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!

A Great Thanksgiving Day!

Ken and I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you had many, many blessings throughout the past year.  We had such a wonderful time with our daughter, her family, and her in-laws, Sue and Dan.  We arrived at their house around 10 and were there til 6.  Jamie is the most gracious and relaxed hostess and Dane does a good job of helping where needed!  When we arrived she had hordeorves ready and waiting and a bucket filled with ice and all kinds of special drinks.  She also had the dinner under control!

Such a nice presentation of "snacks and drinks" before dinner!

The 3 men went outside around 11:30 and started heating the oil so they could cook the turkey in the deep fryer.  I think they enjoy being around the fire they started in the fire ring and drinking beer while "watching" the bird cook away!  It was only in the low 30's and breezy, but they were dressed for it!   I must say they had it all under control, for this was the best deep fried turkey we ever had!  It was golden brown and so moist - delicious.  I had made potato filling, Sue brought a delicious broccoli cassorole and cranberry relish, and Jamie made oven "fried" potatoes, fresh green beans, and corn muffins.  Dessert was a scumptious pecan pie.  The large hollow chocolate turkey was an added bonus!!!!

The Happy Cookers!

The perfect "Bird"!

This homemade dark chocolate turkey was delicious!

Bria and Cali wanted to try this before lunch, but they
settled for some of the candy corn and non-pariels!

The Happy Family!

Time to make a wish!!

Bria and Cali loved making a wish when they pulled the wishbone and at dinner sharing what they were thankful for - family, God Jesus, houses, and Thanksgiving!  We did some bowling on their Wii games and had a good time!

When Ken and I returned home, I spent the evening decorating our apartment for Christmas.  I only had 4 tubs of decorations, a huge reduction from the inventory of previous years!  I had really downsized when we moved to this apartment.  I actually found a place for everything I had saved, but I must admit that this was the 1st time I felt a bit sad when I thought about several of the special decorations I had sold or given away when we moved.  The feeling didn't last long, but I did do some "reflecting"!

This was a special day!

A Busy, Fun Week!

What a surprise on Wednesday - a snow day!  The normal temperature here should be around 50 during the day, and this week was cold.  Only mid 30's on Wednesday and it started snowing around 9 and we had about 3 inches by noon.  We had gone to visit my parents at 9:30 and enjoyed some Pinochle playing.  At noon Ken took my father to the surgical center for his monthly procedure and I stayed with Mom so we could try to make paper Moravian Stars.  This craft project was rather challenging, but we did get a few made.  Dad and Ken returned at 3 and we continued our card game.  We left by 4 so we could get back home before it got icy and foggy!  Enjoyed a nice visit with my parents! 

Looking forward to spending the day with Jamie and her family and her in-laws, Sue and Dan tomorrow.

A Busy, Busy, But Fun Weekend!

Ken and I had a restless night at the hotel, probably because we rarely sleep in any beds other than Waldo and at home.  We were up by 6, showered, and Ken loaded the CRV while I finished getting ready!  We went down to the lobby for the motel breakfast by 6:45.  It was an excellent breakfast with so many good choices.

We were on Interstate 95 by 7:05 (WOW) and we knew it would be another day with lots of miles to cover.  But, all went well and with only a few gas and "potty" stops we were back in Lititz by 4:45.  We stopped at my friend Polly's house to drop off our bikes and the bike rack.  Got to our apt. at 5:15 and had everything unloaded and actually put in its place by 6:15.  We left to have dinner at a local pizza place that also sold beer and liquor - we were ready for a treat after all that driving.  (Another 550 miles today!)

After a delicious chicken cheese steak and a slice of pizza (we shared both) we were on our way to card club in Ephrata.  So good to see all of our card club friends and have an evening of fun!  Only got home at midnight, and needless to say, we were exhausted.

Sunday morning we were at Church by 8:50 and got to sit with Jamie, Dane, and Dane's parents, Sue and Dan.  Good to see all of them.  After church we went to Bria and Cali's Sunday School class and we were so happy to see each other!  After they left, we had a fun time talking to our small life group and reconnecting.  They are such great people!

We left church at 10:40 and headed to the Olde Hickory Grill near Lancaster to have breakfast with Fred and Doloris, our camping buddies and special friends here at home.  So good to see them again too!  Wow, how blessed are Ken and I to see so many of our friends and family in such a short time of being home.  After breakfast we headed to Costco for some needed groceries (Old Mother Hubbards cupboard is bare!) and by the time we were back to the Apt. and had put everything away, both of us needed a nap. 

After resting for about an hour, we drive to Jamie and Dane's.  She was so kind to invite us for dinner along with Lanie and her family, so we could spent time with all of them at one place!  What a special evening.  We are very blessed people!  Left there at 8 when Bria and Cali went to bed and I called it a day around 9.  It has been a wonderful weekend, but I think we need to "catch up" on some rest!

 

Jamie and Dane have a great basement
for entertaining!

Can't help but love these special little ones!

After dinner, they did a dance
show for us.  They had practiced
upstairs before the "performance"!

Katelyn was all smiles during the
"show!"

Bria, Sam, Cali, and Katelyn - the dance
performers!