A Women's RV Forum run by Women RVer's!

Morning all. Another smokey hazy day here in northern Michigan. We have been having smoke in the upper atmosphere from Canadian wildfires on and off whenever we have a N/NW wind flow for awhile now, but this is the third day in a row. It makes it look overcast all day, blots out the sky and makes for hazy sun. I know those of you out west can relate to this. I took a picture in my yard yesterday of the sky. There is some haze in the air too, but it doesn’t show up much in the picture.




You can’t smell it except once in a while. Consolation is that it is keeping the sun from being too hot as we are in be low 80’s. Tomorrow we get a break for day. Making for some great red sunsets and even red moon. Some of the pictures I have been seeing on the western wildfires are unbelieveable. Walls of fire shooting high in the skies. I admire the courage of those who are trying to fight them.

Judy, glad your surgery is done and you are able to get back on the road. I had a root canal done once, but wasn’t too bad. Velda, I drove to mine and back too. No issues. They just numbed it like they do when they do crowns or other work.

Barbie, it’s nice that you are helping keep the cat population under control. Good luck catching another one.

Busy week here for me. Yesterday was eye exam with my eye specialist to check on that loose lens in my eye. All’s fine, see him again in 4 months. Today we are having a special mass at church to celebrate our Diocese’s 50th Anniversary. Archbishops, Bishops, Priests and of course people from around the Diocese will be there. I am fortunate to have known all 5 of the Bishops who have served this Diocese. Only 3 are still living. Tomorrow, off to dentist for routine checkup/cleaning. Rest of week is fun stuff. Craft show on Friday and maybe over to Antique Flywheelers show which has a huge flea market and craft show too, on Thursday. Am working on little projects around here too. Building a 4 ft. Door with some 1x3 lumber and vinyl lattice to but on the service door of my garage, so I can leave that door open for cross ventilation and keep the dogs in the yard. Painting my cement deer in between other things, got the wood watering can painted and out on my bench. Having fun being creative this summer.

But right now, I need to run the vac, take a shower and think I might go out for a late breakfast. Mass is at 2:00, but want to get there early. So guess I will get busy here. Have a nice day day everyone

Velda, all I had for the extraction was local anesthetic. No gas or anything else. Just the usual shot you would get for having a cavity filled so no problems driving. And, it was a regular dentist who pulled the tooth. My DIL just had a tooth pulled by an oral surgeon with anesthesia, and it cost an extra $800, so I did not want to do that. She has dental insurance, for one thing, and I do not.

Much less pain by last night and only a tiny ache today unless I bump cheek or tooth. Hardest part is find soft foods I like to eat! Got a whole list of things to do and not do for next few days until tooth heals.

ALso, dentist did not do the bone graft part because I had too much infection, so I have another fun appointment in three weeks!

Colliemom wrote:. . . I took a picture in my yard yesterday of the sky. There is some haze in the air too, but it doesn’t show up much in the picture.

. . .Some of the pictures I have been seeing on the western wildfires are unbelieveable. Walls of fire shooting high in the skies. I admire the courage of those who are trying to fight them.

Morning, Sue. Well, afternoon now for you, still morning here. Loved the photo of your yard, you really do live in a beautiful place. A lot of the photos coming out of the wildfires here are really hair-raising. Interestingly, if your yard was out west - with so many trees and undergrowth near to your house - it would be a fire danger. But not in your climate, thankfully. But would definitely be a problem out here.

Here is another one of the scary photos. I'll post more as I run across them.

Have a good day, Sue, and all who follow.

Anne

I wanted to go to the bank so went to town. Went by the post office and picked up a lunch. All I wanted at the grocery store was a lunch and managed to spend $50 dollars. I found a container of the Coconut Cream Pie Ice Cream. It is really good. There was only one container left. I ask at the bank why my check was declined at the Dodge place. They told me that Telecheck probably has my information wrong and I need to call them. You can give a car dealer a check for a car and drive off but the service department treats you like you are trying to get away without paying.

Don't know what I'll do this afternoon. Probably not much. It rained again so the yard is even soggier. I passed the golf cart place and my cart has been moved but guess not fixed. I sure miss it.

The guy that has the cattle here called and wanted to know if I wanted to tear down Harold's old round pen. He knows someone looking for scrap metal. It's hard to let it go but the hurricanes have knocked down part of it. I'm not going to fix it.

Martha

Oh Anne, that is so scary! We have crop dusters here that fly right over the farm fields to spray the crops and it's amazing to watch them. But to have those huge planes doing that...oh my! Sue, I didn't realize Canada was having the wild fires, too.

