Fairs, Festivals, and Fitness in the Ozarks

2019 was the 8th year of my retirement and my husband's first.  Plenty of time on our hands and we found plenty of ways to utilize it!  Remodeling our vintage 1978 house in earnest this past decade always included a balance of fun with community fairs and festivals that typically began in late summer through the month of October here in the Ozarks.  There were several months of chaos caused by completing all main level flooring, repairs, and painting while we lived in both the main and lower levels.  When all the work was done, it was time to play!  It is about living a balanced life.

Together throughout the year we always stayed as busy as we wanted to be doing volunteer work with the local gardening group and enjoyed garden-related workshops with some of the larger county groups which expanded our knowledge as well as our relationships with other like-minded people.  It also got us outdoors more and the exercise kept us fit.  The annual Harvest Festival in Wheatland highlighted our main service project which is planning and caring for the gardens at Settlers Village where the festival takes place.  There are several posts in this blog that have details about this annual festival and our gardens as it has been our project for many years.  As with most all the fairs, festivals, and fitness-related subjects mentioned in this post, more details can be found by using the Search tool located on the home page of my blog.  Many of the past events were currently more of the same and we always love to attend or participate when we can and likely will continue doing more of the same in the future. It keeps us bonded to our home area that we chose to move to in 1978 while reaffirming that moving here was the best decision we ever made!    

Keith and Beti volunteer their time at the Hickory County Master Gardener Booth both days of the annual Wheatland Harvest Festival.

Missouri State Fair in Sedalia is attended most years.  The Missouri Department of Conservation, Art, Floral, and live concerts are our usual favorites to see!

Humansville Fall Festival doesn't change much over the years and is one event that is very close to home and was even closer when we lived on 50 acres nearby.  The parade is the most interesting with any kind of vehicle paraded whether it moved on it's own or pushed through the route....always entertaining! 

Stockton Black Walnut Festival is always a pleasure to attend with many craft booths, live entertainment, parade, and great food choices!  This trip we took the free tour again of the famous Hammons Products Company to see the process and buy some wonderful black walnut products. 

Cole Camp is an old German settlement that really knows how to party with dancing in the streets with live music, amazing German foods, beer, & wine, several streets filled with antique shops, and interesting people to watch and visit.  The history documented everywhere is amazing!

7 Springs Winery is our closest outdoor winery now that Sugar Loaf has closed after being our favorite for several years.  The awesome landscaping and fall changing colors in the hills pairs well with our favorite Norton wine and some great foods.  There is also live entertainment on the weekends in the afternoon.

Truman Heritage Days in Warsaw is our all-time favorite fall festival!  There is so much to do that it takes two days to get through it all.  Up by the Truman Dam in the encampments, old-time skills and crafts, settlement history and re-enactments.  In the town of Warsaw and along the harbor are numerous craft tents.  Below the dam is convenient parking with wonderful shuttle busses that take you to both areas as much as you want for both days.  Exceptionally organized - rain or shine!

Beti is "taking in the vapors" at Hot Springs, Arkansas!  This 4-6 day yearly Spa Trip has been a big part of our October plans for most of the past 20 years.  We always stay at The Arlington Hotel as seen in the background above.  I am so happy to have my brother and his wife join us again this year!  Hopefully, my other brother and his wife will join us next year as both my brothers and my husband retired in the same year and have the time to join us.  Maybe other friends and relatives will make it too!

Hot Springs, Arkansas tradition has been a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city on a Saturday night.  The service is available on the weekends in front of The Arlington Hotel.

Keith and Beti pose at the usual scenic stop overlooking the Ozarks on Scenic Highway 7 south of Harrisonville, Arkansas.  Many photos have been taken at this location since the kids were young.  It's a great place to stop and climb the tall overlook tower and shop in the small shop.

Pomme de Terre Lake Shore Clean-up was one of my volunteer projects this year just a few miles from home.  This is my 6th year as a member of the Missouri Master Naturalists, Lake of the Ozarks Chapter.   The greatest number of my required volunteer hours involved this PDT Lake.  It was such a  mess this year due to higher than average waters.  I was unable to safely take water samples from my kayak for 6 of the 8 required sampling times through the 2019 season in my 6th year with Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP).  The group above consisted of volunteers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Stream Teams,  Master Naturalist, and local citizens.  I'm in the back row, blue jacket.  We left the lake shore area better than we found it!  

