Hit the Ground RUNNING.

Life has been crazy. I'm finally getting back to normal, sorta. Have yet to finish cleaning out the camper, but have made progress. I'm so tired and soar once I get home from work that I haven't been able to get much done. I believe my big goal for the weekend will be changing the water in the hot tub so that i can soak away some of my owies and perhaps get more done. Kitties are adjusting to being at home, and Oscar is LOVING having space to fly in (wing trimming comes soon).

Scott's made several batches of jam this week, and I've found an awesome breadmaker recipe, for amish bread (lol, amish bread in an electric bread machine). Not much can bead fresh home made bread slathered with butter and fresh pear jam. Oscar approves. Scott's had a bunch of use it or lose it vacation time this week, so he bought a couple computer games (so I've had a LOT of time to myself. Fortunately I've had more than a little catching up to do and haven't had a hard time keepin myself entertained. A lot happens in 3 months.

I'm gonna go find some kind of leftovers for dinner, tuck Oscar into his cage (he's helping me by sitting on top of the computer screen right now), and then start a batch of laundry. Should be just about all the mobility my back can handle for one night. Grr.

Y'all be good!
-m

Back to Flowers!

Today I reported for work at Tulip Tree. It was awesome! I love being a florist. And though a bit rusty, I haven't forgotten what I know. And tomorrow, Oscar gets to go with me. He really loved the flower shop over Mother's day

I really miss the canyon though. Had a hard time sleeping last night because of all the NOISE here. And though I think I'll very quickly appreciate my job being a metered specific thing, I'm actually missing my work coming to me, and not having to stress a time schedule (other than the gate).

We have a huge project getting the camper cleaned out, and I still have to go get my bike this weekend (weather permitting). But when that's done I believe we're gonna go play a bit before the season's over. Wendover, the geode beds, antelope island, and whatever else comes up.

I'm about 8 kinds of worn out tonight.
Be well y'all.
-m

Just a Quick Update

I'm camped in Perception on my way home. Many bitter sweets leaving Willows. But my awesome pickup campers the Stephensons came to help me finish the season and get moved home. They're awesome people and I'm looking forward to camping with them in the future. They have a Lance camper, dually truck, motorcycles, fast cars, and cats....gee we have almost nothin' in common. *NOT* They're awesome! I'm having all kinds of feel bads about leaving my canyon home and losing my daily contact with Thom & Judy, and other AL&L people. Not to mention the neat campers I keep meeting. I have so many permanent friends now that began as campers. And the cool thing is that I can go camp with them because they're CAMPERS. So Scott & I don't have to drive each other crazy camping by our selves...not that we have a big problem with that. Having other people to try our food experiments on is always good. Sounds like we're gonna go camp Antelope Island with our NY friends the Whitmans sometime soon. Mike was a chef for a while, so you can imagine us starving to death on that trip. Or not. Mike has officially relegated me to cobbler duty when he's around. I don't mind at all. In fact it's kinda fun, and very yummy. Collard greens and campfire ham have been promised. I have discovered this week that camping when I'm NOT in charge ROCKS. Not that I didn't have a lot of fun hosting. I'll be back.

Running out of battery and didn't bring my cord over from the camper, so I'm gonna end here. Pictures soon.
-m

And The Countdown Begins

Found out yesterday that I'll be leaving the canyon sooner than I expected. Not really a bad thing, but a little bittersweet. It's really been a grand adventure, and I'm going to miss all the cool things that have become part of my daily life up here. I will NOT however miss getting up at 6:45 every morning to open the gate, or going out after 10 at night to tell campers to be quiet. I will miss the wildlife, the cottontail bunnies I run into almost every morning, and the moose who wanders through my camp almost every week, the wild cats that have taken to leaving me presents, my cats pestering me to open the blinds so they can watch smellavision every morning, and the humming birds dive bombing my head to tell me that the feeders are empty. I might even miss the damn raccoons.

