I have joined a group called NOMADS and am on my way to my first volunteer job. NOMADS is a Christian organization whose members volunteer their time and energy in all kinds of projects. It is a program which offers people with recreational vehicles the opportunity to share their time and skills in United Methodist projects, including churches, camps, mission agencies, and local neighborhoods.
My first project as a member of this organization is to help rebuild houses damaged/destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in Moss Point, MS. I am familiar with the area since my parents lived in Biloxi…only about 20ish miles away.

This project is a 3-week project. Our group will be working with sheetrock and will be doing some insulation work. I am going to learn “the art of taping, mudding, and finishing sheetrock.” I have mentioned before that I am a handyman…..just a very untrained one. And now here’s my chance to learn something very handy and to help out some people who sure could use a helping hand.

I do know what it’s like to live in a hurricane-damaged area. I was in central Florida when Hurricane Charlie blew through two years ago. My home suffered some damage, and I remember how it felt when that phone call came months and months later to tell me that MY roof was NEXT in line to be REPAIRED!

I can imagine how tired these people are. It’s been a year now. This work will bring a few families closer to having a normal life again. It sure will feel good for them!

I’ll arrive tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. But, I know I’m going to be so sore when I start using those muscles that haven’t been used in a while! Oh well!

Ya’ll take care,
Suzanne

I lived in Florida for fourteen years and learned to love lawn flamingoes. There is just something about those pink plastic birds that makes me smile. I had a really neat one whose wings would whirl frantically when the wind blew. Unfortunately, one wing finally broke.

So, I went to the internet and typed in Pink Flamingoes. Lo and behold, I found one website devoted entirely to pink flamingo gizmos. I browsed around and finally found the one gizmo that suited me perfectly. So, this whirl-a-gig gizmo now has a home here on the lake.

I thought you would like the picture because you get a good view of the woods and lake that I see when I walk out my door.

Oh…..with this pink flamingo, the tail whirls! And it faces into the wind!

Ya’ll take care,
Suzanne

P.S. See that grass across the road? It is part of a biiiiiiiiiiig field that I cut two days ago with the John Deere tractor and bush-hog. My first time to ever drive a tractor and to ever use a bush-hog!

I’ve been feeling a little…..a lot…..guilty for a while now. The four plants that my mom gave to me a year ago had turned brown. A month ago, they looked great. Then, last week, I saw that they were brown, and not just a little brown. Crispy brown pretty well says it.

When my mom came to visit about four days ago, I hoped that she wouldn’t notice them. And I was so relieved when she didn’t see them! But what am I saying?! Mothers always know everything. She saw them; she was just pretending not to see those plants so I wouldn’t feel so bad!

Anyway, I walked over to those four crispy browns today to pinch off those stalks so that I wouldn’t have to see them accusing me every day. And I found green. Hidden down at the base were tiny little shoots of green. (And, no, they weren’t weeds!) So, I ran back to my home and got the camera. And that is why this blog has a picture of tiny little shoots of green amongst crispy brown debris.

Hope! Hope! Joy!

Love to you all,
Suzanne

Everybody has trouble once in a while with their household appliances. And, invariably, these troubles come at exactly the wrong time. How do these appliances know? Do they watch us? Is it some instinct of theirs? Or do the manufacturers program them to respond to certain conditions? I’d really like to know.

I’m especially interested because tonight my water heater gave me trouble. I think that it must have known that I had just washed my truck and trailer. There I was …… hot, muggy, sweaty, dirty …… and looking forward to a good hot shower. I switched on the water heater, heard the igniter ignite, and then saw the flame go out. I tried again. And the flame went out again.

I really didn’t want to deal with this problem. I just wanted a shower. But that water heater was not listening. (I’m sure I heard it chuckling.)

But, I had a trick up my sleeve. I changed out the propane tank, waited a decent time, and tried again. And the flame stayed on!!!!

Hallelujah…..hot shower tonight!!! And I’m sure that I heard that water heater groaning in defeat.

Good night all,
Suzanne

Last night, I attended my hometown rodeo. We had bull-riding, calf-riding, barrel-racing, two-man calf roping, sheep-riding, and grab-the-ribbon-off-the-tail. These last two activities were for children. At this rodeo, the children got to play! (Oh, I would have liked to have been 7 years old again just so that I could have played.)

The sheep-riding event was for the really young ones. I don’t have a picture of this, but just imagine a four-year-old being placed on the back of a very woolly sheep. The child lies face-down on the sheep’s back and grabs a good handful of wool on both sides of the sheep’s neck. The sheep is released, and the child haaaannnnggggs on! At five seconds, the bell rings, and one of the many assistants grabs the child off the sheep. Only one or two children made it to five seconds. The rest slid off and landed in the mud. Not one child cried, and not one mother screamed. Everyone had fun.

The grab-the-ribbon-off-the-tail was the next children’s event, and it was for children under the age of thirteen. A ribbon was loosely tied to a calf’s tail, and the children were to grab the ribbon. Well, that calf was pretty quick. And even though he was outnumbered, it took a couple of minutes before the ribbon was grabbed. Here's the line-up of youngsters before the calf was released.



And for the older children……well, they were calf-riding and barrel-racing and calf-roping!

It was a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening.

Ya’ll take care,
Suzanne