Let the Festivities Begin!

The weekend looms large. It is Thursday and I have just policed the park for trash. Dumpster is emptied on Friday and I want all the trashcans to be at the ready. It will be a full park.

I worked on one of my ugliest, over grown gardens until nearly 3:00 today. It was overcast, but hot and humid. I was determined to make great headway and I did, but now I feel kind of queasy. I still have flag banners to hang along with red, white and blue lights. There is still tomorrow.

The burgers are all patted out. I lost count, but it was over 40 lbs of ground beef. The buns will be picked up tomorrow and we have 75 hotdogs, as well. Now I am worried we won't have enough food ........ maybe I should get more, just in case.

Saturday will begin with a golf cart-bicycle parade around 11:00. There will be fabulous prizes for the most patriotic cart and the most patriotic bike. My dogs will be riding in the lead cart and Eddie would win the most patriotic pet, but he is disqualified, since he belongs to me. Not to worry, he knows how adorable he is!

After the parade, there will be kites and washer toss, horse shoes and such to be played. I love to fly kites, so I will be out there with the kids. HeWho grills will be cooking burgers and dogs on the new smoker grill on the pavilion. We will be eating around 5:00.

After we eat I will turn everything over to Dan Smith. He will be entertaining the crowd until dark. Then the crowds will be moving to the open fields to watch HeWho lights up my life light up the sky with fireworks. I will be handing out glow in the dark necklaces and sparklers to the kids. Maybe some bomb pops and popcorn, as well.

Be prepared for lots of pictures next week. I have lights to hang and tables to decorate ........

Half A Nap?

Such a busy weekend. Had me hopping until 10 every night. Considering I am busy from the time my feet hit the floor, it should come as no surprise that I was happy to have a relatively slow day today.

So slow that I actually dozed in my chair behind the desk. I has the chair tilted back, just so, and my feet were propped up on a box under the desk. I was totally relaxed and in that pleasant state of half sleep. I heard HeWho never has all the parts he needs for any given project tell me he was "running to town".

In my lazy state, I was aware enough to want to tell him to drive (ha ha), but too lazy to actually voice it. I knew I would wake if anyone came in the store and I was low enough to not be seen. Confidant in my circumstance, I was just lolling there half asleep, a book speaking to me.

All was well ...... until HeWho likes to bumble around knocked a piece of pipe over and the sudden clanging brought me straight up and out of my chair. And then HE GOT MAD AT ME because it was somehow all my fault. Yes, I knew the pipe was there. I had every intention of attaching one of my "DO NOT PICK APPLES" signs to it and the pound it into the ground near the tree. I have no idea what he thought he was looking for, but he said he was leaving and I thought I was alone.

He took a nap yesterday and I didn't make any loud clanging noises to jolt him out of his slumber. I am now considering buy a cowbell for just such an occasion.

Bath Time

Summer has arrived and one day tumbles into the next. Endless mowing and weeding and falling into bed to sleep a few hours. I tend to wake with the sun this time of year and then stay outside as long as there is enough light to garden.

Summer will be over soon enough and I will sleep longer when the short winter days come along. I am a better pet mom during the off season. I am with them more and I am better with the whole grooming thing. I try to bathe them all once a month. A marathon of soapy wet dogs and an achy back by the time I have accomplished all four. Martha, the boy cat, makes himself scarce when he sees me pull out the dog towels from the linen closet.

Not long go I decided that the canines were long over due. The dachshunds were smelling like hounds and Wall-E smelled like he had found a carcass to rub himself in. Toni Louise keeps herself clean and rarely smells unless she gets wet in the rain. She has the most fur, though and is the hardest to rinse. She is pretty good about the soaping down part, but she gets impatient to be done during the rinsing process. But, if I don't get all that shampoo out of her coat, she is apt to have itchy "hot spots".

For the reasons mentioned I chose to bathe her first. The hounds stood at the gate to the bedroom hall and were verbal about their desire to have a bath. They love a good bath. When Toni L and I emerged from the bathroom, me soaking wet and her wrapped in a towel, Wall-E slithered away on his belly to an unknown location. I guess he thinks if he stays low to the ground I won't see him.

Cujo and Charming Eddie both enjoyed the time in the tub and ditched the towels as soon as they could to run as fast as they could in figure 8's around the living room. Eddie started to shiver and picked up his towel in his teeth and brought it to me. He likes for me to hold him until he regains a semblance of dry and is no longer shivering. Taking advantage of a good excuse to sit down, I grabbed a dry towel and complied with his wishes.

