A Little Christmas Part 3-4-5

Sunday, December 21 – Saturday, December 27, 2008

Sunday, December 21

Happy Birthday to Heather Dondis in Richardson, Texas!!!

We got up fairly early this morning and got ready to church with Heather, Andy, and the kids. They attend Lake Pointe Church, about a half-mile from their home. After putting Alexander and Abby in their Sunday school groups, we went into the auditorium for a song service of traditional Christmas music (although some of the settings were less than traditional) and a wonderful sermon from the teaching pastor on re-gifting, with the point being well made that Christians have received the greatest Gift ever, and should be leading others to the point where they can also receive it.

When the service was over and the kids were headed home, Barbara and I drove to a Sonic to buy a takeout lunch for everyone. When we got back to the house we found that Andy had gone out shopping for a special birthday gift for Heather, but soon we were all back together and enjoying our meal.

When the little ones had finished their naps, we all gathered in the living room for our family Christmas…the third one for us and the first for them. As we have said so many times, with a family spread over the country the way ours is, Christmas is when and where we make it, and today was Christmas on Norwich Drive in Richardson.

Along with the handing out of gifts, the tearing of wrapping paper, and the oohs and ahs, came lots of pictures so we could have a photographic history of a wonderful Christmas gathering of the family.

Later in the evening we all drove down the road to the Brazil Café, Heather’s choice of restaurants for her birthday dinner. I asked our waiter about any special birthday surprises the restaurant staff might have available, but found that they don’t do that sort of thing, so we just made do with lots of conversation and well-wishing among ourselves.

Back at the house we began the process of gathering everything up and organizing it so we could get up tomorrow morning, pack the car, and head off to Mineola for our next round of celebrations.

Monday, December 22

After everyone was up and stirring around this morning Heather fixed French toast for breakfast. One of the gifts Andy gave Heather was an ice cream maker. He was so anxious to try it out that he made a batch of ice cream while Heather was fixing the toast, and so we had an additional topping for our toast – rum-flavored homemade ice cream. It took us until we were 64 years old to have such a thing, but it was worth the wait…just hope we don’t have to wait another 64 years to have it again!

When we were done with breakfast and had the kitchen cleaned up, we started hauling things out to the car and stowing them away for the next leg of the journey which was, fortunately, a rather short one. We then said goodbye to the kids and started the 100 or so mile drive to Mineola.

One of our favorite stops between Richardson and Mineola is the Tanger Outlet Mall at Terrell, not quite halfway between the two towns, We decided we should stop to check out the specials at a couple of the stores as we had a couple of other gift ideas in mind. Some days we don’t find anything we like at the mall, but today seemed to be just our day as we found perfect gifts; it was more than well worth the time we spent.

With our new purchases stashed (or should we say “crammed”” into the vibe, we continued our journey east on I-20 to Lindale, where we stopped at Sonic for a quick hamburger before driving the final 25 miles to Mineola.

We had talked to Ernie on the phone while we were in Terrell and he told us he had already picked up our mail at the post office, so we drove straight to Mother’s house where we started getting caught up on all the latest happenings. It had been a little over a month since we left Mineola to return to Artesia, but we quickly and easily slipped back into conversations, just as if we had taken a quick break to go to the kitchen for a cup of coffee or a cold Diet Coke.

T.J. came over after a bit and visited. When she left, we got a load of clothes going in the washer and dryer. When they were all done, we drove over to T.J.’s house, our home away from home this trip.

Tuesday, December 23

Today was a flurry of activities. We made an early morning run to Wal-Mart to buy the “fixins” for tonight’s “Christmas dinner.” We made it easy on ourselves with a menu of crock pot roast with all the trimmings. T.J. had cut out a recipe for focaccia bread that she wanted me to try, so we got the ingredients for that as well.

With the roast going in the crock pot, we left the house and went downtown to look for some special gifts that we would need along the journey. Usually we are kind of knocked out by the selections in the old stores in downtown Mineola, but today wasn’t one of those days, and we eventually left the downtown area with only one purchase in hand.

The rest of the day was spent visiting Mother, Ernie, and Billee and shopping at Wal-Mart for necessities for the season. I did take some time at Mother’s house to uncover the motorcycle and fire it up in hopes that the weather would be good enough to ride it back to Artesia (via San Antonio and Lubbock). Fortunately, the new battery I installed in July was holding up well and, with a little patience and coaxing, the engine roared to life.

We also spent some time digging through boxes of winter clothing that we had left behind when we moved Big V to Artesia. We still don’t know what we were thinking, but most of our winter clothes and all of our Christmas decorations were stored in Mother’s garage in Mineola, while we needed them in Artesia…guess planning ahead wasn’t our strong suit that week!

Tonight we all gathered at T.J.’s house for our fourth Christmas celebration of this season. We enjoyed a great meal and lots more conversation before retiring to the living room to hand out gifts. Since Mike and Kelly were spending this Christmas in Arizona with her family, they had mailed their packages to Mineola, so we had the bonus of receiving gifts from them.
It goes without saying (except that we’ll say it anyway) that a wonderful time was had by all tonight…what a great way to celebrate the season!

When Mother, Ernie, and Billee had left, we helped clean up some of the mess and then began making what sense we could of all our personal “stuff.” We had been thinking that we should gain room in the car when we left things at other folks’ houses, but we keep picking up more than we left, so the Vibe is full to overflowing.

We did at least get things in order, but decided to wait until tomorrow morning to load the car…just way too much excitement already today.

Wednesday, December 24: Christmas Eve

For the most part, this was a travel day…Point A to Point B. After an early breakfast at T.J.’, house, we loaded the car and drove over to Mother’s house to visit a bit before leaving.
Mother had received some really cute outfits for Christmas last night, so we asked her if she’d pose for a few pictures.

She was a really god sport and was dressed in the workout suit that Leah and Ryan had given her when we arrived. After taking a few shots of her, we turned our attention to Ernie and Billee while Mother changed clothes.

By the time we finished them, Mother was back and dressed in a new blouse and slacks combination that we had found for her. We took some more pictures, I had a cup of coffee, and then it was time to hit the road once more. Unfortunately, we decided that we should leave the motorcycle behind and pick it up on another trip. With 300 miles of holiday traffic ahead of us and uncertain weather conditions for the weekend, the vote was for discretion over valor.

We said our goodbyes, drove to the post office to check for last minute mail, and then headed down U.S. 69 toward Tyler. After a quick stop to fill the Vibe’s thirsty gas tank (gas was $1.39 at the Valero station in Lindale), we took off toward San Antonio.

We made a couple of stops along the way, but generally made good time, arriving at John, Carol, and Randi’s house around 4:00 p.m.; not early enough to beat all the traffic, but there might not have been a time early enough to do that today.

Once we arrived at John and Carol’s house, the Christmas festivities began again. Everyone got busy wrapping last minute packages and placing them under the tree in the living room…sure couldn’t tell that there is talk of a recession by the looks of that tree!

Taryn and Rhett were at the house when we arrived and step-son Kris came by when he got off work. At 4:45 we all drove down the road to Bandera Road Christian Church for a Christmas Eve service…decidedly untraditional by our standards, but there was a packed house for the service, as there was for both the previous and later services.

When the service was over, we all returned to the house for the traditional meal (all kinds of snacks including sausage balls, taquitos, cheeses, crackers, cookies, fudge…you name it, and it was probably somewhere on the table top.

From food we promptly moved to the distribution and opening of Christmas gifts, with the lion’s share going to Randi and Rhett, but with everyone sharing in the bounty. Of course, we had a great time watching two-year old Rhett open his packages, set aside the toys inside, and play with the boxes and wrapping paper. Soon though, he caught on to what was happening and had a wonderful time trying out all his new presents.

