Christmas Recuperation

Today I'm borrowing my daughter's computer to write a quick note.

This is Renee & Tom's beautiful Christmas Tree. So full & pretty. Too bad they fall so soon. Nick is getting ready to play his game on PS 2.
We had a wonderful Christmas in Maryland. The weather has been cold, snow, rainy & foggy, but today the sun is shining.

Wednesday morning Bill & I went to visit the school where Renee works in the cafeteria & then went to Nick's class room & helped the class make gingerbread houses. (on the left). Noah's class had already done theirs (on the right). We had so much fun with the kids in their rooms. In the afternoon we went with Noah's kindergarten class to a Christmas sing-a-long. The classes are grades K-2 & they did a good job of singing. They even sang Christmas Carols!! What a delight to hear a school can still be allowed to sing them. Renee's school is right next door & it is grades 3-5.
We got Renee & Tom a digital camera for Christmas. My boys are growing up too fast & Grandma doesn't get pictures of them often enough. Maybe this will solve the problem. Now Renee can email me pictures. Here is one of Renee that Nicholas took.
Around 6pm Renee & I went to pick up Hunter at his other Grandparents. He will stay here with them until Tues. night & then come back on Thurs.
Nicholas, Tom, Hunter & Noah (a little fuzzy). Still trying out the new camera.
The boys got squiggly worms & here Noah is putting it down Papa's shirt.
Papa sure can get them to giggle!
All in all we have had a wonderful time. Despite everyone (except me so far) taking turns with the stomach flu bug, we are doing great. It was so much fun to see the excitement of opening presents. What a difference from last year when we were pretty much alone in AZ. Grand kids make the difference.

Tomorrow evening we will be heading back to AZ where, hopefully, it will begin to start getting warmer there too. The nights are cool & the days are cooler than I like, but another week or two & it will be over & we will be warming back up & the rest of the country will still be shoveling. Sorry.

Hoping everyone had a Blessed Christmas & wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year for 2010.

Until next time.....................The Traveling Cardinal's

Counter to Change

Wow! I can't believe the counter is ready to roll over to another hundred. I'll never catch up to Snookie, but it's nice to know I have readers. If it's you, let me know. Leave a comment. I only have 2 people who ever leave comments! Thanks LaVon & Snookie!

A beautiful, but cold day today. I saw frost on one car this morning. He must have been parked in a really cold spot. We didn't have any on the truck, but that car was covered. Sounds like back home in PA/NY they got hit bad. Interstate 90 is closed between Erie & Northeast toward Buffalo. The Kenny Rodgers concert is cancelled for tonight & rescheduled for next Monday. They are advising to stay off the roads.

The cold weather does get me in the mood for baking though. Yesterday I got my first batch of Christmas Cookies done. Will do another one or two after lunch. I'll have to store them in the cupboard outside as I don't have room inside the trailer. I packed one box to take to Renee's with us for Christmas yesterday. I hope they don't get smashed in my suitcase.

Well, this is short today. No pictures again. I guess I haven't been doing anything exciting or out of the ordinary. Take care all & hope you have a safe, warm weekend.

Until next time...........The Traveling Cardinal's

It's Winter in Arizona

Brrr! It's furnace time in the Arizona Paradise Valley! Nights are down in the 40's - that makes me shiver. But I can be thankful to know that it isn't going to last more than a month and the days do warm up pretty good. Northern Arizona really got dumped on Monday night. We got WIND & RAIN. The rain was welcome, but the wind. Wow! I was a little nervous about this "tin can" trailer staying upright! I don't think I went to sleep until after the wind died down around 12:30AM; then I kept wondering what damage we had outside & where things might have blown to & didn't really go to sleep until around 3AM. I had to read to get to sleep. The trailer sure did a lot of shaking. Thankfully we lost 1 foam snowflake off our orange tree, the garbage container blew over but didn't spill, the chair & little tables were on the ground & that was about it. Thankfully that was all. The neighbor lost a window & there were some patios throughout the park with some damage, so we were lucky.

