Monday Meanderings.

Been lazy over the weekend and didn’t blog, But since it is Mar 31st and the day before my Birthday I thought I better get on and wish fellow bloggers Dennis Cave and Glenda Laine a Happy April 1st Birthday.

Don’t really have any plans, although Donna is off tomorrow so we will see what the day brings.

I was going to buy myself one of those small Radio controlled helicopters for a present, but I want to do some more research on them so I don’t get apiece of junk that only fly’s once. My buddy Paul in Florida has one and it fly's pretty good, but even he said buy plenty of blades because you’ll break them whenever they hit something.

Donna had to work the day watch at Walgreens today so Rigg’s and I are batching it. She will be home around 05:00PM.

My friends Al & Kelly in Arizona are planning on heading home to Bayfield, I don’t know if it is as cold as it looks they may want to wait a couple more weeks. Al said there is still some snow on the ground up there.

We have been lucky and haven’t had any snow now for a couple of weeks, I just hope April will green it up around here like it usually does.

Got the news today that Donna and I have been accepted for the World Famous Escapade parking crew, we had decided to volunteer some time for this one. Hope to see some of our friends there again.

Hope all is well for all our friends, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

T.G.I.F.

Today is a cloudy and cool day again, Donna is scheduled for the night shift at the restaurant.

Got some very sad news from our good friends, Paul & Helen down in Florida, They lost their one yellow Lab, Jodie to cancer.They had three, yellows, Jodie & Sandy, and a chocolate, Coco, all girls, They were Rigg’s playmate when we would visit, thought I would post a happy remembrance of the four of the together on our last visit.

Coco,Sandy,Helen Jodie,Riggs, & Donna at the doggie ice cream party.

                             Jodie 04-2012.

I called the three of them the Empresses of William Ave for their regal appearance.Rigg’s I’m afraid will never appear Regal. He is like the perennial Tramp.

Not much going on here at the Ranch, just waiting for the Spring weather to catch up with us.

Hope everyone is having a good time, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Tuesday Thoughts.

Not a bad day here at the Ranch, still cool with temps in the 40’s, but it is sunny. Donna is off all day, her only full day each week. She took advantage of it with a short nap this afternoon.

Tonight Donna said we will have a nice stick to your ribs supper, Meatloaf. Sounds good to me.

No bird pictures today, they must be off  today with Donna.

Ever wonder why this is the best place in the world to live, here’s a couple of reasons.

We’ve never been afraid to stand up for what we believed was right.

Where do we find young men and women like this, easy, middle class, middle America.

Places like Dardenne Prairie MO. and Brick New Jersey,and Inverness Fla. Everywhere you go in this great land you will find young people willing to fight for the freedom we all take for granted.

As you can see I love posting Navy pictures, partly because it was a great and exciting part of my life. But all the other branches of our military share equally in the responsibility of keeping us all free.

That’s about it for now, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Monday Musings.

 

Here we are starting another week, it is a cloudy grey and cool day with the temp in the 40’s.Really a drab day.

Donna has the day shift at Walgreens, Rigg’s and I are laying around trying to see who can be the laziest, I think Rigg’s is ahead as he has slept more than me.

Still waiting for Spring to hit this area, I hope it won’t be long, only a week until my Birthday.

I am thinking about ordering an RC helicopter like the one my buddy Paul Tempesta has, of course if I do it will have to be decorated in US Navy SAR colors. I am sure I can find the colors and decals at a hobby shop. That would make a nice birthday present to myself.

Donna took a bird picture yesterday, don’t know what kind it is.but he was grabbing a free lunch.

That’s about it for today, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…

Saturday Notes.

Today turned out to be a nice sunny afternoon after a cloudy morning, the temps are in the middle 40’s and just a little cool. The extended forecast says it will be like this for a week before it gets into the 60’s again. That will be around my birthday when in most normal years we are starting to really green up,so far we are behind schedule it looks like.

