What a Busy Time At Home in PA!

I think we need to get back on the road just to relax!  Our schedule has been "crazy" ever since we returned to PA.  We have been doing lots of wonderful things with family, friends, etc., but there never seems to be time to just relax!  We have had 2 sleepovers with the 4 granddaughters, card playing times with my parents, a Christmas celebration at Masonic Homes with my parents, attended 2 beautiful Christmas musical programs, numerous meals with family and friends, 3 craft shows, 2 Christmas programs with Lanie's daughters, and the list goes on and on!  In between, we purchased Christmas gifts and I did scrapbook pages for the little ones of our 2 camping trips this past summer.  I guess this holiday season sounds like just about everyones - busy, chaotic, but you wouldn't what to miss any of the fun and excitement!

Tomorrow, Christmas Eve Day, we will be with our daughters and their families at Jamie's house for a day long celebration.  Jamie and Dane are great hosts and we appreciate their willingness to do Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.  Then on Christmas day we will stop in to see Bria and Cali's gifts in the morning and head to Lanie's house to see Sam and Katelyn's gifts.  A perfect way to spend the Christmas season!

We are planning to head back to Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 7 and will pick up Waldo at Lazydays, staying there until that Sunday.  Then the move along the west coast of Florida begins and we are so anxious. 

Our camping friends here at home, Fred and Doloris, just made reservations to join us near Venice the end of February for about 10 days.  We are so excited to have them spend time with us.  We also talked to Chuck and Melissa (we spent a month with them in Florida in the fall) and they are planning to leave Texas and come to Florida the beginning of February and we will spend 2 weeks together at Pine Island.  Then we will join up there again the 1st 2 weeks of March.  We always have so much fun together.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year filled with great adventures that create lasting memories!

Here are a few photos from this month at home -

A snowy wonderland from the deck of our apartment!

Another photo from our balcony!  Okay, it is beautiful
but I miss the warm temperatures and the swaying
palm trees.  I'd rather wear shorts and sandals then
heavy coats, scarves and boots!

Our youngest granddaughter, Katelyn, at her Pre-School
Christmas program.  Okay, I am prejudiced, but she is
so adorable!!! 

We took all four granddaughters to the Choo Choo Barn,
an annual outing last Friday.  They enjoy it!

They are "checking out" the circus display!

Then they all talked to Santa.  Some of them had a fairly
long list of things they wanted for Christmas!

This is a display at Wilbur Chocolate Factory in downtown
Lititz.  Every year they do a scene or characters and everything
is made out of chocolate.  These characters from Frozen
were formed with Rice Krispie Treats and then covered with
Chocolate, so they are totally edible!  Unbelievable!

This is a Dreary, Damp, and Cold Week!

Monday was a dreary day with cold temperatures and no sun.  I was up at 5:30 to go to Curves.  Can't believe our local Curves will be closing the end of January. I have been going there since the day it opened about 10 years ago and have made such incredible friendships.  There are 8 of us "gals", most of us not knowing each other before Curves, who meet there every Monday, Wed., and Friday at 6:30 to exercise and on Fridays we go out to breakfast.  We are trying to talk about options after this closes, but so far no decision has been made.  These friendships are so special and we want to make sure we continue meeting.  

I am very blessed that the lady who owns Curves asked if I would like to display and sell my jewelry at the facility during December.  What an opportunity.  So I spent about an hour setting up my display and am looking forward to seeing what happens.  

From there it was time to go to Wal-Mart for groceries.  I was back home by 9:30 and Ken had walked for 1 1/2 hours.  We both worked in the office - Ken on his computer doing "financial stuff" and continued loading photos and eventually, after much time and energy, actually got them ordered at Costco.  Hallelujah, since my computer was not being very cooperative!  Then the 2 of us took a walk around town, so Ken got plenty of steps today!

I made jewelry while watching The Voice - so much incredible talent this year.  I really don't have a favorite!  

Tuesday was a rainy, very cold and miserable day!  We spent the morning at home with Ken on his computer and I made more jewelry.  We had some errands to run in the afternoon - delivering a birthday card, Staples, stopping at the bank, Wal-Mart, and then the dreaded mammogram!

We met our Life Group at a Womens Shelter in our area that is strongly supported by our church.  Our Group had taken a meal there several months ago and ate with the girls.  Some very sad stories!  We got a tour of the facility, some information on what has been happening, etc.  Then the 6 of us went to a local restaurant for dinner, so it was another very enjoyable, fun time.

We spent the evening watching The Voice (Damian has now become my favorite) and he was left go!  So sad!  

Another Craft Show!

What a horrible weather day - cloudy, cool and rainy, but no snow!  We left the house at 6:50 for a craft show at Wilson Middle School, about 35 minutes from our house.  Fortunately it wasn't raining while we unloaded!  We had done this show last year and were happy with the results, but hoped for an even better one this year.  It started rather slow, but we ended up having more sales than last year - Yeah!!!!  It went well and we enjoyed!  It was raining when we loaded at 3:00, but we could park relatively close and it wasn't a problem.  We were home by 4 and feeling rather tired. 

Ken took a nap and we spent the evening putting info on our new phones, watching football, etc.  Relaxing evening!

Sunday we went to Church and then joined our Life Group for breakfast at a local restaurant.  Another good time!  From there we headed to the local Rec Center to watch our 5 and 7 year old granddaughters participate in a swim meet.  They did well.  We were home by 3.  

I left to be a "prep" person and server for one of my fellow Curvettes who was hosting a party for a gentleman who was retiring from being a 12 year volunteer with Meals on Wheels.  2 other Curvettes helped too, so we had a fun time.  Back home by 6 and time to watch some football and download photos that I need to order for putting on the calendars that I make for Christmas gifts for friends and family.  It was a good day!

