Neither Wind nor Rain....can stop a Dutch Oven dinner

Now that the Rally is history, there is a little time to reflect on it and to remember the fun things that we enjoyed!!!



A highlight was the Dutch Oven Dinner that Bob and Barb planned for our group. They first introduced us to this fun way of cooking two years ago at Darlington, but we've never really done it the correct way...so they got the pots all stacked up with the appropriate amount of coals on each pot.....

.....there was a Pineapple Upside Down Cake in one pot....a pot with Baked Potato Wedgies....one with a delectible Chocolate Molten Cake.........

.....and one with a big pot of Donna's Texas Chilli........

...and, there were many other mouth watering dishes to go along with these treats!

The Dutch Ovens are ready to be opened and served!

There had been rain on and off all day, but that did not deter our cooks...or our eaters!!! A couple of the guys decided that they "needed" some of those pop-up canopies...so after a trip to Wal-Mart, we had a couple of those and a screen tent to cook in..... we marched on despite the weather!! Mother Nature actually co-operated with us and the rain cleared off and the breeze died down for about two hours while everyone devoured the feast out of the Dutch Ovens!

Cooking in the Dutch Ovens, with the coals carefully placed under and on top of the kettles is an interesting and delicious science!! Barb and Bob tutored us as they cooked, then served up a mouth watering main course of Chilli, Potatoes, Spoon Bread and more....and topped it off with that hot molten chocolate cake with ice cream AND a hot Pineapple Upside Down cake that Dee and Paul created. That old cliche, "It doesn't get any better than this" is very appropriate here....because it just doesn't!!!

Thanks to Barb and Bob for the Dutch Oven cooking night!!!

The things we do at a Rally....

What do we do at a Rally?

Well, we ladle up things like Hobo or Wondering Stew (in case you're wondering what we put in it).........

the gals sit on the "mat" and discuss very important things (absolutely NO gossip allowed here !:)).....

...we electrocute unsuspecting flies with high voltage flyswatters.....

......men hold the power cord whilst the MH gets repositioned........

....just how many men does it take to hold that cord?..........

...."c'mon back"...is an often heard term at Rally parking lots.........

.....lots of things get "fixed" at Rallies....just open the cover to any engine and at least three men will magically appear........

......we sit ANYWHERE while we work on the Fresh Water Brigade...filling everyone's water tanks..........

.....we tell a few "tall tales' each evening...... How big was it, Bob?

...some of us wear unusual hair styles........

Have you seen this woman? If so, call 1-800-LOCK-U-UP!!!!


.....and even more interesting hats and wigs!!!......




......and that's just a few of the things we do!!!

Just good old-fashioned fun...with the wagons gathered 'round and the campfires blazing!!!
HUGS!

Camp Duncan, Elkhart Indiana

Whew, September is flying by....there were almost two weeks spent in Elkhart at Camp Duncan (Duncan RV Systems and Repair) having "things" done to the Motorhome. The girls in the office make us feel so welcome and the guys in the shop take good care of us too...they treat you so well, it is a joy to be there in their little campground.

Bill, one of the Technicians, lives on Birch Lake in Michigan and he invited us to go home with him one night! Well..... YES, we want to come!!! Norah and Howie were also getting things done at Duncan so we made the thirty minute drive up to the lake and Bill put us all in the boat for a sunset cruise on his pretty lake!!

One of the "cottages" on Birch Lake

Bill, Camille and Amanda

Despite being up early every day, so the techs could take our rigs into the shop, we had a terrific time in Elkhart. Norah was redecorating her rig, so we spent many fun days shopping for her new sleeper, chair rail, rugs and fabrics. We made visits to our favorite Amish wood worker, Carlisle Lehman, to have new oak valances installed for them and ate untold wonderful meals together. Breakfasts at the Bravo Cafe and Amish Do-nuts and coffee in Middlebury and Shipshewana were a regular routine!!! Then we had to walk off the calories and play some cut-throat games of Hand and Foot every evening!!!

Howie's Birthday dinner ...Hey, where's Howie?

The Motorhome made it into the paint booth to get some little "blems" or boo-boo's removed and Bob was a happy guy. They have a first class, state-of-the-art paint bay at Duncan, and Vinnie, the lead paint tech is amazing. They worked until after 10 PM on the MH on Monday evening, just to have it ready for us to leave on Tuesday.

Bob is "inspecting" in the Paint Booth!!

