Wait! What?? This is too much like REAL work.....

Now two months in to our new volunteer assignment at the LBJ National Historical Park as Interpretive Guides at the "boyhood home"

 and we are loving it! All except the hours.  Working Sunday thru Wednesday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm with a 20 minute lunch break is WAAAAYYYY too much like real work.  We get home most evenings and CRASH, spend our weekends relaxing.

Now I'm not complaining mind you....it has been a great to learn the job of  "Interpreter" (which we find we really like).  The volunteer Coordinators here have provided us with great training, (both in the classroom and on the job).  If our work week was 3 days on, 4 days off, this would be the perfect place.

As on most jobs we are meeting a lot of great people and slowly getting to explore the area.  There is a HUGE advantage to being 1 hour north of San Antonio where Bill's little sister, Jane, lives.  Jane and her husband Tim know the area well and have been able to  make some fabulous recommendations to us for stuff we can do with them, or not..... but all fun!  It seems like we never have enough time to spend with them over the years.....For a few months anyway, we'll be able to get our Tim and Jane fix:-)

For the last 2 weeks we have been training for the "Texas White House" venue.  The LBJ National Historical Park consists of two venues, 13 miles apart.  You have seen the Boyhood Home...now take a look at LBJ's adult home, The "Texas White House".We have been preparing to take tours thru this much larger home, and have learned a great deal more about the man in the process: fascinating!

During our short breaks between tours we hang out in the "poolhouse".....too bad it has been drained.

It is positioned by the outdoor pool, and on a nice day, the outdoor pool is a wonderful place to sit and relax.  The breaks are short (10-20 minutes) now....but when the busy season starts in March, even those short breaks will vaporize and we will jump from tour to tour.

These busy weeks have been made easier to take, due to fun times with family and friends....times that would not have been possible without us having hit the road....chances to give and receive:

Surprise visit from Tim and Jane (Bill's sister)

Molly is hanging in there, happy with her pain medication.  Still, we know she is in her last weeks:-(

Jane and I at the rodeo/concert

Tim and Bill at the rodeo/concert

Mutton Busting:  The BEST part of the rodeo!  Hysterical!

After the rodeo...how bout a little Tim McGraw:-)

And a little "Mi Tierra"  Yum (picture taken BEFORE the security guard respectfully separated Bill from his gun...story available on request:-)
And Lynne/Brad arrive!!!!!!! 

What fun day out would be complete without a trip to the winery?

Or the Riverwalk...

                                                                     a boat ride followed by dinner 
on the water.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch........this guy was dead asleep....didn't even wake up when we started talking...sleeping on the tip of his horn...how could that possibly be comfortable?

well, Hello 

At Sauer-Beckmann Farm by the LBJ STATE Park (may do this next year)

Meadowlark at The Ranch

 Prairie Hawk

Calf about a day old....this is how it feels when I am getting up from the floor :-)

Picnic lunch.....

This guy was scooping leaves under his tummy?????

I know these 3 are out of focus,

but I kept them for the joy 

they Show! 

Praying Meadowlark

Drinking from our neighbors hose

2 days old 

Taking a walk with  Mom

This guy is our neighbor.

Interesting that the deer around here are so much smaller than ours at home.And some of the adults are spotted like our fawns would be.

Every Saturday night is Potluck fun with our fellow volunteers

 Bill, Ron, Louise

 

some of whom have become,

 Larry and Mary

Marilyn and Jim

or will become 

Jeanne

Lifelong friends.

Hank and Larry

And lest I forget...this Sunday is Oscar night!  Bill and I have been on Oscar Quest (the time of year following Oscar nominations during which we go see all the movies nominated in these categories: Best Movie, Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress) for weeks.  We still have to see Dallas and Gravity, but we can tell you some of what I think so far:

     Best Movie- 12 Years A Slave (have not seen Gravity)

(Wolf of Wall Street is just pornography...but DiCaprio did a GREAT job)

( and WHAT is Her doing in this category?)

(Loved American Hustle and Nebraska)

Best Actor: Christian Bale (NOTE- THOUGH HE WASN'T NOMINATED-THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOM HANKS...JUST SAYIN )

Best Actress: Meryl Streep

Best Supporting Actor:  Bradley Cooper

Best Supporting Actress: June Squibb

Will let you know if this changes after Friday, when we go see the last 2.  I will also list Bill's pics soon.

