Travel/Road Signs

I have been trying to get this posted, but due to first no internet and then slow interned that wouldn't upload pictures, it is much later now.  But here it is.


As we were traveling south we saw lots of desert, sage brush, and open spaces.  We also came across this sign.  Can you make out what the sign did say?  We thought it was pretty funny.

 

There were several old trees here with some very rough bark.  I knew that you would have liked this Susan, so this is for you.

 

  

In case you couldn't read the sign above it said Extraterrestrial  Highway.  If you would like to know how it got this name you can check it out here https://www.google.com/search?q=extraterrestrial+highway+sign&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

New Woman

The other day B came home with a new woman.

This one only uses one crutch.

This one showers without a stool.

This one gets in and out of the truck without a step stool.

This one even looks different......
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Thanks, Good, and Bad

Sometimes one is not sure why things happen the way they do.  It is almost like when things are going well, that isn't good, and when they are bad it turns out good.  That could be said about past happenings for me.

To start, our son and daughter-in-law, W and C were looking for a small home, not one almost the size of the one he grew up in.  However, they ended up buying one like the latter.  So then they were wanting to get it painted so that they could move in.  That may seem bad, but we were there and able to help them.  That may sound good, but on the second day of our help, I fell and broke my arm and leg.  Now that may sound as bad as it felt, but I received some excellent care.  Upon discharge from rehab I had a place to go.  Remember that a fore mentioned home.  It only had three steps for a wheel chair ramp to go up and over.  And the house was such that a wheel chair could get around in it.  One can not understand what a blessing this was for me unless they have been in a similar situation.  Now that was bad and good.  We had joked with C about living across the street from your in-laws, not guessing that we would be living under the same roof.  If they had not chosen that home, thing may have been different, in fact, this whole story may have been different.

I want to thank each and every person who helped and supported me in one way or the other through this.  I thank those who sent me cards and gifts, for those who helped me when I couldn't help myself; for having dessert before the main course when ice cream was brought by W and C; for a computer to have in my room at rehab, for phone calls; and for visits, by G, M, and Mundchin as well as others.  I thank my husband for all the things he did and is still doing for me as I mend.  Thanks to the part that each of  you have played in helping me through this.  And thanks to our Heavenly Father who looks after each of us, helping bad or unpleasant things turn out well.

My View

You may already know that when I was released from the hospital following the second surgery, I had a new companion.  This is my view of it.  Originally it was containing a much more swollen leg.

You may notice all the straps.  That is so that it can be tightened to hold my leg in a firm clasp.  They say that this is to support my weight while the bone heals.  Now, I can only put forty pounds on it.  I'm not sure that justifies all this:

•  Loss of circulation to the foot, which now swells more.
•  Soreness around the ankle from the brace sliding down onto it.
•  Pokes and rubs to various tendons and bony surfaces.
•  Added weight to my leg to drag around.

I do say that it does have one good point -- it is removable.  That allows being able to get into the shower and also allows access to areas that itch.

However, from my point of view, the dear Lord never meant for us to be crustaceans.

Thunder Over Louisville

Thunder Over Louisville is the kick-off for the two week long festivities leading up to the Derby.  Now some of you may say that it is just a horse race, but to people from around here, it is way more than just a horse race.  To them it is not just a national event, it is an inter-national event as other countries also have horses entered in the Running of the Roses.  So, with that said, you can bet that the kick-off is a big event.

Unfortunately this past Saturday was heavy overcast for the whole day and in the low fifties, upper forties.  But that didn't stop thousands, yes thousands, from watching.

It started at 2:00 with an air show that lasted until 9:30 when the fire works began. The ceiling was low so the planes didn't get to do all of the things that they would have if the weather had been better.  People lined both the Kentucky and Indiana sides of the Ohio.  The river was the stage.  We watched part of the air show on TV. 

Things that I thought were neat were first a Harrier that came in, hovered over the river about two hundred feet up.  You could see the water being blown.  Then it turned in a circle like a helicopter.  When it was done, it took off like the jet that it is.  Secondly was seeing the Stealth.  However, the neatest part was when it flew in formation with a B 27.  I was surprised that it could fly slow enough.  It was neat to see the two top ships of their times flying together in formation.  Third there were two bi-planes that did some neat flying together and performing stunts together.  Fourth was after dark and as we were walking to the river.  It was a flight of WW11 planes in formation of a cross.  You could only see them because of the lights on the planes.

