Last Monday was Labor Day here in the good ole USA. It is a time to celebrate our labor force, and more realistically, for our workforce to take a day to relax and recuperate.
By labor day weekend, most schools are back in session, and in most places, it is the final summer hurrah as families prepare for their fall routines.
But here in Lake Havasu where the summer is so hot, it is the beginning of cooler temperatures and quieter weekends. We are finally starting to see highs in the low hundreds instead of the 110's and 120's, and once the Labor Day weekend rush is over, we'll see many fewer lake visitors. Our little town will cool down, quiet down, and once again become the paradise that we look forward to.
Showing posts with label Labor Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labor Day. Show all posts
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Arizona Outdoor Kitchen (Wednesday, August 30th, 2017)
Back in May, I refinished an old science table that we wanted to use for an outdoor kitchen. It wasn't hot then, but we knew it was coming.
Now that the weather is hot, we are using our outdoor kitchen table all the time. It allows us to cook great meals without heating up the house at all.
We eat a lot of cool refreshing meals like salads in the summer, but sometimes you just need a good hearty meal, and this little unit certainly gives us that option.
Then depending on how hot it is, we can choose to eat dinner inside or out. This time of year it's almost always inside, but at least we don't have to bring all that heat inside with us.
Now that the weather is hot, we are using our outdoor kitchen table all the time. It allows us to cook great meals without heating up the house at all.
We eat a lot of cool refreshing meals like salads in the summer, but sometimes you just need a good hearty meal, and this little unit certainly gives us that option.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
A Tent Story (Saturday, September 3rd, 2016)
Our oldest daughter and her husband wanted a little get away for Labor Day this year, and we all decided that the cabin would be the perfect place. Steve and I thought it would be fun to provide all of the food, and let the kids and his parents just relax.
We got up to the cabin early on Friday, and Steve's parents were already there. So we unloaded the car, got dinner started, and waited for the kids to get there.
One of our biggest goals in retirement has been cleaning out the house. We've taken many, many truckloads of donations in, we've sorted out things that we thought the girls might want, and we have thrown away so much stuff. And we both agree that it is one of the most satisfying things we have ever done. We love the feeling of a much simpler, junk free life.
As we were diving back into our storage room a few months ago, Steve pulled out a bunch of old camping stuff, and among it were two identical tents. Steve thinks he remembers getting them on a great sale, so he bought two. I had to laugh, because that is Steve. If they are cheap, you have to buy them, even if you don't need them. That is an old habit that we are now trying to break in our new clutter-free world.
So to make a long story short, we offered one of the tents and some of the camping equipment to our oldest daughter and son (in-law) when they moved out, and they were very excited to have it.
They arrived at the cabin much earlier than we had expected, and as they started unloading the car, we noticed that they had brought the tent that we gave them. They decided that this would be the perfect weekend to check it all out, make sure they had everything they needed, and that it was all working.
On Saturday morning we all decided to jump in with tent assembly. Unfortunately, there were no instructions with the tent. We had set it up at Lake Powell one time many years ago but we couldn't remember how so it was all trial and error.
We staked the tent down with the plastic stakes that came with it, and then began trying to figure out where all of the poles should go. There were three different lengths of poles, all of which were color coded, but there was no indication on the tent where each color should go.
Unfortunately, as we played around with the poles, trying to figure out where they all went, the stakes kept pulling out of the ground, and as the guys would hammer them back in to the very hard ground, they all started breaking off at the head.
So all of the guys piled in the car and headed into town to go get some steel stakes. The tent came with eight stakes, so they decided that eight stakes should be enough.
Before we knew it, they were back with their new steel stakes.
Since the plastic stakes are much fatter than the metal stakes, we now needed to move the tent and start over. But of course, it wasn't that easy. The plastic stakes were impossible to get back out of the very hard ground.
We finally got all of the old stakes out, moved the tent to a new location, re-staked it, and once again began setting it up. But even this wasn't enough. More stakes were going to be necessary. So back in the car all of the boys jump, and once again headed to town for more metal stakes. We ended up needing 16 steel stakes to hold the tent securely, and once we figured that out, our life became much simpler.
We figured out where all of the different length poles went, and finally, then tent became a reality!
Just to make sure that it would be easier next time, we labeled each section of tent for it's corresponding poles. Ingenious! Blue poles are to the right of the door, red poles are in the middle, and yellow poles are to the left of the door.
Once we tent was all set up and ready to go, Steve gave the kids a lesson on using the portable cook stove, and to our amazement, it worked on the first try.
But lucky for them, I'm doing all of the cooking this weekend, so they won't have to really use it.
The kids slept out in the tent on Saturday night, and they seemed to have some differing opinions on how it went!
Our son (in-law), who slept out under the stars during Ranger School for several weeks, and who now spends time in the field, quite often with his platoon thought it was great, but maybe a little over-kill.
Our daughter who has rarely tent camped, thought it was a bit uncomfortable. She said that next time she'll need a little more padding. But at least she did refer to "next time".
We had about as much fun tearing the tent back down as we did setting it up. Even with the windows and doors open, getting the air out was more challenging that we thought.
For now the tent is put away, where it will stay until "next time".