Well, time to prepare for work tommorrow...they're forcing us to go to the LBJ Library and Lady Bird Wildflower Center:-)

Why we're here:

Love to all...Vaya Con Dios!

There are certain truths to live by:

My Mom and Dad
were wise people who, despite their faults, did their best to live by God's guidance.  Here are some of their "carved in stone" words to live by:

     1)  Always buy a house on a corner lot.  (our house in Lake Zurich, IL was a gift from God, and violated this rule, but made up for it by being close to the largest piece of private property in town....she was also host to many a traveling stranger in need)

2)  Always buy a house within 1 hour drive of an international airport.  (85 Linden was a 35 minute run to O'Hare)

3)  Never buy a car in its 1st model year. ( my 1985 Plymouth minivan was an exemplary vehicle which I sold to another cop friend at 110,000 miles and it served her well for many more).

4)  God will never give you more than you can handle.  (but He has sure taken me right to the edge and had me looking over it before pulling me back from the brink)

And THAT is how things proceeded with my full knee replacement. Two times my surgery was scheduled and two times it was cancelled, literally as we were driving to the hospital.  A change of doctors and the third time was the charm.

The hospital was another story, in and of itself.  No shower (in 4 days), no change of bedsheets (in 4 days) despite the fact that the nurse let me bleed all over them each time she messed with my IV, 2 hour waits for pain medication (every time).  No home therapy or CPM  machine scheduled for my arrival home (I finally got it all scheduled a week and a half later), and, yes I had requested these things way in advance. It was so bad, I have filed a formal complaint with both the doctor and my insurance company. If you know me at all, you know this is not like me.

All of this difficulty was assuaged by the good news of receiving our next assignment to follow this current 4 months at Lyndon Baines Johnson National Historic Park  in Johnson City, Texas.         
We will be working as Interpretive Guides here at LBJ's boyhood home 
and the "Texas White House" from January 1, 2014 until April 30th.  

After that we will break camp and head home to northern Illinois for a 10 week visit with family and friends.  Just a few to represent:

My BFF Audrey

Jamie, Emily, Sophia & G

Jim & Christy, Mac & Gus

Cyndy (Bill's 3rd daughter) Johnny, Christine, Kate

    Katie, Moira, Teagan and Bil (Bill's youngest)

                              Jan's cousin Lee

Don and Lisa Whetstone (friends)

Bradford (friend)

The Padulas (friends)

            Jan's high school gang (Angela, Adrian, Vince, Carol)

Tami (Bill's 1st born) Brett and Natalie (oldest grand) and Max

Joie (Bill's sister) Kathy (Bill's sister)  Dave (Bill's brudder)

Kevin and Beth (friends)

Where, during this time, we hope to get LOTS of this!!!!

    

And spend a few weeks here (our favorite campground- Starrett Lake, Sayner, WI) 

Then on, around, or about July 13, 2014 we will take off on our next adventure: Cape Hatterras, OBX, North Carolina,

and we'll dig in our heels there until December 15th.  This schedule will allow us to be home for Christmas 2014.  After that....who knows????

Back to the present:  we left Joshua Tree on December 19th to head for LBJ National Historic Park in Johnson City, Texas.  As we got off very late in the afternoon, our 1st night was spent in Salome, AZ at Dick and Debbies.  The next morning we made haste for Las Cruces, NM where we found La Hacienda RV Resort to be a very hospitable, comfortable and quiet place to bunk for the night.  Day 3 found us crossing into Texas, where we camped at the Lower Llano River State Park     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPtlgWyRqs8&feature=player_embedded in the Texas Hill Country 1.5 hours from our final destination.

The driving was challenging on my new knee, but I had my secret weapon....my painkiller was keeping me pretty comfortable.  On the day we arrived in TX (with CA script for painkiller in hand) we were excited to get to our new "home" and settle in...but 1st a stop at the pharmacy to fill that script.  No big deal, Right??!!  Guess what???   A Ca script=no meds in Tx.  Horrible horrible horrible night.  The next day, on the pharmacists suggestion, we went to the ER.  After 6 hours we were politely informed by an ER doc that he did not have authority to issue a script for this medication.  In his defense, he did then send me on to an Urgent Care Clinic down the road.  There, we had the privilege of spending 3.5 more hours waiting on a doctor.  I was finally cared for and on our way.

