The Last Three Weeks

I know, it’s past time. Where are those weekly blogs? Where are the updates? After all, I’m retired, right? I have all this spare time to write blogs to keep family and friends informed, inspired, and in… well, in something. But, alas, it hasn’t happened. The weeks have slipped by, now I’m older and busier. Between Joyce and I we have been 1) visiting people which is what I am being paid for, 2) organizing a Christmas luncheon for which I’m putting down my time, 3) hosting a staff open house which has been really tiring, 4) unpacking and setting up a household, 5) wrestling with pickup and RV problems, and 6) simply being on staff at Salem First. I’m sure there are a bunch of other things, too.

Want to see some pictures of the house? These are taken with the decorations in place for the Christmas Staff Open House. Oh, let me explain that. All four of us on the staff hosted one part of a progressive open house. We did the appetizers, Pastor Doug and Linda had the soup, Rachel (Children’s Director) had the main course, and Pastor Kyle and Christina had the dessert. People did not necessarily go to each place in order. This happened today between 3:00 and 7:00. We forgot to count but I think about 50 or so came to our house. Okay, pictures.

Top to bottom: our living room. I guess it’s a living room because we mostly live there. The TV is in one corner with our couch and recliner opposite. Next is our hutch looking from the fireplace room into the kitchen. Then a table along one wall, and finally the food table for the open house.

Top is the lady of the house stirring her brew, next is Billie helping with the food preparation. She and her husband are neighbors and attend Salem First. Then comes some of the people at the open house. One shows our kitchen in the background and in the picture at the bottom the drapes behind the people are where the sliding door to the patio is located. The fireplace is just to the left in the picture.

This is the “fireplace.” We can’t use the real fireplace because the chimney is not good so we put an electric one in front of it. This was in Ginger’s house when she bought it and she didn’t want it. Now I know why. It isn’t electric. It just has a phony log which doesn’t do anything. So we put small battery powered candles all around it. They worked really well.

A week ago we helped organize the Senior Adult Christmas Potluck Luncheon. One of the highlights was opening the toys they brought. We did the usual gift exchange except everyone brought a wrapped toy. They were exchanged, played with, cooed over, then given to a local group called Family Building Blocks. They enjoyed it and the gifts were fabulous.

Did you hear about the tornado? A force 2 tornado went through Aumsville last week. This tiny community is about 15 miles SE of where we live and is about 5 miles from our church conference center at Turner. The tornado totaled a plumbing company’s building, totaled about 10 homes, damaged many more, and uprooted huge trees. We drove over there 3 days later – after the immediate crises was over. This is a “big deal” for us because we NEVER have tornados! Fortunately no one was killed and only a few with minor injuries.  We took a couple photos of the damage. The bottom one is the plumbing building.

And finally, since this happens only once in a person’s lifetime… Joyce took me out for breakfast for my 70th birthday. Just so you know how bad it is, she had to take 4 pictures to get even a halfway decent one.

Later, Ginger took us to see “Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”  and then to dinner at Home Town Buffet.

I mentioned the pickup and RV. Well, I guess these things happen. The RV leaked around the air conditioner so I took it in for repair. On the way home with it after the fix job, the pickup died. Dead. I managed to coast to the side of the road. Good Sam Roadside Service to the rescue. They brought the RV on home (it happened only 2 blocks away). They took the pickup to the repair guy. The easy, cheap fix he thought it would be, wasn’t. So, a small fortune later we have the pickup back and the RV in our driveway. Now there is another leak in another spot. I covered it with a tarp!!! We’ll worry about it later.

Come and see us. We might be home. We night not be. Better call first. I’ll try to be more consistent in blogging so until next time… hang in there.