Pampering Dianne

Roger here.... I am actually having fun pampering Dianne when she gets home from work. It makes us both smile, and at least I am doing something to help Dianne as she brings home a little bit of the cash that will help us pay expenses for the rest of the year. I thought it would be fun to document the new daily "welcome home" routine.

The process begins during each afternoon with the preparation of supper, snacks, and a hot epsom salt foot bath (hot water added every day at 4:40 p.m.)

When Dianne arrives at around 4:45 p.m. I greet her at the door with a glass of wine. Followed by a few short steps to the foot bath. Jasper usually nuzzles Dianne at this point while Charlie the Cat determines that the foot bath water is not drinkable. Snacks are then served, humus today, (Dianne here: Ha!! I pointed out to Roger that I would NOT eat humus, but I love hummus!! That's what happens when your proofreader is at work....) followed by pillow fluffing and then dinner.

We need to eat early because we only have about an hour to watch any of our recorded TV programs (Friday Night Lights, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Grey's Anatomy, Saturday Night Live, Two and a Half Men, 30 Rock, The Office, and any Purdue or Colts games) before Dianne reads in bed for a half hour and dozes off at 7:30 p.m. She gets up every morning at 3:30 a.m. to get ready for work. A side note... Dianne does not actually watch the Purdue and Colts games, but she will watch the last two minutes if they win.

Speaking of Colts games, after Peyton and Company pulled off that amazing finish last Sunday, I dug out our Colts banner from one of the bays. We don't have one of those outdoor flag holders so I figured out a way to display it through the front windshield. It is back lit with one of the adjustable motorhome lights. It looks pretty cool from the street.

"Git Along, Little Doggies...."

Roger here.... Due to our work schedules, there has been very little time for Jasper and Chaplin to take the long walks that they love. Since Dianne works days (now eleven-hour shifts), and I work(ed) nights (also eleven hours), there was little time to take the dogs on more than their twice-a-day pottie/poop walks.

We decided to devote one of our days off (last Wednesday) to the dogs. We started the day from our campsite at Walter Johnson Park by walking past the livestock pens

(good sniffing for the dogs)

and stopping by the rodeo arena. (The day before three cowboys on horses were herding cattle inside the fence as I was walking the boys. They ran right by us, and Chaplin was as excited as I have ever seen him. Evidently, he thinks he is a border collie because he wanted to run with the cows in the worst way.)

We were hoping that the cattle were still there. They were, but this time they were penned and certainly not being chased by the cowboys - much calmer. Nonetheless, Chaplin was still engaged. He seldom focuses on anything for more than a few seconds, but he stared longingly

at the cattle for several minutes before it was time to move along.

After watching the cattle, the four of us hopped in the Matrix for a fifteen mile drive to Elk City State Park. On the way through Coffeyville we were greeted by a two mile display of American flags in celebration of Veterans' Day.

They were spaced about eight feet apart on both sides of the street - an impressive display. These Kansas towns love to decorate.

Elk City State Park is located on the banks of the huge Elk City Reservoir, just north of Independence.

It was a Corps of Engineers property that is now leased by the State of Kansas.

For us, the hiking trails were the attraction. Because it was a Wednesday in November, we had the trails to ourselves. Jasper immediately went into his Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy mode.

He truly loves being the alpha male and literally pulls us along the trails.

At one point we lost the trail due to a blanket of fallen leaves. We (Jasper) were able to find our way out as we stumbled upon one of the park roads. We followed the road back to our car.

Hiking in sixty degree weather was a great diversion for both Dianne and me, as well as the dogs.

On the way back

to the campground we stopped in Independence to check out Braum's, the local ice-cream shop. Ice cream is my favorite food, but we don't keep it in the motor home because if it were constantly available, I would not stop eating it. Ice cream shops are a different matter. Dianne had two scoops of chocolate-almond. I had a hot fudge sundae. We may have to go back next week!

MR. MOM - HOUSE HUSBAND! Those of you with a good eye may have noticed the word work(ed) in the first paragraph of this blog. Now for the sad story..... I injured my back at work. I cannot pinpoint specifically when it happened, but the pain that ran from my lower back and down my right leg to my knee was excruciating. I put heat on it every night and took more Aleve than I should have, but about half way through every shift I could hardly walk. The pain lessened when I stooped or when I walked, but was unbearable when I stood without moving for any length of time. By the end of each shift I walked like Chester from the old Gunsmoke series. One of my fellow workers joked that he was getting me a walker for Christmas. I always felt a little better in the morning and went back to work the next day, but the scenario always repeated.

After three days of misery, I called in and went to a local chiropractor - my first ever chiropractic visit, and one of the very few times I have ever called in sick. The good doctor said that I was a half inch out of alignment. After a half hour pounding on me (He was very good, by the way), I felt a lot better. He remeasured and said that everything was back in place. He asked me to come back in two days before I went back to work. The follow-up visit went well and I was, for the most part, pain-free. When I returned to work the next evening, I was pain-free until about 2:00 a.m. (three hours before the end of the 11-hour shift). At that point all the pain returned at the same levels as before. This time, when I got up the next morning, the pain was still there - I could hardly walk. I spent the day hobbling around the motor home. The dog walk was a chore. At 4:00 p.m., an hour before my shift, I was still in pain (though not as intense as earlier). Dianne and I discussed it, and we decided that I could not continue to work. I could probably have continued with shorter shifts (and trips to the chiropractor), but the shifts have already been lengthened from ten to eleven hours (four days a week), and there are rumors that the shifts will go to twelve hours for five days a week - this happened last year. The earned money was not worth any kind of permanent injury or the continuing pain. So I am again retired. Disappointing, but the best decision.

