A BUMP IN THE ROAD

Since the last post I have had the stomach "flu."  That means I have not done much to help prepare for the listing of the house.  January 5, 2012 is marching toward me like a swarm of ants heading toward sugar!  

Monday, I went to therapy for my hand and felt fine.  Chris, my occupational therapist was pleased with my progress and gave me more "work" to do.  


You can see that she just LOVES to have her picture taken!   She is sooo good at what she does, she was stolen from another facility.  It is her work that makes the surgeons work look and work marvelously!  


After OT, John and I went to lunch...I felt fine....then we went to GFS to purchase chicken breasts and "buffalo wings."  BW's are my fav snack or dinner accompanied with a huge salad.  Fattening, but good.  


Then, leaving GFS, IT hit.  So here I am today, three days later and finally feeling kinda fine.  Why do these "24" hour bugs now take three days to work perform their damage?  Could it be age?  Nahhh!


Oliver, Olivia, and Noah's vet took three of our large plants / trees today. 


The Ficus tree had been with us for thirty seven years!  Can you believe that?  That's 37 / thirty seven!   It was seven feet tall and about the same in diameter so you can see how much larger the room is going to look without that monster in there.  


I have two more plants to re-home.  One is a Pony Tail Palm also in our family for thirty seven years.  Hopefully Holly, our youngest will take this one.  She has always seemed to like it.  The other is a  Charlie Brown that will probably go to the trash bin.  


Well, that sure wasn't much news, was it.  That is about all I can come up with!  Such an exciting life....well unless you want to purchase a Bernina 1000 sewing machine!  (Stop laughing,,,,,right now!)


God bless you all...have a wonderful Thursday.  






  

WOW! WHY WAS I SURPRISED?

Yesterday, Saturday, was a day of answered prayer.  It was the day that John had been preparing for.  It was the day that he would try to sell his twenty five years worth of HO train, scenery, structure,  building, and collecting.


Friday, I was so concerned that he would be parting with his beloved hobby and that he would not be compensated enough to make him feel good about letting it go.  I prayed about it asking God to bless John's day and that He, God, be in control.


We  got up bright and early and left early.  Arriving at the location of the show, other professional vendors were setting up and they had all kinds of train "stuff."  


John had rented one table.  I don't remember if it was six or eight feet long.  Other vendors had as many as seven tables.  Hummm,  "we are sure going to get lost among all the professionals."  But,  he did bring a bookshelf, which saved our lives!  


We should have filled three tables, but had only that one. We had to make the best of the situation at hand. I arranged his trains on the shelf.  Boxes of railroad cars totally filled each shelf to the bottom of the shelf above it.  John laid out the displays and boxes of supplies on the table, under the table and on stacked crates behind the table.  


We barely had a place for us.  I sat stuffed in a corner and John stood at the side of the display.  

Before the show opened at ten,  vendors passed by the booth and started to buy some of the good bargains.  That was encouraging.  Those sales to vendors placed us at twenty percent of John's goal.  


When John told me his goal, I thought "sure,  sure."  But those first sales were encouraging.  We still had 80% to go though.  I was sure we would never make it.  


Ten o'clock came and shoppers were allowed in the area.  Of course everyone must walk around a scope out everything so they can decide what purchases they will make.  They began to filter back.  


An eight dollar sale, and another for the same amount.  Then, twenty five dollars, then four.  "It's going to be a very long day."  The sales came in off and on and I would tick off each one hundred dollar increment.  


When the crowd begin to thin out about two hours before the end of the show, we were within twenty five dollars of John's goal.  Surely, we can do that!  But the room only seemed to have a handful of customers sprinkled among all the booths.  Will we do it?  


We were so close to the finish line!  We chatted with the vendors around us feeling good about being close.  But no cigar!  


Did I ever tell you that I am a firm believer in setting goals and then working to meet those goals?  BUT, you just cannot force people to your booth and buy.  


Later......a vendor came to us and said "set your price for what you have left."  Say what?  


After deliberation, John gave him a price and after a terrible low ball offer............................ the vendor and John settled on a very fair price.  John had then exceeded his goal by over 100%!  

