A Thinking Kind of Day

Where to start?  Woke up late this morning after a pretty rough night.  I started not feeling well yesterday early afternoon.  Took a nap and still felt crummy.  Let Ron do most of the work on the tree lot, trying to rest.  My left eye was really sore and I couldn't figure out why.  Woke up in the middle of the night with my eye burning.  Put a hot compress on it at 3:30 a.m.  Went back to sleep till the wind blowing the awning woke us up at 7:00 a.m.  Ron got up and went and pulled the awning in.  I put another hot cloth on my eye and we went back to sleep.  Woke up at 9:25 a.m. when a customer knocked on our door.  We quickly got moving.  Thankful she was patient with us.  She bought one of our larger trees. Yeah!

I then took the time to look at my eye.  It is quite swollen and red.  It looks like I scratched the lower lid or else developing a sty.  Not sure which.  Another hot compress and it felt a little better.  My mind has been running laps today.


Today would have been my Mom's 75th birthday.  Hard to believe that she has been gone for over 5 years.  Some days I find myself saying "I should call my mom about ...." and then remember she is gone.  That has happened quite a few times in the last week.  I guess with her birthday being today she has been on my mind a lot.  We didn't always have the best of relationships but the good times we had were wonderful.  I remember Christmas 1980.  She came to our place in Sumner that year.  Ron got a black cowboy hat from her.  He still has it though it is in storage.  Guess he will have to dig it out and take it with us to Texas.  He should fit right in then along with his cowboy boots.  My gift from her was 50 brand new $1 bills. She had folded each one in fourths and put them in a shoe box.  She would not let me open it till all the wrappings from the other gifts had been cleaned up.  I guess she knew me pretty well ~ when I opened the box and saw all that money in there I let out a whopper of a scream.  Yes, the one many of you have heard over the years.  $50 to spend on me, any way I wanted.  Another memory about that Christmas is that we put our Christmas tree in the playpen.  We had one of those wooden square ones.  Brandon was 10 months old and it was easier to cage the tree then to keep him from knocking it over.  We even strung lights around the edge of the playpen.  

My mom and I struggled over many things.  Thinking of them is sad so I try not going down that path.  Remembering the good things, the laughs and the teasing and the love that she had for my boys that is what makes me happy.  I wish she was here to know her three grandchildren.  I can picture her playing dolls with Opal, laughing with Christopher and encouraging Max in baseball.

I have also been thinking of her chicken gumbo.  It was so good.  I try to make it at least once a year.  This year I am going to make it while we are at Brandon's.  Mine is okay but not nearly as good as hers.  I follow the same recipe but something seems to be lacking, just not sure what it is.  

Have also been thinking of how we are celebrating Christmas this year.  It will be different as we will be on the road on Christmas Day driving to Post Falls to meet up with Brandon and his family for basketball tournament.  It will be just the two of us.  Have been thinking of dinner and what we are going to do.  Ron suggested we go out to eat but that seems weird to me.  But at the same time I can't think of what to fix since we will be driving all day.  Maybe I will plan on different appetizers that we can munch on while driving and then make some French Onion soup once we stop for the night.  Any suggestions please send them our way.  We are looking forward to going to Edmonds Lutheran Church which is right behind Safeway for their Christmas Eve service.  It starts at 8:00 p.m. which works great for us as we are done here on the lot at 5:00 p.m.  Will definitely make some phone calls on Christmas Day to Jamie, Suzanne & Opal and Brandon and his family, plus a couple of calls to friends and a few of our aunts & uncles.

Talked with Bonnie this morning from Lone Star Corral.  I don't know who is more excited ~ Ron & I and our upcoming trip to Texas and the new jobs or Bonnie and the board to know they have a couple coming on board in March.  Ron has been busy planning our route.  And making reservations at different campgrounds.  I have confirmed with my aunt in Middletown and Ron's aunt in McNeal, AZ.  Right now our plan is to leave on Sunday, February 13th from Blaine, WA and arrive in Hondo, TX on March 11th.  We start work on March 14th.  We want to use the weekend before we start to get settled in, organized and other household things preparing for full time work.  One thing I want to do is get back into planning our menu's for a month at time.  When I used to do that, we ate pretty healthy, grocery shopped only every other week which saved us money, and took a lot of stress off of wondering what is for dinner.  I will probably start the menu planning while we are driving so we can do a major grocery shop before landing in Hondo.

