Patriotic Concert by Rockport-Fulton High School

This is short notice, for which I apologize. But tomorrow night, January 27, is the Patriotic Concert by the Rockport-Fulton High School Band and Chorus!

The concert will begin at 7PM at the Luigi Auditorium. It is the large, squareish, building west of the Dairy Queen. Plan to arrive about 6:30 to give time for finding a parking space and getting a good seat. This wonderful auditorium will be nearly filled by show time!

This is a MUST DO during your stay in Rockport.

If Tom and Dianne are back at the park, just ask them! They're regular attenders and will give it high marks.

Get some folks together and GO!

Condolences to Tom and Dianne Carl

by Dianne

Our heart felt condolences go out to Tom and Dianne Carl on the recent passing of Tom's mother, Arlene M. Carl.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you,Tom and Dianne, and your families during this difficult time.  Please know that your wonderful memories of your loving mother will help ease your sorrow and carry you through. 

Following is a copy of the obituary from their local newspaper.

Arlene M. Carl (1921 - 2014)

Visit Guest Book

Arlene M. Carl Born: May 18, 1921; in Pocahontas, Iowa Died: Jan. 17, 2014; in McHenry Arlene M. Carl, age 92, of McHenry passed away Friday, January 17, 2014 at her home. She was born on May 18, 1921 in Pocahontas, Iowa to John M. and Helen (Welsh) Flaherty. On December 26, 1942 she married Bob Carl in Joplin, Missouri. She moved to Chicago prior to WWII where she worked for Illinois Bell Telephone Company as an Operator and Supervisor. After her marriage to Bob, they purchased their first and second homes in Des Plaines before moving to McHenry, where she resided for the rest of her life. She was a mainstay at the Des Plaines Theater and at Spiegler 's Department Store. After moving to McHenry she volunteered along with Bob at the Centegra Medical Center for nearly 20 years. She was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in McHenry and was a charter member of St. Stephen 's Protomartyr Church in DesPlaines. Mrs. Carl is survived by her children; Tom (Dianne) Carl of McHenry, John (Ronda) Carl of Glendale Heights, and Bill (Cindy) Carl of Lewistown. Also surviving are grandchildren; Jeff (Tamra) Carl, Scott Carl, Carrie (John) Alkire, Mike Carl, Andy (Jamie) Carl, Jackie (Rob) Aurelius, Billy Oaks, Christina (Jeff) Piper and Katie Carl. Her great-grandchildren; Jackson and Olivia Carl, Johnny, Haylie, Matthew, and Emylie Alkire, Avery Aurelius, Victoria and Sophie Oaks, and Gabe, Brooks, and Lauren Piper also survive. She was preceded in death by her husband Bob, her parents John and Helen (Welsh) Flaherty, a brother Tommy Flaherty, and a sister Jean Renshaw. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, January 22, 2014, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Colonial Funeral Home, 591 Ridgeview Drive, McHenry, IL 60050. Prayers will be said at the Funeral Home on Thursday, January 23 at 10:15 AM, proceeding to St. Mary Catholic Church, 1401 N. Richmond Road, McHenry for an 11:00 AM Funeral Mass. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Information: Colonial Funeral Home; 815-385-0063 or www.colonialmchenry.com 

New Author Makes Trial Post

New Authors Registration Tested

This is a trial post by a new author, just to test the system and see the Dashboard as an Author would see it. (As you might have guessed, it is just the same old author, logged in as someone else.)

Registered users are automatically assigned the role of Subscriber. Their role can be changed by the Administrator if necessary.

Users assigned different roles have different controls or functions available to them.

Family News from Facebook

Family News: Carl Family

Here are a couple of news items I noticed on facebook. The first is from a current resident, Tom Carl:



Tom and Dianne have been giving her loving care since Tom's father died a year or two ago, frequently visiting her in the care center. Our sympathy to the entire Carl family.

Family News: Hickman Family

[caption id="attachment_117" align="alignright" width="300"] Bobby & Joanne Hickman
Taken March 17, 2007[/caption]

The second item regards the health of a former resident, Bobby Hickman. Bobby and Joanne were at the park for a few years, including 2007 when the picture was taken.

Joanne is an accomplished singer and guitar player and has appeared in the musical shows at Paws and Taws.



Massive strokes are serious, to say the least. We wish for complete healing for Bobby and comfort for his family during these stressful l and uncertain times.

Wilderness Oaks Blog is Open!!!!

by Keith

There's a new blog to go with the new park, Wilderness Oaks RV Resort!

I'm announcing it now. This will begin the "soft opening." There are still a few things which need to be added or refined, but I'd like to get readers of this blog going there.