We spent the morning at the house again packing up. Someone was supposed to meet us to buy some things but never showed up, but on a good note, two friends stopped by to visit. It's slow going but I think we're going to finish everything before we head south, the end of next month. Now that our house is almost empty, we don't have to worry about anyone doing that after we're gone, especially since we don't have children. I want to feel that weight being lifted off our shoulders. We'll go back in the morning and do it all over again. I am looking so forward to being a minimalist! I've probably already said that.

The Upper Peninsula and northern half of the Michigan Lower Peninsula are now heavily forested. And historically, the state was covered by mostly white pine. However, by the mid-1800's the state had became one big logging camp. (It is said Michigan white pine built Chicago.) Basically, the whole Lower Peninsula was logged, and when the trees ran out there, they logged the Upper Peninsula. They cut down the huge trees, removed the branches and tops, along with some of the bark, and left it all on the ground. Then, the logging companies sold the land to farmers.

However, it is hard to plant crops when your land is filled with branches, bark, and tops of trees, so the farmers piled the stuff into huge piles and set it on fire. Now, this did not immediately happen to the entire state, but enough of it did happen, and many small towns were developed to serve the farmers in this growing state. Michigan was a booming place! However, the summer of 1871 was especially dry, and the Great Fires began!! Most of Michigan and part of Wisconsin burned. The areas around the towns of Grayling and Gaylord, where Sue lives, were wiped out.

I spent summers as a child at the tip of Michigan's Thumb area four cottages to the east of what had been a lumbering town in the late 1800s. Most of the Thumb was burned. In the 1950s, we kids played in what had been the town, but was now a ghost town. Here are a couple of articles about these fires that wiped out towns, homes, farms, and people in the primary fire, which occurred in 1871: https://thumbwind.com/2018/04/23/great-lakes-fire-1871/. There was another major fire in 1881, as well.

And another article: https://project.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/fires.html

No airplanes to drop fire retardant and no firefighters--just farmers and townspeople to try to fight the fires.

Irmi it seems like a week or so ago I heard about a fire somewhere in Canada that burned down a town reminiscent of Paradise CA but haven't heard anything more about it... so don't know if it was actual or what perhaps I dreamed it... then yesterday the radio said that a fire in I think Oregon was about a third the size of Rhode Island. even though Rhode Island is small put that way it helps you picture it I guess....
did house work today watered plants and vacuumed prepared supper which was a breakfast fixed the bacon in the oven it's so much easier than in a skillet... Mom sure enjoys bacon and shrimp and put the first coat of varnish on the box will need to sand it a bit not sure if I have the right size of sand paper though it's suppose to be very fine ....
my granddaughter text today she wants to do a surprise party while my granddaughter is home .... at a fancy place in SLC it is a fancy place will have to see if we have to dress up for it... a place every time I went past it thought it would be nice but it's also a place that I wonder if we will want pizza afterwards to fill up with...asked mom if she wanted to go with me she will have to think about it but I guess I ought to get someone lined up just in case .... I actually would be surprised if she goes...
Joann's is having a great sale on yarn so I called my dd and asked if she could pick up a order from there and if she could be on the look out for the color they didn't have and more of the one they didn't have enough of... so one is on it's way to me via truck and the other dd will pick it up when they go to UT for my son in law's oncologists appointment depending upon what the plan of treatment is I should get it soon or at least it will be in Idaho... but I think I will make one for the up coming great grandson first if I can just get someone to find the pattern... I can tell them right where to find something and they won't find it unless I move the glue... guess that is possible... no craft store here so won't be able to find it and unfortunately can't remember the name of the glue... the pattern I have an idea of where it is but not positive sure wish I'd thought about it when I was home a week plus ago...
you all have a great day
sheila

I worked with the pot today so will put allergy drops in my eyes and take a Sudafed and see if my eyes feel and look normal in the morning.

Will put the cat trap out tonight and tie the door open. Will set the trap on Thursday night.

I heard about the fire that wiped out a small town in Canada just a week or so ago. Barely any warning and the whole town was completely destroyed. Didn't hear if everyone got out or not. So sad. And it is only July.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/americas ... index.html

We are supposed to get rain and thunder here tomorrow. It might happen since it is a storm system coming from the south and those hit this end of the valley first.

Martha, I used to work for Telecheck when I lived in Denver. I didn't like working there. They never got my health insurance activated and I was pregnant then and really needed it. They ran it like a sweat shop. I finally left for a much better job before I had the baby, with full insurance the first day.

Have a good night!