We have sold 10 trees today.  We have 82 trees left on the lot.  We were hoping for good weather today but that is not happening.  We woke up to high winds and very cold weather.  Now the rain has started.  Hoping it is not a big turn off to those who still need to buy a tree.  We have talked a lot about our experience of selling Christmas trees.  We are glad we tried it but don't think this is a job we want to do again.  But we can say we have done it.  We think selling Christmas trees wouldn't be so bad if we had one day a week off to get away from the lot but that is not how they do it.  We will have been here 33 days when we are done.  I have driven to Costco once, Ron once to the auto parts store to get light bulbs for the interior lights here in the motor home and we took off early one morning to do laundry.  Next week Wednesday we will go and do laundry again.  Thursday Ron will take the motor home to get gas as we don't know how many gas stations are going to be open on Christmas Day.

Sitting watching cars in the parking lot is quite entertaining.  We keep waiting for there to be a collision right on the corner of the lot.  So many people use the lot to cut through the area, cars go pretty fast through the lot and go the wrong way down the lanes.  There are times when the horns are honking and Ron and I just shake our heads.  If people went up/down the lanes as directed there might not be so many near misses.  Just now I watched one car trying to cut through a parking spot and two cars coming at opposite directions all stop looking at each other.  I wonder who is going to give first.


We have had a few visitors while we have been here and that has been nice.  So thankful for friends who have come by or called.  It helps to make the days go by a little faster.


I don't know much else and I think I am rambling on so I should probably end this post before boring all of you.


We have been praying for many things and would appreciate your praying along with us...


...for Tammy and Kenny as Tammy recuperates from her breast cancer surgery.  They should be meeting with the doctors early next week to see what the next step is.  Praising God that Tammy has quit smoking and that the desire for the cigarettes has not been too strong.


...thanking God for putting us on the hearts of friends who blessed us with a Safeway gift card!


...thanking the Lord for the customers he has sent our way and praying for the rest of these trees to sell.  We have sold three more while I have been writing my blog post today.  We are down to 79 on the lot.


...praising God for the friends who have given us an ear to listen to our thoughts, fears, questions about taking a new job so far from home.


Take care and may all of you have a full and blessed day!

Catch Up Time Again & Time to Plan for Our Next Adventure

Greetings on this very wet and rainy night here in Edmonds, WA.

We have 11 more days of selling Christmas trees.  We have sold 164 trees so far and have 77 trees on the lot.  We are expecting one or more two deliveries this week before our final weekend.  We are actually open till 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve.   We have had one tree stolen from the lot ~ found out that is not unusual.  Frustrating to say the least.

One happy family with their Christmas tree.

Ali peaking out from behind the trees.

The drilling machine.

 Friday morning we decided we had better do some laundry.  It had been 19 days since we had done laundry and we were running out of some of the necessities.  This is what 19 days of laundry looks like:

After doing laundry we stopped at Edmonds Lutheran Church which is right behind Safeway where we are parked.  I went in and asked Sue, the church secretary, if we could fill our water tank in the motor home after explaining that we are selling Christmas trees just across the street.  She said sure!  We also found out that they have a Christmas Eve service at 8:00 p.m.  Guess where we are going?  God is so good, he gave us water and we now have a Christmas Eve service to attend!

We have had a few visitors.  Saturday afternoon, Dee & Tim brought us down our mail and the license plates for our Jeep and a great birthday gift.  A little heart that is now hanging in my kitchen window (I will get a picture and post it next time) that says "Welcome to our home on the road."  I love it and you see it as you enter the motor home.  We laughed a lot and even sold a couple of trees while they were here.  Total count for the day was 27!  Our best day ever.  We also got another $3 tip - that makes $18 in tips!  


We also had an unexpected visitor at midnight Saturday night.  A lady banged on the door at midnight and said she found her tree.  So Ron got up, went to the tree.  She said it was $21.  WRONG it was $41.  She thought that was crazy and so walked off.  No sale.  It was close to 1:00 a.m. before we were able to get to sleep.  She should have at least bought the darn tree!


Saturday night we got a job offer from the Escapees Co-op campground in Hondo, TX.  We also got a job offer from Childs Meadow Resort and another campground about an hour from Salinas.  And we also have the request to rejoin the carnival for next year.  First I was stressed because we didn't have a job and now we have choices.  Choices oh my!!!  Answer to be found later in this post.


