As you know, I like to knit. I usually either make stuff for us or for friends/family or I send to a place in Ohio that distributes to the homeless/people in need. That's all well and good, but it seems that everyone has all the stuff they need (let me know if you're in need of slippers or a hat) and the charity in Ohio really wants things in dark colors for men. I get it and I understand that there's not much dignity for a man to be wearing a wildly striped hat or scarf, but I am a little bored with knitting in black and brown, so I went searching for other places to donate.
I found Soldiers' Angels. I looked around their site and did some Google searches to see if it's a scam (probably not) and decided to sign up.
I've signed up to knit baby items for virtual baby showers for soldiers and the wives of soldiers, afghans for adults who are deployed or in a VA facility and to write letters to a couple soldiers. I also have an epal.
I wrote the epal first and already got a response. She's a woman in her 40s who has been deployed to Afghanistan. There is some info available about the people who are seeking correspondence and I picked her because I thought we'd have a few things in common. In her reply to my initial message, she said it was like a breath of fresh air to hear from me because getting to know someone new helps to pass the time and is a nice distraction from her mission.
If anyone can be a distraction from a mission...it's me.
I have letters ready to send to my other two soldiers and I've started an afghan.
It's only been a couple days since I enrolled, but so far so good. If you're looking for a way to encourage others, you might want to check out their website. Again, I'm new at this and make no endorsements. I know there are lots of scams out there, but this seems legit. You do have to put in a credit card so they can verify your ID and they charge it $1/mo apparently so they know who is active and who isn't. Everything else is on your own and you record how much time and money you spend on each thing you do.
I need to find some small things to include in my letters that could be a fun diversion. Any ideas?
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Waffles In A Hangar
We've been seeing signs around town for an event featuring Dad's Belgian Waffles (Click here for their website) at the Fergus Falls Municipal Airport and being fans of Belgian waffles and airports, we decided to attend.
I'll admit that i anticipated folding tables in the grass next to a grass airstrip. I was wrong. Fergus Falls has a very nice airport and we enjoyed ourselves.
This was a fly in or drive in event (we drove), but there were several planes landing and taking off while we were there. There were many families with small children enjoying the waffles, nice weather and planes. The kids were pretty excited to get tours inside a couple planes and a helicopter.
At first glance, it appeared there wasn't much to do in Fergus Falls, but we've found that if we just look a bit more closely and pay attention to the community calendar there are some nice events to attend. Looking forward to seeing what else we find while we're here.
I'll admit that i anticipated folding tables in the grass next to a grass airstrip. I was wrong. Fergus Falls has a very nice airport and we enjoyed ourselves.
This was a fly in or drive in event (we drove), but there were several planes landing and taking off while we were there. There were many families with small children enjoying the waffles, nice weather and planes. The kids were pretty excited to get tours inside a couple planes and a helicopter.
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| Plenty of seating and they had a steady crowd coming and going while we were there. Note the syrup station in front of the airplane. |
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| Twenty-five waffle irons (I counted) no waiting. |
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| The end result with real whipped cream. |
At first glance, it appeared there wasn't much to do in Fergus Falls, but we've found that if we just look a bit more closely and pay attention to the community calendar there are some nice events to attend. Looking forward to seeing what else we find while we're here.
Friday, June 10, 2016
This Makes Me Smile
While I was out buying groceries, a young entrepreneur (about 8 years old) accosted Chris and offered to mow our lawn for $5. She was raising money to send her sister to a camp for kids with special needs. Although the campground takes care of mowing, Chris, of course, struck a deal.
When I got home he told me the story and I commented on the girl's initiative. Chris said, "Yeah, and she even gave me her business card."
When I got home he told me the story and I commented on the girl's initiative. Chris said, "Yeah, and she even gave me her business card."
I don't think we'll need any rototilling and I sure hope we don't need snow plowing, but I kept the card because it makes me smile every time I look at it.
Hope it has the same affect on you.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Big Times in Minnesota
We finally got our own cable and wifi, so I'm back online. Turns out you can get month to month service, so that's what we've done. Thank goodness. I don't think we could handle many more episodes of the Minnesota only PBS station.
After the whirlwind of activity on our trip out here, life is pretty sedate. We've been working here in MN for about a month without too much excitement. The area is beautiful and they aren't kidding about that 10,000 lakes thing, but there's not a whole lot to do.
But don't worry, we've been able to entertain ourselves with finding large statues. It seems that nearly every town has something. Here's a sampling. Each place seems to claim their statue is the "world's largest ____". I'm not going to argue about it. These things are big.
World's largest Otter located in a park about half a mile from our campground. World's best husband standing next to him for perspective and because it's fun to have your picture taken w/a giant otter. Fergus Falls is the county seat of Otter Tail County and the Otter Tail River flows through the county and beyond. All the way to Canada, we've been told. Or it flows here from there, more accurately.
Giant loon in Vergas, MN. Actually the species is called the Vergas Loon. The other loon is Chris. He's a loon lover.
Giant clothes pin. I don't know why.
Giant coffee cup at same location (random gas station along the road) as the giant clothespin.