We feel very blessed.  God does answer prayer.  Sometimes his answer is no, sometimes it is wait, and sometimes he says yes and sometimes he blesses with more than we have asked for.  Yes, we were very blessed indeed and He get's the thanks.  


Today, that room that was full of train "stuff" is much roomier.  The closet is almost empty.  Only clothes remain.  There is no train parafanelia under the bed, on bookshelves or anyplace else.  Just space.  


Now, the next challenge is to sell the tons and tons of quilting supplies, fabric and other equipment that once belonged to John's mother.  Here we have about thirty years of accumulation!  I wish there was a quilt show someplace close, but maybe on Ebay?  Ebay seems so confusing to me though.  


Is the confusion due to my dyslexia?  I can learn something much faster by seeing, reading and doing all at the same time.  Translating from the written page to action is not easy.  


Today we take pictures of products for Ebay.  Hopefully, I can muddle my way through.  Just wish I had a tutor here at my shoulder.  


That's the news today...another step to full time living.  


May God bless you today, the day that many of us worship Him, the first day of Advent.

THERE IS SOMETHING HIDING IN THAT CLOSET!

It is Thanksgiving eve.  One Turkey is done and the other is now in the roaster.  I have read about brineing a turkey, so that's what we did today.  We will see how they taste tomorrow.  Nothing like experimenting on family.  Right?


The majority of the day has been spent getting rid of "stuff."  I cannot believe how much stuff we have.  It is mind boggling.  It took one day to sort through my closet!  Did you know that closets can grow?  Mine sure has.  Not only can I walk into the closet, I could have a dance in there!


We have bags stuffed to go to The Refuge. The Refuge is a Christian organization that provides food, clothing, furniture, training,  counseling and encouragement to people in need.  Before people can be encouraged spiritually, they must have their physical needs filled.  We try to support The Refuge as much as we can.


I have one more closet to go through.  The coat closet is going to be more of a challenge for John than for me.  He has way too many winter jackets and coats.  I have just what is necessary.  He probably has three or four times the clothes that I have.  Now, this guy has some major decisions to make since the motorhome will hold only so much "stuff."


I am more of a minimalist.  He is a gatherer.  But I do have a few things in the closet that I must make a decision whether to donate or keep.  They are the most recent clothing purchases prior to my gaining back the lost weight.  The problem....they are in perfectly good shape.  Hardly worn.  What's a person to do.....I dunno.  I am sure I will make a decision between now and when we list the house.  


I surely do like the lack of clutter in closets, drawers and cabinets.  Tomorrow, I will see a niece who has and collects Fiesta Ware.  I have Fiesta only because I got it when we moved John's mom from her home to ours.  Fiesta -  Another bunch of "stuff" that will not fit into the motorhome.  


We have decided that instead of selling our antiques one at a time, we will call dealers, get quotes and sell to the dealer with the highest bid.  


Now to find a way to sell all of MIL's quilting fabric and supplies.  I did join a Yahoo quilting group with the intention of posting items there.  

THEN there is John's HO trains.  He was building a layout, collecting and constructing trains etc. and has more stuff than a train store!  He is going to sell this "stuff" at a show/sale Saturday.  He has packed quite a few plastic tubs and is working on more.  Oh my.  


I know this is hard for him to "let go."  He has worked on this hobby for at least fifteen years.  It has been a labor of love.  I have left him along to sort, price and to say good-by.  


It is really sad, because I can take my fiber with me and continue creating my art on the road.    I will have both my spinning wheel and my circular sock machine.  They provide the fun money for our trips.  


But!  He is now tying flies for fishing and is becoming interested in rock hounding.  So, he is saying good-by to some thing and welcome to two new interests.  

Yesterday,  our granddaughter, Megan, came by for my sewing machine and brought along Harper, her daughter and our great grand!  Wow! so much fun!  


Her capau took time out from his trains to play with her and they were having a grand ole time!  

She said that she wants to go on a trip with us.  But I don't think Meg will let her go yet.  Rats!  