Donna has the evening shift at the restaurant tonight, and then goes in on days at Walgreen’s tomorrow, she will be beat by the time she comes home.

Rigg’s is just laying around an being lazy, he will play a little then lay and go to sleep.

I have a train movie ready for when Donna goes to work , Rigg’s and I will watch that in my recliner.

That’s about it for today, hope all is well with all our friends around this great country of ours. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Thursday Happenings.

Another sunny and mild day here at the ranch, started out at 27 degrees at 05:00AM and now at noon it is 57 degrees.Should be a little warmer before the day is out.

                              Thursday Throwbacks.

Donna in 1965 with her 60 Dodge Coronet.

Sam, Rick and Bill Weibel in1955 at Grandma Genett’s house. My Dad called us the “The Wreckin Crew”.

Rigg’s is looking forward to his outside playtime now that the weather is warming. He plays for awhile then lays on the warm concrete patio.

Donna has the evening shift tonight at the restaurant, so me and the pups will be home alone. with out adult supervision.

I keep waiting for the warm streak to stay and I will take the winter trickle charger, off the fiver and plug it into house power and then start checking all systems.

Getting antsy for a short test trip here maybe after my birthday.

That’s about it for today, the birds are happy their feeder is filled and Rigg’s just went out to play.

Hope all is well with all our friends out there. Be safe.

Sam & Donna…….

Wednesday Musings.

A cloudy and windy day, with temps in the middle 50’s but the wind makes it feel a lot cooler.
We had a squirrel visit the bird feeder, first he visited the bird motel and knocked it out of whack. Then he went  for a snack at the feeder.



The are really smart when it comes to stealing food, even when I let Rigg’s out they have figured out he can’t get to them on top of the wood rack wear the feeder is.
Donna has the evening shift at Walgreens tonight. but this morning she made a great Breakfast/Brunch, Bacon, Eggs,Hash  Browns, and Biscuits. Won’t have to worry about a big supper tonight.
Not much doing here at the Ranch today, so I will sign off for now.

                                  THE END…
Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Monday Meanderings.

Here it is Monday, Donna had the day watch at Walgreens. I didn’t do much but go to Schnucks Grocery store, for a prescription and some groceries. My son was supposed to give me a haircut, but that fell through so tomorrow when Donna is on her only Day off I will have to go to the Barbara shop.

When Donna got home I had spaghetti ready for our supper. She has been kind of insomniac the last couple of nights, so I hope she gets a good night sleep tonight.

Not much else going on it was sunny and in the 40 today, tomorrow the are saying in the middle 60’s. hopefully we will be warming up soon.

Be safe out here, Sam & Donna…….

Saturday Mumblings.

Another gorgeous day here in Dardenne Prairie. 67 degree’s and sunny no wind just a mild and nice day. But the forecast says a high of 33 tomorrow and snow showers.Then it will be the middle of next week before it gets into the 60’s again. Boy April will be here in two weeks and still winter weather. Caught Rigg’s snoozing on the job this morning.

He’s holding his new stuffed animal while he naps.

The birds were snacking in the yard, their feeder was still full, but whatever they found on the ground must have been better.

Most of St Louis is enjoying St Patrick’s weekend, with green beer and corned beef and cabbage. Me I’ll just stay with High Life Light and it’s nice amber color.

Last night was pizza night and I have some Tovers so I won’t have to cook anything for supper, The kid’s were out and brought home to go boxes so thy won’t need anything.

Donna has the night shift at the restaurant tonight, I’ll bet Jerry has a keg of green draft on tap for tonight and tomorrow.

Maybe she will be busy because this weekend is usually a good eat out weekend.

Went down to the garage and put my generator back in the truck, while I was doing that, I fired it up and ran it for about 15 minutes until it was warm. I first thought that it might not start since it’s sat for a couple months but after a couple of cranks it fired right up. I checked the voltage outputs, and let it get up to running temperature. Now if I need it on a camping outing it should be ready to go. Last year when our a/c went out in the 100 degree weather, it ran the air in the fiver for two nights, for the kid’s.