Well, that was Monday. Then Tuesday night we ran out of LP gas in our big tank during the wee hours of the morning. I got up to look at the thermometer & it read 53 deg. inside. That's not my idea of a cozy, warm home. So I turned on the fireplace heater, went back to bed & woke Bill up to tell him we had no heat. He said what do you want me to do, get up & go hook up the other tank. I said no. Under the covers was warm & a couple more hours wouldn't be that bad. The fireplace keeps it pretty warm in here. So when he got up around 5:30 he went out & hooked up our 30 lb. tank.

But then.........he opened the refrigerator & those little "battery" lights inside started blinking again! I turned on the bathroom "battery" lights & yup, sure enough, they were blinking too. I called our friend Jay where we bought the trailer & explained the situation. Sure enough, he said if we checked the converter & it was below 13-14 volts, we needed a new converter. Yup again. So we took a little trip to Camping World. Our friends Roger & Camilla went with us, then we went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. When we got back, Roger came & put the new converter in for us. Things are in Tip-Top shape again. Thank you Roger!!! See.........it's just like owning a permanent house on a basement only we are sitting on tires & jacks! Always something. So now that we have bought our own Christmas present, we are all set. Santa does come early in the west, he really doesn't need snow!

Tonight I had to do laundry since I couldn't get it done during the day. Bill & I played pool while the clothes were washing & drying. No, I didn't win. I can't beat him unless he gives me the game by sinking the 8 ball. He wondered why he couldn't play like that when he plays with the guys & I said because they weren't the lousy player that I was! I lost both shuffleboard games today too. I guess it wasn't my day, but I sure had a good time. Some of those guys we play with are such a treat. One guy, Don, is so much fun to play with. He's 89 & we tease each other a lot.

It has been Bill's week to clean the shuffleboard courts & after the Monday night wind/rain storm they had a big mess. He said they had to clean them 3 times. It about did him in as it was cold & taxing on his breathing. I told him to just do what he could do & tell the other guys he couldn't finish. I don't want him getting down from this cold air.

Speaking of being sick, Renee, our daughter went to the doctor yesterday & she was one step away from pneumonia. He said her symptoms were similar to H1N1, so I hope she takes her medication & gets well soon. She could hard talk or breathe last night. I tried to call her a little while ago & got no answer, so I'm hoping she was sleeping. I told the boys they had to be good for Mommy while she was sick so she wouldn't have to go to the hospital. Told Tom he would have to clean good with Lysol before we got there so we wouldn't get it!

Well, I guess since I have no interesting pictures to post, I'll quit the rambling & just tell everyone to have a great couple of days & I'll check back in in a few days.

So, until next time............The Traveling Cardinal's

Have a Blessed Sunday

I just received this from a dear friend & felt a need to share it.

Clay Balls
A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock . Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.

Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside.. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with you. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.

APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE

THING YOU HAVE, ESPECIALLY YOUR FRIENDS!

LIFE IS TOO SHORT AND FRIENDS ARE TOO FEW!

Do not ask GOD to Guide your Footsteps if you are not willing to MOVE your 'Feet'

Ok, So I Need To Blog Something

Seems like forever since I've written on my blog & right you are. It was before Thanksgiving. By now everyone is in the Christmas spirit of either shopping or baking. I wish I could do more baking for my family, but I don't think it would travel too well in my suitcase, so the less I bake, the less I eat. Although one of these days I will have to make a couple batches of fudge or sea foam to give away (I might eat one piece, ya right!).

Last week when I was reading my friend LaVon's blog (Baker's Blessings), I saw this picture & asked if I could borrow it for my blog. I sent it to my nephew who is a welder. I thought it was a neat Christmas tree project for him. It is made from horse shoes. Really neat idea. So David, here you go...gifts for the family next year!
I've been getting a few more scratch art pictures done since class began last month. Most of them are gifts again. I hurried up & did the surfer to put in my Christmas package to my granddaughter. I couldn't find what I was looking for at the Market Place at 2 parks out here, so I opted to hurry up & do this one. I worked fast, but it went well. Let's just hope she doesn't read my blog before Christmas.
Elk
The weather has been quite cool the last few days. I guess you can say winter has arrived in Arizona. But I keep thinking at least our day time highs are warmer than back home. As I look above at my computer it is now 25 deg. in Warren, PA. It is 58 here. We have been down in the 40's at night & the furnace has been running at night. I'm not one of those people who turn their thermostats down at night. I already paid for the LP gas, I'm going to keep warm!