Sunday morning found us facing a horrendous downpour.  It was raining so hard that Ron let me sleep in.  We finally got a break in the weather late in the afternoon.  Our friend Bryan and his two kids, Evan and Lauren came by for a short visit.  They brought us treats from Starbucks!  Love them and those coffees!  

Sunday afternoon I needed to make some change.  We have a change jar so I thought I would grab it and make some change for the cash box.  And this is what happened:

This is what happens when you pop the top off the jar and it goes crashing to the ground.

Close up of the change.  It went all the way down the side of the bed and all along the foot of the bed.  Fortunately it was a plastic jar so there was no glass.

This is where the change belongs.

We sold 17 trees yesterday.  In the evening Fran, our collector, and Chuck, the tree owner came by to get our money from the sales from Saturday and Sunday.  Ron told Chuck about our job offers.  Chuck told Ron we have a job with him for next year selling trees if we want it.  He says we are doing a good job.  That was encouraging to hear especially since we have nothing to compare it to.


Today we got off to a rather slow start.  The sun was shining when we got up.  We did some clean up inside the motor home.  I think we have as many needles inside our house without a tree if we did have a tree.  We swept the inside of the motor home and hung our blue rug up on the fence to dry from all the wet shoes on it over the weekend.  Ron also did some sweeping outside.  It was a pretty quiet day.  We were both on the computer this afternoon when there was a little knock on the door.  It was Kristy and Kodie!  They made a detour on their way home from Children's Hospital to come and visit.  We had a fun time catching up.  Kodie was anxious to get back on the road as she had been promised a lunch treat at McDonald's.  While they were visiting we had a customer so we all went outside.  Kodie decided she needed a fresh tree.  She was on the hunt.  She found just the right size tree.  Ron then found her a special little tree stand.  Kodie knew you had to pay for her tree.  I made a tree sign and Kodie paid me 25 cents for her tree and tree stand.  Then it was time for them to go home.  Kodie had to find the tree a safe place in the car for the journey back to Bellingham.  

Ron & Kodie with her tree and receipt.

Kodie anxiously awaiting Mom so they could go to McDonald's.

And her tree tucked safely in for travel.

I then took advantage of a slow day and took a two hour nap.  I laid down on the couch and slept for over two hours.  While sleeping it started to rain again.  Remember the rug we hung up to dry ~ well now it is really wet as it is still outside.  It won't be coming back inside for awhile now.  Oh well.


Then we had some phone calls to make and some emails to send.  What was our news that we needed to share.  We are happy to say we have accepted the positions in Hondo, TX.  I will be the Office Manager and Ron the Outside Property Manager.   We are excited to accept these positions and start planning our new adventure.  We start our new jobs on Monday, March 14, 2011.  So now we start planning a new trip too!  I will share our plans for the route, dates of travel and where we will be stopping in the days to come.


Thank you all for your prayers of support and encouragement as we searched for work and watched to see how God would open doors for us.  As we begin this new adventure I will continue to share our praises and prayer requests.

Thursday Thoughts

It has been a pretty quiet day here at the Christmas tree lot.  Leaves lots of time to think and contemplate.  So what have I been thinking about?

Let's begin with work in the future.  As many of you know we had a phone interview with Bonnie and the board of directors of Lone Star Corral (click on the underline link to see the park) an Escapees campground in Hondo, TX.  We were asked many questions and some of our answers brought laughter.  Like when Ron was asked if had any allergies to chemicals.  He replied, "None that I know of, except maybe a little work."  The phone interview lasted about 20 minutes.  The call ended with Bonnie saying she would get back to us within the week.  We both felt the interview went well and are thinking this may be the job for us.  We just have to wait and see if it is offered to us.

About an hour after that phone call we got a call from Bruce from a campground in California that is also interested in us coming to work for them Summer of 2011.  Ron and I were on the phone with him for about 30 minutes.  Now we have more things to think about.  Asking ourselves the pros/cons of each job.  

We have sought the prayers of many and we know God will clearly show us where and what we should do.  How you ask?  Because just as we contemplated going to work for the carnival last Spring we asked the Lord for that peace that passes all understanding (***Phil. 4:6-7) and we had that peace in our hearts.  And we know we will have it for this situation in our lives.

