The last Sunrise of 2011!
Can you believe it? 2011 is all but gone.
What will you be doing when the new year arrives?
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
2011 December 30
 |
| Grandfather Clock with Captain Kangaroo |
I’ve had
breakfast. I’ve refilled my pill sorter
for the next week. I’ve checked in on
Facebook. I’ve read my son’s blog entry
for the day. I’ve also checked in on
several RV related blogs that I follow.
I’ve thought about making gumbo for lunch. And I’ve written two paragraphs to post in my
blog. That’s it, I’m ready for a nap.
(grin)
Well, I did make the gumbo. We had one sad little boneless chicken thigh that I diced and cooked. Then I added some diced ham and some diced kielbasi sausage plus about a dozen precooked shrimp diced. I chopped some bell pepper and celery to add to the pot. Since I have an allergy to onion, I don't keep any on hand. I did have some salsa that Ella purchased the other day, so I added a glop of that. Hey, it can't BE gumbo with out the trinity of pepper, celery and onion. I had a can of whole peeled tomatoes that I also added. No okra so I used a rue to thicken it. I over thickened it so I added a small can of V8 juice which I thickened with a quarter cup of rice.
It may not be Cajun or Creole, but it was pretty good eating.
It may not be Cajun or Creole, but it was pretty good eating.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
2011 December 28
At
Men’s Bible Study this morning, we didn’t study. We ate.
We had finished our recent study last Wednesday. Traditionally, when we’ve finished a four to
eight week study, we have a breakfast together instead of just starting a new
study.
After
returning home, I worked on balancing our checking account. That didn’t take long because I try to make
sure it is accurate and agrees with what the bank says.
Before
lunch we went to Sam’s Club for groceries and gasoline. I couldn’t resist the BBQ’d ribs when I
passed them at the meat counter. So we
had ribs for lunch.
We
also stopped at Village Inn for pie.
This is the very first time that I’ve had such a brusque waitress at
VI. This was a waitress I’d never seen
before. She wasn’t exactly rude but came
close to it with her manner. Needless to
say she received no tip. Quite often my
tip is larger than the bill when we go for coffee and pie. Which explains why the waitstaff almost fight
over us when we come in the door. Even
if we are not sitting in their section, many will stop and chat with us. I’m hoping that the new waitress learns or
leaves. I know that working with the
public is not easy, but there is no room for surliness.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
2011 December 27
I hope you have all had a wonderful
Christmas (or Chanukah for my Jewish friends).
I have to admit that it was actually difficult for me NOT to blog on
Christmas eve. And yet today … it seems
to be hard to get STARTED again. So,
here is what has been going on in our lives.
Christmas Eve
The twenty-fourth we went to John
and Dawn’s for supper. Brandon
Some of us spent time playing some
of the new Wii games. Here is a video of
my grandkids sword fighting or boxing (I’m not sure because I was too busy
laughing at them to look at the TV.)
Christmas Day
Ella and I got up early on Christmas
day, dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus and went to Village Inn. We handed out candy canes to all the help and
then to the customers. We then had
breakfast there before going to church.
Once at church I shed the Santa
suit (yes I had clothes on beneath).
Because the Sunday was also Christmas, we did not have Sunday
school. The worship committee thought
that it would make it easier for folks to make it to church at ten thirty. During the service, time was planned for a
‘blessing of the gifts’. Nobody brought
gifts to be blessed. This was the first
year we had tried this. Pastor did a
generic blessing and thanks for the presents and the presence of God.
After church we has a pot luck for
those who wanted to stay and eat with our church family. Pastor Lee and Cathy (and maybe some others)
had prepared a couple of turkeys and hams to go with the side dishes and
desserts that people brought. Ella had
made a fruity rice mixture that I cooked at church just before the service
started. We also brought the left over
pies from Christmas Eve.
After the pot luck, we did a
Shepherds’ Run. The worship committee
had prepared some plates full of goodies and a Christmas/Thank You card. Then people from the congregation took a
plate with them as they left and then delivered it on their way home. This was the first time that we did
this. I hope that it will be done again
next year even though we will not be here to spearhead it. (The plan is to be in Texas
 |
| Kathy and I |
Before leaving church, I once again
donned the Santa suit, then Ella and I dropped off a couple of Shepherds’ Run
plates on the way to visit my niece Kathy.
She is at a rehab center trying to get her strength built up enough to
get back on her feet. We visited with
her for a while before her husband and kids and grandkids showed up bearing
gifts. We got some pictures taken with
them before we headed home.