This has really been an awesome summer. But I'm ready to go home I think. It'll be nice to have clothes that don't smell of woodsmoke, and a real live couch I can snuggle into and power any ol time without worrying about running a generator or how much sun the solar is getting. I'm also looking forward to being a florist again. That's a creative outlet I miss.

I haven't decided exactly what my plan is for going home, I'd really like to go camp somewhere just for fun for a few days, maybe Monte Cristo, or even just camp at Perception for a few days. Camping without being "in charge" seems like an awful lot of fun at this point. We've also talked about cashing in on a couple of my Wendover freebee coupons and spend a few days over there. Might be real nice to have someone else clean up, cook, and just not have to worry about stuff.

Anyhow, I'm counting the days, and packing up for the move. I'm a little melancholy and a lot tired. But all good things come to an end, and there will be another adventure soon enough. Perhaps I can even work things out to get back here next year. That would be AWESOME.

I'll try to post again soon, but if I don't it's because I'm busy getting moved. Perhaps when I get home I'll have time and bandwidth to post all the cool pictures I've taken up here.

Y'all take care and keep smilin'!
-m

A GRAND Adventure.

I had a grand weekend, predictable campers, good weather, and Scott's help/company. I tubed the river (nearly floated right into my friend the moose), had a good visit with Glenn's family, spent time around the campfire with my new friends Jim & Gerry, and had a lovely snuggle with the kitties while it rained this morning.

Unfortunately it couldn't last forever. I had to deal with a rather nasty situation involving the previous camp host this morning. I believe that she was mostly just upset about not having her job back (not my call) and nothing could have kept her happy. Even still I really didn't enjoy having someone screaming profanity and calling me names at the top of their lungs. It was the first and I hope the last time I will have to call the cops to have them escort campers out. According to this woman Scott is a saint for living with me because I'm such a ***** and never clean anything. I rarely write people off completely, but GOOD RIDDANCE. She left the canyon and stopped every place she could think of to complain on her way out. I am absolutely delighted that I didn't respond to her abuse. It's a trial of my patience I wasn't sure I would pass. I did, and other than a good dose of winding down stress aches, I'm none the worse for the problem.

The weather has been gorgeous! We've had several nice mellow days this week. And the rain and thunder we got to day was beautiful as only a rains storm in the mountains can be. If I'm lucky I'll get to snuggle through another storm tomorrow. Spazz is getting a lot more comfy in the camper, and Yahzi's fine with it all as long as I remember to fill his bird feeders. I'll have to post a picture of his "smell-a-vission" set up. I'm glad they're comfy cuz I would be pretty lonely with only Oscar to keep me company. All the same I think we'll all be happy to go home at the end of the season.

Looking forward to Matt, Sara & the boys camping again this weekend. Perhaps I'll get them into the river this time.

I'm off to harvest my farmtown raspberries and then home to my campground. Hopefully I took care of all my stress for the week today. I ought to sleep well tonight anyhow.

Y'all take care & keep out of trouble!
-m

Good Folk, GOOD TIMES!

I've finally found a routine here in the canyon that works for me. Laundry, cleaning, socializing, shopping and relaxing now have a set time and place. I LOVE IT!

With Mom & Glenn in South Fork, the rest of us get to take care of our own camps. Glenn is gonna be an awesome camp host. Sounds like his kids are gonna come up to visit soon.

I had SO much fun with my nephews while they were here. Most days I don't care for kids, but nephews are fun. They helped me clean the campground, we carved soap boats, burned things in the campfire, roasted marshmallows, and generally had a good time. We also had a good visit with Matt & Sara. They're talking about coming up again to float the river (weather was a bit chilly for it this weekend) in a few weeks. I can't wait!

Mike and Lisa were here again this week. I didn't get to visit with them as much as I wanted to, but they're the kind of friends with whom visiting is pleasant but not mandatory. They had company as well (Mike's parents) and their daughter Jess was here too, so we mostly just nodded and waved and asked if each other needed anything from the store.