Christmas tree sales have been very slow the last couple of days.  We sold 4 trees yesterday and 3 trees today.  And right now it is pouring down rain so we don't expect too many customers yet this evening.  One thing we forgot to share about our weekend sales is that we got $15 in tips from different customers.  One lady gave us a tip just as they were driving away with their tree on their car.  There was two guys, looked about college age who saw her give Ron the tip. He gave Ron a tip too.  I told Ron that was all the change I had just given the guy.  The guy had told me he had $60 for a tree including tax.  He picked out a tree that was $55 + change with tax.  He gave the $4.00 to Ron as a tip.  We both thought that was so sweet.  With the slow sales it leaves a lot of time to think and be on the computer.  A lot of time on the computer!  There is not much to do here at the Christmas tree lot when we have no customers. 

I have done searches looking for a church to attend Christmas Eve services.  I have thought about writing an end of year letter and sending out Christmas cards which I have not done a lot of the last few years.  What I need to do is clean out the cupboard above our bed.  But I can't see the lot from the bedroom and one of us needs to be watching the lot for customers.  And I say I need to clean out the cupboard but it is really a we.  One of us empties the cupboard and the other puts the stuff on the bed.  Then we sort it out and then reorganize as we put stuff back up in the cupboard.  We will have to do it soon as there are a couple of Christmas gifts up there that I need to wrap and figure out how to get to the people they go to.

I have also thought about writing some stories.  I posted one yesterday that I wrote a few years ago.  I enjoy writing, I just need some ideas on what to write about.  I have thought about writing up some more things about the carnival life as well as writing some psalms.  My friend Marla has encouraged me to write psalms when my mind is full and running kind of wild.

The other thing I have thought of doing is some cleaning and organizing of things in the motor home.  We have hard wood floors with six throw rugs throughout the motor home.  Right now we have needles every where even though we have shaken the rugs and swept the floors every couple of days.  We also have stuff piled on the benches and the table in the dining area as well as the passenger seat and the dog house (the engine cover).  It just looks kind of cluttered right now.  And we have people in our home every day since that is where I have to do the money transactions.  I am hoping for three busy days so will set some goals of doing some of that cleaning and organizing the first of next week.  Don't hesitate to ask me how I am doing in those areas next week.

I have been thinking about if we take the job in Texas what all would need to happen before we would have to report to work.  The start date is March 14, 2011.  There are lots of people to see in Blaine/Birch Bay, Bellingham,  and Lewiston, Id, along with people we would want to see along the way in California and Arizona.  I would want to stop in Las Vegas and go to the cemetery where Royce is buried.  We don't get to do that too often and if I have a chance to even be near there I want to stop.


There are things that we would need to take to Texas with us that we don't normally carry with us in the motor home.  Like summer and winter clothes, my Americana decorations, Fall decorations and our Christmas decorations.  We usually just switch those out each season.  But with making a year commitment I would need want the decorations to be able to use.  And we would have to figure out if Ron would take any of his tools though it sounds like they have all the tools that would be needed for any job that needs to be done.


I have also been thinking about things we have learned regarding selling Christmas trees.  We have learned to get things in writing and make sure we understand things like how we get paid.  Yes I know we will get paid US currency :).  But how much we get paid, how often we get paid are two important things that we thought we understood.  Like getting a base pay and a commission or just a commission.  When payday (s) are.  And what is ALL expected of us for the job.  Also what benefits come with the job.  In our case having a place to park our little home, where we get power and water.  Hmmm....still thinking of that one.  Ron says not to worry we will get water.  I just have this fear that I will be taking a shower and will run out of water.  Just not a pretty scene to me.  Someone on one of the RV forums I read/write on suggested going to a local fire department to see if we can get water.  I told that to Ron and he said he will ask the firemen who park their big truck right by us when they go to Safeway if that is a possibility.   And where/how do we dump our tanks?  We found out after we were set up that the company that put the port-a-potty here and comes and cleans it weekly is to dump our tanks and the bill goes to Chuck.  Thank you Lord as that saves us $30 for each time the tanks are dumped.   And where to do laundry?  


