They want me to hurry back

This is as close as I will come to the snow up here

I keep getting these enticing text from Texas wanting me to return sooner than I had planned. I would if it wasn't so hot there. I wake up in the morning here with temps in the 40's and highs in the upper 70's lower 80's. How can I leave this and return to Texas where it never gets below 70 in the morning and it is in the upper 90's in the afternoon. I love you guys but I can't take the heat anymore. I have to stay cool. 
I  guess I could go back and stay in the lake all day until the sun went down. It is hard to paint while neck deep in lake water. I will be back soon and I will enjoy the cooler temps and the lake and all my sweet family. Until then I will remain here in Gods country.
Yesterday was the Lords day and I spent it painting one of the Lords creation. Every where you look up here is a scene waiting to be painted. I can't get enough of all this beauty up here. I see why so many of the great artist spent time in the the west. Here in the mountains is an artist paradise. The other day I spent time sitting on the bank of a creek painting a forest scene. The birds singing and the wind blowing through the pines was so relaxing. The sound of the creek lapping over the rocks rushing down the side of the mountain. You can't get enough of this.
I know before long the temps will plummet here and it will be time for us to head south to warmer temps. I would like to get some good snow scenes in but before I leave but my bones wont take to the cold anymore. I will get some photos and do the next best thing painting from those...

Somewhere in Time 

47 Degrees

Home sweet home

Got up this morning and looked at the outside temps. It was 47 and then I knew why it was so cool inside. We did not go to sleep with the heat on last night so when I got up it was 60 inside.
I thought about our family back in Texas waking up to 80 degree temps and living all day in the triple digits! I should be ashamed of myself for posting this on my journal. Not! I spent 65 years of my life in those temps making a living and now I am living the life up here in the mountains in the cool. Good for me...I love it.
Yesterday was a do nothing day. We did load up and go to Dollar General. We usually go on Saturdays so Sherri can get her $5.00 off of $25.00 spent. I got me some more small totes for the bay. I have been putting all my things in totes so that I can find them. I use the see through kind so that what is inside can be seen from the outside. I hate having to guess what is in each tote. 
Today I will spend some of my time organizing the bay. I do this at least once a week so that it stays looking nice. I have all my art supplies under there and being able to get to them easily makes it nice when it is time to create.
I heard yesterday that Colorado students will be starting school next week. I wondered why all the school supplies were out so early. They are going to school for 4 days a week this year. This made me think that Kris will be starting school in September. He too will be going 4 days a week. We spend 100% of the school day in class with no recess. Lunch is at 12:00 and after that we do our last class. This puts Kris out of school about 2:00. He does 90% of all the work required on his own. Math is the only class where we work together to make sure he understands what is going on. History and Language Arts he reads and works in his workbooks. This helps him with his reading and comprehension. This year he is starting the 7th grade. Gosh he is growing so fast and before I know it he will be grown and on his own...

Somewhere in Time 
  

OK you convinced me I'm coming

Looks good to me

Looks nice behind the new Jeep

Got a call last night. It was my daughter and SIL. They told us that they had bought a bass boat so we could all go fishing as soon as we moved down there. Well that cinched the deal there for sure. They know I have been longing for a boat for some time and they go and get one so that I will surely come down. 
We were coming whether you had a boat or not. Now the boat does make the deal sweeter! I will have to help pay for the boat slip...which by the way is no problem! All they got to do is take me fishing...

Somewhere in Time 

The attack of the Chipmunks

I guess the chipmunks at our picnic site had been fed by everyone that comes there. We could not get them to go away! I mean they came and sat on the table while we were eating! Nothing scared them and they just made themselves at home.
Kris would stand up and yell at them but they did not seem to mind. They grabbed Becky's water bottle and tried to drink out of it. We found one of them inside the picnic basket trying to unwrap one of the sandwiches! 
We had to deliver some food to them away from us so they would leave us alone. We could not eat until they had their own meal!
I did get to paint while I was there. I found a nice place by the creek that ran down  the back of the site. I sat up my paint box and a chair and got to work painting the scenery before me. I was surprised how much easier it was to paint the scene in its natural state until the sun moved over the top of me and I could not see my painting. I put everything away and watched the comedy of chipmunks unfold down at the picnic table. If anything I had a good laugh and a wonderful day here...

Somewhere in Time 

Today we picnic

Found a good spot for a picnic

We found a couple of spots to put down a table cloth for a picnic. One of the places in mind is about 10 minutes from the RV. Sherri is planning on put together some chicken salad sandwiches chips and drinks and heading out about 9:30. The site we found is in the Rio Grand National Forest. It has places to camp or spend the day. They allow day use from 10:00 to 4:00 each day for $9.00. Sounds a little steep for me but then the scenery is worth the money. I plan on taking my paints and do a little sketching and painting while I am there. It is not often that I can do this and I look forward to getting there.
I hope to get some pictures while we are there and I will post them tomorrow...