Silver Dollar City in Branson is one of the largest theme parks in the country.  We have been here countless times since we moved to Missouri in 1978 and our daughter had worked here as an EMT for several years as a young, single adult.  It is as amazing as it is big and it's been awesome to watch it grow over the years along with the City of Branson and the massive highway system that supports it south of Springfield.  Last spring I won 2 free day passes to SDC at one of the gardening workshops Keith and I attended!  Definitely NOT a cheap place to visit!

Ha Ha Tonka State Park Castle Ruins is our most frequent state park visited close to home.  We started coming here before it was a state park and way before the fences and boardwalks were built to service the large crowds that come here in recent years.  So many photos had been taken with family as we all crawled and climbed throughout the ruins and cliffs along the rough trails.  Now it is all protected from excessive deterioration that comes with crowds.  It is still a great place to hike and enjoy.  The park also includes the lower spring area which has a great kayak launch area and is part of a 13-mile water trail that I volunteered to produce with the Master Naturalist group.  A great place to picnic, fish, hike, and kayak and we enjoy it all as much as we can!

I am thankful to live in a great area that includes a diversity of community activities that all contribute to a healthy lifestyle!  Since I turn age 65 about a year ago, I took advantage of free membership at the Bolivar YMCA which supports the Silver Sneakers Program covered by my health insurance.  Although I have been a member and/or participated at the Southwest Baptist University (SBU) Wellness Center for the past 25 years, it was only intermittent from January through May each year and I had to pay for it.  This past year, I have benefitted from the YMCA the most as I have lost 17 pounds with continuous and regular attendance.  I am happy that Keith joins me sometimes as programs and activities encourage opportunities to be social which is a big part of a good healthy lifestyle!

Being healthy, happy, and fit all contribute to the positive energy needed to enjoy our only grandchild, Kayleen.  Staying involved in community and socializing helps keep us interesting with a zest for life that we want very much to pass along to her for as many years as God blesses us to have.  Many opportunities are close to home and right in front of your face!  It does help if you have something to offer and recognize the joy you receive in return.

Bobi Copes with Chaos

It was a challenge coping with all the chaos created from remodeling our living space as we did most all the work ourselves as we lived in it.  It was good that the most stressful of it was during the months that had warm weather and we could balance the man-made chaos with the calming order of nature outdoors.  We had only to look to Bobi, our American Bobtail cat, to see the world through his eyes and observe that we could reduce stress while being close to its source.  We have plenty of nature right in our yard which made it easy to step away and find a good balance.  It's all about perspective.  

Bobi sits on my lap every morning beginning at daybreak on the front patio.

After my morning beverage, I start out on my walk-about around the front and back yard; Bobi follows.

There were 3 broods of bluebirds this season we enjoyed watching from the front patio.  There were also a variety of birds at the feeders, butterflies, and all kinds of pollinators on the flowers.  Bobi was always aware of them but hardly ever caused a disturbance.  The squirrels were always entertaining!

There were magical imaginings at the faerie tree including a real mushroom for awhile.  

Real bandits on several occasions in the vegetable gardens kept us busy re-locating!

Know-it-all neighbor was seen watching us from the electrical line.  Who?

Even a reporter from Fox Network stopped by most every morning.

There were some days that moved rather slow but steady.

The energetic activity from hundreds (mabe thousands!) of hummingbirds at the feeders inspired us to stay busy.

By the time Fall came around, we were done remodeling and began decorating.  We were ready for a much deserved break from all the work.

The weather was changing with the cool mist that settled in at night rising in the early morning meeting the sun.  

Frost flowers replaced the plants of summer.

Now it is time to stay indoors more and enjoy the fruits of our labor in our newly remodeled kitchen now complete with new flooring.

The final garden harvest is done...

...as the sun sets in our newly remodeled dining room filled with the last of the garden's flowers, hebs, and vegetables.

The living room is back in order with a new accent of fresh cotton in a can.

Through it all Bobi coped well with the chaos and showed us how well it can be done!

Family Time During Remodeling Chaos

Tornado Art (2006-2019)

Nothing stays the same.  Sometimes changes are well planned and are close to what was expected.  Sometimes changes happen suddenly and we survive and adapt.  Mostly we move forward as changes are inevitable.  The remodeling we did this year was disruptive but we came out better than expected although for a short time it felt and looked like a tornado came through!  I have wrote about remodeling the lower level, kitchen, dining, hallway, and living rooms in recent blogs.  This is about surviving the time during the remodeling of three bedrooms which included all the flooring upstairs which were already detailed.  I have some awesome surviving skills which begins with the story of this Tornado Art that I had framed and kept basically to myself until now.  Here's the story:

