over to the the Lake Erie shore either this afternoon or
tomorrow morning to see the waves crash in. Lake Erie is so shallow
that when the wind blows, especially from east to the west, it pushes
all the water up. Fun to watch! And safe, too. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3L7gM5ieLnGt_C87uDy3J36spCWwectcM5je7iAWdF_Xi3Yxo0iAtlOAEded6BsjuYu3Poi7iV3GRQmv6g5Rl_ZTejkDGhvpwuBqskTUGrQK71Df5yhOjEORyEMudGMJGZQ17LHdSb-3/s1600/100_5725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3L7gM5ieLnGt_C87uDy3J36spCWwectcM5je7iAWdF_Xi3Yxo0iAtlOAEded6BsjuYu3Poi7iV3GRQmv6g5Rl_ZTejkDGhvpwuBqskTUGrQK71Df5yhOjEORyEMudGMJGZQ17LHdSb-3/s400/100_5725.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FTD on the Lake Erie Shore on a nice quiet spring day. He loves to be by himself. This is one of the few times that he's content.</td></tr>
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Again, thanks for wasting your valuable time reading along with me. I've been catching up on your blogs now that I have time, and have missed your virtual company. Nice to be back together.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-72559078592651795452012-10-22T10:39:00.000-04:002012-10-22T12:46:18.710-04:00On a More Serious NoteWell, here it is. I was told this summer to be careful of what I say on FB and in my blog. I pulled all the posts related to my work life, all the while assuming I had some Constitutional rights regarding what I write about. I've read them over and have put them back up, with the exception of the ones I called my Seasonal Survival Guide. (Interesting that those generated lots and lots of comments and interest......)<br />
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Anywho, last summer (2011) I read lots of books by and for birders. Sort of a theme for the summer. <br />
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This summer, I read a dozen or so Ranger <i>memoires</i>. There are lots of rangers who are recently retired who have taken pen to paper. Apparently, you can publish a book about rangering with no problems, but blogging about rangering is worrisome. Go figure.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAKBeS8FlkKOgdQ3iNN4Hpc1JmIDRWvrefzjwSFtwx_CDj9_Cz-_Uno86n0_jm0K-6yW7-3bazAPo_QQfdWprqJbINKieiSq-XefjPsibRAdEoLFva5ueZi5_nn3IsPx7l8IkzwH9RjvL/s1600/Park-Ranger1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAKBeS8FlkKOgdQ3iNN4Hpc1JmIDRWvrefzjwSFtwx_CDj9_Cz-_Uno86n0_jm0K-6yW7-3bazAPo_QQfdWprqJbINKieiSq-XefjPsibRAdEoLFva5ueZi5_nn3IsPx7l8IkzwH9RjvL/s320/Park-Ranger1.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's one I missed. Gunna have to try to find a copy.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWjhAEhru_W_qbnSGiFGOY8r50yibVs8J5hB4Q80l1OwkgSPd9ahDFdun8dsmpWM4Jmw520waFAmIDKz0YTdR8bjBqQG7JIkgY78Ip_qY__uX92GegOXIFxilRAmAH_4hFD2yGSWGgchR/s1600/images-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWjhAEhru_W_qbnSGiFGOY8r50yibVs8J5hB4Q80l1OwkgSPd9ahDFdun8dsmpWM4Jmw520waFAmIDKz0YTdR8bjBqQG7JIkgY78Ip_qY__uX92GegOXIFxilRAmAH_4hFD2yGSWGgchR/s1600/images-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Classic.</td></tr>
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So again, if you didn't read the small and snarkey fine print over on the right side of the blog, here 'tis again. Nothing you read here is the work of anyone but myself. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone. Not my employer's. Not my family's. Not nobody but little ol' me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaecHuikHiZz_38JjZogpda5xtKYk5uad7_bhFkpBWfzmIhuoZ_YIEBpXHxSuDQJJLENhtJhHn0sKlBoTI4eKhdmwaVInGibuY5W-u0WTZroaxbEMXlIPdnRYY4KLmKAsj60B5KbA4j2XK/s1600/images-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaecHuikHiZz_38JjZogpda5xtKYk5uad7_bhFkpBWfzmIhuoZ_YIEBpXHxSuDQJJLENhtJhHn0sKlBoTI4eKhdmwaVInGibuY5W-u0WTZroaxbEMXlIPdnRYY4KLmKAsj60B5KbA4j2XK/s1600/images-2.jpg" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-79071473393740664442012-10-22T10:08:00.000-04:002012-10-22T10:08:04.626-04:00Ridiculous PostHere's some pics for a fellow and also errant blogger--such as myself. He blogs at <i>Birds From Behind </i>since he has such a marvelous collection of bird butz pics, or as we in the biz call it, the tourist end of the critters.<br />
<br />
On our way back from YNP this fall, we got to see a couple of huge
creatures and just to keep Dave happy, we got some good butz pics.
Enjoy......? <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVT9lBjhD7BvAjtSR_-5Ok1eUptxqmvBIYqVuBUjynPqnePGf55nOe1rvEQBVmiXGHOkh6ucz6C6iH2Z21IV8HbP1vizYObcBfV944DVe-STmhaf9H4punvUVBohKp376a45mAvS3K_ByB/s1600/IMG_0668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVT9lBjhD7BvAjtSR_-5Ok1eUptxqmvBIYqVuBUjynPqnePGf55nOe1rvEQBVmiXGHOkh6ucz6C6iH2Z21IV8HbP1vizYObcBfV944DVe-STmhaf9H4punvUVBohKp376a45mAvS3K_ByB/s320/IMG_0668.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's Biggest Sandhill Crane, North Dakota!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmAPdLSmXokECZnyTwP5cwxYoeGOHbm0sBJLhTp7ZuMA0pcyc7hvOPRkUFT-LIp7uYB4Xv6PSrmFdQVx4Xcmat8dHjXSMZxzp0D8cxLGZMT98vgylw5So0rC7GxEdrXeYMvctCKd1cm6W/s1600/IMG_0669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmAPdLSmXokECZnyTwP5cwxYoeGOHbm0sBJLhTp7ZuMA0pcyc7hvOPRkUFT-LIp7uYB4Xv6PSrmFdQVx4Xcmat8dHjXSMZxzp0D8cxLGZMT98vgylw5So0rC7GxEdrXeYMvctCKd1cm6W/s320/IMG_0669.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's Biggest Sandhill Crane Butt.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlXKviVsFwkWTVZkezsnTnB1JT8p-UuXh04OBYb6Kx8UGKNF8itnz9gZBHtUB7gKll0bGpEgcpSOwMWvPhb2L3GqrIq-l6wSawm6IImxJSDvbfVHuU50-xbShzX4DM4-Dv7xBUGBwzSzy/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlXKviVsFwkWTVZkezsnTnB1JT8p-UuXh04OBYb6Kx8UGKNF8itnz9gZBHtUB7gKll0bGpEgcpSOwMWvPhb2L3GqrIq-l6wSawm6IImxJSDvbfVHuU50-xbShzX4DM4-Dv7xBUGBwzSzy/s320/IMG_0673.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watch where you step.....</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcWPw5bd75BYOjQKw0sKpZnySycd_8iN3q0pSN7aQMHG5J6vecWP2tIXOpev2YvGWr5SnhCItNTDjUjT99-kbHLYRVDvriAqUoXDiIk3j5DkLJTFpvW7TBWih0eYK1pKhvngzpYCdHhJW/s1600/IMG_0681.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcWPw5bd75BYOjQKw0sKpZnySycd_8iN3q0pSN7aQMHG5J6vecWP2tIXOpev2YvGWr5SnhCItNTDjUjT99-kbHLYRVDvriAqUoXDiIk3j5DkLJTFpvW7TBWih0eYK1pKhvngzpYCdHhJW/s320/IMG_0681.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's Biggest Turkey, Minnesota</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DbAjw1Xz-SWnGrXyXjeZECAW0DvhoD5sXz-g8IRTKZPiC9UV0mcZb9xwsNBzXoAj14N97zx2y6mRMqvfkqfWm1qQkMGmF-J8pOojAS3TcwUfGG_LUbQypsYS-xyYIq3Dcjvvps-Ej_aW/s1600/IMG_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DbAjw1Xz-SWnGrXyXjeZECAW0DvhoD5sXz-g8IRTKZPiC9UV0mcZb9xwsNBzXoAj14N97zx2y6mRMqvfkqfWm1qQkMGmF-J8pOojAS3TcwUfGG_LUbQypsYS-xyYIq3Dcjvvps-Ej_aW/s320/IMG_0683.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watch where you stand.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE12bBRzr2F3vbTyVicVFCYueX-_X8DP2EF1Bj7YghCNQNgVFABTfHs1q-gi5G_X81mwc9LXFst3MwPS-XKflS8Xs6OYs_OwAUkcq8Cs2UbMixdC86GB9cC1CHABGoLpaQRU6iN_My0bDj/s1600/IMG_0758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE12bBRzr2F3vbTyVicVFCYueX-_X8DP2EF1Bj7YghCNQNgVFABTfHs1q-gi5G_X81mwc9LXFst3MwPS-XKflS8Xs6OYs_OwAUkcq8Cs2UbMixdC86GB9cC1CHABGoLpaQRU6iN_My0bDj/s320/IMG_0758.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the World's Biggest Babe the Big Blue Ox, but a darn big butt anyway! Bemidji, MN.</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_83059921"></span><span id="goog_83059922"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-84979270020546429942012-10-05T21:22:00.000-04:002012-10-05T21:22:29.890-04:00She's Back . . .I'm back home in Ohio, and will hopefully have time to write again. Mostly I'll enjoy reading about your adventures. And I've got to figure out if I need my laptop for this or if I can do it somewhat painlessly from my new toy--an IPad. Let's stay in touch.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-13678569323014192582012-06-09T14:09:00.002-04:002012-10-22T10:14:16.750-04:00Rangering and Sewing . . .. . . two of my favorite things.<br />
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On the rangering front, things are going really well. Our new staffers are really getting the hang of things, their programs are working well, and all is good. (Kinda scary, that....!) My CSI:Madison program is going to be a winner. I enjoy getting the kids' butts out of the seats, too. We "explore" the building and try to figure out why it's there, why it looks the way it does, and why they should care. Here's one of the clues:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LfGfaLI1PftitWFGu_YyjI_Wjb5amYB4bJ8vG0DBy5v_Ht4lvH82pqpMr2ym7YT-XGpxbjDhuTZZizOtVWBiGQYIVkRxJCm9-Uaj1C6JvqdXH3qetrj1ewxfPcQn9dg5bey8PZ20guuF/s1600/100_7601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LfGfaLI1PftitWFGu_YyjI_Wjb5amYB4bJ8vG0DBy5v_Ht4lvH82pqpMr2ym7YT-XGpxbjDhuTZZizOtVWBiGQYIVkRxJCm9-Uaj1C6JvqdXH3qetrj1ewxfPcQn9dg5bey8PZ20guuF/s320/100_7601.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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On the sewing front, we took my machine up to the repair shop in Bozeman. DD was ready for a trip to the Big City, so we went with some friends up to stock up enjoy a little down time. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New neighbors at the apartment.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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So back to sewing, I was working on my BOMs from Craftsy and half of a rubber washer dropped out of the area where the needle piston is located. Crap. Hence the trip to BZ. They called and said it's fixed and I got the lube, oil, filter job on it, too. I'm hoping to send DD to BZ on the West Yell Foundation Bus to pick it up next week. This will be interesting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjbMTKsBem45sT_XMysnCQlSXD2dWcelc6gvFGxMOhhm1CK-VaEEl6ROfdrSxX0YuYg2IptY-ugoMhUpulZIL5Thg-QMaAkhSgg_Oi5np8Zqv0gwnnX6SvivKY1YY_nPIJStVF-yRE17j/s1600/IMG_0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjbMTKsBem45sT_XMysnCQlSXD2dWcelc6gvFGxMOhhm1CK-VaEEl6ROfdrSxX0YuYg2IptY-ugoMhUpulZIL5Thg-QMaAkhSgg_Oi5np8Zqv0gwnnX6SvivKY1YY_nPIJStVF-yRE17j/s320/IMG_0109.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my new blocks, un-squared up, finished before the machine began losing parts. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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On the home front, DH should be heading this way in about 12 days.... FTD begins his job on Monday, his caregiver Natasha begins on Tuesday. DH says she seems competent and FTD seemed to like her. God, this is weird.......<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidI4WCkZV0pwDWEtGG7zsr5Mws3LAHF0VFRHEiUI9X7zV8r7Lr9G3Fu4zYkD4cE1a0oA-Ev5IDY0SkBz9G68kHBwZHYgQIw_ZMP_K3j0cdjS4soX15hHgJe5CeGzNVsOjaxVJMMwvCMhFx/s1600/IMG_8904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidI4WCkZV0pwDWEtGG7zsr5Mws3LAHF0VFRHEiUI9X7zV8r7Lr9G3Fu4zYkD4cE1a0oA-Ev5IDY0SkBz9G68kHBwZHYgQIw_ZMP_K3j0cdjS4soX15hHgJe5CeGzNVsOjaxVJMMwvCMhFx/s320/IMG_8904.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a good looking bunch, Draven, K8, Lil' Ripper, Shannie, and Corbin, last Halloween.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Niece Shannie will be here with her two young 'uns for a month and will stay at our house. That will be fun for all of them. Nephew Rydie, her big bro, will be hanging at the house, too. And niece K8 and her son, the Lil' Ripper, have also said they want to hang out there part of the time, too. So hopefully between Natasha and the family, FTD will have folks around him often enough to keep him healthy and happy. Cross your fingers for us.<br />
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This week's summer plan is that DH will drive out here by himself (unless someone wants to come with and then fly home), then in mid-August, FTD and my Sis will fly out together, then she'll fly home. FTD will use ranger K's trailer while he's here, then shortly after that, DH and DD will drive back to Ohio so DD can begin year 6 of high school. He's very excited to begin there, so I hope he has a better experience than FTD. Actually, since HS, all of his school experiences have been better. Odd how the kid will lower academic skills does better in school..... And then in late September, nearly when I'm finished here, DD and DH will fly back out and the 4 of us will go on our Grand Southwest Adventure 2012. When DH gets here, we'll get out the ol' maps and make some plans. So much to see and only a month to see it all.<br />
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Another thought on rangering.... this summer I'm reading ranger memoires. Most of them are from LE's so far, and after this batch o' books, I'll start working on the interps' stories. Did I ever mention that Rangers are the most likely federal law enforcement officers to be killed or seriously injured on the job? Scary that. I'm glad DH got through all 30 of his years safely. <br />
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Hope your summer has started off wonderfully!<br />
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<span id="goog_54349704"></span><span id="goog_54349705"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-80351105987446458102012-05-31T19:43:00.000-04:002012-10-22T10:26:36.639-04:00Settled in..... Mostly.DD and I are pretty well settled in. There are still a few things I can't locate, and the Hubby has mailed package #1 of Things I Forgot and Don't Want to Purchase New, so that will be nice.<br />
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Programs are coming along well. I purchased a metal briefcase on Ebay for my CSI: Madison program... it will be the hook. My opening line will be something like, "This brief case was sitting next to the building when we arrived this morning.... what do you think is in it?" After I work out the bugs, I'll let you know how the kids respond to it. I'm hoping we can make cultural history more fun and interesting.<br />
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I was able to finally get some sewing in today. I was happily working along on the BOM from Craftsy, watching Downton Abbey on iTunes, when half of a rubber washer dropped out of my machine. This can't be good. I'll be heading to Bozeman next week to drop it off at the repair shop. And the repair guy gets there every other week, so I'll be back then, too. Drat.<br />