Now for the fun part :)..... Dianne wanted to continue working. So, I am now taking over all the domestic responsibilities, the ones I already did + all of hers. I am now doing: all the dog walking (time for longer walks than before), cooking, grocery shopping, vacuuming, dusting, other cleaning, dishes, laundry, etc. After Dianne's shift ended last night, I greeted her at the door with a glass of wine, a hot-water foot soak with epsom salts, and dinner. (Dianne here: I just finished my overtime, fifth 11-hour day in a row, and I can tell you that I'm LOVING the special treatment from "Mr. Mom;" I'm already spoiled!!)

I (Roger) am doing my best to replicate Mrs. Cleaver, from the old Leave it to Beaver show - except of course for the dress, make-up and high heels. Jeans, shaving every other day, and t-shirts are more to my liking. Dianne tells me she can get used to this.

By the way, after several days of rest and daily stretching (orders from the chiropractor) I am pain-free again. Gotta go. I have a grocery list to work on. (I hope Dianne likes steak and baked potatoes every night.) (Dianne again: I'd be happy with cereal and milk, so long as I don't have to cook it!!)

Woolaroc Museum & Lodge, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Dianne here -- This week on our "tourist day," Roger and I drove south about 30 miles to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to visit the Woolaroc Museum and Lodge.   

Roger here....  We made an excellent choice for a visit.  Our friends from Indiana, Jay and Nancy, told us that if we were near Bartlesville, that we should visit Woolaroc.  We discovered that it was only thirty miles away, so off we went.  It was perfect weather for a visit - full sun and mid seventies!

A little background...  Frank Phillips was the founder of Phillips Petroleum (Phillips 66).  The self-made millionaire brought prosperity to Bartlesville and the surrounding area.  He built a mansion for his family in Bartlesville, but spent half of every year hobnobbing with other millionaires in New York City.  He intended to build a place in Connecticut to entertain his East Coast friends, but decided, instead, to build a ranch outside of Bartlesville for that purpose.  What a great decision!  The countryside here is beautiful - rolling hills, lakes, streams, rock outcroppings, and grasslands with interspersed forests.  The name itself, Woolaroc, is a combination of  the three main features: woods, lakes, rocks. 

The first structure to be built was the lodge.  The two-story log structure has a lot of character.  It overlooks rock croppings that descend to a scenic lake and Indian tepees.  You can imagine the guests (including two former presidents - Truman and Hoover) watching the sunsets in a unique second-story screen room.  The inside rooms are decorated by scores of animal trophies.  Frank must have given the local taxidermists a comfortable living.  Dianne took a moment to literally smell 

the roses that thrive outside the lodge.

Dianne again:  Will Rogers was also a good friend of Frank Phillips and spent a lot of time here.  Frank Phillips loved his Oklahoma lodge so much that he and his wife are buried in a family mausoleum on the grounds.

The museum

 honors the Indians and Cowboys that inhabited the area during the colorful years before modern times.  It is surrounded by countless life-sized bronze  sculptures. 

 The first room to be built housed the airplane

 (Woolaroc) that won a contest crossing the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.  It has expanded to many galleries full of art and artifacts.  The architecture and lighting in the museum are as impressive as any museum I have visited.

Dianne here:  Remember that any of the photos on the blog can be made larger for viewing if you click on them.  (I especially recommend this for the painting and sculpture photos!)   There was no flash photography allowed, so I was at the mercy of the ambient lighting, but it was good enough.

  The artifacts included relics from an Aztec-like culture that inhabited the Oklahoma area, shrunken heads (Dianne's favorite) from Ecuador, and  countless Indian and cowboy items that Dianne and I took the time to leisurely examine.  Dianne took a picture of a collection of cowboy spurs.  

She was too embarrassed to take a picture of the shrunken heads, as a sweet, elderly docent lady was stationed nearby.  Dianne was afraid that the docent might think that she had macabre interests.   Only her husband and closest friends know that she actually does.

I am not an art fanatic.  I enjoy some of it, but it is not something that I would go out of the way to visit.  I must say, however, that the sculptures and paintings in this museum were fascinating.  Many were of well-known Americans (explorers, presidents, pioneers, and Indians).  Many were so well done that they looked more like photographs than paintings.  There were several Frederick Remingtons, an artist I have actually heard of.  Our favorite bronze sculpture was of four cowboys headed to town after payday.

  By a long shot, our favorite painting was a gigantic rendering entitled Navajo Fire Dance.  Our photo of this painting that covers an entire wall does not do it justice.