On Monday I told Ron we needed to do laundry soon.  He agreed as he had only one more pair of socks.  So what did we do.  We counted how many pairs of underwear (I know too much information) we had left.  Enough through Saturday.  So we just needed socks to go that long.  So off to TJMax I went and bought Ron six more pairs of socks.  See they come in 3's or 6's.  3's wouldn't have got us to the end of the week so it was 6 I bought.  So laundry day was scheduled for Friday.  Remember we don't have to be on the lot between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. during the week.  So tonight out comes Maggie (our GPS system) and the computer.  We were on the hunt for a laundromat, not a cleaners.  We have one of those right next to Safeway but I can't imagine taking my dirty laundry to a cleaners for someone else to do.  So we found two laundromats.  One didn't open till 9 AM, the other at 8 AM.  So we have set the alarm for 7:00 a.m.  I didn't even realize there was a 7:00 a.m. and I don't think my phone knows that time either.  So Ron, being the wonderful hubby that he is, set his phone alarm.  We will be up and at em early in the morning tomorrow.  To do laundry.  I am sure we will have four or five loads as there are two full bags and one partially full bag + we have to do sheets.  Hopefully we can get the laundry all washed and dried by 9:45 a.m. so we can be back at the motor home by 10:00 a.m. when we are to open the Christmas tree lot.

Well I think that is enough thinking for right now.  I just realized it is 8:38 p.m. and I still have not fixed dinner....now I have more thinking to do.  What to make for dinner.  We ate all the leftover.  Hmmm......Safeway is right there...maybe I will go for a walk and see if I can find something.  Sounds like a good idea to me.


Praise ~
~ for a great interview on the phone this morning
~ for the trees that we have sold so far and the people we have been able to share how the Lord brought us to this place to sell these trees
~ thanks for the tips we have gotten this week

Prayer requests ~
~ for the peace that passes all understanding about where we are to work next 
~ for us to remain healthy especially working outside in the cold, wind and rain.  It is supposed to rain
~ for me not to feel anxious about where and how we will get water

*** Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.  And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.***

Walking the Dog, Walking with God

I was reading a couple of blogs that I follow and they had to do with walking their dogs, things to think about while walking, communing with God.  So I thought I would post the story I wrote Fall 2004/Spring 2005 while walking our dog, Ozzie.    Ozzie was a German Shepherd/Chow mix ~ big and strong.  Hope you enjoy reading this story.  As always, comments are appreciated.

Walking the Dog, Walking with God

           I
had been struggling with lots of anxiety and worries.  I was worried about our son, Jamie, who was
serving in Iraq
and our other son, Brandon, who was struggling with school and job issues.  I found myself so depressed I could barely
function.  I struggled to get out of bed,
to take a shower or to do any of the other bare necessities.

            That
Tuesday was no different.  I stayed in
bed feeling like there was no reason to go on with life.  Afraid of what the future might hold.  What if something happened to Jamie?   What if Brandon did not finish school?  What if? just kept running through my
mind.  I felt as bleak on the inside as
the weather outside.  The sky was dark
and grey, rain was pelting down and the wind was blowing in every
direction.  It was as crummy outside as I
was feeling inside.

            The
telephone rang.  It was the pastor
returning my call.  He asked how I was
doing.  I began crying.  I told him I was not doing very well.  I was depressed and feeling overwhelmed with
worries about Jamie and Brandon, tired of struggling to make ends meet and
questioning myself about why should I bother to go on living.  We talked for a while and then he prayed with
me.  After praying he suggested I take
the dog and go for a walk.  I told him he
had to be kidding, couldn’t he see how nasty the weather was outside.  I gave him all the excuses I could think of
why I should not go for a walk: it was raining, it was cold and windy outside,
I was too tired, the list went on but he stood firm that I should go for a
walk.  I would feel better if I got out
and did something.  Nothing I said made a
difference to him.  He would not back
down and I was too tired to continue arguing with him so I said, “Fine. 
I will go for a walk with the dog. 
I will call you when I get back.”

            I
put on my scarf, ear muffs, gloves and raincoat and then got the dog, Ozzie,
ready to go.  It’s not easy to get a
rowdy German shepherd ready to go for a walk. 
I finally got the choke collar and leash on him and headed towards the
car.  Ozzie was pulling on me as we
trudged through 3” of muddy water and I wondered out loud, “What in the world am I doing? 
This is so crazy!”  Reaching
the car, Ozzie jumped in while I was yelling at him, “Stay in the back!  Don’t you dare get in the front seat!”