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DH might maybe be here by then, too. FTD begins work on June 11, but I haven't heard if his caregiver is lined up yet. And one of my nieces and her babies will be back in Ohio about that time so she might want to shack up at our house for the duration. I really need to call the nephew, too, to be sure he's moving in for sure. Busy busy..... thank goodness for long-distance phones.<br />
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It's my lieu day, and I'm back in the office to try to pick up the new schedule. It wouldn't work on our emails, so I'm hoping I can track down a copy here. And while I'm doing that, it's time to see if June's BOM is ready yet!<br />
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Sorry about the lack of pics, so here's a couple of our neighborhood:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1l_wbVAZbEr6sw1DFB1x0Y6GNbJG2kb_6Dy9tEHCvMGJiwaCIhiW48nRau7Yonf9A39SarmjUl-6a-4N3BMx9HHEd-7AWK_Ta4B85yJqsxn_BlKJ_FiHcyNtdEQC5lDDQK9hUrXGH8nU/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1l_wbVAZbEr6sw1DFB1x0Y6GNbJG2kb_6Dy9tEHCvMGJiwaCIhiW48nRau7Yonf9A39SarmjUl-6a-4N3BMx9HHEd-7AWK_Ta4B85yJqsxn_BlKJ_FiHcyNtdEQC5lDDQK9hUrXGH8nU/s320/IMG_0104.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorial Day Weekend.... a snowy YNP tradition.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-Q0nABgRgm3VTYXJSUtrKRCPhwbGAbqfdBb94MJ38dn3OQhpboZNkIrEu8NnJxZNGdgAUW2l-MaCHdSrn3z8TgZq4lpjZ_R6KVVLUu5ueckknpO_BVrYte9Sgfn7V4XNcOj0qji7f76w/s1600/IMG_7903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-Q0nABgRgm3VTYXJSUtrKRCPhwbGAbqfdBb94MJ38dn3OQhpboZNkIrEu8NnJxZNGdgAUW2l-MaCHdSrn3z8TgZq4lpjZ_R6KVVLUu5ueckknpO_BVrYte9Sgfn7V4XNcOj0qji7f76w/s320/IMG_7903.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last summer's neighbor and DD.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNkbKjPXjgKyLFlyILQIyElfZCmqRxq3SMwV8d2NDb4DXtWRLd3mKrkLioAji6Pw2kKZXMIdhRxiOZaBvKTeuTmZhSn4m7HXr8p6SLcl2ebTxgf5Am3vPtziSHp32vVc669XzwtyXBAWW/s1600/DSCI0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrNkbKjPXjgKyLFlyILQIyElfZCmqRxq3SMwV8d2NDb4DXtWRLd3mKrkLioAji6Pw2kKZXMIdhRxiOZaBvKTeuTmZhSn4m7HXr8p6SLcl2ebTxgf5Am3vPtziSHp32vVc669XzwtyXBAWW/s320/DSCI0001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the locals.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-27046164431754806222012-05-19T12:44:00.000-04:002012-10-22T10:25:26.501-04:00Back in Madison Junction!DD and I arrived safely and just when we thought we would. We only had one itty, bitty bit of travel trouble and that was when we drove over the Bozeman Pass. On a couple of the curves, we came around and the sun was smack dab in our faces~~totally blinding. Other than those 5 or 10 seconds, everything was a breeze.<br />
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The apartment seems empty this year, without DH and FTD. Sigh. We're plenty busy, though so it seems okay. Cooking will be interesting, since DD is really picky. Hmmm.... getting nutritious food into him will be a challenge, as usual.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPdOzC0zryLHr9uVlKpY3GYnFbmEVaK4dEmZkOXT7SIKkp5_byd2iaW2NaNQfqTQ10IhOWk_hcJZuN2EWK3dzJ49HrLrYWqtAvMuA-L_mImPET1ZhR_A7D_Z7QzUu5R9QJHn8RDNF2w6V/s1600/IMG_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPdOzC0zryLHr9uVlKpY3GYnFbmEVaK4dEmZkOXT7SIKkp5_byd2iaW2NaNQfqTQ10IhOWk_hcJZuN2EWK3dzJ49HrLrYWqtAvMuA-L_mImPET1ZhR_A7D_Z7QzUu5R9QJHn8RDNF2w6V/s320/IMG_0206.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring, 2010. This year, no snow in the front, and not much in the back of the apartment, either.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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DD and I were up before the crack of dawn this morning, and couldn't get back to sleep so we headed into town. We've had our breakfast at the Running Bear Pancake House, picked up a few little things we've forgotten, and stocked up the adult beverage cupboard. We're good to go!<br />
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As I've said before, blogging time on my part is infrequent, but I can still see what you all are up to!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-34213897573527531902012-05-04T18:58:00.000-04:002012-05-04T18:58:22.673-04:00Busiest Weekend of the Year...... . . and I'm messing around with the computer.....<br />
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This morning, DH and I joined 3 other members of DD's train club to set up our O scale stuff for National Train Day in Toledo, which is tomorrow. The Heritage Train is here and DD is miserable because we won't take him to see it tonight. One of the reasons for that is that there's a Train Club business meeting tonight. Should be pretty short, I hope. <br />
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So tomorrow, we get down to the Toledo Terminal Train Station bright and early. It's a really cool art deco station, by the way.<br />
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BadAmy and L were married here, and it was a fantastic location for that!<br />
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Then DH and DD will stay at the station, and I'll head over to the world class Toledo Museum of Art for the dedication of the Ohio Historical marker, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting. There will be blah blah blah speeches, a couple of troops will sing songs, then we'll 're-enact' a photo that was taken of Scouts on the Museum steps. Cool. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear my badge sash.....<br />
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Then we troop inside and spend the night in the museum!!! The last I heard there were 1500 girls and several hundred adults signed up, including yours truly. This is quite literally a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'm pretty sure we don't get to sleep in the Cloister or with the mummies....<br />
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After staying up most of the night, and sleeping on the floor--something I never do any more--I'll come home and pack the trailer. Oh, and I'll have to put away the train stuff we got out for the display downtown, too. We've told friends to come over Sunday after 4 for a BYOEverything cookout.<br />
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I will hopefully sleep like a log Sunday night, get up Monday morning and send my youngest child off to his last day at the Anthony Wayne High School, go to the ankle doc's at lunch time, pick up said child at school, come home, put suitcase and backpack in the car, and will maybe be able to sleep.....<br />
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Tuesday, I put my middle child on the bus at 6:35 a.m., and leave sometime after that with youngest for a 4 month sojourn to the west and work. <br />
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So I'm sitting around blogging and playing online Scrabble. <br />
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<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<i>The thing that takes a back seat in the summer is blogging. I'll be reading yours as often as I can get to a computer, and maybe even once in a while I'll drop you a line. I'll still be on FB, usually every day, and of course there's the old fashioned method of <a href="http://i-ranger.blogspot.com/2009/06/black-hole-of-communication.html">communication</a>:</i></div>
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Ranger Anna<br />
5 Madison Ranger Station<br />
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190<br />
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<i style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It's been a wonderful ride with you all so far. Thanks for coming along. </span></i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-90434414573779013992012-05-01T19:25:00.000-04:002012-05-01T19:25:59.836-04:00What a Good Dad<a href="http://www.nationaltrainday.com/">National Train Day</a> will be celebrated in <a href="http://www.tmacog.org/Transportation/Train%20Day%202012/NTD_home_12.htm">Toledo on Saturday, May 5th.</a> DD lives for this day, the highlight of traindom for him. Two years ago, he hopped the Amtrak train that visited while they switched the engines to pull out for the evening. Nothing like have a hobo for a son.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRynEZKiZH1s-Ovl-I3o7lOR_KqjOKU7l3ZGdYat6IONfyxuAcUQqosrCQMc4kOc7HBlgQn5njv61wW4lddEoi85ZVUJVthROyrxJ3u4pD-0HmmIZ_YGbHdDLksIakYGsNJC-Uh4GrX-7/s1600/TD_2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRynEZKiZH1s-Ovl-I3o7lOR_KqjOKU7l3ZGdYat6IONfyxuAcUQqosrCQMc4kOc7HBlgQn5njv61wW4lddEoi85ZVUJVthROyrxJ3u4pD-0HmmIZ_YGbHdDLksIakYGsNJC-Uh4GrX-7/s320/TD_2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lately, he's been glued to several train-cams around the country. One of them is in <a href="http://www.railstream.biz/index.php/video-channels/ch-103-chesterton-in-free">Chesterton, Indiana</a> and on the line that runs through Swanton, the town just north of us. Both the Capitol Limited and the Lake Shore Limited use this track.<br />
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One night during his spring break, he comes barreling into our room around 8 p.m. yelling that the "Bloody Nose" just went through Chesterton! What the..... ? <br />
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For Amtrak's 40th Anniversary, they re-released several "heritage locomotives," including the Phase I engine, aka the Bloody Nose, due to the red paint on the front of the engine. Some folks loved the paint job, some hated it, but they all called it the same thing. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGv43E-oEWoKd_Z6eTu_KLtlL4F69WHYZO2N6oz2ZviCrPPwccqSlEqltl9uf7i0SpOviRuJ0zGcmxzCcyKa0z09KcGeOVK2bx9lzDBe-nHp6Oz0wmwpNzEdysdV-FsP4J6YjpWsXnrMeO/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGv43E-oEWoKd_Z6eTu_KLtlL4F69WHYZO2N6oz2ZviCrPPwccqSlEqltl9uf7i0SpOviRuJ0zGcmxzCcyKa0z09KcGeOVK2bx9lzDBe-nHp6Oz0wmwpNzEdysdV-FsP4J6YjpWsXnrMeO/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's the Bloody Nose, on the left, then 4 more heritage units, and the current Amtrak locomotive. Scary that I know this.</td></tr>
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Back to our story. If an Amtrak train goes through Chesterton around 8 p.m. it can only mean it's east bound, and headed to Swanton and Toledo. DH and I glanced at each other, and we knew there was a trip out to see trains in our future. Luckily for me, the Good Dad was willing to get out and take DD all the way to the Toledo Union Terminal to see it.<br />
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It arrived in Toledo about 20 minutes late, or around 11:30 p.m., but DD was elated. He snapped a few pictures, yakked with some riders, and came home a very, very happy young man.<br />
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If we could all be so easily entertained and amazed.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-83812540997333947792012-05-01T18:47:00.000-04:002012-10-22T10:08:38.350-04:002 Degrees of Junior RangernessLast week, I went with the Green Hats to do some work with a Junior troop in one of my old stomping grounds, Oregon, Ohio. We lived there from halfway through kindergarten to the end of third grade. Great teachers, great friends at Clay Elementary School. It's also where I began my Scout career, 50 years ago, in second grade.<br />
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One of the Scouts' last names was familiar to me, because the family (still) owns a fantastic farm stand. When we were kids, our bus went past the farm every day, and we bought most of our summer produce there. The farmer's wife was also a teacher at my school.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtB3F-9sO7lKGXWgWQ_vD7nRnYfe4YDGl7V7yb6FFcbUmoAXkRIKGqGC274bSwRqxCoTQ5JJOTirIhBYr-fJcpcdGrvFcN_oYzkQDpWLuwrgUysC6A23Ph8Y2-fRF4p0-mPAxX8R9FqBRm/s1600/Schweizer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtB3F-9sO7lKGXWgWQ_vD7nRnYfe4YDGl7V7yb6FFcbUmoAXkRIKGqGC274bSwRqxCoTQ5JJOTirIhBYr-fJcpcdGrvFcN_oYzkQDpWLuwrgUysC6A23Ph8Y2-fRF4p0-mPAxX8R9FqBRm/s320/Schweizer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seaman Road, Oregon Ohio</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I was talking with the child's dad, and mentioned all these things. Earlier the Scout had told me that she had been to Yellowstone. As we were talking with Dad, I asked her what she remembered and she said that since they were there last June she could remember a lot! "Last June?" says I, "did you come to the Junior Ranger Station at Madison?" The dad said that they had. She said she earned her Junior Ranger patch, and I asked if she remembered the ranger who signed the paper for her.<br />
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"Hmmm," says she. "I don't remember for sure, but I've got my paper right here in my school bag."<br />
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It wasn't one of the Mad Crew who signed it, but I was completely blown away by the fact that she loved her patch and paper enough to lug it with her for months. Wow.<br />
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We couldn't really make out the ranger's handwriting, and I know I'm totally guilty of hen-scratching my name. But seeing how this young lady cherished her stuff, I'm going to make a better effort at legibility. We all should.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6_VlyWqu_zeyD5pH2nRPp3zXMjKemrYOaka13lBcNyKHb6bs-UB4A5A4RS5rtCsdPafCWv4u7xzLOh8_42t7HX6uk1JdLUU7nob7OwWE2wOX_pSDPIxVH8jav5Q_G_uxriCRgRKjnEWL/s1600/IMG_0908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6_VlyWqu_zeyD5pH2nRPp3zXMjKemrYOaka13lBcNyKHb6bs-UB4A5A4RS5rtCsdPafCWv4u7xzLOh8_42t7HX6uk1JdLUU7nob7OwWE2wOX_pSDPIxVH8jav5Q_G_uxriCRgRKjnEWL/s320/IMG_0908.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildlife Olympics at the Junior Ranger Station. </td></tr>