May 2003 I bicycled 250 miles of the Katy Trail alone, fully packed, staying at B&B's along the way from Clinton to St. Louis with return by Amtrak and additional biking. It was during these 7 days/6 nights that a series of destructive tornadoes took out the City of Stockton and Pierce City not far from my home in Hermitage. The storms and countless tornadoes moved NE across the state. I stayed ahead of them moving in the same direction. Couldn't go home or stay where I was; just kept moving as planned alone on the trail 30-50 miles/day catching up on what was happening behind me each evening at a B&B from the news. I stopped counting trees fallen across the trail that I had to go over or around with a fully packed bike at 20 when I crossed the Missouri River past Booneville. I have no doubt that there were at least 20 more! Kept going and rained on only once for a couple hours; the storms were that close! After the adventure, I thought to get a tornado tattoo on my leg as a reminder of my experience and searched the internet for photos. I found this print and had a customized frame made instead of getting a tattoo. It was hung in my weekday townhouse in Jeff City while I worked as manager of the State Tax Commission. It was to remind me daily of my strength and endurance as I worked and lived among some powerful politics and people. I held my ground and moved in a positive direction that never compromised my ideals and purpose. It reminded me that Nature is stronger than anything man can create and can destroy it in a flash. When I had made all the changes I wanted to policies and procedures in my department and had all I wanted of Jeff City, I moved back to Hermitage full time and hung the tornado in my home office...just for me. Now I'm ready to let go of it and set it free again. It is a good time now that we are remodeling the room.  Hope it finds a good home where its beauty, strength, and quality is appreciated just like me.  I decided to donate it to a local not-for-profit art gallery in Bolivar where it was part of a silent auction the weekend I had a huge carport sale on Labor Day weekend.  Time to re-value our space and the most important part of it is and always will be FAMILY!  

On Memorial Weekend, we were just days away from the chaos which would include living in the space as we remodel them.  Before the floors and kitchen were complete remodeling was postponed to make comfortable room for my brother and son to visit from out of state.  It was the next few months until Labor Day Weekend that we enjoyed the love and strength we got from spending time with family that saw us through successfully.  It began with my Iowa brother's yearly visit which always included ice cream!

Beti & Eddie at Andy's in Osage Beach

The Annual Watercolor Exhibit at Springfield's Art Museum with Keith is a yearly favorite especially on opening night with food and drinks included as we meet the artists!

Bass Pro Hemingway's Restaurant in Springfield is a great family tradition for seafood dinner.   

Beti & Jake at The Outlet below the Pomme de Terre Dam Hermitage

Beti & Sarah in front of Joe's Crab Shack Branson

Beti on the Katy Trail

Granddaughter Kayleen with Bubbles in Branson

Gardening with My Granddaughter in Branson

My Branson Girls at The Landing Fountain

Itty Bitty City in Springfield is the Party Place for this Minnie Mouse 2nd Birthday 

Carport Sale on Labor Day Weekend is the Grand Finale...for NOW!

By this weekend, we were back to normal!  We were fully using our kitchen, dining room, living room, hallway, stairway to the lower level, and back in our newly remodeled, beautiful bedroom after basically living on the lower level with all this stuff!  There's more room in the new office and the extra bedroom is now my yoga room and will soon have a daybed for my granddaughter to stay overnight.  

We then took another break to enjoy activities around us and to travel to Hot Springs, Arkansas for our yearly trip.  Time to rest and relax and gain new strength for the next projects starting with a new deck and siding that has already begun at this writing.  Next year I plan to complete the interior remodeling of two bathrooms.  Now is the time to plan.

Remodeling Bedrooms in 2019

Master Bedroom completed

 Our children's bedrooms were put to new uses soon after they moved out about 2000 but were still bedrooms just in case they wanted to move back or stay for a visit.  When I took on the job as Manager of the State Tax Commission of Missouri in 2006, I bought four rooms of new furniture for a townhouse I rented during the week then coming home on weekends.  During the time I lived and worked in Jefferson City, I started clearing out the two bedrooms and painted to re-purpose them.  My daughter's room became an office and my son's room became an exercise/yoga room.  When I came back home full time, I sold all the old furniture and replaced with the new.  We were also remodeling the lower level during that time making a spare bedroom and living/hobby room out of the half basement that was my work office for over 25 years.  I have wrote about that project on this blog.  Use the Search tool for "Remodeling the Lower Level" back in 2011.  There are two posts.  Then I summarized all the remodeling done 2016-2019 in another more recent post.  This house was built in 1978 and we moved into it in 1986.  Many updates and remodeling were needed after about 25 years!  

