respublica

When it comes to tech, we're clueless

For the past two days we believed that the lack of a tv signal meant the Dish went out after Thursday's rain. Well, the joke was on us. Lizzie and her family are here and Lizzie picked up the remote this morning and found along the side a button which said, "Satellite". She pushed it and on came the tv. I guess at one point one of us (Dale or I) bumped it when turning it off. Now we have it all up and running again.

It's the small things.

Unfortunately for us and the grandsons, the weather is cold and gray. I mean we need warmer clothes. So no water events today.

Getting wired

We are spoiled most likely with all of our tech things which keep us in communication quickly. But we learned there are still places which are very underserved by cellular towers, internet etc. And we are in one of those places. When we arrived on Tuesday there was absolutely no way to get ahold of anyone anywhere. No phone service no internet connection. We'd arranged from Collinsville in the weeks ahead of our trip to have a landline scheduled, Dish satellite hooked up and internet.

The problem was those who were to do this work expected (logically) for us to get their emails regarding times of arrival. And of course we did not. So Dale spent a good part of our first afternoon and evening and even the next morning, driving a half hour away to find cell service to answer them. It became exhausting. Spoiled we may be but these days you really need a way to call or email in emergencies.

The Dish guy was right on time the next day and a really fun person to talk to. He got it all up and working and so we at last had tv. The next day came the guy from Dish who hooked up the internet which meant another one of those Dish things on the roof.

We have not heard from the local phone company about that service although we got a bill. They aren't too efficient here with that kind of thing judging by the crazy emails from the office. So phone calls are kind of iffy right now but having internet helps with that.

Funny thing is, well not funny, but yesterday saw a lot of rain and wind. Of course the Dish TV went out and is still out. We've heard this happens a lot. But the internet dish right next to it is still working, thank goodness or I wouldn't be writing this.

We will get used to a different way of going about our time here including a 25 minute drive to any grocery store.

The old and the new

As it happens the cottage we purchased in Davisville, Missouri, has a couple of old black and white photos of the way it looked when it was built way back. I have been fascinated by changes we have discovered. At one time it was much smaller and this shows on the roof line but also inside. It was originally much narrower east to west and north and south, if that makes sense. We don't know yet when it was enlarged, but everything was kept true to the original. I also did some close study of the outdoor fireplace which also seem original, but not built for just sitting around for fun.

It seems to me the huge size was made for cooking as well as heat. I climbed sort of into it and could see old iron braces as well as rusted grates. I'm guessing a large cast iron pot was hung up in there and held meals. Also the size makes be think animals hunted for food were put on some sort or spit and roasted.

Here is the original followed by the current cottage.

And the fireplace which probably hasn't changed that much.

We may have too much stuff

We are taking both cars down to the Huzzah River today and boy are we loaded down. I will say Dale has a totally different view on what we needed to take than I do. He was focused on really bulky, heavy things like a patio table, and patio umbrellas with stands. Plus, two adirondack chairs and tools. Which all took up a lot of space we also need for bedding, clothes, cleaning supplies, food etc. And he had the nerve to ask me why I needed to bring my laptop.

I will be happy when we get landed around 3.

Well, we did it.

For some time Dale and I have talked about getting a second home, a weekend or vacation house. At first it was all about a condo in Gulf Shores. I was less enthusiastic about that than Dale because it just wouldn't have been used. Too far away to just go for a long weekend. In the end we gave up on it and actually stopped discussing a second place.

Until May first when we went to visit friends of ours who lived near the seminary and had a dog named Booj who was best friends with Ferdie. They put a notice on Facebook that they were selling their cottage in Davisville, Missouri, a town with a name but no real town. it's on the Huzzah River, some miles south of Steelville in Crawford County the home of the lowest percentage of people who have been vaccinated. Not that we thought this is a plus. This area is also part of the floating capital of Missouri. We loved this place with 2 and half acres along the river.

We made an offer before we left, was acceped 3 days later and by golly we closed on it this past Tuesday in the St. Louis Title company in downtown Clayton.