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We clearly connected with this wonderful child. Let's really connect and write stuff they can read!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-10332586410956121022012-04-30T19:17:00.001-04:002013-09-04T12:18:20.191-04:00Seasonal Survival, #5, Keeping Your Sanity<div class="post-header">
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<div style="background-color: lime; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Seasonal Survival Guide</span> <br />
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©</div>
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<div style="background-color: #b6d7a8; text-align: center;">
or How to Live and Eat and Other Mundane Stuff. </div>
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Chapter 5.<br />
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<i></i><br />
<i>How do you stay normal/ and or sane in the pressure cooker?</i> Some folks never figure it out, but those of us that do~~well, we just do. And trust me, it is a pressure cooker. See, I already wrote about that<a href="http://i-ranger.blogspot.com/2012/04/rangering-intensely.html"> here.</a><br />
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Lots of us read, and we try to read stuff that isn't completely work related. There are definitely times when you have to get your head out of your park. That's the same for any job, any where.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5y-WG-bJWRwr2onD_m24onjP_2NLSKTCOUG01folE8XwWJEPspFfe2vbV1z6-Vpx4Kj95637zSbqpYAwQ0tKsmreO3y2V8YnabyGtENellaBD_ao4qPwFh982nzgQSz5mVrLIBJ1TxGjU/s1600/IMG_9826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5y-WG-bJWRwr2onD_m24onjP_2NLSKTCOUG01folE8XwWJEPspFfe2vbV1z6-Vpx4Kj95637zSbqpYAwQ0tKsmreO3y2V8YnabyGtENellaBD_ao4qPwFh982nzgQSz5mVrLIBJ1TxGjU/s320/IMG_9826.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading Nevada Barr is like taking a murderous vacation in someone else's park.<br />
Busman's holiday and all that.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
Those of us without the normal life conventions, like TV, radio, and internet access watch a lotta Netflix, or in my case, iTunes TV and movies. I also carry a pretty huge stack of movies on dvd (yeah, old school) that I occasionally watch. Mostly I loan them out. I know, I'm swell. Now that we've got satellite TV, we try to invite the others over for a dose of the real world every now and then. The real world actually means we watch the Daily Show. (Jon Daily for President!)<br />
<br />
There are the weekly poker games, always a hit.<br />
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There are campfires, of the backyard variety (in addition to your evening campfire program).<br />
<br />
There are parties: Halloween, Thanksgiving,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjY2lW18DRTfzGHSeQo6wFYnqSDtU-cFUyYtlkNJbrn4HVCV4nX6RvAVfUS3PRrXNOfG4zxZv-WLXgQtJObTYPZGdTlfT5RTTxEZ-d_jrkc5i7nBKArQrPLQL3ObJVsK66HSAa1zvznF8N/s1600/DSCI0156.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjY2lW18DRTfzGHSeQo6wFYnqSDtU-cFUyYtlkNJbrn4HVCV4nX6RvAVfUS3PRrXNOfG4zxZv-WLXgQtJObTYPZGdTlfT5RTTxEZ-d_jrkc5i7nBKArQrPLQL3ObJVsK66HSAa1zvznF8N/s320/DSCI0156.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ranger Dr. D. We only invited him to Turkey Day, 2010 because he's a retired surgeon.<br />
We figured he could be trusted to carve the bird.<br />
We were more or less correct.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mad Crew and Friends, Thanksgiving Dinner, 2011. I already showed ya these.</td></tr>
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Christmas, Talk Like a Pirate Day, parades,<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and the Divine Ranger Miss M., West Yellowstone 4th of July Parade, 2010. We had a really fun and cool float planned but found out that we couldn't use the company trailer. Maybe we'll find a flatbed thing this year.<br />
I wanna do the Ranger Pic-a-nic-a Basket Drill Team.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
you name it, someone has thought up a reason to have a party.<br />
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Which brings us to liquor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1YBDahp7RNrTjfnJ6UgAmEcQJ-ue8NIwhHd7ULMLtbxHn4lYrJcaJkP1SdskXn2h5fOb3D8NxlL8XqkRM3bTkbT5kAd6O2qnmTy-kvqfE3Fsj8w9_rUHMrDwmJzvLPnIkmJs0LnwXSqc/s1600/IMG_9824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1YBDahp7RNrTjfnJ6UgAmEcQJ-ue8NIwhHd7ULMLtbxHn4lYrJcaJkP1SdskXn2h5fOb3D8NxlL8XqkRM3bTkbT5kAd6O2qnmTy-kvqfE3Fsj8w9_rUHMrDwmJzvLPnIkmJs0LnwXSqc/s320/IMG_9824.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two bottles of wine being held ransom by hard liquor. Tough bunch, that.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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For some folks, there's lots and lots of it, alcohol that is, to the point where they are falling-down-drunk off duty. Which makes them, um, not-so-productive to complete-jerks on duty. Not a good place to be. Evah. This seems to be a bigger problem with concessions employees (usually college age kids, who many years ago were referred to as the savages), but it can be a problem for those of us who are alleged professionals. This, by the by, is one of the reasons grown up adults can pick up seasonal gigs--we're often past this stage in life. Supervisors appreciate having staff members who show up for work on time and sober. Just sayin', kids. <br />
<br />
We try to amuse ourselves in lots of ways. Bike riding, hiking, birding, all seem to be part and parcel for most of us, since we often come hard wired for these activities. We are often forced to do these type of menial tasks at work, too. Sucks being us, don't it?<br />
<br />
And in my case, we also have to leave the park every few weeks for grocery runs, too. That puts us in locations where there are things like fast food and stoplights. Then we can't wait to get back to the park. Back home.<br />
<br />
Staying sane is tough some days. For the newbies, the first week or two at a new site will put them into a tail spin. They will absolutely work 60 hour weeks for a while. But then, one day it happens. They get their groove on, and it's clear sailing until fall. Oh, wait.... that's when many of the younger rangers have to worry about where they'll go after ... ... ... one of these days I'll dive into The Off Season Seasonal and how to survive that. Maybe.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-43440940274347079692012-04-21T13:42:00.000-04:002013-09-04T12:18:54.051-04:00Seasonal Survival, # 3, Getting from Here to There.<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: lime; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Seasonal Survival Guide</span> <br />
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©</div>
</div>
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<div style="background-color: #b6d7a8; text-align: center;">
or How to Live and Eat and Other Mundane Stuff. </div>
<br />
Chapter 3.<br />
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<i>How to get your crap from place to place.</i><br />
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Van. Car with carrier. Truck and cap. Cargo trailer. U-haul. Live in your home, RV style.<br />
<br />
Seriously, if you're just starting out, or think you'd like to live the vagabond lifestyle of NPS staff, get a decent car. And make it bigger than you should. I hate that I drive a gas guzzler, but it's also our moving van. And since I move twice a year, and make a 1700 mile trek, good wheels are a must.<br />
<br />
Our first two summers, we used my beloved Ford E150 conversion van and DH's Aztek--aka the World's Ugliest Car. My van was the best deal ever. We packed it to the gills, and even with the conversion package (2 captain chairs and foldable bench-to-bed, we could get a ton of stuff in there. It also got 21 mph! I could also turn that baby on a dime.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrwY1yCWho4Z5pu3KjCcMykTXJqmqo-KNY9ZCvSbtz9AHXu-58reSkMDUUnHsXNR26ytTfEuOAGiUerYz4SWBcHTeTGm1uA8RpNBivPRtw837KZbJdokCrZvI5tvYG_Z3HVddPq1ttPfR/s1600/100_0710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrwY1yCWho4Z5pu3KjCcMykTXJqmqo-KNY9ZCvSbtz9AHXu-58reSkMDUUnHsXNR26ytTfEuOAGiUerYz4SWBcHTeTGm1uA8RpNBivPRtw837KZbJdokCrZvI5tvYG_Z3HVddPq1ttPfR/s320/100_0710.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved this van. Sigh.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOj05LTx_iIoMlKf_wApqcVvwgZPP_rr4vIOuBYNN_9rhh0AqFBTRoukYtXRZ0LhJEvLTsY3yZHAgLPjgwjn5VorZfzm3woNhYfK89g_pKdQpgw6wCuzY3fvvX7dpYgoehjXjmXoHD2FzD/s1600/100_0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOj05LTx_iIoMlKf_wApqcVvwgZPP_rr4vIOuBYNN_9rhh0AqFBTRoukYtXRZ0LhJEvLTsY3yZHAgLPjgwjn5VorZfzm3woNhYfK89g_pKdQpgw6wCuzY3fvvX7dpYgoehjXjmXoHD2FzD/s320/100_0712.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big enough for 2 grown ups to sleep in, too. Can you say car camping?</td></tr>
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Sadly, it finally reached its limit, and we now have a Chevy Trailblazer, with the longer cargo space. Super comfy, horrid gas mileage (only about 17 on a really good day), and not all that roomy. Noisy too, especially in the wind. But it has a tow package. The upside is that it's actually comfortable and easy for 8 people to drive around in (as we will tonight for our spring time run to a local winery.....) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-H_Mu6fnP4B000iFCLOuUP9E76LWLM-5ildVXHXQgIMQXpJsCYS5vpZRY-gHIeMiLrJ8R7cPgDntQ3ovxNqgIxD69GlWJk8xJgBRrtgxQ2K8yShqqqMWkmIhEnPMBs7v7iUCY67iav_60/s1600/100_0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-H_Mu6fnP4B000iFCLOuUP9E76LWLM-5ildVXHXQgIMQXpJsCYS5vpZRY-gHIeMiLrJ8R7cPgDntQ3ovxNqgIxD69GlWJk8xJgBRrtgxQ2K8yShqqqMWkmIhEnPMBs7v7iUCY67iav_60/s320/100_0093.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good bike racks have become an obsession for my DH. This one wasn't it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoziQMIEI-mNwt_pXYfjV4x8YMK4PHdX-okugh7mXFz3bs8dA6kOpMoDVIY8hE-KK-pgH2Dyb9OuLAszPbFSuxSnZ2pROkXFCCBQeIT-TUVj45bbrswyq2lBIwBuM0JE6RvcXMWBy3IOXx/s1600/100_6834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoziQMIEI-mNwt_pXYfjV4x8YMK4PHdX-okugh7mXFz3bs8dA6kOpMoDVIY8hE-KK-pgH2Dyb9OuLAszPbFSuxSnZ2pROkXFCCBQeIT-TUVj45bbrswyq2lBIwBuM0JE6RvcXMWBy3IOXx/s320/100_6834.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulling out of Ohio, a couple of years ago.</td></tr>
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<br />
We bought it because we got a super deal on it. It wasn't on our radar, but when Vanna Black petered out, the Chevy was available. We still have the Aztek, which really doesn't have much space either. It's also the cheap version, and is darn uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
We've also purchased a small cargo van. My friend Ranger Michelle at Acadia had one, and it just seemed like the sensible thing to do.<br />
<br />
We got ours a couple of years ago, with just days left before take off. I decided we had to get one, and started looking at Craigslist~~scary under most circumstances. I found an ad that said, "Cargo Van, $1000." A new one runs between $4000 and $6000, so this seemed interesting. I called the guy on a Friday night, and lucky me, caught him in the bar after work. Silly him, he said, "Well, I'm actually hoping to get $400 for it, really." Says I, "Can we come see it?" "Yep," slurs he, and gives me the address. DH and I drive over the next morning, and while we're standing there looking at it I called him back. "Will you take $400 in cash tomorrow morning?" says I. He had obviously sobered up a bit, and replied, "I actually said that last night, didn't I?" Oh, yeah. He was very nice and funny about it, and the next morning we handed him the cash and happily drove off. Freakin' awesome.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_8yqvkhyphenhyphenPJhfgXofu01Qdr4VkOphcISrFNZEQrLDeNOOaax5C2X4nPNVZuTVeW2hubh2cnNJpHhaAbS1KvWlolKgUUeM2URR5ohQ785LZzyB5Yvsmd2iAbdIVfp0PNfxxTM2Ws4lpc_G/s1600/IMG_0112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_8yqvkhyphenhyphenPJhfgXofu01Qdr4VkOphcISrFNZEQrLDeNOOaax5C2X4nPNVZuTVeW2hubh2cnNJpHhaAbS1KvWlolKgUUeM2URR5ohQ785LZzyB5Yvsmd2iAbdIVfp0PNfxxTM2Ws4lpc_G/s320/IMG_0112.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arriving when there was no snow on the ground, 2010.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjZcQETGwUuFSYNh_UaZka2sIoDO4rIccUXcQUhtAA0uxMyf-J8okrg3GArBv9AuTlySh5KMng-fv8DizfLHsseiPqTISF-odevT1f1vu4VKZFLYPvM_xVN9GCt3Yag-XWy6rzc14b0nI/s1600/IMG_7503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjZcQETGwUuFSYNh_UaZka2sIoDO4rIccUXcQUhtAA0uxMyf-J8okrg3GArBv9AuTlySh5KMng-fv8DizfLHsseiPqTISF-odevT1f1vu4VKZFLYPvM_xVN9GCt3Yag-XWy6rzc14b0nI/s320/IMG_7503.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arriving in the snow, 2011.</td></tr>
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We are now at the stage where we can leave lots of our travel stuff packed up. I call it the cabin stuff or the out-west stuff. I no longer have to go thru the house and gather up supplies. I've collected enough gear to have some for there and for here. I've also starting upgrading some of it from garage sale quality to real stuff (got a uber-awesome deal on a Calphlon cook set 2 years ago). Cooking and linens are now stuff I like, not just stuff I could find.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ajQccAUUDftIOG_iL9Aki69kK4-LeW8PhXQC1KCijcNi9cj_39A_LRfQi4bFzZIb9TZ-mS8haC8xRbipf1g5ZI4VdEU4yi_8gmjkAB88ixle9g5ZikGc3jEqrU_7BuEaR1FEPv-INzj9/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ajQccAUUDftIOG_iL9Aki69kK4-LeW8PhXQC1KCijcNi9cj_39A_LRfQi4bFzZIb9TZ-mS8haC8xRbipf1g5ZI4VdEU4yi_8gmjkAB88ixle9g5ZikGc3jEqrU_7BuEaR1FEPv-INzj9/s320/IMG_0115.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About half full... love love love these plastic tubs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The other thing I've done is to choose one basic style of boxes and stick with it. The plastic tubs I found were from Home Depot, in their Work Force line. They are 'contractor' strength, and the three sizes nest on top of one another perfectly. I found a couple one year and decided to get lots of them. We drove from store to store tracking them down. Sadly, Home Depot doesn't carry them any more. Bad! Bad! Bad! I try to use them for stuff that can stay packed during the winter~~linens, kitchen crap, etc.. This winter I decided to leave them in the trailer and hope the mice and ants would chose to leave them alone. Success!! Whew! Saved huge amounts of time and energy not having to haul the crap to the basement. Yea!<br />