Maybe she can come along when she's a bit older.  Yesterday, she was six months old.  She's a tiny thing.  


Well, the turkey is five degrees from being done.  Then I can go to bed!  Tomorrow, comes the rest of the cooking.  


Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Let's remember the soldiers who are away from their families to help protect us from harm.  Let's pray that they will be safe and return home quickly.  


God bless you and your families.  

THE NEW FAMILY ADDITION, AND WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO???

Two weeks have flown by since I last blogged.  I guess I am posting a blasted, belated blog.  Or something like that.  

Other than our new family addition, life has been crazy, hectic around here.  

Let me introduce you to Olivia.  This little girl came into our lives in a very unexpected way.  

Many of you know that we have one Shih Tzu, Oliver.  He and his brother, the Noah, the cat have been in our family for two and eleven years respectively.  This picture is of the two boys on the dashboard of the motorhome as we traveled to Joshua Tree National Park in California.

John felt that we were the perfect size family with these two critters.  I was thinking that one more Shih Tzu would complete our family.  You see, we have three grown daughters.  Doesn't it make sense to have three pets?    We have been accustomed to a family of five.  So why not?  Right?  

On our way to our trip to Asheville, North Carolina to do a show, we stopped at the bank to make a deposit.  

Oliver goes to the bank with me.  He runs in and they all make over him and give him a doggie treat.  Everyone loves him at the bank.  I do not dare enter said bank without him.  They would deduct from my account if I didn't take him, I'm sure.  

As the teller was taking my deposit, she remarked that earlier, a customer came in and said they needed to find a new home for their grandmother's Shih Tzu.  Nuff said. Right?  Right!

She gave me the telephone number of the person. I made a bee line to the motorhome and my cell phone.  I punched in her number as John sat in the drivers seat trying to figure out what was happening.  

As the person's phone rang, I filled him in on the situation.  

We are now driving down the highway as I talk to the person.  She says.  She had just taken the puppy to the county animal shelter!  

OH NO!  They put dogs down after a time!  This is an emergency!  We've just GOT to turn around and rescue this poor creature!  

John rolls his eyes, makes a left turn and winds through neighborhoods to finally get to the road that the shelter is on.  

We pull up in front of the shelter and I head in to claim her!  Now remember, this is sight unseen!  When she is carried from her "prison:" - cage, she looks at me and almost jumps out of the attendants arms to get to me.  Oh, oh, I'm in love.

After the papers are completed, I carry her out to the motorhome and Oliver greets her at the door.  It's like he was saying "what took you so long to get here?"  They were best buds at first sight.  They played all the way to North Carolina.

She had no idea that she had a sticks and bricks home.  She thought this box on wheels was home.  And that leads to the rest of today's blog.  

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?

While we were gone, we decided we were serious about full-time motorhoming.  Is that a real word?  

We came home with a goal in mind.  Be ready to list the house December first.  Whoa!  That's a lot of work in a very short time.  

We have been upgrading the house over the last year.  But, it was at our own pace, not with a deadline.  Suddenly, we pop from first gear to fifth!  

We have adjusted our December goad to hopefully, January first.  We still have a ton of work to do.  John is working hard.  With his emphysema, he has to stop and breathe often.  My body is sore from all the work.  We SHALL overcome!  

This is way too long already.  More to come when I wake up at 4:30 a.m. and can't sleep.  (this is becoming a habit)  But who wants to start laboring at that hour?  It's like let's gear up with a cuppa tea or some hot chocolate first.  

Until next time......

God bless you all

AN IMPORTANT ALERT FOR ALL!

Some of this copy and paste did not come through so I am also providing the link to the form in case you want to participate.
http://www.rvact.com/rvact/issues/alert/?alertid=56500581

Action Alert





Consumers: Protect the RV Home Mortgage Interest Deduction


RV Owner:

Late last week a proposal from the members of the Super Committee (Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) included the elimination of the second home mortgage interest deduction (MID). Since negotiations have been kept confidential, with only a few details slipping out, there is no way to know whether this provision will be in the final Super Committee deficit reduction plan until after the plan is finalized. NOW is the time to act to ensure the MID is not included in the final plan, or any future tax reform plan.

