Almost A Typical Sunday

We’ve not blown away yet.  Actually, Tropical Storm Lee has been a real strange storm.  We’ll have periods of rain and then the sun just might come out for awhile.  So far, we’ve had almost 10 inches of rain over a three day period, but the ground was so dry that it has absorbed it all.  Also, we’ve had very little wind, however, today is supposedly going to be the worst of it for our area.  We’ve had worse wind and rain with thunder storms in the past; keep in mind that we’re speaking of Rainbow Plantation not Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi as a whole.

It was nice to be back in our home church.  We’ve missed it.  We donned our “Connection Team” shirts and went right back to work as if we hadn’t been away at all.  So many people came up to us and said, “Glad you’re back” – the welcome made us feel good.  We’re not sure where we’ll get involved next.  I just might get involved with facility maintenance and Judy is looking at volunteering in the Hope Center; we’ll both continue working on the Connection Team.  There will be some slots for us somewhere, I’m sure.

We did manage to get in a walk about the Plantation and attended the Ice Cream Social last evening.  It was a small group of us at the social.  Well, that’s about it.  Hopefully this will be the last day of the Lee Intrusion and “the sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow!”

Take Care Until Next Time  - - - - - -

Getting Aired Out

It’s been doing a lot of raining here over the past couple days.  The rain is a welcomed sight for this area after a summer of drought.  So far the ground has just absorbed the water.  Today and tomorrow promises to be the worst of it as tropical storm Lee passes just north of Mobile.  We will be on the southeast side of the storm, the most ferocious side.  “They” are predicting torrential rains (10 to 15 inches) with winds in excess of 40 MPH and some flooding in low lying areas; it could be an interesting two days.

We just had to get out of the house so yesterday, in between the rain drops, we took a drive over to Fairhope and walked through the park.  It’s so pretty and peaceful there.  The park overlooks Mobile Bay, you can see Mobile across the bay,  and has a beautiful sandy beach as well as biking and hiking trails.  Judy and I look forward to taking our lawn chairs, some drinks, and, maybe, a sandwich along with our Nooks over to spend an afternoon of reading and relaxing at the park.  We can even take a stroll or two around the rose gardens as well as walk about downtown Fairhope.

After lunch we just hunkered down inside and watched a little college football while doing some reading.  I wish that they would have two sound tracks with ball games.  One where you could get the sounds of the game and the second for those who think they need to listen to the commentators telling you what you just saw.  Guess which sound track we would choose?  The pitter patter of rain on the roof coupled with the drone of a football game and reading has away of putting one to sleep so, needless to say, a short nap crept into the mix.

While we were in Maine, we found a real nice pizza dough made by the Portland Pie Company so we bought four and froze them.  We, also, bought a couple packages of frozen Maine shrimp.  With those with a nice garlic sauce and some mozzarella cheese, we had a nice shrimp scampi pizza for dinner last evening – just as good as the Cabin’s in Bath, Maine.  After a some more reading and football, we found our way to bed calling it the end of another fine day in the life.

Just another reminder that come Wednesday we will be going to a weekly posting of the blog.  Also, we will be rebuilding the old Wandering America website for posting our travelogues.  The website will be updated and published randomly, so if you would like to be notified when we update please e-mail us at Wandering(dot)America(at)Yahoo(dot)com and put “Notification List” in the subject line so we’ll know that it is not spam.

Take Care Until Next Time  - - - - - -

One Down, Three To Go

Tropical Storm Lee is slowly passing through the area.  It was an “off again, on again” rainy day yesterday.  It began around 9:30 with some real downpours as Lee is making tracks toward land.  It is moving at a whole two miles per hour and promises to dump lots of rain along its path.  Come Sunday and Monday we’ll will be receiving our “dumping” so, one day down with three more to go.

Yesterday morning we gathered our wares into the larder.  As always, it was sticker shock for our first shopping trip after returning to Rainbow Plantation.  The price of food is higher here plus we get to pay sales tax of around 8% on top of that.  We managed to gather our nuts into the tree between storms thereby staying relatively dry.

Other than that, we just “stood” inside and played with our indoor toys.  That is, we managed to keep ourselves busy with a few chores, putting the groceries away, and getting some quality reading time.  That sounds a lot like riding our recliners, doesn’t it?

Today looks like a lot of the same.  We will go to the “Bagels and Coffee” time at the clubhouse in a half hour just to get some social time and see if there are really any other people in the park.  We’ve heard that there are, but haven’t seen too many.  So that’s it for today.

Remember that next week we are going to a weekly format for the blog and will be updating the Wandering America website.  If you would like to be put on the notification list for when we update the travelogues in the website, please e-mail us and put “notification list” in the subject line so we’ll know that it’s not spam.  The e-mail address is Wandering(dot)America(at)Yahoo(dot)com.

Take Care Until Next Time  - - - - - - -

Settling In For The Long Haul

We are getting settled in and it’s a good thing.  Beginning today a tropical front is moving in and plans to hang out for the next five days – or more.  The farmers need rain, but this is going to give them way too much.  “They” are predicting the flooding kind of rain.  We’ll see what happens, but we are ready to hunker down.

