Friday, July 20, 2018

HOT, HOT, HOT!

Happy Thursday morning to you all.  My few days at the lake were a failure.  It was so HOT!  It has been in the uppers 90'sF all week.  I decided that I could get more done by being home in the A/C than just sitting in the trailer in the A/C and I could be with Dennis in the evenings too.  I did enjoy my few hours out there, but then I packed up my flowers and brought them home so they wouldn't die in the extreme heat.  It is supposed to be "only" 93 today and in the 80's tomorrow so I will go back tomorrow afternoon.  Well.  That was probably more of a weather report than you desired. :-)

I'm having some issues with my photos, so the ones I took of the two rainbow blankets I crocheted this week and a pair of socks that I finished will have to wait.  I took the photos yesterday but for some reason they won't upload.  I'm done complaining about it though and will just have to make do with what I have. :-)

Have any of you heard of Wall Drug in South Dakota?  Well, although we have driven by it dozens of times, I think we just stopped once before, years ago.  We decided to have a late lunch/early dinner there on our way home from Nebraska.  They are famous for their free ice water...in fact it's what put them on the map for hot, weary travelers back in the day when Mt. Rushmore first opened.  Here's my handsome guy with his free ice water.  The cups are small so we refilled them several times.
 The Drug Store is still a working pharmacy but has tons of old west memorabilia and touristy "stuff."
 I did finish a baby blanket.  Here's a close up of the pattern.  It's one that Mandy gave me.
 The finished blanket before washing and blocking it.
One of the first glimpes of our beloved mountains on the way home.  These are the Grand Teton's in Wyoming.  The first view of the mountains of the west always make us feel as if we're almost home.
Brad, Mandy and Piper on the first flight last Sunday while we were driving home.  Flying over Eastern Nebraska.
 You can tell that Piper is a natural in the sky.  She has her own FAA approved headset and an official logbook.
Look at the goodies that Debra, "Araignee" on my sidebar sent to me.  She made the cutest card and the soap she makes smell wonderful.  Thank you so much for your generousity again Debra.

The fires are once again raging out here this summer.  The smoke is so thick in the air that I don't know how long we'll stay at the lake this weekend.  It makes it hard to breathe and we were put into the "unhealthy" air quality category this morning. (Friday.  Yes, I started this post on Thursday but technical difficulties prevailed!)  Ha!

In fact, our old neighborhood was evacuated earlier this week because of a wildfire.  And we lived in town!  Only one home actually burned before it was contained at around 130 acres but it is still not under control.  Many more fires are burning right now.  Please pray for relief from the heat and for the safety of the firefighters all over the western U.S. right now.  We need rain.  It's not unusual to go from mid-June to September without any rain, but everything is so dry from past droughts.

I hope you are all well and enjoying your summer, or winter down under, (Shaz).  Have a lovely weekend and be safe.

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

Blessings,
Betsy


19 comments:

  1. It's cooled down here last few days. Last night chilly when I left bible study. Bummer about the fires in your area. Was thinking about you. Fire in The Dalles, OR. We'll be there late Sept...goodness. Hot weather next week too. Nice photos of your trip home. Busy at work this week and woke with a sore arm. Well a bit sore last eve. Letting heavy baby Judah hang from my arms was not a good idea for me to do. (Carol and Mark's grandson they bring to bible study as a few women just love him and he loves being around us.) My essential oils help me thru pain but take Advil at times too. Hugs and stay cool! Did you hear that Franklin Graham is going to be in Spokane next month. He'll be in Canby as well!

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  2. I never think of your area of the country as getting very hot. I am so sorry it ruined your stay at the lake. We are in a mild spell at the moment but the AC is still on.
    I am happy to see it all arrived in one piece. It had quite a journey!

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  3. Hoping that the fires are out soon. The whole country seems to be experiencing one disaster after another.

    Miss Piper looks very happy to be flying.

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  4. It has been in the high-90s here, too. I try to close up the house early, and it stays a comfortable temperature all day. I don't have AC. Your projects are lovely and Miss Piper is a sweetheart.