I was still sitting there when HeWho chlorinates the pool came in. Eddie was sleeping against my chest and I just didn't have the heart to wake him to go bathe Wall-E. HeWho will help me bathe the canines from time to time by taking on the duties of drying them, offered to bathe Wall-E.

Wall-E does not enjoy the process of becoming clean any more that he likes to have his toenails clipped. He tolerates it because he knows better than to argue with me. I had to put Eddie down to help catch Wall-E and decided that I might need to offer assistance.

You would have thought my husband had never bathed a dog. He looked at me with his hands out and asked what to do next after I heaved the mutt into the tub. He informed me that he could not kneel on his bum knee and I informed him that I did not kneel, either. I bent over. With Wall-E, it is best to be in a position to lunge after him when he tries to escape. I half-heartedly offered to take over, but he insisted on finishing the task. You will recall that I had already done 3 of the 4 dogs.

So, I am telling you all of this so that you will understand why I am so upset with Wall-E. I am tired at the end of the day and want nothing more that to sit down and unwind for 30 minutes before taking on the night time ritual of getting Martha, the boy cat, settled outside for a night of hunting and the four dogs pee-pee ritual done before lifting them all into the bed.

Yesterday, I went into the kitchen to let the dogs out, as I do periodically all day. I have been known to stand at the door and watch them as they run through the yard and stop to take care of business. I was doing just that when I noticed Wall-E. Wall-E still squats to pee sometimes. It is only when he is feeling aggressive that he will hike his leg to perform this task of eliminating his waste. He hikes to mark territory.

Yesterday, as I looked on, his hind leg was hiked so high that his back end was twisted as if he had a hinge in his spine and he was PEEING ON MY EDDIE! Eddie was just standing there, minding his own business as the stream of urine hit his leg and then his foot. Poor Eddie looked around as he shook his paw, as if trying to find the source of this sudden soaking. He even looked at the sky!

I shrieked at Wall-E and told Eddie to move. Wall-E had the decency to look ashamed, but he did not escape my wrath. He slithered on the ground ..... in the pee, as I scolded him. Had to wash his belly and Eddie's side. I was not happy!  

Always Something

Sunday morning. It stormed both nights of the weekend and the air feels fresher and cooler. I arose early, as I have an early arrival for a new tenant. I brewed the magic elixir that makes me lucid and then ventured out to see what damage might have happened overnight.

My gardens seem to be intact and I long to linger, pulling weeds from the damp soil, but bathrooms await my attention. I expected the floors to be muddy and they were. I can't tell you about the surprise in the ladies room. Just imagine something very un-lady like and gross. No, think really disgusting and nasty. You probably still lack the vision that awaited me.

I cope well and thank God that my skin is washable, although I tend to want to use bleach on my hands. Anyhoo, I handled that and then wandered over to what is supposed to be the fairy garden. I picked up the fairy windows and doors that mother nature took apart and then started pulling weeds. It is so satisfying to pulled the roots up with the weeds.

I could see the door from my position in that garden. The small trees must have camouflaged me, though. I popped up from time to time to yell at those daring to speed on my roads. As annoying as it is to have to remind people of my speed limit, the looks of astonishment at being caught were somewhat amusing.

Somewhat. I am tired and not in any mood for shenanigans. I close early today and I am counting the hours. I look forward to a few hours of peaceful oblivion all week long. I will be giving my humble abode lots of needed attention. But I won't have to deal with the public. I imagine the door to be hermetically sealed shut at 6:00. I even cook a meal of real food!

So, here I sit, waiting for the day to end. Letting all the aggravations of the weekend fall away. The apple tree has been stripped clean on the lower branches and there were apples in my pool once again. The culprits were admonished, but one of the grandparents told HeWho that she just could make the children stop. I let HeWho is calmer than me hunt them down by the descriptions provided by those who witnessed the atrocity. I figured he would want to handle this, since he is the one who just spent many hours and lots of money ridding the pool of algae from the last apple pickers.

Rumor has it that he was not nice about it at all. Then last night the wind broke the blades off the ceiling fans in the pavilion ....... What was it Gilda Radner used to say in the voice of Roseanne Roseannadana . It's always something, isn't it?

I Love A Good Mystery ....