<br />
The other bonus with the Work Force boxes is that I can use them for furniture! One year they served as a coffee table (threw on old tablecloth over them~~<i>viola!</i>) and for the past 3 summers they've been a desk. We picked up a piece of plywood and covered it with Contact paper, and ta-daa, it's a desk. This year, I picked up a small foldable table which I'll use in the living room for the office desk, and I'll use the boxes in DD's room for . . . wait for it . . . my sewing table!!! They also serve as drawers in the bathroom, which has a deplorable lack of drawers. In our room, we stack them for side tables. I iz so clever. But when you go from 2400 sprawling feet in your home to 644 square feet.... well, you get the idea.<br />
<br />
Another helpful hint is to use cardboard boxes that are all the same size, be it egg boxes (excellent because they have handles), liquor boxes (good because they're study and small and can tuck into places, especially smaller cars), or printer paper boxes (good because they have the great lids). My DH thinks bigger is better, but doh, I can't carry them. Everything I pack, I can carry if I have to. I prefer to have the boys or kind neighbors do the lugging, but I can if I have to.<br />
<br />
We receive packing boxes once a month for supplies DD needs, and I keep those for my 'have to pack every time' stuff, like books and civilian clothes. Since they're all the same size, I don't have to play Tetras to get them stuffed in the trailer.<br />
<br />
I've also learned (the hard way) to keep the shipping boxes for cabin stuff. I did keep the box my Calphlon came in, but I had to make a map of how the whole set fits in there. Likewise with the microwave box. I also use that to stuff in small kitchen stuff--towels, hot pads, etc..<br />
<br />
I've had mixed success with the space-bags, you know the ones you fill and then suction the air out? Don't expect them to be re-useable. In theory, they are, but I've never been able to use them more than 2 times. They do pack really small, tho.<br />
<br />
I usually pack our electronics in the car instead of the trailer. I have this super fear that the trailer will get stolen, or I'll break an axle and have to leave it behind. I can replace clothes and kitchen stuff easier and cheaper than I can the tv sets (yeah, you heard me, sets plural. I have teenaged sons, remember?) And of course, my sewing machine goes with me! I try not to cram the car full, because our last stop before getting to the apartment is at the grocery store for a major stock-up trip. This usually involves 3 or 4 grocery carts full of stuff. I've decided it's cheaper to pay a little bit more for expendable supplies and buy it out there, instead of being the shipping company and carting it across the county myself. I think I'm going to get more here this year..... so I'll have more room for food on our last night out. Hmmmmm.... or maybe I'm just obsessing and over-thinking the whole deal. <br />
<br />
<br />
Best kept secret for extra stash space is our flat-hat boxes. It's amazing how many pairs of socks or undies you can pack in around the hat!<br />
<br />
<i style="color: orange;">And a great note from Ranger Gaelyn: I packed in plastic milk crates for years, which also doubles as furniture. Then banana boxes for strength, uniform size and handles. Now it's same size plastic tubs with secure lids to keep the critters out. There is a definite art to packing and seasonals tend to have it down well.</i><br />
<i style="color: orange;">Even moving my goods in the RV requires packing. I love no skid.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Coming soon to blog near you: <i>What you might really need,</i> and <i>Keeping Your Seasonal Sanity.</i><br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-9178973583401168662012-04-21T11:58:00.001-04:002013-09-04T12:19:29.946-04:00Seasonal Survival, #4, Stuff You Might Need<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: lime; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Seasonal Survival Guide</span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
©</div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: #b6d7a8; text-align: center;">
or How to Live and Eat and Other Mundane Stuff. </div>
<br />
Chapter 4.<br />
<br />
<i>Stuff you probably should have.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Working and moving seasonally is a great way to prioritize the stuff you need and the stuff you want.<br />
<br />
After we returned from our first gig in North Dakoooota, I came home and <i>really</i> de-stashed clothes and crap. I made a firm pact with myself that if I bought new clothes, a similar item would have to go to the Goodwill. And if I bought a new something else, like a kitchen gadget, it would be a good quality one, not the cheap crap that would just break and need to be replaced. Conversely, if it was cheap and sturdy that would do over a pricey one of so-so quality.<br />
<br />
I am also in the situation that none of my children will be having children, so there's not a lot of need to invest in good stuff to pass on to them. The boys will be living in group home situations and BadAmy and L have lots of their own funky stuff. My nieces and nephews will be the ones sorting out and selling my crap when I go toes up. I'm hoping not to put them in the position our elders put us in when they passed. All of them had lots of stuff, and being children of the depression, lots of it was crap. My Mom, for example, kept every mayo jar she ever purchased. God only knows why, but they had perceived value to her. DH's Mom had food in her basement pantry that was literally canned 50 years ago. Arg. And we won't even go into the stuff Aunt Ruth had. Interestingly, DH's older Bro had no concept that his parents' and aunt's stuff actually had antique value. He chucked a lot of stuff in the dumpster that actually did have some worth. Sigh.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So to make a short story long, for seasonal life, you need the basics and you need some stuff for your mental health. This post will be about stuff you might actually need~~real stuff.<br />
<br />
<br />
Even though we travel with four <i>::weepy face again, since FTD is staying in Ohio this summer::</i> er, three people, you'll still need about the same amount of cooking stuff that we do. One of the odd things is that since you'll likely be farther from restaurants--make that restaurants you can <i>afford</i>--you'll be eating more of your own cooking. If that scares you, get a gig in an actual city.<br />
<br />
<br />
Of course you'll need<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">a plate, a mug, a glass, and silver ware</span>. In reality, one of each will do ya.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">A pot</span> to boil water, pasta, soup, ramen noodles.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Cooking utensils</span> like a big spoon, spatula, scooper of some kind. </div>
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Some kind of <span style="color: blue;">casserole dish.</span> (You'll need to learn to use the oven... I'm always surprised at the number of younger rangers who can't 'cook' anything that doesn't go into the microwave.) </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Dish towel </span>or two.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Hot pad/mitts.</span><br />
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Kitchen stuff you should think about lugging with: </div>
<div style="color: blue; text-align: center;">
toaster or toaster oven,</div>
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microwave.</div>
At THRO, the Theodore Roosevelt Nature and History Association purchased microwaves for the seasonal apartments, which was super wonderful, cuz those puppies hog up a lotta packing space. We got to Acadia and found out there wasn't one, so we purchased a nicer one, and only use it for the 'cabin,' where ever the cabin may be. Lots of folks buy a cheap one, and leave it. Sadly, it will get put in the unwanted crap pile of NPS. Others give them to thrift shops when they leave. You can also cook most microwaveable foods in the oven--a fact which shocks lots of people who weren't around in the pre-micro wave world. And here's a surprise, you can make coffee with a pan, too. <br />
<span style="color: blue;"> </span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Luxury items:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">Coffee pot</span> (we switched to the stove top kind, since there's no counter space for the electric one.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">Wine glasses.</span> Ours are plastic, since most our wine is consumed around a campfire. (Geeze, that's pretty high on my list, ain't it?)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Baking wares</span><span style="background-color: white;">-</span>-muffin pans, loaf pans, etc.. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">A couple of sets of tableware,</span> if you can't get into the habit of washing your one and only set after each meal. </div>
<div style="color: blue; text-align: center;">
Dish drainer. <span style="color: black;">If you don't have one, you can dry your stuff on a towel.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And in the spirit of true confessions, our family uses a lot more paper products than I wish we did. The simple fact is that I'm so pooped when I get home from work that doing dishes just doesn't sound like, you know, fun. The environmentalist in me has a hissy every time I pull out a paper plate or bowl, but the Mom in me is relieved. It's a tough place to live sometimes. I rationalize by saying to myself that the energy/resources needed to wash dishes is probably the same as that of making, then tossing paper ones. We have become obsessive compulsive about keeping the biodegradable stuff that the restaurants in YNP use. By the end of the summer, we have a nice stash. We only buy the Wilcoxson's Moose Tracks to replenish our supply of spoons. Honest.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Other household stuff you'll need includes a<span style="color: blue;"> broom and mop</span> of some sort. I've become a true believer in Libman stuff. My new favorite is the $20 mop thingie that can use any type of cleaner (I use clear water, crazy I know) and it has re-usable, machine washable pads. No having to find the right brand to fit your swiffer or whatever. There will be a broom somewhere in your apartment complex, but it will leave more dirt that it sweeps up, guaranteed. If you hunt around long enough, or have a great friend in the maintenance department, you'll have access to <span style="color: blue;">a vacuum.</span> Don't count on it actually working, though. We've been through several types of small vacuums and still aren't really happy with any of them. One of these days we'll break down and get a better one.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Other living stuff:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Mandatory:</span> <span style="color: blue;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue;">Battery operated alarm clock.</span> At YNP, the power goes out at least once a week. Since our cell phones don't work so they go dead after "searching for service." Don't rely on it. Get a battery one, really.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue;">Clothes hangers.</span> Doh. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue;">Shoe polish.</span> Cordovan. Seriously.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Bare minimum: Sleeping bag and pillow. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not so bare: set of <span style="color: blue;">linens</span> for full size bed.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Luxury: set of cotton sheets and set of flannel ones. Pretty important at YNP.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Greatest luxury: Memory foam bed topper, as thick as you can afford. Waffle foam at the minimum. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Bare minimum: <span style="color: blue;">Bath towel and wash cloth</span>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not so bare: Two of each.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Luxury: bathroom rug. Keeps those toesies warm on those cold mornings.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Greatest luxury: It all matches and didn't come from Goodwill. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Bare minimum: <span style="color: blue;">bath mat </span>for the tub or shower.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not so bare: shower caddy.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Luxury: one that looks nice. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Greatest luxury: It all matches and didn't come from Goodwill.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
You can probably get by with no <span style="color: blue;">iron</span>. We haven't lived anywhere where an ironing board was available, but I think there should be one in each laundry room. If you're careful, you can pull your uniforms out of the dryer and hang them up right away to keep the wrinkles at bay. Throwing them on the floor after work and expecting them to look okay the next morning ain't gunna happen. I found an ironing board at the Goodwill and bought a new cover for it, but it's for my sewing projects! I also have a spiffy Rowenta travel iron. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
