weekend=new car + Sunday drive

You know that feeling you get with your car when you fall out of love with it? When you start losing faith in its sturdiness, its ability to get you safely from A to B? I call it the Flintstones feeling. When  you feel like you could put your feet through the floor and start running the car like Fred Flintstone did? My first car took me almost 17 years to get the Flintstones feeling. It was an 89 Ford Escort and I loved it to death, literally. I am not a picky car person-or so I thought. When I shopped for my next car I happened upon it in an ad and said that's the one. It was an AWD Pontiac Vibe, perfect for my new job and new commute up and down country roads in all Ozarks seasons, especially the wild and wooly winter days with sudden icy roads. Reaching 135K miles in the Vibe seemed to bring out the Flintstones feeling for me with new sounds and vibrations here and there. So I started shopping for car and shopping and shopping but couldn't decide between cost, comfort, mpg, AWD, you name it. I couldn't pick one car out of so many for sale these days.
So Superdude is going soon and with him my new reliance on all things husbands do, he said I had to take the plunge and trade the car in before he deploys. I had been eyeing this AWD sedan for sale at a local dealer for some time. On Saturday, after three hours of wheeling and dealing, patience and perserverence paid off with this new used beauty. I feel like I am coming up in the car world with power everything and a sunroof. So far Superdude has the gizmos and gadgets all working for me and I am loving the car. I have named it Monty since it is a Montego.

Sunday we gave Monty a family car christening with a country drive to a nearby town with flea markets and the park that Supergirl (step daughter) likes to scope out for fellow teetertotterers. The car tells us we are getting 23 miles to the gallon and I am a little dissapointed. I want the perfect storm of a car someday: AWD, affordable, comfortable and good MPG.

Anybody know what car has all that?

Anyway the Flea Market was lovely and we snagged a handsome blue glass bottle that caught Superdude's eye, a Narnia board game that screamed buy me to Supergirl, and three slightly tacky brass-base metal butterflies that I intend to beautify and set free to shine in my garden. 

 

 The park was green and quiet but we enjoyed it.



Supergirl shows off her cartwheel skills.



I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Are you ready for a new week?

On the River and SDC, our staycation ends.

Perfect day for the river, well maybe a little windy for my little raft! I spent a lot of time rowing against the wind when I should have been floating down the river-it was an excellent workout. It was sunny and 80 degrees though and the water was BRRR Cold if you got hot enough to brave it.

http://www.jamesriverbasin.com/

 The James River in SWMO is lovely and very easy to float. I hit bottom on the gravel only two times in my trusty old raft! I have canoed, kayaked and now rafted on this river. We try to go on new sections each time. It took us almost 6 hours to go about 7 miles which is pretty slow but we stopped, fished and fought the wind a few times.

 

In some places the river was so quiet and serene with only the sounds of our paddles and wildlife splashes. We chased a crane down the river slowly much to his or her frustration-quite a noisy bird!  There was a big paddling of ducks that we kept relocating until another boat coming up river made them take flight.

The Sycamore trees are huge and the roots run along the banks in twisting gnarls.

 We saw only a few others on the river since it was a Wednesday and in April. By far the most interesting for me was the odd pair grabbing Spoonbill (paddlefish). It is legal until April 30 but I found it to be a little violent for my taste. I had no idea we were floating above these monster fish and apparently they are a little rare in this area. The fellow in the photo was very intent on the hunt and had little to say but the lady was chatty. Sorry for the fuzzy photo but I was a little excited :)

Next we saw more serene river watchers, happy cows!

Sadly and maybe happily we landed at our access point. I was tired but it had been a great float!

The next day we visited Silver Dollar City during World Fest, my favorite festival. I took just a couple of photos of the performers. My favorite was the Peruvian Scissor Dancers and the Italian flag throwers, yes they were men in tights!

http://festivals.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/

Our Staycation is ending and Superdude was called in to work so I am winging it solo today. I think I will make something! We had a great week together and last night was a little sad for me as time has flown so fast. We have a weekend still with plans to see good friends and enjoy my role as the evil stepmom too. Have a good weekend!

Staycation!!!

Staycation to me means enjoying local randomness and coming home every night. SuperDude (my hubby) and I have taken the week off to do nothing and anything. He is going off to be a soldier very soon and we wanted some down time. Stay up late, sleep in, eat huge breakfasts and do odd trips, a few home projects, and some simple fun. I am loving it and surprised at how tired I can be at the end of the day of doing the un-ordinary. Funny how life's routines seem to wear us out but our vacations rejuvenate and exhaust us at the same time.

This is the James River in SW Missouri.

We are going floating down the river tomorrow, fishing, wishing and daydreaming the day away...

More river photos to come!

 

We spent one beautiful Ozarks spring day driving to local flea markets and thrift stores, one sleazy car lot, and last but not least Woody's Country Store and Petting Zoo. Sadly the store was closed for some remodeling but Woody let us visit the animals. They were very happy for visitors! Love the photo of the flag in the mirror...

Today we ran errands and picked up a load of compost for the garden. You can get a big scoop of black gold (garden compost) for $15 here at the Yard waste recycle center and rough mulch is only $5. I love doing this and have gone for years, beautifying every home I lived in on the outside with landscaping and garden beds.

  

 

 This compost was heavy!!! The truck really bounced with the weight of it. We headed home and went to work in the garden.

Happy Spring to you...here's one of my favorite beds at home.

Peonies&Irises



Fresh frosty morning

In the garden the butter crunch is extra crunchy and the Nandina bush has dew gems!

Went to dinner with friends and came home so full of ideas and inspirations. This morning was cold and frosty so I grabbed the camera in search of lovely light and crispy frozen dew.

So glad I did. It is a beautiful start to the day!