Retention of the federal second home mortgage interest deduction is a substantial benefit to RV owners. In order to preserve it, RV owners must start TODAY to participate in an e-mail campaign asking their US Congressional members to oppose the elimination of the MID. This campaign must be started today because the deadline for the Super Committee to vote on a plan with $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction is Nov 23. Further, since the Congressional Budget Office must score the cost of the plan before the Super Committee can vote on the plan, we need to start and finish our e-mail campaign this week.

The very real problems of federal deficits and debt growing to unsustainable levels prompted the creation of the Congressional Super Committee. If no legislation from the Committee is enacted by Congress by early next year then the law, which created the Super Committee, mandates across the board cuts in defense and non-defense spending totaling over $1.0 trillion. Consequently, there is tremendous pressure on the Super Committee to identify a package of tax savings and spending cuts. The final package will be very difficult to influence as the law requires the plan to go to the floor of the House and Senate for an up or down vote. Congress cannot amend the Super Committee's recommendations. Consequently, we are reaching out to the Super Committee and key tax committee members (Senate Finance and House Ways and Means) this week.

Please contact your members of Congress NOW.





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THE CAST IS OFF AND WE HAVE A NEW FAMILY MEMBER

Three weeks post surgery and yesterday, the cast was cut removed.  Ohhh, what heavenly relief!  I could rub the spot that was sending itch signals (very gently).


Now, I have a brace for three more weeks.  This is a critical time with the limited freedom that I have.  The wrong move and the tendon snaps and retreats into the arm. (my own terminology).  If that would happen.....more surgery so I am being a very good patient.  I have the brace off to type this and then it goes right back on.  


We stayed in Townsend, TN for an extra day and then we headed for the Daniel Boon National Forest.  We did not quite make DBNF, but found a Wal Mart RV Campground in Oneida, TN.  


There we began to see that each region, each city has a personality of it's own.  In Oneida,  we saw hard working people, older cars and trucks on the road.  People were proud, hard working and friendly.  Another impression was the loud mufflers and what sounded like 3, 4 and 5 speed manual transmissions that rumbled up and down the highway until about ten thirty in the evening.  


While in Louisville, we noticed that huge loud Boom Boxes were the rage.  As we drove down the street, the vibrations would begin to rattle our teeth, then our seats as we grew closer to the "entertainment".  


In Asheville, NC, we found quiet.  No road music, just Southern hospitality.  I love the south.  Men are true gentlemen and women are more regal.  


Then there is the Gatlinburg area.  If you like bumper to bumper traffic, wild lane changes, road construction to handle even more traffic, this is the place.  Not for me!  Too commercial.


On the other side of the mountain is Townsend, TN.  (the peaceful side of the Smokies).  They truly live up to that motto.  Life is quieter there.  No bumper to bumper traffic, but you still have the potters, the art galleries, great food, great people. Gatlinburg, Pidgeon Forge, Knoxville and the University of Tennessee are all close by if you want a day trip. Ya gotta love it!


Monday was spent at the Kentucky Horse Park.  It is a lovely place with plenty of varried activities.  Of course horses are the center and reason for the park.  Many of the horse associations had their headquarters there.  


The campgrounds were quite nice.  Each site had a large lot for parking on a very narrow pad. We cozyed up to the side of the pad in order to have room at the bottom of our steps.  Toads had to be parked on the grass as there is not room on the pad.  Each of the 260 sites have a picnic table, fire ring, 20, 30, and 50 amp service along with water.  There is no sewer hook up on the sites, but they have two dump stations at the entrance/exit.  


Well, we are home.  Now to put finishing touches on the house so that we can have our realtor  list it on the MLS.  I hope there is someone out there that wants a house with two barns and five acres.  It is a suitable place for horses, etc.  We will see.  


Tomorrow, I'm off to the paint store and to look for the perfect stove for our "new" kitchen.  Have I told you that I really do not enjoy shopping?  Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do!  


This is long enough, I will tell you about our new family member tomorrow.....


Till next time


God bless and keep you in the protection of his loving arms.