Speaking of keeping warm.....if we hadn't gotten things straightened out today, we might not have been able to run the furnace! We have been having trouble with our 12V lights blinking a lot for quite a while. Lately when the furnace kicks on they draw way down. Well, for those of you who don't have an RV, you probably won't understand about inverters or converters (we don't really understand it all either!). But after 4 gentlemen coming to our rescue today we think we've got it fixed. Roger showed up at our door this morning with his battery tester. He & Bill proceeded to eliminate one thing or another while I kept busy turning on 12v lights & the furnace. He was pretty sure it was the battery since it would draw down so much when the furnace kicked on. We got Gene's battery charger, but then started reading the trailer book & decided we didn't dare put that on without another opinion. So Gene sent us to Jim in the park. Okay, so now we have 4 opinions. Bill was right. That little battery that comes with the RV isn't enough to keep up with our 12v needs even when we are connected to shore power. So thanks to Jim, we now have 2 parallel bigger batteries. Right now we can read without the lights blinking...and the furnace doesn't waver when we turn on a light. All we have to do is keep track of the voltage to make sure it isn't draining the batteries again. If that happens then we have a converter (I think) problem. Always something!

Today I got this cute email. I sent it to some of my readers, but in case you didn't get it I wanted to share it. It sounds so much like "someone you might know"!

RETARDED GRANDPARENTS (This was actually reported by a teacher)

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school..

One child wrote the following:

We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa.

They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Arizona. Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass.

They ride around on their bicycles and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore.

They go to a building called a wreck center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, they do exercises there, but they don't do them very well.

There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on.

At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it.. He watches all day so nobody can escape.

Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts.

Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night --- early birds.

Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck.

My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too..

When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.

.... PRICELESS

Tonight we are going to play cards with friends from Georgia (MaryJo & Frank) at their motor home. We've decided to drive the truck since it is too cold (& dark) to ride our bikes, & Bill doesn't like to walk in the cold air. Too hard to breathe.

Tomorrow morning will be church & then in the evening they are starting a Bill Gaither video concert series. One of my favorites, so I'm sure that will be our Sunday evening.

Next week I start helping with a Microsoft Word class for 3 evenings. That will keep me off the streets for 3 nights anyway.

So, until next time.................The Traveling Cardinal's

Very Short Post

Well I really was going to write some thing tonight, but I've changed my mind.

I just burned my finger & it HURTS. Back to the ice!

Otherwise, we are all fine. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Until Next Time..........The Traveling Cardinal's

A Sad Day

It is with great sadness that I begin my blog today. A dear friend & former co-worker, Marilyn, lost her husband, Dan, to a heart attack last evening. He was only 59. He was a very talented woodworker & I will always treasure the little 3D wooden sign he & Marilyn gave Bill & I for our camper. Please keep Marilyn & her children Kurt & Sara in your prayers this week.

On a lighter note, here are some pictures of our morning yesterday playing shuffleboard. There weren't as many playing yesterday, but we had a great time anyway. This is the first time I've pulled to play against my hubby. Look at that scoreboard! Yes, he had to pay me a nickel. Such a lot of fun, entertainment & exercise for just a nickel a game! We were playing on this end of the first court. Our opponents were Hermell on the right (from Canada & a curling player) & Dick on the left. Sorry the picture is so dark. The sun was BRIGHT! Our end gets the sun, the other end the shade on this side of the courts
When you play Courts 8-16, most of it stays sunny the whole time. But we rotate back & forth until many more players get here in the next couple of months.
Here Sharyn is giving it her shot - keep it out of the "kitchen". That's a -10!
WOW! I'm 15 points ahead of Bill! He had two 10's & a 7 & I knocked him out every time! He doesn't like to lose, but he had to pay me the nickel. The other end of the board looks rather bad too. 21 to -2! I ended up winning the nickel from Bill.
This is looking down the courts. There are 8 on each side.
Cleaning up after the game. The good wax & the gutter wax.
Butch sweeping. See the Usery Mts. in the background.
Notice how shiny the ones not in use are. Bill has been helping clean them in the early morning hours this week. The Superstition Mts. in the background make a beautiful place to play.
Today we played on the far end courts. Quite a few. I even beat Camilla's brother, Tom this morning. Poor guy had the bad side of a bad court. Then I had Francis telling me where to shoot & he was a great coach. I think the score ended up 35 to 7. I made a nickel the first game! But then I lost to Frank the 2nd game. Bill won the 2nd game with a -6 & -8. His opponent landed in the kitchen the last frame. What fun we had!