The new blog has a link back to this blog, so you can use the new blog and still get back to this one if you wish. Shortly, all new posts will be made on the Wilderness Oaks blog.

I'd really appreciate it if you'd make comments or send me an email to let me know what you like or don't like about the new blog.

Yes, it looks different! And it acts differently! But don't say, "I don't like it!" just because it is different!! My hope is that the differences will make it easier to use so it will draw more writers, more comments, more pictures. And be more interesting and fun for everyone!

Here's a link to the new blog: wildernessoaks.us

A great feature of the new blog: It should look great on a tablet or smart phone!!!! Now you can look at it any time, any place!

You might want to put this in you Favorites or Bookmarks, as it will be the place to go in the future.


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Annual Waxing Completed

Truck Waxing the Quick  Way

[caption id="attachment_76" align="alignright" width="300"] The Big White Horse
After Its 2014 Waxing[/caption]

Have you been wondering whether or not I still go through the process of the annual waxing of The Big White Horse? The answer is, "Yes, I do." I did it last week.

But this year there's a twist: I used a different wax and washed and waxed it in one day, plus did several other things!

The annual waxing this year was a snap! I used a spray-on wax instead of a paste wax. Wash the car, spray on the wax (even if the car is still wet!,) spread it around, then buff it shinny! I suspect I waxed the entire truck inless than an hour. Can you imagine that!

But Will This Annual Waxing Last

That's the big question: Will it last???

It's way to early to tell. But with the time saving of using this wax, I can wax it a few times during the year and still be ahead.

It did make the surface look and feel really nice, so at least the truck looks great initially. We'll just have to see how it weathers.

 

New Year's Eve 2013

by Dianne

Don't know about you but the years seem to be going by more quickly for us now than in our younger days. Wow, 2014!! We had a great year. Had friends visit us in July during our Tall Ships Festival, Dick and Elaine Leu from Iowa. We visited and traveled with friends out east for the month of August, Jim and Gayle Clark from Virginia, and we visited friends across our great state of Michigan, Marv and Bev Naegelkerke.  We met all of these great people right here in the park. We have been so blessed to meet so many wonderful people from all over the US. Friendships we continue to cultivate and happy that we can.  We wish all the blog readers a healthy Happy New Year.

Getting in line for pizza

Enjoy these pictures from New Year's Eve and let's get on with this new year of great fun times and making more memories.

Pizza's looking good

Something funny must be happening

Good to see Jeannie back at the park

Dorothy offering Gret a hat to wear

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Christmas Day 2013

by Dianne

Duane, Debbie, Robin and Rohl

I believe everyone in the park had a great time at our Christmas Day meal.  The food was oh so good, especially the turkey and ham. The best I've ever tasted - so moist and flavorful. We are so very fortunate to have a new couple in our park, Robin and Rohl.  Turns out that Rohl loves to cook and is very good at it. We are fortunate, also, to have the pleasure of their company and the opportunity to get to know them. 

Here are a few more pictures from Christmas. By the way, the left overs we had later that day were equally delicious.

The wonderful food line

Ann and Doug

Danny and Fern

Christmas Eve 2013

by Dianne

Greetings and Happy New Year! I know we are well past the Christmas and New Year holidays but still would like to share some of the pictures from our celebrations at the Club House.  So let's catch up a bit.

As has been the tradition, since we’ve been coming to the park, we have a social gathering on Christmas Eve with finger foods and a “white elephant” gift exchange. This is always a fun time, especially when someone starts stealing the gift that everyone wants. It was home-grown pecans again this year donated by our secret Santa from the north country.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve with familiar faces as well as some new faces. I'm still on the a search for a couple names to put with faces. Any help you can give would be appreciated.  You can see from the caption under the picture the couple I am looking for.

Gayle Clark deciding if she wants to steal this gift.

Dean, Denny, Linda Lou, Brenda, Wayne and Betty

Janet checking out Betty's coffee mugs

Debbie and Duane with another new couple

Denny going for the steal

Experiments, Experiments, and More Experiments

Selecting Just The Right Look

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="390"] Pat, Dianne, and Tom enjoying our favorite eating place.[/caption]

For our friends at Wilderness Oaks and scattered about the country, I want just the right look for the blog. That requires some experimentation!

I mention this so that if you see frequent changes in the looks of the blog you won't think something is strange with your computer. In all probability it is just your Webmaster performing some experiments.

And then, in all probability, even more experiments.

If you happen to see something you like, send me an email. Same if you see something you really don't like!

What Experiments?

Right now, Saturday evening, January 11, I'm trying to select a theme. A theme gives the look and feel to a website.

