Month: November 2021
Murdo Girl…Full of gratitude
I heard the perfect saying for me on television the other day which is strange because I’ve had very little time to watch television. Some of the advertisements sink in by osmosis. The words I heard were, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” Perfect right? I think it’s supposed to mean that I’m the head of something which I’m not but I try really hard to do my part. And I do occassionally wear a crown.
Kip and I will be in California for a while longer. We’re enjoying spending time with family and trying our best to get our dogs trained. Nellie loves the dog park and she behaves herself. She knows the drill and follows other dogs around until she gets one to play with her and then she runs them ragged. Rylie is too rowdy for the dog park so I walk him, or rather he walks me, on the leash. He’s a real cutie though and very sweet and affectionate.
I wrote a little poem to say thank you. I owe so many family and friends my thanks. I hope you know I miss you.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with love and laughter….Kip and Mary
I have so much I want to say and things I want you all to see.
To my dear family and friends, thanks for sharing your love with me.
I love you more than I can say. Wish I could shout it loud and clearly.
Instead I’ll whisper loving words, hoping that you will hear me.
We all have things to comfort us and things we share to comfort others.
Thanks for all you give to me. I love when we help one another
When I hear It is well with my soul, my breathing slows to its lovely pace.
When I hear In the Garden, I walk beside He who gives me grace
I often worry about things that never make it to fruition.
I don’t know what the right things are. I don’t have that intuition.
So I push the fear away and don’t give it space inside my head
I look to something I have read or something someone else has said.
“Don’t push the river it always flows.” My mother often said to me.
“It’s important to remember that we shall see what we shall see.”
So much depends on where I look…and that which I wish to see.
Do I see what makes me sad or will my heart look for the beauty?
My happiness can be found in skies filled with either sun or rain.
Don’t think I over simplify but peace can rise above our pain.
When someone smiles do you smile back? It’s the natural thing to do.
So offer all your sweetest smile. You might say, “God Bless You,” too.
Happy Thanksgiving
Murdo Girl…Catching up
Have you missed me? We’re in Ontario and will be until Thanksgiving day. We were going to stay until the Saturday after but the huge RV park we’re in now will be full. Our plan is to head north and see the Ronald Regan Museum and then maybe see some other parts of northern California. Everything for the remainder of the trip will be on a whim.
We’ve been enjoying our time with Gus and our eating is still out of control. I decided this morning that I have six weeks until my (big) birthday and I want to lose ten pounds before then. Maybe seven. I’d be happy with seven. Even five would be better than nothing. I have looked at recent pictures of myself and I was amazed to discover how chubby my face is. That’s not a good look for me. Maybe three pounds will help that part. I’ve heard that if you know the right technique, you can contour your face with makeup. I’m leary of that because I have seen women who are wearing all of this perfectly done makeup and I wonder what they look like before they put it on and after they take it off. I don’t like to look that much different.
The dogs are learning a lot on this trip. They sit, poop and pee on command. It’s just that they want to do it at 4 o’clock in the morning. At least the weather has been gorgeous. I think Nellie and Rylie will be writing a blog rating the different dog parks they have frequented. There is definitely a difference. They are full of pros and cons, but I’ll let them tell you all about it.
Tomorrow, Gus, Kip and I are going to join Gus’ group of friends who gather for a “meeting” every Wednesday morning at the Ontario Bakery. The bakery makes the best bear claws I have ever put in my mouth. I know I said that about two other places, but I forgot about the Ontario Bakery bear claws. There are really none better. Tomorrow night, we’re going to the Legion for steak night. The steaks, baked potato, salad and dessert are consistently outstanding. Everyone else usually only consumes half and then take the rest home, but I can never manage to do that. I eat it all! Who cares about a fat face, anyway.
We’ve been busy every waking minute, but I can’t tell you what we’ve been doing. It’s not a secret. I just don’t know how our days get so full.
Murdo Girl…London Bridge
My plan was to blog our trip with a little more regularity, but it was not meant to be. I do want to pass on the story of the London Bridge that was transported from London and rebuilt piece by piece in Lake Havasu City.
For nearly 2,000 years, a series of bridges has spanned the River Thames in London. The bridge spanning Lake Havasu City’s Bridgewater Channel today was built 190 years ago in 1831. Due to a heavy increase in vehicle traffic in the early 20th century, this bridge began sinking into the River Thames, so the City of London had it dismantled and sold it at an auction in 1967.
Robert P. McCulloch was the winning bidder at $2.4 million ($19 million in today’s dollars). As Lake Havasu City’s founder, he teamed up with C.V. Wood, Disneyland’s master planner and the theme park’s first employee, to design his dream city. An eccentric but visionary entrepreneur known for the McCulloch chainsaw brand, McCulloch had an idea that many thought was odd: It was to reconstruct the bridge as an attraction to draw tourists and prospective buyers of residential lots.