Since today is Wednesday, it's wash day again. But since it's such a nice day at least I can get in the pool again.

Got an email from Bill's brother, Denny, & sister-in-law, Gloria, that their grandson, Austin, is playing hockey. Pretty good for a 10 yr. old. This is his 5th year playing. Here is part of the article from the Dunkirk newspaper:

"Youth Hockey
NCCYHA Squirt

Team III 6, Cazenovia Chiefs 2

Mike Meredith continued his scoring ways for Team III with a hat trick followed by a pair of goals from Seth Schrader.

Korey Gee netted one for good measure.

Jarrett Parks was credited with the lone assist.

Alex Majka, Taylor Mattoon and Austin Lewis played strong defensively, while Ben Turner earned the win between the pipes."

That's about all the activities for this week. Bill played pool & poker & did pretty good at the poker last night & yesterday afternoon.

So, until next time...........The Traveling Cardinal's

I've Been S L A C K I N G Again!

I haven't had much chance to sit & write on the blog this past week. Always seem to be running here or there.

We've played cards a couple of nights, gone out for supper a few times and just general running out to the store to shop.

Before I go very far, I want to wish all our Veteran's a Belated Thank You! I did email out a thank you to most all in my address book. If I forgot you, I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional. We are so thankful for all you have done both in the past & the present. You make us proud & we are so blessed because of your bravery & courage. Below you can see our new flag pole we bought in Michigan this past summer. Because of David's welding work, we are able to fly it every day (that the weather is good). We are proud to show our colors & support our troops. When Mark leaves at the end of the year for his 6-7 month tour of duty at sea, we will fly our Navy flag. Beautiful against that blue sky isn't it?
These were the flags displayed by the park for Veteran's Day & the week for each of the branches of service, including Canada.
A Veteran's Day luncheon was enjoyed by all the Vets & their significant others. Many stories were told by anyone who wanted to tell them.
Here the Activities Director was making her speech.
Gene has been busy building a ramp for Tom. He got the project all done & it really looks nice. He did a beautiful job & I'm sure Tom is going to love not having to walk up those steps. He can drive his little cart right up to the door. Now Phyllis might be a little edgy because she lost a "little - very little" of her party space. Maybe that will be incentive for us not to eat so much since that was where the food tables went! LOL
This is our Clean Home & Truck after this side got washed & waxed. I didn't have my sign & my little flags back out when I took this picture. No oranges on our tree this year either!
This is Faye & Gene's trailer. Looks really nice with all the fall decorations. He has been a real sweetheart to help us out with some projects too. He fixed my shoe rack so it's almost level & doesn't slide around in the closet. Works great! Thank You Gene!
For the last 2 days I have been shopping for a new bathing suit. Now wouldn't you think that this being a "snowbird" area & mostly retirees, that they would keep a supply of bathing suits around for all these people who live where there are pools & you can swim 365 days a year????? Ya Right. Well, if they did have any, they were for young babes that still have a body for a bikini. I lost my 2 piece body a long time ago! I finally was directed to a store called Ma's Swimwear in Mesa. What a selection!! A whole store full. Even had a clearance rack. I tried on 8 suits at an Outlet store in Apache Junction on Wed. - no luck. I tried on about 5 from the clearance rack at Ma's - no luck. Now, would you believe I found 2 on the "regular price" rack that were the same style & name brand that I have & they fit me perfectly! Okay, so I had to pay the big bucks, but I bought them both. Even bought a bottle of concentrated soap to wash them with that gets that nasty chlorine out! Maybe I won't have to wear a "see through" the rest of the season!

