Bill sent these photos yesterday - the camillia camellia gardenia bush in bloom…

I can just imagine the fragrance! Bill says they smell beautiful and he is going to cut all of the blossoms and put them in water and bring them. We are not sure if they will last the trip, but he will try!

And the bus, loaded and ready for a Friday departure - Montana or bust!!! Actually, Rapid City, South Dakota - that is where Karl and I will meet up with the Magic Bus and Bill and we will spend a couple of days at Elkhorn RV Resort in Spearfish…about 15 miles west of Rapid City - and do a drive-by of Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower and Deadwood, SD. We are neither of us big tourists…the big event will be a trip to the Spearfish, SD liquor store. When I was in Spearfish and visited the liquor store I spotted this:

Absinthe became legal in the U.S. recently and it has that aura of “naughty”…we had looked at places on the internet to buy it but that was as far as we’d gone. When I was in Spearfish in April, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this sign. So, if they still have it - we’ll experiment - safely!!! …while we sniff camillia camellia gardenia blossoms…

***note added re absinthe… A Wikipedia entry reports that absinthe was reputed to have dangerous addictive and psychoactive properties. It was popular with the “bad boys” of the Paris art world as well as Hemingway and thus villified by social conservatives. The addictive and psychoactive properties were never substantiated…although one could argue that misused or abused, ANY alcoholic beverage could do those things… It is an anise flavored concoction and there is a technique for adding sugar and water with special implements which then makes it a sort of liqueur. I love anise but I don’t like sweet drinks so I’m not thinking this will be regular thing - plus it is very expensive… Just one of those things Bill and I had looked at together and it has it’s intrigue…

No, not the ENTIRE bus… Starting from the beginning…our plan as of last week would have been to be leaving for an RV group get together in South Carolina, but our recent escapades in “under the weather-land” caused us to rethink and we decided early in the week that it was just too much in light of work and other issues to make the get together.

But, things to do to get ready to go to Montana so the bus was pulled out yesterday to do some of that.

Then… Bill announced that he had a couple of things for me to do…on the roof of the bus. I’m the roof person being that the ladder to the roof is not all that sturdy and I’m the lightest and most agile.

The things to do were painting a bathroom vent pipe and front spotlight…

REALLY???? “Isn’t this all a bit a*al??” I asked. Decidedly not from the answer I received which is not printable even with “*”…

So this afternoon:

Ok - not that bad to do…the sun was out, not too much breeze - it was pleasantly warm up there! And have to admit, it did look better after…

Can’t even see the plumbing thing-a-ma-bob…I HATE it when he’s right…

Yesterday’s photos of the green after the rain - well, they had some green, but last night’s sunset was the last of the clouds from yesterday’s storm. A clear night and continued breeze cleared the remaining clouds and dropped the temperature to a wonderful - for this Montana girl and the Montana dog - 51 by this morning.

and…the sky is a blue that seems nearly impossible. I noticed on my way to open the gate for UPS who was supposed to be bringing 2 orders - one for shorts and one for sleeveless blouses because, by God, it is Spring!!! Sadly, the blouses are still in Nashville, TN delayed by “inclement weather”…

BUT, on my way back from this little errand, I happened to notice…

this…

and this…

a bit more colorful look at the first day of Spring.

Happy first day of Spring!

A gusty “day before Spring” storm whooshed through yesterday - things were not as bad here as in other parts of the country, but we had plenty of wind and then rain before it was over. After, I was out with Karl and WOW - everything looked a bit greener - in the space of hours!

hmmm…this tree is growing plastic bags?? Poor tree has the misfortune to be near the burn/dump pile and something got away in the wind. Actually a few things did so today will be trash pick-up day…

Another sign of spring - fresh water seal on the deck…this was the first test as Bill put the fresh water seal on the deck just 2 days ago…it’s working.

And, I just can’t resist - last winter sunset of ‘07-08 Winter…

Before we get to the subject of this post…a bit of history…Bill bought this Florida property (4+ acres) when he retired. It had a little ramshackle house. His thought (as told to me) was to spend a little to make it a livable base to come back to between RV trips. A LOT of $$$ later he had gutted the entire thing, bumped it out here and there and ended up with a light-filled, modern-equipped and comfortable 3 bedroom, 2 bath home.

The “bump” was for a spacious master suite which includes a master bath with enough floor space to host a small ballroom dance. Both the bedroom and the bath have large skylights - with canister lights - i.e. they are bright during the day and if the full moon is in the right place - moonlit and sometimes starlit at night. The lights in the skylights along with some other lights on dimmers allow for lighting the space to suit the mood…. enter the “star” of the suite!!!! - THE TUB!

While I am not really a “bath” person, this tub and all that surrounds it, has converted me! Look to the fore-right and you’ll see a sprayer thing. So….it IS possible to not only wash one’s hair, but also to rinse the entire person of soapy, dirty, bathwater should that be the end of things - my previous major objection to the bath scenario. But, the truth is, I remain a “morning shower girl” so that the use of this thing in the evening becomes purely and entirely a decadent, sensory indulgence! A bit of smell good salts, dimmed lights and a candle or 2 … heaven! The thing also has jets so if you have a sore spot - oh my…

Anyway…the other night, I was sitting in bed - which looks into the bath…at the tub…which has mirrored walls at either end…and I noticed that “infinity” effect. I had never noticed that before…had to “play” a little bit…

fun - huh?