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  5. Miss Piper looks so comfortable in the sky. So sorry to hear about the raging fires and heat, praying for all those affected. It has cooled down considerably here I am back to wearing a thin sweater. Hope you manage to get back to your beloved lake with good quality air. The mountain view was stunning.

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  6. I hate to hear that so many wildfires are still burning. I can bear temps in the 90s, but anything over 100 gets to be a bit much. 109 here right now and it's only that low because we are in the midst of sandstorm. :/

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  7. May parents went to Wall Drugstore when my Dad retired. They took a car trip throughout the west. It was a treat for my Dad who was a big John Wayne, Louis L'Amour and all things West fan.

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  8. BETSY, I HAve passed Wall Drug and never went inside. Free cold water......yes!!! We needed lots of that at the barn last thursday night. I love all things PIPER and family!! THank u forsharing those. I hope the family withdrawal isnt too bad now. hugs to you

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  9. Fun visit to Wall Drugs.. they have SO MANY billboards on the highways.. we also stopped there when we visited Mt. Rushmore. I loved seeing your daughter's family flying in the plane.. not many people get to do that. Sorry about the fires. Can you believe I saw 2 arson set fires along side the road into Gresham the other day? You could tell they were set on purpose as there was a long line of fire in both places. VERY upsetting. Enjoy your weekend.. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  10. We have been to Wall Drug but not for years! Sorry to hear about the fires and the hot weather, we are cool for us in the 70's...but I like it! Piper looks natural flying...with her own headset and all. Hope you have a wonderful weekend:)

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  11. Hi Betsy, Yes, we have been to Wall Drugs and the Grand Tetons on our trips. I am sorry to hear the heat was so bad that you had to come home from your trailer and having to breath smokey air must be so terrible. We had some awful heat but now it is cooler and raining. Guess it is suppose to rain for three or four days. I gladly send you some if I could. The pattern for the blanket looks nice and warm. Stay safe! Nancy

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  12. Oh, my, I am so sorry you are having to deal with that awful heat and another threat of fires! God bless you and keep you and all of the firefighters safe. They are so faithful and take such risks. I have so much respect for them, police officers, and our military. So good to sit down and finally have time to read your post tonight, dear friend. God bless you.

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  13. Piper looks like a natural in the plane! Hoping your temps have moderated. Ours have, but it is so humid!

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  14. As always I love your Piper photos! It's been hot on this side of the mts., too. When we were briefly in Reno, we experienced real hot, but that didn't stop me from visiting 2 yarn shops. LOL That's a beautiful stitch pattern on your blanket; does it have a name? Happy Monday!

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  15. We haven't been watching the news lately so I had no idea of how bad the fires where in your area. We live a good 70 miles from any forests, but last year we had very smokey air quality, this year not so bad, yet. It all depends on the direction of the wind.
    Here's to good breathing and clean air.
    Connie :)
    In regard to the comment you left on my blog: Health insurance is our biggest problem too, but we are in the process of getting it figured out. Steve's company insurance is in effect until the end of the month and we are hoping that we can get everything set up with a supplement insurance by then. There might be a small gap because of paper work. It is a little bit scary, but we have decided to do what we can and give the Lord room to do the rest. After we go through it all, if you have any questions that I can answer, I'd be happy to.

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  16. So sorry about the fires and also the extreme heat. We are experiencing the opposite right now... We've had rain and MUCH cooler temperatures lately----amazing for us in July....

    Love the pattern for the baby blanket... Neat!!!!

    We love the Tetons and hope to get there in September....

    We passed by the Wall Drugs when we were in that area several years ago. Didn't stop... I'd love to stop though at least once to say I've been there.

    Stay COOL, my friend...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  17. So sorry about your heat...we have it here too...I just stay inside...it's about all you can do. That's interesting about Wall Drugs and I love your pictures of "the west". Great picture of "the crew" in the plane. We have an airstrip here and I see and hear planes but as many times as I've driven by it I've never seen a plane land or takeoff. I hope the rains come out there and you all stay safe from the fires.

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  18. I visited wall drugs in 1972. I have a book that I bought there in my book case. That same trip we stopped at a place in Arizona that advertised cold beer.

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  19. Enjoyed your account of your travels, seeing more of your beautiful stitching, and then your sweet flying family :) xx

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