Friday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the day when, 78 years ago, Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, the Nazis’ biggest concentration camp, during the final months of World War II. Established by the United Nations in 2005, the day commemorates the killing of 6 million Jews, two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population, as well as millions of…
Jon tested positive for the COVID virus in mid-December, having avoided the infection for more than two years. His illness, while relatively mild, meant he couldn’t join Cliff in preparing Cloud 9 for an anticipated arctic blast a few days later. Consequently, Cliff performed what we call a “soft winterization,” which involved draining the water…
A respite is defined as “a short period of relief from something difficult,” which is what we experienced this weekend as we returned to Loyd Park. Next weekend’s trip to Illinois will bookend last weekend’s trip home from visiting Jon’s mom, but this time we’ll be packing up her belongings and moving her to an…
We took the Thanksgiving break as a chance to return to Jon’s hometown for a few days to see his family. We do this roughly once a year — but this year was a little different. Jon’s mom needs to move to an assisted living facility, so the trip centered on touring Cambridge House and…
The arctic front that moved through North Texas wasn’t enough to break out the sleds or cancel school, nor was it a deterrence from a final weekender before our Thanksgiving trip to visit Jon’s mom in Illinois. However, it did require us dressing in layers even for quick dog walks and moving most of our…
The unexpected highlight of our weekend was an invitation to judge the 7th Annual Rib Roast BBQ competition, presented by the Outlaw BBQ Association. Friday’s wet weather and plunging temperatures may have dampened some of the enthusiasm and produced a few cancellations, but the main competition commenced on Saturday, as planned, and we found ourselves…
The threat of severe weather throughout Friday afternoon dominated the local news for days. Our weekend at Loyd Park was dependent on one thing: a stop, en route, at Discount Tire in Grand Prairie, to evaluate a screw that had found its way into our tread. Would the storm strike at the precise hour Cloud…
The average human lifespan is 76.9 years, or about 4,000 weeks. That means we have 4,000 Saturday nights, 4,000 lazy Sunday afternoons, 4,000 TGIFs. In the grand scheme of things, 4,000 weeks isn’t very long, and time seems to pass faster as we get older. By this calculation, we have only about 1,000 weeks left…
One of our favorite musicals is Jesus Christ Superstar, the 1971 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. The lyrics to “Pilate’s Dream” include the line, “I dreamed I met a Galilean, a most amazing man. He had that look you very rarely find — the haunting, hunted kind.” This weekend found us…
We admit, hiring a mobile RV cleaning service is a bit of a luxury, but as we get older, it’s a necessary splurge. The idea of climbing on top of Cloud 9 to wash the roof is not at the top of our to-do list. Enter Brian from Mud Divers Wash Crew. Our meeting was…
Jon’s appointment at noon on Friday to receive both the COVID booster and the flu vaccine had us wondering whether we should cancel our weekend camping plans. After all, we had no idea how he would respond to the “dynamic duo,” and if he was going to be miserable, we thought it would be best…
Last Sunday, as we enjoyed a late-summer weekend at Loyd Park, we grew increasingly hesitant to just pack up and leave, especially considering we would be returning to the same site in four days. Why not stay through the week and commute back home for work each day? That turned out to be a bad…
The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, although somewhat expected considering her advanced age, still came as something of a shock this week. After all, we had seen her welcome her new prime minister just a couple of days before, looking frail but stalwart. True to the commitment she made as a young woman, she…
This Labor Day, we once again had the opportunity to reflect on the dignity of our work and the many benefits we enjoy as a result of our employment. It was also a time to recognize that there are still too many financially vulnerable families who are living precariously, paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes, they are…
Historically, the dog days of summer are the hottest, most uncomfortable days of the season, which have been associated with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, and bad luck. As luck would have it, we experienced unprecedented rainfall earlier in the week, which brought about a late-summer greening, and also oppressive humidity. This weekend, amid the dog days of…
Garinns on the Go 