Once we arrived at home we lay back
in the recliners and slept for a couple of hours. After we woke, we called the other four kids
and spoke to them. (As usual, Amber’s
phone just went to voice mail. So we had
to just leave a message)
Anniversary Day
December 26th
On the day of our anniversary we
went to Target a picked up some gifts for NEXT Christmas. Later, Ella worked from one to six on our
anniversary. I did our laundry at the
clubhouse and then stayed there while she worked. It was far from a busy day for her and I
spent most of the day watching TV. I did
ride the stationary bike for a while and lay on the vibrating bed exercise machine. It was so relaxing that I napped for a
while.
After Ella was off work, we went to
Texas Roadhouse for supper. It was
packed. After registering and being
given a number, we found a place to sit and wait for forty minutes. After they called our numbers we were asked
to stand along the wall until a hostess was assigned to us. This wait took another twenty minutes. After we were assigned to a hostess, we were
now “on deck” which meant that we now waited an additional fifteen minutes for
a table to come available. Once we were
seated, service came very quickly. It
however came in reverse order. Our meal
arrived before the appetizers. They did
apologize and took the charge for the appetizers off of our bill. We ate the appetizers for lunch today.
Today (27th)
This was
housekeeping day for us. I got the
holding tanks emptied and the freshwater tank topped off. The dishes are done up and the floor
vacummed. We got a little grocery
shopping done. And now … tad ah! .. the
blogs caught up.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Merry Christmas Maligayang Pasko Hyvää Joulua Joyeux Noël Frohe Weihnachten Καλά Χριστούγεννα Nollaig Shona Buon Natale メリークリスマス 메리 크리스마스 God jul Feliz Natal С Рождеством ¡Feliz Navidad
 |
Merry Christmas
Maligayang
Pasko
Hyvää
Joulua
Joyeux
Noël
Frohe
Weihnachten
Καλά
Χριστούγεννα
Nollaig
Shona
Buon
Natale
メリークリスマス
메리 크리스마스
God
jul
Feliz
Natal
С
Рождеством
¡Feliz
Navidad
|
2011 December 23
Last night
was my last time as Santa at Jolly Holiday Lights. That is by far one of the best things that I
volunteer for. I posed with babies and
grandparents on my lap I also had one photo with two rather large dogs. One little boy would not come up to see me
even when his two brothers and a sister where there. I offered him a candy cane and he was willing
to sit on my lap. A future union negotiator in the making.
Many people
that I’ve talked to about Jolly Holiday Lights tell me that they’ve been
waiting for it to snow, because it is so much prettier with the lights in the
snow. Well tonight is the last night for
the lights and still no snow. We had a steady
stream of people right up to the nine o’clock closing. I was surprised to find that a nine they shut
the door to ‘Santa’s Village’ even though there are still a lot of cars that
haven’t made it all the way through the light show. I would have thought that they’d keep the
‘village’ open until the last car was out of the gate.
Ella works
some extra hours today at the clubhouse because the office is closed. Someone has to be in attendance whenever the
building is open to members. Normally
she works five to eight on Fridays.
Today she works two to eight. She
does not work either Saturday or Sunday (Christmas Eve and Christmas) but does
work on Monday from two to six.
It was only
fifteen degrees this morning but the sun came up nice and bright and is
supposed to be cloudless all day … soaking up that passive solar heat.
Several months
ago I went to Veterans’ Hospital because I wanted to get my prescriptions
through them. I was told that I had to
have a copy of my discharge papers as proof of service. I looked through my safe deposit box and all
the papers that I could find at home to no avail. Considering the number of times I’ve moved
since I was discharged and then downsizing to live in the RV, I’m not surprised
that they were AWOL. So, I went online
and filled out all the information to have a copy mailed to me. I was surprised that, after filling out all
the information and submitting it online, that I had to print it out and sign
the papers and then mail them. So,
really? What was the purpose of filling
out the forms and submitting them, if they had to be snail mailed anyway? Oh, yeah, I forgot, bureaucrats! Yesterday, the copy came in the mail. Of course now there are the holidays to get
through before any government employee will be working again. Even then I may wait a few extra days for
their ‘holiday fog’ to clear.
I may take a couple of days off from
writing the blogs. So, Merry Christmas
from Mr. and Mrs. Clause here at the Northpole.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
2011 December 22
I called and wished my sister, Maryann, a happy birthday. As a Jehovah's Witness, she doesn't believe in celebrating any day more than another. But I do. So, I call and wish her a happy birthday anyway. We had a nice long talk before she had to go.