More luxuary stuff: </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A tablecloth. I actually have several. It warms the apartment up nicely. And I have a couple of outside picnic ones. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Curtains. They're a pain to put up every summer, but they make the place so much homier. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Pictures/photos/posters. Be careful how you hang them. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There's lots of ways to save space/weight for packing, too. Our tableware is all Melamie, and our glasses are plastic. (Oh, how I love that first sip of water from a nice glass glass, and dinner on real china when I get home.) One of our ranger peeps stops at the Goodwill on the way into town and and picks up a couple of pieces of nice china for the summer. It's always really pretty. At the end of the season, she donates it back!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Kids who have been living in college dorms have a better time of living on less than folks like me. As I've said before, going from our spacious home to our tiny apartment is a trip.<br />
<br />
Next up, <i>stuff to bring for your mental health.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-71586374490466448492012-04-20T21:40:00.000-04:002013-09-04T12:19:58.710-04:00Seasonal Survival #2, Your Housing<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: lime; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Seasonal Survival Guide</span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
©</div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: #b6d7a8; text-align: center;">
or How to Live and Eat and Other Mundane Stuff. </div>
<br />
Chapter 2.<br />
<br />
<i>What to expect in your living quarters.</i><br />
<br />
Your apartment/dorm room/shared house <span style="color: purple;">will have</span> a stove and refrigerator, and a bed for you. There will be vinyl or industrial strength, bland carpeting on the floor. You might live in FEMA trailer, or platform tent/shack, or maybe in an old, historic building. If you do, things will be more, um, rustic.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfPun4_ccxQ1Lnya9SjjPEzzed_RDIHZ4ZZUhyphenhypheno0ui_am4Svd1fOwlGJ0wki2ybGXdROesJPVuWGAYbWfTMSVp7Pc_KQ6ebtWTAzzpTsgXbtKFoo7bLGHiiFNvifYjM2X8550jpX6OLqs/s1600/tr+cabin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfPun4_ccxQ1Lnya9SjjPEzzed_RDIHZ4ZZUhyphenhypheno0ui_am4Svd1fOwlGJ0wki2ybGXdROesJPVuWGAYbWfTMSVp7Pc_KQ6ebtWTAzzpTsgXbtKFoo7bLGHiiFNvifYjM2X8550jpX6OLqs/s320/tr+cabin.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp tenders cabin at THRO. The 4 of us survived here because we ate most of our meals outside on the covered porch out back. There's also a public and shared 'office' on the front right. And the public pay phone (you heard me, pay phone) was directly behind the head of our bed. We heard lots of stuff we didn't wanna hear. Now days they put at least 2, sometimes 3, unrelated staffers in there. A Mission 66 cabin, by the by.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks13hZE90dR_moKr9b6x4g4WwPjpgUsHzR114yHikRaRRRo9fsF7hamdTdReRPqG00-P-GyirVqKi6ZOt0XhTF7115XWMUIYrr_W0y3yum8eIUntQIdOCSse82gfrdvLjVqmnvB00yYdw/s1600/Our+room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks13hZE90dR_moKr9b6x4g4WwPjpgUsHzR114yHikRaRRRo9fsF7hamdTdReRPqG00-P-GyirVqKi6ZOt0XhTF7115XWMUIYrr_W0y3yum8eIUntQIdOCSse82gfrdvLjVqmnvB00yYdw/s320/Our+room.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our room. We took 2 twin beds and shoved them together for a king bed. THRO.<br />
And yeah, that's the whole room. Our YNP room is a shade smaller.....</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ58SGUgX4q5AcWREwVNrMwQMoYFmVr7v3a81-MUpSXYeR5x8bguuQ-nwGNB6emA0fDGcibdzgHfDznHh6SvLz75TjbI6lY9Y-mZz0PJMf_VONEkyslEJyQylzs7vgr9itkTNVOf8u0m56/s1600/kitchenJPG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ58SGUgX4q5AcWREwVNrMwQMoYFmVr7v3a81-MUpSXYeR5x8bguuQ-nwGNB6emA0fDGcibdzgHfDznHh6SvLz75TjbI6lY9Y-mZz0PJMf_VONEkyslEJyQylzs7vgr9itkTNVOf8u0m56/s320/kitchenJPG.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen at TR. Note the Ranch Oak Chair, and the groovy dinette set.<br />
Both of those will set you back a pretty penny in an antique shop. Go figure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Your new digs<span style="color: purple;"> will likely have</span> some lamps, crappy sofa, kitchen table and chair. It might have a dresser, your own closet, or a desk. There might be a glass shower door. There are a few apartments with dishwashers. (None of ours, of course.) Most parks have full beds as standard issue. We've always asked to have 4 twin beds. DH and I shove 2 twins together to make a king size, and the boys each get their own.<br />
<br />
Don't count on any of this being comfortable or good looking. There are, however, some exceptions.<br />
NPS must have gotten a really good deal at some time on Ranch Oak furniture. The sofas are basically uncomfortable and often have Naugahyde covers or scratchy polyester covers. Other apartments have boring brown/grey plaid sofas, and some have boring teal blue. Think doctor's office furniture...... You'll need a sheet or blanket to cover them if you're picky. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9VvpIxGyAsV3rehbq9h_P6Rw7B0vYQgUKimCfYaxpgg1fgp_3I93-zzVChDAPk6lhv2NAx2eY3E-DiDSv4gjw-18nGyVQ30g4N4npWXt1X-8RAJSNv0uJzPkIFEgf0RzixQHDZYL-GNW/s1600/100_2493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg9VvpIxGyAsV3rehbq9h_P6Rw7B0vYQgUKimCfYaxpgg1fgp_3I93-zzVChDAPk6lhv2NAx2eY3E-DiDSv4gjw-18nGyVQ30g4N4npWXt1X-8RAJSNv0uJzPkIFEgf0RzixQHDZYL-GNW/s320/100_2493.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our living room and boys bedroom at THRO, ND. Learn to love this kind of sofa. These were bunks, but neither boy was willing to sleep on the top, so we unbunked them, and had to walk around one to get to the 'office.'</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuG73DEAuATl_Ds2vt2SQUXtcKI1PRtUt_OZCA_c49bTxY0hT7kzaXZ0q-14sF5ijSnvJXBfl5EVXIOUzE1F8he05F-APitOD8KR0rPqlwC-tsCDoqEKCmuz9tqWJxy1l7G3CaM_-LBzT/s1600/100_0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuG73DEAuATl_Ds2vt2SQUXtcKI1PRtUt_OZCA_c49bTxY0hT7kzaXZ0q-14sF5ijSnvJXBfl5EVXIOUzE1F8he05F-APitOD8KR0rPqlwC-tsCDoqEKCmuz9tqWJxy1l7G3CaM_-LBzT/s320/100_0289.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living room at YNP. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsZpT4z_L9QfshtA_6K-O4CO_1oCCXN76QTtBYurZ7b1roYJiiWsSmVLFRkOFFyGRHERJVf29syZTEBcVuIN9r46sFCxmNY1_XoBO_IZH_fj3V66neKKD2qX5gw1V4y1JVTID_E5gs2Bg/s1600/100_0290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsZpT4z_L9QfshtA_6K-O4CO_1oCCXN76QTtBYurZ7b1roYJiiWsSmVLFRkOFFyGRHERJVf29syZTEBcVuIN9r46sFCxmNY1_XoBO_IZH_fj3V66neKKD2qX5gw1V4y1JVTID_E5gs2Bg/s320/100_0290.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boys' room, YNP.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrNIledeW3nVI22QNLADZw-YX8EQKqBJqLG_wToTQjhqyudpB0Gs35Ib_6pXy98z3pE4bheTSWPElAdGhNu-hVtCVewMTh8yPKumpnmoYhc6_d7IV9nlAviyzic2Peph4i2KvV8j6SZ_p/s1600/100_0291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrNIledeW3nVI22QNLADZw-YX8EQKqBJqLG_wToTQjhqyudpB0Gs35Ib_6pXy98z3pE4bheTSWPElAdGhNu-hVtCVewMTh8yPKumpnmoYhc6_d7IV9nlAviyzic2Peph4i2KvV8j6SZ_p/s320/100_0291.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bathroom, YNP.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSeT2tBjGw2lgsjhnkWEUMxMr8xil-4qP9jGeCM6JCldzGevw8sjthNYBNOxmmiHh_nurHOV7SCXlM4KZrp2kfPxW3FKbch0Z26GpWfces2pYebFmLNhizrw9fvkLDkfFgeGxfWR4CqEa/s1600/100_0293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSeT2tBjGw2lgsjhnkWEUMxMr8xil-4qP9jGeCM6JCldzGevw8sjthNYBNOxmmiHh_nurHOV7SCXlM4KZrp2kfPxW3FKbch0Z26GpWfces2pYebFmLNhizrw9fvkLDkfFgeGxfWR4CqEa/s320/100_0293.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen, YNP.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrcepp2YbUIHna5-HO3AKgDrgJHrRK58kSC6rij2WGtmKuebPIUckC7Na8tEGio4MK5RqGU4qlUPvYhhmoSLlccApXBqeARuF4IBbQ0oOZS7OtXgdaTh9mUfhGerLMPiP3Lgp3Qm6nxRy/s1600/100_0294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrcepp2YbUIHna5-HO3AKgDrgJHrRK58kSC6rij2WGtmKuebPIUckC7Na8tEGio4MK5RqGU4qlUPvYhhmoSLlccApXBqeARuF4IBbQ0oOZS7OtXgdaTh9mUfhGerLMPiP3Lgp3Qm6nxRy/s320/100_0294.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back of apartment, YNP, the white trash section in our case.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEKbwaCGpLD-dnQdehQCPBcHptQ20LDGvkAXExt613-_MJwMhFE0CqbtrXFZWwJfGSn-Jr8RJf6k1IgVwJ-lLjJ26zcBXfRU4o2YYq8TY70ZAQpf-4AAyDqJ0OdPB0sYgXXIHEjN2tECO/s1600/100_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEKbwaCGpLD-dnQdehQCPBcHptQ20LDGvkAXExt613-_MJwMhFE0CqbtrXFZWwJfGSn-Jr8RJf6k1IgVwJ-lLjJ26zcBXfRU4o2YYq8TY70ZAQpf-4AAyDqJ0OdPB0sYgXXIHEjN2tECO/s320/100_0305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BONUS! Ranch Oak table and chairs, YNP. Absolutely beautiful. And ours hadn't been refinished, cigarette burned, etc. Amazing. If it disappears, I don't know anything about it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Your place <span style="color: purple;">might have </span>a nearby pay laundry (some are even free. Others have solar dryers.)<br />
<br />
Most windows have either venetian blinds or crappy roll up shades. Since I knew where I would be at YNP, I made little curtains to make it feel homier. So much cheerier.<br />
<br />
None of our apartments had air conditioning, but we go north for a reason. Our Acadia and Yellowstone apartments both had ceiling fans. We purchased a window AC unit to use at Theodore Roosevelt, but only had to run it on really hot days (temp over 90, that is) and then only for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Evenings always cooled off. Hooray for 15% humidity. All of our apartments had heat of some sort. At YNP, I keep a small tub of water in front of the heater because it's so dry. <br />
<br />
DISCLAIMER! Our YNP apartment was remodeled 2 years before we moved in, so it's much nicer than most. There are still lots of places that are just half a step above condemned trailers. Many, many others are shared houses, efficiency apartments, and dorm rooms, usually with shared bathrooms. Lots of them were built in 1966, for the 50th anniversary of the Park Service.<br />
<br />
<br />
You'll need to provide your own:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Pots and pans,<br />
Table ware, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dishes,<br />
Microwave.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Linens,<br />
Shower curtain,<br />
Bathroom rug/mat. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Books,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
More books,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Computer,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Printer, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Surge protectors,<br />
Safe extension cords, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bike,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Cell phone<br />
(it will work in some places....) </div>
<br />
in addition to expendable stuff like:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Food,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Cleaning supplies,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Clothing,<br />
Toiletries, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Uniforms,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Office supplies<br />
(no taking stuff from the office, you ninny.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Things that might work:<br />
Bring your computer router/modem on the off chance you can get DSL in your apartment. Probably not, but maybe. We can't at YNP . We can't even get dial up, nor could we at our other apartments. <br />
<br />
Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you allowed to plug your personal computer into the Service's system. YOU WILL BE FIRED!!! Not to mention, when your IT department shuts down the system to your office because you thought it would be okay to plug in--"just this once"-- the rest of your crew will tar and feather you for screwing up the system. Someone from another division did this at Madison 4 years ago, and the rest of of were livid !!!!!! What a moron to think that even for seconds you could use a government system for your gear! Ninnies!! <br />
<br />
Your apartment may or may not be wired for a phone, for which you will make a contract with the local phone company. We have a land line, because one of us is 72 and two of us have special needs. A working phone is important to us. We also let all the peeps use ours, and my boss calls our apt when he needs to get timely info to someone on the crew. <br />
<br />
Your place might maybe be wired for a satellite tv dish. Ours is, but again, we bring our own receiver, dish, and tripod, and have an account here in Ohio which we transfer out west. I'm also gunna give a shout out to DISH network, because they've been very cool with us. So far so good. Lots of staff use Netflix for entertainment. I load up my iTunes with tv shows for the summer, too.<br />
<br />
I think there might be places that are wired for cable tv, but don't know of any for sure. Ask your supervisor after you've been hired. And don't be surprised if your supervisor doesn't know what is or isn't in your apartment. S/he isn't the dorm mother, after all.<br />
<br />
And I hear there's a new invention out there called satellite radio.... our friends at the other end of our apartment row used this. <br />
<br />
I know I'm forgetting some stuff, so as I remember, I'll add it.<b> </b><br />
<b>EDIT 4/21/12~~ These are comments I've received from other rangers. They are readable in the comment section, but I'm adding some here also. </b><br />
<div style="color: lime;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: lime;"><i>From Gaelyn at Grand Canyon NP:</i> Thank goodness I haven't shared housing since Mt St Helens, where I started my career. Wasn't bad. A Mission ranch-style with 3-bedrooms, 1-bath and huge kitchen with 2 refrigerators. We had the same furniture you've shown here and it was retired from Lukes AFB to us. Some of the housing at the North Rim that our staff gets is a tiny cabin, one-room with a bath. Less floor space than I have. They have no phone service available and cells don't work well unless you're standing on the rim. And then there's a few FEMA trailers. But we don't have as large a staff as YELL. This is why I live in a RV. <a href="http://geogypsy.blogspot.com/">http://geogypsy.blogspot.com/</a> </span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<span style="color: orange;"><i>From Nina at Grant Village in YNP:</i> There is good cell phone service at Grant (Verizon) so I bring my laptop and aircard and am good to go.</span><br />