The night was filled with great cheer and celebration as the family members shared in multiple conversations and watched each other enjoying their new gifts.

Thursday, December 25: Christmas Day, 2008

Merry Christmas to one and all!!!

We all took our time getting around this morning. At some point we gathered in the living room while John, Carol, and Randi opened their Christmas stockings and distributed a couple of packages that had been missed last night. Kris, Taryn, and Rhett came in later and more packages were passed around.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying a family Christmas…talking, watching TV, catching a ball game or two, watching Rhett play with his new toys, watching John play with HIS new toy (a new Wii system), and Randi and Barbara playing washers (Ryan and Leah sent it to their family via the Santa Jim & Barbara Express).

The truth is that pictures can tell much more about the day than words can, so the words stop here in order to get out of the way.

Friday, December 26

It was another lazy morning around the Colwell house in San Antonio…Carol fixed a nice breakfast and then we just took our time getting around and making sure we were ready for the day.

The plan for today was to shop until we dropped, and we carried out that plan very well. We have to admit that we have never been fans of “Day-After Shopping,” but John and Carol had a different plan for us. By 11:30 we were at La Cantara shopping mall along with about 3 kajillion other crazy people. The parking lot was so full that we finally dropped the girls off at one of the entrances and then John and I cruised the lots for 30 minutes looking for a parking place. We finally gave up and paid $5.00 for valet parking, something I’ve never done (because I’ve never heard of it at a mall).

After prowling the mall for a couple of hours we loaded up in the car and went to some other places, looked, ate, and then looked some more. We finally finished our shopping around 7:30 p.m., after a full 8 hours of looking at everything we could possibly see and/or be interested in.

Now we know why we’ve never participated in marathon shopping…it’s way to difficult and exhausting.

Back at the house we settled in for an evening of snacking and watching movies until about 1:30 a.m. and finally called it quits.

Saturday, December 27

Happy 5th Birthday to grandson Alexander Dondis in Richardson, Texas!!!

Happy Anniversary to Leah and Ryan McQuitty in Liberal, Kansas!!!

Would you believe it? Today was a repetition of yesterday!

After a rather slow start around the house, we headed out in two cars for breakfast at The Egg and I, a trendy little restaurant that had slow service, but not slow enough for them to get the orders right. But, we were with family and enjoying ourselves, and that’s what mattered for today.

After breakfast, Carol and Randi went to get manicures and pedicures while John, Barbara, and I hit the shop-looking trail once again. Our first stop was at Shepler’s, a western wear shop, where we looked for a nice straw hat for me. Dr. Kaminski gave me strict orders to wear a hat that would shade not only my scalp, but as much of my face as possible. I decided that with the kind of work I do around Jean’s place, a western style hat would be just the ticket…all I had to do was to find one that didn’t look too ridiculous on me. We really got the idea from Spencer Plett when we visited at their house in Liberal at the beginning of this trip. Spencer happened to be wearing a hat that not only looked good on him, Barbara also thought it looked good on me when I tried it on.

After looking through a variety of styles and sizes at Shepler’s, we finally came away with a hat that should serve well for both work and casual wear, although the final decisions will come from those who see me with my new topper.

From western hats we moved on to electronics, looking for a new laptop for Barbara. With all the journals, pictures, and DVD’s that she’s created and edited over the last 2 ½ years (not to mention all the travel that we’ve done) her Dell has taken a real beating. The top has a broken hinge and won’t close properly, and the backspace key is missing. The computer is still useable, but we decided that it would be better to retire it and get another one, keeping the Dell for only DVD work.

The problem today was to find a computer with all the memory that she would need at a price we were willing to pay. And, while we eventually found some on the display counters at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Circuit City, we were told that all of the computers we liked were marked for clearance and had already been sold…not what we wanted to hear.

After giving up on the computer search, John and I took Barbara to yet another shopping mall to join up with Carol and Randi, and then he and I took off on our own. After driving all over the city (literally), we did find a Best Buy that had just the computer we wanted, so I bought it while we had the chance…figured that prices in San Antonio would probably be better than anywhere else we were likely to be.

We later hooked up with the girls and did some more shop-looking before returning to the house for the evening. Carol fixed a nice dinner while Barbara and I took the Vibe to Wal-Mart to get gas for tomorrow’s trip (paid $1.33 a gallon for it – our best price yet).

Back at the house we settled in to eat and then spend the evening watching TV, talking, and playing games. We gave the kids an electronic Family Feud game as part of their Christmas, and wanted to see what it was all about.

Tonight was not an extended session for us. Barbara went up to bed at 10:00, and I followed around 10:45…had to get our beauty sleep for an early start and the long drive ahead of us tomorrow.

“The best of healers is good cheer.” - Pindar

Finishing our visit in San Antonio,
Jim & Barbara

A Little Christmas Part 1-3

Sunday, December 14 – Saturday, December 20, 2008

Sunday, December 14

We were so happy to be back at First Baptist Church in Liberal this morning. Ryan didn’t get in from his job until around 5:30, so he stayed ho me and slept while Leah went to Sunday school and church with us. While Leah was in her class, Barbara and I joined the group that is headed up by our good friend Don Witzke. We have yet to find a class that meets our needs as much as this one does, and we thoroughly enjoyed joining in with them for today’s lesson on the importance of missions.

Sunday school was followed by a great church service with Pastor David Bagwell delivering a heartfelt (and very pertinent to us) sermon. Afterwards, we got to visit a number of friends that we left behind in Liberal when we retired.

I had started my brown-in-bag chicken before we left for church, so when we returned to the house, we had a meal of baked chicken with potatoes, onions, and carrots – a meal fit for a king.

The afternoon was spent in each of us making multiple trips to various stores. Barbara and I went to Maurice’s, J.C. Penney, and Cato’s to do some shopping, while Leah and Ryan went their separate way. Later, Ryan and I made a Wal-Mart run.

Since Ryan was probably going to be called out on jobs over the next few days, we decided to celebrate Christmas with them tonight. Our gift exchange was very meaningful, with special and very thoughtful presents given and received. Of course, there was also a great deal of time given over to taking lots of pictures.
Later, Ryan and Leah got to preview some of the projects that Barbara had been working in to give to other family members as we see them this Christmas season.

Monday, December 15

Barbara stayed home to work on one last DVD and enjoy some down time this morning while I did my “back to school” thing. I always enjoy going up to Liberal High School to visit teacher friends (at least, those who are still there – there’s been quite a turnover in staff in the last two and a half years). Those folks were both family and friends for 17 years, and we will be forever tied together through the experiences, both personal and professional, that we shared at LHS.

I went back to the house at noon to join Barbara, Leah, and Ryan for lunch, and then made a visit to my dermatologist, Dr. Mark Kaminski, one of the top practitioners in his field. I didn’t plan on getting to see the doctor today…just wanted to get an appointment sometime in February or March, and have him refill a prescription to tide me over until then. I scheduled an appointment for March 31 (the earliest opening in his schedule), but was told that I couldn’t get the prescription refilled until after the appointment because it had been over a year since my last visit. Donna, who schedules appointments, took my name and number and said she’d visit with the doctor to see if he might be able to work me in tomorrow.

Imagine my surprise when, after being back at the house for less than half an hour, Donna called miracle!

I got back to the office a little before 3:00 and before long I was in the examining room. I knew I was having some problems, but was surprised when Dr. Kaminski told me that instead of the 8 spots on my scalp and face that he treated a year or so ago, there were now 18. He dug out his trusty nitrogen gun and blasted away and afterward gave me the lecture about wearing a hat and using sun block regularly…maybe I’ll finally get it through my think head that I need to start doing what he tells me.