It is Friday again. I had to look at my phone to make sure. I was hoping it would say Thursday, but it didn't. I would like to feel a little more rested as the weekend starts, but here it is.

I mowed in the cool hours of the morning and timed it so that I could have a shower. The shower made me want to sleep. I was tired when I pulled myself out of the bed this morning. Yesterday was still lingering ........

42 summer school students came out to swim. Summer school is different than when I was growing up. These were middle school students, 11 and 12 years old. Lots of things have changed since my youth. These kids had lots of money to spend .... one young man had $50. He spent a lot of his time in the store and tried to spend it all. I am not complaining, I just hope his parents knew he had that much money. They all had packed lunches and the payment for swimming had been taken are of. It was a good day for me as far as income goes.

As you all know, I like signs. The sign with the pool rules is 4 feet by 8 feet. NO DIVING is clearly posted. The pool is not deep enough for diving. This would include back flips and other shenanigans, as well. Or, one would think. The very first thing to happen after the school bus off loaded the children .......  a failed back flip with a good size goose egg bump to the head of the boy attempting it. I am not liable, since I do have signage and a sign that advises you are swimming at your own risk. I did worry about the kid, though.

So, today, I am tired. I attempted a nap early afternoon while HeWho mows was in for a rest.
I was all comfy, with my Cujo snugged in next to my leg and Charming Eddie had his long silky body draped across my lap. Wall-E, the wonder dog was in his usual position next to my chair and Toni Louise was in her special day bed made from a drawer and tucked into the bottom shelf of a book case. She likes tight dark spaces.

Eddie has just gone limp with sleep when HeWho mows and sometimes tows got a call back to the impound lot. Eddie and I were none to happy with the situation. But he had to go let someone in their car to retrieve their dead brother.

Not a call one gets every day. I was curious enough to want him to go. He did, but she drove away with the car after giving up the title. I really want to know about the dead brother now!

Meeting Miss Daisy

There is no lack of dog and puppies here at Kan-Do Kampground. Not just my dogs. There are actually people who have more dogs that I do! Eddie likes to meet new people. He is quite charming, my Eddie. He is not as fond of meeting other dogs, though. I think he enjoys his status as the new dog. He likes being the center of attention. He is looking straight into my eyes, imploring me to pick him up.

I leave him in the lap of HeWho brought the new puppy, Miss Daisy, in the store to visit and he finally starts an investigation of this bundle of fur.

Miss Daisy is being very polite, letting Eddie sniff her. She doesn't make a sound. Does not protest at all. Not that it would do much good, Eddie looks like a giant next to her.

Apparently she passed inspection. Eddie is just curious. Probably wondering if this dog will be living here with him and the rest of his pack.

She will not be living with his pack, just visiting. She is quite a cutie, though. I am still partial to my Eddie. And I think he knows it! 

Tinted Windows

I tinted my windows in the store. The sun will catch the chrome on a car and like a laser will jab into my eyes. Not only does the tint soften the rays of the sun, it will also contribute to heating and cooling efficiency.

But, what I most enjoy about the tint is that I can see out, but you can't see in. I am always watching. I see all those cars not stopping at my stop signs. I see all you speeders out there and I may not be able to run out and get you ...... but there will come a time. I am watching and I have a speech for you.

I was told this morning that my stop sign is too small. It is the same size used on the roads and streets everywhere. And, I have two of them. One on each side. So if your excuse is that you didn't see the stop sign, how do you know the size of the stop sign? Furthermore, if you are allowed to disregard stop signs that you deem too small to obey, how do you get this far in life without being hit by another vehicle?

I worry about the safety of the children in my park. Adults should be more responsible .... because they are adults. Rules are in place for a reason and I will be more than happy to educate those who need to know the "why's" of my rules. I realize that you are the customer, but I do not abide by "the customer is always right" rule when it comes to my rules. Best not to cop an attitude with me, I have no qualms about asking you to leave.

Let's Talk About Poop!

I have a bee in my bonnet, a thorn under my skin. I am hot and sweaty and irritated beyond reason.

Let's talk about poop. And algae. I might have mentioned before that I am not partial to weekends. Weekends have me held prisoner in the office/store checking in guests and quoting candy prices to children when I am not making snocones and mopping up the spills from said snocones. Friday and Saturday are 14 hour days. Mondays are clean-up days.

