Natchez

We have stopped in Natchez, MS...famous for a couple of things. The town decided not to fight with the south in the Civil War, and it's the scene of a "famous" old corduroy road called the Natchez Trace. In "the old days" of river travel, boatmen would raft down the river to New Orleans, sell their goods, and walk back home. It was not safe to walk home, so the Natchez Trace was created so groups of boatmen could travel together. Some folks say, the wood from their rafts was used to pave the road. I don't know if that's true, but it does make sense. 

In the winter of 1976 we drove the Natchez Trace in our little motorhome (my young nephew drew this picture of our motorhome way back when). A half century ago, it was no longer a corduroy road, paved with halved logs, but a real live paved highway. Along the Trace, we stopped at Grinder's Mill and discovered that Meriwether Lewis was killed (or committed suicide) at the Mill on October 11, 1809. It's never been determined what happened to Mr. Lewis, but he did indeed die on the Natchez Trace. 

Lewis and Clark, courtesy of Wikipedia

Mr. Lewis suffered from "melancholia" (aka, bi-polar disorder). When he was leading the Voyage of Discovery with William Clark, in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory, he did not suffer from any attacks from the disease but almost as soon as he returned from the Expedition, he had severe attacks of melancholy, He was no longer traveling everyday; the lady he loved did not want to marry him; and he was having a difficult time writing the chronicle of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from 1803-1806. He was severely depressed. Maybe it was too much for him, and at Grinder's Mill he met his Maker. It's a very sad ending for Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. BTW, Clark died when he was 68. The chronicles were still not written and folks forgot about the most important US expedition of the time. Finally, some drafts and books were discovered and a century later, the books were finally written and published. 

That's a long way of saying we are in Natchez today and sadly, we won't get near the Trace which goes all the way to Nashville.

Waiting

We had an unusual experience today. A barge had gotten stuck on a snag and we could not make progress until the barge was freed. As you know, the water is low and there are new sandbars and snags all along the river. A good pilot has to learn how to "read" the river so as to avoid hazards. I guess this hazard "snuck" up on the pilot?

                        

Amidst the drama of being stopped and delaying our arrival time in Vicksburg, MS...I sat outside on the back deck and enjoyed the day. It was gorgeous. The puffy clouds seemed to make the sky bluer...and there was just enough of a breeze to fly the flag without being too windy. You never know how the weather will be in the back of the boat, but since we were not moving it was just about perfect.

We were not the only boat that was stopped---all river traffic stopped while the Coast Guard helped the barge in distress. Then, when the barge was freed, the Coast Guard told each watercraft, whether boat or barge, when it could rejoin the traffic on the river. Since we are not near the coast, it was a bit difficult to understand why the Coast Guard was involved. The answer is easy--the Mississippi River is "the" major waterway in the US and a major shipping lane, therefore it's protected by the Coast Guard--even if we are over hundreds of miles from the Gulf Coast. Some of the guests were getting a bit antsy because we were not moving. We thought it was a peaceful way to spend Sunday morning. It's all a matter of perspective. 

 

Food and Ghost Stories

 Cruise ships try to outdo each other with fantastic and sometimes exotic menus. American Cruise Line is no exception. The food is plentiful. The food is great. The food is a mix of usual fare with a touch of Louisiana thrown in for good measure.

Every night we have a choice of 3 main dishes and 3 desserts. Tonight the dessert course included "Doberge" Cake. I had never heard of Doberge Cake and I've lived south of the Mason-Dixon Line twice! Apparently it's a Louisiana treat--and a treat it is! Think about a many layered cake filled with custard, buttercream icing and topped with a chocolate ganache. It was yummy. I looked up a recipe and it is not made from a standard cake mix--this is a "scratch" cake that takes about three hours to prepare. Given that, I doubt I will make one, but I'll eat a piece the next time it's offered to me. Special treats make this a fun cruise as you never know what will happen on the menu.

In addition to the food tour, we've eagerly listened to our lecturer about "the South" and "the Mississippi River." Today we learned about haunted houses, including the "most" haunted house in LA. We also learned about "the witch of Yazoo." Many, many years ago, I did a workshop in Yazoo, MS, and I learned about the witch then. Today, I heard the exact same story. Click on the link to find out more. She might be a real thing. Who knows? 

