Refunds and Fences

Just as I thought would happen, the tent people of yesterday tried to wrangle a refund. The older gentleman brought back the horse shoes they had checked out and proceeded to enlighten me about his daily schedule. Said he and his wife would not be staying the night. Seems he did not enjoy his rustic camping experience, said they were too old. He waited expectantly as he thought I was processing that information. I did not offer the expected refund of a whopping $6.

The rain subsided and I proceeded to mow the area around the pool. That grass has lots of clover growing in it and that draws bees. Don't want bees lingering round the pool area and be tempted to sting the swimmers. The older couple were sitting on the pavilion, watching the three children swim, giving me the stink eye. Whenever I made a pass with the mower near them, the woman threw her arms up and around her head. I ignored them and kept on until I finished my task.

I was in and out all day, since the rain of the early morning had discouraged most swimmers. I kept an eye on the tent area and noted that the older couple did not leave until after 4:30. Since they had arrived at 8:00 am the previous day, I did not feel they were owed a refund. Check out is noon, after all. The younger man came in the office around 6 and complained to me that his "people" ran out on him after he had paid for them to stay. I made eye contact and held it. HeWho tells me this is intimidating. I was daring him to ask for the refund in my mind and I must have conveyed that in my eyes, because he simply left the office.

I was kind of disappointed. We all know I like to teach and I had planned a lesson for him. I was all ready to deliver this lesson when he escaped. Later that evening, my work camper reported on the condition of the bathrooms. Toothpaste on the walls, along with a really nasty toilet. They left this morning while I slept.

I slept until 10:20! I was totally unaware of rain falling while I lay nestled with two dogs at my side. The other two were outside and the responsibility of HeWho thinks they can fend for themselves. The rain had passed by the time I awoke and ventured out. I picked some asparagus and one purple pole bean and came in for coffee. Only one group of swimmers showed up, so I went out to trim some branches and do a little weeding in another flower garden.

Suddenly the sky grew dark and I felt a drop or two hit my arm. I was weeding around my maple tree and was determined to finish that one patch. The wind picked up and the sky opened. It rained so hard it felt like needles stinging my bare arms. I ran for cover and peeked out my bedroom window to see that my makeshift lattice fence I erected for my pole beans was down again. I really do not want to ask HeWho for help. He will feel the need to go the lumber supply store and the hardware store several times to accomplish the fence and the beans will have yielded their crop and be dead by the time he finishes. I need only to hi-jack that chop saw and I know where some 2X2's lay idle. I can do this myself as soon as the rain stops and be done before the sun goes down. Just have to wait for HeWho to go on one of his missions into town or for a tow. My vines are already twining on the lattice and it will have to be done in place. HeWho would have me rip those vines away so that he could "do it right".

Now as the rain falls gently I think I will cook our supper and get that out of the way.

A Good Start To My Day

I woke to a cool moist breeze wafting through the window I opened in the wee hours of the morning. The humidity and heat yesterday was stifling. My joints told me that a break in the weather was on the way when I lay me down to sleep last night.

I ventured out to toss the kitchen trash in the dumpster. As is my usual habit, I yanked a few offending weeds in my path as I meandered around the garden that my sweet Gavin helped me build when he was a very helpful 4 year old. From there I headed to my side yard and vegetable garden to admire my work of weeding two rows of beans and corn when raindrops started falling on my head. Just a gentle rain hitting the steel roof .... and me and all my gardens. It sounded like a thousand little elves dancing on my roof, chanting "You get a day off, you get a day off!"

Back inside, I pour my coffee and here I sit, sipping and writing. A very good start to the day. Then I remember that I have tent campers in residence. They arrived yesterday morning at 8:00. HeWho was heading out the door to get his daily breakfast biscuit at the local McDonald's. I was tending animals and other morning necessities. I was unaware of the exchange. HeWho is impatient for his fast food told them to just go ahead and set up, that the office would be open at 11:00 and they could settle up with me then. He told me when he returned, having had his tummy filled. He did bring to me an iced coffee, but I was still annoyed at the early arrivals.

I was even more annoyed when the man came in to pay. I had talked to this man several times on the phone as he inquired about the rates. He probably called several places, but that is not the point. When I quote rates to would be campers, I always tell them that check-in is any time AFTER NOON ........ because check-out is NOON. Suppose you make a reservation for a particular site and arrive early to find it occupied?

What's done is done. He wants to stay for two days. Four adults and three children. Looks like three generations. No big deal, I just get annoyed with people who seem to think that rules do not apply to them.

My day, which did not get off to a good start, goes on. The office does not open until 11:00 am. That block of time in the morning is MINE! I want to play in the dirt, or get my household chores done without interruption. The phone is a constant and that can't be helped, but yesterday was filled with interruptions. It didn't help that my headache was still with me. Stuck in the office until 8:00 pm with just enough traffic to make me be unable to accomplish anything is no fun either. My joints were screaming yesterday and I think my office chair hates me, because everytime I stand up, I hurt!

