A change in vacation plans

I've wanted to visit Montana and Wyoming for a long time, specifically Glacier National Park.  Cliff wasn't thrilled with the prospect of traveling that far, since I don't drive and he'd be doing all that driving.  But the oldest grandson was ready, willing, and able to go along and be the second driver.  So we've been making plans to go.    
In the past few days, the grandson has had some job changes:  it's a promotion of sorts, but it means he doesn't get vacation time for a year.  So much for his being the relief driver.  


There's no way I'm going to subject Cliff to doing all the driving to go that far, when he wasn't so thrilled about the trip anyhow.  I've already told him that, and he said it's the best news he's heard all day.  I believe we'll stick our necks out and opt for a motorcycle ride to someplace closer:  possibly Colorado (which we both love), or maybe South Dakota.  Heck, even Arkansas would be nice.  We'll see.  


Maybe next year we'll make Glacier National Park.   

Heading south!

Above is the weekend forecast for my home town.

This is the forecast for Mission, Texas, where I'll be spending Thursday evening through Sunday afternoon.

YES!

Just checking in

I babysit two granddaughters before and after school, and some of the summertime. Since Missouri has a summer school program which pays children $100 for perfect attendance for the duration (one month), that only leaves two months when the girls need all-day care.

They are nine and eleven years old, so it isn't as though they need to be watched every minute; they're not likely to do anything harmful to themselves if I want to go to the barn or garden, or while Cliff and I take our daily walk.

It's even gotten to the point that I don't worry if I'm riding the horse and don't get home in time for their morning arrival, because I know they'll be just fine. Cliff works nights, and he's asleep in the bedroom. And they can dish up their own cereal just fine.

My daughter pays me, by the way, for babysitting.

The girls themselves are no problem; it's trying to schedule the horseback rides and motorcycle rides and little trips that sometimes throws a fly in the ointment.

But this weekend they go spend a month with their other grandma, and some schedules will be tossed out the window. The only time frame I'll worry about is Cliff's going-to-work-at-2:30 PM deadline.

I won't feel I have to get up before 5 AM in order to ride my horse while it's still cool.

If Cliff decides to take a vacation day on Friday and we go for a motorcycle ride, we won't worry about getting home before the girls get home from school. We can take a three-day weekend, knowing the girls are being cared for by Grammy.

So, I consider this coming month as a vacation. I think it's good for them to get away from me for awhile, too. And I'm sure by the time the girls are back, I'll be ready to go back to the schedule.

I love hot tubs!

The granddaughters and I are having a mini-vacation in Kansas. Most refreshing. In fact, I wouldn't mind if it lasted longer, but alas, this is a one-nighter. The girls swam, then we walked across the street to see "Meet The Robinsons". Then they swam more, and I enjoyed the hot tub for so long I turned into a prune. If I ever win the lottery, I'll have a hot tub at home. My NEW home in some other town, with enough room to breathe without neighbors breathing down my neck.

plans

The weather forecast for today: sunny with a high of 53. Since we got a motorcycle ride in yesterday, I'd say today's plan calls for a horseback ride.

Both our state and federal income tax refunds are now being processed (you can check online, you know). That means bill catch-up time, and money for our summer vacation, which consists of plans for...

Going to Colorado with Cliff's sister and her husband in late July. We're going to take the motorcycles out on a trailer and ride them around those beautiful mountains, once we get there.

My daughter has plans for her mother-in-law watch the girls for a few days in late March, which allows me to plan for....

A possible weekend getaway, perhaps to Branson. Weather permitting, we could go on the motorcycle. Although any Missourian knows you don't count on March weather to be kind. But it could happen.

I have plans for the Jersey heifer calf I've spoken for, which may get to come home this Sunday. We have a place prepared for her in the barn.

There are plans to get a few bantam chicks. I have a cage to keep them in until they are old enough to roost; then I plan to teach them to roost on a pole somewhere in the barn to keep them safe from predators by night, and they can roam free during the daytime. This worked well for me in the past.

All these things will come to pass, of course, only if the good Lord is willing (and the creeks don't rise, as Tennessee Earnie Ford used to say). Since Cliff's sudden hospitalization last April, and the subsequent quadruple heart bypass, I've learned that plans can change.

One day at a time is sufficient.