Tonight Barbara and I went out to Danny and Charlene Plett’s house for chili and conversation. We were joined by Luz Riggs, who had taught at West Middle School with Barbara before we got her to transfer to the high school. Charlene, Danny, and Luz were among the Odyssey of the Mind parents of a team we had that went to the World Finals competition for six consecutive years before we retired, so we had lots of things to talk about.

Spencer Plett, Danny and Charlene’s younger son and a member of that OM team, was home from Manhattan, Kansas, on his Christmas break, so he also joined us for the meal.

Too soon the party had to end; we needed to get back to the house and everyone else had to go to work tomorrow morning, so we all said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.

We hadn’t been home very long when the doorbell rang…it was Jacob Riggs and Sergio Padilla, also OM team members, who heard that we were in town and came by to visit and get us caught up on what they have been doing. Both are currently attending Seward County Community College in Liberal, but will be transferring to Wichita State University next year.
Tuesday, December 16

It was another busy day of appointments and visits. We took our time getting around, but had a much-needed appointment with Mon Del Anthony at 11:00 to get our hair cut. We’ve “made do” the last few months, but it was definitely time to let Mon Del get us back in shape.

After getting shorn, we stopped by the USD 480 district office to take care of some business there and visit some of the folks who we remembered from our days in the district. It was great to see Cheryl Carson, Terry Adams, and Jerry Clay again and to talk with them for a few minutes.

We went back to the house for a bit and then paid a short visit to the Edward Jones office to review our accounts with Jeff Weeast. With the current state of the economy and the relatively small amount we have on deposit there, it didn’t take very long for a thorough review (unfortunately). But, it was great to visit with Jeff and with Aleta Arnold, both of whom are parents of kids that we had in school when we were teaching in Liberal.

We made a last visit to the high school so Barbara could visit with some folks there while I wandered around and got caught up with a few of the teachers I had missed yesterday, and then went to Kitch-Brenneman Funeral Home to pay our respects to our good friend Tom Shumate. Tom’s funeral ill be tomorrow morning, but we will be unable to attend due to previous travel commitments.

Leah joined us tonight as we attended the viewing for Tom at First Baptist Church. A large number of church members and other friends were there, so we got to see some friends that we had missed the last couple of days, as well as to talk with the Shumate family, Kristen, Daniel, Andrew, and Verva Jean.

Back at the house we got busy packing for tomorrow’s trip, trying to get as much as possible stashed in the car so we could make an early and orderly getaway from the house. We stayed up and talked with Leah and Ryan until we had all run out of words and were just wrung out, so we said good night and goodbye and went to our separate corners.
Wednesday, December 17

We got up early, finished loading the car, and were on the road by 6:48 this morning, making our way east on U.S. 54 to Wichita and then up to El Dorado before catching I-35 for the rest of the trip to Lenexa. It was cold and cloudy all day (high temperature of 20, and that didn’t last more than a few minutes), but the roads were relatively clear and the trip was without incident.

We got to the Lenexa Days Inn around 2:00 p.m. and, after unloading the car and getting the room more or less set up, dropped off for about a one-hour nap…guess the late night and 400-mile trip just wore us out.

We went over to Jim and Whitney’s house at 5:30 to visit with them and get caught up on the latest exploits of Little Jimmy. Jim took us all out to eat at a new pizza place and then we returned to the house to talk some more, play with Little Jimmy, and watch a “Little Jimmy” DVD that Barbara had made for a special Christmas gift. It was all great fun, but the kids had to get Little Jimmy ready for bed and themselves ready to go to work in the morning, so we settled on some plans for tomorrow and returned to the Days Inn where we called it a day and settled in for the night.

Thursday, December 18

Today was pretty much a goof-off day for us. It was miserably cold in Lenexa, so we just slept in and did a lot of nothing for a while.

Eventually, we had to go out and do some grocery shopping. With both Jim and Whitney working today, we decided last night that we would fix a Puerto Rican meal for them and have it ready when Whitney got home around 6:30; but first, we needed to buy the things we needed for those special recipes that Margarita and Maria taught us last March. We first went to a Wal-Mart just off 75th Street, but found that they didn’t even carry groceries…so much for our plan of one-stop shopping. Next, we found a Hy-V grocery store that had everything we needed except the sofrito. We went on to the house and unloaded everything and while Barbara started work on a cake, I went to two other stores to look for sofrito; but I couldn’t find any, so I just had to make do by substituting some Pace’s picante sauce…definitely not the same thing, but an acceptable substitute.

Back at the house we worked together to get all the dishes put together in time for Whitney and Jim to get home. At the same time, we got to visit with Abby (formerly Reimer), who watches Little Jimmy while Whitney and Jim are at work.

Jim got home first and took over the babysitting duties and then Whitney arrived around 6:20, just as the food was ready to put on the table. Everyone (including Little Jimmy) was hungry by then, so we all sat down to a meal of Puerto Rican chicken, rice, and black beans…yum-yum!
After dinner we cleaned up our mess in the kitchen while the kids spent some time together and then it was time for the next round of Christmas. We gathered around the tree and exchanged gifts and visited until it was time for them to get Little Jimmy ready for bed and us to go back to the motel and pack for tomorrow’s trip.

Friday, December 19

We both slept in a bit longer than usual this morning, but it was okay since we needed to wait for the sun to get up and some of the early morning traffic to clear before we hit the road again. We finally got away from the motel around 8:45 and made our way down to Ottawa, where we stopped to gas up the Vibe and grab some McBreakfast.

From there on it was just another travel day, although we did enjoy the gradually rising temperatures as we headed south through Tulsa, Okmulgee, Henrietta, and McAlester on our way to Durant, Oklahoma, where we stopped for the night.

Saturday, December 20

Happy 64th Birthday to Jim…now we’re both the same age again!

After eating breakfast at the motel, we got in the car and continued our journey south to Richardson and the third of our stops on the 2008 Christmas Odyssey.

Heather, Andy, and the kids were out shopping and taking care of business when we arrived at 11:15 (earlier than we had planned), so we took the time to get the car unloaded and do some gift wrapping. It was really nice to be outside with the sun shining and the temperatures in the mid-60’s…much warmer than we had been in either Liberal or Lenexa. We’re thinking that all the kids ought to move to south Florida or even Puerto Rico!

The kids got back a little before noon and we got moved in and set up to stay a couple of nights. I set up the bread maker and started cranking out loaves of bread to give to Heather and Andy and to take to the family in Mineola.

We spent the afternoon talking, playing with Alexander and Abby, and doing a little more shopping. Barbara went out to the store while Alexander, Abby, and I took our naps. Then, it was time for Barbara and me to go back out to get some more things we needed for the rest of our trip.

Heather and Andy whipped up a delicious birthday dinner…grilled steaks, baked potatoes, creamed spinach, and rolls…what a great way to celebrate a special day!

When we were finished with dinner, we took a short break and then gathered around the table again for birthday celebrations for Alexander and me. Alexander’s birthday isn’t until the 27th of this month, but we wanted to celebrate while we were here, so we just doubled up. It was a great time for all, with two cakes and some very thoughtful gifts.
The rest of the evening was spent in more visiting as Alexander and Abby took turns getting their baths and then coming out to play with Grams and Gramps.

“Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.” ~Washington Irving

Having a wonderful time with Heather, Andy, Alexander, and Abby in Richardson, Texas,
Jim & Barbara

A Little In-Between Time

Sunday, December 7 – Saturday, December 13, 2008

Sunday, December 7

Lest we forget: 67 years ago today on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japanese naval air forces attacked United States bases at Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field in Hawaii, drawing the United States deeply into World War II. In requesting Congress to issue a Declaration of War against Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared this as “a day that will live in infamy.”