I was painting a small sign at my desk when Early Arrival came in to inquire about bait. With him was the older gentleman. I quoted the price for the twelve night crawlers and they carried on a mumbled debate between the two of them. "How many fish can we catch?" I had to let that one rest in my head as I pondered my response and how best to word it so that he might understand. I was tempted to say "Gee, I don't know, how many fish can you catch?" but that would have just been mean and made the inter-change prolonged.

I decided on, "You can catch as many as you want, but it is 'catch and release'." I was unprepared for the reaction. Both men looked appalled, like I had just tempted them with a steak dinner and then snatched it away. In unison they said, "What, you have to put them back!" Then the older man said he sure wished he had known that before they paid to stay here, that they were just trying to give the kids a real camping experience. They were roughing it and wanted to catch their own food ....

Roughing it would be in the woods with no amenities like hot showers and a pool, but I chose not to enlighten the men and just stood firm with my policy .... which is clearly stated on the brochure and the website. They left the office, still mumbling about their misfortune. They have paid to stay today, as well and I fully expect them to ask for a refund due to the rain .... so much for roughing it.

For now I will enjoy my solitude and my coffee before I have to deal with campers.

Just Another Holiday Weekened

Okay, besides all the weather problems that plagued the holiday weekend, you had to know that I did not escape an incident of questionable circumstance. See the boulder? See where the boulder used to be?

After getting nearly 6 inches of rain during the weekend, July 4th dawned bright and sunny. I was roused by the wet nose of a dachshund on my neck at 5:30 am (Mommy, Mommy, the sun is up, the sun is up!!). After releasing the hound(s) and then making them come back in, I took to my recliner for a morning chair nap. This involved the drying of hound feet and legs before tucking the little guy next to me in my recliner.

There we slept a fitful sleep until 8 am. A cup of coffee in hand I went out to view the world. I did walk around to my garden and sunk in mud in the lower spots. It very nearly sucked my flip flops from my feet! This discouraged any further adventures into the grounds.

Just as well, since I would have seen this mess. Being the end of a long weekend, I was singing my Christmas song with my own words "It's the most wonderful day of the week, all the campers are leaving and my heart is heaving a sigh of relief ..."

One of my new seasonals came in and inquired about the tire tracks in the grassy fields. What tire tracks? I got busy after that and forgot about it.

Then the campers staying closest to the site of the incident came in and gave me the rest of the story. Seems that while the lady of the manor, the sheriff of the land, lay sleeping along side her faithful companion in her recliner, a van full of ne'er do wells entered her kingdom and set about destroying the landscape.

They were seen entering the park around 7:30 am. They turned towards the tent area, then went into the grassy field and made a circle before coming across the road and hitting the boulder. Hitting the boulder so hard that they moved it with their minivan and BROKE THE WHEEL on their vehicle. They were not camping here. Had absolutely no business here and were either already intoxicated or still intoxicated from the previous night.

But, wait, it gets better. They are either living around here or know someone who does because a tractor appeared and pulled them out and down the road. Leaving chaos in their wake.

Speaking of wake. Why didn't someone wake me? Why not the cold nosed hound who knows when the sun is up? Or, maybe the yippy terrier/Chihuahua who barks at every opportunity? Or the campers who witnessed the event? They didn't want to bother me .... and yet I am so very bothered in spite of all that consideration.

I wonder just how fast the were going to push that boulder. I would really have liked to call the sheriff to remove these ne'er do wells from my property. Like I said, they have no business here. I know I could probably win a judgement against them for damages, but would never see a penny. I just want them to keep out and I want someone with some authority (dubious, though it may be) to tell them so.

People always like to tell me about some rules being broken, after the fact and after the breakers of the rules have left. I can't do anything about it after the fact; but get me while it is going on and I will treat you to a fine performance of public humiliation.

Another Favorite Site

This is site 1A, the site of Marshell and Jan. The rig in the background is not theirs. That is site 1. Being retired and full of wanderlust, this couple travels quite a bit. We all get to hear about their adventures.

Every time they return, they rebuild their fire pit. HeWho mows never dismounts to move obstacles in his way and he sometimes creates obstacles when he bumps into things ..... trying to get a nice close cut. I get the job of apologizing for his actions and if I see the mess he makes, I clean it up.

This particular site hosts a concrete pad that was here when we bought the kampground. Lest you be thinking I favored this couple so much that I put it in. I might give them produce from my gardens or even bake a treat, but one has to draw the line somewhere!

While I did build the initial gardens in the areas that were hard to mow (I am nothing, if not practical), Jan has given them her personal touch.

I had neglected the weeds the past few seasons. I was busy visiting my Dad for as long as I could and nothing here seemed to matter so much. It is amazing what a good weeding and new mulch will do, though. Not having to tackle this myself is the very best part!!