A Day That Will Change Our Lives!

This was a special day for Ken and me!  We actually "graduated" to the world of Smart Phones!  Ken had one for the last several years, but until today, I have only had flip phones.  Ken keeps saying that from this day forward, my life will be changed.  I decided it was time for me to "get with it" and make the "leap".  There will be a learning curve, but I am ready.

While I was at Curves and breakfast with my Curvette friends Ken took a really long walk.  It was a yucky day with no sunshine but dreary, cloudy, and cool.  As soon as I got home from breakfast I headed to my craft area to spend the day making jewelry  Ken worked at his desk and then left at 11:30 to have lunch with his former Real Estate partner, Kevin.  From there he met with a gentleman to discuss our hospitalization for next year and he helped Ken get registered.  Ken was fairly certain he knew what we should get and the agent totally agreed with him.  My Ken is on top of things!!!!!  From there Ken spent the next 2 1/2 hours working with the "phone guy" at Costco, purchasing 2 new smart phones and having the tech set them up!  Unfortunately they were not able to transfer my contacts to my new phone, so that was my evening job.  Amazing how much simpler it was to get them on this phone.

After "playing around" with our new phones, we headed to bed around 10, knowing we have to get up early for our craft show!  I am going to love my phone!!!!

What a Busy Week!

Monday I went to Curves by 6:30 AM and when I got back home, Ken and I went for a long walk.  Then I spent a lot of the day preparing for ladies card club which was at our house.  Ken went to a movie while the 8 of us ladies played cards, returning just in time for dessert!

Tuesday we slept in and then headed to Lancaster to meet with our new financial advisor.  Alan, our advisor for the last 3 years or so moved his family back to Utah.  Ken and I enjoyed having the unlimited soup, salad and breadstick lunch at the Olive Garden before spenting the afternoon visiting with my sister and her husband.  We did a lot of talking about RVing and wondering why we are in this cold weather when it is so warm in Florida!  Of course we are both here to spend time with our families and enjoy the holidays with them, but it is way toooo cold!!  We played one game of Up the River and had a fun time.  They invited us for dinner, but the weather had deteriorated and they were predicting possible icy roads and fog.  So we left for home around 4:30.  Fortunately, the ice and fog never happened in our area!

Wednesday was an early morning trip to Curves and after breakfast, Ken and I took a long walk around Lititz.  It was a nice morning to be outdoors, cool but sunny! We left for Costco for just a few groceries, Ken to get his flu shot, and for a cheap but tasty lunch.   Then we went to AC Moore and Michaels so I could get some additional wire for my jewelry before heading to Masonic Homes to spend the afternoon visiting with my parents.  We played 4 games of Pinochle and the women won every game - go ladies!!!  We had a lot of fun.  I spent the evening making jewelry!

Thursday morning it was only 31 degrees, but we went for a long walk.  Missed wearing shorts and no jacket!  Ken made the necessary phone calls and signed a contract with Thousand Trails to have two zone passes for the next four years at only $425.00 per year for both zones - a good deal.  We have had a zone pass or 2 for the last four years and it has proven to pay for itself many times.  We use it so much every year.  So we took the plunge for the next four years with the guarantee that the rate would remain the same throughout those years.  I had an follow-up appointment with my urologist and he gave me a very good report - we just have to keep checking regularly so that the growths, if they return, are kept under control.  I will have another cystoscopy when I am home for Easter.  Later that afternoon Ken and I went to Jamie's house and walked with her and Cali to meet Bria at the bus stop.  We had a very nice visit with all of our special girls.  Ken made dinner while I continued to work on jewelry for my craft show on Saturday.

Fun Weekend!

Ken and I were up by 5:30 on Saturday morning and on our way to a craft show at Northern Lebanon Middle School by 6:30.  It was a cool, damp day with little bits of sunshine!  We were set-up and ready by 8:45 and the show was from 9 to 3.  We had done this show last year and were happy with our sales, so we decided to give it another try.  This year was not as profitable as last, but it was still okay.  We made more money than if we would have stayed home!!!!  Doloris has called while we were at the show and asked it we would like to get together to play cards and we immediately said, you bet!

We arrived back in Lititz around 4 and quickly unloaded and started doing some vaccuming, organizing, scouring the bath, etc.  Ken took a short nap while I recorded expenses on our software program. 

Fred and Doloris arrived at 6 and we did some "catching up" on what is going on in our lives.  We were given a coupon for a free large pizza at a local shop for being a new resident of Lititz, so Fred and Ken went to get it!  Doloris and I chatted while I got food prepped for dinner and snacking.  She had brought lettuce for a salad , some delicious cheese, and meringue cups for dessert.  I provided the ice cream.  After finishing our dinner, we played Skip-Bo and Haus, and the women were victorious in both games!!!!  We also opened the bottle of spiced rum Ken had bought at Drum Circle Distillery in Florida.  It is a delcious rum that is so smooth and flavorable.  It was a hit with the Martins!  We called it a night around 11.

After Church on Sunday, our small group went to breakfast (what a joy).  Then Ken and I headed to Wal-Mart to get some groceries.  We only got home around 1:45 and I immediately went to work in the kitchen making pecan pies for ladies card club tomorrow night at our house and small pretzels with melted wafers and M&M's.  I actually spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen.  Ken went for a walk and took a short nap. 

We left at 6 for a small group meeting (only 4 couples, 1 was away) and had a very nice evening.  Back home by 9:45 and Ken went to bed.  I stayed up to watch most of the Denver Bronco game (I am such a Peyton Manning fan!) and only got to bed around 12.  Way too late!