Most themes provide the ability to change the layout, colors, and many, many other appearances and functions of a website. That's why you might see anything from small changes to huge chages from time to time.

Equal Opportunity: Something for Fishermen

Equal Opportunity; Something for Everyone at the Park

In the previous article, the video showed a way to make a kitchen task easier and offered a tool which could do the same thing.

But what if you're more of an "outdoorser" than one who loves the kitchen? That article offered nothing for you!

Many at Wilderness Oaks Can Use This

So those folks don't feel neglected, here's an item a good number of folks at Wilderness Oaks can use!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="124"] Here's some fishing line!
Possibly, it's a good value![/caption]

The Real Reason

There's a reason for everything, right?

The real reason for this post is to try some new software which, it says in their advertising, will make adding things from Amazon a snap. At the momement, I'd have to say the product was oversold a bit.

However, if you'd like to go ahead and purchase this or anything else from Amazon, I'd be grateful. You see, if you do that after clicking on one of the links here I'll get a small commission.

 

Help Wanted!

by Keith

I Need Your Help!

Yep, it's true: I'm working on a new blog, especially for Wilderness Oaks! But I want and need your help.

I need photos. Really, I need only one, but I'd like to have a number from which to select that special one!

I bit of audience participation would seem to be in order.

The Rules

I invite you to send your photos for consideration for use in the new blog. Here's what I suggest:

1. Photo must have been taken after December 6, 2013.
   
2. Photo should depict Wilderness Oaks in some way, for example photos of guests having fun, a row FULL of trailers, new signs, etc. Use your creativity!
   
3. A picture which could be used at the top of the site is especially welcomed!
   
4. Prompt action will be appreciated, although pictures are always welcome.
   
5. Did I mention that I need a great picture for the top of the blog?

Submitter of "winning" pictures will be awarded all the fame, as appropriate, which comes with publication in the new blog. Others get only normal fame and exposure.

Here's your chance, folks! Don't blow it! I know nearly everyone has cameras these days! Send a few of your best pictures from Wilderness Oaks!

Email pictures to me, Keith Williams at kaw@syntheticsaves.com.

You can probably click here to open an email addressed to me: kaw@syntheticsaves.com.

Egg White Magic: A Great Kitchen Tip

Separate Egg White and Yolk

We have Julee to thank for this one! It's a simple and neat way to deal with eggs! If you like "clever," this one is well worth an investment of about two minutes of your valuable time.

Another Way to Separate Egg White

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="160"] Egg white and yolk separator[/caption]

If you're willing to spend five bucks for a little tool to do the same job, you can try this little jem.

That wouldn't be much fun if you had a dozen eggs to do though, would it!

I liked the magic of the bottle!

Egg Joke Failure

I'm trying really hard to figure out a way to work this old Minnesota joke in: "The yolks on you!" but can't come up with a clever way. I guess that means the yolks on me!

Let me know your results if you try the bottle method.

Comment on Wilderness Oaks Blog

Comments Bring Life to a Blog

The Wilderness Oaks blog will be much more interesting to readers if there are lots of meaningful comments!

We all are readers! We read the park blog because we want to know what our park friends are doing. Moreover, these friends can be our neighbors right now at the park, or friends we made years ago when we were at the park.

Anyone is invited to write a comment! First, you must register with the site using your real name and real email address. As it is set up in the beginning, your first comment must be approved by an administrator. After the first is approved, no approval is needed and your Comment will appear almost instantly below the article.

Let's give it a try, friends!

A final word, just to make it abundantly clear:  Keep it civil, folks! This blog is family rated. Comments can be edited or deleted at the discretion of the Administrator.

Wilderness Oaks Blog Welcomes You!

New Blog Launched for Wilderness Oaks

Almost exactly one month after Wilderness Oaks RV Resort was launched, this new blog of activities at the park is launched!

Right now, there's no news for this blog.  This short article is just to let you know that it exists!

Exactly What Is This Blog?

[caption id="attachment_11" align="alignright" width="168"] Announcer Tom, keeping the pancake race on track![/caption]

First, here's what this blog isn't! This blog is owned and managed by person(s) totally independent of the ownership and management of Wilderness Oaks RV Resort, Rockport, Texas. As a result, information on this site has no official standing and does not necessarily represent the views of the park's owners or managers. We do, however, hope that they will find it useful in the success of the park and the happiness of park guests.

The official park website is wildernessoaksrv.com.

Second, this blog is intended to be a communications vehicle for guests of Wilderness Oaks.  This happens several ways:

• News and pictures of park activities


• News of former guests


• News of current guests even though they are not at the park at the time


• Announcements of upcoming events (on and off the park)


• General news or comments by guests


• Other!