We got our items finished up, and along with Norah and Howie, made up our little convoy on Tuesday, heading to Celina for the Gypsy Journal Rally. Arriving around 4 PM it was great to be greeted by Nick and Ron and Brenda, then Keith and Donna had our spots waiting for us in the Back Forty! John and Doni, Linda and Ron, and Barb and Bob were already there also, so we got parked and set up....ready to start the pre-Rally and have some fun!!! Donna made a huge Lasagna for everyone and so we had to.....what else???.....EAT!!! It was a great beginning to a fun Rally!!
We just love this area of the country, and love these folks and good friends... we are grateful, and looking forward to this Rally week or so!!! Even though there is some rain in the forecast, it will be a good time together!! Hugs to everyone...wish you all were here!! :)

Vanilla Fields forever.......

Do you remember the fragrance of your mother? When I was a little girl, my mother smelled distinctly of White Shoulders….later on it was Chanel No.5….but for the last twenty or more years, it was Vanilla Fields. I came to associate the smell of Vanilla Fields with all things “grandmotherly”, as she was a wonderful “Grannie”, and always came surrounded with that gentle hint of Vanilla Fields.

One of her “things” that I kept was some of this fragrance from her stash in the bathroom cabinet, and every now and then I will dab it on and start the day out smelling just like my mom. Mom has been gone a year now, and in her honor this week I am wearing Vanilla Fields. Just a tiny bit, as I want it to last forever, so that it can be worn every year in her memory.

Who knows...perhaps if I become a grandmother some day, I might create a stash of Vanilla Fields in my bathroom cupboard also. It’s a lovely smell to remember, and a sweet reminder of an amazing lady and mother.

I do miss my mother…..and if you see me this week, you might catch a whiff of her precious Vanilla Fields.

The Island Party.....and the moon over the river

Donna and Molly are ready for the Up Island Party and Clam Bake on Tami's porch!

Labor Day week brought glorious weather and good friends to the river! Keith and Donna Green arrived from Lufkin, Texas to stay a few days and enjoy the Up Island Clam Bake here on Pearson's Island. We have had so many good times with them.....and were so happy they could partake of the river festivities this week! Of course, that meant they got to be "helpers" in all the prep work...like counting tomatoes and fresh sweet corn, and taking trash to the dump, setting up the "Pot Farm" and countless other little tasks that go into putting the Clam Bake together!

Of course, in between all of these things, there was time for sharing Blueberry wine, campfires, and dinner at Good Eats, cook-outs and Crab melts and just "wandering" around the Island, and enjoying lots of beautiful sunsets.....and even my very favorite thing....full moon-rises over the river!! Yes, indeed, we even got to work on our moon tans almost every night...as the moon was full and large and bright as it rose over the water every evening.

Here at the river, we can tell the season by the position of the sunrise and sunset, and also by the moon rising, and where it "hangs" over the river at night. Many nights the bright full moon would awaken me from my sleep, as it dropped low into the Southern sky in wintertime. We knew that summer was waning and autumn on the way, as the sun reached it's most westerly position (June 21) and began it's reversal to the South. Likewise, in the winter, we eagerly awaited the solstice, knowing Spring and Summer will follow soon. There's a new sunset photo with the September sunset at the top of the blog.

And here is my best attempt, without a tripod, of that elusive moon rising over the river....

....here are Donna, Keith and Bob, slightly stuffed at Good Eats


A peek at Bob in his "Pot Farm" as he prepares the Clam Bake.....

...and the finished product...the Clam Bake is dumped and ready to devour....

Linda's lovely setting for the appetizers.....
Rick and Tami were our gracious hosts and in charge of most of the beverages, paper products, much of the set up and decorating and a million other things, and neighbors Linda and Charlie Moore provided amazing appetizers, Margaritas, tents and tables, as well as lovely table decorations and too many other things to name!! Bob and I were in charge of the Clam Bake, so he set up his "Pot Farm" and went to work!!
It was another delightful day with good Island folks to celebrate and enjoy the last feast of the summer together.

Mike, Rick, Bob...Tami modeling her "grass lei skirt" and Kay


You may visit Keith's blog at
http://green2gorv.typepad.com/green2gorv/
He was more diligent than I, and has documented this last wonderful week of summer quite well!
I must have been busy chasing the clams!! :-)

It's been such a joy having Donna and Keith here this week....we sure hope they'll find their way this far East again!! Hugs to everyone....looking forward to seeing a bunch of you in Celina very soon!