Condo, condo...... Who has a condo...

We do, almost. We are supposed to close on it Tues. Then we get the furniture that Jonathan has been storing for us ...that which he will let us have back. Then Thanksgiving with my sister and family.

My washer and dryer are to be delivered Saturday and maybe my furniture for the living room. Off to Va to get our stuff out of storage on my birthday. We will move in hang around til the 19th of Jan moving and getting settled.On the 19th we will head to FL.Guess we will be back at the condo (aka the Cumberland) til summer and off once again ....This time to see the awesome daughter and our friends.

These old fuddy-duddies went to a rock concert Wed night..it was fabulous. If you ever have a chance to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra, go. Heavy metal yes, fantastic laser light show, flames, smoke, and Broadway voices. It was breathtaking. Not anything like I imagined. I love Queen and there was quite a Queen influence plus a little Meatloaf with the rock opera and a little Pink Floyd influence with the lasers, but my goodness it was good.

I think, however, one of the top requirements to be in the show is to have long "slingy" hair. I did get tired of the hair gyrations...actually it got rather humerous.But the lights, the lasers, the flames ,and the sound made up for it all. My camera pictures got totally washed away with the lights and all.So no pics, sorry.We bought the album, but not the t-shirts. So much fun. I was so excited it took me hours to fall asleep.

We also went to see Quantum of Solace. Don't bother. It was such a disappointment. I loved DC in the first 007 but this one was awful.

Hurricane Ike Volunteer experience

 

 

 

 

A NEW TOY

As if we need one....we bought a Wii and have been having a blast with it. Each time the boys come over, they give the old man a run for his money on the games.
But he holds his own pretty well. Also we bought the Wii fitness . It will give you quite a workout if you follow through with it on a daily basis, now really does that sound like me?

He has also really worked on his stained glass projects and has one completed and installed. It looks great.

The other one is a secret work in progress. This, of course, involved another toy to be bought!

Then there is his geo-caching. He is out every day in the woods looking for these trinkets and logging them in when he gets home.





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He went to Angel Oak the other day and was just amazed at the size of this old tree. Of course the developers around here want it taken down, but so far it has won each battle.

And me? I wander around thinking of all the things I have to do, make lists of things I have to do, get ready to do them and before you know it it is another day.

I have been spending quality time with the family, cooking, trying new recipes and working on genealogy. Genealogy, now there is something. I am at a stumbling block right now that only a trip to KY will solve......do I see a camping trip in the summer???????

 

Poor Neglected Blog

I feel so bad about this but honestly since I arrived in town I have either not had good WIFI, not had the correct computer, or something!But I am back again with all kinds of news and fun.

First off.....we are buying a house. This has been in the works since we were in the blizzard in Yellowstone. Having nothing to do there because of the SNOW in June,we started looking at new homes in Charleston, SC on the internet. We were stunned to discover 1) we could afford a new home 2) we liked condos and no yard and 3) we were ready to do this. Huh! no one was more surprised than we were to find out we were ready to settle.

So I came to Charleston and looked at the one we chose and just loved it....good thing since we had signed a contract, sight unseen. Then construction was delayed and delayed again. Actually had they started it when they should have we would be moving in this month. So on to Plan B, there is always a Plan B in my life. Sure enough there was one to be ready the last of Nov. and we grabbed it.

We will live in Dorchester County just about 3 miles into the county and about that far from our younger son's condo.We love the entrance into the subdivision:

then there is our street with the brick road:

not yellow darn it! Then our house. As you can see they are hustling to get it done by Nov 28th.

There are 4 units in the building and we are on one end.


We will live in the last unit on that side of the road before the wetlands. As a matter of fact there are wetlands on the side and behind our house. Plus there is a nature walk right there too. The puppies will love this!

Enough about the house already...Pictures to come when we can get inside.

We are in our favorite campground in Charleston, the only campground in Charleston. It is the only campground that we have been in that has such a great dog run. this thing is huge. We have two dogs that like to run. Here are some poodles having the time of their lives.

What to do????

Our plans all along have been to spend thru October in Elkhart Indiana to visit with family in Indianapolis and Chicago and friends there in Elkhart and Chicago. I got a call saying that my stepfather ( age 87+) is failing in health and that we need to come home. We are in the process of buying a condo in Charleston and thought this would be a great time to check on the building progress.Then Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna hit and get the East coast in an uproar. So I decide my place is in SC with my family in case there is a tropical disturbance and we need to get family out of Charleston.

The Red Cross called and activated Erwin to go to Houston to help with the recovery for Ike...so here we are once again going our separate ways. I drove down to Charleston with the dogs, about a 900+ mile trip. Erwin stayed in Elkhart to get work finished on our 5th wheel and finish up paperwork for the Red Cross to be able to leave on Sept 17th for Houston, Dallas or wherever.

I arrived in Charleston with no problems and left the dogs with our son. My stepfather once again has rallied and seems to be doing fine. The Atlantic disturbances have calmed down and Erwin is there and I am here. At first it was OK I had a car and could go where and when I wanted without inconveniencing anyone...then a tractor trailer hit our son's truck. He needed wheels and mine were available, thank goodness. But I will get them back tomorrow. The builder has not even started our condo building and with the economy in such a mess right now I don't know when he will begin.

So what to do what to do.

While we were in Salt Lake City I got interested in genealogy and have been working through ancestry.com to trace my family history. That has been fun. When my dad told me we were related to over half the county of Pulaski in Kentucky, I really thought he was joking...but apparently he wasn't. So a trip to Pulaski County to the historical library is definitely in order. Erwin should be able to do most of his research right here in Charleston.

For some reason I brought along a lot of knitting projects so that works out too.

I did not bring the cord that connects my camera to the computer, so no pictures right now. I did not bring a phone charger.Necessities in the world I tell you!

But I had only planned to stay at my parents for a week. Now I am here until Oct 14th at least.....arghhhhhhhhhhhh.

Oshkosh 2008

Erwin and Bob always spend the week of Oshkosh together. They get there, camp and work the flight line. In the meantime, Bob's wife and I stay in Chicago and do girl things. the perfect thing for all concerned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt. Rushmore

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the trip to Mount Rushmore included more than just seeing the mountain with the faces. Yes, it is great Americana, yes, it is awe inspiring but is that all there is? Well no, Kaye Heins, it is not.
Mt.Rushmore is in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, an area I would love to return to and spend more time. It is a National Monument on the edge of a beautiful state park, Custer State Park. The drives through CSP are magnificent. On the way to Mt. Rushmore, we went through some rock tunnels that I swear you could not have gotten a slice of bread between our truck and the wall. One of the tunnels is made so that you see Mt. Rushmore framed by the sides of the tunnel. This whole state park was designed by a past governor of South Dakota who knew beauty when he saw it in nature. He mapped out the roads and tunnels from horseback, helped design the over passes and bridges and had great fun I am sure making drivers double back on their trails. There are at least three distinctly different trails, The Needles Eye, Iron Mountain (I think) and the Wildlife Loop. We took each trail on a different day just to take in the sights and not be too overwhelmed. Basically we were still overwhelmed.
The trip to Mt. Rushmore is just as awesome as the mountain itself. I will show you some of the tunnels we went through, the roads we traveled, called pig's tail, and the mountain. We went late in the day so we could see the mountain lit up. What we did not know was there would be a ceremony honoring all those who had served in the Armed forces. Quite a sight to see the young and the old, men and women, black white and Indian all on the same stage being honored for serving their country. I was proud to be an American!
Of course, "new shoes Heins" had to show off his mountain goat abilities.
Our next day was spent on the Needles Eye Highway.Quite awesome, to say the least