4'th of July...

Originally we had planed on camping in Show Low at Fool Hollow. Mostly because Fool Hollow has full hook ups, that way we didn’t need to worry about the 90 degree weather that was being predicted, yea… our pop-up has AC. We arrived to the camp ground at 10:30 AM to find that we were 3’rd in line waiting for a spot to open. 45 minutes later we were informed that there was only going to be 3 sites opening and all of them were in the tent area. (no hookups) With only a few seconds to decide, we declined and headed for Big Lake.

Thankfully we had cell phone service and so I QUICKLY called the ranger station for the Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests area which is were we were heading . Big lake was also full but there were openings at Rolfe Hoyer. Tom and I were beginning to wonder if we were really going to find a place to camp at all this weekend. Thankfully, we found a great spot, #6, in the very first loop and we all set to enjoy our weekend or so we thought. We still had a few problems to overcome. First was a leak in the tube that connects the propane tank to the trailer and second the trailers battery was dead but a trip into Pine Top the next morning took care of everything. The weather was wonderful there was a light rain on and off most of the weekend, just enough to keep the temperature 70’s during the day and high 50’s at night but not too much so that the campground was muddy.
We even found a great place to let the dogs run (shhh without a leash.) The worse part of the whole trip was coming back home to the heat of the desert. Still it is good to be home.

Empty nest

Since Tom and I are now empty nester's, we decided to transform our daughter Kasandra's old bedroom into a guest room. It has taken me almost a year to pull together everything to achieve the look and feel that I wanted. It was important to me that we go "green" and try to buy more items that were recycled (used) and not new. My thought was that with our current economy, one needs to spend money wisely and try to keep it in America. Therefore most of the big items have been bought off of craigslist. (http://www.craigslist.com/) The room has slowly evolved into a quiet retreat for visitors and family alike. Many of the items are from my parents or grandparents. The crochet doilies, were handmade by my grandmother Lois Watenpaugh. The Chenille bedspread was my parents bedspread in the 70's. The clothes hanging above the bed were worn by parents when they were little. The eyelet curtain have been stowed away for years in hopes to someday use them. My favorite photo of my grandma Josephine Ramsey sits on top of the desk. All these things help give the room a familiar warm homey feel. The metal bed, Secretary, and armoire from craigslist. Some items of course had to bought new, the mattress and a feather like mattress topper for one. I am still on the hunt for a hobnail milk glass lamp. I have to admit that it takes a little more effort to buy used items since there isn't a showroom to pick from, overall I am very happy with how it has turned out.

Hey Kasandra.... do you want to spend the night?