Cold Snap!!!

The last few days have brought severe weather changes around here, too much for me to keep up with for my backyard wildlife. I guess I didn't think it would be flooding and then freezing in a matter of hours. Many have suffered and sadly...many have died. I am trying to make things a little better for these folks though
First, I looked out on Thursday morning to see about a hundred worms on my patio. They were there because we had so much rain that they we drowning in the grass! It was cold but not freezing, so I gathered them up and

gently put them on this dish so I could replace them to the grass before it gets so cold they will freeze to death. It seemed to work...they had several hours before the temperatures plummeted to the twenties

These sparrows seem to be complaining to me...what was the point of getting a heated bird bath IF YOU DON'T PLUG IT IN??????? They don't know about the complications of three way plugs into two-way timers. I will get it fixed though. After much trying with several extension cords I think all I really need is an outdoor timer. That should have a three-way plug...which is what I need on both ends.

Eye Buy

A couple of weeks ago I was watching Dr OZ and as always I came away with something useful. I mean REALLY useful; that is for those of us who wear glasses. He was pushing this website that makes eyeglasses and interestingly enough it is named Eye Buy Direct , Com. I quickly jotted down the URL and kept watching.

I was not really ready for an eye exam (so I thought) since my last one was only about 14 months ago, but I got to thinking about the savings and after going to the website a few times, decided to get the exam and my new prescription so I could get lots and lots of new glasses for really cheap! I did my homework by making sure I got all the measurement information I needed from my optometrist so the glasses I selected would be right for me. In particular...something they call the pupiary distance...that is the distance between your pupils. This is easily obtained when you get your exam.

I did have a little difficulty getting the right length for the side pieces of the glasses and if I had it to do over again, I would probably call them before I placed my order, just to be sure I get the right stuff.

So anyway I thought I would show you the comparison of what I got the last time when I went to a National eyeglass chain and what I got when I ordered from EyeBuyDirect.com.

Take a look:


From the national chain I got one pair of sunglasses and one pair of progressive lenses. Standard quality. No, wait, the sunglasses fell apart and they charged me $35 to get them replaced, since I was within a year of purchase. They need adjustment at least once a year, that is free since I bought them there. Price for the package: $ 452.00

From EyeBuyDirect: I got one pair of reading glasses, one pair of progressive lenses and clip-on sunglasses for them. I had to go to a local eyeglass store to have them adjusted properly; I went to a new place that did not charge me for either of the new glasses shown above, nor for adjusting the sunglasses that I purchased from the national chain a year or so ago.
Price for the package: $127.00

Oh, I forgot to add...each pair of glasses arrived in its own little box, with a rigid eyeglass case and wrapped in an eyeglass cleaner cloth. Those cloths are a few bucks each at the local National chain store.

Now for the bad news...
In getting my eyes examined it was discovered that the cataract condition I have is a rather fast moving one; something they call posterior subcapsular cataracts. In English it means that very soon I will need cataract surgery or I will no longer be able to drive at night. This was quite a shock for me since the first mention of these was last year, I felt pretty sure I could make it till I was old enough to have medicare help me pay for it. That will not happen. I am seeing an eye surgeon in a couple of weeks to put the plan in place.

Wouldn't you know it, I find this great eyeglass place and after I have the surgery, I won't need them anymore....HA!

Elephant Sanctuary

One of the Blogs that I follow Bailey's Buddy posted something about an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. That same day I saw a new article showing that the woman who founded the sanctuary had been fired and efforts were being made to stop the relationship that had formed between the woman, the elephant and the dog. Yes, that's right...the dog. Watch this (hopefully BEFORE you have seen the news)


Now, here's the news

For some reason the video that I posted earlier cannot be viewed.

The Prohibition and More

During my trip on the Katy Trail we were fortunate enough to stop in Augusta, Missouri and listen to a presentation by Anita Mallinckrodt, Ph.D, the town's Historian (among many other things!).



We listened to a delightful presentation about the Prohibition and how it affected the little town of Augusta; how the Revenuers ascended on the town and discovered alcohol being sold in several establishments!!! She then told the story of how all the townspeople rose to the occasion, modified their ways and managed to survive this most interesting period of American History. She has written a book entitled: According to the Law and it has been released this week. I am sure it will be very interesting and enjoyable. Anyone who may be interested in obtaining a copy, please email me.

Then we toured the building and discovered a old wooden box with drawers and a functional lid (see below) It was the record keeping system for the local General Store during the early years of the 1900's







Since I spent the majority of my life in accounting, I find this fascinating because, if one were to look closely at these little slips of paper, you would find everything, every little thing that they purchased...which would indicate the kind of life they lived back then. There was a system for credit as well, which showed the struggle a lot of people went through and how the merchants helped them to make it through the hard times. All very interesting stuff! I think Anita may be working on yet another book!