Today dawned bright and beautiful. As we tried to decide where we would go to church this morning, the thought came to us that if we hurried to get ready, we could attend the service at the J-Bar-J Country Church in Ruidoso, so that’s what we did. Getting cleaned up and dressed in near record time, we hopped in Big V and headed to Ruidoso, enjoying the beautiful morning and the scenery along the way.

We slightly misjudged our leaving time and the starting time of church, so we missed the singing (a part of the service we dearly love), but got there in time to hear a wonderful sermon.

After church we did some shopping (they have a new Dollar Tree store and we spent well over an hour looking at everything in it), had a meal, and then headed back to Artesia to try to beat sundown (the sun sets a little before 5:00 in Artesia these days, cutting our traveling time pretty short).

Barbara called Cal and Carol as we came through Roswell and attempted to call Jerry and Jane, but we missed them somehow.

After stopping to see Jean when we returned home, we drove across the lot to Big V, took all of our purchases inside, and began preparing packages to send to some family members that we won’t get to see this Christmas season.

Monday, December 8

Today began one of the busiest weeks of the season for us. We got up early (It was so early that I was able to step outside and take some pictures of a gorgeous Artesia sunrise) and I fired up the bread maker while Barbara worked on her projects. A little after 9:00 I drove the Vibe to town to see about getting a couple of new tires…the rear tires were originals with more than 82,000 miles on them – a lot of miles since December 20, 2004, and were showing too much wear. I found that Forrest Tire Co. didn’t have the tires in stock and wouldn’t have them until Friday afternoon, but they did locate a set in Hobbs, so I had them put a hold on a couple and said I’d drive over there either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Since it was pretty nice outside, I decided to do a little work around the place, doing some mowing in areas that I hadn’t gotten to yet and cleaning trash out of the fences. Around noon I noticed that clouds were building up in the north and the wind was starting to pick up. As I finished the job I had set out to do, the wind started howling and the dark clouds got closer, so I quickly put the mower away and hurried back to Big V, just as a weather front arrived at 66 miles per hour. The dark clouds weren’t the rain I thought might be coming in; instead, they were huge clouds of dirt and sand. Because of the direction from which the wind was blowing, the north side of Big V, the side usually protected by the barn, began shaking and rattling; so much that we decided we’d better close it to prevent any damage to the awning that covers the slide-out.

Much to our dismay, the slide-out came in about four inches and then stopped dead. We had a set of dead batteries for some reason and couldn’t even start the engine to give the house batteries a boost. So, I went outside and got the battery charger out of one of the bays, uncovered the battery compartment, and hooked the charger up until we had enough juice to get the slide-out closed…way too much excitement for one afternoon!

While we were waiting for the batteries to get charged, I scrounged around and found a couple of boxes to wrap some presents in for mailing and later in the afternoon took packages to the local UPS drop site and the post office to send them on their way across the country.

The weather forecast for tomorrow was looking kind of “iffy,” so I spent a while working outside while Barbara did some more work at her computer. Then, we spent the evening getting more packages ready for delivery.

We received word today that a dear friend of ours, Tom Shumate, had been taken to Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospital in Amarillo in critical condition. He had been treated in Dumas for rheumatoid arthritis, but after becoming paralyzed, he was diagnosed with Barre’ Syndrome. Our prayers are with him and the family at this time.

Tuesday, December 9

Wow! Talk about a weather change! Yesterday’s sunshine and warm southwest breezes (ok, winds, but still warm), disappeared overnight and were dramatically replaced by a cold north wind, heavy clouds, light rain, and a (slight) promise of snow…don’t like the weather around here?...just wait a while and see what might come along.

We were both up early this morning…Barbara working on her computer projects and me getting ready for the 80-mile drive to Hobbs. I helped get materials ready for some presents we were building while I waited until it was light enough to see what was going on outside. I finally got away from Big V around 8:00 a.m. The drive to Hobbs was generally uneventful; there was a lot of cold wind and some pretty heavy snow flurries out in the oil fields, but nothing that seemed to slow anyone down.

I arrived at Forrest Tires around 9:45 and had a cup of coffee and an Egg McMuffin from next door while I waited for them to install the new rear tires. By 10:30 the Vibe had new shoes and I was headed back toward Artesia.

I stopped at the funeral home to let Jean know what the road conditions were like, since she would be making a trip to Hobbs this afternoon and would be staying with Susie and James a couple of days. From there, I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get some more baking supplies and then went back to Big V.

While the skies lightened up a bit in the afternoon, it was still cold and windy, so we stayed inside and worked on various projects. Jerry and Nancy invited us to attend a piano concert at the Ocotillo Performing Arts Center tonight, but we were just couldn’t muster the enthusiasm for it, so we declined the invitation and stayed home for the evening.

Wednesday, December 10

We both worked around Big V this morning, trying to get as caught up as possible on some of our projects so we could leave either Friday or Saturday. With Jean gone to have cataract surgery (Susie was taking her to the doctor out of town), the usual Wednesday lunch bunch was off. Instead, Barbara went with Nancy to a UMW meeting and luncheon while I went to the laundromat and got caught up on washing.

Barbara finished her meeting about the same time I finished folding and hanging all the clothes, so she came to the laundromat, picked up the laundry (and me), and we went back to Big V to put everything away.

While Barbara returned to her computer station, I went outside to do some maintenance chores on Big V so we could button it down when we leave this weekend.

Thursday, December 11

Housecleaning was the key word of the day for me. While Barbara worked up front, I began a methodical scrubbing of the bedroom and bathroom areas. It’s been a long time since the last really deep cleaning, and we wanted to get everything ready for tenants while we are gone over the holidays. Jean had asked if Big V could be available for family members to stay in over Christmas. All of the kids and grandkids will be in Artesia for a few days and the two houses just couldn’t hold them all comfortably. Jean and her family have done so much for us in the last two and a half years that we jumped at the opportunity to share our home with them.

I had finished with the bedroom and bathroom areas and started scrubbing the living room walls when the phone rang. Barbara answered it and heard, “This is your new friend from Mineola.” It took her a few seconds to realize that it was Gene and Carolyn Neyer, whom we had met while we were staying at the Mineola Civic Center RV Park. They were driving from Kerrville, Texas, where they had been staying since we all left Mineola, and were on their way to Belen, New Mexico, on a route that took them through Artesia.

Carolyn asked if we knew of a good RV park where they could spend the night and we immediately offered for them to spend the night close to us. We explained that we could provide only dry-camping (no hookups), but that there was plenty of flat land for them to park on. We checked with Jean, who was still in Hobbs for tonight and she agreed that it would be a good deal for everyone.

So, we had our first RV visitors tonight. Barbara baked some potatoes and cooked up some green beans while I grilled some steaks (the first time I’d had the grill out since we left Virginia), and we enjoyed a wonderful evening of conversation and food. It was great to get caught up on each other’s activities since we last saw each other.

Note to Max & Marion and Bob and Teresa…We have a great place here for a reunion…you folks just need to find time to get down here.

Friday, December 12

It was a really pretty morning out, so I went outside for a while to clean out the fences. The wind on Wednesday had filled the fences with tumbleweeds and trash and I just felt the need to get them cleaned out before Jean got home sometime today.

Shortly before noon Jerry called to say that Susie and James were bringing Jean back to Artesia on their way to Albuquerque and wanted to know if we’d join them for lunch at Chaos. We are almost always ready to hook up with the bunch for lunch, so we quickly got cleaned up and drove to town to meet with everyone for a couple of hours.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent getting things either packed or piled up to be packed for our 2008 Christmas Odyssey, a planned two-week trip in the Vibe to see as many of the kids and grandkids as we could. The trip will take us from Artesia to Liberal and Lenexa, Kansas, Richardson, Mineola, San Antonio, and Lubbock, Texas, before we will return to Artesia to welcome in the new year.