This recent project included three bedrooms with closets and the stairway to the lower level; carpet, paint, and all the necessary preparations.  We bought our carpet from Lowe's installed.  I set it up into three work orders so there would be time for Keith and I to do all the preparations.  There was no added cost as installation was free (we met the minimum dollar amount) and included removing/hauling off the old carpet and moving the furniture which did not include closets, electronics and bed(s) must be disassembled.   We bought about 600 sf of SOS Dynamic Beauty III (TruSoft) in Indigo (grey) textured.  We went with the better quality pad type called Stainmaster Elite Foam which added some cost to the pad that would've come free.  There was no sales tax.  We got 10% military discount and a $300 rebate.  I also used a Chase credit card that gives me 3 points on the dollar for home repair.  Valspar paint choices were Royal Gray for room #1 (office) and Gentle Violet for room #2 (bedroom).  The Master bedroom color had not been decided at this point as it would be the last project several weeks away yet.  I wanted to get the textured wallpaper before a final decision was made.  The background color of the Queen Anne's Lace textured pattern just happened to perfectly match the Royal Grey we had used for the new office!  We loved the Royal Gray color so much that we bought more for the Master Bedroom.  All carpet is the same in all three bedrooms and the stairway to the lower level.

Mid-June this year, Keith finished the first of three bedrooms by cutting out the carpet and rolling back enough to repair the floor squeaks with good screws, stained/sealed the baseboards/trim, repair nail holes in the drywall, and put down a threshold.  Then it was ready to prep and paint for me.  I got busy clearing out the closets in two rooms and emptying all the drawers/bookcases so the furniture can be moved in by the carpet installers from room #2 (office) in a couple weeks. The 1st room didn't have much to move as it was mainly an exercise/yoga room and air bed guest room, when needed.  The installers were to add all the furniture from room #2 and room #1 became the office/exercise room.  Room #2 became the guest (grandchild!) bedroom.  It quickly filled up with most of our Master Bedroom furniture shortly after the carpet was installed as well as the newly carpeted office.  Both rooms were basically too full to enjoy their completed new carpet and painting at this time.

We moved ourselves and our basic week's worth of clothing to the lower level bedroom.  We also had all the contents from all three bedrooms closets in the lower level for me to go through and separate in preparation for a Labor Day Carport Sale.  This was alongside the remaining carpet for the Master Bedroom and stairway which was rolled up ready to be installed.  Chaos for about three weeks!

While I was in Branson for a week taking care of our granddaughter when our daughter was on a trip, Keith painted the Master Bedroom vaulted ceiling and began removing the old wallpaper which I finished when I came home.  While I was painting the upper walls, he custom-made the crown molding and installed.  I painted it to match the background of the new textured wallpaper.  Then I hung the new textured wallpaper.  We were ready for the final carpet installation in a couple days.  The carpet installers were very good!  During this whole time they tried to stay on the original 3-day installation plan over several weeks while Keith and I prepared each room.  There were some changes made due to the installer having an ATV accident the day before the first installation and the initial measurement person that came weeks before had mis-measured the stairway so it had to be included in the final installation instead of the first so we could use the completed carpeted stairs as we lived in the lower level.  My original plan would have allowed us to use finished rooms more efficiently while we were in the lower level.  It was all good as we adjusted well enough and it helped that I was in Branson for one of those three weeks!  

Vintage 1978 ceiling border (above) was replaced with custom made crown molding (below)

Vintage 1978 wallpaper (above) was replaced with a textured Queen Anne's Lace print (below)

Master Bedroom completed corner

Extra Bedroom will have a daybed soon.  For now it is used as my yoga room.  It will be set up for our granddaughter when she stays.

New office room filled up just right with all the furniture that was in the smaller room.  Before it just had the elliptical, table, and yoga stuff.

Finally, the stairway was carpeted!  We also found just the right place for the Pearson Shield and Sword our son bought a couple years after he left home.

All the preparations were made for a very successful carport sale Labor Day Weekend.  The remaining items were donated to various local organizations including all leftover books, VCR tapes, storage boxes, and cassettes to the local library.  All leftover clothing items went to the local C.A.R.E.S. Thrift Shop, and the huge framed tornado art was donated to Bolivar's not-for-profit art gallery who just happened to be having a silent auction that very weekend.  Now all closets were organized with much room left over!  

With a great sigh of relief on a job well done, we began to look forward to a much needed trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas in October!  There's more to do but all in good time...