2018...The Good The Bad The Ugly...and the Good again.....Plus.a little Utube recap of Mother Natures Work

             
                  ......And a Very Happy New Year to the "Wanderlust" Blogging Family!


Six months.......Though I haven't posted, its been a "sporty" six months and never Dull.

First My Bride continues to be moving to a complete recovery. The Cognitive engine is running on all 8 cylinders, she is maintaining a healthy diet, controlling the level of fluid intake is a daily task....however her sodium is at a healthy level.  she has maintained her daily exercise routine. In fact is now walking 30 minutes with me and then "peels off". :)) So all in all I am very happy as to the progress she has made towards her full recovery.

I still have not been comfortable in taking any of my  Casita  trips, however I think that will change for 2019.

We have had the kids down here at various times of the year and that has been a comfort and blessing! In fact they took the helm in our House hunting venture....we  have not advanced too far in that direction, but I thought it best to stabilize our current environment before we beginning a new "Adventure".
So in short the Brides recovery and welfare has been my number one priority for the better part of 2018......
I  have had a few medical hiccups, but so far have kept the "Wolves at Bay"

The other major issue that has come about this year is the decline of one of my younger sisters health. She has been in and out of the hospital for the better part of the last three years. She lives in St Louis , single, though one of her sons also resides there. About three months ago she ended up in the hospital and at first it appeared as though she had a mini stroke, but the conclusion is that it was a respiratory problem, pneumonia,  low oxygen, high CO2 levels, etc... I received a call a several weeks ago that it didn't seem like she was going to survive this bout so I went up there as did my other sister from Va.....her memory was for the most part gone, she was not able to walk and needed a Bipap machine to assist her breathing, etc....right before Christmas she made a 180 degree turn...though not out of the woods and will now be in a Rehab Facility and long term care she has about 80 percent memory recall, can walk short distances, talk, smile, laugh and cry., argue(hehe) and eat on her own! ..Since she was stabilized and wanted to  spend/share Christmas with her son and family, I decided to get back home for Christmas  and arrived  here Christmas Eve .

We had a nice relaxing Christmas with son and his wife and felt very blessed given how this year started unfolding ...This evening will be one of reflection, looking forward for 2019 and New Horizons.

I wish each of my Blogging Friends a New Year filled with Good Health, Much Love and Lots of Memories Makers!

Instead of some of my photos I leave you with what I think is a magnificent YouTube video of Mother Natures wonders'! Horst sends

As Yogi Berra said... "The future ain’t what it used to be."

Yes its been two months...….but its two months I won't  soon forget... I think I left you when I had returned from my Bluebonnet trip and preparing for a trip to Florida and then to the East Coast to see the Gkids, Daughter and SIL....Will we made it to Destin, Fl....I noticed the Bride was not walking very well and going up stairs was a struggle...I wanted her to go to the ER, but she insisted it was just due to weight gain and not exercising...after two days and her not improving the decision was made to return home and see her physician....after arriving home, she said she felt somewhat better and wanted a "wait and see" before calling her Doctor...A couple days later, she fell trying to stand up, due to a lack of muscle strength and I called EMS....

(c)2018Horst Kelly Photographer

I'll skip all the details, but say she ended up in ICU for several days and then hospital and then Physical Rehabilitation  Inpatient Facility...Things were touch and go for a while and by all medical accounts she is very fortunate  to be here today. My prayers were answered and I will say the folks in ICU were truly Guardian Angels as was the staff at the Physical  Rehab Facility. The care she received was second to none...it was like she was their only patient. Not something you find to often these days.

The Bride is now back home and  keeps improving by leaps and bounds...Its been too hot to do much outside, so other than an early morning walk, I mainly stay indoors trying to stay out of trouble. I did buy a new vehicle prior to the Destin trip...The Xterra had managed to accumulate 165000 + miles, and though nothing was going wrong, I thought it best to not push my luck. I ended up with a Dodge Ram 1500 Truck, Quad cab, 5.7 Hemi. I look forward to it towing the Armadillo on many  adventures in the future.

(c)2018Horst Kelly Photographer..Destin Fl.

Well folks, I'll leave you with this short update and go to reading some Blogs, especially enjoying EggRolling  Jerry and Wanda's trip north to Alaska...Give them a look, I think you just might get envious! :))

(c)2018 Horst Kelly Photographer..Destin, Fl.

Until next time, enjoy life...Horst sends

Another Memorable Trip

(c)2018Horst Kelly Photographer

It been almost a week since I returned from my camping trip to Lake Somerville in search of Bluebonnets...and what a terrific adventure it was. First, let me say Lake Somerville State Park is a great park. It was only about a third operational do to mass flooding 2 years ago and they have done a outstanding job in getting things up and running. The campground is wooded with the majority of the current sites being back in type. They have a picnic table, fire pit with grill, water and electric and wooded space between sites. The staff is very friendly, informative and professional,  no Wi-Fi, however my Verizon cell worked fine.  During the week the Park was pretty empty...the weekend, pretty much filled up. Mostly fishing enthusiasts. Met some fantastic folks, had some relaxing fireside chats...good stuff!