I got outside early and fueled up the mower. I mowed a path towards the dog park. I watched as a lady walked her two dogs over to the dog park. I was hoping she would be quick, but she sat down on the bench and leaned back. Being the nice person that I am, I mowed another area as I waited for her to exit the park.

Now I wish I had gone on over. I wasn't watching her, just glancing up now and again to see if the park was occupied. I have limited time in the morning and I wanted to take care of the dog park. I had my clippers in my pocket to trim some low limbs and planned to weed a little while I was there.

I had to stop the mower EIGHT times to pick up poop. Two of piles were fresh, a gift from the morning visit I suppose. There is a sign right at the entrance demanding people to pick up their dog's poop. I even point out the location of the dog park when I am checking people in and I remind them to pick up after their pets. After my last poop picking adventure, I sprayed an Oxyclean container school bus yellow. I carved a hole in the bottom and then carefully filled it with Walmart bags (my poop bag of choice) so that when you pulled one bag out another would come out the hole just enough to grab for the next user. I put the lid on to keep them nice and dry and attached it to the chain link fence.

Not only did they not make proper use of my bags, but some idiot took the lid off the container and let their dog chew it up. Maybe the same person who was eating skittles and just threw the bag on the ground? I sincerely hope the guilty parties will read this and not visit here again. You know who you are.

On to algae. The pool is closed today. Over the weekend, which was very busy, children picked my tiny green apples from the tree and PUT THEM IN THE POOL. You know, to play. I have pool toys available to purchase in my store, but green apples are free, right? When I was a child, I knew better than to take things that did not belong to me. Children today seem to think the world is their playground and they can do whatever they want with whatever they want.

My camping prices are quite reasonable, so when I have to spend a lot of time and money fixing something just because someone does not want to be responsible for their children ....... I begin to wonder why I am even doing this. It would be cheaper to fill that pool with cement. Of course the people who come here for the pool would object and never come back, but right this minute I am wondering if that would be such a bad thing!

I must go help in the pool now and then make signs about picking apples .......

My Back Hurts ......

Yesterday as I wandered Walmart, waiting for my RX transaction, I ended up in the ladies unmentionables clearance section. I had already rescued some clearance plants before the issue of calling the clinic came up, so I had to choose something else to entertain myself with.

I pawed through some panties and bras, looking for some nice durable cotton sports bras. They soak up the sweat that would otherwise roll down my back and make me think a tick was crawling. I hit a section of Playtex bras. These were some really big bras for those women with very large extraordinary proportions. I was somewhat fascinated as one of them was large enough for my derriere. It could have been used as a slingshot to propel me to the other side of the store.

I found a smaller bra among the magnificent ones. It was in my size, but boasted a double letter cup. I took it out of the package and found the cup size to be reasonable. It was a mere $5, so I treated myself to that and a 3 pack of my sturdy sweat soaking sports bras. First thing I did was toss them all in the washer. I always wash unmentionables before placing them on my body.

So, today I grabbed that new 18 hour bra and donned it, along with my new $3 t-shirt with glittery butterflies adorning the front. I was quite sure that my daughters would have had lots of fun critiquing my attire. But, as I looked down to make sure the shirt was not on backwards or inside out (these things happen, you know), I noticed something amazing.

The laws of gravity were no longer in place!! My breasts were suddenly back where they used to reside some 20 years ago! I could not see my feet when I looked down. The girls were back in town!

It was the bra, the 18 hour $5 bra! I did take note that this was not the most comfortable bra I had ever worn. It was itchy. But it did make those butterflies stand out and it was too late to change, people were coming in the store and the phone is ringing every few minutes.

I have been wearing this 18 hour bra for almost 10 hours now and my back is hurting. If I knew I had to STAY in this bra for a full 18 hours I would want to scream!

Does look nice, though.

Customer Service?

Meet Buster, a new resident sporting delicious puppy breath. I did hold him and kiss his sweet head, never thinking Charming Eddie would react so negatively. It's not like he is not around other dogs that I show affection for. But he was quite upset and carefully sniffed my lips that had touched the head of another. Then he twisted away from me to shun me!

Buster was oblivious to all the goings on. He is a pretty laid back little guy and I have a feeling that as long as his food and water dishes are filled regularly he won't care much about his surroundings.

Everyone knows I love dogs, maybe I should get that tattooed on my forehead. Maybe not. If only all my residents and weekenders were as compliant as Buster.