World's largest Walleye, Wahpeton, ND>
After the whirlwind of activity on our trip out here, life is pretty sedate. We've been working here in MN for about a month without too much excitement. The area is beautiful and they aren't kidding about that 10,000 lakes thing, but there's not a whole lot to do.
But don't worry, we've been able to entertain ourselves with finding large statues. It seems that nearly every town has something. Here's a sampling. Each place seems to claim their statue is the "world's largest ____". I'm not going to argue about it. These things are big.
World's largest Otter located in a park about half a mile from our campground. World's best husband standing next to him for perspective and because it's fun to have your picture taken w/a giant otter. Fergus Falls is the county seat of Otter Tail County and the Otter Tail River flows through the county and beyond. All the way to Canada, we've been told. Or it flows here from there, more accurately. 
Giant loon in Vergas, MN. Actually the species is called the Vergas Loon. The other loon is Chris. He's a loon lover. 
Giant clothes pin. I don't know why. 
Giant coffee cup at same location (random gas station along the road) as the giant clothespin. 
World's largest Walleye, Wahpeton, ND> Monday, May 9, 2016
Fergus Falls
We've arrived in Fergus Falls, our location for the next few months. It's a nice town and we are looking forward to exploring the area.
Our campground doesn't have Wi-Fi so there may not be many blog updates. That will give you a chance to go back and read all the posts you've missed.
The campground is installing WiFi so I hope that happens soon.
We get six tv channels. One channel that shows oldies, a Fox station, and four PBS.
Should be interesting.
Our campground doesn't have Wi-Fi so there may not be many blog updates. That will give you a chance to go back and read all the posts you've missed.
The campground is installing WiFi so I hope that happens soon.
We get six tv channels. One channel that shows oldies, a Fox station, and four PBS.
Should be interesting.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Bismarck
We've been in Bismarck for a few days. We had planned to take two days to drive here from Box Elder/Rapid City, but since most of the drive was through areas where there weren't any towns or things to see or places to stay, we just made the whole trip (about 350 miles) in one day.
We like the campground, particularly the fact that the wifi is good. The weather has been outstanding.
Training is going well. We like our new manager very much. This is much more of what we thought the job would be like...being treated like adults instead of children.
We've also had a chance to get to know several of our co-workers which has been nice. It's always interesting to talk to other full time RVers and find out how they do things and we've picked up some good info on wifi and camping locaitons.
We are all working on a project for a gas company that covers North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Minnesota and none of us is leaving until it is all done, so if that means that people in one state move to another when they finish, then that's what will happen. The goal is to be done before it gets too ridiculously cold.
Bottom line, we're glad to be back and work and we're optimistic about the next few months.
We like the campground, particularly the fact that the wifi is good. The weather has been outstanding.
Training is going well. We like our new manager very much. This is much more of what we thought the job would be like...being treated like adults instead of children.
We've also had a chance to get to know several of our co-workers which has been nice. It's always interesting to talk to other full time RVers and find out how they do things and we've picked up some good info on wifi and camping locaitons.
We are all working on a project for a gas company that covers North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Minnesota and none of us is leaving until it is all done, so if that means that people in one state move to another when they finish, then that's what will happen. The goal is to be done before it gets too ridiculously cold.
Bottom line, we're glad to be back and work and we're optimistic about the next few months.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Passport To Fun!
A few years ago Chris bought us both National Parks Passports. He's had more opportunities to use his since he was leading tours in DC and other areas on the East Coast. I finally got to use mine on our trip to SD.
The passport had divided the US into about 9 different regions with background information for each region and areas for stamps.
At each national park, usually in the visitors' center, you'll find a place where you can use rubber stamps to mark your passport for free. Each place usually includes a picture depicting the park, plus a cancellation like the post office uses with the name of the park and the date you visited. In my stamp above for the Badlands there's also a stamp marking the 100th Anniversary of the park. Other than the cost of the passport (and any admission fee for the park) the stamps are free.
You can also purchase stamps or stickers for the different parks. Here you can see my reproductions of the official stamps for Mount Rushmore and Devil's Tower. These each cost about $1.75, so it's a fun and inexpensive way to keep track of your visits.
I also splurged and bought this sticker and description of Devil's Tower. There are lots of spaces so I think I'm safe in using extras for Devil's Tower.
The passport had divided the US into about 9 different regions with background information for each region and areas for stamps. 
At each national park, usually in the visitors' center, you'll find a place where you can use rubber stamps to mark your passport for free. Each place usually includes a picture depicting the park, plus a cancellation like the post office uses with the name of the park and the date you visited. In my stamp above for the Badlands there's also a stamp marking the 100th Anniversary of the park. Other than the cost of the passport (and any admission fee for the park) the stamps are free. 
You can also purchase stamps or stickers for the different parks. Here you can see my reproductions of the official stamps for Mount Rushmore and Devil's Tower. These each cost about $1.75, so it's a fun and inexpensive way to keep track of your visits. 
I also splurged and bought this sticker and description of Devil's Tower. There are lots of spaces so I think I'm safe in using extras for Devil's Tower.
This week we've also been watching Ken Burns' series on the National Parks on PBS, so seems appropriate that we've been visiting. It's been a thrill for us to be able to visit so many national parks recently and we look forward to getting more stamps in our passports in the future.
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