Down Home

On Memorial weekend we go to the Missouri Ozarks.

I was born and lived here until I graduated from Hartville High School,

then moved to Kansas City.

These photos were taken in Douglas County, MO. My parents were born here and are buried in a little country cemetery a few miles away.

This is the old mill at Rock Bridge MO.
When my father was a young boy his family took their corn there to be ground in to meal.
The mill is now a resort where you fish for trout and pay by the pound for your catch.

The old General Store is now a restaurant.

My cousins and I met there Sunday before Memorial Day

for the delicious trout they serve.

My Father told me that my Grandfather stole a plow from here, hid it in the woods

and came back that night to carry it home 8 miles in the dark.

I'm guessing he really needed a plow, and I hope the statute of limitations will apply.

Inside the mill, now a cocktail lounge, looking out at the Rock Bridge Bank.

My cousin Doyne tells me his first checking account was there.

Another photo of the mill.

Some anglers togged up for the day. These people look really professional but some kids show up with Snoopy gear and do just fine. You can arrange to have your fish cooked for you at the restaurant. Talk about fresh!

Looking down from the mill / lounge.

If you don't feel like fishing you can sip a glass of wine and watch.

John drinking a Corona and watching.

I always feel so comfortable here.

I grew up with hills and trees and water.

Desert landscapes make me ill at ease. Flat grasslands and plains may have an austere beauty but I could never live there.

This is in my genes.

It's home.

Winston's Ordeal

Winston has been with us now since mid-October.

He has done well adjusting to a life in close quarters, accepting most of the conditions forced upon him.

He still has issues with moving day and we now travel in a carrier.

His timid nature will probably never be overcome,

and that made the following experience a real trial.

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One morning before packing up to leave, I decided to vacuum. Winston always hides from the vacuum monster and I thought he was in the closet. I ran the carpet attachment under the head of the bed where he was -- and what a cat-astrophic, panic-stricken occurrence!

Winston shot out from under the bed, headed as far as possible from the vacuum. He was going to the back of the trailer in a blur of grey, his fur standing on end from nose to tail.

I finished cleaning the bedroom and began stowing everything away for departure. Finally I got Winston's carrier ready and braced myself for the task of getting him situated.

Strangely, Winston doesn't enjoy being forced in a cage for an unknown (to him)

length of time. It makes for a frustrating game of hide-and-seek. This time I looked in all his favorite places with no luck. I looked behind the furniture and in all the little nooks but no Winston. I knew he hadn't escaped, but I absolutely could not find him. Finally, with a sinking feeling, I realized where he was.

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The television lowers behind the fireplace, and we always drop it when traveling.

Earl has gotten behind the TV several times. I think he does it just to drive us crazy. The cabinet is deep enough to elude capture if Earl flattens himself out of our reach, and he lays down there with a smirk on his face until we ignore him. When Earl gets bored he hops up on the counter and we go on. Earl is a svelte cat, and limber almost like a Slinky.

Winston is not.

.As you can see, Winston is....uhmmm....big boned. He was so starved for
so much of his life that he eats as much as he can whenever he can.

He has some new nicknames now; Fat Daddy, and lately The Grey Area.

Winston refused to jump out of the cabinet and I couldn't reach him.

He had to ride in the cabinet that day.

I didn't lower the TV all the way and hoped he wouldn't be too scared.

We took off on a three hour trip praying he'd stay put until we arrived at the lake.

As soon as we got there we climbed in the trailer and watched the slides move out.

I thought with all the moving Winston might pop out screaming

and dive back under the bed, but no. He was so traumatized he was frozen in place. His eyes were huge, and he was going nowhere!

We figured we'd leave him alone and he'd come out when he felt safe.
We left for a couple of hours, came back and no change. We left again, no change.
Late that evening I was watching TV when he tried to jump out and failed. That's when I realized he was stuck.

This shows how small an opening we had to work with.
I thought we'd have to pull the fireplace out of the woodwork, or remove the TV.
I actually tried to get the fireplace out myself, but discovered it was glued in. John was asleep and I knew I couldn't get the TV out alone. Winston was meowing and I was miserable!
He moved to a place where I could get my hand on him, but there's no loose skin on his neck to pick him up by. He weighed too much for me to lift him! By this time he'd been stuck for about 18 hours. I'd seen him try to jump out and fail three times. Finally it hit me. The counter was too slick for him to get a grip. I folded a throw from the sofa, set it next to the edge and waited.
In about 10 minutes he tried again. I jumped up and grabbed him.
FREEDOM!!!


My arm was as bruised as his feelings.


The TV cabinet has been modified.

Pomme de Terre Lake

We are currently parked at Pomme de Terre Lake in Missouri.

This is a beautiful area.

We are staying at Harbour Marina and R V Park, a fabulous place with a restaurant and very nice dock. A wedding took place there on Sunday morning.