The cruise is great. We've cruised many European rivers and now we are getting to sample an American river cruise. ACL does a very nice job--we signed up for another one. Come join us!

Tunica in the Rain

Today we are docked in Tunica, MS. Tunica is a little bit south of Memphis, and Memphis has low water. When sailing on a river, the water has to be "perfect"--not too high and not too low. Tunica had the perfect water. Given that, Memphis might have more water now, as we are getting the "backwash" of Hurricane Helene.We have had a constant wind today--not hurricane wind, but wind nonetheless, and lots of rain. In fact we were supposed to go on a shore excursion and decided to call it off. It's not fun to visit a town and see the sites when all you can see is rain, rain and more rain. Don't feel sorry for us. We had a grand time on the boat, visiting with new friends, reading and looking at the river traffic.

We saw the usual barge traffic on the river but we saw a flat covered barge--first one in a while. The guest lecturer told us how to identify what was in a barge by the type of cover. This one had a flat cover and therefore it's probably a tanker barge.

I do have a story about Tunica. One time, many years ago, we camped at a "river boat" casino campground in this little MS town. We checked in the campground and soon the other DrC was feeling poorly but we had to visit the casino and get our "casino cards" as the campground clerk said we needed them. By the next day, he was worse so we saw a doctor. The doctor said he had the flu and he gave him something for it. I don't remember what. For the next few days, I stayed around the RV taking care of an ailing husband--and guess what? I caught the flu too. I saw the same doc; he prescribed the same Rx and we wore out the flu in our RV in the casino campground. Sometime during that fiasco, soneone comes to our door and tells us we have to move because we've not spent enough money at the casino. We tell the nice person that we are really quite sick. No matter, we had to move. SO, we dragged our achy bodies up and moved lock, stock and barrel to another casino campground. By this time, the other DrC was feeling better so he gambled a couple of hours each night so we would not get asked to move again. We always knew that those little cards held a lot of information, but now we had proof just how much information we were giving away.

Pralines

Today is a river day, so we had a morning lecture on the Civil War on the Mississippi...and this afternoon we had an excellent cooking class. We learned how easy it is to make pralines. Sadly, I ate my praline before I took a picture of it--so I stole the picture below. It tasted DELICIOUS. Here's the American Seranade recipe for Louisiana Pralines

2 cups of granulated sugar;

1 cup of packed light brown sugar; 

1 cup heavy cream;

1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into small pieces; 

2 cups pecan halves; 1 teaspoon vanilla; Pinch of salt.

Courtesy of Spruce Eats

 You will need a heavy saucepan, candy thermometer, spoon (wooden or otherwise), baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat, and measuring cups and spoons

 Directions: 

1-prepare all ingredients and equipment before you start cooking, as the process moves quickly 

2-in saucepan, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, heavy cream and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring with the spoon until the mixture comes to a boil 

3-continue cooking the mixture, stirring with the spoon until it reaches 240 degrees F 

4-Once the mixture reaches 240 degrees, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the pecans, vanilla and salt 

5-continue stirring the mixture vigorously until it thickens and starts to lose its shine 

6-quickly drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the parchment/silicon lined baking sheet. Let the pralines cool and harden at room temperature 

7-Once the pralines have set, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They can also be refrigerated or frozen. Our cook did not say how long they could be frozen, but she said they would last 7 days in an airtight container. (In my house, they would gone much sooner than 7 days!)

Half Day Cruising

We left St. Louis about 1:30 and started a day and a half adventure of just cruising on the river. We were supposed to stop in Memphis but the water is too low...that is a problem with sailing any river...the water has to be "just right." If the water is too high you can't cross under low bridges and if the water is too low, you run aground. Right now it is the end of summer and many rivers are running low. They are running low in WY too. Given that there is a lot of traffic on the river and it seems to be moving just fine.

I love to look at the huge barges that ply the waters. They look unwieldy and boxy, but they float up and down river with ease.

I liked this flotilla of barges. We learned that covered barges are probably carrying some type of grain. If you look carefully, one of the barges is not covered and it seems to be filled with sod. I thought that was odd??

Topside on our riverboat is an outdoor living space...it is a wonderful place to spend a few hours looking at the river (as are our private balconies). We have had a couple of rainy days so not many folks have used the space. Today we had sunshine and beautiful clouds...and I shared the top deck with about a half dozen folks. It was wonderful!