Also got to visit with Marv & Deb briefly, they're good folks. Crazy in a good way, like most of my friends. Hope to get more time with them.

Got a closing date for the canyon, Sept 21st. I'm both looking forward to it, and dreading it. I've had a really good time here in the canyon, and done a lot of learning and living. I'll love getting back to plumbing I don't have to maintain, and electricity. But I really don't want the summer to end. 6 more weeks isn't exactly a blink of the eyes though, so maybe I'll be ready to go home by then.

I brought Spazz & Yahzi back to the canyon with me this week, they're not as quick to adjust to the camper as Royla was, but seem to be enjoying their stay. A big plus for Yahzi has been the humming bird feeder I hung outside the bedroom window Sunday. He wakes me up every morning at 6:30 to open the blinds so he can watch his new "friends". Spazz pretends to be immune, but isn't. Judy brought me a whole bag of fresh catnip from Mike & Tiff's yard, so tonight should be pretty good night for the kittahs! I'll let you know when they come down, could be weeks. Oscar is so glad to see Spazz, he calls her and tells her all kinds of stories all day. He ignored Royla. When Spazz meows, he meows, when she hisses, he hisses, they certainly are an odd couple.

Tonight is taco night at the American Legion, a bunch of the camp hosts from the area get together every week there. It's usually a good time for all. One last chance to relax and bs before we all head into the busy weekend.

This weekend should be busier than most, there's a big hot air balloon launch in Eden this weekend. Lots of campers, lots of excitement. Kinda glad I'm gonna be up here in the canyon, not down there in the path of the balloons.

Y'all take care and keep out of trouble.
-m

Holy Heck!

What an ADVENTURE! Since my last post I've been BUSY.
Mike & Lisa (my NY friends) have been visiting and cooking for me. Mike was a chef for a long time and that boy can COOK! They also inspired me to dive into my cobbler experiments, and spend some time playing in the water. They're coming back this weekend, aw shucks.
I'm also gonna have Matt and his family in my campground.
Besides that Mom & Glenn are settling in as the camp hosts at South Fork this weekend (Russ had to leave). Should be awesome! One big disjointed family reunion. I love it!

Yesterday I found a home for Royla, very bittersweet. She's been good company for me there in the campground. But the family she's gone to are going to spoil her even more than me, and I think she'll be pretty happy. I dropped her off last night and said my goodbyes.

On my way back to the campground I was in an accident, and wrecked Truck Boat Truck...not good. But no one got hurt, and metal's replaceable (at least that's what I've been telling myself all day). Truck had to be towed, and that's been it's own can o' worms! Never EVER go to Ogden Automotive. They're con artists from what I can tell. Apparently they use some kind of magical stick to wave at a vehicle and determine it's damage level and repair costs. Cuz they gave Scott a $3,700 repair estimate and then when he asked specific questions said they would have to have their mechanic look at the truck. Isn't the mechanic supposed to be involved in assessing the damage? SCARY! Anyhow, that's a story to be continued.

Tonight I'm at home. HOME the stick and brick house where my bed and cats, and laundry machine lives. Oh and my husband, but he's mobile, so doesn't count. ;) I was planning to bike down tomorrow anyway to do the 15 things I didn't get done in the 3 days I had to prep for my camping job, but after the accident I needed to be able to get my car up the canyon so I don't have to put on 6 layers of clothes at 6:30 in the morning in order to bike down to South Fork and open the gate (that was a bit of an adventure this morning, what with the strained neck and all). So I hitched a ride with Glenn this morning and I'll drive back to the canyon tomorrow.

I miss home and love being here, but miss my canyon home like crazy, and the stuff I'm not getting done is driving me crazy. Oh well! I'm gonna enjoy my time at home though! No worrying, no stressing, just soaking up relaxation.

So tonight, I'm gonna settle in, relax, and sleep deep while kitties snuggle me.
May you all have the same blessings!
-m