The two-mile drive from the entrance of the property to the lodge and museum was, by itself, worth the $8 admission.  Frank Phillips assembled a collection of animals that roam freely throughout the property.  Visitors are not allowed out of their cars during the drive as the animals are mostly not in enclosures.  The abundant animals were EVERYWHERE.  Dianne and I saw

 Texas longhorns, Elk with full antlers,

 a variety of smaller deer, emus, ostriches, and bison (buffalo) among many others.  At one point we watched a small European Fallow Deer walk in front of our car to greet one of its kind that was behind a fence. 

 (Unfortunately, we did not get a shot of them rubbing noses through the fence.)  A little further down the road, we stopped the car to allow a bison to finish crossing the bridge that we would soon cross.  

The big fella hung around our car for several minutes while we took multiple pictures.

If this was not enough, there are hiking trails on the grounds.  Since it was such a nice day, and we love to hike, we sought them out.  They were on the far side of the children's petting zoo.  After entering the area, there were several options.  There was not a map, but everything appeared to be well-marked (or so we thought).  We opted for the one-mile warriors' circle and traveled over rocky stream beds, rock bridges and through a wooded area where the trail DISAPPEARED.  

I hate when that happens.  The problem was that the falling leaves covered the trail.  After a few minutes we found an orange ribbon that marked the trail ahead and were back on our way.

Woolaroc was an unexpected surprise.  We thought it would be interesting.  We did not know how well-done it actually turned out to be.  This is one of those attractions that would be worth driving well out of the way to visit.  Oh, and if you do, plan to spend an entire day.

It was late afternoon when we traveled back through the animal sanctuary to head back to Coffeyville.  Since we had not eaten since breakfast, we decided to stop in Bartlesville to eat.  We chose the Outlaw Chop House.  The name of the restaurant reflects the numerous outlaws that inhabited this wild area decades ago.  We always try to sample regional food when we are in a particular part of the country.  What better place to have a steak than Oklahoma.  I had the Dalton Gang Sirloin.   Dianne had chicken-fried steak.  Yummy.  What a great day!

Neewollah Festival, Independence, Kansas

Hi all -- Dianne here.

We're publishing three posts at a time this week, so scroll down to see the other two, if you are interested.

Roger and I have decided to be tourists at least one day a week on our days off. Yesterday we took advantage of a beautiful (albeit windy) day to check out the food vendors at the Neewollah Festival in nearby Independence, Kansas.

Neewollah ("Halloween" spelled backwards) was started WAY BACK in 1919 as an effort to provide positive activities for kids of all ages in place of the typical Halloween pranks. Today it has grown to be one of the oldest and largest celebrations in Kansas, featuring parades, a queen coronation, a carnival

and professional shows and entertainment in the

bandstand right in the middle of town.

Food vendors line the streets of downtown throughout the week, offering all kinds of tempting treats. (No elephant ears, though; must be a regional thing :-(

Roger here... This is really a cool festival. The five blocks of "state fair" food booths alone are worth the visit.

We had a delicious concoction called an Indian taco, that used Indian fry bread instead of a taco shell.

The fry bread was like an elephant ear without the sugar coating, though not as large.

We finished off with a cinnamon roll and coffee from another vendor.

Independence, Kansas is a pretty town of about 10,000 people. During Neewollah, the population swells to over 80,000! The celebration goes on for nine days, and includes activities like a 10k run, a chili cook-off, a great pumpkin contest, and much more. Roger really wants to go back this evening to see the Doo Dah parade (advertised as adults only). If the predicted rain holds off, we just might do it. The kids have their own separate parade on Friday, lest you think they've been left out of the fun.

I have always loved Halloween, and have been dismayed in recent years at how it has been watered down to a "harvest" holiday (at least in Indiana), with kids at school not even allowed to celebrate it. No such thing here; there are ghosts and witches decorating all of downtown, and the local school children help make decorations which are displayed in the downtown store windows, ghosts and witches and all!! The entire town of Independence is decorated with orange and black flags and banners.

I AM glad kids today don't feel the need to soap windows and do destructive pranks on Halloween. Is anyone else old enough to remember the wooden spools that were nicked on the edges, put on coat hangers, wound with string and used as noisemakers on unsuspecting homeowners' windows?? (That was a 1950s thing; I forget what they were called). I wish I could say I have never soaped a window, but that activity was still going strong in the early 1960s. My favorite of all, though, was trick or treating. (I have a real sweet tooth, so Halloween and even Easter were my favorite holidays). I will miss doling out candy this year to the Pendleton, Indiana trick-or-treaters. The house we just sold was right in town, so we went through BAGS AND BAGS of candy every year. I always bought the chocolate "good stuff," secretly hoping for leftovers.

I'm feeling nostalgic, since this will be the first year we won't be around our granddaughter on Halloween. I think I'll include some of my favorite halloween photos, just for old time's sake:

This first one goes WAY back to the 1980s, when our two daughters were little. (When they got older, they insisted on better costumes!)

The rest are photos of our beautiful granddaughter, Kaia, at different ages, either in costume or posing with our yard decorations:

As you can see in the last photo, even our "grandpuppy" Cinnamon celebrates Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!!