Giving Thanks....

The only time of year we have "stick" margerine in the house is either Thanksgiving or Christmas. That's how we know it's the holidays! Things have changed around here. With Mom & Grandpa "Buzz" no longer with us....and Jeffrey is heading for Tennessee with Brooke's family. So we had to get a little creative so that it wouldn't be just the three of us sitting around a table. So...the Scudders and Romaines split the meal and we all ate together at our house.

Of course, JR headed down the Newport News early Thanksgiving morning and was back in time for our festivities. The Scudders came over about 2pm. We ate, played board games & drank raspberry wine. It was fun and relaxing.....

Allie is home for a few days. She FINALLY starts with the Colonial Heights School System on Monday as a sub...boy, that was a long, drawnout process. She is about to go crazy! She is thinking of auditing an Arabic class next semester at VCU....

Now is the time for me to start on my project. I have a photo scanner and am going create a present for family members. We have a new computer program that workcamp uses for evening media shows. You scan the photos, pick a song and the computer automatically adjusts it to the length of the song. You get to pick how the photos fade in and out, but the program times it all. I remember that rough VCR tape I made for the Plotts about 25 years ago. I tried to photograph their photos and then set it to music....WHEW!!!!

I love going down to the pool and scooping leaves....it's worth it to see the water all year long. I hate to see it covered up with a tarp in the winter and it looks like this is going to be fine!

I go on Tuesday to visit two more residents that may be candidates for next summer. One is familiar to me and the other new. It feels good to get a head start on things!

Of course, Al and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie....fantastic....

Still looking for a way to get to Great Britain in February....We have enough air miles for one free ticket....keeping our fingers crossed. Besides, Allie is all about trying to foil the royal wedding before William makes a mistake and doesn't marry her!

Laundry day!

Surprises....

It's a dark and drizzly day. It's a good day though. I have been exceptionally productive and that always makes me feel good.

Last night I drove up to Short Pump to Trader Joe's to meet Al & Paul for grocery shopping. They are so much fun to be with. They were both decked out because they had been to a champagne tasting...something to do with the country club where Paul works.

Al is in Hopewell right now at her orientation training for substitute teaching in their school system. I must say that they have the organization down pat as opposed to Colonial Heights....Al's glad to be getting to work!

I have been trying to organize and clean the area of the house where the workcamp desk is. Al took her childhood little "wooden closet" that I had storing my old LP music albums and sheetmusic in. So, I opened the chest in the sunroom to see if there was room for them in there....what a surprise! I have been crying since. There were albums in there that belonged to Grandmother. When she passed away, I just put them in there and closed the chest because it was such an awful time. As I opened them, she had written stories for Allie and me....clipped them together....all kinds of memories.....I must figure out a way to preserve them!

Still trying to figure out how to get John's sermons on a podcast on the web so folks can click on them and listen. I have started a blog for him....hopefully he can have them on there.....fingers crossed.

The photo is of Allie the last night we had down by the pool....If I have posted it before, sorry....I'm on John's computer and it doesn't have many pictures stored on it!

Too Much!! Whew!

Thot this coming week was going to be a breeze....WRONG!! Some good...some challenging.....
First...Al came across a glitch in some medical tests she needed to take....so, that was a surprise. Nothing life threatening...just a pain in the #$%^
Well, I guess that was the only challenging part....hmmmm...guess it is good to look at my thots! It's not so bad!
We had Tuesday nite Bible Study last nite and it was terrific....there were 8 of us and the discussion was varied and fun! It is something to look really look forward to every other Tues nite. JR does a terrific job!
Still have heard nothing on the further DNA tests....anxiously awaiting the results! Will does have a little "Happy Hanukaah" tshirt he wears in the cold now tho!
Looked at the first resident house for Workcamp 2011 yesterday. It was perfect....a wonderful home for the kids to be in for a couple of weeks! It felt good to get started!
Gotta scurry.....more later!

A Do Nothin' Saturday!

Halloween is over...good memories. On to November. The midterm elections were disappointing to say the least, but now I think the absurd Tea Party has two years to dig a hole for themselves. Nuff said.

Talked with Tim today. It's Guy Falks day...big holiday in Great Britain. He and a friend are heading down to Blackheath tonight for a big bonfire where they burn an effegy of Guy, have fireworks and chant hurrahs while waving sparklers. Sounds like fun!

The wood stove feels SO good! Al has an appointment with Colonial Heights Schools on Wednesday....and she is about to close the deal with Hopewell schools. It will be SO encouraging for her to have some $$ coming in. She is also looking at UVA grad school.

I got the workcamp website updated, up and running! It looks so good and that's a weight off my shoulders!

Thinking of not covering the pool this winter. Looking at the pros and cons on the internet. I would love to be able to see the pool all winter....

