Quilting? Me? Not!

In  November 2018 we sang in Vancouver, Washington at St. Johns.  It was Quilt Sunday and these photos do not come close to capturing the warmth and beauty.  At one point in the service, everyone touched the quilt nearest them and prayed that it would bring warmth and joy to whoever would receive it.  Some quilts went to Lutheran World Relief, some to homeless shelters, and some to other smaller missions of the church.  
I have friends who are quilters and I find their gifts inspiring!  It is with a joyful heart they have shared quilts with me, and as the recipient of such a gift, I know a little of the joy a quilt can bring.
Lord Bless the hands who labored over these wonderful scraps of fabric to bring about such beauty and blessing to others.  

We have visited many churches with an active group of women who intentionally use their gifts to bring joy to others. Thank you from those of us who can't or do not quilt.

Only in Wisconsin

I am not going to lie, it was really fun.  Following the outdoor service at church, there was a potluck and Bloody Mary bar!  So, here I am saluting my hubby as he laughs at me and sings.  I think Thrivent has nailed the "live generously," slogan at this event. 

Yes, you could also have a beer with condiments. Not everyone feels comfortable with any kind of alcohol at church, save for communion. I find that I did not have a problem and I LOVED sharing the experience with others just to gauge their reaction. :) Ahhh Lutherans.

Well done ladies.

The condiment table for dressing your bloody mary.  

Roswell, New Mexico

We camped at Bottomless Lake State Park, just outside of Roswell, New Mexico, for a week. The bridge making the trip to town about 6 miles had washed out in heavy rains the week before; the trip to town was 36 miles, needless to say, we stocked up and did not make the trip as often as we would have liked.  

This little alien showed up at the lakeshore, I am counting it - alien.

All over town the signage when gracefully possible (or not) had an alien motif. Please note the lamp post. :)

Driving around the park we spotted an alien, but upon closer inspection, it was a dead bug on the windshield. :( 

Helen Horn

Yesterday, early in the morning, my grandma was freed from her earthly body - no more suffering. She had Alzheimer’s and was trapped in her body for years. I will always remember her as a kind, loving, God fearing and best grandma a person could ask for. ~ Juli Lattner

Grandma died on December 10, 2018.  She is the person who taught me how to be a grandma.  She was vibrant and kind. As a daughter-in-law, you hear comments about their difficult or hard mother-in-law, but not in this case.  As Juli said we really lost her to Alzheimer's about 13 years ago.  She left us by inches and it was hard. Thankfully, the Lord gives us memories that happily trigger all the good stuff, and there was a lot of good stuff! Baking, a game of cards, gardening, walking, shopping, playing, sewing for everyone, workday break with a can of Coke, painting, ceramics, church, travel, she was a busy gal.  Grandma loved to crochet, she patiently passed that creative skill along to my daughter who has turned out some pretty fabulous stuff including a blanket she crocheted for her grandma. :)  Grandma allowed me the opportunity to be who I was without "fixing" it.  I have yet to get that one down.  She was not perfect by any means, but she was always ready, willing and present. There are so many people who loved her dearly. 

It has taken nearly a year to get is posted, but she is worth the wait. 

Daughter in law, Jane and her son Benjamin

Some of the grandkids.

Cherries in the Snow a staple of ALL family gatherings. YUM

Nice Legs

The problem started nearly eight months ago. Our NEW HaRVey was not lifting off of the truck and leveling automatically. We had to manually level our self-leveling RV.  This was no big deal we had been doing that for the past 10 years, with old HaRVey, the problem was it should be self-leveling. It is pretty incredible standing by and watching your house level itself. 

We had a mobile RV Repairman come out to our spot in Texas; he was stumped.  Three weeks later we found Countryman Repair, in Foley, Arkansas,  and hauled our house in for repair work in hopes of getting to the bottom of our legs.  As the legs were being lowered/raised, the left front leg FELL OFF!!! I can't even imagine what we would have done. I guess we were at the bottom of the problem.

A leg was ordered and we had to wait 10 days as Indiana was closed due to snow in late January. 

Happy HaRVey :)

Thanks be to God, we were able to stay with friends in Milton, Florida who don't mind open-ended stays!! Truly good friends. It was great catching up and hanging out with Bob and Cyndi.

Our first attempt

One guy working, three watching

Nice Leg. 

I have waited on writing this post as I wanted to say, "our legs look great and watching your house self-level really is pretty cool." 