The real trick was to pare down the amount of clothing and personal supplies we would need for two weeks so we could still have room for all the Christmas gifts that needed to be delivered. We had hoped to load the car tonight, but the weather turned off windy and cold, so most of the things stayed piled up on the floor and furniture until we could figure out a loading order.

We took time off from all the newly created mess to go over to see how Jean was doing. The cataract surgery and all the excitement of coming back home had taken its toll on her, so we cut the visit short after leaving her a list of instructions for whichever family members would be spending time in Big V while we are on the road.

Late this evening we learned that Tom Shumate died today, leaving his wife Kristen, two sons, Daniel and Andrew, and a daughter, Verva Jean. While we were in Liberal, Barbara, Kristen, Tom, and I would meet at the FBC Family Life Center at 5:00 a.m. for workouts. Barbara and Kristen would do aquarobics while Tom and I worked out on the weight machines. Our hearts go out to this wonderful family at this time.

Saturday, December 13

We were up and moving around by 5:30 this morning…hoping to get away by 6:30, but things took longer to get ready and loaded than we had planned. However, we finally pulled away from Jean’s property at 7:48 a.m. after loading the car, straightening and cleaning Big V, and taking care of all the chores that go along with closing up a motor home for a short time.

As we’ve said before, there’s not much that can be said about a travel day. The object was to get from Point A (Artesia) to Point B (Liberal) as quickly as possible. Nothing about the trip was noteworthy except that a major weather front hit the area as we were approaching Portales, but it really helped us as the winds kicked in from the southwest and pushed us all the way to Amarillo.

We made short stops at Portales (breakfast and a potty stop), Amarillo (gas and a potty stop), and Dumas (Mickey D’s and a, well…you know).

While we had some strong cross winds from Amarillo to Stratford, we again picked up the trailing winds the rest of the way to Liberal and arrived at the house at 4:30, right on schedule.

Ryan, who now works for Halliburton, was out on jobs tonight, so after unloading the car and piling everything in the spare bedroom, we ordered pizza and spent the evening visiting with Leah and watching the Heisman Award telecast.

“You don’t choose your family; they are God’s gift to you as you are to them.” – Bishop Desmond Tutu

At our Liberal home with family and friends,

Jim & Barbara

A Little Bit of Work

Sunday, November 30 – Saturday, December 6, 2008

Sunday, November 30

The last day of November dawned cold, gray, and rainy in Lubbock…a perfect day for staying inside. The only problem was that Leah and Ryan had to leave for Liberal (where it was grayer and much colder) and Barbara and I had to load up and drive back to Artesia (where, we hoped, it would be sunnier and warmer).

We all slept in this morning, feeling the effects of a long and tiring day yesterday (watching all those football games just wore us out). By mid-morning we were all up and moving around. Cathey fixed pancakes and I fixed a few pieces of French toast to use up some of the bread that we had brought to Lubbock, and we all enjoyed a very casual breakfast.

The morning was spent in visiting, eating, and packing (the latter for Leah, Ryan, Barbara, and me), and by 11:30 or so Leah and Ryan were on their way to Liberal. We stayed a little while longer, but by shortly after 12:00 we were also in the car and rolling toward Artesia.

After stopping at the post office in Artesia we headed on out to Jean’s place and Big V. I carried things in while Barbara started putting them away, a system that we found works well for us. When everything was in Big V, I helped with the unpacking and we were soon settled in.

We made a brief trip over to Jean’s house to let her know we were back home and then returned to Big V to spend the evening catching up on email and working on various projects.

Monday, December 1

Wow…the last month of 2008 has landed on us…where has the year gone?!

With the realization that Christmas is coming at us like a runaway freight train rolling down a steep mountainside, Barbara tackled her projects with a new fervor. I can’t say in the journal what the projects are without giving away some secrets, so I’ll just say that most of her waking moments are spent in technical research and design…sounds intriguing, doesn’t it.

I, on the other hand, am still technically illiterate, so I do things like work around Big V or tackle some of the chores than need to be done (at least, I think they need to be done) around the pecan farm.

This morning, though, we actually had a plan of action that included both of us going to town to take care of business. We needed to go to the bank, the post office, Bryan Printers, and the mortuary. Stops at the bank and post office are pretty self-explanatory, but the trip to the printers was very important because we were so very late in getting Journal 4 printed and bound. Our faithful readers know by now that each January and July we print all the journal entries and have them bound as books that we give to the kids and grandkids…sort of a history of our retirement life and travels.

With the move to East Texas for July and August and the subsequent time on the road to Virginia and Georgia, we just never got everything for the January-June book completed. We did run off four copies while we were in Richmond, hoping to get them bound and handed out to Mike, Heather, and Whitney while they were there, but that didn’t happen. So, printing the final three books and getting all seven of them bound was high on our priority list when we got back to Artesia.

The lady that we work with at the printers was glad to see us again; she even commented that it had been quite a while since we had last come in, and said that she should have everything bound and ready to go by Wednesday.

From the printers we went to the mortuary to see if we had received any mail. Since we will be going back to Mineola over Christmas, Ernie had been letting us know what mail we receive at our post office box and then sends what we want. Jean and Jerry agreed to let us use the mortuary office as our temporary forwarding address while we are here.

Even though Ernie had told us several days ago that he had sent something, it still wasn’t here, and so we left and headed off to Wal-Mart to do some shopping. We hadn’t been gone four minutes when Jean called to say that the mail had just arrived and we had something from Ernie. She said we could come back and get it or she could just bring it out to us when she came home for lunch. Since we were already across town, we agreed that it would be easier for her to bring it to us.

After making the day official by stopping at Wal-Mart, we returned to Big V, put our purchases away, and had some lunch. Jean came by after a bit and dropped off Ernie’s envelope and another one that had been dropped off by UPS.

Since the UPS envelope contained some paperwork that needed to be taken care of immediately, we affixed our signatures several times and then I put everything into another envelope and went back to town to find a UPS drop box and get the papers going to the next stop.

When I returned to Big V it was too late to begin any work outside, so we just settled in for the evening.

Tuesday, December 2

The day dawned bright and beautiful, so while Barbara worked on her projects indoors, I went outside to tackle some chores. My main project for the day was to hoe and rake the fence lines along Eastwind Road on the north side of Jean’s property. That part went much more smoothly than I had anticipated, so I was also able to mow a swath inside the fence and the entire right-of-way between the fences and the road. (With things just a tad dusty around here, I had to air hosed it to get the big chunks of dirt off of it.)

It sure felt good to be working outside in the warm sunshine (82 degrees and only light breezes…hard to think it was December).

After cleaning up and having a late lunch, Barbara and I made a really official trip to Wal-Mart to buy a full bill of groceries…it’s too bad that eating is such a necessary habit. With that little chore done, we returned to Big V, put everything away, and once again settled in to an evening of working at the computers.

We took a short break to go over and see Jean, but forgot to take a casserole dish that Barbara had made for her, so I made a second trip later before we locked big V down for the night.

Wednesday, December 3

It was just another workday around our place. Barbara took care of business inside Big V while I went outside to get work done on the south side of the property…again, much the same as I did yesterday on the north side, chopping weeds, raking, and mowing. The weatherman had predicted that there would be a major cold front rolling in around 5:30 this evening, but he was wrong…that thing came roaring in with a vengeance at 11:00 a.m., forcing me to put the riding mower, Little Red, and the tools away.