            With
Ozzie whining in my ear and rain pelting down I backed the car out of the
driveway.  I drove to Semiahmoo
Spit.  It’s a three mile walk along the
beach and around the resort.  Maybe while
walking my mind will focus on the beautiful scenery and maybe I just might see
a bald eagle.  I parked the car and got
Ozzie out of the back of the car. 
Thinking to myself about getting the walk over we headed towards the
trail that led to the beach.  The rain
was still coming down and I thought to myself, “Why didn’t I just tell the pastor he was crazy and I was not going for
a walk especially in this yucky weather.” 
But no, I do what I am told.  The
leash in my right hand and Ozzie on my left side I began the three mile walk
around the spit and resort.

            Immediately
Ozzie began pulling on me.  I yanked on
the leash and yelled, “Ozzie, stay here
beside me!”  We walk about five steps
and again Ozzie pulls me.  Again I yank
on the leash and yell.  Walk a few more
steps and yank and yell, walk a few more steps, yank and yell.  Thinking to myself, “This is going to be longest three mile walk I have ever taken.  It will probably take me three hours!”    I walk through the parking lot, dodging mud
puddles oozing with water.  Ozzie keeps
pulling and I keep yanking and yelling. 
We cross the road to get to the trail. 
We go about 25 steps and then do the yank and yell bit a few more times.  The rain is really coming down now.  Wow, there’s the half mile mark.  I begin to think Ozzie has the hang of
things; he can walk but he needs to stay close beside me.  The rain is really picking up and the wind is
really blowing.  It is sure cold out
here.  I am getting soaked.  I say to no one, “Why do I just do what I’m told? 
When will I begin to think and speak for myself?”

            Good,
we just passed the three quarter’s of a mile mark.  My mind wanders.  I find myself asking God “Why can’t I get out of this depression?  I feel as miserable as this stinking
weather.  Why did I ever agree to go on a
walk?  Why? Why? Why?”  A one word question, but what a giant
question.  I loosen my grip a little on
the leash and once again Ozzie pulls me hard. 
Yank and yell, Yank and yell. 

            Okay,
there’s the one and a half mile mark. 
Yeah!  Turning around the wind
caught me and I thought “Great Scots! I
am going to be one drenched puppy dog when I get to the car!”  I start laughing, isn’t that funny, one
drenched puppy dog.  No, we were going to
be one super soaked person and one very wet dog.  Continuing back along the beach towards the
car, the rain is really coming down in sheets and the wind is whipping up.

            All
of a sudden I hear this voice say, “Alice isn’t that what I
need to do with you.  Yank your chain and
tell you to stay beside me.”  Okay,
God, here comes your sense of humor once again. 
I remember the pastor mentioning that God has a funny way of bringing
the things we need to deal with to the forefront and sometimes in ways that
astound us.  It could be a book that I am
reading, something someone says or a note in the mail and there is God speaking
and not yelling or yanking my chain. 
Just quietly saying, “Alice, just stay close
beside me.  I won’t let you get
hurt.  I am always with you and will be
there anytime you need me.”

            Now
we are at the two mile mark.  Only one
more mile and I can go back home where it’s warm and dry.  Ozzie pulls hard and I think I am going to
fall.  I yank hard on the chain yelling, ”Ozzie, stay here beside me!”  Wait, there’s that voice again.  ”Alice, don’t you think
that is the advice you need to hear too. 
Stay close beside Me.  Stay near
Me, don’t pull away.  Stay near and I
will comfort and guide you.”  “Oh God” I
cry from deep within, “Why is my life so
hard?  Why do I fight things?  Why do I hurt so much?  Why can’t I just be?  Why do I worry about things that may never
happen?”  “Oh no” I think, “There is that just be stuff again.  Just be, just deal with things as they
happen.” 

            Whew
the rain is coming down hard and the wind is pushing and pulling me in every
direction.  Ozzie and I continue to do
the yank and yell about every 50 steps now. 
Maybe he is getting the hang of things; that he needs to stay close to
me and we will get along just fine.  I
can see the car in the distance.  I am so
glad as I am soaked all the way through. 
My jeans are wet and I am cold.  I
realize that Ozzie has not pulled me for the last few minutes, maybe he is
getting the hang of this, stay close and he doesn’t get yanked or yelled
at.  “Alice,
Alice” oh,
there’s God calling me again,  “isn’t that what you need to be reminded of
right now.  Stay close and things will be
okay.”  I am almost to the car and I
look at Ozzie.  He is walking so nice
next to me.  I am cold and wet and think,
“Sometimes Alice you have to go the long way around the
block.  Remember what God just said, stay
close to Me and He will stay close to me.”