I began this post months ago and now I can finish by saying everything has worked for many moves - thanks be to God.  
  

Skin in the Game

Let me begin by saying I am truly a middle-aged woman and one of my favorite beach pastimes might be people watching. This year I found myself thinking, "that seems very uncomfortable," or "she MUST be cold." And speaking of the bare minimum, I guess you are never too old for education and in the end, I did get an eye full. In some cases, sadly, you cannot un-see that!

I loved the sound of the waves, the children laughing and running into the water, but a few of the sights weren't really worth seeing, and it was hard to ignore all the bottoms up moving down the beach. 

I loved the temperature inversion going on in this picture...

That's a Good Bingo!

What do Cover All, Picnic Table, Z, and Six Pack all have in common? They are all Bingo games.  I have never played Bingo where money was involved until February 2019.  It was a lot of fun and let me tell you some folks take their Bingo VERY seriously as my friend and I learned.  I was actually "shushed" - a humbling experience.  We played on two consecutive Wednesdays. The first week we played, my friend won $30.00 and the next week I won $57.00.  I would like to say I spent my gambling money on something for the improvement of others, but alas, I blew it on a feast. 

We celebrated our Birthdays in a big way at Joe's Crab Shack, where we ate out on the patio with the beach and waves in our view.  It was a wonderful 60th Birthday party for two old friends who are getting closer to becoming Maxine in real life.

After our BIG win, we have decided to give up our daubers and cross Bingo off of our bucket list.  

Bingo!

Sherwood Oregon

 This space used to be a preschool classroom.  These days it serves as an outlet to help young and new families with the basic stuff every baby needs!  

Kristen, a young lady who is not married has no children of her own but does have a huge heart for mothers. She, along with the Senior Saints (retired folks), spends time 3-4 days a week and by appointment collecting and dispersing their inventory. My daughter and her son came to visit while we were in Sherwood. Kristen supplied us with a pack and play and a stroller as well as toys.     

As we visited I must have asked her in five different ways how and why she got into this time-consuming ministry. Her answer, "the Lord just would not leave me alone.  He kept opening the doors, I kept walking through."  (I know that story) The Senior Saints are using their time and talents to care for others and make a difference.

Kristen is an amazing young lady who walked through an open door.   

The foreground shows items dropped off that day. 

Food for Thought and Travel

Tomorrow we will put Texas in our rearview mirror. We start getting haRVey ready to go the evening before because we tend to have a lot of moving chores to do.  You never want to rush through your moving chores.  Actually, it is best to have a checklist, which we do not ( I can't even believe I am admitting that. (Dave: We used to, until we got our new trailer, but that was only a year and a half ago.)) While it is routine, one false move and a moment of forgetfulness can be quite dramatic.  

We have lost one TV antennae, one lawn chair, a broom, a bin, an outdoor rug, a welcome mat, and a couple of vent caps. Not too bad for 11 years of full-timing! (Dave: The welcome mat was stolen from the truck-bed (ironic, eh?) the bin was secured - well, 'secured' - and the vent caps were ripped off by tree branches.)

Our next jaunt will take us from the Houston, Texas, area to Milton, Florida, about 620 miles.  We will NOT travel that in one day.  We will boondock overnight along I-10. I have found the best way to stay away from junk food is to prepare good snacks ahead of time.  Today I cut up our celery, carrots, watermelon, cheese, and apples, peeled our oranges and put it all in containers.  

Our old haRVey allowed kitchen access when fully slid in, new haRVey does not, ah the trade-offs. We will probably eat out for breakfast because - coffee.  

When we first started this journey eleven years ago, most truck stops had places to park, no sweat; however, we have noticed "reserved" signs on about half of the truck stop parking spaces at any given Pilot or Love's.  We have at times stopped earlier than intended or driven farther just to park at a truck stop. 

Having said all of that I do enjoy a boondocking trip.  It is always interesting to see the people, the countryside, and other RVer's. You never know who you will meet in passing. :)

Texas In Our Rearview

Lake Conroe, Texas

HaRVey moved us to Texas on December 15. We spent three weeks in Lake Conroe, Texas, followed by a stay at Colorado River RV Resort in Columbus, Texas.  Both spots served us well.  It is always hard to move on after parking for three whole weeks!  It does not take long to put down roots, have a routine, and get used to the surroundings. 

Today we drove to town without even turning on the GPS!! A true sign that it is time to move.  Our next stop is Milton, Florida. 

Colorado River RV  in Columbus, Texas