Bill and I started playing shuffleboard this past Monday. We played Mon., Tues. & Wed. It is really a lot of fun. Poor Roger & Camilla were after us all last season to play & we were just plain lazy I guess. But we found we really enjoy it. So hurry up & get here guys. Maybe we can win a nickel from you! I'm still a little confused on the score keeping when there are only 3 of you on a court instead of 4, but I guess we'll get the hang of it sooner or later. So now I've squeezed that in among my exercising in the mornings. Thursday (yesterday) was the first day of Scratch Art classes again. It was fun to be back together again. We have 2 new gals starting off this year. I know we will grow as more gals return.

Today there was no computer club meeting so Bill & I made plans to go see the Nation's Capitol Christmas Tree that is touring Arizona before it makes the long trek to Washington, DC. The following are pictures taken from the time it was picked out & then cut on Nov. 9th from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest headquartered in Springerville, AZ. That is about 200 miles from where we are.

Cranes getting ready to cut the tree & lay it in the cradle on the bed of the truck (especially made) for transporting the tree.
Loading the tree
Making sure branches are secured to prevent them from breakage.
This was today's schedule for the tree.

Friday, November 13	Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce 576 W. Apache Trail	9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
	Florence Main Street Park 121 E. 22nd St.	1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
	Oro Valley Oro Valley Market Place 11875 N. Oracle Rd.	4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

If you read the information I inserted after the pictures, you can gain a wealth of information about the tree, how big it is, how it is kept watered, information about the decorations made by the people of Arizona, etc.

This trailer will haul all the decorations made. If you click on the picture you can see the red ribbon wrapped around the state of Arizona. The picture is beautiful.
The line to "peek in the door". One on each side of the truck.Everyone who wanted could sign the banners - one on each side of the truck & one on the back.
This was the top of the tree inside the truck
Here Bill is taking his peek
Now that's a Big MACK!
Here I am up on the stepladder signing our names. Well, not really. I had already signed it before, but forgot our last names. So this nice forester let me go back up an add our last name. I reached as far to the top as I could.
I'm not sure what this little boy will remember of this Day in History - the tree or the cookies! One of the churches in the area provided the cookies & coffee at the Chamber of Commerce for everyone. The cookies were delicious too. Not homemade, but very good!
About Capitol Christmas Tree 2009

The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree 2009 will travel from its origin in the White Mountains of Arizona to Washington, D.C. On November 30, 2009 the 85-foot Blue spruce will be presented to the United States Congress. The first time Arizona has ever given the annual Christmas tree to the U.S. Capitol, this historic project is delivering not only a tree taller than a 7-story building, but nearly 10,000 handmade ornaments and 80 companion trees that will be placed in offices throughout the Capitol Complex in federal offices, congressional and senate offices, as well as the US Supreme Court.

ARIZONA’S GIFT

• Arizona’s tree is about 125 years old. That’s longer than Arizona has been a state!
• The Forest Service recommends 6 to 8 trees for selection. However, the U.S. Capitol Architect makes the final selection and determines which tree will be the official Capitol Christmas Tree.

ROAD TRIP TO WASHINGTON, D.C.

• Arizona’s tree will travel throughout the state visiting nearly 24 cities and towns before it journeys to Washington, D.C. The Arizona state tour will take about 10 days.
• The Capitol Christmas Tree 2009 will make frequent stops across the nation on its way to Washington, D.C., escorted by federal officials. The national tour will take about another 10 days.
• The tree will travel on a double flatbed truck. Placed on its side, it will rest in a custom cradle that supports the branches, preventing damage and maintaining the tree’s perfect shape.
• A caravan of approximately 12 vehicles, including two semi-trucks, will escort the tree east. The Capitol Christmas Tree 2009 will travel more than 3,000 miles during its three-week tour.
• The base of the tree is fitted with a plastic bladder filled with fresh water nightly. The tree will absorb about 65 gallons of water each day throughout its trek to Washington, D.C.
• A full-sized semi-truck will be needed to transport all the ornaments delivered to Washington, D.C.
  