Day 3 in Texas was Christmas Eve, and with medication on board, we headed to Fredricksburg to complete our Christmas shopping

Merry Christmas to us:  When in Texas

 and prepare for a fun filled Christmas Eve with Bill's sister Jane

and her husband Tim,

Photo courtesy of Jacob (5 YOA)

their younger son Ben

, and his wife Jen

, and children Jacob and Olivia.

Our cohorts at LBJ, Louise and Hank, joined in the festivities and a great time was had by all.  

Hank and Louise

Hank and Louise are friends we made at The Cradle of Forestry over a year ago.  They, like us, are full time nomads who were also lucky enough to land a position at LBJ, arriving a few days prior to our making an appearance.  It is with gratitude we thank Hank & Louise for showing us the ropes around the Texas Hill Country when we were so otherwise preoccupied in those 1st miserable days.

The only downside is that Bill and I are stationed in "the back 40" in Johnson City at the LBJ Boyhood home and Hank and Louise are stationed at the "north 40" at the "Texas White House" 15 miles down the road from us in Stonewall, TX. As Bill and I will be leading tours at both locations, we will still be able to connect up with them from time to time.

Upon arriving home late, after the wonderful Christmas Eve Janie provided, we hit the sack hard and fast....for 3 hours.  At 2 AM the hammer fell....Bill shot out of the bed, and, well, all I can say is that it's good our bathroom is so close.  It was readily apparent to even the most casual observer (which I certainly was not) that this man who never gets sick, was in a world of hurt.  Vomiting, body aches, migraine and he was out for the count, not lifting his head from the pillow until 6 pm Christmas Day, when he managed to eat 3 crackers.  (this lasted 3 days)

The disappointment at having to cancel our Christmas plans was immeasurable, but I knew God had a better idea.  In this case Bill and I got some  much needed rest.  Good times will still be had by all over the next 4 months.

The days of rest did us a world of good and we were rejuvenated and ready to meet our new Volunteer Coordinator at 9 AM Friday.

I was seriously alarmed when this man of no obvious humor looked at me and said "what's the cane for?".   After receiving the explanation, he said "and you're going to be able to be on your feet 8 hrs a day, 4 days in a row?"  I said "yes", twice, with more bravado than I really felt.  We will not really get rolling for another week.  I ask my prayer warriors for backup support....Thanks!!!

Our little campground here

has 8 sites, with 3 currently filled.  Rumor has it that we will be getting more company soon.  The laundry room is 30 steps from my front door, and is very nice.  All in all I think this will turn out to be an assignment we will really like.  Though it would be impossible to replace the Cynthias 

Cynthia-Campground Coordinator at Joshua Tree NP

of the world, make the best of it we will, and have a great time doing so.

For example:  we hooked up with Hank & Louise and took our 1st tour of the Texas White House to get a feel for what we will be doing.  First of all, we had a great time, but more striking was the feeling I had when we left...the feeling of simplicity, minimalist decor and size and scope of the entire house, which would PALE in comparison to the home of a modern day politician.  Despite LBJ's huge/expansive ego, his digs were quite modest.  

P.S.  do you know why the ranch in Stonewall, TX was called the "Texas White House"? (answer in the next edition)

Today is New Years Eve, and for the first time in many moons, we are going out.  Joining up with Tim & Jane, Hank & Louise to partake of some Mexican food along the San Antonio Riverwalk.  This is the closest interpretation of the January 1st Annual Mexican Blowout, sponsored by Bill for many years, that we can attend without a great deal of food prep., or space for all those friends. (for those who do not know what the "Blowout" is:  for over 30 years, give or take 1 or 2, Bill has thrown an Open House on January 1st and served as many as would show up all the Mexican food they could tolerate.  This is one of our most cherished and forfeited customs....Jane may have inadvertently triggered a new take on this old tradition.

So, as the sun sets on 2013

we wish you and yours the best old friends, the best new friends, and always exciting new landscapes to keep you challenged, healthy and happy!

Happy Trails and God's Blessings