I got a nice sunrise picture this morning. It is cold today. It's not supposed to be above freezing at all today. However, in the seven day forecast they're talking about being in the fifties. That ain't bad for late December in Iowa.
My son, Adam, posted a video on youtube of my four-year-old grandson, Tate, explaining about the pilgrims coming to America.
 |
| It almost looks like a face with a very dazzling smile. |
My son, Adam, posted a video on youtube of my four-year-old grandson, Tate, explaining about the pilgrims coming to America.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
2011 December 21
Yesterday
was my granddaughter Sofia Charlotte
What? I missed something? Oh yeah!
HIS! With everything else going
on it is sometimes easy to miss His birthday.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Men’s Bible
study this morning finished study on Adam Hamilton’s “Journey” series. Very informative about the background to the
birth story in the gospels.
Last
evening we were Mr. and Mrs. Claus at a daycare in Des Moines
As we were eating, a father with
four young children came in. They had
seen us sitting at the table and were staring with that look of
recognition. I knew that they knew I was
Santa even without the suit. So, I
greeted them with a Merry Christmas when they came through the door. The father silently mouthed, “Thank you” as
he shepherded the kids to the order counter.
Before we left, Ella went to the truck and brought in some candy
canes. I took them to their table and
gave them to the dad and told the kids that he would decide when they could
have them.
On the way home from Arby’s it
started misting. Very lightly. Almost like a fog settling in. Since it was already below freezing, I was
very careful on the drive home.
After arriving home I was going
through Facebook’s suggested friends and found several people that I knew. So I sent out friend requests. One of them replied that she saw I had
several gigs as Santa. She teaches girls
with emotional problems and wondered if I was available on short notice to
deliver gifts to the classroom tomorrow (now today). I replied that I did have a spot in the
schedule where I could do that. I just
needed to know where and when. Sadly, I
never heard back. I kept checking last
night and this morning but did not get a message back.
Late breaking news: I got a Facebook message this evening. Teri had not checked her Facebook to see that I had said I would be available.
We are going to get a visit from our youngest
great-granddaughter today. As a matter
of fact, they just pulled into the drive.
So, gotta go for now.
- - - -
Okay, great-granddaughter has been here. Climbed all over me. Told great-gran’ma Ella to stop taking
pictures. I, however, managed to catch
one shot that shows her face. She is
much quicker than the digital camera shutter.
She has gone home again and the dust has settled once more. (grin)
We made a
run to Sam’s club to pick up cookies for church. Ella needed some more rice for a recipe that
she is making. We had our choices at
Sam’s. We could buy rice in 12 pound or
25 pound bags. Really? Okay, I know that they cater to small
restaurants etc. Apparently Ella really
wanted rice, ‘cause we now have 12 pounds of it. Guess what’s for supper? And breakfast? And lunch?
I have a
little time before I need to be at church for the Worship Committee
meeting. We are going to put together
plates of goodies to deliver to businesses around our church that are open on
Christmas morning. We’re doing it as a
way of showing that we appreciate the service they provide throughout the year. We are calling it a Shepherds' Run after the story in Luke where the shepherds, after visiting the manger, go through the town spreading the good news.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
2011 December 20
The
furnace is fixed. Thanks to Travis who
replace the old ignition board with a new one.
It lights, it runs, it heats and then it shuts down until the
temperature drops enough for it to repeat the cycle.
Yeah!
Here are some pics of me and my niece and family. Interestingly, for some reason I don't have pictures of the little kids on my lap. Hopefully Krista will send some to me.
 |
| Russ ... in a couple years he might be able to fill in for Santa |
 |
| Morgan |
 |
| Krista |
 |
| Stevie |
Yesterday,
Mrs. Claus and I did a bit of running taking care of getting things ready for
some visits from Santa. We picked up
some gifts to be given out tonight at “Round the Clock Daycare”.
 |
| Derik and I |
We
also picked up some gifts that we delivered last night to Daniel and Derik. I had mentioned Daniel the other day as a
single dad raising his son on his own. I’m
not sure who was happier to see the Clauses at their door, Daniel or Derick.
Monday, December 19, 2011
2011 December 19
Since I didn't post a sunrise pick for Saturday, I took this sunset pic.
Sunday was a great day. Sunday school and church in the morning.
Then I quickly came home and put on the red suit and went over to Cutty's clubhouse. The dining area of the clubhouse had been rented to a family for a Christmas party. When I came in, the kids all came to sit on my lap and tell me what they wanted for Christmas while Mom and Dad took pictures.
