RVing With a Purpose

Monday, December 17, 2018

Today we woke up to very dense fog. It was starting to burn off by the time we headed to the dentist office at 7:15 but still pretty thick in places. We both had dental appointments at 8:00. We were out of there a little before 9:00 and then we did some banking for the LOLs. That being done we had time to go back by the house before heading to Cullman for our annual physicals and Anne’s mammogram. There is already a lot of flu in our area and we were a little concerned about going and sitting in the doctor’s office and leaving with flu. However, the parking lot was not full and the office really didn’t seem that busy. Nice. We both got good reports. Of course labs and mammogram are pending.  We usually have morning appointments for our annuals, but since we changed the appointment in order to complete the Lumberton project, we ended up with afternoon visits and that meant a long, long fast before labs were drawn.  So, when everything was complete we treated ourselves to an early dinner at Carlton’s, a great local Italian restaurant. Lots of calories but it was our only meal today and it was so good!  Sorry, we just started eating and didn’t take a picture.

On the way back home we went to Oneonta to check on Helen and Jean. Jean who has been quite ill with a fever of 103 Friday, is doing much better. The IV antibiotics seem to be helping. Both Jean and Helen were glad to see us and we were glad to see them. It was a busy day and now we are home to keep trying to move back into the house. We are tired.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

It was another cloudy gloomy day. However, we got to spend the early morning with Debra, Randy and a short visit with Marsha and Carl. When they headed to church we got Fred rolling out of the mud back toward Alabama. The sun came out just as we were leaving Randy and Debra’s, but it didn’t last long and the drive from South Carolina to Pine Mountain was either cloudy or cloudy with light rain. Traffic wasn’t too bad, even through Atlanta. We stopped at two rest areas and then for fuel in Talladega. A good uneventful drive.

We are parking Fred at Aunt Helen’s now since our drive is so long and there is plenty of room in Helen’s drive. Haven’t decided yet exactly how much we are unloading and taking to the house. Guess we will make some of those decisions after we get through the dentist and doctor appointments tomorrow. One day at a time. Hope you all had a great Sunday.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

The forecast was wrong again. It rained all night and was still raining this morning. It did stop by about 9:00 and just an occasional shower after that. We actually saw about an hour of sunshine mid-afternoon and then is clouded over again. We are hoping to find we are not stuck when we plan to leave in the morning.

When we went into Randy’s this morning Debra had already been cooking. She had a beautiful Monkey Bread just coming out of the oven. It was picture perfect and tasted great. After breakfast, we remembered Debra had mentioned to Randy that we had a new trim nailer.  Randy came in with some chair rail and Max and Randy installed it.  Debra had asked for the additional chair rail for her Christmas present.  It is now all installed.  Merry Christmas, Debra.

After an enjoyable, slow start to the day we got busy preparing for our mid-afternoon dinner. Dave and Jennifer were first to arrive, then Philip, Lauren, Dorothy and Tabitha and then Marsha and her friend Carl. It was so great to get to spend time with the family.

We had a wonderful meal together and if anyone went away hungry it was their own fault. Then we just sort of kept grazing all afternoon. Debra decided the ladies would do something fun today so Jennifer brought all the necessary supplies and expertise and we all made new Christmas wreaths for our doors. We all had fun and were happy with our end results. Jennifer’s Mom owned a flower shop before she retired so Jennifer knows how to create beautiful arrangements and bows. Jennifer didn’t tell us exactly what to do but assisted us in making our wreath the way we wanted. Thanks, Jennifer, for all your help. The rest of the day was spent catching up with each other. We don’t seem to have enough time together. Before long it was time for the kids to be heading home. We appreciate them taking time during this busy time of year to join us today. We knew Christmas would be different this year but in spite of missing Max’s mom terribly, it was a good day.

Friday, December 14, 2018

Well, the forecast was wrong. Instead of starting to rain after 9:00 am, it began raining in the very early hours of the morning. So, we all got to get ready to leave in the rain. There was a little break about 6:00 and we all were busy doing the last of the packing, pulling in power cords, slides etc. The first to pull out of Lumberton were Gene and Mary Ann. They had the longest drive today since they were going all the way back to Kentucky. Next to leave were Nancy and Gary, then Philip. We pulled out about 7:30, leaving only Carol and Dave and Bruce and Cindy.

 

As we left Lumberton on I-95, the water was noticeably higher than yesterday along the highway. It won’t get on the interstate again based on current predictions, but some of the access roads could be underwater by Sunday. As we approached Florence, the PeeDee River was way out of its banks. There was water everywhere. It appears there was more flooding around Florence than Lumberton. It was also raining very hard as we approached Florence. Traffic really wasn’t too bad and people were mostly driving safely. We stopped at the rest area after entering South Carolina, about two hours into our drive. The rain was down to a light drizzle and we stretched our legs and ate some breakfast. We then had an uneventful, although wet, drive the remainder of the way to Johnston, SC. As we were arriving the rain dropped to a drizzle again long enough for us to get parked and set up. Thank you, God, for safe travel. As the afternoon progressed, we heard from each of our team members and then later this evening we got the final word from Gene and Mary Ann that they had arrived safely to their destination. Praise God for safe travel, on treacherous travel day, for all our team members.

It was great to see Debra when we arrived. She was busy in the kitchen getting ready for our family Christmas dinner tomorrow. Anne helped out where she could and we all had a good afternoon of visiting. Randy and Debra have the house all decked out for Christmas and we particularly like the mantle display. We think Randy did that for us. Randy was driving a bus today and didn’t get home until after dinner, but it’s always great to be with Randy and Debra. Others family members will be arriving tomorrow and we are looking forward to seeing everyone. Thanks for everyone’s prayers today.