We still don't know how this happened, but then we look at the photos and know we will enjoy being there periodically. Actually we are going on Tuesday until Memorial Day. We are going to need a few days to figure out how to live in this place, what we need to bring, where to put things, or get-like food. It won't be easy running out for food.

Here are some pictures

The water is clear as a bell and not deep.

The inside is pretty cool.

There's the Booj.

The bathroom also has a urinal, something we laugh about, but with 5 grandsons, it seems about right.

I did not know about the unrinal until we got home or I would have taken a picture.

The best part is everything in it stays. We have to get nothing, really, at least for now. Even the 4 wheeler.

An indoor and outdoor fireplace.

Also a shed which Dale loves.

There are no stores anywhere near which means taking things or stopping in Cuba or Steelville. I'd say we are pretty interested in this new venture. Now that retirement hit we found we had too much energy to keep spending it on doing things around the Collinsville house. Eventually there is nothing left to do. Bad thing is the internet is poor and there are no cell towers to speak of. That will drive me nuts, but we shall see. We actually had to get a landline phone, but the service claims there is a modem connected to it. I hope.

 

How many do you do?

This is a fun piece. 48 Little Social Etiquette Rules Everyone Should Follow. Seriously. it's fun to look through. Most we should know, but others we don't. Funny pictures with each one as well.

I like a lot of them and believe them to be true, but the photos are from the 1950's which makes sense since our era is lacking in basic manners. Here's one example. "Don't have your grocery cart in the middle of the aisle. Others are trying to shop too." 

I see this all the time, someone's cart is in the middle while that person stares at the shelves. Some of the worst with this practice are the many store stockers and the people who shop for those who sent in their lists online. There are too many Insta-Cart people slowly moving around while they stare at their phones looking at lists.

 

Cicada Views

This is a big year for the 17 year Cicadas, especially out in the Virginia/Maryland area. Here in the St. Louis area they are saying we probably won't have many if at all. But, our daughter lives in ground zero for these huge insects and has her trees, shrubs, and lawn covered with them. At firsts her boys were rather transfixed by them, but now there are so many the yard is unusable. I did some googling to see how to deal with this especially the lawn. I wondered if running over them with a lawnmower would help but saw no advice other than to use a garden hose to spray them off the trees and lawn into piles. That sounds like no fun. In any event here is a look at what they have been living with. click to enlarge for better view.

Don't set your muffin down for even a minute boys.

Trees absolutely covered

The ground around the trees

And the lawn.

Bathrooms- The one thing everyone still needed

During the months of the pandemic shut-down I'd bet there had to be times when we all had to be somewhere. And being somewhere for any length of time meant a need for a rest room. Mostly they were closed in public places or were places we just did not want to go near. So we calculated the time we'd have to be gone from home in order to not have to use them. This may sound over the top, but it has been part of our mindset. People who were able to comfortably use public restrooms have my respect, but I was not one of them.

Which brings me to this post on Facebook this morning. Someone wrote about a place he returned to after it had been closed (not a restaurant) and found that the bathroom was gone. He said, "Warning to Illinois folks coming here—stop somewhere else first.

Glad to know I was not the only one worrying about bathrooms in one way or other.

A new era has begun

Just like that the requirement to wear masks when we are in public spaces has gone away. The virus has slowed down, vaccinations are up, both of which has led political leaders to allow no masks. While a certain percentage of us will continue with the masks, more and more of us are over it.

One thing I dearly wish would go away as well is the one door in and one door out used by grocery stores. Entrance only and exit only was probably never really necessary.

Potato update

I've been fairly obsessed with my potato plants this year, watching them, babying them, adding soil and straw to them. Now they are really lush and huge. I just hope they will bring actual potatoes in a few weeks.

Here are the potted ones sitting on our deck, soil has been added to the pots gradually until it reached the top. They dwarf all the other pots of herbs and flowers

Then the ones planted into the ground behind the garage.

They are dwarfing the brussel sprout plants next to them.