https://maryfrancismcninch.com/2021/01/08/murdo-girl-this-old-place/

Easy Peasy Apple Crisp by LAV

I was fortunate enough to get some green apples from a friend’s tree and as the 8 apples sat on my kitchen counter speaking to me or maybe they were staring at me – no – potatoes have eyes, not apples. Anyway, I thought of an easy recipe I had for Apple Crisp which would be simpler than baking a pie. So I got busy this morning, before it got too hot, and put it all together.

Karlyce finished strong with her nostalgic dinners. We had scalloped potatoes and ham, Mexican casserole, and pot roast with all the trimmings. She made peach cobbler, zucchini bread, and Mexican chocolate cake for desserts. Here are a few photos.

We left Greeley Thursday morning and took the scenic route to Laramie. We’re staying at a KOA that we stayed at 8 years ago when we were here. We were on our very 1st RV trip.

The reunion starts today. We have a grandson that attends UW, but he’s not here yet. We will see the rest of our son’s family next week when we get to Gillette.

We’re going to meet 2 of Kip’s sisters for breakfast. The 3rd sister is driving in from Sheridan and will be here early afternoon.

Registration is at the fairgrounds. They’re going to have food trucks, displays, and music from 4-11. First, we’re going to visit the cemetery and drive by all the places everyone remembers from growing up here. Unless you’re a new reader, you know that I love reunions. Eat your heart out, cousin Lav.

We’re still having a good time with Kip’s sister, Karlyce who lives in Greeley, CO. The weather has been almost as amazing as the food. Karlyce is still taking Kip down memory lane by fixing dinners their mother made. I get to go along for the eating.

Since I last reported, we’ve had fried trout with cole slaw, and hamburger gravy served over torn up slices of bread. This caused a little argument. Kip remembers his mother frying hamburgers, which they cut into pieces and tossed with the bread before pouring white gravy over the top. Karlyce, and as it turns out, Kip’s other 2 sisters remember their mom browning crumbled up hamburger and making the gravy with the crumbled hamburger in it. I’m probably not explaining this right, but I’m here to say it is great comfort food. We ate it with yummy sweet corn and sliced homegrown tomatoes.

Yesterday, we took a beautiful drive up to Estes Park. Nellie and Rylie even got to go. Karlyce and I did a little shopping in several of the cute touristy stores before treating ourselves to a great lunch. I had an Elk burger, which was delicious, until I walked outside and saw several Elk basking in the sun. I felt bad.

We usually eat breakfast out…

We have 2 more home-cooked meals to look forward to before we waddle to the reunion. Man, oh man, Karlyce is a great cook!

As my husband and I get older, we think about our birthdays. How should we celebrate? Will this be our last one? Will we get to celebrate with our family and friends? Should we do something special, because we don’t have many more chances to enjoy our time here on the planet?

I’m all for a big splurge. I want to go on a trip somewhere exotic or unique. Some place I’ve never been before. Who knows at my age if I will ever get to go on my dream trip? We usually go out for lunch or dinner at a snazzy restaurant or to eat our favorite cuisine to celebrate senior birthdays. This year I want to try something bigger and better and funner.

This year for my birthday, I told my husband I want to visit Charleston and Savannah to tour the historic homes, museums and Civil War sites. I’ve always wanted to go there. I went ahead and looked into arrangements for such a trip to celebrate being 70ish. My hygienist and friend of 25 years even gave me the name of her daughter’s great travel agency. I called and talked to a travel agent there who had me flying high on ideas and wondrous destinations in the South! He painted a visual canvas of fascinating places to see with stays at old remodeled 1850’s style inns and romantic southern foods at lavish intimate dinners overlooking lush gardens with trees covered in Spanish moss. I was enthralled. I was ready.

The tour trip was called Southern Charms but there was nothing charming about the cost of a week long trip to Charleston and Savannah in the fall. My heart and my hopes sunk. My husband said he didn’t want to go on any tours. He also said it’s too expensive. Maybe I will go alone. It costs half as much that way.