It is Friday in a campground. I have carefully plotted out my chart and have fit everyone in with all their specific requests. First I had to make a mad dash to Walmart to pick up RX for the master of the house. I was up at 6 am and would have gone then, but the pharmacy does not open until 9 am. This was part of what I liked about working in the pharmacy, the decent hours. But not at all convenient for me right now. I did go early and grabbed all the things on my list before they opened. I knew it was ready, they sent me a text.

It was almost $50 for a one month supply! I know how to read the receipts having worked there before and saw that the insurance was covering nothing. Probably not on their formulary, so when I stepped over to the consultation window, already having paid for it, I asked the pharmacist if there was a solution to the high priced drug. I was already resigned to calling the insurance company and then the clinic and changing to another drug in that class. But we perused the $10 list that Walmart honors and discovered that the same drug was on it in 20mg. It had been filled for 30mg with instructions to take two daily (60mg). The nice pharmacist called the clinic for me and had it approved to fill it with 20mg and change the instructions for him to take three.

Like he knows what he takes. I fill his weekly container and he takes whatever I put in there. He would be lost without me, you know. I do take good care of him even if he does get on my nerves ....

I had to wait for the whole deal to get done, but I will save almost $40 a month, so it was worth it. But, it did mess with my Friday morning and when I got back the first camper for the weekend showed up. I asked for the name the reservation was under and he said the first and last name together making it sound like he was saying the last name. I finally figured that part out and finished the transaction, sending him to site #4. I did not build this park and I do not know what they were thinking when they designed the sites to be one in front of the other. This camper is to be joined by two other campers. Site #5 is in front of site#4. Site #4 has to be occupied first and site #5 will need to back in. Same deal with site #2 and site #3. Except that 2 and 3 are on the end and someone can pull in behind 3 and still be able to get their vehicle out on the side. I opted to put the shortest travel trailer in 2. These double sites are about 150 long, so there is no shortage of room, IF you follow the instructions of the nice campground hostess.

Camper #1 of the party of three just came in to tell me that he chose to just pull on up to 5. I am cranky and hungry and forgot to take my meds on time, so I am also sneezing. I didn't totally lose it, but I did come close. He said, "Well, I have to be able to hook up when I am ready to leave." I suggested that he move to 2. He would have to back out, but he had already informed me that he had no problems backing up. He said he was all set up and didn't want to move.

"How is your friend going to get into 4?" I asked. He looked at me blankly and I went over the whole situation AGAIN. I had already explained my thinking to him when I assigned the site. Then he told me I had set this whole campground up all wrong. I informed him that I didn't design it, that I would have done a much better job doing so. "These are the sites I have and you all want to camp together, so when your friend gets here you two can figure it out."

No, that was not good customer service and I should have done better. Maybe I should eat some food and take my pills ...... 

29 Flavors

Yesterday was such a blah day. I was ready for the day to be over before it even got started good. I tried to repot some plants and ended up with my shoes full of potting soil and nothing much to show for my efforts, so I moved on.

Decided to tackle a big plot of overgrown wild daisies and many other weeds. Clover was trying to take over and choke everything out. I managed to get my fingers under a tap root and pulled a huge clump out with a long strip of poison oak attached. I gave up on outdoor chores and went inside to wash my affected skin with the Fels Naptha soap. So far, so good.

I tripped over Martha, the boy cat, while preparing dinner and bent my little toe back. This made me be mean to HeWho inquired about my well-being. So, I skipped dinner and finished folding all the laundry. Felt better after that and made a new recipe with fresh strawberries. A Strawberry Cheesecake Cake. Not a real cheesecake, but it was still pretty tasty. The only good thing I did all day.

I had heard HeWho The Builder putting up the trim on the side of the building that I had ready to go a week before Memorial Day. Must have been something I said ..... Anyhoo, I had offered to help, but he declined my assistance. Maybe because I insist on measuring and using a level?

Today I worked on my gardens and repotting all morning, as I watched him take down the trim he put up the day before. He took one piece off, measured, then holding it atop the golf cart, rode around to the barn to trim off the excess. He would them come back and replace it before moving on to the next board. I thought about suggesting that he simply bring the saw to the side of the building ...... I decided not to interfere and let him do it his way. I would have finished painting with the gray paint before I put up the black trim boards, but that's just me :).