I must get a photo of Will in his little HAPPY HANUKKAH t-shirt. We still haven't heard the latest update from Genebase about our heritage....still waiting for the test results....

Al is going to Vienna for an Animal Beat concert tonight....Alicia is in Eagle Eyre....JR is napping, so I am officially doing nothing but genealogy on the internet and crying in front of old Lifetime movies! FUN!

A Funeral, A Rally & Trick or Treat

Saturday morning Allie parked her car at the McDonald's in Chester off of I295 and we rode together to Burke, VA to David Styles' memorial service at the Church of the Nativity. Young workcamp staff member, Lizzy Styles, is his daughter. Several of the workcampers met at the service....it was very informal and very precious. He and Patti met in the Peace Corp....

After the service, a friend tried to get us to go on the metro into D.C. to the RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY....if I had had some flip flops and more comfortable clothing, we would have gone....both of us regretted it as soon as we got on the interstate. After getting home and looking at the crowds, there was both regrets and a sigh of relief.....

Old workcamper, Rick Hill, visited Sister JR a couple of times and said she was MUCH BETTER. They took the pin out of her leg and she is off the strong pain medication. She was alert, chatty and the news was SO encouraging!

The picture of Paul & Allie is them and the cookies they made for the wrap-up meeting last week. The other photos are of the Hass's across the street. They had a Halloween extravaganza for three nights and people drove up to walk down their driveway and be spooked! It was a hoot!

Tonight I am trying to let go of my meeting at the H & R BLock office visit in Chester. They made a big mistake on our taxes...now we have to pay thru the nose. Interesting....they think I should have taken out a $30 insurance policy on our 2008 tax filing with them in case "they" made a mistake....sounds a little backwards to me! Sort of like if I took out an insurance policy on the doctor when I go into a hospital just in case he "made a mistake"....isn't it the one that causes the liability that takes out the policy????? Just saying....

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A Fast Week

It seems like yesterday we were down by the pool last weekend.
I forgot to say that at Sunday's wrap-up meeting, the big desktop workcamp computer blew up....I mean, literally blew up! I thot Pete A. had set off a firecracker when he came in, and then everybody could smell electrical burning......I ran to Steve, our computer genius on the Colonial Heights Blvd, and he was able to save the hard drive. Hallelujah!!!! It had EVERYTHING on it from the workcamp finances to my genealogy!
Tuesday night was a good Bible Study. It got a little intense a couple of times, and when the couple next to me said something about the TEA PARTY, Alicia pinched my leg to remind me not to say anything! I am learning lessons in tolerence.
I am meeting Allie tomorrow morning and we are traveling to Burke, VA for a memorial service. David Styles, Lizzy's dad (workcamp staff) passed away from cancer. Lizzy has been with us for many, many years.....her dad, David was a precious person. He and his wife Patti met in the Peace Corp....Lizzy was born in South Africa. We are so fortunate to have them all associated with Workcamp.
Mailed a few brochures out to new churches this week....and already had two new churches ready to register.
The neighbors across the street are having a Halloween extravaganza all weekend, each nite from 6-9pm. Not sure what kind of crowd they are going to get....hope the police aren't involved!
Al and Paul are at a Halloween party tonight at Mark Bliley's....told her he should have had it at one of his uncle's funeral homes.....Boo! Al is a witch and Paul is "Madam Mardi Gras".....just wait for the pictures!

A Dark & Cozy Day

It's a dark & cozy day....that's the way I see it! Wish I didn't have to get dressed and head out on errands. We had a terrific weekend. Even tho it was the weekend of Al's "supposed to be wedding", she got thru it with flying colors!

Paul came Saturday afternoon and he & Al spent most of the time in the kitchen cooking pumpkin cookies and pumpkin pancakes for Sunday morning.

Our Workcamp Wrap-Up group was small, but we achieved much and had lots of fun doing it! Each person held a sign in front of them with their name and a love note to Sister JR so she could put the face with the name. Hope to send the photos off to her today.

Rick Hill who used to do our evening programs lives near the sister's home, so he went by and saw Sister JR and goes back Friday. His congregation is near Emmittsburg, MD.

It looks like Al is finally getting "in" with the Colonial Heights School System.....she is supposed to call them today before 11am....thanks to Lynn Watkins (our tshirt person).

Things have slowed down a little for me and it feels good . Only have a couple more paper deadlines to meet, but a big weight has been lifted.

Yesterday was Alicia's birthday. Saturday nite we started the fire pit and roasted hot dogs and marshmellows, wrapped up in blankets and had a good old time! I am STILL holding out on covering the pool.

Will really enjoyed Paul's little dachshund, Nog this weekend.

Well, Bible Study is tonight....we are talking about SARAH.

Off to the post office.....