Since this was Wednesday, Jean invited us to join the lunch bunch at Chaos. It was fun to meet with Jean, Jerry, Nancy, and Susie for an hour of visiting and eating…something we hadn’t done since last May.

We stopped at the printers after lunch to check on the journals, but they weren’t finished yet, so we just went home and took a long nap.

Later, I went back outside and worked until the sun went down and it was too cool and dark to call it fun anymore.

Tonight…more of the same, with both of us working on projects on the laptops until it was time to shut everything down and go to bed.

Thursday, December 4

This was just another day at work for both of us. Barbara spent the entire day working at her laptop, trying to finish another of the many DVD slideshow projects she has in the works; she’s reviewed and edited well over a thousand digital photos so far…a time-consuming, and sometimes mind-numbing process.

I, on the other hand, took advantage of a good day to get outside and work around the outside of Jean’s house. The bluster of yesterday’s weather had passed and even though it was cool and a little breezy, it was a good day for raking, mowing, raking some more, and hauling grass and leaves to the trash pile to provide shelter for the quail and other critters that take refuge here.

The pecan crop around the Pecos Valley is pretty much a bust for this year. Several of Jean’s trees produced nothing, while the others gave much less than in the past…it’s not uncommon to have a year like this from time to time, but it is always a disappointment when it happens.

In the past, we have waited until January to gather the crop and then rake out the yard to get it ready for spring. This year, I decided to just go ahead and gather what I could and have the property cleaned up before Jean’s family comes in for Christmas.

Since we have now finished all 11 seasons of M*A*S*H, we started our second round of watching the ten seasons of Friends that we have in our video library, limited as it is. If anyone out there has recommendations for some shows we might enjoy buying to add to the collection, please let us know.

Friday, December 5

We started the morning slowly, not getting up and moving around until after 7:00, something unusual for us lately. While Barbara was doing some work on her projects, I opened up some old journal files just to see what we did during this time the past two years. On this date in 2006 we were in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, in the middle of a reunion trip to Redondo Beach, California, to see a high school friend, Steve Kinney, and his wife, Cindy. Last year we spent this day exploring Key West, Florida, on our motorcycle trip down the Florida gulf coast, through the Everglades, and out through the Keys.

This is the first year that we haven’t taken our “traditional” birthday trip, but the proximity of Thanksgiving and Christmas and some of the obligations we have blocked us, at least for the time being. Maybe we’ll celebrate our birthdays after the Christmas/New Year season…might as well delay that aging process if we can.

Nancy came over at 10:00 this morning to pick up Barbara to go shopping with her…I’ll let Barbara tell their story.

Barbara: I felt like a bird freed from a cage the minute I opened up the car door to join Nancy for a shopping trip to buy gifts for a family from the Angel Tree Project! It has been so long since I’ve enjoyed the company of another female for running around purposes! (At least 10 days, huh, sister Carol? Oh, dear, I guess I forgot that over Thanksgiving I got to go out with Cathey and Leah. I suppose it just seems like forever since I've been out of the house! I've heard that with old age the memory is the first to go! Think that must be true.)

Our first stop was to Beall’s where we were going to select one outfit for each of the three children in the family. That was a real time-consuming project since there were so many cute selections to choose from. Thankfully, Beall’s was having a sale and with the money that Jean had given Nancy to spend on clothes, we were able to find just the right attire. Nancy also had one of those scratch coupons for an additional percent off. Imagine our surprise and shock when the clerk uncovered 50% off! What a wonderful time to have something like that occur!

Giddy with delight on our good fortune (and very grateful!), we headed off to Wally World where a toy, a book, socks, etc. were easily added to the list of gifts for our Angels.

Our final stop was to Nancy’s where we unloaded the purchases and then I helped her with some on-line business she needed to do.

Just those 2 and a half hours away from the computer and in the company of another woman gave me a clear head and much joy!

Jim: Meanwhile, I tackled some housecleaning and maintenance chores in Big V. We hadn’t done a good deep cleaning of the place since we were in Mineola, and it was past time for it. When Barbara returned and we had some lunch, we resumed or tasks; she in her “office/studio,” and me raking, mowing, hauling, and picking up what pecans I could find.

Tonight, a short visit with Jean and then back to Big V for the night.

Saturday, December 6

We ended the week pretty much the same as we started it, with both of us working inside Big V during the morning and then me going outside to work in the yard when it warmed up. Barbara continued her work on Christmas projects and was beginning to feel that they were all coming together quite nicely.

I finished raking and mowing around the last of Jean’s pecan trees and picked up more pecans than we guessed might be available. A couple of the trees still have quite a few hulls in them, with maybe a few more pounds of nuts available when they finally fall. In any case, I was glad that I was able to finish off that part of the project.

Sometime during the day we realized that we had no pictures of our activities this week, so we got the camera out and got a few shots. Since there wasn’t much variation in our activities, there was no need for a lot of photos. For our friends and family back East who see nothing but trees, you surely have to admit that there is a rugged beauty about this New Mexico land!
Tonight I grilled steaks over at Jean’s house. While I was doing that, Barbara fixed baked potatoes and some steamed broccoli and corn on the cob. We asked Jerry and Becky to join us for dinner (Nancy was out of town for the weekend) and we all had a really nice time just visiting and eating (and watching a little football). We were concerned about only two of the “major” games of the day, and were disappointed in the results of both of them, with Alabama falling to Florida and Missouri being pummeled by Oklahoma (sorry, Lance and Jill Stout, but I can’t possibly cheer for OU until they play Florida on January 8).

With dinner over and the dishes all done, Barbara and I returned to Big V to close out a busy and productive week.

Barbara: I did get an email with some photos of my great niece, Keylin. She had a school program and I can’t resist sharing them in our journal. Keylin makes a right pretty Texas cowgirl, don’t you think?
“I’m not getting paid much for staying alive, but it’s good experience.” – Ashleigh Brilliant, British cartoonist, humorist, and poet

From our “Little” home on the prairie,

Jim & Barbara

More Than a Little Thankful

Sunday, November 23 – Saturday, November 29

Sunday, November 23

It was a beautiful, sunshiny, and (surprisingly) warm day in Artesia. We had planned to gin around and get to church this morning, but must have been worn out from the move back here and didn’t get ready in time.

I decided that this would be a good day to take care of some maintenance issues on Big V. We’ve been having problems with the water heater and water pressure, so I dug out the system manuals (sometimes I really do check the instructions before tackling the problem) and learned as much as I could about what I needed to do.

By the end of the day I had drained and flushed the water heater, found the water pump compartment and cleaned the filter on the pump, and put everything back together [mostly] according to the specifications. At least I now know where everything is for the water system, even if I don’t know how to fix it all.

When I had done all I could do with the water system I went over to Jean’s house to see if I could get “Little Red” up and running. I had been charging the dead battery, but the engine was also flooded, so I pulled the spark plug, cleaned it, and aired out the cylinder. After getting it all put back together, I turned the ignition key and we had blast off...Jean could once again get out and ride around on her four-wheeler and enjoy the warm day (which she did as soon as I told her it was up and running). She was soon joined by Nancy, who was driving her four-wheeler and taking advantage of a beautiful afternoon. Unfortunately, neither Barbara nor I thought to get the cameras out to take pictures of them.

While I was doing all that, Barbara was busy working on Christmas projects and editing last week’s journal entry for posting to the blog site, activities that were both quite time-consuming. We’ve decided that editing, no matter what the media might be, is the toughest part of the process of getting audio, video, or print projects into their final form.

Barbara did take a couple of breaks to come outside and go through the storage bins to rearrange some things so we could get to them more easily. We have to confess that we just piled things in wherever they would fit when we got ready to leave Richmond, Toccoa, and Mineola, and couldn’t remember where anything was when we got back to Artesia.