We had just finished up with them when my niece Krista and her husband Russ came with her daughters and grandkids. We got the pictures taken and the Christmas wishes heard and then got to have cookies and visit for a little bit. They couldn't stay long because Stevie works nights and had to get home and to bed.
Later yesterday, Ella got a call from a friend who has a son that is a single father. He is having a rough time of it at the moment and a group has donated gifts for his son. Ella's friend wanted to know if we could deliver the gifts as Mr. and Mrs. Claus. We will go into town today and get the gifts and then deliver them tonight. He knows that we are coming to see his son. He does not know about the gifts that we'll be bringing. This should be real fun.
On another note: we have called Travis this morning to let him know that our furnace still is not working. Hopefully that will get taken care of today. Our electric heater and fireplace are doing the job of keeping us warm. However, I want to have the furnace fixed and running in case we were to have a power outage.
That about brings you up to speed on what's happening here at the North Pole for now.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
No Sunrise Photo 2011 December 17
Nope! No sunrise photo today.
I slept in. 'Till 8:30. Then laid abed until 9 waiting for the kitchen staff to get coffee aperkin'. Didn't work though. Kitchen staff took the day off. So as usual, I had to get the coffee going. Ella, who arose the same time as I, fixed breakfast. Our usual: one egg, one bacon, one toast.
While Mrs. Claus worked in the clubhouse, Santa went to the dojo. No, not to break boards. Santa delivered presents to thirty-some kids who were doing a 'lock-in' at their karate dojo (while parents enjoyed the night out kidless).
|
| Me & Mrs. Claus |
Then the night of the twenty-fourth through the morning of the twenty-fifth I'll be busy everywhere. It's a good thing that there are twenty-four time zones to work in. That way I have a full day to get all those presents delivered in that magical midnight hour.
Christmas day is on a Sunday so it will be spent at church in the morning with a potluck for those who have no other plans for the day. Some of us will also be doing a Shepherds' Run on Christmas morning. We will take a plate of goodies and a Christmas/Thank You card to people who have to work on the holiday. There are about a dozen business (convenience stores, clinics, fire stations, etc) within a one mile radius of our church, where folks will be required to work.
Friday, December 16, 2011
2011 December 16
 |
| Welcome back Sol, my old friend. Where have you been keeping yourself? |
It is a bright sunshiny
morning! The sun has found its way back
to Iowa
Hey! I just thought of something;
AWOL (absent with out leave) predates LOL, ROFL, LMFAO and all of the other
computer short cuts by at least a century.
Who would have guessed that the military would be such a trend setter.
Speaking of
odd words. I was leaving a comment on a
blog that I read regularly and it had me type in the verification code word
shown in the little box. You know the
ones that they use to make sure that it is a real live person posting and not a
computer spam program. Anyway the “word”
I was asked to type was “unherfuz”. It
started me wondering who makes up these words.
It also got me to thinking that I should start to collect them and then
give definitions to the words.
Unherfuz (un-her-fuz)
-verb: unherfuz, unherfuzed, unherfuzing
is a feminine synonym
for “shave”.
To remove hair with a
razor
-noun: the act of unherfuzing
-related: also see
herfuz
Thursday, December 15, 2011
2011 December 15
So, what
did you do today?
WE awoke to
find the RV still standing right side up and right where we left it. “So what,” you say? Well … those thirty-four mile an hour gusts
really had us rockin’. I hope you had
everything nailed down at your house if your house is anywhere near ours.
I had the
second Bible study with the folks at Emeritus.
Ella asked me how it went. The
truth is, I don’t know how it went.
Before we watched the DVD I told them that the speaker on the DVD asked
people what they needed to be saved from.
Then I asked them what they thought they needed to be saved from. After an uncomfortable silence of staring
into their laps, one of them said, “The Devil.”
After the
DVD I tried to engage the group in discussion and got nowhere. I had been told that they love music so I
handed out sheets of lyrics for about a half dozen Christmas hymns. Then I played MIDI
music to sing along with. Nothing. I ended up doing a solo.
As we were
finishing up they all thanked me for coming.
One of them even showed me that his room directly across the hall from
where we held the meeting. He said that
this was the closest he had ever lived to ‘church’. Do you see why I say that I don’t know how it
went?
As I left
Emeritus I intended to call Ella and ask if she wanted me to pick up cookies on
the way home, or if she wanted to go shop for cookies. Instead, I dialed Adam’s number. Kids don’t dial and drive! I did have a nice visit him (earbuds in)
while I drove home.
