A Flyover Blog

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Mitch snapped a couple of pics of the new house. This is where we'll be living for at least a year. I love this little place; it's very cozy and the street it's on looks like a park. Now that Mitch's mom has been diagnosed with dementia we really can't live over an hour away from her any more. And with gas prices being what they are, the daily drive back and forth to care for her was costing a fortune. This gorgeous little house puts us just 15 minutes away from her. We're only 3 blocks from our favorite park, and very close to my brother's family.

 

Once we get settled in, we'll put a fresh coat of paint on the walls in our home in Tiny Tourist Town, lay new carpet and put it up for sale. Homes here are in demand, especially since so many of them have been ruined by the recent (and ongoing) floods. The neighborhood where Mitch and I have lived for the past 14 years is established. It has lawn care, a strong Homeowner's Association and a community pool. We hope it sells quickly.

This past month has been chaotic and my MIL's health forced us to make some changes... but I think this move to Springfield will be good for us. 

We're Moving!

We found out yesterday and I'm still absorbing the news. I L.O.V.E. the house we'll be settling into. It's Old World gorgeous, and it's just 3 blocks from the trail head where Mitch and I walk and ride nearly every day. I'll get some pictures shortly and post them for you to see. Mitch and I made a quick trip to the store today and picked up a few cleaning supplies. The house is in very good shape, but it's been empty for some months so there's a fair bit of dust. We'll be cleaning and getting utilities and mail established before we make the big move mid-May. I'd love to speed the process up, but Mitch and I are still working every day and I am limited on how much "extra" stuff I can do because of the nerve damage. We will get it all done, and I'm sure we're going to love our new home.

Life

"...I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one's self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely..."

- Henry David Thoreau 

Red Friday, April 25

It's Red Friday. Please keep these men and women always in your prayers and close to your hearts.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Patrick Dixon.

Happy Earth Day

 

I am mostly on board with Earth Day - though I do think there is a good bit of hipocracy and fuzzy science behind the whole global warming thing. I mean, come on - Al Gore and his ilk consume more energy flying around the countryside to speak on the subject in one day than I do in a year. He has carved out a nice living though. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox.

Here at my little house, I plant flowers that are good for honeybees, I use enviromentally friendly products whenever I can, I turn off the lights when I leave a room, I don't leave the fridge door open, and I avoid aerosol anything.

One of the things I am most looking forward to about moving to Springfield is this: Springfield has a recycling program. Tiny Tourist Town does not - which never made sense to me because all those tourists sure generate enough trash.

This morning I read an article that said Missouri leads the way in the use of Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. My fellow Missourians bought 5.3 million of the things since January 2007. I am not one of them.

• I hate those little bulbs and will not have one of them in my house for several reasons:
• They do buzz and flicker.
• They're finicky in cold weather. This impedes their function and cuts their lifespan.
• There is a problem with radio frequency; they do interfere with some electronics.

This is the most disturbing: they contain mercury so, not only are they hard to dispose of properly, they are downright dangerous if broken. Have you read the warnings for bulb clean up? You need a hazmat team.

I will be sticking with my good old incandescents a while longer, until the new LED bulbs arrive.

Happy Earth Day.

Brand New Week

Thought I'd better give you a quick family update. My MIL, Ruby, is home from the hospital and responding well to the new drug the doctor gave her to help clear her head. She now wears one of those emergency buttons so she can call for help if she can't reach a phone. In a few days, she begins physical therapy to help strenghten her legs and teach her how to get on her feet if she falls again. Her overall health is excellent, so our goal is to keep her as strong and independent as we can, for as long as possible. One down note - we had to take the car away last week. She took it very well, and then confessed that she got lost coming home from WalMart a couple of weeks ago and was afraid to drive. WalMart is less than a half mile from her house.

Our search for a nice rental home in Springfield continues. We found one - a gorgeous little cottage just a few blocks from the trail Mitch and I frequent. The house is a bit small, but it's absolutely gorgeous and the location is perfect. We've spoken with the owner - a very nice man who lives out of state - and we should know more in a few days.

I learned that two of our neighbors just listed their homes so they could move closer to ailing elderly parents. Looks like we won't be the only ones moving this summer.

I'll keep you posted on our house hunt. Guess it's time to round up some good packing boxes... Have a good week!

 

What's Mitch Been Up To?

I thought I'd show you what Mitch and our good friend and master bike mechanic, Craig have been up to this past winter. They are building a line of custom bikes - mostly 29ers - called Urban Prodigies. They are gorgeous! This is one of two Motobecane Fantom 29ers they built -

You can read all about the specific components they used on this one here.

They also built this sweet 26" bike, a Motobecane 700ht. Specs on this one can be found here. Mitch and Craig will have a total of four custom bikes for sale soon. Mitch posts extensively about them on his blog. He has detailed pictures of each bike there, too. They're building fantastic custom bikes, so if you know a cycling enthusiast, pass the word.

Water Water Everywhere

I thought I'd show you a few pictures of the flooding in town last week. Our little house is snug and dry, but this event caused traffic nightmares everywhere. Some of you might have vacationed here before, so you know what the shoreline normally looks like.

This is a shot of The Landing and City Campground - which are both mostly under water. The bridge (which I cross daily) was closed for half a day when a large boat dock broke loose, floated down river and nearly collided with the concrete pillars. The floating restaurant was closed for several days. The walkway leading to it was submerged.

Here onlookers watch as the current carries Scotty's Dock down river. They eventually did stop the dock, by anchoring 22 concrete blocks to it - each one weighed 2 tons.

This is a shot of The Fire and Fountain show at The Landing - all submerged under flood waters. A six foot sea wall was supposed to prevent this from ever happening. Back to the drawing board.

Another shot of The Landing. Those shops aren't supposed to be on the water's edge. Normally, there is a sea wall, sidewalk, outdoor seating and stage  separating the shops and the lake.

This is a shot of Table Rock Dam. Table Rock crested last Saturday, one foot above it's maximum capacity, which was an all-time high. Witnesses said water actually came over the top of the dam - that's in addition to all that water pouring through those spill gates.

Literally hundreds of homes were damaged by floodwaters on the 4 lakes that make up the White River Basin, many of them beyond repair. We hope we never see a repeat of record rains that March brought us.

These pictures and more can be seen at The Springfield News Leader.

Extraordinary Things

"If someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of encouragement, or attempts to understand a lonely person, extraordinary things begin to happen."

- Loretta Girzartis

Red Friday, April 18

This Red Friday please remember our men and women in uniform... and the families waiting for them to come home.

Photo by Senior Airman Christina D. Kinsey.