Yearly Archives: 2014


I love the idea of drawing on wood. These drawings are wonderful and so life-like, I had a moment of panic when I noticed his ear buds next to the “spilled” wine. At first glance, I also thought the pug was a sculpture, al la deer trophies.   Photo credit […]

Drawings on Wood


Looking through the art and culture section of Huffington Post, I came across two articles about hotels. My favorite is the Pantone Hotel: Photo credit, Pantone Hotels     But I would turn my nose up at any of these.

Art Hotels?






This is a little “everything but the kitchen sink.”  I could have split it up, but I’m hoping to have much more content coming soon. After Vandalia, I went to the very popular Starved Rock state park in Illinois for my birthday. Now I’m in one of the prettiest parks […]

Carlyle And Some Cool Happenings









Speaking of a new routine, I have eaten almost 100% paleo for a few weeks. I heard about it for years, as I’m sure you have. I believe I first heard of it from Dooce.  Glenn is also a fan. However, I didn’t give it a serious look until I started reading Nerd […]

Link Love (Paleo Edition)





I wish I had some lovely pictures to show you, but I‘ve been lazy. Not really, but I don’t have Photoshop on my computer right now. While I did download Gimp, I‘m just not in the mood. Perhaps later this week. No promises though. I‘ve been very busy, but in the very best possible way.  However, there have been a few more bumps since my transmission blew and I am still in Vandalia. WHAT? I know. I have been tremendously lucky though. The weather has been fantastic, the spot I have is absolutely perfect.  It has been raining the last 2 days and I LOVE it. That means probably no neighbors this weekend, my dogs aren’t bugging me to go chase squirrels every 15 minutes and I can listen to the rain on my roof while drinking delicious coffee. It isn’t tin, but close enough. So, to the good stuff. A week or so ago, I had to make a pretty long drive. About an hour. I picked up some new running shoes and replaced my UP band for a FitBit. (Not recommending either at this point since I am not 100% satisfied with either).  On the way back and stopped at the shooting range and had a great target. I also spent the day with la niece. Everything was fantastic and I felt like it was my luckiest day ever…That is always a bad feeling. My RV was shaking really badly and I was getting pretty nervous. Next thing I knew, bam! Something dropped from the engine and dragged on the road. All I could think was the transmission. I called Good Sam. I was on the phone with them for 45 minutes before they even called a tow truck. I had talked to 3 different people. The first thing out of my mouth was that I was in a dangerous situation. The interstate was really busy and a semi was coming every 5 seconds. None of them were getting over even when they could and a shocking majority were swerving onto the shoulder behind me before getting back in the lane. I‘m usually fairly calm in emergencies, but this was ridiculous. By the time it had […]

The Fun Never Ends.



If you remember, I had the AC taken out while I was in Florida. I had always planned on taking it out, but the water pouring in to the RV made it a little more pressing. Unfortunately, it has been very hot in Southern Illinois. I can deal with it, […]

Keeping The Dogs Cool


About an hour into my latest vagabondage (sadly, not as a dirty as it sounds), my engine started smoking. *Sigh. I was really hoping my radiator blew a hose. I seriously thought, let’s just hope it’s something with the radiator. Me and my big mouth. I called Good Sam and about 2 […]

Vandalia, IL