Meet me in St. Louis--Louis

We are in St. Louis, MO for an overnight stay in this famous city on the Mighty Mississippi. The Arch is right by our ship. The last time we were here was in 1974. A lot of water has passed by the Gateway Arch in the last 50 years! I "doctored" the picture, so it looks a bit prettier than it is--it's raining today and the skies are cloudy and gray. Come to think of it, it's been raining off and on for the last 3 days. Don't feel sorry for us, we're have a grand time looking at the river and avoiding the raindrops. BTW, the city is called St. Louey.

Hannibal, MO

Welcome to Hannibal, MO legendary home of Mark Twain. If you look at the boat behind the flag, it's named Mark Twain. In fact, anything that is not nailed down is named Mark Twain. He definitely has a presence on "the river."

There is a statue of Mark Twain as you leave the dock too. We tend to forget that Mark Twain was probably the most famous American of his time. He was an author, lecturer, world traveler, and wit. He's credited with many sayings. A new-to-me saying, I learned today. When he was asked what was the most dangerous food he'd ever had, he replied "Wedding cake." It's been a rainy day on the river, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Cruisin' Down the River

When I was two, my uncle made a recording of me singing "Cruisin' down the riber." Today I thought of that song, as we cruised down the Mississippi River. We had a "river" day--aka, no stops along the river. We looked at the scenery go by. It was so relaxing I did not even take any pictures. We saw barges push their way up and down river. Trains sped by on the tracks that line the river. Pleasure boats were playing on the river. We went thru a few locks too. We were not completely inert as we learned more about the cruises that American Cruise Lines offers--and we bought a Columbia River cruise for next May. We will learn more about the Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery, which is one of my favorite topics. I went to a Mark Twain lecture. I talked to fellow pax. I listened to a book. I watched the river go by. It was a great day for cruisin' down the river. We like "sea days" on the big ships and today we found out we like "river days' too.

Davenport, Iowa

We are cruising through the heartland of America--on an American-built ship, with an American crew--filled with geezer-Americans. Does it get any better than that? In addition, we are not seeing the news, we are not talking politics, and we have no idea what is happening in the rest of the country, let alone world. It's a complete immersion into "life on the river" and it's good. Frankly, I did not know if the other DrC would like this "isolation" but guess what? He does!

Today we stopped in Davenport, Iowa. You have to wonder why a city gets a name like Davenport. I asked my search engine for synonyms of Davenport and 17 words showed up. So they could have named this place--chesterfield, divan, couch, settee, lounge, lounger, sofa, loveseat, tete-a-tete, squab (this is a new one on me), etc. Given all those choices, I can only imagine how "they" chose Davenport.

We were scheduled to go on a shore excursion (shorex) but it looked like it was going to rain, so we did the laundry instead. Never an earth-shaking event, but it was a needed event. In addition, the 3 washers and dryers were free, and the ship provided Tide pods and dryer-sheets. As you know, we've done a lot of cruising, and that's a pretty rare occurence. Since tomorrow is a "river" day without a stop, everyone is going to be doing their laundry then. We missed the rush, and it's good.

The cruise down the Mississippi is wonderful. The scenery is beautiful with lots of wooded islands and green hillsides and levees. There are towns, big and small alongside the river. The trains are a constant. Great long uni-trains carrying only 1 commodity. To a west-coaster who does not see a lot of train traffic, I find them fascinating. The railroad works and it is good. We are seeing a slice of America that is very different from what we are used to. It's terribly interesting to see...and very different from either the shaky side or the dirty side. This is an extra-special adventure.

A Lazy Day in Dubuque

Sometimes it's important to sit back and smell the roses--and that's what we did today. We spent the morning watching tree-filled islands go by from our perch in the Sky Lounge on our riverboat. It was peaceful and quiet. We were scheduled to get to Dubuque Iowa a little after noon, and we were on time. Lunch was being served in the main dining room, but we opted for lunch at the Lounge. All too soon it was time to go on our excursion--we looked at each other and said "no--I don't want to go." So we didn't go. Instead we spent a couple of hours on our veranda looking at the birds, trains, and water traffic. It was great. Not a care in the world..just looking at the changing scene in the water. Every so often a tall boat would ply the river and the old iron bridge would rotate to let the boat thru.