Monday, November 24

While Barbara continued her work on some Christmas projects inside Big V, my main project for the day was to get the 18’ car hauler back in the large barn so it could be safe from the elements and not clutter up Jean’s place.

This sounds like a simple enough procedure, but those of you who know me also know that “simple” is just another word in the dictionary. The first thing I had to do was unload everything that was stored on our cycle trailer in the barn. The trailer is our version of a storage closet, so there were lots of boxes and bits and pieces of this and that on the bed of the trailer. Also, before we left Artesia on June 30, I had pulled the motorcycle cargo trailer up on the other trailer so Jerry would have more room to move around when he was working in the barn.

Unloading the trailer was the easiest part of the job…once the boxes were off, it was no problem to pull the trailer forward by hand so I could lower the tailgate and roll the cargo trailer off. From there things got a little more complicated; I backed Little Red up to the car hauler trailer, hooked them together, and maneuvered the trailer to the opening of the bay. Then, I had to get the cycle trailer pulled up on the big trailer…an act I did once by myself, but decided afterward that I’d never do again. It’s one thing to move a well-balanced, empty 800-pound trailer across a level concrete floor, but something else again to pull it up an incline.

Barbara timed her break from the computer just right and arrived just in time to help me with the hard part…I stood on the big trailer and pulled with all my might on the trailer tongue while Barbara stood at the back of the trailers and pushed with all her might on the tailgate of the cycle trailer. We finally got the job accomplished, but not without a lot of straining and speaking in tongues. There has to be an easier way of doing that job without spending a lot of money on an electric winch, but we haven’t found it yet.

After loading the trailer, I used Little Red to back the car hauler into the barn bay and get it in place (all the while following verbal directions and hand gestures from Barbara). We soon had the trailer set where we wanted it and put all the boxes and assorted paraphernalia back on…job accomplished and time to take a little break.

Later in the afternoon I grabbed a hoe and rake and went to work clearing out part of the fence line along the road leading to Jean’s house. It sure felt good to be doing some good physical labor again, especially on a warm and almost windless afternoon. Meanwhile, Barbara returned to her “office” and again worked on some Christmas projects.

Tonight we joined Jerry and Nancy to attend an Arts Council presentation of “America’s Favorite Cowboys,” Riders in the Sky at the newly remodeled Ocotillo Theater. I used to listen to Riders in the Sky faithfully every Saturday on High Plains Public Radio when we lived in Liberal and was really looking forward to their performance.

We were told at the beginning of the program that Joey, the Cow Polka King, would not be with the group tonight as he had to leave the tour a few days ago due to the death of his father. However, the rest of the ensemble, guitarist Ranger Doug, bunkhouse bassist Too Slim, and Woody Paul, “king of the cowboy fiddlers,” entertained a full house with great renditions of traditional cowboy music, yodeling, stories, and some of the funniest (and squeaky clean) humor anyone could ask for.

Tuesday, November 25

Birthday Greetings go out today to son Jimmy Clint Colwell in Lubbock and daughter-in-law Carol Colwell in San Antonio!!!

We had told Barbara’s sister, Carol that we would come to Roswell this morning so the two of them could visit and go shopping while I stayed at the house with Cal. We planned to get away from Artesia by 9:00, but by the time we were ready to leave, it was later than that.

When Jerry heard that we were going to Roswell today, he asked if we'd stop at one of the mortuaries there and pick up some things for him. In the past, we have stopped to pick up boxes of cremains (the term used for the remains of a body following cremation) to return to Artesia, but this time Jerry also needed some special boxes, so we took his Suburban instead of the Vibe.

We had a great time while we were visiting Cal and Carol. While Cal and I stayed home and talked (between us we have about a million stories), Barbara and Carol hit the stores to do some shopping and then went to Cici’s Pizza, one of Carol’s favorite eating places.

Barbara: Carol and I were in complete agreement on the first stop we'd make on our shopping excursion...Dollar Tree! We both love browsing and it's a perfect place to do just that! We each went our own way once we were in the store, but it was fun to pass each other at the end of an aisle and say, "Hey, I know you!"

Once we finished there, I dragged Carol from store to store trying to find some rewriteable disks that my DVD burner will accept...finally found them at Target rather than a speciality store...go figure!

Our final stop (where did the time go????) was Cici's where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch with lots of chattering! What a fun day! I can't even remember the last time the two of us have gotten to go off alone like that! Boy, do we owe Jim a big thank you!

Jim: When the girls returned to the house, we all did some more talking and Barbara tried unsuccessfully to fix a couple of problems with Carol’s computer while I chowed down on pizza that they had brought me. (Cal isn’t eating well right now.) All too soon it was time to say goodbye again, so we got back in the car to leave.

Our first stop was at an RV parts store where we were looking for some items for Big V. We couldn’t find the showerhead we were looking for and weren’t sure of the size of faucet cartridges we needed (just way too many choices), but we did find a replacement filter for our drinking water, so that in itself made the trip worthwhile.

After a stop at a plumbing supply store, where we still didn’t find what we wanted, we went to Anderson-Bethany Mortuary to pick up the cremains and the boxes that Jerry needed. With that accomplished, we returned to Artesia.

Back at the mortuary, where we unloaded the Suburban and dropped off the keys, we found that things were a little slow, so I ended up shooting a few rounds of pool in the backroom with Michael (one of Jerry’s employees) and Jean. While Michael was busy destroying me in a game, Barbara made a Sonic run and brought back some drinks for all of us.

Then, it was back to Big V for the night after a full day of driving, shopping, and visiting family and friends.

Wednesday, November 26

Happy 33rd Birthday to son Mike Little in Richmond, Virginia!!!

We had put off washing clothes as long as we could stand it, so today was earmarked as LAUNDRY DAY. After gathering up all the dirties we could find, we piled them into the Vibe and headed to the laundromat in town. Jean and Nancy both had offered in the past to let us use their machines, but we decided that it would be better to get everything done in one fell swoop rather than dragging it out all day.

When we got to the laundromat, Barbara decided that we’d probably use four washing machines, so she poured in all the requisite detergents and boosters and we started filling them with clothes. Now, I’m not saying we had lots of dirty clothes (including linens and towels), but her original estimate was a little low. By the time everything was sorted and set in place, we had six washing machines going; boy, were we ever glad that we decided to get this done all at once!

Barbara stayed to babysit the machines while I ran some errands around town. By the time I was finished, the clothes were too, so we loaded everything back in the car, headed back to the place, and started putting it all away. That’s when Barbara noticed that we didn’t have one of her bras with the clean clothes. Neither of us could remember seeing it in a washer or drier, so we came to the conclusion that it had dropped on the parking lot when we were getting things out of the car in town, and was now gone.

Meanwhile, Nancy called to see if we wanted to come over around 1:00 to play some board games with her and Becky. Since we had the big chores done for the day, we said that would be great. Meanwhile, Barbara continued looking for the lost items, but all she found was that there were several more missing. So, while I was busy installing the new water filter under the sink, she made a quick run back to town to see if we had somehow left some clothes there. Sure enough, we somehow had…an entire washer load that hadn’t even started washing. There was nothing left to do except for her to stay in town to wash and dry that final load while I went over to Jerry and Nancy’s house to play a couple of board games.

Barbara got back to the house in time to play a couple of rounds of Scattergories with us, and then we left to come back to Big V and put away the rest of the clothes.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with me printing Journal 4 (I was only five months behind) while Barbara worked on the never-ending Christmas projects at her computer. While I was running the printer I also started a loaf of bread since we planned to take several loaves to the kids this weekend when we go to Lubbock. Barbara had decided to surprise Jimmy Clint with a strawberry cake…instead she got the surprise when she opened the oven and found that for some reason it had oozed all over the oven! However, with some sampling later at Jean’s, we found that the remaining cake was edible…so it will make the Lubbock trek!