The London Bridge is NOT falling down contrary to the popular English nursery rhyme. The inside of the bridge is hollow but it’s reinforced with a sturdy steel framework faced with granite. The vintage lamp posts on the bridge are made from the melted-down cannons of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army at the Battle of Waterloo.
The London Bridge survived World War II Nazi warplane bombings. Visitors can see the battle scars left behind and where two U.S. soldiers tagged their names on the centuries-old stone.
The English village surrounding the bridge features little shops and fun things to do and see.
We left Cattail Cove State Park on Wednesday morning and traveled 8 hours to San Dimas, CA. We are now staying in another lovely RV park on Puddington Lake. It’s about 10 miles from where Gus lives. We met him fir lunch at Andy’s, a family owned restaurant Mom and Gus discovered many years ago.
We took the pups to a couple of new dog parks yesterday. A good time was had by all. Well, if I’m going to be honest, we left the first one before we got kicked out. Rylie got a little too roudy.
Today we will catch up on shopping and laundry and maybe have Gus over for a cookout tonight. Breakfast with Liz and Bill is planned for tomorrow.
What would we do without food? The weather couldn’t be more perfect for long walks and eating outside…
Murdo Girl…In command
We go from one campground to another and look for the best dog park. We spend much of our time saying, “I’ll give you a treat not to bark!”
When we got our two new treasures, we violated every rule. We were going to get “older” dogs. Now, we’re in virtual dog training school.
Who knew they must be taught to socialize in a highly respectable way. They’re learning to play nice in the park or they don’t get to stay.
Rylie jumped the fence and Nellie stood firm when it came time to go. I’m sure the other pet owners wished we’d leave with our new dogs in tow.
We bought training collars that zap and whistle to use when we go for a stroll. We’re having a problem understanding how to use the remote control.
We found something at the Dollar Store that has worked better than you would expect. It’s a flyswatter with a hand on the end. (We haven’t swatted them yet.)
We say, “Don’t bark, jump, etc.,” and then we show them “the hand.” They are quickly learning to follow almost every command.
Though we may not yet be experts, we’ve really come a long way. We all know what our name is and we don’t move when we’re told to STAY!
We’re having a great time…even the kitty has become friends with Rylie and Nellie.
We’re going to see London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, today. It was brought here piece by piece…
I’ll speak for myself. Cats don’t love, they tolerate…
Murdo Girl…Cattail Cove
The internet is virtually nonexistent here but I’ve been trying to gradually get a few pictures on the blog.
First of all, we finally got everyone well. Kip and Nellie are still taking antibiotics but they have turned the corner.
The pups have really enjoyed socializing along the way and I think they like the Lake Havasu City dog park the best. They made lots of new friends, yesterday. The only downer today was that Nellie was really afraid of the fire we had at our campsite, tonight. She wouldn’t sit near it and I had to walk her the very long way around to even get her to come inside.
Tonight we had Brats and potatoe salad with peach cobbler for dessert. This morning I made Belgian waffles, bacon and eggs. We’re eating well, but we did go on a three mile hike.
We will be here until Wednesday and then onto Ontario.
I do think this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
(slideshow)
Murdo Girl…Hello out there!
Well, every day can’t be a good day…right?
I haven’t blogged in the past few days because, 1) It’s been busy and 2) it would have sounded like this…dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, cat, dogs. adjusting, dogs adjusting, cat adjusting to dogs, sick dog to vet, up all night taking sick dog outside to do her duty, (she’s better now), and finally, Kip woke up this morning with an abscessed tooth. He drove to a town thirty miles from where we ended up staying last night and saw a dentist who gave him an antibiotic that will, hopefully, work in the next couple of days.
We are headed for Cattail State Park which is really close to Lake Havasu. The park is one of our most favorite destinations. This will be our third time there. It is beautiful. It reminds me of the scenery and the clear blue water I saw in the movie, The Blue Lagoon.
We will be there four days and neither of us can wait. Lake Havasu City is fun to visit as well. It’s about ten miles from the park. Below, are pictures of Lake Havasu which is fed by the Colorado river, and a picture of the campsite we reserved.
I hope everyone is doing well. I’m still taking book orders. I get free shipping if I order at least two of the illustrated books. You can buy one for $12 plus $5 shipping, or 2 for $24, and no shipping. The publisher has been getting them out pretty quickly. You can still buy the large print through Amazon for $9.
You can email me with your $12 book order and send a check or use PayPal. If anyone has had a problem or is unhappy with the book, please let me know. You have all been so supportive, I want this book to be something you enjoy.
Rhymes for all Times, poetry by Mary Francis McNinch
A collection of poetry written by Mary Francis McNinch. You will read about family, friends, sad times, joyful times, old times, recent times, spiritual thoughts, and one person’s perspective of life’s ebb and flow. *add $5 postage if purchasing one of the $12 books. Postage is free with two or more. (It’s the deal I get.)
$12.00
Those 70ish Girls 