The river is wide in Dubuque. There are homes (vacation or otherwise) along the hillsides overlooking the river. Trains speed up and down the tracks delivering their unicargo of coal, grain, or gravel to points unknown. It's been a quiet Friday on the river. This is turning out to be a very nice vacation.

LaCrosse, WI

This picture pretty much sums up the day in LaCrosse. It was very restful and full of opportunities to eat some wonderful food. The hard part is NOT eating all the wonderful food. If, for some reason you think that Viking Cruises are the best--think again, American Cruise Lines has it beat, hands down. I've been on one from each, and ACL is better. You need to try both of them and make a comparison for yourself--and just think--you get two cruises out of the deal. BTW, no matter which one you choose, both are good.

After an early breakfast and a walk around the boat--and a little nap--we were ready for lunch and a short excursion. I've decided to eat small lunches in order to fit in my clothes at the end of the voyage. We took a "loop" tour of the city. Think of a hop-on-hop-off bus...only this bus is owned by ACL. In fact, the bus driver drives her bus using a similar land route as the boat. She leaves when the last tour is done and heads for the next port of call--gets an overnight hotel room at the "next" city and is ready to go for the first tour that starts about 9 AM. We have our own dedicated bus and driver--a very different model than the one used by European river boats.

We saw "old" LaCrosse and "new" LaCrosse. At the turn of the last century some mighty fine homes were being built and they are still being used. We learned there are 4 institutes of higher education in town; we saw the old German Catholic Church and the old English Catholic Church. Back in the day, folks spoke German or English. This made sense to me as my German grandmother grew up in Wisconsin and spoke German before she spoke English.

We returned to the boat and sat on the back deck and had our afternoon cookie and recounted our day. We had yummy tenderloin for dinner and Italian Lemon Cake for dessert (see why we have to cut down on lunch?) and then retired to our room to see the last edition of Indiana Jones. A good day on the river. Right now we are cruising downriver to Dubuque, Iowa. Keep watching this spot to see what happens next.

Morning on the River

I got up early to see why everthing was so quiet and why the ship was not moving...only to find out that we are docked in LaCrosse WI. After a quick shower I went to the Sky Lounge (which is only 10 feet from our room) and had a wonderful breakfast of fresh yogurt with granola and some type of berry preserve, a fresh banana muffin and 2 cups of coffee. Next I walked outside and breathed in the cool morning air and came back inside. It was 7 AM and not too many folks were stirring on the ship. There were only 4 people in the lounge, all of us awake but not really ready to interact with each other. It was funny--we each took a corner table and drank our coffee knowing that talking to each other was not going to happen. Don't get me wrong, I know we were not being anti-social, we were just comtemplating the day. Then, after sitting silently for a whole cuppa, we all waved to each other and walked to another table, where we had a little talk. We each needed some coffee to get started.

There are 164 pax on the riverboat. I don't know how many crew, but there are a lot. Service is excellent. So far, the food is good and they seem to be able to accommodate any type of diet. I filled out my daily menu, while in the Lounge, and my server did not seem to think that a low sodium diet was all that unusual. She said there are a lot of lo-so folks. I know from past sailing experience, lo-so diets are alive and well, and the ships can and will prepare food to meet our needs.

Today we have a lazy excursion--it starts at 2PM. Until then, we'll discover more about the American Serenade.

Life in Geezerville: Day 2--Red Wing, MN to LaCrosse, WI

We are sailing on the Mighty Mississippi. It's excellent. This morning after breakfast at the luxurious St. Paul Hotel, we bussed to Red Wing (you know, the home of Red Wing Shoes). It is about 45 minutes from St. Paul. We left the busy city and drove on the interstate past many cornfields that still had a lot of corn to harvest. It was not quite ripe! That surprised me. We shadowed the River most of the way and saw lots of boat traffic, some barges, some barge pushers and alongside the river, lots of trains.

Once in Red Wing, we boarded The American Serenade, the newest ship on the river (according to American Cruise Lines). We had a welcome aboard glass of champagne and we were told to find our rooms. We took the very quiet and fast elevator to the 4th deck and found our sweet "suite" right outside the Sky Lounge (where they have warm cookies daily at 10 and 3) as well as a myriad of drinks and beautiful river-views both inside and out.