We decided to try and watch the fire works as every one kept telling us how good it was.  The story is that it is the largest in the US.  After seeing it, I can believe it.  Be sure to turn your volume all the way up to get an idea of what it was really like.  The whole time my chest was pounded.

We drove most of the way and then walked the rest, about a mile or more.  We thought that we could maybe be up on the levee but the trees along the river would still have been blocking the view.  We ended up following some others that went down through the trees and into an area that had driftwood all over.  We found a clearing with just a few bushes and watched from there.  The fireworks was set up on the second street bridge and barges at the ends of the bridge on both sides of the river.  There were no pauses in the show and it went on for almost thirty minutes.

Since they have changed the program some I had fun posting the videos.  I hope they work for you.  If not, let me know.

   

This was their grand finale!

These are just some other shots of it.

At one time it looked like a water falls going off of the bridge.  My picture of it didn't turn out very good.  This was after it was over and the smoke was drifting toward Louisville.  You can see the bridge and get an idea of how much there was. 

Down to Tennessee

Last week we took a side trip down to see B's brother, wife, and their family. W and C went with us. W was a kid the last time he saw them.

We had a nice visit and got to become acquainted with the newest member of their family, Mundchen. She is a three month old, very gentle and laid back mastiff.

While there G and M took us to the University of the South at Swanee and to Raccoon Mountain.

On Raccoon Mountain they pump water from the Tennessee river up into a man made lake at the top of a mountain. They then use the water to generate electricity during peak demand time by releasing it back down to the river through turbines.

I love the sand stone that is all around the campus at the University. Last time when we were there, I said that if we were to ever build a house, I would want some in my entry way. This is an arch in the church that is built of it. Most of the buildings are also built of this stone.



To me it looks like wood grain in the stone.

This is the outside of another building on campus. All of the buildings have a castle style to them.


We were up on the roof of a first floor. Notice the wall that looks like the top of a castle with cuts for defense. The stones were all hand hewn.

G and M took Mundchen for a walk while we went into some of the buildings. We came back and met up with them. You can put your own captions to these pictures.


We had a great time and thank G and M for the nice time. We always enjoy visiting them.

Tornado Damage

Friday, March 2 started out sunny and warm; too warm for this time of year. All knew that there was a large cold front coming from the northwest that would collide with this warm weather. The possibility of tornadoes was very real.

We watched the weather forecasters on TV. Huntsville, Alabama was hit with a tornado this morning. A storm front covers southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. The whole thing stretches from Illinois to Alabama. There were several areas in it that could produce tornadoes. The meteorologists are really good at knowing what is going on, where it is going, the speed it is traveling, and just when it is going to arrive in an area, telling people to get in their storm shelter.

By three o’clock, there were two large super charged cells about fifteen miles northwest of us that were touching down. One was following the other. They were also saying that there was hail the size of tennis balls in it. Also there was another that was going to go over us, but they weren’t sure if it was spiraling yet. It was just hard rain and some small hail when it went over. This part had actually split some and some went to Louisville.

The tornadoes in Indiana were category 4 and traveled for sixty miles, sometimes as much as five miles wide.

On Saturday we went with a group from our ward to help with what ever was needed. We went to an area that is called Daisy Hill, which is between New Pekin and Memphis. I always thought that if you lived in hilly country you would be protected from tornadoes but that was not the case. Even property east of a very large hill/mountain got hit.

As we were driving into the area, this is some of what we first saw.


This reminded me of the Mt. St. Helens area after the eruption.


Then we passed through a small, narrow valley. The tornado had come over the hill and hit the west side, next to the base of the hill.





The things were blown east across the road and up a hill.




We drove on and saw more destruction.




They were just finishing getting the road cleared so that people could get through. These people had been trapped in this area as the road was blocked with timber on the east and a huge power tower that came down with lines on the road and trees on the west. The tower is to the left of the tractor.


This is what the road looked like on top.




These are also in the Daisy Hill area.



Close up of above. All that is left is a concrete slab, overturned vehicle, and rubble.







Even though some buildings were standing, they lost roofs. Brick had a better chance, but some brick was also torn down.

We sawed up lots of downed trees and piled the wood and branches. We helped a family get to their mostly collapsed garage and retrieve some of their things. For others, we helped get boxes of theirs from a collapsed prefab home. In the brick house in the last photo, we helped move out furniture. The lady in this house took shelter in a closet under her stairs to the basement. We saw twigs embedded into the side of another house.

This was just one small area. There were many, many more throughout the paths in Indiana and Kentucky. There are many stories, stories of survival, heartache, loss, heroism. Recovery will take a long time.