<span style="color: orange;">I didn't know our kitchen table and chairs are Ranch Oak. Sweet!</span><br />
<span style="color: orange;">We had fairly new mattresses last year, which was nice. Blinds needed a good talking to, tho. </span><br />
<span style="color: orange;">The apt is actually not bad, and rent is reasonable. Wish there were a better stove, tho - I think it's the same one I had in my college apt in the early 70s.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;">Check out my early blog posts (May-Sept 2010) about getting to and living conditions in Katmai NP, AK. Crazy!<a href="http://www.watchingforrocks.com/"> http://www.watchingforrocks.com/</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: lime;">From Charlene: Ya should've seen my tent cabin in Yosemite. It had a fridge with a padlock, and two bear boxes. A wood fired stove, cold running water (you had to boil water or go to the bathrooms--a hike through the forest--to wash your dishes). The picnic table was definitely not ranch oak, though it might've been redwood (they seem to like redwood for picnic tables). It didn't have too many splinters. The "windows" opened; in other words, we rolled up the canvas. It was awesome--a Great Grey Owl (very rare in California) used to perch outside the door and hoo the night away.</span> <span style="color: lime;">Oh, and there was a pay phone at the entrance station...no such thing as TV reception or cable.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: lime;">Whatever happened to roughing it during a summer seasonal tour? ;-) </span><br />
<br />
<br />
Next installment, <i>how to get your crap from place to place</i>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-59662382140939688952012-04-19T22:10:00.001-04:002013-09-04T12:21:06.609-04:00Seasonal Survival Guide, Chapter 1.So I've ranted about how intense seasonal rangering is. So to make our lives easier, here's the first installment of my<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Seasonal Survival Guide</span> <style>
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<div style="background-color: #b6d7a8; text-align: center;">
or How to Live and Eat and Other Mundane Stuff. </div>
<br />
Chapter 1.<br />
<i>So You Wanna Be a Ranger.</i> <br />
<br />
<i>Get used to it. </i> Being a seasonal, that is. If you want to be an NPS Ranger/Researcher/ etc., you'll be a seasonal for several seasons. We all bitch about this, but no one has any solutions. The fact of the matter is that visitors go to parks mostly in the summer. Our ranks of staff grow hugely in the summer, leaving only core staff for the winters. I have two unsolicited pieces of advice for getting a perm gig:<br />
<br />
A.) <span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: red;">Join the Coast Guard</span> (or other branch of the military) and serve our country this way for 4 years. Work hard. Earn your ranks. Learn how government works. Continue studying in your field. Get your 5 point bump as a veteran for the hiring process. One way or the other, it will take you at least 4 years to get perm status, so you might as well spend those 4 years being paid, earning GI Bill stuff, and serving your country. Seems like a no brainer to me. You might even prefer the military life! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxF9whqhyphenhyphenfXs7z8SSFdJ4KgOo8UGGAJxHvm80Gzmq8-JmsFjlHk3lqD2QXjeMzttT-K8d8Tm0_iK9Z_83h576lBOCUOpEwzsYK9AlcEbuAJWAPGnj1nc4ic1FYLJjhTgBKgAMfE-SBH32/s1600/images-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxF9whqhyphenhyphenfXs7z8SSFdJ4KgOo8UGGAJxHvm80Gzmq8-JmsFjlHk3lqD2QXjeMzttT-K8d8Tm0_iK9Z_83h576lBOCUOpEwzsYK9AlcEbuAJWAPGnj1nc4ic1FYLJjhTgBKgAMfE-SBH32/s1600/images-2.jpg" /></a></div>
<i> </i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NjgAZ8RtbHEsuGviEGTs-WY45Uezg38snWWYIjmJvzdUKg-nTZbrcYOnd9cdERbgKt-OhS97iuiKk8zZZWjQE5amvlQdbCo80901O4JTEvG_1GNziktjNWbiKjCen9HW-CAnV7m7p_og/s1600/images-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWbxv5F1jZNA-G87dXazkdqekL9tvglCQmibaUw_H_mdsN0ABeJ1y4hPhFLFvmo7N_Atva88VqXd2ZEEjgGrUxP8O_TiLQy9wtzZVV5OcDuf2fYFhngkLzRS_XiA2QAK4RHKkHhLH655W/s1600/images-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWbxv5F1jZNA-G87dXazkdqekL9tvglCQmibaUw_H_mdsN0ABeJ1y4hPhFLFvmo7N_Atva88VqXd2ZEEjgGrUxP8O_TiLQy9wtzZVV5OcDuf2fYFhngkLzRS_XiA2QAK4RHKkHhLH655W/s1600/images-3.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Why, Ranger Anna, do you suggest the Coast Guard? You get to be on ships--mostly. And every Coastie I know is really fun and smart. You'll work the east or west coasts, the Fabulous Great Lakes, Alaska, or Hawaii, too bad for you. (There are some stations in non-watery places.) You'll pick up drug runners. You'll rescue folks. You'll protect the environment. You'll protect us. Do it.<br />
<br />
B.) When you get those seasonal gigs, be willing to<span style="color: red;"> serve in the urban parks.</span> St. Louis, New York, San Fran, Cleveland, Philly, Boston, etc..<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKyN3CQ4_zxZ8-V2hiQ1O0y9498Y-AnRolPRr-lCIwiohK2eixZldRQoULsMcNZggA6fsA-LWY91pu8fQh-v_GS0XpzmmOfgdj89e_z-BhsNozRKh2EplqmKGQfGOwgZtwnFd0BN9DNRW/s1600/images-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKyN3CQ4_zxZ8-V2hiQ1O0y9498Y-AnRolPRr-lCIwiohK2eixZldRQoULsMcNZggA6fsA-LWY91pu8fQh-v_GS0XpzmmOfgdj89e_z-BhsNozRKh2EplqmKGQfGOwgZtwnFd0BN9DNRW/s1600/images-4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Independence Hall, Philly</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBLz80AKPE0o20D81z7J2p6etx9yX5Ec6aPtBbYLVgHm67Kg3wTMZq5qJlSpdcQ0cyLYdPKo4iW7yeQCksb7chhSBF3yOuhV-tmg8A3RaAyByhKGiy76I8Sg9Jc7HEy0wXjcBy2PuUQUX/s1600/images-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBLz80AKPE0o20D81z7J2p6etx9yX5Ec6aPtBbYLVgHm67Kg3wTMZq5qJlSpdcQ0cyLYdPKo4iW7yeQCksb7chhSBF3yOuhV-tmg8A3RaAyByhKGiy76I8Sg9Jc7HEy0wXjcBy2PuUQUX/s1600/images-5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theodore Roosevelt Birth Place, NYC</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2WJf_RBEGIroHSlD-OTqBCfGkWjjHsOyosXR0CcwpSN9wpZD7RvxtfR2hjMe4FuSNjlGuUeglWJG9IYzmVlclwluR6jc2w9KGhG69yu2Su0tvbkZ9_gH7M8YoE5oLngo5N1tmDwoELYw/s1600/DC+Korea+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2WJf_RBEGIroHSlD-OTqBCfGkWjjHsOyosXR0CcwpSN9wpZD7RvxtfR2hjMe4FuSNjlGuUeglWJG9IYzmVlclwluR6jc2w9KGhG69yu2Su0tvbkZ9_gH7M8YoE5oLngo5N1tmDwoELYw/s320/DC+Korea+2" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koren War Monument, D.C.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOZX_47F2xqOJBvpGM3xoproGVwSqZHGAVNdViSraPCEIMOXl4c1wqI55gd00RQyM3D9gafbdBVuAzVCfQc3IKjkZyRKBqj3lIoIyO-vXolJcDtHMZ50dnTt9FvRId0SUx_w5iHLJqhlw/s1600/DC+Lin+Mem+&+DD_2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOZX_47F2xqOJBvpGM3xoproGVwSqZHGAVNdViSraPCEIMOXl4c1wqI55gd00RQyM3D9gafbdBVuAzVCfQc3IKjkZyRKBqj3lIoIyO-vXolJcDtHMZ50dnTt9FvRId0SUx_w5iHLJqhlw/s320/DC+Lin+Mem+&+DD_2" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DD at the Lincoln Memorial, D.C.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYE9Ya9h4wPpjCVl7B1ASy2x8fYkfeP9yY33qN5dZXovAQgtWxrJ5vzjRq58zwrAm3ZwSzpsjJK2r1AsjbNko5Jrv1oUcYa7xyEP2XQXcn5s9HuCciz2KbDT_Otm9raFtExtT-1g-CrqZ/s1600/DC+WH" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYE9Ya9h4wPpjCVl7B1ASy2x8fYkfeP9yY33qN5dZXovAQgtWxrJ5vzjRq58zwrAm3ZwSzpsjJK2r1AsjbNko5Jrv1oUcYa7xyEP2XQXcn5s9HuCciz2KbDT_Otm9raFtExtT-1g-CrqZ/s320/DC+WH" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The White House. I'd love a gig here. Someday, if it's ever just me, this is where I'll apply. D.C.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4m3MB1pisNSfwlASHRc0rxL1HlCAMfImmsMsIv3yhefKQOa8B2oQObeDCfDOHddQs8EKcJBijLpwgBWPYLmYRYbrsH3vRbbZcyYWGyEByEA2BlKzYLrYjN9VqNBWMYsFchZvUvZDImiaS/s1600/DC+mom+and+Dad_3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4m3MB1pisNSfwlASHRc0rxL1HlCAMfImmsMsIv3yhefKQOa8B2oQObeDCfDOHddQs8EKcJBijLpwgBWPYLmYRYbrsH3vRbbZcyYWGyEByEA2BlKzYLrYjN9VqNBWMYsFchZvUvZDImiaS/s320/DC+mom+and+Dad_3" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DH and me on the Mall, from the Capitol. D.C.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Gv86-GsRu-oVUDkVCUqRecvgNDAgqbjugoEbdkxjl66oShifuYRPTQeoLs_zUkCQH2g7HWDu8GzDsZWbqPifRsmXRN_gg1ItzKwTdjt7w9w6xFF66BnrzNvMGTYisKMHiW7r6ziMgmRR/s1600/DC+vietnam3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Gv86-GsRu-oVUDkVCUqRecvgNDAgqbjugoEbdkxjl66oShifuYRPTQeoLs_zUkCQH2g7HWDu8GzDsZWbqPifRsmXRN_gg1ItzKwTdjt7w9w6xFF66BnrzNvMGTYisKMHiW7r6ziMgmRR/s320/DC+vietnam3" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DD at the Viet Nam Memorial. D.C.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfPf8GFXd8PuIDRARKGXF5WiwxzwRtc4WvIocKrafoLJ9NYqj76xrsVAdo4E2cjeLMxS_1NGLi4RalAIRXy9tKDl8OHTy-b0UZSpLDON_TrRDnuX4Gi8Uce67jhXQoupjOL3OZYJQwepf/s1600/100_5151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfPf8GFXd8PuIDRARKGXF5WiwxzwRtc4WvIocKrafoLJ9NYqj76xrsVAdo4E2cjeLMxS_1NGLi4RalAIRXy9tKDl8OHTy-b0UZSpLDON_TrRDnuX4Gi8Uce67jhXQoupjOL3OZYJQwepf/s320/100_5151.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boys at Jefferson Expansion, St. Louis for the Return of the Corps of Discovery. FTD is a<br />
L & C geek.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
C. The third way to a possible perm gig is to think about <span style="color: red;">taking a 'desk' job</span>... bookkeeping, clerking, VUA (Visitor Use Assistant, the kind folks who handle money at the gates, among other duties), maintenance, etc.. There are lots of ways into perm status~~your first few gigs might not be the job of your dreams, but you're in the Service. I know lots of folks who started this way--as one of my fav Chief Rangers put it, he started 'in the box' doing fee collection, which is under the Law Enforcement Division. Think about getting your boots in the door.... And thanks Ranger Gaelyn for the reminder on this one!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTn8Re8xMVPDbJ-ZQS1IeST_EozhCvTocTZvcHnQ9ydQxn3dRcL_9oS7FBJ__4I2otahFEoLAcCil06sD_fFu8ElV3oFJU1QcXZI_QY_w-d17tTIV5scd_HmlP6_seeKze1T0GvYt604F/s1600/100_2466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTn8Re8xMVPDbJ-ZQS1IeST_EozhCvTocTZvcHnQ9ydQxn3dRcL_9oS7FBJ__4I2otahFEoLAcCil06sD_fFu8ElV3oFJU1QcXZI_QY_w-d17tTIV5scd_HmlP6_seeKze1T0GvYt604F/s320/100_2466.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Box at THRO. This is the old one. The new one has way fewer mice. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
D. <span style="color: red;">Two seasons, two parks</span>. Lots and lots of seasonals work a winter season in one park, and a summer season in another. If you read my other rant about us calling a season a year, you'll know that this really is like 2 years worth of stuff crammed into 12 months. If one of your parks is big enough you might be able to work for two different divisions in one year, and not go over the ubiquitous 1090 hours/year issue. For example, one of the coolest rangers I know works Interp in the winter, and in the box in the summer. She ends up with about 6 or 7 weeks off per year, which isn't great, but it's do-able. The down side to the 2/2 seasons issue is insurance. The Association of National Park Rangers offers a lower cost insurance for seasonals, and it's certainly worth looking into.<br />
The hardest part about these gigs are that you'll likely need to find your own housing. And getting an apartment in a major city for 4 months? You see one of the problems. Be flexible and have a plan.... like finding trailer, or at least a pick up truck with a cap, and plan on living in that.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWGugL8ORbTmi1YQ-pq71NYdw_bjBd_4hJBy-ZvJM6wle3dF3tSWxqcIy8rSTbjtPkgVO_ggSEEQYKX-12-yZITH-KeEhXWKuighpnOqskB-KwWXNbIJJr9tDjNqysyknTs2CKpjCeElz/s1600/Biker+trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWGugL8ORbTmi1YQ-pq71NYdw_bjBd_4hJBy-ZvJM6wle3dF3tSWxqcIy8rSTbjtPkgVO_ggSEEQYKX-12-yZITH-KeEhXWKuighpnOqskB-KwWXNbIJJr9tDjNqysyknTs2CKpjCeElz/s1600/Biker+trailer.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This might work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMY-PTyvm7F20LjtsOsof6B72vn6T5GMoMt_yr6QpbZ5TzI_w9zvRiyFosdcVbv4vKjWIn7wKcl_bPiUiLyvtb6HefaH8Y-HMzo5hKnhzuAxyRfGCM13-CDHSZT5xr5B8grs3Wh9fxeY3/s1600/Caista.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMY-PTyvm7F20LjtsOsof6B72vn6T5GMoMt_yr6QpbZ5TzI_w9zvRiyFosdcVbv4vKjWIn7wKcl_bPiUiLyvtb6HefaH8Y-HMzo5hKnhzuAxyRfGCM13-CDHSZT5xr5B8grs3Wh9fxeY3/s1600/Caista.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This makes more sense, though. If you can find one cheap, snap it up. Or call me, we're in the market.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RGYw0k7YI9zKTMZXRAjM0d_fNGNjTzzvr2ylKdZlLDzLUOm-k1CzbAuBf_cebkoDL0tQvFZdsCiVpl-wUw1d_SYvQPdjtjmckHGN_KPcjgqOQXej-KyDAmYoAhNYP3WRO5GeLk5NQHAg/s1600/Truck+cap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RGYw0k7YI9zKTMZXRAjM0d_fNGNjTzzvr2ylKdZlLDzLUOm-k1CzbAuBf_cebkoDL0tQvFZdsCiVpl-wUw1d_SYvQPdjtjmckHGN_KPcjgqOQXej-KyDAmYoAhNYP3WRO5GeLk5NQHAg/s1600/Truck+cap.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your next vehicle if you're going to be a seasonal. Truck and cap. Start looking for one now.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLWFrJjF25BjrDDPOcPmiqKSNC2uAxYt962hMPbLgPwvo8mUYhl2f38qnZf0bwas0lA_AyFmHC9iDBEYEQi8liQX72tuIuSFIJm7UubIkUrSSXlQXRTu3IfZfcrvfW-Q_MMg7mFVmB_ao/s1600/hermit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLWFrJjF25BjrDDPOcPmiqKSNC2uAxYt962hMPbLgPwvo8mUYhl2f38qnZf0bwas0lA_AyFmHC9iDBEYEQi8liQX72tuIuSFIJm7UubIkUrSSXlQXRTu3IfZfcrvfW-Q_MMg7mFVmB_ao/s1600/hermit.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How your housing might feel.......</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ul></ul>
<br />
Next installment. . . What to expect for living conditions. Stay tuned to your televisiony sets.<br />
<br />
P.S. Ranger peeps, send me your suggestions for seasonal survival... I'll add it into future posts. Send pics of you being a seasonal doing something funny. Or of your living quarters. Or maybe meaningful. Or arresting someone. Or maybe connecting your visitors to the resource, you know, rangery stuff.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-10552830914660348662012-04-10T15:37:00.003-04:002012-04-12T22:26:34.088-04:00Me--A Girl Scout for 5050 years that is.<br />
<br />