Somewhere in Time 

Had some Propane leaks

Sherri and I were sitting on the patio and she kept saying that she smelled propane real strong. I don't have a good nose for smelling so I had to poke my head in the propane bottle compartment to see if I could smell anything. Sure nuff I could smell propane. I also thought I could hear a hissing sound. Sherri said she could also hear it. OK I pulled out the old leak detection equipment...some soap solution...and found where the leak was coming from. I check the other hose on the other side and found it to be leaking also.
Well after several stops in town looking for the correct pig tails I found out that no one had what I needed. I called my tech in Tyler and he said he would mail me what I needed. 
The hoses arrived yesterday and I had them installed in no time. I now have heat in the morning which is a nice thing.
Thanks so much Tyler RV Service Center for helping me out.
I forgot to mention before I received my package we took a trip into Alamosa for some needed items. We stopped by Penny's and then to Bealls for some clothing items. I got me two new pairs of shorts for $7.00 each. Then it was on to Taco Bell for some lunch. I had the poor mans meal and a glass of water. Not much on Taco Bell. Our last stop was where else...Wally World. I had some pictures made from my flash drive. I now have some more ideas for paintings. By the way I finished my first commissioned painting. The customer liked it and was well satisfied. This bolsters my confidence so I might take on some more if asked.

My first commissioned painting 

This is about all I have for today. Tomorrow we plan on going on a picnic in the mountains. We found a great spot down on a creek up in the mountains just outside of South Fork. It will make a wonderful place to relax and observe the surrounding beauty...

Somewhere in Time 

One of the possible picnic sites

Another site that might be worth trying

Not cool today...COLD

Yes Cold! It is 42 degrees this morning. Sherri and I are here at the dinning room table...her with her sweater on and me with a coat. Now you are asking why don't we just turn on the heater and get it warm inside. Well there is a simple explanation for that. Both of the pigtails to our propane bottles are leaking and I had to order new ones. So as a result of that we have no heat except for the electric fire place. We had a larger than usual electric bill last month so we just decided to put on more clothes...it is much cheaper.
I could not find any replacement hoses here in South Fork so I had to call my tech in Tyler to mail me two hoses. It was not that much and I know that I will get the correct hoses for my unit.
I was commissioned to paint a picture for one of my neighbors sister. She is coming to visit and he wanted to get it for her as a surprise. I have been working on it for the past week. Between wind and rain it has been hard to work on the patio. I might have to find me a place at the community center to finish it. 
Not much going on this week. We plan on making some trips next week to see some new things here...

Somewhere in Time 

Saturday thunderstorms

Saturday morning was sunny and bright. Sherri and I started out the day as usual drinking our coffee and watching the sun rise over the mountain across from the park. It started out as a any other day until about 10:00 am when the black cloud came out of the valley. It was rolling towards us in a thunderous manner. With all the noise came the rain and pea size hail. Today was the first day of Logger Days here in South Fork. I don't know how much logging will be going on.

We decided not to go due to the chance of lightning killing us both. We opted out for a trip to Dollar General. They had a clearance on all kinds of things. 

After the shopping spree we drove over to the Malt Shoppe and had us a burger basket. We drove from there back to the RV and I spent the rest of the day painting.

Kris's little girl friend that he met up here year before last has returned to visit her great grandparents. They became friends quickly after finding out they both played the same games on the computer. He pined for her last year and this year she has returned! I know this will be exciting for him to have someone to spend time with.

We walked over to Becky and Rick's new canopy and visited until the sun sank deep into the west. Over all it has been a great day here in the cool north...

Somewhere in Time 

Trip to Durango

We up and decided to take a trip over the pass to Durango. It had been 6 years since we had been there so it was time to make another visit. We love Serious BBQ which has a restaurant there and we made that the main destination.
We also needed to stop by Wally World to make some prints of the pictures I have taken while in the mountains. I paint from those prints and I can get them made there for 29 cents each. I use the Kiosk there at the store and it takes very little time for me to have them made.
While we were there we picked up some needed items and checked out many other non essential items. 
A trip to the Railroad Museum was also on our list of things to do. Becky and Rick had never been there so we stopped by to check it out. I found a parking spot across the street from the train station which is unheard of during the summer months. What luck would be-fall me!
We had a great time and on the way home we had rain! Yes it rained and of all places it rained while we were ascending Wolfe Creek Pass! What an adventure that was...

Somewhere in Time    

Bingo is a bust

How to cool off in Texas

We had our weekly Bingo game in the community center but the attendance was down. We have decided to cancel Bingo on Wednesday nights. We will have to find something else to do other than that.
The weather here is getting cooler! Yes cooler. We are starting to see more rain and with that the temps are going down. Now in Texas they are on the other end of the spectrum. It is getting hotter which makes me more grateful I am here!
Jennifer and her bunch have moved to the lake. The called yesterday and we visited on Facetime. What a wonderful technology. Franki was at the lake swimming and Jennifer and Frank were watching her. They are so excited about their new location. We plan on joining them come December...

Somewhere in Time 

Constructed a Patio Awning

Our neighbor Becky ordered and received her patio awning yesterday. 
Sherri and I volunteered to help her get it up. We have one much like hers and we have erected it several times. We actually had a fun time putting up a tent if you can believe that. Becky's neighbors came over and they also pitched in to help. They offered some good advice on making it much more secured from the wind. How many Aggies does it take to put up a tent?
We got it up and all tied down. She is ready for the wind and the rain. She will be able to sit out on her patio now in the shade!.
One thing about here...if it is hot and you move into the shade it cools off! Now in Texas if it is hot and you move into the shade it is still hot.
We spent the rest of the morning sitting under her tent enjoying the cool shade and the company...

Somewhere in Time