The Katy Trail -- Sedalia to St Charles

I signed up with Road Scholar to do a biking program on the Katy Trail in Missouri. Mind you most of the folks that were in my group were older than me and I just turned 60something. Anyway, we met in St Charles, got some idea about the week's itinerary and then shuttled to Sedalia, Missouri, mile marker 229. That is a city that is about 30 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri. We stayed in a motel that night and the next day (my birthday) we began our trek across Missouri on the converted railroad line...now a biking trail, the longest in the rails to trails program in the United States. Our destination was St Charles, Missouri (just outside of St Louis).

We stopped in a McDonalds along the way and I got this shot from one of the pictures they had on the wall. I thought it was appropriate as a starting shot for this entry.

Here we are getting ready to start the trip from the parking lot of our hotel in Sedalia. We had the sag wagon stopping at various points along the way; anyone who felt they could not go further on the bike could load it and ride the van. Only one person did that because she had a biking accident. All the others managed to ride the entire trip as planned.

I had been practicing every day making sure I got at least 10 miles in, often I would do 15 or 20 miles. I tried to make sure I was in shape for this trip, but I think I was a little light on the miles. The first day we went 37 miles; that was more than my very best day of 36. The trail had at least three long sections of uphill (not severe, but still) which were enough to make me realize that this was going to be a challenging week.

We stayed in Boonville the second night, mile marker 191.8 and had dinner at the Isle of Capri Casino. I got this shot from the trail the following morning.

I behaved myself at the buffet and then got a little naughty with the slots.




They treated me well and I ended up $45 to the good. I appreciated the generosity and accepted it as a birthday present for my good behaviour.

We headed out first thing in the morning on Tuesday because we knew we had a 52 miles day ahead of us. Lordy, the last three miles were the longest miles I have ever done. The muscles between my shoulders felt like someone stuck a knife in them. I could not turn my head even an inch. I was seriously considering walking the last mile or two, but we were already running late and I was the last one in the group still on the trail; somehow I managed to finish the 52 miles but I was really glad I brought Advil with me. That helped a lot; the following day I found doing a series of stretching exercises for my neck and shoulders I could prevent the severe pain from recurring.

We stayed the third night in North Jefferson; mile marker 143.2. On Wednesday we headed out and continued to Hermann at mile marker 100.8. We stayed at the Harbor House and we did a tour of the Stone Hill Winery before having dinner there as well. It was a perfect setting, the foliage was turning gold and brown and the rows of grapes were mesmerising.



All in all it could almost make one forget the pains of the day. The German wursts dinner was delicious and everyone seemed to enjoy the mood.

The most spectacular bluffs were found in the Rocheport section of the trail; they seemed to go on and on..bluffs on one side, the Missouri River on the other. We were never at a loss for something gorgeous to look at
Like this beautiful weathered barn
They took what appeared to be the ends of a caboose and created this make-believe piano at the depot in Sedalia, I pretended to be a great pianist...see how I have those keys jumping?

Have you ever seen the scene in the desert where cars are half-buried vertically? Well, this appears to be Missouri's version of the same thing, but with boats.
A little wild life on the trail. The snake I saw was too quick for a picture.
The last day, I rode straight through and checked in to the hotel, then went searching for lunch and found it at an outside cafe. They had a special soup 'n half sandwich. Since I was starving, I had the baked potato soup and a turkey BLT...I think it was the best meal I had all week. So delicious!


One of the "fru-fru" shops in Old Town St. Charles...it really is quite picturesque

Here is a shot of the sag wagon and my speedometer showing the trip mileage at 200.69 miles.

My dusty old bike happy to be at the end of the line in St Charles, mile marker 39.5.

Note:
Augusta was such a special stop that I will be making a separate posting about it, since it has nothing to do with biking!

Pre-Birthday Fun

Last week I visited with my cousin and her family for a day before I started my week-long trek across Missouri on the Katy Trail. I try never to visit with them without bringing some munchies. This time it was bags and bags of cookies; there were thumbprints, cherry/butter cookies, chocolate butter cookies, Chinese Chews (which seem to be the hands down favorite among the group), oatmeal date cookies and finally a light as air chocolate ball cookie covered in walnuts. The biggest challenge for me was not to have any prior to my starting the trip. I knew if I started eating them before I got there, the pickins' would be slim. I was very proud of myself. I had NONE!




So after coming up with that great array of cookies I later found out that Darline's favorite cookie is peanut butter....back to the drawing board! Even though I did not have her favorite, it looked like everyone was enjoying the bounty!

Then it was on to Harrah's for a seafood buffet. Man o man that was fabulous. They had steamed crab legs and Hong Kong crab legs; big fat and juicy and as much as you wanted...just can't beat it. But since crab legs don't make for a very exciting photo, I thought I would show some of the desserts that we could choose from
Here Darline found a peanut butter cheesecake that seemed to satisfy that craving...
I was torn between the lemon meringue and the little fruit tarts...so I had them all!
Sissy had gelato and little key lime tartlets
Then it was on for a little slot fun. I took this as an omen for my success for the evening...

$20.90 isn't huge, but it's better than nothing!

I'll be back

I've been away on a strenuous trip for a week. Almost recuperated and will post a few interesting things soon...Stay tuned!