            I turn the car heater on as we
head for home.  Ozzie sits in the back
seat, kind of mellow for a change, not even whining.  It is amazing how calm he is.  We get home and I let Ozzie out of the
car.  I take his choke collar and leash
off and he runs to the door.  He keeps
glancing back, just checking to see if I am coming.  Walking and watching Ozzie I ask myself, “Is that what I do, keep looking back to
make sure God is with me?  That my
friends are still with me?”  Again I
have to remind myself God is always with me.

            Once
inside the house Ozzie looks at me, waiting for his bone.  He sure knows the routine.  Come in from outside, sit by the gate and
wow, a yummy chew bone is tossed his way. 
I think I am a little like that…I know the routine, I know the
plan.  Trust in God, talk to God, tell
Him how I am doing and His warm comforting arms reach down and surround me.

            I
need to call the pastor and tell him, “Yes,
I think the walk did me good.  I feel
better, not even super tired.”  He
will laugh, not saying “I told you so” but thinking it.  Then he will say, “You know Alice,
you don’t need me; you need to turn to God. 
That is part of the trusting and resting in God.  He is there for you every step of the way!”  I respond: “yeah, I know.  I just needed to
go for a walk where I would not be distracted and could hear God talking to
me.  Thanks for encouraging me to get out
and go for that walk.”

            As I sit and drink a nice hot mug
of coffee I find myself thanking God for walking with me today in the wind and
rain.  For ‘yanking my chain’.  Then I realize that God doesn’t yank my chain
or even yell at me.  He is always right
there, always ready and willing to listen. 
I end my thoughts with a small prayer of thanksgiving: thanking the Lord
for walking beside me as I walk through life, the good and the bad times, the
times of joy and sorrow, for blessing me with friends who care about me but
most of all for always being available for me.

Christmas Tree Lot Days 8, 9 & 10

Hi there on this chilly Sunday night.  The sun shone bright today but boy once the sun went down it got cooooolllllllllldddddd!  I am sitting in the motor home with my fleece jacket on plus parked right by the electric heater.  Heard from a guy today that it is supposed to be getting colder in the next few days.

Didn't sell too many trees on Friday but Saturday and Sunday were much better.  On Saturday we sold 17 trees!   One young couple was quite fun to chat with.  They bought a 7' tree and then didn't know if it would fit on their little car.  Ron and I said no problem.  See we can do whatever we need to do to sell a tree.

Ron tying the tree to their car.  They brought a blanket to go underneath of the tree.

See it fit, no problem.

 Today we sold 25!  It never got super busy but steady throughout the day.  Our hours on the weekends are 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Not quite sure they want us to be open so early as our first customer yesterday was 10:30 a.m. and today it was about 9:30 a.m.  But since we live here on the lot guess it doesn't really matter what time we open.

This guy lives right around the corner from the lot so he just hoisted the tree up on his shoulder and walked home with it.  It was a 6 1/2' tree with a good size trunk.

Ron with one of our trees.

One of the trees going home in the back of a truck.

We have been able to visit with a few people about how the Lord has blessed us this year and led us here to sell Christmas trees.  We have heard about a couple of local churches that have Christmas Eve services.  One that I checked on we are not going to be able to attend as the service starts at 6:00 p.m.  With having to be open till 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve we don't think we can make it to that one on time.  Another couple we talked to today said their service is at 7 and 9 p.m.  We think we will be able to make the 9:00 p.m. for sure though we may try to make the 7 p.m. service.


Things have quieted down now for the evening.  We might get a couple of more customers tonight but once it gets dark the customers usually don't come.  I know, I would want to see the tree we were going to buy in the daylight though it is quite bright on the lot with all the lights around the top.


Here are a couple pictures of a special Christmas cactus that we have.  Sure hope you enjoy them.

My Christmas cactus with its first bloom of the season.  This is the only plant we have in the motor home.  It has a special place in our heart as it was started from a cutting off of a Christmas cactus that his Grandma Workentin had given to Eldon & Gloria Balzer.  We have had the plant for over 10 years.