Once I got
home, I asked Ella the question that I intended to ask when I had tried to call
her, “Do you want me to stop on the way home and buy cookies or do you want to
go shopping?” It is a good thing that
she is used to my weird sense of humor and didn’t even blink when I asked about
doing something ‘before’ I came home, when I was already home.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
2011 December 14
What a full Wednesday! Men’s Bible Study as usual to
start the day on Wednesday. I stopped on
the way home to top off the trucks gas tank. A little over twenty gallons.
I wasn’t home too long before we
went over to the senior center in Johnston
We left the senior center about two
thirty and went to Plaza RV in Bondurant and wrote them a check for the 1995
Excel RLJM 5th wheel trailer that we looked at the other day. This wasn’t a trade deal. We still have the Hitch Hiker that we are
living in. Plaza RV will store the Excel
until Spring. At that point we will move
the HH off of our seasonal site and set the Excel in place. It will become our Northern/Summer home. The HH will follow us to Texas Texas when we
return to Iowa
Having finished our business in
Bondurant, we drove into Des Moines
Then it was time for a marvelous supper served before the program.Turkey
Then it was time for a marvelous supper served before the program.
We got back home a little after
seven this evening. I updated the
checkbook and read some of the blogs that I follow and then started writing
this. While I was writing this, Lynn
It isn’t just the day that has been full. I’m stuffed
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
2011 December 13
We slept in
this morning. Neither of us were up
before 8:30. I made coffee and Ella made
breakfast (one egg, one bacon, one toast – apiece). I worked on the checkbook and budget while
she got her pills organized for the next week.
She was
running low on one of her prescriptions so we went to WalMart for a
refill. We paid $4 for what we were
paying $8.98 at Walgreens. While we were
there I also bought a new knee brace.
The one I’ve been wearing doesn’t want to stay on me any more, the Velcro
keeps letting go. I paid half of what I
paid at Hammer Medical for this brace and it is much more convenient to use.
From
WalMart we headed into Johnston
Now we are
home for a nap and getting caught up on reading, writing and watching.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
2011 December 11
 |
| Sunrise? What sunrise? |
Gray day but much warmer (20 degrees warmer than yesterday) It may reach the mid fortys today.
1Sunday
school and church this morning. Then a
rush home to change into the red suit.
We were Mr. and Mrs. Claus at Emeritus in Urbandale
Right now
we have a little break before we go to West
Des Moines
Saturday, December 10, 2011
2011 December 7-10
Wednesday, December 7
2011
I did the
normal Wednesday morning thing by attending our Men’s Bible Study. This is always a rewarding experience and
well worth the drive across town.
Shortly after returning home, we
went to our grandson, Nathan’s to babysit Lorelie. Granddaughter, Audrie has been watching the
great-granddaughters lately. However she
has a new job and was going in for training.
Lorelie does not have preschool on Wednesdays so we got to spend time
with her all afternoon. Charlotte
Thursday, December 8
Most of the
morning I worked on the Sermon and Bulletin for Saturday’s Praise Service. Nathan came out and took Ella in to babysit
while he and Beth had a doctor’s appointment for the first ultrasound of the
new baby bump.
I held my first Bible study at
Emeritus Bible Study from 1:30 – 2. I
really didn’t know what to expect since it is a care facility specializing in
Alzheimer and dementia patients. I was
told to keep it to a half hour and to schedule it after lunch because that was
when people were most alert. I had a DVD
presentation that took about fifteen minutes and then I had Christmas Carols
(printed in large clear type) and had planed to have music to accompany the
singing. That didn’t work out so well
because I did not have internet connection that I needed for the music. We sang a couple verses of three old
standards without accompaniment. We
aren’t going to start a choir but we had fun with the hymns anyway.
Before I left Emeritus I called to
find out if I needed to go to the grandson’s to get Ella. But she was a home sitting in MY
recliner. She said she couldn’t sit in
HER’s because SOMEBODY had left his stuff in it. Yep! It was my stuff. Books and Bible and CDs plus the laptop and
the printer that I had out when I was working on the sermon and the Bible
study. I, generally, am the person who
puts everything away as soon as I’m done with it. However, I just plain ran out of time. Good thing she was only pretending to be mad.
Since she was home, I told her to
get ready and I’d pick her up and we’d go to Sam’s Club and WalMart for
groceries and gas. I felt lucky that we
not out of both Sam’s and Wally World with spending only a little of fifty at
each. Not so luck with the gasoline – a
little over $80. My pickemup truck was
thirsty.
