Sunday, October 7
Today was “High Attendance Sunday” at our church. As part of the celebration, the preaching services were combined into one service immediately after Sunday school. Following the preaching, the Little clan joined other church members in the Total Life Center for a brisket and pot-luck lunch. It goes without saying (although I’ll go ahead and say it anyway) the food and fellowship were wonderful and we had a great time together.After a short afternoon nap, I grabbed the gasoline-powered weed eater that I had borrowed from Ernie and went out to try to carve some weeds away from Jean’s fence line along Eastwind Road. Some of the weeds were so thick and close to the bottom of the fence that all I managed to do was break a lot of the string I was using. So, it was back to the tried and true
method – grab the hoe and start chopping…it took close to an hour, but I chopped or pulled weeds along the outside of the northeast section of fence…that’ll teach me to let it go so long!Jerry and Nancy called to invite us to join them for a hamburger cookout at their house, so we went over there and joined Jean, Jerry, Nancy, and Becky for burgers with all the trimmings and a round of Chicken Foot before calling it a day.
Monday, October 8We spent most of the day working at the Marie Chase Community Center. I had completed assembling the computer armoires on Friday, so now it was time to disconnect all of the computers (10 or 11 of them), move everything out of the room that we wouldn’t need for the lab, and begin hooking up computers in the armoires and setting them where we wanted them.
With the lab being reduced from 11 computer stations to just four, there was a lot of equipment to move out of the room into the hallway. There were also a lot of cables and cords to be disconnected and rolled up to be stored away or be reconnected to the computers we would set up.
All in all, it was a busy day, topped off by my carrying the excess tables and chairs out to the storage garage while Barbara decorated the lab with some things she had found while we were cleaning things up a couple of weeks ago.
Tuesday, October 9
We spent the morning at Mother’s house, going through more of the boxes that had been moved from El Paso but hadn’t been opened. As usual, we found some really nice treasures to take inside to be used for decorations.
By the time we were finished, we had all the cabinets straightened out and reloaded with boxes of things that aren’t slated to be used inside in the near future. For the first time in four years, the storage boxes are all packed away inside or on top of the cabinets that Ernie had assembled three years ago. We still had a number of things without a “home place,” but that will be a project for later in the week.
Artesia hosted the annual marching band festival for the Southeastern New Mexico Music Educators Association this afternoon at Bulldog Bowl. Barbara decided she would take the afternoon off and rest, so I went on down to the stadium and watched several bands, including the Bulldog marching band and their presentation of “Music from the Movies.”
When I got home, Barbara was visiting with Jean, so I went over to the house and we talked for a while before going back to Big V to call it a night.
Wednesday, October 10
Happy 65th birthday, to Barbara's sister, Carol!
Because of the occasion, we decided to spend the day with Carol and Cal in Ruidoso. While Barbara and Carol spent time bonding and making wise cracks at each other, Cal and I just did what we do best...sit around and shake our heads at their antics. It was a very peaceful, pleasant way to spend a day. Since Cal hadn't given in to the hunger mode as we had, we left him to his own devices while Carol, Barbara and I went to a diner for our meal. Carol and I were a little more reasonable with our sandwich selections but Barbara insisted on having breakfast pancakes. Go figure! Once again, I found myself listening as Carol and Barbara volleyed the words back and forth. And, before we knew it, it was time for us to meet up once again with Cal and say our good-byes.
We got back to Artesia around 4:00, checked in with Mother and the puppies, and then visited Jean a while.
Tonight – kick back and relax.
Thursday, October 11
We had a rather lengthy agenda for the day…wash clothes, pack for a trip to Florida, make sure the car is ready, tie up all the loose ends, etc., etc., etc.
We started by going over to Mother’s house to wash clothes while we finished cleaning out the garage. After a couple of hours, we had the garage completely cleaned and straightened, and all the trash carried out, While I oversaw the washing and did some ironing, Barbara and Mother went to the library room and straightened it up. This was no small chore, since that is the “catch-all” room in the house. Still, the two of them working together sorted out a lot of stacks of paper and got them filed away. All is now in order for a visit from Mother’s sisters in another week or so.
By evening we were pretty washed out, so we made a brief visit to see Jean and then went back to Big V to clean, finish packing, and start loading the car for tomorrow’s trip.
Friday, October 12
About all we can say about today is that it was just a travel day. We got away from Artesia at 7:30 am (MDT) and arrived Heather and Andy’s house in Richardson, Texas around 6:00 pm (CDT). All went smoothly until we hit the outskirts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. From there, we just crept along with everyone else.
Tonight was just lazy family time with the kids…Pizza Hut delivery for dinner, Andy and I watched the Red Sox dismantle the Indians in the first game of the ALCS, and we had a good time getting reacquainted with Alexander and Abby.
Saturday, October 13
We started with a rather lazy morning (well, as lazy as a morning can be with a 3 ½ year-old and a 1 ½ year-old in the house).
After a quick breakfast, Heather and Andy planned out the menu for the next three weeks and went shopping while Barbara and I loaded the kids in Heather’s car and took them to Wal-Mart for some necessaries.
It’s really amazing what jumps into a cart when the grandkids are aboard. Without going into details, let’s just say that Alexander and Abby are well prepared for their Halloween activities, and 
have a few extras to boot.Heather went to an event during the afternoon, so Barbara and I watched after the kids while Andy worked in the yard. After Heather came back, Barbara and I left to take care of some things so we could get ready for the next leg of the trip. When we returned to the house, Heather and Andy left again for a while and we got in some more quality time with the grandkids while I fired up the grill and started barbecuing some chicken for tonight’s meal.
Supper tonight was grilled chicken, potato salad, and corn on the cob…yum-yum!!! Afterwards,
it was the usual evening chores involving two young children. Heather and Andy gave the kids their baths while Barbara cleaned the kitchen area Heather hadn’t had a chance to clean.With Alexander and Abby finally in bed, the rest of us settled down to watch the Red Sox and Indians in the second game of the ACLS. We had every intention of stayin
g up for the ending, but the action and excitement of the day had worn us down. Barbara had gone upstairs to bed earlier and Heather, Andy, and I found ourselves dozing off. By the end of the eighth inning we gave it up…after all, we could read about the Red Sox victory tomorrow morning.“What a bargain my grandchildren are! I give them my loose change and they give me a million dollars worth of pleasure.”…Gene Perret
On the road again,
Jim & Barbara