This morning we’re making our grocery run to Bruno’s and Walmart.  Once we get home, I’ll fill the potable water tank.  We’ve gotten caught with our “pants down” (water tank empty) three times this year so that’s not about to happen again.  It’s doubtful that things will get that bad around here, but, like the Boy Scouts say, “be prepared”.

For the past two days I’ve been swimming laps; yesterday I added a half hour on the Nordic Trac Elliptical that’s at the clubhouse.  Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get this chubby little bod of mine in shape – just maybe.  Also, I’ve started reading through the book of Romans in my Bible.  Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get this little mind of mine in shape – just maybe.

Judy J. managed to get her hair cut and has been working on setting up housekeeping for the long haul.  She changed out some pictures in the bedroom and wants to update the grandkid pictures in the livingroom.  Then there’s my rag quilt to get started on plus the quilting project that she’s currently working on.

We’ve both spent some time reading.  Those Nooks were a great investment; I’ve read at least two dozen books this year and Judy has read over a dozen.  It’s a good thing we enjoy reading ‘cause there ain’t nuttin’ on television worth watching’. 

I have two favorite shows, NCIS and History Detectives.  Wouldn’t you know that “they”, who ever they are, have decided to air them on the same night at the same time.  We don’t have all that sophisticated equipment so that we can watch one show and record the other – just another one of lives little disappointments.  Oh well, more time for reading.

We were looking forward to a beach day this coming week, but with all this rain in the forecast we’ll have to plan something else.  The Naval Air Museum has doubled its size so maybe we’ll just take a day trip to Pensacola for a look see.  That’s a nice indoor thing to do and something that we enjoy doing.

Well, the time is winding down.  Beginning next week this blog will go from a daily publication to a weekly publication.  As a child, my dad worked for a weekly newspaper and they published on Wednesday afternoon so that seems like a good tradition to continue.  So, we’ll continue a daily entry until next Wednesday and then switch to a weekly entry from then on. 

I’ve downloaded the KompZer software onto my “new” computer.  That is what we use in the creation and the maintaining of the Wandering America website.  The plan is to update the website and start publishing the travelogues there beginning in January.  So, if you want to be put on a notification list for when we update the website, please e-mail us.  Be sure to put something in the subject line such as “notification list”, “add to list”, “website list”, etc., so we’ll know it’s not spam.

Take Care Until Next Time  - - - - - - -

Shaking Up The Routine

What an optimist I am!!  Yesterday I stated that we could work outside until eleven or twelve; well, that was before God added humidity (and a little humility as well).  When it gets humid, like yesterday, you’d better plan on getting your outside work done before nine (maybe even eight).  A better idea would be to hit it at first light so you could get in a few hours before breakfast, but, not so fast there Maverick, that just ain’t gonna happen!!!

Okay, now that that is out of the way (confession is good for the soul), let’s move on.  We are looking for a new daily routine that’s not a routine; at the very least a mixture of the routine and the non-routine.  There are some things that need to be done daily: spiritual growth time, exercise, and household chores to name a few.  Then there are shopping trips, Ta Do List items, hobbies, volunteering, and special outings that aren’t necessarily daily items.  Now, how do we “mix it up” so that we don’t get into a rut and become stale?  That is the sixty four thousand dollar question.

It would be nice to tell you that we got it all together, but we haven’t – not yet anyway.  But, here is an immediate proposal.  Part I - Roll out of bed at revelry, fetch a cup of coffee, and hit the Bible for some early morning reading/meditation time.  Then take a morning dip in the pool to swim laps.  Next get the household chores out of the way.  Hopefully, Part I can be completed by nine o’clock.

Part II – Chose one or two items from the following list to add to each day:  Ta Do List Items, or hobbies, or an outing, or volunteering at church, or a shopping trip.  We want to do at least one weekly outing to get us out of the house (and/or Plantation) as well as spending at least one day a week volunteering at our church’s Hope Center.  Then by sprinkling in “hobbies” and “Ta Do List” items, and “shopping” items throughout the week, and voila, you have a fun filled week while “taking care of business”.  At least that’s the concept (just because I said it was a good idea doesn’t mean it’s going to work).

We all know that sometimes life gets in the way.  There’s always doctors appointments, hair cuts, and other unexpected events that crop up with schedules of their own which interfere with our plans.  However, the goal remains the same – “Don’t Get Into A Rut!!!”  It’s a balancing act and sometimes it’s easy to loose our balance.  But, “Don’t Give Up”, “Keep On Keeping On”, “Hang In There”, “Push On Through”, “Keep Your Eye On The Ball” – can you think of anymore cliches?  The point is that if we really want to remain vibrant, then we are going to have to take action and keep working at it.

Well, that gives us something to chew on for awhile while we sort it all out.  Otherwise, we are just going to sit in our recliners while holding hands and gazing into each other’s baby blues.  And you can only do that for so long before someone blinks.

Take Care Until Next Time  - - - - - -