I finished my ferns and watered everything before confining myself to the office. UPS brought my new snocone syrups and I busied myself with refilling the flavors that were out and getting the 5 new flavors ready to use with the pour caps. You get a deal if your order 10 bottles at once, so I ordered the 5 flavors that were low and 5 new flavors. I keep hoping someone will want a snocone, so I can indulge with a sample one. I am torn between the toasted marshmallow and the hot cinnamon. I also added dreamsycle, cola and sour cherry. This makes 29 flavors to choose from. Cherry is still the #1 seller, with Grape being a close second. Blue raspberry is another favorite. 

I would want to live on the wild side and try something different, it is only $1. But, not everyone is like me ...... I measure things and use a level.   

Highlight Of My Day

Tired of repeating myself, I decided to make a sign sporting the pool hours to display for all to see. I found a good sized piece of plywood and was happily smearing neon green paint on it when I looked out the window.

To my surprise I saw a fast moving vehicle coming in the entrance drive and completely ignoring my stop signs. Okay, I wasn't surprised that someone would blow through my stop signs and not obey my speed limit. I was, however surprised that it was a state trooper committing this atrocity.

Seeing an excellent opportunity to stand upon my worn soap box and give a speech about driving safely, I exited the store, paint brush still in hand, and approached the car. The nice looking trooper, with very white teeth, put his window down ( remember when we used to say roll your window down because one literally had to do that?). He smiled at me and I said to him, "Tell me that you did not intentionally run my stop signs." He had the decency to look chagrined and said that he was talking to his passenger and WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION. "Please tell me you did not just say that." I said. "Do you know why there is a stop sign right there?" I asked. Even though he said he did know I went on with my speech about children and bicycles and safety.

He tried to avoid eye contact and was shrinking away from me when I tapped on his door and told him he was in for the full speech and need not try to escape. I will not lie ..... I enjoyed every second. He blushed deeply and I let him go after telling him he had to share this experience with all of his fellow troopers.

His window still down as he was slowly driving away, he asked me to tell HeWho tows "hi".

Must Be An Emergency .....

My new phone is here, allowing me to use the internet. Any time I desire. But, right now the Wi-Fi in the park is working. This makes me think they were wrong when they said we had to buy a new modem. Why would it work intermittently if it was bad?

I enjoyed some outside time this morning with only 7 phone calls and not one live people disturbing my concentration as I mowed and pulled weeds in the cool of the morning. It was really hot yesterday and looks like today will be hot, as well. Swimmers are already adorning the pool area.

Yesterday was Sunday. Usually my favorite day of the week. Most weekend campers leave and I close early. I like to eat a meal with HeWho is always up for take-out. Maybe have a conversation without interruption ...... you know like normal people. I was crabby when I woke with a dull headache. The atmosphere was like a sauna, hot and humid. I could tell a storm was brewing.

The air had turned cool and the sky was dark as I was closing up. I snuck around to my vegetable garden and did some serious weeding and a little replanting of beans. I think some birds must have gobbled up my first attempt when that gully washer revealed them, washing away the soil.

I made the mistake of coming around to the front and seeing a camper. I sighed deeply (to myself) and unlocked the store door to assist them. It was a truck pulling a travel trailer about 28' long. I put them in a double site. The site has two hook-ups and I have put two travel trailers in it before with no problems. After asking me what seemed to be a thousand questions about dining opportunities nearby, he finally left to go to his site. He was in a hurry to un-hook before the rain came, so he could go feed his family ....

I was in a hurry to finish in my garden, too. I no sooner locked the door and headed back to my task when the phone rang. The woman said her husband said he could not hook up to the sewer, that it was too far away. I gave her an immediate solution to just pull forward and hook up to the site in front of them. I could think of other solutions, like a longer sewer hose, but just gave her the quickest easiest one I could think of. But, she wanted another site. This request involved another call that interrupted me. I was closed, I was not in the office. I told her that site 33 was available.

By now the rain had started and I was really annoyed that I had not finished my task. My head was still hurting, had been all day. I just wanted to be left alone. HeWho goes out to acquire take out had placed the food order and left. The man pulling the camper stayed hooked up and took his family out to eat, trailer in tow.

I had a blissful 30 minutes of phone silence and I sat with my feet up, my head back, with my eyes closed, petting the 3 dogs in my lap, and occasionally reaching down to the lone female dog, Toni Louise. My headache was just beginning to subside when my dinner arrived ..... and the phone rang. He Who answered it. The trailer towing man had returned and was calling to complain that someone was in 33. I had not put anyone on that site. But, just for the sake of peace I offered up another site number that was unoccupied.