  TRIMMING THE TREE

• The children of Arizona will make the 5,000 ornaments used to decorate the tree. The ornaments will be 9 to 12 inches tall and must be made to withstand 3 weeks of harsh winter weather.

• An additional 1,000 ornaments will be made for the 75 companion trees displayed throughout the Capitol.

• About 10,000 LED Christmas lights are strung throughout the tree.
  

• It takes more than a week for the U.S. Capitol Architect and his team to decorate.

• The Capitol Christmas Tree is topped by the same single star ornament used each year.

• The tree will be placed into a hole nearly five feet deep and actually cemented into place.

• Although Capitol Christmas trees are varied heights, when installed they can be no taller than 65 feet. The Capitol landscape crew does not have a basket crane taller than that!

Now that's quite a story. We look at the beautiful tree on the grounds of the Nation's Capitol every year at Christmas & we never realize how much work & preparation goes into getting it there. The weight of the tree is about 6,000 lbs. Two men & an army - now I'd like to see the pictures of them putting up the tree in DC.

Another evening out to eat, 8 of us played Hand & Foot (the women won tonight! Ya!) so the evening is about over.

Yesterday I called my grand kids in Virginia Beach because I was worried about them & the terrible storm they were having. Everyone was holding their own & kids were doing well. They lost electricity while I was talking with Samuel, but I called back a few minutes later & Samantha answered on another phone, so guess it was okay. The pictures we watched on the Weather Channel made us so glad we weren't still there camping at the campground in Virginia Beach, nor at Bar Harbor in Maryland. If you remember the "High Tide" pictures from Sept., you'll remember we had water up under the trailer then & it wasn't even a storm! Tomorrow we will check on the other grand kids in Maryland to see how that family fared.

Congratulations to Renee. She was selected to become a regular rather than a substitute Cafeteria Worker at the elementary school next to the boys school. Then after she finishes her work there, she goes to their school to volunteer doing odd jobs for classrooms. I'm happy she now has a regular job & her days & time will coincide with the boys school days.

Today was Bill's sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Carolyn. Hope you had a great day. On Veteran's Day, Randy celebrated his birthday. A Happy Belated Birthday to you too. (Well I did send you an e-card so I guess I didn't forget, just haven't blogged!)

Tomorrow is our grandson, Hunter's, birthday. Have a great day & a Happy Birthday, Hunter. We love you & good luck with your basketball try outs!

We had an email from Mark this past week & he got stuck in France because of bad weather, but he did get to visit the beaches of Normandy. That gave him some time to contemplate the bravery of those who served before him & the sacrifices they made. He was upset because they were suppose to have been back to Norfolk by the 10th. Now with the storm, he won't be able to pull in probably either. The ocean probably looks like a shipyard. During hurricanes & tropical storms with high winds, the ships are sent out to sea to avoid any damage while in port. Pray for our boys. If they are riding rough seas, they probably need them!

Well, that's all the news for now. So until next time............The Traveling Cardinal's

What Beautiful Weather!

Today was wash day, but that's okay, I don't mind getting that chore out of the way. It's my social time as well as work time. Besides, 2 or 3 loads a week, done within 1-1/2 hrs. is only a speck out of my week. Now I want you to know that 1-1/2 hr. includes hanging some of those clothes on the line & drying in the hot sunshine & getting the ironing done too. And I still had time to sit with my feet in the pool & visit! Can't beat it!

After taking the clothes home & putting them away (gosh it was nice not having to stop & iron when I got home!), Bill & I rode our bikes back down to the Club House. Today was the Welcome Back Party for the park. The lunch of BBQ pork sandwich, coleslaw, baked beans, bread pudding with whiskey sauce, beer or soda was provided by the park & prepared by Taylor Ray's restaurant. Bill & I have ate there several times. It's similar to a Perkin's Restaurant back home. The staff here at the park served 660 people within 25 minutes. Now that is organized! The Activities Office, the Office Staff, Maintenance & Housekeeping were all directing, serving & cleaning up. Everyone did a fantastic job! Thanks, Superstition Sunrise RV Resort for our lunch today.