Friday, December 9
I got up
and got a picture of the sunrise today – complete with an inch or so of fresh
snow. The first snow that we had this
year was very wet and heavy. This snow
is dry and light. Instead of shoveling,
I just swept it off the steps and patio.
I had written earlier about the
unpleasant surprise we had when we went to move our Road Ranger fifth wheel and
how that was causing us to rethink our plans.
Since that time we have been looking (mostly online) at fifth wheels and
travel trailers. A couple days ago,
while online, Ella found an older Excel at Plaza RV in Bondurant. There were lots of photos of the trailer and
it looks like it is very similar to the Road Ranger in size and layout. The biggest difference is the placement of
the entrance door. The Excel’s is near
the rear of the trailer (like the Hitch Hiker’s) instead of in the middle like
the Road Ranger’s. Today, being a bright
sunny day, we decided to drive over an take a look at it in real life. The battery was down and the slide out was in
and the baggage door locks were frozen shut, so we didn’t see it quite as
completely as we’d hoped.
I told
the salesman that we were not ready to buy and that we’d check back in the
spring. If it is still there, we’d be
interested. The salesman said that if
we’d take it now, he’d knock $1,500 of the price. I said I did not want to have to store it
until spring. He said he’d store it for
us. Darn! Now we have to decide what to do.
Insert
passage of time here.
Later that same day. We decided that we needed to take another
look at the trailer. I called the
dealership and told them that we would like another look with the slide out and
with the baggage doors open. Dave, the
salesman, said to give him an hour to ninety minutes and he’d take the trailer
inside to thaw out.
So for an additional hour, we did
some praying, soul searching, some considering “what ifs” and then went back to
take another look.
I got up
and got a picture of the sunrise today – complete with an inch or so of fresh
snow. The first snow that we had this
year was very wet and heavy. This snow
is dry and light. Instead of shoveling,
I just swept it off the steps and patio.
I had written earlier about the
unpleasant surprise we had when we went to move our Road Ranger fifth wheel and
how that was causing us to rethink our plans.
Since that time we have been looking (mostly online) at fifth wheels and
travel trailers. A couple days ago,
while online, Ella found an older Excel at Plaza RV in Bondurant. There were lots of photos of the trailer and
it looks like it is very similar to the Road Ranger in size and layout. The biggest difference is the placement of
the entrance door. The Excel’s is near
the rear of the trailer (like the Hitch Hiker’s) instead of in the middle like
the Road Ranger’s. Today, being a bright
sunny day, we decided to drive over an take a look at it in real life. The battery was down and the slide out was in
and the baggage door locks were frozen shut, so we didn’t see it quite as
completely as we’d hoped.
I told
the salesman that we were not ready to buy and that we’d check back in the
spring. If it is still there, we’d be
interested. The salesman said that if
we’d take it now, he’d knock $1,500 of the price. I said I did not want to have to store it
until spring. He said he’d store it for
us. Darn! Now we have to decide what to do.
Insert
passage of time here.
Later that same day. We decided that we needed to take another
look at the trailer. I called the
dealership and told them that we would like another look with the slide out and
with the baggage doors open. Dave, the
salesman, said to give him an hour to ninety minutes and he’d take the trailer
inside to thaw out.
So for an additional hour, we did
some praying, soul searching, some considering “what ifs” and then went back to
take another look.
We looked it over very carefully,
looking for bowed or warped walls, soft spots in the floor, rust, damage,
excessive wear etc. We opened every door
and drawer, tried every light and inspected all appliances. The only thing I could not check was the
roof, because there is no roof ladder.
We really liked it, partially I
think because it is so much like our Road Ranger, which we really have enjoyed. The only part that I’m not thrilled about is
the ceiling height in the living room area.
The ceiling is only about 6’6”.
I’m 6’1” and a lot of my family are taller than that. Well, I guess we just won’t be doing any
jumping around it it. Dave gave us a lot
of ‘alone time’ to discuss it and we decided to buy it. We’ll go Monday to get the money out of
Ella’s retirement account.
We got home
from the RV dealership with just enough time to get cleaned up and dressed for
our Sunday school’s Friendship Class’ Christmas Party. For years and years we have had the party at
a local restaurant. And over the years
it has become more expensive while our aging class members’ incomes have been
decreasing. This year one of our
members, Nita Brower, volunteered the use of their home for the party. We had food catered from another local
restaurant and served ourselves buffet style.
It was very enjoyable and much more relaxing than the restaurant. Nita had several games for us to play and we
had time to visit and just chat. Pastor
Lee brought his guitar and we sang some Christmas hymns.