Another view of our Christmas cactus.

Praises
~ thank you Lord for all the customers that you have sent our way.
~ continued good health for both of us
~ for the comforts of our motor home: heat, lights, dry

Prayer Requests
~ for continued safety while we are parked here in Edmonds
~ for this job of selling Christmas trees.  Give us strength to do the daily things of working on this lot and for customers to buy our trees, wreathes and tree stands
~ for the job interview we have by phone on Thursday at 9:00 a.m.  If it is Your will that we get this job and move to Texas for a year we pray for favor with those interviewing us
~ for more opportunities to share how You have blessed us these past few months

Thank you all for stopping by.  

Christmas Tree Lot Day 6 & 7 including a birthday celebration!

Hello Everyone...we have had a couple of semi-busy days.

Christmas tree sales ~ we had our biggest day yesterday ~ sold 10 trees!  Today we sold our first wreath.  We now have 93 trees, 2 wreaths and 3 tree stands.  We thought we would get a delivery of trees today for the weekend but that did not happen.  Maybe tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be cold and cloudy but they are not forecasting rain for the weekend which should help us selling trees.  I just don't think it would be a fun family outing looking for a Christmas tree in the rain.

Ron enjoying the sunshine waiting for customers.

An excited little girl with the tree she picked out for the family.

The view of the lot from TJ Max. Ron hung more lights up to make it look more festive.

Another view of the trees with the additional lights.

Close up of the lights.

Yesterday was my birthday.  The first thing Ron did was wish me a Happy Birthday and then he sang me a song.  He makes me laugh a lot.  We were up early and went out for breakfast.  I had a special treat of Eggs Benedict.  They were pretty tasty.  For my birthday dinner I chose sweet & sour ribs with rice, fresh cauliflower and of course, chocolate cake.  I received many birthday greetings from family and friends.  Ron got me a beautiful blueish/green turtleneck and a box of licorice mix (a great late night snack).  It was definitely a great birthday.

Sweater and licorice from Ron.  Planning on wearing the sweater on Christmas Eve when we go to a Christmas Eve Worship service.  Will be checking local churches to see what they offer and when as we have to work till 5 p.m.

Birthday dinner...doesn't look too good in this picture but it sure tasted good.

And my toothless fork.  See the two teeth on the side, it broke when I poked it in my ribs.  They were tender so I don't know why the fork broke, maybe because it is plastic ware and not silverware :)

Great looking cake!

And the birthday girl with her cake.  Which was scrumptious by the way.

And Ron playing with the party favors.

Today we had two fun surprises.  First was a visit from our friends Patrick & Patrica.  They own The C Shop (if you click on the title it takes you to their blog/store site) in Birch Bay, WA.  It is a candy & cafe shop.  If you are ever up in Birch Bay in the summer it is a must stop by and check out all the goodies.  One of my favorite dishes to get there is the homemade pizza.  Patrick & Patricia were on their way home from Pittsburgh via Seattle.  We were on their way home from Seattle to Birch Bay.  After visiting for a little while, they took me out for lunch at the Pancake House.  I had a taco salad ~ it was huge and tasted yummy.  We took lots of pictures of each other.

Alice, Patrick & Patricia

Ron & Alice

Doesn't he look like Santa without the suit?

And here we are again.  I think Patrick was having fun taking our picture.

Patricia, Ron & Patrick  (I need to work on getting the focus right as the picture looks a little blurry).

About an hour later my friend Lynda, from Bellingham, stopped by.  She was on her way to her son, Seth's place to spend some time with her grandkids while their parents were involved in a play that their church is putting on this holiday season.  Lynda brought me a lovely pair of blue glass earrings.  They look like deep blue raindrops.  And dinner ~ a meatloaf with mashed potatoes from Costco ~ it was pretty tasty and especially delicious because I didn't have to cook!  We then walked over to Starbucks to have a mocha and Lynda picked up a few things to take with her.  It was fun to visit with her.

Meatloaf with mashed potatoes for dinner.

Dished up on the plate with the cauliflower added.  And of course we had cake for dessert!

We had a few customers today that came and looked.  We sold one wreath and three trees bringing our total to 28 trees sold.  We keep telling ourselves that it is still early in the season.  We are hoping for a busy weekend.


Hope you enjoyed hearing about my birthday and seeing our pictures.