Here are some shots of the party served on the patio & eaten inside the ballroom, & outside wherever you could find a place to sit. This was one half of the room.
This is the other half of the room.
This was the alcove off the ballroom. Bill is talking with Gene, Faye, Ruby & Jim.
This is outside on the patio. The staff is now getting their chance to eat. Bob, the man in the middle, is our favorite maintenance guy. He's the one that helps us park our trailer! Thank you, again, Bob. I did pay him back with homemade cookies though! He said the hug was enough thank you, but I thought he deserved more than that!
Those eating in the side yard by the patio.
Some were fortunate enough to sit out on the patio, but then there weren't any seats left inside (where it was cool) for the entertainment.
Some even opted to eat pool side. Look at the blue sky!
These are some shots of friends & acquaintances here at the park.
Ralph & Norma
Eloise - She makes the best beet dish for our Thursday Night BBQ Pot Luck. Can't wait for that to start.
Carol & Dave I. We are partners in crime for the Thursday Night BBQ's. Dave keeps us in line & hopefully those of us who worked last year can take turns setting up this year. We are always looking for more volunteers. It's an easy job & everyone helps to clean up so that's not a problem.
Our neighbor Jim. You know those Seniors, they just won't hold still. Picture turned out a little blurry so I had to cut off his wife Ruby! Sorry, friend. You wouldn't have wanted to see that one!
Cleata & Larry
Audrey & Don
After lunch was done, the park provided entertainment for us too. The first part was 3 guys doing comedy. You know the Improv type, some was funny, some was so-so. Not my favorite type of entertainment.

The second part was by 2 of the 3 Branson Brothers. They sang country, gospel & Christmas. They will be performing at Fiesta Fountain here in the Valley during the Christmas season. They are from Branson.

By this time Carol was getting thirsty. I don't think I've ever seen her do this & it was only 2:00!! Dave said take a picture of that! She was thirsty, but she never did drink it all.
We got our trailer washed professionally yesterday. They did a great job & NO SPOTS this year. We waxed one side of it yesterday morning after I came home from exercise & today when we came home from the party, I did the part under the hitch. Since it was overcast & the sun wasn't shining, it wasn't quite so bad. I didn't do the other side though. I may have to do that a little at a time as the sun shines on that side all day long, morning until night.

The following pictures are some I just want to share with you. Since I've been looking at other people's pictures on Face Book, I've gotten to copy & keep a couple of precious memories on my computer.

This first picture was posted by the little boy on the left, Eddie. His sister, Lacy, is shown with him. He graduated with my daughter Renee. They lived in the house next to where we used to camp when our kids were little. You can see a couple people riding bikes - that was the campground & we were right on the corner to the left. If you look at the cute little girl with the ringlets in the lower right corner, that was my sweetheart, Renee. No, the ringlets weren't natural; they were put up in rags to make the curls. She was a pretty patient little gal.
Now this is my sweetheart when she got married! No, no ringlets. I don't think she would have let me! LOL 10-1/2 years go already! Wow, time sure does fly!
Friends Kathy and Tina
Now Kathy on the left above, is the one that posted the wedding pictures. I don't ever remember seeing this picture until she posted it on Face Book. Hmmm. Pretty handsome guy I'm smooching.
Renee dancing with her Dad.Today my niece, Dee, sent me pictures of her dad (my brother-in-law, Bob) & her sister (my niece, Donna) & their birthday celebration this past weekend. Bob turned 81 & Donna turned 51. Sorry Donna, but the closer you get to retirement, you don't care who knows how old you are & you start to become proud of that age! Glad you had a great party.
This is just one of my favorite pictures that was in an email I got a long time ago. Just kind of sweet.
So, until next time........................The Traveling Cardinal's