There was a lot "stuff" that had to be covered today. We did the life vest and muster routines, then we were told about excursions, meals, drinks, snacks and other important stuff. The excursion coordinator said we want you well fed and watered on the cruise. That's a fact too. The food menu is fit for a Hobbit with some sort of food, snack, dessert, main course, etc. listed for every hour of the day. Since Hobbits are known to eat a snack called "tensies" or "elevensies" (one for each hour of the day) they would fit well with the American Serenade.

Tonight we are rolling down the river at a nice clip. The water is smooth and the ride is easy. We were eating dinner when we passed thru a lock right at sunset. Later after dinner we sat on our veranda and looked at the view. If you use your imagination, you can almost see Tom and Huck hiding in the wilderness by a campfire. It's pretty amazing, as it still looks like Mark Twain described it all those years ago. Tomorrow we stop in LaCrosse WI. I have a shore excursion but I have no idea what it is--but it sounded OK when I checked it off. What I do know, we'll have more adventures on the water and in the towns that dot the Mississippi in the days to come. It's all good. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Day 1

The most exciting part of today was meeting a huge bull elk on our drive to the airport. lucky for the elk and us, we both survived the event, but our adrenalin was pumping for awhile. The elk, in full velvet rushed onto the Snake River Road about 4:30 and ran right in front of our car. I had a warning that something was amiss as the vehicle in front of me, put on his flashers and that caused me to slow down, and that was a good thing. The rest of the drive was very uneventful.

We boarded the plane without a hassle and headed for Salt Lake City. From there we boarded our second flight and headed to MSP (Minneapolis-St.Paul airport). On the plane I saw "Barbie." A year late and a dollar short, but I saw it. I even got teary eyed a couple of times. Who wudda thought that movie had some sentimental moments. It's a chick-flick filled with very curvy-Barbie doll look-alikes. The look-alikes are all young and gorgeous--in the end, it's just a fun (semi-woke) movie. Along the way, Delta served us a gourmet lunch, which we had pre-ordered. Flight was uneventful except for the first few minutes. Someone forgot to pave the sky as it was full of potholes and very bunpy...after about 10 minutes the "pavement" smoothed out.

In St.Paul we took a taxi to the fancy St. Paul Hotel. It's an old-fashioned hotel with a bell captain in top hat and tails greeting all the guests. (Don't look at his shoes tho--he had on black running shoes covered with spats. I liked the look even if it was not traditional.) As you enter the hotel there's a huge round table with a beautiful vase of flowers. Once inside, you see crystal chandeliers and faux-marble pillars...and some fine art reproductions. Our room is large, very clean, and has all we need and more.

Tomorrow morning, the porter will pick up our luggage between 7 and 8:30. At 10:40 we will be taxied to the riverboat and we'll start sailing down the Mississippi River. It's been a good day. I hope your's have been good too. Remember, we're all in this together.

Life in Geezerville: The Adventure Begins

Tomorrow morning we are getting up at zero-dark-thirty and heading for our local airport where we'll catch the first of two flights to St. Paul, MN. The next day we will board The American Serenade and sail down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. We've been on small portions of river in New Orleans and Tunica, MS before...but we've never sailed the whole river. It's something that the other DrC has wanted to do in a very long time.

And, it's been a long time coming too. We made the reservsations the first time right before Covid arrived on our shores. Needless to say, the cruise was postponed. And, it was postponed the next year and the year ater that. One summer I canceled the cruise with the idea that I would schedule it when we were "covid-safe." That day arrived early last summer when we made this set of reservations. Lucky for us, the cruise has not been postponed or canceled. The river cruise is finally going to happen tomorrow. We are a more than a little bit excited

As you know, we've been on many river cruises in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, so it's about time we start exploring our local "big river." We will be making stops most everyday, so watch this spot to find out what on earth we are up to now. I hope to have pictures too. Lastly, I hope y'all get inspired to go on a river cruise too, because it's important for geezers to have plans. Remember, we're all in this together. (photographs courtesy of American Cruise Lines)

Life in Geezerville: Company Edition

We live in the "high country" close to two world class National Parks--Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Both are different and both are spectacular. Grand Teton is a boutique mountain range that soars above Jackson Hole that offers wonderful hikes, pristine mountain lakes, and of course the mountains. Yellowstone, the world's first national park, has everything that Grand Teton has and more: wildlife, geysers, hot pots, and places that have never seen the hand of man. Going to both parks is an awe-some experience. We live nearby and going to the parks is "normal" and "no big thing" only it really is a BIG THING. The parks are what drew us to our little home in the aspens and the parks keep us coming back year after year for over 50 years.

