Friday, May 1 - Sunday, May 31, 2020
Welcome to May...Spring has finally sprung in all its glory!
May is a month of refreshing and renewal. For us, this was a time to do some renewal at Our Little Lot at Holiday Villages of Lake Fork, where we have housed Big V for the past 12 years (hard to believe it has been that long). The last major project was about 10 years ago when we added on to the concrete slab and created a storage room and porch with walls, windows, and an open door space.
For years we have fought the battled of mountains of leaves blowing into the porch space, and while we've talked each year about putting in some type of screens over the windows, but just haven't done it. This month we bit the bullet, researched several ways of screening the windows, got advice from friends who have done this sort of thing, and tackled the chore.
Two men from our church, Jerry and Mike, helped us fine tune the plans and got us some specialty equipment we needed...like 10-12 foot ladders. Jerry and I went to Lowes in Sulphur Springs to get the materials we needed, and then we were ready to start.
Leah, Ryan, and Kaiden came up for a few days to help us with construction and general cleanup of the lot, and Barbara took charge of arranging hydration, snacks, meals, and supervision of Kaiden with the lot cleanup.
As is noted on one of the photos, we did our measurements with the aid of a tape measure that had belonged to Barbara's dad many years ago. We think W.T. Perry was smiling (and sometimes laughing and shaking his head) as we worked on this project.
A rule of life is that there is a price for everything, including "free" labor. Fortunately, everyone who helped out with this project was satisfied with being paid in meals😄. When all was said and done (and in this case, much more was done than said), we took the kids to Jalapeno Tree for a celebration meal.
Our photo files aren't very well organized this month, so here are some collages with explanations...
After we finished the construction work, we turned our attention to Big V and some routine maintenance issues. One thing we hadn't checked in some time was the generator, a very useful appliance when traveling (which we hoped to do as soon as possible). Unfortunately, the generator would just not fire up...it tried, but it just couldn't do it.
Fortunately, we have Cousin Logan, a jack-of all-trades when it comes to electrical and mechanical issues, on call, so he came out and worked on it. After a lot of effort and a couple of weeks, Logan had ordered some parts and rebuilt the carburetor for us, then reinstalled it...and it worked...hurrah for us and a great big "Little" thanks to Logan for his fine work!!!
Lovin' the new screen porch...even with rain pouring down...
This continued to be an a-MAY-zing month as our good friend Bennie accepted Christ as his savior, made his public profession of faith, and joined Yantis First Baptist Church. Unfortunately, Bennie's baptism had to be put on hold due to the COVID-19 situation; but later was done at the Smith's place.
Our Little Lot has always been (and will always be) a work in progress. The next step after installing all the screens around the porch was to be installing a set of swinging doors in the doorway, but finances determined that that would have to be put on hold. Meanwhile, we put our Odyssey of the Mind skills to work in an attempt to come up with a temporary solution. Duct tape, expandable curtain rods, and shower curtains proved to be a satisfactory fix.
We even managed to work in a a wonderful motorcycle ride along with more than a hundred other riders to escort a young boy suffering from cancer as he returned to his home near Mount Vernon after treatment in Dallas. It is safe to say that there were no dry eyes as we all witnessed the faith and spirit of this little boy.
For years we have kept our motorcycle trailer chained up at Our Little Lot because there wasn't a satisfactory place to store it at the Mineola house. After thinking and rethinking the possibilities, we cleared out the little stretch of ground beside the garage, and with Leah's help, installed some concrete paving blocks as a "driveway" and parking area for the trailer, making the space, which had been a huge pain in the rear to maintain, a great parking area. Mucho Thankso to Leah for giving up a weekend and driving all the way to Mineola to help us!!!
May is the traditional month for graduations, but in the age of COVID-19, traditional traditions fell by the wayside.
Whitney, one of our church friends at Yantis FBC, was scheduled to walk at her college commencement exercises, but those were cancelled due to COVID. So what's the solution? Why, contact Barbara and let her come up with a plan...and that plan worked, as other church members, Karen and Brian, offered their beautiful country home as the setting for a commencement ceremony for family and friends, complete with a Pomp and Circumstance processional, commencement speaker, diploma presentation, and reception.
Monday, May 21: Memorial Day
This day should be one of the most somber and respected of all days in the calendar...a day to honor the memory of those who gave their lives while in the uniformed services of our nation's military forces.
Across the nation today Taps was sounded at 3:00 PM local time by buglers associated with Taps For Veterans, an organization formed to provide live soundings of Taps for final honors for our armed forces members whether active duty, reserve forces, national guard forces, or veterans.
And that, dear Journal/Blog/Facebook friends is May, 2020 in a nutshell.
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"The month of May is the pleasant time; its face is beautiful; the blackbird sings his full song, the living wood is his holding, the cuckoos are singing and ever singing; there is a welcome before the brightness of the summer." Lady Gregory
Living the life in Mineola, Wood County, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
