Back in the saddle

Sorry for lack of posts of late.  I've fallen off the wagon and have been wandering in the woods.  Things have been hectic/busy around here and honestly, I haven't been keeping up with any of my blog duties and I really feel bad.  I kinda stepped away from the terminal for a bit, except for when work demands it, and have been distracted with other tasks.  I could plead a dozen reasons, but nobody likes to hear whiny excuses, especially me, so sorry for slacking off for so long.   

I intended to start up posting with a few updates, but my muse got drunk and ran off on  sort of abandoned me and I haven't been able to string together anything meaningful or even interesting.    

A lot has happened over the past two months (Damn, has it been THAT long?).  We were still dealing with Anne's passing.  Closing out a person's life is something we are not well trained for.  Lots of minor details, actions, tasks to be addressed.  We have not yet taken Anne & David up to Arkansas to the family site, but we are hoping to do something in the summer.  SIL's ongoing condition still makes any long term plans difficult/problematic.  Despite all of those hurdles, we are moving on with life.  Keeping busy.

I won't try to play catch up on everything that has transpired over the last 8 weeks, but it has been a wee bit busy.  Physical exams, doctors visits, one of those fun "oscopy" tests, a company merger, one broken window, the end of an era, a few birthdays, one dog party, and the annual Art Car parade.  If I tried to cover all of that, this blog would turn into some sort of novella.  I will try to play catch up over the next few weeks.
       
I guess we can start with trailers - I had to replace the window in my trailer again.  Yea, for those that think this sounds familiar, I've done this before.  Two years ago, some punks broke into several trailers in the storage yard looking for stuff to steal/pawn.  Didn't get anything from my rig aside of a broken set of binoculars and an old dvd player.  Was more of a pain in the butt cleaning up and getting a replacement window.  Back in March, I got a call one morning from the guy that owns the property and he told me that his yard guy was mowing the lot and kicked up a rock through my window.  He was very sorry and said he would pay for the replacement, so I wasn't really po'd.  I actually found it funny - same window as last time so I pretty much had the same clean up task.  Just took a few days to get a new window shipped down.        

Here we go again

All fixed       

End of an Era - with Anne's passing, we've been taking stock of the situation.  My parents are 92+ and still fairly active, but things are changing for them.  After their wreck in November, they have been taking things a bit more slowly.  Not really showing and real hurry or interest in getting a new vehicle, I think the writing was on the wall.  My dad was up for a few more trips but I think my mom nixed that idea.  So it wasn't all that much of a shock to me when we were having our weekly dinner with them when my dad mentioned that he was going to sell his trailer.  My mother chided him for not offering up to me but, honestly, I didn't want it.  One year newer than mine, it is 4 feet longer and weighs considerably more.  34 feet and a third axle really increases the weight of the rig and the old land barge just wouldn't be up to the task.  For that size of trailer, you need something a bit more substantial.  I am not quite ready for another new car payment and, besides, my old 30 footer meets our current camping needs.  Unless you were full timing - we really didn't need the extra 4 feet of trailer.  So, he is prepping his trailer to turn it over to a broker for a sale.  He really doesn't really want to sell it in the club - something about not passing on any problems.  It is a beautifully maintained and well travelled rig (for an 18 year old trailer) and, with the care he has given it, I wouldn't hesitate to take it cross country.  Airstreams typically don't last very long whenever they hit the lot.  They hold their value and typically bring top dollar, even if they are 18 years old.  But that brings me to the era thing.  I am kinda bummed/depressed.  I know this would happen eventually and, with the wreck, it was inevitable, but, to me, it makes the end of a very long era.  My parents got their first Airstream from my uncle  the Air Force Colonel. back in 1979 while I was still in college.  35 years, 4 trailers  and upteen thousand miles later, they are finally hanging it up.  It hit me the other day that most of the grandkids have never known them without their trailer.  They have been blessed to have been able to travel so much and for so long, but this will be a major paradigm shift for them (as well as us).    

Prepped for sale.
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