Living in this wonderful place brings visitors and company. I love company. This week we have had 2 sets of company and we got to trot out the local beauty. With company, we get lots of time to talk, time to see the parks, time to share meals and time to remember when. I love it. Last night, after dinner on the back porch, we talked til midnight--this morning we got up early, had a quick breakfast and talked about what was going to happen next. Tonight, we'll all come back exhausted and excited about all the wonderful things we've seen. It's such a treat for us to share our little patch of the world with our friends and family. So, if you have not been to either of these parks, come on over and hang out for awhile. I'm even a pretty good tour guide. Remember, we're all in this togehter.

Life in Geezerville: Overton Window Edition

Do you know what the Overton Window is? According to Wikipedia (the source of all knowledge??) it is "...the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time.It is also known as the window of discourse.The term is named after the American policy analyst Joseph Overton..." To make that sound less academic, think of the Overton Window as what is allowed in polite conversation---or TV, movies, books, sports, etc Think back to your youth (I know geezers, that's a long time ago) but only "certain" things were said in polite conversation. When I was a kid, no mom-to-be said she was "pregnant" instead she said "she was expecting." No one said anything about "sex" as that was beyond the pale. No one used "four letter words" as that was not nice, especially in front of children. My father never swore, nor did any of the other fathers on the block. To put that in sociological terms, that was not inside the Overton Window of the time. Think about television when you were a kid. Did anyone sleep in double beds? The answer was NO--Beaver's mom and dad had twin beds...so did Donna Reed and her husband...and every other married couple. The first time we saw a pregnant woman on TV was Lucille Ball...she shattered the Overton Window by showing off her "baby bump" (it was her second child at the time as the first one had been "covered up") The Overton Window has made us more humane too. We don't talk about various ethnic groups or personal choices as bad/ugly/etc. We talk about people in a kinder, more accepting way. Certain pieces of the window have been closed for now and might not open again. We don't know what the future holds. The Overton Window has shattered many times since mid-20th century. Think about all the broken glass that has happened since then. We talk about pregnancy, single motherhood, drugs, sex and rock and roll without batting an eye. Four letter words are splattered in everyday conversation, books, movies and television and no one seems to bat an eye. The Overton Window seems to have opened wider by the decades as "stuff" that was considered taboo is not taboo any more. And, stuff that was commonplace is not. Some of the breakage is logical and good--some not so...but the beauty of the Overton Window is, it keeps marching along. Opening and closing according to the times. Every generation has an Overton Window of polite discourse and the older we geezers get, we are probably more and more annoyed as the "window" changed and we have not embraced all of the change.

To that end, I'm annoyed when I look at a Netflix program that is littered with F-bombs exploding every 30 seconds. Is that really necessary? I'm annoyed when I read a book that turns violent with no good explanation, or a movie that has sex scenes that are better left unshown. I'm annoyed when I see people dressed (or is it undressed) in a costume that should have a bit more fabric. I find I've become a geezer-prude who harks back to a different, more innocent Overton Window. Don't get me wrong...sometimes the Overton Window needs to be opened more...sometimes it needs to be closed. To that end, I need personal filters so I can open and close my "individual" Overton Window and forget about what others are doing with their private Overton Windows. So I ask...am I the only one who is geezer-prude? Are there others out there? Please let me know. Remember, we're in this together.

Life in Geezerville: Fall is in the Air

Today I saw another vestige of autumn--a yellow leaf. Aspen turn a beautiful lemony yellow during the fall, and it that color change is just beginning. In addition, the fawns are losing their spots and growing like weeds, getting ready for winter. When we drove to Jackson on Sunday we saw more signs that autumn was on the way too. A few trees were decked in orange leaves albeit the majority were still green. If you look carefully at the aspens, there's a slight "under hint" of yellow. It's after Labor Day, so autumn is to be expected.