The tank on my air compressor is leaking, since my welder got stolen I can’t grind it and fix it, But Andy has a friend who says he can do it. You don’t know how much you need a good air compressor and air tools until you don’t have them.

That’s about it for today, Hope all is well with all our friends, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Thursday Happenings.

Here it is Thursday already, seems like another week rushing by. Yesterday it never made it above 35, Today we are on our way to the mid 60’s. Much better, It’s also sunny with just a little breeze.

Donna has the night shift at the restaurant tonight. Rigg’s and have have the house watch detail.

Donna said he was snoring so loud he woke himself up,what a guy.

Oh here’s a couple of Thursday Throwbacks.

                   Donna & the Mach 1 –1977.

Sam’s Dad, Bing Weibel, at work at Gulf Oil in about 1950, The truck is a 46 Autocar.

Dad said it was a bear to steer but it didn’t slosh around like some other tankers did. This what they used before trailers to deliver gas to the filling stations,the gas came in train tank cars that were emptied into the tanks in the back of the picture by grade, then it was put in the trucks for delivery.

Not much going on here at the ranch, we are just doing computer stuff and relaxing. Rigg’s and Sadie are napping, I can almost see a train movie in my future later today.

That’s about it for today, hope all is going well with our friends that are traveling. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……..

Tuesday Thoughts.

What a great day here at the Ranch, temperature is 78 degrees, sunny and no wind, the dogs are loving being able to play outside. Donna is on her only day off, She just got a call that her car has been repaired and is finished. So her and Andy went to pick it up. Things are good here in Dardenne Prairie.

BUT the temperature is supposed to drop 50 degrees tonight and we are supposed to have snow. then in a couple of days it is supposed to get back up to the 60’s again.Just like Missouri you get a couple of teaser days, and then snow again. hopefully toward the end of the month it will be spring here.

I see some of our friends that have been south are heading for home, One in Illinois, and one in Wisconsin. They will be returning to cold weather I am afraid. A service buddy of mine just flew down to Florida for two weeks and got back today, Snow was predicted for Midway Airport in Chicago, He lives in Indiana.

That’s about it for today, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Sunday Notes.

We are having a gorgeous sunny mild day here at the Ranch, tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be sunny and in the 70’s. Donna is at Walgreens being a Walgreens girl today. Nicky is playing around the house here, she will be going home after supper. Rigg’s and Sadie are just being their lazy self’s laying on floor or their beds in the kitchen. If I go in my room to watch a train movie Rigg’s will come in and jump up on the bed and fall asleep, I noticed he prefers train movies with steam engines in them. But normally it doesn’t take long and he is snoring away.

Hope to get the alternator for Donna’s Escape tomorrow and then drop it off at the Ford dealer, another expense we don’t need, I think everything conspires to keep our fiver parked as long as possible. Luckily we paid for the Escapade so although it’s awhile away we will at least get to that, I may take a week break go someplace with a pool when the weather warms up. Donna probably won’t go and continue to work, It will be Rigg’s and I.

Nothing much doing just enjoying a nice day and hoping for continued warmer weather.

When I see all my Canadian friends heading north I will know it is getting close to nice weather.

Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Saturday Mumblings.

What a great weekend, Grand Nicky came over to spend the weekend, we will be making a pizza together tonight.

She is growing like crazy, and said she is doing well in school.

I looked up before and saw her hiding behind the fireplace with a toy gun like she was going to take a shot at me. so I picked up a card board tube and when she peaked again I aimed and and went “Ka-Whoosh”. Then I said you might as well come out your dead. She came out and then she said “Grandpa you don’t even have a gun, just a piece of cardboard.” I told her don’t let cardboard fool you that’s a rocket propelled grenade launcher and It just took out you, the fireplace and the living room. Okay I am going to play dolls now .