Jean called and invited us to come over for barbecue sandwiches and chips, and since our place was a total wreck, we took her up on the invitation. When we got back to Big V, I found that the bread had finished baking, so I turned it out of the pan, only to find that my new recipe gave me something that could be eaten as a heavy cake, or could be used as a doorstop. I don’t know what happened, but I felt certain that I couldn’t even feed it to the birds, because they’d never be able to gain any altitude!

After that little failure, I decided to shut down the printing department and go to bed with a good book. Surely tomorrow would be better.

Thursday, November 27: Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

We spent most of this very special day working in Big V and continuing with our various projects. Barbara was working on Christmas things and I finally finished printing the last of seven copies of Journal 4…all that was left was to get the copies to the printer on Monday to have them covered and bound. I’d feel much better about the printing if it was July, but knowing that I’ll be doing all that over again in January for Journal 5 took some of the bloom off the rose.

We had been invited to join the Terpening and Francis clans for Thanksgiving dinner, so we headed over there around 11:00 and joined Jean, Jerry, Nancy, Becky, Susie, James, Karen, and Karen’s boyfriend, Connor for a few hours of fellowship, fun, and fantastic food. Susie and James’s friends, Rhonda and Neil, also joined the clan.

While we were standing around talking and snacking before the meal, Connor stole the show by presenting Karen with an engagement ring and asking her if she would marry him. Since he had formally asked her several weeks ago, we all knew the answer would be “yes,” with the only unanswered question for Karen being the when and where of the ring presentation.

Following the traditional meal and the traditional clearing of the table and washing of the dishes, everyone more or less went to their own places (or corners) for a few hours to rest up for the second round of food and football. We went back to Big V to oversee the bread that I had been baking and make a couple of batches of sausage balls that Leah had requested.

Around 6:00 we returned to Jerry and Nancy’s house to tackle the leftovers from lunch. Our part of the bargain was to bring the bread, chips, and salsa. (How simple was that????) When we got inside, Nancy asked where everything was, since it was time to eat…seems as though we had bought and brought everything, but we had failed to get it out of the car and bring it in so everyone else could share…what were we thinking?!!!

But, we quickly solved the problem and soon everyone found their way through the buffet line and to the dinner table for more food and conversation. After cleaning up, we all gravitated to either the living room for football or the dining room for board games; either way, a great time was had by all, and we felt especially blessed once again to have been “adopted” by such a special family.

Later in the evening, Barbara was definitely surprised to be presented with a birthday carrot cake with a candle on top. We really enjoyed a loud round of laughter when Barbara realized that the candles weren’t the ordinary kind…this candle, which looked like several, was really just one shaped out of the word, “OLD!” What a grand way to begin her birthday celebration.

Friday, November 28

Happy Birthday to Barbara Ann Perry Colwell Little!!!

We moved around pretty slowly this morning, but in time we had our email checked (Barbara had lots of e-card greetings), the house straightened up, and our packing finished. By 11:00 we had stopped at Sonic for breakfast and were on the road again, driving to Lubbock for our third Thanksgiving celebration in the last two weeks…we really do have a lot to be thankful for!

The drive was an easy one today and by shortly after 3:00 we were at the kids’ house where we were greeted by Jaycie, Jimmy, and Cathey. No visit is official without a trip to Wal-Mart, so while Barbara, Cathey, and Jaycie made it an official day by going out to buy groceries for our meals, Jimmy and I stayed at the house and watched TV.

When the girls got back we pitched in and helped get everything put away and then settled in to fix some supper and wait for Leah and Ryan to arrive from Liberal. Since they had gotten a late start, we told them we’d go ahead and eat, but that we’d save some for them.Leah and Ryan arrived shortly after 8:00 and we spent the rest of the evening snacking, talking, and watching TV, finally going to bed around 1:00 a.m., w-a-y late for us old folks.

We had been so busy talking that I forgot all about tuning in the Artesia/Goddard semi-final playoff game tonight. I fired off an email to Jean asking how it had gone and she had to let me know that Goddard pounded the Bulldogs for the second time this season, winning by a score of 42-7. So, it’s the end of the football season for Artesia, while Goddard will advance to the state championship game next weekend.

Saturday, November 29

It was another Thanksgiving celebration for us. In spite of our late night, Barbara and I were up early enough to fix a late breakfast for everyone. I made a batch of breakfast burritos while Barbara heated up a bunch of the sausage balls that we had made in Artesia. She then put together all the makings for a crock pot roast and got it cooking.

Barbara: Another cooking project that Jaycie and I worked on while Gramps worked on breakfast was to fix a banana split cake. Once we began, we got all kinds of requests, like don’t put bananas on my piece, I don’t eat pineapple, no cherries please; and, of course, Jaycie’s special request for mounds of cool whip on her section! So…we diligently complied with every desire. As we finished up, I told Jaycie the story of Eric (the chef in Toccoa) having me smell the cool whip to make certain it was good…photos follow to tell the rest of the story! Jim: Jimmy, Ryan, and I spent most of the day glued to the TV and watching football games…the first time in many years that I had done something like that. We started at 10:00 a.m. and didn’t turn the set off until after OU finished beating up on Oklahoma State. With Ryan and I pulling for Texas to advance from the Big XII South and Jimmy cheering for Texas Tech, we had a common interest in having OSU beat the Sooners, but it just wasn’t to be.

Sometime during the Texas Tech/Baylor game I went outside to fire up the grill and barbecue chicken and Polish sausages to go along with Barbara’s crock pot meal and the loaves of Jalapeno and honey wheat bread that I had baked in Artesia. When everything was ready, we once again went through the food line and began eating as if we hadn‘t eaten in a week or so…good food and good family fellowship…what a wonderful combination!

Barbara: While the guys were enjoying their TV bonding sessions, Leah, Cathey, Jaycie and I found a variety of things to do to keep us busy. One of our activities was to help Jaycie plan her science fair project. She chose to grow crystals using different types of material to attach to the seeds…(fishing line, dental floss, etc.) This decision required going to Dollar Tree which is just one of my most favorite browsing stores (have I said that before?)…sometimes one can find a jewel among the clutter!

Of course, my birthday celebration continued throughout the day with calls from family and friends as well as more e-cards, etc. Each was greatly appreciated and helped to make my day special.

One of the traditions that we adhere to firmly on any big, special family celebration is that we take a family photo…life is short…enough said on that. Anyway, as the clan gathered tonight, while I set the camera timer, the girls instigated a photo rebellion! See collage below! However, we were not diverted from our objective and captured, not 1, but 2 priceless photos of the occasion! (Obviously, the rest of the collage documents Jaycie’s endeavors on the beginning processes of her science project.)Jim: During the evening Ryan and the girls played games while Jimmy and I watched more football and expressed our expert opinions on play calling and officiating.

Occasionally we would make a hap-hazard guess to the girls and Ryan, but never seemed to quite get the right answers! Imagine that! Barbara: Leah and Ryan had brought a new type of Pictionary game which left me in the dark since I don’t know any movies, TV programs, celebrities, etc. Guess I live a sheltered life! However, I think I got to draw twice; but once only because Ryan gave up his turn. He and Jaycie seemed to be the king and queen of that game!

Jim: When the last football game was over and it was time for the news, Barbara and I decided that we’d gone about as far as we could go and headed for Jaycie’s room (our Lubbock home away from home) for some well-deserved and much needed sleep.

Celebrating life with gratefulness for family and friends from Lubbock, Texas,

Jim & Barbara