Oh, I almost
forgot, sometime during the day, I got a call about being Santa at another
party on Sunday. That makes two partys
on Sunday, one at one o’clock and one at six-thirty.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
We
awoke this morning to the lowest temperature so far this season, five
degrees. I took another ‘sunrise’ photo
plus some of the frozen and snow covered lake.
Ella
works 8-2 today and I preach this evening at 5:30. We will have our monthly pot luck after the
service. I have a meatloaf mixed up and
will get it in the oven later this afternoon.
So far today the meatloaf and doing dishes is all I have accomplished
outside of getting this blog caught up to date.There were lots of photos of the trailer and
it looks like it is very similar to the Road Ranger in size and layout. The biggest difference is the placement of
the entrance door. The Excel’s is near
the rear of the trailer (like the Hitch Hiker’s) instead of in the middle like
the Road Ranger’s. Today, being a bright
sunny day, we decided to drive over an take a look at it in real life. The battery was down and the slide out was in
and the baggage door locks were frozen shut, so we didn’t see it quite as
completely as we’d hoped.
I told
the salesman that we were not ready to buy and that we’d check back in the
spring. If it is still there, we’d be
interested. The salesman said that if
we’d take it now, he’d knock $1,500 of the price. I said I did not want to have to store it
until spring. He said he’d store it for
us. Darn! Now we have to decide what to do.
Insert
passage of time here.
Later that same day. We decided that we needed to take another
look at the trailer. I called the
dealership and told them that we would like another look with the slide out and
with the baggage doors open. Dave, the
salesman, said to give him an hour to ninety minutes and he’d take the trailer
inside to thaw out.
So for an additional hour, we did
some praying, soul searching, some considering “what ifs” and then went back to
take another look.
We looked it over very carefully,
looking for bowed or warped walls, soft spots in the floor, rust, damage,
excessive wear etc. We opened every door
and drawer, tried every light and inspected all appliances. The only thing I could not check was the
roof, because there is no roof ladder.
We really liked it, partially I
think because it is so much like our Road Ranger, which we really have enjoyed. The only part that I’m not thrilled about is
the ceiling height in the living room area.
The ceiling is only about 6’6”.
I’m 6’1” and a lot of my family are taller than that. Well, I guess we just won’t be doing any
jumping around it it. Dave gave us a lot
of ‘alone time’ to discuss it and we decided to buy it. We’ll go Monday to get the money out of
Ella’s retirement account.
We got home
from the RV dealership with just enough time to get cleaned up and dressed for
our Sunday school’s Friendship Class’ Christmas Party. For years and years we have had the party at
a local restaurant. And over the years
it has become more expensive while our aging class members’ incomes have been
decreasing. This year one of our
members, Nita Brower, volunteered the use of their home for the party. We had food catered from another local
restaurant and served ourselves buffet style.
It was very enjoyable and much more relaxing than the restaurant. Nita had several games for us to play and we
had time to visit and just chat. Pastor
Lee brought his guitar and we sang some Christmas hymns.
Oh, I almost
forgot, sometime during the day, I got a call about being Santa at another
party on Sunday. That makes two partys
on Sunday, one at one o’clock and one at six-thirty.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
We
awoke this morning to the lowest temperature so far this season, five
degrees. I took another ‘sunrise’ photo
plus some of the frozen and snow covered lake.
Ella
works 8-2 today and I preach this evening at 5:30. We will have our monthly pot luck after the
service. I have a meatloaf mixed up and
will get it in the oven later this afternoon.
So far today the meatloaf and doing dishes is all I have accomplished
outside of getting this blog caught up to date.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
2011 December 06
Here is my agenda for the day. Soon, I will fix breakfast (one egg, one crisp bacon slice, one slice of white bread toast, and as many cups of coffee as Ella and I can get out of the 10 cup carafe), we will make a trip to Home Depot to purchase Quake Hold museum putty, and then around five p.m. we’ll be Mr. and Mrs. Claus for the “Voices to be Heard” Christmas Party.
My stomach is growling and telling me that it is time for breakfast. Ella will probably be awakened by the smell of the maple bacon cooking – although the smell of coffee brewing did not rouse her. I’ll write more later.
we did go to Home Depot. However, this Home Depot does not carry the museum putty. I can order it online and have it shipped to the store for pickup, which I may do.
From Home Depot we made the very short trip to Super Target. Ella wanted some sewing supplies to repair one of her winter coats.
When we came home, I cooked a ham steak and then made a thin red-eye gravy. I thinly sliced a couple of Yukon Gold potatoes and cooked them in the gravey. Then I diced the ham steak and threw it back in the pan with some shredded cheddar. That along with some microwaved frozen asparagus was our lunch.
