Heat, Docks, Stuffed Toys and Clutches

Yes, it says 108 degrees in the shade!

This has been a hot month for sure. We have had consecutive weeks of 100* plus and humidity for dessert. I always wondered what it would be like to summer again in the South and now I remember what it was like growing up in Virginia. My past 6 summers I got a little spoiled in North Dakota.  The summer days there may have been warm and with low humidity but had cool breezy nights for better sleeping. I am already thinking about taking short trips to cooler climes when appropriate. 

My wish list.....

So here in NW Arkansas lake country you go to dock and pool parties to deal with the heat. I am making the best of it…believe me.

Jerry and Tom are neighbors, golfers and church goers

And I am also quilting, so to speak.  My friend Carol here at Holiday Island is finishing up a quilt that she is making for me.  

It is just gorgeous

Picture of me!

I helped her with minor stages of it so she is personalizing it with a panel image of me.  I am blessed and honored to have such a great friend. I am not supposed to tell you this, but she has been working on this for a loonnng tiiimme.

I help[ed with pinning here

Wait till you see the final results! There are stories that go with each panel of the quilt, and the theme relates to Lewis and Clark. I need to figure out a good way to tell these tales while displaying her fantastic artwork and crafts(wo)manship.

My longtime sweetheart of my life left me afoot the other day. But not without some warning. My one ton F-350 dually broke down the day after I had returned my son Michael to the airport for a return journey to LA.

Michael would spend hours with his hockey stick

Reunited with Friends...

Michael had been here for 5 days and we had a glorious time. We dug out the storage boxes of youthful mementos that I had been keeping for him and took numerous journeys down memory lane. From game boys, r/c and pine wood derby cars, recorders, BB gun, stuffed toys and yearbooks, we spent the day recounting tales of days gone by.

 

Shooting range challenge...Son vs Dad

You must remember that Mike is now 30 years of age. Much of this stuff he has not seen since he was a cub scout. He even set up a pellet gun range in the garage to test the old man’s skill.  I still got it!

Capt Lyle and 1st mate Rick..My good Buddies

Its been a long time coming for this...

We went fishing and of course he caught the biggest one, a white bass.  I hooked a smallmouth bass but my guide friends Rick and Lyle said it did not count because I did not get it into the boat! 

Nice Day on the water

Mine is still in the Lake...

Of course we picked one of the most humid days to play golf, just the two of us.  We played best ball, which made up for our errant shots in the woods. 

A proud Father can still play with his 'boy'.

For my birthday, Michael had a professional photographer come out to the house and shoot pictures of us. I can’t wait to see them.

He had an evening departure on his last day so what do a father and son do for fun in the afternoon? Nope, we did not go to a bar, but to the movies! We saw Cowboys and Aliens. I cannot even remember when it was last that he and I did that! We both enjoyed it.

Oh, about the truck breakdown….

The Friday night of his departure, I had difficulty getting the truck into gear for the 50 mile drive home.    On Saturday it would not go into gear at all, so I had it towed.   I have been truck-less and stuck at the campground for 6 days. Lucky for me, the RV is stocked with food, beer, and my Kindle. I am caulking and repairing minor “when-you-get-around-to-it” items on my 10 yr old house on wheels.

However, I am not completely without wheels.  I do have a bicycle but there is too little flat ground for this fat boy.

Boy, am I out of shape… sore and, it’s all uphill 2 miles to the hot tub.

Pray for me..