What I find disappointing is my aster prediction. Six weeks ago the asters started to bloom. The "local lore" for the WY high country says autumn will arrive 8 weeks after the asters bloom or, as was the case this year, September 16. The asters were wrong! I don't think any of the deciduous trees will still be green on the 16th. I'm already seeing the white "snowberries" too. Around here, most of the wild berries turn white during the autumn and the deer love to eat them. Our snowberries have arrived.

The seasons march by in logical progression--spring to summer to autumn to winter. Soon it will be time to snowbird away to warmer winter climes. Our winter home has 2 seasons--warm and hot. Summertime is triple digit hot for several weeks. Wintertime is mostly warm with a touch of cool every now and again to let you know that it is winter. There's not a big autumn color display as there are not many deciduous trees in the desert. 

We have beautiful autumn colors in western WY and I'm expecting this year will be pretty spectacular too. When that happens I'll take pictures for you. If your area has a pretty autumn please send me pictures and I'll post them on the blog. In the meantime, remember, we're all in this together. 

Life in Geezerville: Laundry Edition

It's Labor Day, so why not talk about a job that never seems to be finished. I'm talking about laundry. Do you have an empty laundry basket? In my house, it seems there is always "one more thing" to wash. It's a never ending battle. In addition it's a battle I've been waging since I was old enough to help my mother with the laundry. It's definitely an unsung labor that gets little reward. No one ever thanks me for doing the laundry. I don't even thank me. It needs to be done, so it gets done. End of story.

Back in those old dark, pre-geezer days (my mother wasn't even a geezer), my job was to empty the hamper and sort the clothes into piles. There was a pile for whites, one for delicates, one for darks, one for heavy fabrics one for lightweight fabrics, etc. After I sorted the clothes into what I thought were the "right" piles my mother would check them. She would ask me what each pile represented be it white or dark etc. Then she would ask the rationale as to why I put a light blue shirt into the white pile, and finally she would agree or disagree, make changes and the task of loading the washing machine and completing 7 or more loads of clothes commenced. Back in those days, my mother did not have a dryer, so the clothes were hung on clotheslines in the backyard where they flapped in the breeze until they were dry (or it started to rain). We would diligently take the clothes off the lines, sort the plastic from the wooden clothespins in the clothespin bag and haul our laundry back into the house. That was the Monday ritual. She would do laundry at least 3 more times during the week. The Tuesday ritual was ironing the clothes, yet another unsung labor.

Fast forward to today. My mother taught me well. I can sort clothes till the cows come home. I know light from dark; thick from thin; delicate from heavy-duty...but alas I do not sort clothes. That's because I wash one load of clothes at a time. It's rare that I do more than one load of clothes per day. I used to sort clothes--but with all the camping  we did over the years it was just easier to dump everything into one BIG giant campground washing machine. That habit switched over to non-campground life and persists to this day. I'm sure my mother would not be happy with me--but she was a realist and my logic would have made sense to her. 

So today, on Labor Day, I labored with the laundry. I dumped my full basket of laundry into the washing machine, collected the hangars I needed, and started the machine. Half an hour later I dumped the clothes into the dryer. When the dryer bell rang, indicating the clothes were finished, I hung up my hanger items, and folded my clothes. The other DrC folded his clothes. I'm not a good wife. I may wash his clothes but I do not fold them, nor do I put his clothes away.

The laundry basket was empty for about 2 hours when it started to fill up again. It's a never ending battle with clean vs dirty. Dirty seems to be winning at my house. But I'm thankful I don't have the rest of the "stuff" to do that my mother had after the washing and drying was complete. There were no permanent press or "miracle" fabrics in the 50s. After washing seven or eight loads on Monday, she had to starch, sprinkle, iron, and put away those 7 or 8 loads. I have no idea what starch looks like and while I do have an iron, I use it more for sewing than for my clothes. I don't think I've sprinkled any clothes for decades. Have you?

Laundry and Labor Day seem to go together. It's the "labor" that the day celebrates...it's the labor that makes a house work. It's unsung labor. It's never ending labor. If you have a way to make it disappear let me know. So on Labor Day, I did the laundry. As well as have a nice dinner for friends. What did you do? There are other unsung labors such as gardening, cooking, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc that never seem to end.  The job of keeping a home is an unsung labor of love. I do most of those labors --sometimes reluctantly, but they get done. I'm sure you do them too. I'm not complaining. It's Labor Day--and household labor never seems to end. Remember, we're all this together.