HAM RADIO!

After two long years, I have finally made a radio contact from my trailer. And I can’t stop smiling. This has been such a struggle!

I became a ham (amateur radio operator) over 20 years ago, but I never had to do anything technical. Well, now I am learning the technical. And my stay here in Selma gave me the final boost to get “on the air.” One of the folks here at the Children’s Home just happens to be a ham with a lot of technical experience. I asked him to come check an antenna controller to make sure it was wired correctly and then to also check my antenna connection.

And, I also just plain asked…. “Is everything OK to get on the air?”

And the answer….. “Everything looks good. I’ll tune the antenna, and then it should work.”

Well, this morning, I gave it a try. I tuned in the frequency for my ham radio club, and I heard them. I gave them a call, and THEY HEARD ME!! And, that is why I just can’t stop smiling.

Take care,
Suzanne

P.S. Here's a picture of my antenna....:)

THE DOWN SIDE OF BEING AN ADULT

For the most part, I am very glad that I am an adult. I remember dreaming about being “grown up”. I would imagine how nice it would be to sit where I wanted instead of where the teacher told me. No more would I have to sit by that mean boy who made faces at me. And I could go to work instead of going to school and facing another test….especially the test where I had to know all the parish names (Plaquemines, Evangeline, Calcasieu, etc.), where they were located, and the parish seat of government! Ah, adulthood was going to be so nice.

But today, I wished that I was 12 again. I walked into the kitchen of the building where I am painting and discovered that giggly girls had taken over. Not only were they having a great time, they were also baking sugar cookies. And there was a bowl ready to be scraped out. I felt like shouting….. “DIBS on the bowl.” I could just imagine the taste. There is nothing better than cookie dough eaten with a wooden stirring spoon. Um-um good!

But, I had to keep quiet. After all, they’re the children, and they should have all the childhood pleasures possible. There’s only one solution for me…..I think I need to do some baking!

Take care,
Suzanne

RECEIVE MY ASSIGNMENT TODAY

I am painting a room. That is my task here at the Children’s Home. But I haven’t gotten a drop of paint on me yet. Instead I got lots of paint chips and dust. Yuck!

I spent the day chipping off old paint, working out the old caulking, and sanding. Oh, and I also moved furniture, covered furniture, and took down the curtains. (Don’t worry, family, the furniture wasn’t heavy.)

The hardest part today was deciding when enough paint had been chipped off. The painter is supposed to scrape off peeling paint. But when you’re scraping, how do you know if those paint chips are really peeling off? Maybe they’re coming off because I’m scraping too hard.

I sure was tired at the end of the day. My hot shower felt great! And I’m definitely going to bed early!

Good night,
Suzanne

SIGHT-SEEING

When I was 19, I lived across the street from a graveyard. After classes, I would walk home and then wander through that graveyard for a bit. It was peaceful, quiet, and beautiful.

Today, I walked around a cemetery in Selma. It was a very old one. I found it peaceful, quiet, and beautiful. Here’s a picture of a small part of it.



Those southern oaks with the Spanish moss look so regal. But I just found out that the Spanish moss is missing from many trees hit by Hurricane Katrina. When I was in Moss Point, MS, a gentleman pointed that out to me. And he also mentioned that there are very few squirrels and alligators. He just recently saw his first alligator since Katrina. I am learning that storms like Katrina or Andrew or Rita or Carla (now that dates me) have many ripple effects that are hard to even imagine.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a mild hurricane season!

Ya’ll take care,
Suzanne

OK, I have writer’s block. I've been trying for about 45 minutes to think of something interesting that happened today. I did have a "first" happen, but it really falls into the category of "Oh, that's interesting" followed by dead silence. So, I’ll tell you what I’m up to…..

I’m in Selma, AL, and I'll be here for one week. I’ll be working at the Methodist Children’s Home. I’m with a group called NOMADS. NOMADS are RV’ers who like to stop and help out. We go to the NOMADS website and find projects in the vicinity of our travels. This is my fourth project. I’ve learned how to tape and mud drywall, done a lot of painting, learned to use a hammer gun, mowed some grass, repaired horse barns, and caulked a lot of holes.

I chose to stop in Selma because it is on my way to Perry, GA, where I'll be attending an Airstream Rally. Tomorrow, I'll meet the coordinator of the Children's Home and find out what I’ll be doing.

Here’s a picture of the chapel.



That’s it for now….after all, I do have writer’s block!

Suzanne