My sister and I ventured into my attic today. All of my Mom's 10,000 photos are stored here. When Mom and Dad died, we didn't have the emotional strength to pitch the pics or go through them either. They're kinda organized, pics on those shelves, slides (literally thousands of them) on those shelves, other ephemera over there.....<br />
<br />
Sis has been doing family history on Ancestry and has found all sorts of completely useless stuff. She hasn't been able to find out much about our Dad's father. We've always known his background was sketchy and it just keeps getting sketchier.... oh well.<br />
<br />
But I went up looking for our old Girl Scout stuff. I found my badge sash---my over-achiever even as a little kid--sash. I don't have my uniform which actually saddens me. I have 2 Brownie uniforms, one of which was probably my sister's. I also have my Mom's adult leader dress, and I'd give my eye teeth to be able to fit into it!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6QqHB88dTkbXV7x4RuBHwrO_yHkDQpjCN3sK5cRM5-qLvJwvojUr0MrLx1RNyCQhAPjIM05YQA_Vt-Ni_oSoYibJGrrpjn2dfLDB5fQo3jmGld6t-JXQRT967HFKXzWGbQ3f1qc63VhG/s1600/GS+Alice+Sentinel+Trib.+1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6QqHB88dTkbXV7x4RuBHwrO_yHkDQpjCN3sK5cRM5-qLvJwvojUr0MrLx1RNyCQhAPjIM05YQA_Vt-Ni_oSoYibJGrrpjn2dfLDB5fQo3jmGld6t-JXQRT967HFKXzWGbQ3f1qc63VhG/s640/GS+Alice+Sentinel+Trib.+1986.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Origianal pic by my Mom, and the article from the Sentinel-Tribune paper, where Mom was a reporter. My sis on the left.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcq7M-AnLaG4Xknz8slaoJURIcjB3gYkd0L9eDk_BM6v4m4PePKUwr2tH4hk5jN7I9reQ-4tGFPwan6w6HJeFcljqKh8EaUV9sIZ9f9BDTMNINFR3joLiLxg5ccQoNpTli3PxWtAVb9j1/s1600/GS+DeVeaux+1965:1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcq7M-AnLaG4Xknz8slaoJURIcjB3gYkd0L9eDk_BM6v4m4PePKUwr2tH4hk5jN7I9reQ-4tGFPwan6w6HJeFcljqKh8EaUV9sIZ9f9BDTMNINFR3joLiLxg5ccQoNpTli3PxWtAVb9j1/s640/GS+DeVeaux+1965:1.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Junior Troop, DeVeaux Elementary School, Toledo OH, 1965</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7yyOYk4f2rUPStjdtRlD4jGSAqg9camrg8MEAX5EO-EtuI-OWWVyhPfUtD8_WUV2_8Hd7A0_fGJTRsuxcLCoU4DpftHrYINmkPoHoSGLKLT8vJcBllRquBeQuHa9N-SwL1xm_x6cg_xNh/s1600/GS+DeVeaux+1965:2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7yyOYk4f2rUPStjdtRlD4jGSAqg9camrg8MEAX5EO-EtuI-OWWVyhPfUtD8_WUV2_8Hd7A0_fGJTRsuxcLCoU4DpftHrYINmkPoHoSGLKLT8vJcBllRquBeQuHa9N-SwL1xm_x6cg_xNh/s640/GS+DeVeaux+1965:2.jpg" width="462" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More from my Junior Troop, 1965</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZervjWx1ffRiQ7-9oms44dfAveMlJZsTkwXGOEQs1F6viPa4LxlN67dJdEbDfyGuqQ9hyBLXyKeefLe6ZlpRtNHVSQfp4I2AEanBL8Q11vRSDyJXeXhUwk92oU5LkDK-Ps1XwrTOnF4G/s1600/GS+DeVeaux+1965:3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZervjWx1ffRiQ7-9oms44dfAveMlJZsTkwXGOEQs1F6viPa4LxlN67dJdEbDfyGuqQ9hyBLXyKeefLe6ZlpRtNHVSQfp4I2AEanBL8Q11vRSDyJXeXhUwk92oU5LkDK-Ps1XwrTOnF4G/s640/GS+DeVeaux+1965:3.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the left--my Dad singing songs for us at a sleepover at my house.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZb1sOZXZbYG7bhuHycJbRzb6UAKRQlNFM1e07_0FcNoNc4189cQF-xXk-7c-WEquQymy_4gkcqZQ_-pt2E7Ds1L8D5T9r2_u7m1ZUila6zW77QOcQi5ob_asSxKCGON4GfDBJqzV8fhxg/s1600/GS+DeVeaux+1965:4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZb1sOZXZbYG7bhuHycJbRzb6UAKRQlNFM1e07_0FcNoNc4189cQF-xXk-7c-WEquQymy_4gkcqZQ_-pt2E7Ds1L8D5T9r2_u7m1ZUila6zW77QOcQi5ob_asSxKCGON4GfDBJqzV8fhxg/s640/GS+DeVeaux+1965:4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp cooking in the vacant lot next to our house. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRUk2CLcbGO8LUboLZtsnUMbr9AjKdvgP-NoaPsX5-K90Z9fno8ih-wJaeQTmcqRaK9G3saVXRU-lGLdBAOyNH1CqecSXkrZwwZqMC__tgBM93JC6Aoy0dsCPv_E9ONChr0lyuYaCbVOL/s1600/GS+DeVeaux+1965:5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRUk2CLcbGO8LUboLZtsnUMbr9AjKdvgP-NoaPsX5-K90Z9fno8ih-wJaeQTmcqRaK9G3saVXRU-lGLdBAOyNH1CqecSXkrZwwZqMC__tgBM93JC6Aoy0dsCPv_E9ONChr0lyuYaCbVOL/s640/GS+DeVeaux+1965:5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On right, my Sis and Me--I'm the dorky looking Junior......</td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-87656649982997242432012-04-06T17:31:00.001-04:002012-10-22T10:24:30.175-04:00Rangering Intensely<style>
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<b>INTENSE</b><b> and INTENSIVE</b></div>
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<b><i>Intensive</i></b></div>
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Part of speech: Adjective</div>
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Definition: Forceful, severe, passionate</div>
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Synonyms: Acute, agonizing, all-consuming, ardent, biting, bitter, burning, close, concentrated, consuming, cutting, deep, diligent, eager, earnest, energetic, exaggerated, exceptional, excessive, exquisite, extraordinary, extreme, fanatical, fervent, fervid, fierce, forcible, full, great, hard, harsh, heightened, impassioned, intensified, intensive, keen, marked, piercing, powerful, profound, protracted, pungent, sharp, shrill, stinging, strained, strong, supreme, undue, vehement, violent, vivid, zealous. </div>
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Notes: emotions are intense while sustained application or attention is intensive, intense arrives from within and intensive come from outside, (it is imposed or assumed)</div>
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Antonyms: calm, dull, low-key, mild moderate.* </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amphitheater at Theodore Roosevelt NP (South Unit), Medora, North Dakota.</td></tr>
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I've tried to explain to folks about the reason I say I've worked for 6 years with the National Park Service. In actuality, I have 26 months with them. I've tried saying I have 6 seasons, but for most folks that doesn't really register--sounds like a long gig, like a hunting season. (I have a friend who writes that in 12 years she's worked 19 seasons~~true that.)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3n-lFCPztAVgR75RYOMgY7HienySlt4wJPmoD2So6iayA9rnwX84qxS5TJ0xG-D_WSgmVN56OKs8ueJgMKaMHgm9_LPOaxWd59aMSWbckAk56v8ukXwzstUOiy_NCMV5S8fXAIPWdWKV/s1600/100_3729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3n-lFCPztAVgR75RYOMgY7HienySlt4wJPmoD2So6iayA9rnwX84qxS5TJ0xG-D_WSgmVN56OKs8ueJgMKaMHgm9_LPOaxWd59aMSWbckAk56v8ukXwzstUOiy_NCMV5S8fXAIPWdWKV/s320/100_3729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telling a hilarious story on the Historic Islands Boat tour at Acadia, 2005. That's not our Hinkley in the background. Sigh.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Yesterday, I decided to do the math:</div>
I've worked 26 months for NPS.<br />
Therefore, I've worked 104 weeks. <br />
I've averaged 3 programs per day.<br />
I work 5 days per week.<br />
Therefore, I've presented 15 programs per week. <br />
<br />
Therefore, I've presented 1,560 programs.<br />
That's a hella lotta programs.<br />
<br />
If you just look at my time at Yellowstone, it ups the average:<br />
I've worked at YNP for 60 weeks.<br />
I've averaged 4 programs a day there, for 20 programs per week.<br />
Therefore, I've presented 1,200 programs just at YNP alone.<br />
<br />
I did a remarkably unscientific check of the programs presented through our local park district. By extrapolating the stats, I can say with complete honesty that I've given more programs during my "seasons" than my counterparts here give in a year. <br />
<br />
Another factor we look at is visitor contacts. This includes anybody I speak with regarding park stuff while I'm on duty. I know for a plain and simple fact that my 4 months worth of visitor contacts is waaaaay more than any one here in my home park records in a 12 month period, but I've crunched the numbers anywho. At THRO, we had half a million visitors each year, most of them in the summer, and a very high percentage of those folks came through the Visitor Center. Acadia's visitor numbers are much higher, but I only had to work the desk for a total of 5 hours per week (thank goodness), but did at least 2 hikes every day, along with roving in between hikes, thus lowering my own visitor contact numbers. But the sheer volume of visitors at YNP (including 2 of my 4 summers that had record-breaking attendance), really gooses my visitor contact numbers through the roof. Okay, so by my calculations, I've personally spoken with over<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">35,000 people </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At bear jams, and</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2p00M3axElxvE5Wd-8AgG8_C8Y5-DdObgVoj3c0w76qph4ZPGDxOg0TN92mBZ9kiu4JtXZaSeWlBub199UvN_UJAhxdt6mQlBDhk_6oTmgTILC18UL8jtozF0m946AYBoC2wejq_MQrcR/s1600/IMG_2332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2p00M3axElxvE5Wd-8AgG8_C8Y5-DdObgVoj3c0w76qph4ZPGDxOg0TN92mBZ9kiu4JtXZaSeWlBub199UvN_UJAhxdt6mQlBDhk_6oTmgTILC18UL8jtozF0m946AYBoC2wejq_MQrcR/s320/IMG_2332.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">elk jams. I loved that these gals using the motorized chairs were able to see the elk without having to be in a car.</td></tr>
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in 104 weeks. Oh, heck, that's only 336 and a half people a week, or 5,833 people per summer. (Mind you this number doesn't include people who attended programs~~that's an additional number). Last summer our wild "Wildlife Ranger," who roved all day long, calculated that he spoke with over 10,000 people last summer alone. Yep, his assessment was spot on: he's a one-man, moving Visitor Center. And mind you, my 35,000 number averages in Acadia, where my numbers were much lower. If we were to take just my YNP numbers it really, seriously jacks my numbers up. Just imagine what the numbers are for folks at Old Faithful National Park..... hee hee hee.<br />
<br />
Now factor in the living conditions . . . in my case making arrangements for here at home and boys' schools, traveling 1700 miles twice a year, hauling a small cargo trailer and 1 to 2 teenagers and/or husband . . . packing for said trips, pretty much by myself . . . then living in a very nice but tiny 644 sq. foot apartment, yeah with all 4 of us . . . learning about an ever-changing environment each spring . . . and the addition of learning and figuring out the personalities of 10 to 12 new peeps in my duty station, and associated places like OF, YA, the campground, and the Chamber . . . <br />
<br />
Now figure out how much money I end up with. Start with my base pay, subtract taxes, housing, extra utilities, and travel, and ta-daa, I get a $3000 "profit." That's the frosting on the cake. Yum.<br />
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Neighbors are kinda pushy.....</div>
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So to make another short story long . . .<br />
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Working in such an environment, we cram way more into those 4 months than most folks cram into a year. <br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Yep, it's very forceful, severe, passionate, acute, agonizing, all-consuming, ardent, biting, bitter, burning, close, concentrated, consuming, cutting, deep, diligent, eager, earnest, energetic, exaggerated, exceptional, excessive, exquisite, extraordinary, extreme, fanatical, fervent, fervid, fierce, forcible, full, great, hard, harsh, heightened, impassioned, intensified, intensive, keen, marked, piercing, powerful, profound, protracted, pungent, sharp, shrill, stinging, strained, strong, supreme, undue, vehement, violent, vivid, and zealous.*</span> <br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-small;"><i>*Thanks to thesaurus.com for their help.</i></span> </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-87184347352704290292012-04-05T19:13:00.000-04:002012-10-22T10:21:16.343-04:00Tough Week for the Mad CrewOur Madison Junction crew suffered two horrific deaths this week.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, our Supervisory LE Ranger died from an apparent heart attack. Folks who saw him the day before said he looked and seemed fine. <br />
<br />
Ranger G. was in his second year at Madison, having been in other Yellowstone duty stations for at least 20 years. I never asked him how old he was, but since LEs must retire at 57, I know he was younger than I am. He replaced another ranger who aged out and currently lives in Bozeman. It's been a privilege to work with both of these guys--they are truly professionals in every way.<br />
<br />
Ranger G. was a very quiet, keep it to yourself kinda guy. He didn't come to our Mad Crew parties (usually had the bad luck to be on duty those nights), but he knew that these get-togethers are good for everyone. Some LE rangers think we interps are completely useless, tree-hugging liberals who are more of the problem than the solution. G made it very clear that we were all team-mates. Since we share the ranger station with LE and Resource there could have been conflicts, but there never were. He set the tone for the whole Madison operation, and his tone was one of "make it happen, do your job, no drama, and be helpful." He recognized and understood that interps can actually <i>be</i> helpful, which isn't the case in some parks. He appreciated that we wanted to help in areas that really weren't in our domain (like traffic control) and made sure we had the skills to help effectively. Ranger D., his predecessor, held the same views, so when G started, we didn't have any great shocks or shake-ups in standard ops. Yea!<br />
<br />
He was at our helm in 2010, when convicted murderers and escapees from Arizona were in the park. He made sure we were all aware of the situation (after the US Marshals finally informed our LE staff--a giant cluster**** all the way) and kept an extra eye out for us. His way wasn't to try to scare the bejeezus out of us, but to be sure we had the facts and never speculated on the gossip.<br />
<br />