Donna’s car is still acting up, I went over to where she left it over night, and it wouldn’t jump start, so I took the battery out and took it back to Auto Zone and they tested it and said it was good, I had them recharge it and took it back and the car started and ran fine so Donna drove it back to auto zone and he put the tester on  and said the alternator tested fine. As Donna turned into our driveway the battery light came on and the dash dimmed. Donna called the Ford dealer and described what's been happening and he said the alternator probably has a bad diode in the built in regulator and is cutting out and not charging. He quoted a price of 700 dollars to replace the alternator, Donna told him the one that’s in there has a lifetime guarantee and asked what it would cost to install that one. He said he would do the job with our alternator for 300 dollars. So that is route we will go.

Other than that not much going on, a little bit later the Weeb Ranch will smell like fresh baked pizza , Hope all is well with all our friends. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Thursday Happenings.

Well here we are and the sun is out and the temps are in the middle 40’s no wind and it I just a nice day.Supposed to be in the 60’s tomorrow and through the weekend. I hope we have a little spring weather heading our way.

Donna told me this morning that the battery light was on on her car. so about 1:30PM when it had warmed up I pulled it over to the garage, didn’t see any battery light on he dash, but I checked the level of fluid in the battery and put the charger on it for good long charge. After it’s charged I have the voltmeter hitched up to see if the alternator is putting out. Hope so. I changed one in 2008 and it’s a job a don’t want to do again, have to remove the wheel and spindle and axle on the passenger side to get at the alternator which is under the motor, no way to get to it from the top. Only saving grace is the alternator has a lifetime warranty so once I got the old one off and take it back I get my money back.

Put Rigg’s back out and he helped me fill the bird feeder, when he is out on the patio, the birds will eat but the squirrels stay a distance away until Rigg’s goes in the house, then they climb up and steal from the feeder.

         THROWBACK THURSDAY

         Donna & Andy 30 years ago.

That’s about it for today be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Tuesday Thoughts

Here we are with a nice sunny day and the temp is up to 37, a little of the snow is even melting. Got a reply from the County Highway Dept. that they have assigned a work order to have my mailbox replaced, glad of that I have a large size rural box and they are not cheap anymore.

Donna is off today, so she put her accountant hat on and did the taxes for last year. Thank God we don’t owe anything. She is wearing a sweat shirt and red flannel jammies, and looks like she is in a D. Cave ensemble,  but she won’t let me take a picture and post it.

Just got done filling out the form and registering for the Escapees Escapade in May. Don’t know who all is going yet, but I hope some of our friends will be there like the last one we went to. It’s in Goshen IN. this year, and when it’s over I have a Nephew and Niece in Fort Wayne we will visit.

Nothing else to report for now. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Saturday/Sunday Notes.

Saturday was a cloudy mild day in the 40’s, Donna had to work the evening shift at the restaurant. Not much else doing around here, the Kid’s (Andy & Samantha ) went with a friend down to St Louis for the Mardi Gras. Sadie is being babysitted by her Grandma & Grandpa. She slept the night with us on our bed.

Sunday(Today) we woke up to a couple of inches if snow, looks like March is starting out cold and wet. Supposed to only have a high of 19 today and not warm into the 30’s until Thursday.

Here I was hoping for an early spring, we are usual starting to green up by my birthday (Apr 1st).

Donna has the day shift at Walgreens today so I am on the doggie detail until the kid’s get home. They are both laying at my feet as I type this, later I will go in my room and put on a train movie, and they will both nap on the bed next to me.

No plans to leave the house today, anymore if there is snow on the ground we just wait until it is gone or we absolutely have to go out for something.

Donna & Samantha don’t have a choice since they have their jobs to go to. but since Samantha works the night shift Andy takes her to work and picks her up.

Today is my Granddaughter Allie’s 21st birthday, doesn’t seem possible, I guess we are getting old fast.

Nothing else going on here in bustling Dardenne Prairie, just another day in heaven. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…….