Then later as we discussed what else to do for my special birthday, one like no other, he may have been fooling around, just joking, which he does tongue in cheek quite successfully. I was cooking something at the stove. He said, “I’ll take you out to dinner for your birthday- first to Burger King then to Dairy Queen for dessert.”

I just stared at him a minute.

I hope he wasn’t too badly injured by the flying frying pan.

One of the things I love about RV life on the road is that every day is different. Even if you’re in one spot for a couple of weeks as we currently are, you experience new sights and scenes each day.

Yesterday, I went to lunch with my sister-in-law, Karlyce, and a group of her friends. After lunch, we went back to her beautiful little stone church for an hour of fellowship. Karlyce asked me to read a poem from my “Rhymes for all Times” book. I read, “On any Given Day,” which they seemed to enjoy.

Wednesday night, Karlyce prepared another nostalgic dinner that her mom made when the 4 kids were growing up. She made chicken and noodles served over mashed potatoes and a fresh fruit salad made with fruit and sour cream. It was all amazing. Kip and I brought lemon bars, which are something my mom used to make.

I would encourage you all to take the food walk down memory lane. It prompts a lot of fun conversations about growing up and family times.

This weekend we plan to drive up to Estes Park. We used to go there a lot when we lived in Denver and Kip, and Karlyce’s mom lived in Loveland.

The weather continues to be gorgeous. Coming from Texas, where the heat has been relentless this summer, it’s a real game changer.

The following are pictures taken at the Sheels store. What a fun place. We bought a bunch of dog paraphernalia.

One day, while driving around, Kip and I made the sudden decision to become full-time RVers. Once we make a decision, especially an important one, we typically storm ahead and don’t look back.

I have to admit that after being sidetracked for 6 months due to Kip needing back surgery, I have had the occasion to look back. The other day, it dawned on me that other than the vast amount of liquid assets we have squirreled away (just kidding), we have everything we own with us. We didn’t leave anything back home. There is no “back home.” Our immediate family members reside in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, and California. Our dogs are with us.

So what is home? It’s a 38′ RV that has recently been pummeled by hail. We’re in the throws of arranging for it to be fixed. Thankfully, we have insurance. That can happen to a house, too, of course.

We had the RV washed and waxed the other day. (Sharp inhale when Kip told me it was going to cost $500.00.) You have to paint and do other upkeep on a house as well, right?

I don’t really mind the smaller living space. We’ve been graduating downward for 10 years. We have a nice little patio that we can put down, and we really enjoy that.

Our biggest frustrations while traveling are bad highways and road construction. Our house shakes, rattles, and rolls. One of my jobs is to find a good RV park for each stay. Often times I search just a couple of hours in advance because we’re not sure how far we’ll get, especially if there is a lot of road construction. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a necessary evil. We’re happy to see improvements in the country’s infrastructure. Finding a park to stay in can, however, create anxiety.

The plus side is we can spend a lot more time with family and friends and they don’t have to put us up. We have our own home with us. We get around to more places than we would if we took car road trips and had to stay in a motel with 2 dogs. We really enjoy new scenery and doing a lot of fun activities. We have all our own things around us. I don’t really like motels anymore. I prefer my own sheets and towels.

Best of all, we can travel with our pets and thankfully, they are good travelers.

I’ll be sharing more thoughts about all of this as our adventure continues, but…So far, so great!

Baba is back. We’re not sure where she’s been, but she has returned.

Do you remember the song “Sunflower” by Glenn Campbell? Soup? It was Yram’s mother’s favorite song. Bean soup was her favorite soup.

Can Baba interview Arnold or Taylor? More importantly, can she interview Klip and May, the easy ones? Can she fertilize and water her sad roses? On a lighter note: Her sunflowers and beans look pretty good, so we have hope. Stay tuned but don’t hold your breath.