He accepted the fact that we didn't get our summer seasonal LE at Mad, and that we'd have to rely on the OF staff for back-up... and mind you, it's a 30 minute drive from OF to Mad, even in a cruiser going lights and sirens. He made it work. He made it work last summer, when the new perm ranger was at FLETC all summer, and for all intent and purposes, G worked the busiest intersection of the park as the Lone Ranger. And he did it without griping or sniping. He knew what to do and he did it. <br />
<br />
Lots of folks didn't get to know him very well, because on first blush, he seemed very quiet and shy. Quiet yes, shy no. And like so many good rangers, he had a quiet, very droll sense of humor. Last spring the Madison River, along which the West Entrance Road runs, flowed over all it banks, completely covering the land that the bison usually used for spring forage. The Interagency Bison Management Plan calls for us to push all the bison back into the park who have left the Madison Valley for the lower elevations and easier access to grass. When the date for them to be hazed back in approached, he and my boss were in the office discussing how they were going to convince the animals to move. My boss suggested that the bison would need life jackets, and without missing a beat, G said, "Yeah, and rangers with no fingerprints will be the ones to put the jackets on the 'em." Never cracked a smile, just continued on about his work. My boss and I were laughing our heads off. You never knew what he would come up with next, but it would be good.<br />
<br />
In her latest book, <i>The Rope,</i> Nevada Barr had a character named Ranger Steve Gluck. He reminded me in so many ways of the real Ranger G. Very, very reassuring and steady-eddy all the way. Completely even keeled in his dealings with happy visitors, drunken campers, nuisance bears, lost children, and serial killers. A professional all the way. Yep, he was a Ranger's Ranger.<br />
<br />
And three days before Ranger G's death, we received word that one of the young men from the Mad Resource Management crew had been killed in a truck wreck near his home in Florida. KK literally lit up a room when he came in. He loved his job and did it with enthusiasm. He worked hard and played hard. He always had a kind word and usually a funny, and often bombastic story to tell. He was tons of fun to hang with. Life at 23 is so lively and joyous, and to realize that his life, so full of potential, is over has been a heart breaker. As a parent I cannot begin to imagine the trauma that his folks and family are going through now. One of the Resource interns lives near his family and will attend the services tomorrow. We've asked him to express our deepest sorrow to his folks.<br />
<br />
Yeah, it's been a tough week.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-5936732127106574912012-03-31T23:18:00.000-04:002012-03-31T23:18:03.841-04:00Quilting Down the Home StretchAs I mentioned in my last post, I've gotta get my buns in gear and finish up my BOM blocks. I was half a month behind, and had I not worked like a fiend today, I would end up being a month and a half behind tomorrow! (What an idiotic sentence.) These are from the free BOM Craftsy class. I'm trying to only use the Christmas stash that I own. Fail. I bought a couple of new slabs 'o' fabric last week at the shop hop. My bad. Some are with the cream background and some are with white backgrounds. <i>(I just uploaded the pics and they aren't behaving.... I got a note that said I'm out of picasa space and I need to buy more. Is this why so many of you have switched to other providers???)</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_f2Db-wrJww-7LJt_A80-K2xVyFjCdFtNw5VGGg67XkcoPWLZwEguNdL9ovfy0z4A5Cn6odTGKvT3Sb-Y1tnUe1X4a0Ms2nSF5xMoeubzx-WDyRDFgTRmsJr9gBfeflipdQMxklAun-R/s1600/IMG_9697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_f2Db-wrJww-7LJt_A80-K2xVyFjCdFtNw5VGGg67XkcoPWLZwEguNdL9ovfy0z4A5Cn6odTGKvT3Sb-Y1tnUe1X4a0Ms2nSF5xMoeubzx-WDyRDFgTRmsJr9gBfeflipdQMxklAun-R/s200/IMG_9697.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feb Block #1a HSTs, Finished last Feb.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw77tKLjrg-hYKY9EztfCZsiot2zTHBwu-KlV-xpK_oDWrrXp8Jq5GPnFdUvL5oqPd72r-55zYwFCIEZ5fAAUQ0CLG5OOhw7tLcaiesPTwy1UcDgCGDkukrmibrHincVUROrYjoaTXJz0M/s1600/IMG_9698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw77tKLjrg-hYKY9EztfCZsiot2zTHBwu-KlV-xpK_oDWrrXp8Jq5GPnFdUvL5oqPd72r-55zYwFCIEZ5fAAUQ0CLG5OOhw7tLcaiesPTwy1UcDgCGDkukrmibrHincVUROrYjoaTXJz0M/s200/IMG_9698.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feb Block #1b, same fabric, different placement. I don't actually like the way these fabrics look in these blocks. Done with whites. Meh.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XhnOYfKysTl2T-rQ0cTGBIg_8anF4qmMDoWF_72co37AZ-QvAaFh0YqoNGWWoZHQpKtGp8z2GTK2tHtiDTRyM3BB5Jad-tPgiN7WESJaS8KiUjMlhbu7sv28i5lqhB3qavvzJhK-KW2Z/s1600/IMG_9705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XhnOYfKysTl2T-rQ0cTGBIg_8anF4qmMDoWF_72co37AZ-QvAaFh0YqoNGWWoZHQpKtGp8z2GTK2tHtiDTRyM3BB5Jad-tPgiN7WESJaS8KiUjMlhbu7sv28i5lqhB3qavvzJhK-KW2Z/s320/IMG_9705.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feb Blocks 2, Chunky Chevron, done with creams. Pretty nice. HSTs the regular way.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv00HVchNudoGeAPpax6KXb1JebCfDjToIAcIGjBWlldYjj8LFB3iAiwwuCr0YgEYrgenjMVdPCFs7PQqNvm4Cd4v2ja_JLdyDPqSfpWkgIP876dIjN2MeHNWGNjT8tqIj1lpdU3t6zhOk/s1600/IMG_9696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv00HVchNudoGeAPpax6KXb1JebCfDjToIAcIGjBWlldYjj8LFB3iAiwwuCr0YgEYrgenjMVdPCFs7PQqNvm4Cd4v2ja_JLdyDPqSfpWkgIP876dIjN2MeHNWGNjT8tqIj1lpdU3t6zhOk/s320/IMG_9696.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March Blocks, Foundation pieced strings, creams. Pretty fun. Still didn't match up on the cream diamond, but not awful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvRlZAHFGgMGnEOVgvajfNgI-tdvtwUBeLv_mEvF3_RJkAStuTxtTeo-ylXULa9xIPSTITb7SxagyGnWAwtNXHDx8comG8S5CPnYOpU1UKf6GckcT9XtgPWOo-u9cE92mo7k0tPylDkRR/s1600/IMG_9708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvRlZAHFGgMGnEOVgvajfNgI-tdvtwUBeLv_mEvF3_RJkAStuTxtTeo-ylXULa9xIPSTITb7SxagyGnWAwtNXHDx8comG8S5CPnYOpU1UKf6GckcT9XtgPWOo-u9cE92mo7k0tPylDkRR/s320/IMG_9708.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March Blocks, Foundation piece strings, called Modified something, with whites. Very busy and very not properly matched. Arg. Remind me not to sew when I'm tired.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405921983904881960.post-29883276672073657512012-03-29T11:00:00.001-04:002012-10-22T10:18:10.723-04:00Packing Already? Seriously?Yep, I am.<br />
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Just like the birds that sense the longer day, the bison that move to find the new spring grasses, and baseball fans who do what ever it is baseball fans do, I start packing with the longer day and warmer temps.<br />
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Last week's mind-blowing record highs and fantabulous weather started it. I was looking for a nice summer top to wear last week, and ended up packing my summer street clothes. Every year I tell myself I'm not going to take as much and every year I don't do that. Maybe this year....<br />
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I also ended up packing most of my books, because they had over taken the laundry room/office. I was looking for one little thing and ended up re-packing and condensing several boxes. I have cut down on books, knowing that the Mad Crew has a goodly supply of stuff, but I still have my own field guides and geyser guides. Plus I try to take some non-parkie stuff for those few occasions when I need to get my head out of the park.<br />
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Anywho, I spent most of yesterday doing paperwork crap for the boys. I've said before that I'm so thankful the safety net is out there for them, but it comes with tons of paperwork. I'm hoping to get the info into a more universally useful format. I have some of it under control, but now that I use my dumb phone for more and more info, it means adding it to the phone the old-fashioned way.... one entry at a time. No nifty linking cables from the Mac to the phone. There's an iPhone in my future, but since I've already decided what this year's earnings are going to, and it'll be expensive... the phone may not happen for another couple of years. And by then, I'll need a new laptop..... I am thinking about getting an iPad for play and keep this laptop for more work/life related things. Maybe.....<br />
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Anywho, with the changes in our lives, I'll be chained to paperwork, meetings, and more paperwork for the boys in the next few weeks. I sorta have this naive hope that we won't have to do such extensive paperwork again, unless we end up with a bunch of ultra-conservative morons in state and national government, who believe the best way to balance a budget is on the backs of my kids and/or at the expense of a clean, safe environment. Could be a double whammy.<br />
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So to make a short story long, I'm thinking I won't have much blogging time for the next few weeks. I love reading your adventures, but can't always leave a note, but know that I'm with ya! I do have a few quilty things to finish up, along with a flamingo outfit, but then it will be time to 'close' up the crafty corner. (Did I mention that in lieu of summer clothes, I'm taking more sewing stuff??? :) )<br />
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I did get DH's 'crappy' quilt bound and done! I won a batik jelly roll, then added leftovers from our giant bed quilt and FTD's log cabin quilt to make it big enough for using on a sofa or up at the lake. I double sewed corners and such to make it nearly indestructible so he can trash it all he wants.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKQ7WVUSvu921xCDJ5HvBO4U5Dgc3KYa8wrF0izjWwhYZdFb3mLZtQstU_kLWjHKfMulX-2PVqQ26ZI5NLa06PVs_o3BfTP7hkpzs4pTONE2DEqAdp-3PcLhIYnM8tScvk9jKziyZj6sa/s1600/IMG_9691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKQ7WVUSvu921xCDJ5HvBO4U5Dgc3KYa8wrF0izjWwhYZdFb3mLZtQstU_kLWjHKfMulX-2PVqQ26ZI5NLa06PVs_o3BfTP7hkpzs4pTONE2DEqAdp-3PcLhIYnM8tScvk9jKziyZj6sa/s320/IMG_9691.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DH's stripy quilt--the one he can beat to heck. And I suspect finding it laying around outside will be the norm.</td></tr>
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I also make a mini-quilt that I thought I'd enter in the <a href="http://www.saudervillage.org/Creativity/quilt_show.asp">Sauder Village (Ohio) Quilt Festival</a>. The Challenge this was to use Ohio Star~~ 'natch one of my favs~~using Bear Essentials fabric in one of several suggested colorways. I bought the starter pack in fall colors, which looked sumptuous in the store and after I ironed them. Then I started messing with them on my computer. The other contest stipulations were use at least 4 Ohio Stars, and one colorway, and one neutral, also from Bear Essentials. Well, I worked and worked and for the life of me couldn't find a combo I liked. So I decided screw it, I'll just make and enter in the plain old category. So I worked and worked, and stitched and ripped and by golly every single point was perfect! And you know 'perfect' is not my long suit, I really don't have a patience for it. So here 'tis: I call it <i>Bearly Up to the Challenge</i>~~get it???<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RDgLqKhYBks0d4i3a6RBprF5QyjElnt3Q6NAMzGrZYP5t2A8nLam2oPjwRBFWOWyVgd8BbR8XRbs0SBjC-y7REwz716un0x3JPjJb93fzSj2W3ZUd9WXL95ccrsyCkpvTsVolRBj6hD8/s1600/IMG_9686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RDgLqKhYBks0d4i3a6RBprF5QyjElnt3Q6NAMzGrZYP5t2A8nLam2oPjwRBFWOWyVgd8BbR8XRbs0SBjC-y7REwz716un0x3JPjJb93fzSj2W3ZUd9WXL95ccrsyCkpvTsVolRBj6hD8/s320/IMG_9686.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bearly Up to the Challenge</i>, by yours truly, 3/25/12. Mostly Bear Essentials fabric.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKgLdZQmk2kMvpTKOUKU8-HzNS0kmOvhdOI0Q5oygs1gpVaCinzQDTFKjf8dwKf3MQPIa__x84S6bTHJv-mAmlRy6aq-Y7YOF5gq6kkB_Edrs1gPaG9dANRvK1s6vcyyYnmp7MzQirQ3d/s1600/IMG_9687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpKgLdZQmk2kMvpTKOUKU8-HzNS0kmOvhdOI0Q5oygs1gpVaCinzQDTFKjf8dwKf3MQPIa__x84S6bTHJv-mAmlRy6aq-Y7YOF5gq6kkB_Edrs1gPaG9dANRvK1s6vcyyYnmp7MzQirQ3d/s320/IMG_9687.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The background fabric is Timeless Treasures, Are We There Yet? Line. It says things like, "Don't feed the bears," "Are we there yet," "Take a hike," "Pack it in, pack it out" and stuff. Get it.... BEARS...?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZWs5Ls56KO6-qP5-M5r2UlidOl0h-MURcMhDfwDa6_l1SZwcjugIzKQzx8NbODQUR_-xQw8oJakUY0Ui33WOlXa8YNbmzD1FWAWB_2G-njDVbPJxrHY6hEEaHaUBIJSURN0uv7fu7Ox8/s1600/IMG_9689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZWs5Ls56KO6-qP5-M5r2UlidOl0h-MURcMhDfwDa6_l1SZwcjugIzKQzx8NbODQUR_-xQw8oJakUY0Ui33WOlXa8YNbmzD1FWAWB_2G-njDVbPJxrHY6hEEaHaUBIJSURN0uv7fu7Ox8/s320/IMG_9689.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will ya look at those points? All of them!! Perfect!!</td></tr>
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Not being a precision or even a good quilter, I just went simple, simple classic quilting on it. Yea for me! Then I went back online to get the registration forms and read the following:<br />
<div style="color: #783f04;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">REGISTRATION FOR ALL CATEGORIES EXCEPT CHALLENGE QUILTS ARE CLOSED</span>.</div>
<br />
Are you kidding me? Why the hell didn't I read the big print first? Oh, because it was buried several pages after all the other info. Crap. So now I have a beautiful little quilt that needs a really special home. And there's only one I can think of, and that's my West Yell friend Lois, who hand quilted FTD's quilt. She'll be so happy! And I'm so proud that it's so darn good!<br />
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Today, I'm back to PT, then off to BadAmy's to help unload the few leftovers from the show she did last weekend. She did fabulously well, and we're just tickled pink for her.<br />
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Tomorrow, back to the paperwork/meeting grind.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13102684933543382923noreply@blogger.com2