Month: July 2021

Roadtirement is going to take a break

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Pearly Gates morning glory

Sometimes you need to take a break from blogging. That’s what Sher and I have decided we are going to do for a while.

Not to worry, we are both doing fine. Our recent doctor visit resulted in good reports for each of us. We did have to get blood tests today after fasting, yuck. Maj’s diet is still going well, and his daily bike rides for exercise are slowly increasing in duration and distance.

And for those of you who caught our last post on Roadtirement know that we asked you to guess the destination of our next adventure. Today we’re giving the “reveal” as they say on the reality shows. Drumroll………….   We are going to Seattle and the state of Washington.  We’ve visited there before, and our daughter, son-in-law and grandson live near Seattle so fun visits coming! It is beautiful country with lots of things to see and do.

We are not leaving forever, just taking some time off. Thanks so much for your support and we’ll be back sometime.

 

Got our detectors out of storage

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Our metal detector gear, digging tools and headphones

A day or two ago I was trying to ride my bike, my legs gave out and I ended up with 2 scraped knees. Hmmm…. that’s when we pulled out the metal detectors.  Dusted them off, put in new batteries and much to our surprise – they still worked! So, about our  metal detectors, yes we have ’em.  Maj has a Garrett  GTP 1350  and I have a Whites  CoinMaster.  We bought them a few years ago when we were convinced we were going to find hidden treasure!  (smiling face)  Anyway Joshua  Gates , from Travel Channel’s Expedition Unknown really inspired us to do something with our detectors. Joshua uses metal detectors a lot in his searches for treasure and other artifacts. Doing a google search I found that metal detecting is a very good hobby for senior citizens.  

I don’t know if we’re going to find buried treasures, but we might find a few coins and maybe even a piece of jewelry.  We haven’t figured out how well we will be able to bend down and actually dig.  But, it is good exercise and we may just look for surface treasures.  

Why are we doing this? We are getting ready for our next big adventure.  We’re leaving it up to everyone to guess where we are going.  I’d give a prize but don’t have anything really to give that would be good.  Only thing is, you will know if you’ve guessed right.  

The first hint: it is west of our home state of Indiana…

~ Sher

We watch the Travel Channel’s “Expedition Unknown”

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Josh in front of El Castillo in Mexico. Photo courtesy Josh Gates

Have you ever watched an episode of Expedition Unknown? It is a binge worthy show. We started watching because we couldn’t find anything we hadn’t seen, or anyway it felt like we’d seen everything. Anyway, our son suggested we watch Travel Channel’s Expedition Unknown just to see if we liked it. Liked it is an understatement, we loved it! Josh Gates is absolutely fantastic as a guide and a master at explaining things in lay people terms. For the last 4 days we have been binge watching it and still have more shows to go. We are watching this Travel Channel production on Discovery+.

Our pic, also seen in Expedition Unknown

Some of our favorite episodes have been filmed at places where we have visited during our travels. The episode about the search for real-life buccaneer Jean Laffite’s missing treasure in the early 1800’s is partially set in New Orleans, Louisiana.  This episode (Season 4, Episode 13) ended in Galveston, Texas, another place we have seen. It is lots of fun seeing the same buildings, beaches and lands that we have visited. We shared some of our experiences in New Orleans here.

 

Gates has a great sense of humor, and it is amazing the connections he has in the world of archeology, treasure hunting and fascinating history. He journeys take you to all corners of the world, and places that you never knew existed. We also really enjoy his behind the scenes episodes, giving you a look at how large and complex his production crew really is.

~Sher

Diet and cycling update

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It’s been about 10 days since I have mentioned the diet and exercise program I have been on. So far, so good I have to say. The regime of having a salad each day with a couple of meal replacement shakes has been a chore, but I have been fairly faithful to it. My blood pressure has been greatly improved, and stays improved day to day. I am losing weight as well.

Sher and I met relatives at a local restaurant over the weekend. It had been over a year since we have seen them, and we had a most enjoyable visit. For my meal I splurged and chose a cheeseburger. I did, however order it without the bun. (I have not had any bread since I started the diet. Damn, I miss wheat toast.)

Chillin’ on his “front porch”

I’ve been riding my bike everyday. More often than not I ride a second time too. The ground hog pictured is a critter that I see everyday during my morning ride. When I starting riding he would duck under his yard barn as soon as he spotted me. Now he just ignores me and keeps sitting on his “front porch”. I guess he has gotten used to me riding through his territory.

Great made on the grill

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Sometimes called a hobo meal, food cooked in foil on the grill (or campfire to be truly hobo) is a great way to prepare a meal. Sher and I especially like a mix of lots of different ingredients.

One of our favorite grilled meals is a mix of potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, and squash. Eggplant and cucumber also work well. Simple to make, easy to cook.

Ready to close the foil

Finished product: hot and healthy

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation is simply cutting the ingredients into small pieces. Once all are cut, put into a large mixing bowl. Add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or a quick spray with same. Mix well to give everything a very light coating. Put the resulting mix on foil, fold to seal. Then put a second layer of foil around the package. Cook on the grill for 12 to 15 minutes, flip over and cook another 12 to 15 minutes. Cook on “medium” heat. We make enough to have leftovers, this recipe heats well in the microwave.

Wild strawberry or COVID virus??

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Took a picture of a couple of mushrooms yesterday.  Within the image was a little red wild strawberry. Once the photo was enlarged and the red berry zeroed in, the details of the berry came into focus.

That looks eerily close to COVID

Immediately the  shape of the berry looked very familiar. Yes, that shape has been displayed just about everywhere since, oh, sometime around March 2020. It does look way to much like the renderings you see of that damned COVID-19 virus.

Fungus still among us

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OK, promise this will be the last time for the fungus among us headline…

The clover leaves will help you judge the size of these mushrooms

Once again the wet conditions seem to have offered a good environment for the growth of a couple of mushrooms. These two popped up under our yard swing. The shade may have helped.

Short video of five geese, seven ducks and moderate flooding

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A nearby park received moderate flooding over the past few days from heavy rains. This park has seen a lot worse: the swing sets in the background have been in water 2 feet deep before. Some geese found it good grazing where a walking/bike path was covered. A group of ducks also enjoyed the shallow water. One duck honked off one of the geese, however. Fortunately the video ends before serious goose vs. duck conflict occurs.

Little and elusive

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I was lucky to even see this little green bug. Talk about camouflage. He kept moving around hiding on the branch (like squirrels do on tree trunks) as I tried to get this image. 

He’s about a half inch tall

After doing a search on a bug identification site, I came to the conclusion that this guy is a planthopper. No, not a leafhopper, but a planthopper. According to the experts, planthoppers have fewer leg spines and a “more interesting head” than leafhoppers.  I didn’t make that up. Thank heavens, at least my bug has an interesting head. Whew…

How they are growing

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Welcome to our tomato growth pictorial

 

Flower/pollination

Flower petals still hanging on the bottom

More possible starts here in addition to the two already growing

A little further along (yes it rained last night)

These two look like they are going to make it

These were the first two that showed up

This year we bought two plants instead of growing from seeds. The last photo is from a different plant from the other images. The header at the top of the page is actually of a “volunteer” plant that just showed up in the backyard. It seems to be doing well and will soon earn the right to have its own tomato cage.