I appreciate kampers who take pride in their sites! Not to mention that Marshell is always up for a lively debate and I do enjoy a good argument. I will even conceded that he sometimes has a good point ... or two.

Fireworks .... in my Head!

Made it through the weekend, although I am still fighting a headache that I have had since Saturday.

The weather did not cooperate. It rained all weekend. No golf cart parade, no flying of kites, no outdoor movie. The pool still got a workout every time the rain subsided. I was determined to go ahead with our picnic. Just had to move it under shelter.

Due to lots of cancellations from those too wimpy for rain, I had less than 60 people, so I just brought it inside and on the front porch. Just a matter of moving the tables to the porch and gathering the red, white and blue chairs. I was able to seat two dozen people on the front porch. Since there were little ones, it was more like 30 people. The rest came inside, where had moved the merchandise off the top shelf to make a buffet line for the side dishes. I pulled my cutting table from my sewing room to hold the paper product and utensils, along with the buns and condiments.

You can see the dark skies. The rain would let up and a little sun would peek through from time to time. Just teasing us. The rain did let up as it grew dark and the fireworks burst in the skies. I handed out sparklers and then came inside to comfort Toni Louise.

She is afraid of thunder, so she was not fond of the noise that accompanied the fireworks. My headache was none too happy with the noise, so we were an unhappy pair. There was more thunder and lightning this morning and my headache is still here. I am taking Tylenol, aspirin and ibuprofen. Not all at once. Alternating. It will subside, but I can feel it, just hanging out, waiting to attack.

Another Independence day of celebration over.

I Want To Scream

 You may be wondering why I took a picture of pill boxes. These are the pill containers that I use every other week to make the daily doses of pills for HeWho has not a clue about the drugs he takes. I fill it and he mindlessly swallows whatever I put in it. He trusts me.

The pill boxes in this picture are mine. You can clearly see the difference, can't you? His are colorful and mine are not. His are kept in the same place they have ALWAYS been kept in the kitchen cabinet right next to the bin of prescription bottles. Mine are on the kitchen counter.

His has more pills and capsules than mine. They look different than mine. I take my pills twice a day, but I am aware of what I take and can store the day's supply in one. I would never dare to do that with his. He would forget and take them all at once.

You will note that he leaves the cap open after he takes his daily meds, while I close mine. He leaves the cabinet door open, as well. I close it every morning after he takes his meds. Not cheerfully and sometimes grudgingly. How hard is it to close the door?

I ran out of pills on Sunday (yesterday). I filled my two week supply and took my morning dose. After all the hoopla and the fireworks last night, I came in with a pounding headache and took my evening dose of pills along with some Tylenol. I wondered why my Saturday dose was missing. I always take my pills on the correct day, while HeWho will just take any day, even working right to left. This is so very wrong. Everyone knows that you read left to right.

My headache and fatigue drove me to just take my meds and go to bed. This morning I headed outside to see to my vegetable garden in the misting rain. I picked some beets and some peas and gloried in the solitude. Came inside to reheat my lone cup of coffee. My blood pressure was up yesterday, so I decided to cut back on the caffeine.

Back tracking to yesterday when I took my blood pressure. HeWho always takes his if he sees me taking mine. He announced that his blood pressure was up, too, concluding that the monitor was wrong. Because he takes blood pressure medication and his blood pressure is never high.

This morning I discovered that another day of my pills were gone and the lid was up. I knew immediately that he had taken my pills. Two days in a row. I called him and asked where he got his pills from this morning and he said, " The ones in my pill box on the counter." I want to scream. This means he has not been taking his prescriptions and mine are now short.

And he wonders why I get so annoyed with him. I guess I will have to hide my pill boxes in a safe place. One would think that he would be able to tell the difference, his being bright colors and mine being clear. While it is true that I recently bought new containers, I stayed with clear for me and colors for him. Yes, I will just hide mine.

Thinking Of You

What else can go wrong? I did ask, didn't I? Yesterday was beautiful, but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday was dismal. So, all day yesterday I took cancellation after cancellation.

I do not charge for cancellations. I want the return business. Don't want to leave a negative impression. I made up almost all the cancellations with over-night travelers. The sun set with a pinkish hue, giving me false hope for today. You know the old rhyme ..... red sky at night, sailors delight .....

Apparently this is not a good way to forecast the weather. It is currently 63 degrees and drizzling. Rained all day long under gray skies and is supposed to hang over us through tomorrow. We will still have our BBQ. I have crammed some 50 odd people in the store to eat a meal before and can do so again. As long as it is not pouring rain, we will see fireworks tomorrow night.

On the bright side, with the wet weather, the fireworks won't be a fire hazard. I was able to have a nice nap today and I only have 2 hours left in here. I finished making pool chair number 8 and I have 10 pillow towels ready for purchase.

It will be a smaller crowd than normal. Just so you know, all you people who are absent .....
We will be thinking of you .... and no doubt, talking about you!