A visit with Natasha & Boris

I had a lovely visit today with Mary & Paul, aka Natasha & Boris. They were on their way back to the Bay area from a rally north of here, and stopped by to see me. Here is a picture of them as well as one of Natasha and me.

I went to their beautiful Class A which they parked outside the Cal Expo gates and we got acquainted, and then they accompanied me over to the RV park and my 5th wheel. I really appreciate them taking the time and trouble to stop, especially in light of the certainty they will run into traffic on their way back to the Bay. It is great to finally meet in person someone you've met in the chat room, and can put a face to the name. Thanks for stopping guys, and I'm sure we'll meet on the road again.

Yesterday Jeannie, Donald & Autumn came over to visit. Donald makes an incredible pizza - dough and sauce from scratch - and brought some to cook here, as well as various snacks. I was entertained by "Autie", my gorgeous, intelligent, and very funny 2 yr old granddaughter. Autie was fascinated with the toilet in the RV and had to go quite often, mostly because she wanted to step on the pedal to flush it!

I can see so much better with my right eye today, not perfect yet, but it gives me confidence that I will soon be back to normal. I can complain about having to use 3 different eyedrops, 5 minutes apart, 4 times a day, and to wear dark glasses outdoors even in rainy overcast weather, and to constantly have to remember to not lean over - but I can see the daily improvement as well as the benefits of getting my good vision restored. I should try not to complain so much, but that is a downside of being single, not having anyone to complain to! I don't need someone to actually listen or respond to my complaints, but just to provide a sounding board. The dogs also wish I had someone else to put up with me!

I got a comment to a recent post from someone asking me if I had kept a journal while hiking the Appalachian Trail and also while living in Ireland. The answer is that I did, but they are in Word documents, and are not in individual posts so the days are just shown one after another. The difficult part of incorporating them into a blog is that I would like to show the 1st day first, 2nd day after that, etc., since I won't be adding to either of them. So it is different than the format of most blogs, where the most recent post is "on top of the list". If anyone can tell me how I can upload a Word document I would appreciate it.

The Ireland journal is incomplete. I lived there for 3 years and during that time I tried to write about events, people and places in my daily life, and about once a week or so I would send the handwritten accounts to my mom. It was a way of keeping in touch with her and she seemed to enjoy them. When she died, my sister gave me a box of envelopes containing the journals, that my mom had kept. Eventually I set out to transcribe them, but realized there were many of them that were missing. I left the box of originals back in my storage in Asheville so I can't check, but I don't think I transcribed all of them that were saved, so it will be a while before I get back to them. Also, my pictures are in storage there. Still I would like to try to set something up and link it to this blog, and the same for the Appalachian Trail journal, the pictures from which are also in storage. Suggestions/comments gratefully accepted and appreciated.

It is nearly doggie walking time and I need to decide what I will have for supper. I thawed chicken and wish I could grill it outdoors but haven't yet bought charcoal. I left my little Smoky Joe grill back in Asheville, and Natasha and Boris graciously and generously gave me theirs. I can't wait to use it - I prefer charcoal over gas any day - and the small size of the Smoky Joe is perfect for me. Hopefully I can use it at Lassen without attracting every bear within 100 miles, but better a bear than a mountain lion! Hopefully Natasha and Boris will visit me while I'm there and I can cook them a meal on it. That invitation goes for any readers who might be able to make the trip to the Northern California wilderness!