We got up to the cabin early on Friday, and Steve's parents were already there. So we unloaded the car, got dinner started, and waited for the kids to get there.
One of our biggest goals in retirement has been cleaning out the house. We've taken many, many truckloads of donations in, we've sorted out things that we thought the girls might want, and we have thrown away so much stuff. And we both agree that it is one of the most satisfying things we have ever done. We love the feeling of a much simpler, junk free life.
As we were diving back into our storage room a few months ago, Steve pulled out a bunch of old camping stuff, and among it were two identical tents. Steve thinks he remembers getting them on a great sale, so he bought two. I had to laugh, because that is Steve. If they are cheap, you have to buy them, even if you don't need them. That is an old habit that we are now trying to break in our new clutter-free world.
So to make a long story short, we offered one of the tents and some of the camping equipment to our oldest daughter and son (in-law) when they moved out, and they were very excited to have it.
They arrived at the cabin much earlier than we had expected, and as they started unloading the car, we noticed that they had brought the tent that we gave them. They decided that this would be the perfect weekend to check it all out, make sure they had everything they needed, and that it was all working.
On Saturday morning we all decided to jump in with tent assembly. Unfortunately, there were no instructions with the tent. We had set it up at Lake Powell one time many years ago but we couldn't remember how so it was all trial and error.
We staked the tent down with the plastic stakes that came with it, and then began trying to figure out where all of the poles should go. There were three different lengths of poles, all of which were color coded, but there was no indication on the tent where each color should go.
Unfortunately, as we played around with the poles, trying to figure out where they all went, the stakes kept pulling out of the ground, and as the guys would hammer them back in to the very hard ground, they all started breaking off at the head.
So all of the guys piled in the car and headed into town to go get some steel stakes. The tent came with eight stakes, so they decided that eight stakes should be enough.
Before we knew it, they were back with their new steel stakes.
Since the plastic stakes are much fatter than the metal stakes, we now needed to move the tent and start over. But of course, it wasn't that easy. The plastic stakes were impossible to get back out of the very hard ground.
We finally got all of the old stakes out, moved the tent to a new location, re-staked it, and once again began setting it up. But even this wasn't enough. More stakes were going to be necessary. So back in the car all of the boys jump, and once again headed to town for more metal stakes. We ended up needing 16 steel stakes to hold the tent securely, and once we figured that out, our life became much simpler.
We figured out where all of the different length poles went, and finally, then tent became a reality!
Once we tent was all set up and ready to go, Steve gave the kids a lesson on using the portable cook stove, and to our amazement, it worked on the first try.
But lucky for them, I'm doing all of the cooking this weekend, so they won't have to really use it.
The kids slept out in the tent on Saturday night, and they seemed to have some differing opinions on how it went!
Our son (in-law), who slept out under the stars during Ranger School for several weeks, and who now spends time in the field, quite often with his platoon thought it was great, but maybe a little over-kill.
Our daughter who has rarely tent camped, thought it was a bit uncomfortable. She said that next time she'll need a little more padding. But at least she did refer to "next time".
We had about as much fun tearing the tent back down as we did setting it up. Even with the windows and doors open, getting the air out was more challenging that we thought.
For now the tent is put away, where it will stay until "next time".
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Labor Day in Denver, Colorado means Taste of Colorado (Sunday, September 6th, 2015)
In Denver, Colorado, Labor Day is synonymous with the Taste of Colorado. The Taste of Colorado is a huge street fair, held in Civic Center Park in the heart of downtown Denver. Parking is available all over the downtown area and usually runs about $10 per car, but entrance to the event is free. You can buy tickets for food and rides, 15 tickets are $10 if you want, but the beauty of this event is that you can stay busy for a whole day without spending a cent if that is what you desire!
The weather was perfect for the event. High was in the mid-80's, very little humidity and a slight breeze. Every few minutes clouds would come through to give a little relief from the direct sun. The park has many very mature trees which also provided lots of shade.
There are five different stages at the event, with concerts going on all the time. All of the concerts for the three day event are free, and it all takes place in beautiful down town Denver!
We really had a nice day walking around and catching all the sights and music. We sometime forget what a wonderful place Colorado is and today was definitely one of those wonderful days!
The weather was perfect for the event. High was in the mid-80's, very little humidity and a slight breeze. Every few minutes clouds would come through to give a little relief from the direct sun. The park has many very mature trees which also provided lots of shade.
There are five different stages at the event, with concerts going on all the time. All of the concerts for the three day event are free, and it all takes place in beautiful down town Denver!
 |
| The Capital is the backdrop for this great event! |
 |
| We saw the Canyon Creek Band at the country stage, and they were really good! |
 |
| One booth was handing out free samples of the newest Mountain Dew product "Dew Shine", and had their hot rods on sight for the event |
 |
| The Taste of Colorado with Capital Building in the background |
 |
| They had some really fun artists on the main stage! |
 |
| The Taste of Colorado is always a huge hit in Denver |
 |
| The Main Stage featuring Christian Rock Artist Chris August |
 |
| Christian Rock artist Chris August's Free Concert |
 |
| View toward the City and County Building during the Chris August concert |
 |
| There are always lots of fun activities. Not sure of the cost |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)