This was taken on Saturday - a picture perfect, cloudless day.



We met our friends Tad and Noelle to spend the weekend and check out their new boat.

Tad and John in the boat.

I wish I'd taken a better shot of the boat, because it's fabulous!

The boat will do 55 mph loaded with people and coolers, so I don't plan to goad Tad when I'm on the Tube later in the summer.

This is such a nice area we are thinking about coming here after our trip to the North-East.

Fall is beautiful in the Ozarks, and Amber, Jeff and Coen could drive here easily. Of course Gaga could get to K C pretty quick too.

Sunday started out just as nice as Saturday. Tad and Noelle took us out for breakfast and a drive through the area. We stopped at a flea market and other points of interest then came back to the park so they could pack up and head back to the city.

They leave their 5th wheel here in a leased space and the boat is in a covered dock on a lift, everything tucked in safe.

It became oppressively hot that afternoon so we stayed in the air conditioning and watched satellite T V, resting after the weekend festivities. If we'd had local television on we would have known about the dangerous weather just 75 miles southwest of us. Amber called at 7pm to tell us Joplin had been hit by a deadly tornado.

Sunset on Sunday 2 hours after the tornado.

We had a little wind and thunder but no real problems.

The forecast for today is more storms.

We have decided to stay one more day here rather than go south to Springfield, where the risk seems to be a little higher.

Coen's Shopping Trip

How cute is this guy?

Coen has "Gaga" wrapped around his little finger, so of course we had to go on a shopping trip before I left town.

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While on South Padre Island we visited an aquarium and Coen was really interested. When we go to a restaurant with tropical fish Coen will hardly take time to eat,

so

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Meet Harley and Davidson!

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Coen picked out the tank, blue gravel, a plant and a pirate skull.

The ceramic dinosaur was tempting, but Arrrgh! won out.

Goldfish are more active than a Siamese Fish so they got the nod.

We are enthralled so far, and are considering a name change

to reflect how much we truly love the fish.

They may be renamed Katy and Perry.

What Tornado Alley?

This was the sky this morning at 10AM. It was dark and ominous - like a lot of the skies we've seen the last two months - but no tornadoes appeared. We haven't really had warm enough weather to stir up serious problems here. While most of the south has dealt with horrible damage and deaths, here in the mid-west we've had one of the calmest springs on record.

Since records have been kept in Kansas only three years have gone by with no tornadoes in May, and the last previous one was 1983.

We certainly aren't looking forward to riding out a tornado in the 5th wheel ... but if it happens here we have options. This RV park has a storm shelter; unusual even in a state famous for serious storms; and this shelter is a real rarity.

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Oh yeah - we're in Kansas Toto!

Notice the yellow brick road leading to the front door..

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A close up shows Toto hanging on to Dorothy's undies while shingles blow off the roof. If you click on the photo you may see the witch on her broom at the top left of the funnel cloud.
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We are leaving in two days despite the security here, going south for Memorial Day in the Ozarks with my cousins. We will meander around the lakes and visit favorite places in the hills there, arriving in Otterville Mo for a Grove family tradition.
Every year my husband's Grandfather would return to his home town on Memorial weekend to visit the cemeteries where his ancestors were buried. Family lore was passed on. We heard about how the family left Virginia to look for a better life and settled in Cooper County; and how John's Great-great-grandfather was shot and killed in Syracuse Mo for showing up in town wearing a Union belt buckle.
John's Grandfather and Father are both gone now but we can't imagine not going to Otterville for the get-together.
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A week or so later we will depart for places north, going on to our next adventure. We plan to wend our way across the North-east until we arrive at Prince Edward Island.
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I miss my grandson Coen already.

Morgan and Michael's Wedding

Morgan Elliott, our niece, was married on May 1st.

Isn't she beautiful?

The lucky groom is Michael Sobanic.

The weather forecast had a chance of rain but nature co-operated with a sunny and mild afternoon.

Morgan didn't want typical music for the ceremony, so she walked down the aisle to the theme from Romeo and Juliet.

The couple left the altar to the melody of

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"Let's get this party started!"

Me, John and our daughter Amber.

This site is the same one used by Amber and Jeff for their wedding in 2006.

Amber and Coen, who was one of the ringbearers.

Jake, who was in the Easter entry, was also a ringbearer.

The boys wouldn't pose together
but they did walk down the aisle with the ring pillows.

I thought the odds of one doing it were low and both doing it would be a miracle,

but they did it!

Nobody spiked a pillow - another possibility - but Jake did stop at the head of the aisle to demonstrate his (a) karate moves or (b) sword thrusts.
Since he called out "Hii Yah!" my money is on the karate action.

M & M

M & M candies were a part of the decor and favors.

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The Sobanics made a striking couple, the flowers and tables were beautiful

and the Mexican buffet was delicious.

The day turned out great.
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