----- Time Passes -----
It is later, I'll be getting in the red suit soon.we did go to Home Depot. However, this Home Depot does not carry the museum putty. I can order it online and have it shipped to the store for pickup, which I may do.
From Home Depot we made the very short trip to Super Target. Ella wanted some sewing supplies to repair one of her winter coats.
When we came home, I cooked a ham steak and then made a thin red-eye gravy. I thinly sliced a couple of Yukon Gold potatoes and cooked them in the gravey. Then I diced the ham steak and threw it back in the pan with some shredded cheddar. That along with some microwaved frozen asparagus was our lunch.
Monday, December 5, 2011
2011 December 05
Another
cold and gray morning. It is now eleven
a.m. and the temp has climbed all the way to twenty! This is Monday and the forecast is to stay
below freezing until Saturday’s predicted high of thirty-three. The good news is, it is supposed to be bright
and sunny all week. That means lots of
passive solar heat streaming through the windows. Not today though which is to remain cloudy.
I’ve had
breakfast, done dishes and written a story titled “How To Name A Cat” which you
can read at www.StoriesByThomasEWilliams.blogspot.com.
(insert passage of time here)
I’ve now called Pastor Lee about sermon prep for
this coming Saturday’s service, we’ve picked up Ella’s paycheck and taken it to
the credit union for deposit.
On the way
home, we stopped in Johnston at the Senior Center
After lunch
we visited with the site director and filled out all the paper work to be
registered at the site. After all the
paperwork was taken care of, she asked me if I could be Santa on the fifteenth for
a day care group. Unfortunately that is
a Thursday and I’ve just agreed to conduct a Bible study at Emeritus in Urbandale
We did sign
up to come on Wednesday the fourteenth for liver and onions. Ella really likes live and onions. I can’t eat onions. I have an allergic reaction (throat swells
shut and I get a ‘nearly’ migraine headache) when I eat onions. That is a real shame because I love
onions. Now, about the liver. I don’t know.
It’s been a long time since I had beef liver. At one time I really liked liver. However, when I was in my teens, I was anemic
and mom fixed a LOT of liver for me to
eat. When you’ve been ‘force feed’ most
anything, it tends to lose its appeal.
We had a
little flurry of snow (that was not in the forecast) around lunch time but has
quit now. The wind however is howling
around the trailer and making me shiver even though it is plenty warm inside.
I’ve spent
enough time on this post and I’ve got to work on Bible study material as well
as prepare a sermon for Saturday. So,
gotta go. I’ll write at ya later.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
2011 December 04
Ella worked
Saturday evening at the clubhouse and I did laundry. We seem to have developed this routine. That way we can still spend time together
(sort of) while she works.
Sunday, the Lord’s day, I went to
Sunday school and church this morning while Ella worked at the clubhouse.
Yesterday evening, Cathy, the
Pastor’s wife, left a message on Facebook that Lee wanted to talk to me about a
preaching opportunity. I replied that I
would talk to him on Sunday unless it was urgent, in which case he could call
me. He didn’t call so I was curious as
to what he wanted.
Between Sunday school and church,
Pastor and I had a chance to talk. He
has an opportunity to be with family on Saturday the tenth. He wanted me to fill in for him for that Saturday
Praise service. I said that I was sorry
but I had an appointment to be Santa at Lake Robbins Ballroom that evening.
On the way home, it troubled me
that I had turned him down. I knew
that I wasn’t choosing Santa over Jesus.
It is not an either or situation.
The Santa gig was a paying job and we are in need of the money. Before I had driven very far, I called my
friend Lynn and asked her how important Santa was to the party. There are not going to be any children at the
party, just adults. I explained why I
was asking and she said I should preach.
I quickly called Lee and told him that I will be able to preach on
Saturday.
After church, there was a
fellowship meal. We have these
fellowship meals nearly every month of the year. Because Ella was working, I got two to-go
boxes and took them to the clubhouse.
Ella and I were able to have lunch
together. Then we had a meeting with
Cutty’s Activity Committee. This was the
second meeting to plan events for the 2012 camping season. We will have another in February to finalize
the plans. Cutty’s has weekly activities throughout the camping
season. This year we will have several
activities planned both before and after the ‘official’ camping season.
By the time the meeting was over,
it was only an hour and half until Ella was off duty. So, I just waited at the clubhouse. While I was waiting, I watched a PPS special
about Victor Borgia.
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