(c)2018Horst Kelly Photographer

The lake has two campgrounds, the one  I stayed at is on the north side(Birch Creek) and the other one( Nails Creek CG) is more on the western tip of the lake. I spent the day there hiking and enjoying the scenery...Between the two CG's there are numerous trails....

Bluebonnets where not as prevalent as compared to previous years and must locations it was hard to pull over and get good shots.  I was mainly looking for  unique photo compositions....and at the end of the day, photo's or not it was a super trip. It is a place I will return to.

(c)2018Horst Kelly Photographer

My "training" on my large format camera was marginal at best...It does slow you down and the checklist is longer than an airplane's pre-fight list.  There are so many opportunities to screw up an exposure, and I think I managed to hit all of them..If 10 percent of my shots are exposed I will feel it was a success. Looking back it was a satisfying experience and one I will keep trying.

(c)2018Horst Kelly Photographer

Since my return, the dermatologist has practiced his surgical skills on me by doing some whittling on my back  which amounted to  8 or so stiches,  I am somewhat limited on my activities...no lifting, bending, sweating,  exercising,  etc...which in turn has given me opportunity to sit and cruise eBay and Amazon each day looking for things I don't need. :)) Also am nailing down the trip East(no camper), which will be happening soon.

It was a great time...great weather, great hiking, Great new Friendships, , great grilling, solitude and a few awesome sunsets...Life is Good!!!!

I have posted some photo's of the trip and other photo's on my website, so if you are interested click here... Bluebonnets   Until  next time.... Horst sends

(c)2018Horst Kelly Photography...Lake Somerville sunset.....

Happy Easter....My Egg is Rolling!!

The stars have all  lined up

...All is pretty stable on the Homefront and so I thought  a quick trip to Lake Somerville, Texas would be just the ticket. Only for a week or so take a few Bluebonnet photo's, practice on my new old film camera and relax...washed the camper, got provisions, charged all the batteries for laptop, phone, camera, packed some clothes, checked the tires, set the GPS for Northeast....and away we go......

An Egg

Bluebonnets

Food.....smell not included

Beverage

Campfire

Sunset/Sunrise

Mix all that up in a pot of Enthusiasm and you got yourself a face full of smiles....and memories, Just saying....This Old Man is outa here! Happy Easter.....Horst sends

Update.....

...Its March, I haven't gone on any trips...I thought I would be able to put a trip together to venture to the Alabama Hills, Ca. in Jan/Feb, but that didn't work out...Thought maybe a short trip to the Monahan Sand Dunes in West Texas....Nope, didn't happen, neither did Big Bend or a trip to the Coast....of course there are good reasons for not going.......

(c)2017Horst Kelly Photographer

I may still be able to take a short trip north to get some time with the Bluebonnets, then a planned non camping trip to Florida and South Carolina.....Time will tell

(c)2017Horst Kelly Photographer

The problem when I have idle time is I get on Ebay, just to see what people are selling, never to buy. Ha... As much fortitude and self- restraint I have,at the end of the day I bought stuff....yup, camera stuff. I did sell my medium format camera on Craig's list...someone drove down from Ft Worth to buy the camera and lens...first day I listed it....now I have no guilt feelings about buying stuff on Ebay.  :))

Wista 45 large format film camera ..Horst Kelly photographer

I decided to buy a large format camera and stuff that you need to get to go with it...I've always been interested in that medium, but never had the patience, but I though I'd give it a try...the appealing feature about this camera is that I can get various backs and also use a roll film slider....its like still having a medium format, plus the 4x5 and all the neat stuff you can do with this platform. I went out and tested it the other day to back sure it was light tight and everything worked....it is 50 years or so old....all worked fine, I was able to scan two negatives and stich them together...mega pixels...yup this is what happens you have bad weather, no honey do lists and way to much idle time....

(c)2017Horst Kelly photographer

I do need to do some work on the Casita...would like to redo the Battery bank, and get two 6 volt batteries, plus I found a stand to fit over the propane tanks at Etrailer...which is where I would like to relocate the generator and use the back platform for the Battery bank. Need to do some more research on weight distribution, etc...

Fits on Tongue over Propane tanks....Photo by Etrailer

Other than  a few odds and ends, not much has been happening at this end...I have been keeping up with my Blog reading and getting envious of all the terrific places folks are going...I figure my turn is coming soon!

(c)2017HorstKelly Photographer

Until the next time keep following your Dreams and catching a sunrise or three.  Horst sends

(c)2017HorstKelly Photographer