Just beginning to enjoy my meal when THE PHONE RANG AGAIN. It was the man again, telling me there was a pick-up parked in that site and that he just wanted his money back. I agreed that we would give him a refund and that I would be back in the office as soon as I dressed again. It was 9:00 and I was clad in my night shirt and ready for bed. My food was getting cold. HeWho generously offered to handle the refund transaction and his food got cold as well.

First of all, who hooks up the sewer before unhooking the camper from the truck? If he wanted to get settled before the rain, you would think that would not be a priority. Of course, I don't know what mysteries lay inside the camper and maybe it was urgent to dump the sewer. But, he had an option immediately available, as he was sitting on two sites.

Then there is the mystery camper on 33. This was an older couple that I had assigned to site 70. They did not want a full hook-up. They did not pay for a full hook-up, but they decided to park on 33. And last, but not least, was the tenant on 2 who parked his truck on site 4. Happens all the time and I don't know why. This is a tenant who lives in his camper, as his work takes him to different areas and he travels to a central spot and stays until the job is done. You would think he would know better. Last night I would have charged him the $30 I lost due to him occupying that site. I have mellowed over night, but he will not escape my wrath! Why can't everyone just follow instructions!!

The rain washed everything clean and must be keeping the pollen down, since I feel much better today. But I still wonder why that sewer was such an issue ......

Martha, Martha, Martha

When Martha (the boy cat) isn't hunting or sleeping the day away in my bed, he is out in my gardens. Like me, Martha enjoys being outside in nice weather. When it is raining he is happy to stay inside, but as soon as the weather is warm, he likes to spend lots of time outside.

Martha will sometimes follow me around as I go about weeding and picking fruit and vegetables. He seems to always be watching what I am doing. So, why is he laying where I planted some four o'clocks? He saw me digging and preparing the soil to grow the seeds. He KNOWS I do not like this!

Despite my scolding he just lay there looking up at me. He looks pretty sure of himself. Smug!

Since Martha does his job at keeping the rabbits out of my garden, he pretty much has the run of the place. But now I find him in my pepper patch. Really? Does he think this will be allowed?

Just look at him lolling among my pepper plants! Ignoring me as I warn him to GET OUT! I don't have any more pictures. He made himself scarce after I turned the nozzle to "jet" and propelled him out of my garden.

I confess that I might be a little worried about pay back.  No telling what he will put in the back yard for the dogs tomorrow!

I now have a new I-phone with a hotspot for internet. Good for me, but we are still fighting with our friends at Sprint to get the Wi-Fi back up and running ..... since it is one of the amenities of our park.

I have a confession to make. I do like to use that word -amenity- with those campers less educated, just to watch their looks of confusion. Is that mean? Of course it is. Lack of internet access has made me mean.

Sprint and the Fickle Internet

I got up early this morning with the canine contingent and saw, to my utmost delight, that the satellite for the internet was working! As much as I wanted to crawl back in bed, I stayed up to take care of business.

I had over 400 e-mails on my personal account and almost that many on the Kampground account. I lost some reservations due to the fickle internet and I plan to tell Sprint just how I feel about this ....

HeWho has spent days on the phone with them. They have given every excuse available for the outage, but no long term solution. We were told that a part for the satellite was on order and would be installed this past Tuesday. This would involve climbing the tower for a technician to install it. Should they have been informed that I can see the tower and actually hear the voices of the men when they are working in the air? I watched and saw no activity all day long. I was outside mowing all day long!

It comes and goes and when I do see that it is working, I go on-line and take advantage of it. It is annoying and frustrating, though. I had an appointment yesterday for a check-up. When I came home, I saw that HeWho handles all things Sprint was on the phone with them. I went to Walmart to get my prescriptions and to restock the store. He was either back with them on a second call ...... or maybe he was still on the first call?

All I can say is that we will be sporting new phones in 2 business days. These phones will have their very own hot spots and I will be able to access the internet any time I want. HeWho loves new gadgets is quite pleased with himself and his negotiating powers. Me? I hate new devices. Seems like I just learned how to use this phone and now I will have to acquaint myself with a new one. I am old and do not want to adapt to change.

I now have to go outside and get all my chores done before the day swimmers invade the pool and I am stuck in the office. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to get on-line again and while away the hours reading blogs and commenting!