A New "Adventure?"

I think I'm finally over my allergy/asthma attack that I had earlier this month.  I still cough a little, but I don't sound scary to be around anymore!  ha ha.

Since Elaina and I started going to First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, I decided to join a small group, or as many churches call them a "Life Group."

Picture taken in Winter, no green grass!

I missed the first meeting of my life group because of my scary coughing, but I was able to attend last Tuesday.  We meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays in a home.  I consider this a new adventure because I haven't been part of a group like this since my days at Orange Evangelical Free Church.  This is a new place to live, a new church, and now a new group of people to share with.

This group is an all-women's group and the ages are from approximately 45-75 +.  The name of the group is PEARLS, and each letter stands for something else, but I don't have it memorized, sorry.  The few ladies I have talked with are very sweet, godly women and we have a few things in common.  As in all "Life Groups" things that are talked about in the group are private and not to be talked about outside the group. (Obviously I won't be sharing anything like that here!)

I can tell you we're going through a Bible study book called Seamless, by Angie Smith.  It's not a dry, read, fill in the blank, kind of study.  Angie is very knowledgeable and adds humorous and contemporary aspects to the notes.  There's also a short video 
each week by Angie.

Angie Smith

I'm looking forward to meeting with the other ladies each week and see what kind of adventures come about!

In other news, we have had very humid, cloudy, rainy days for the start of Fall.  Last night we had a super thunderstorm.  Late morning was bright and sunny, but we are expecting another storm today.  I'm hoping the Fall weather starts to feel like Fall soon, which means the humidity will go away.  Hooray!  (Right now it's 82 degrees with 74% humidity!)Aaanndd, it's raining......

Fall Allergies (and as always), Miscellaneous

I haven't written in a while.  Partly because I didn't have much to say, and partly because I have had a miserable allergy attack.

Hurricane Hermine that became Tropical Storm Hermine didn't affect us much.  We just had a few hours of heavy wind and rain one evening.  Didn't even bother our sleep that night.  There's another storm brewing I hear, but we don't expect much from it either.  That's what they say right now.

I have always had Fall allergies to some extent, but not like I've had here this month.  Episodes of sneezing and blowing turned into a cough and allergic asthma.  That started last Thursday the 8th and I'm still wheezing and coughing like crazy.  I don't have any medical insurance here, or I would have been to urgent care before this.  I'm doing what I know to do to get better, so it will end sometime.  (Never had asthma before!)

I had three Etsy orders in August, and three so far this month, which is great for me.  I have to get some more items listed soon. Hoping the sales continue.  Had to go out today, to get the third one shipped.

Here's a couple of things I find interesting in Eastern North Carolina:

 

• Cities/Counties "love" divided highways.  I've talked about that before, but I'm telling you, it's like it's a "must have" here. So often you have to drive a little further past where you want to go because you have to wait for a turn lane so you can make a U-turn and go back to where you want to be.  The saving grace is that parking lots often connect to different shopping centers, etc. so you can save a little time going through lots to get to a light instead of going right when you want to go left.  Sorry if that isn't clear; don't know how else to describe it!  Elaina said in Havelock they added road dividers in places where there once wasn't any, for "traffic control."  Okay, I guess.

• Here are two things you probably don't see in Walmart in California:

 Children's mini recliner in woodland camouflage

(is that so your kids can go hunting with you and have a nap when they need it?)

Deer and Turkey feed.  I think these are 50 lb bags. I had to do some research on this. I guess people like to help out the wildlife on their land during fall and winter, although I also read wildlife experts don't recommend it as it can cause health problems for the animals.  Some states don't allow it at all.  I guess NC allows it. We don't have harsh winters here, so they probably just like having the deer and turkeys hang around.  At first I thought, "Oh, you feed the deer, so you can then go out and hunt them?"  Maybe that is the case for some.

Around here a very common site is pickup trucks pulling a trailer, with a riding lawn mower in it.  Yards here are very often quite large so many home owners own riding mowers, or they pay to have their yard mowed by someone else (like us). This site is as common here as seeing Prius's in California.  Ha ha.

I'm trying to get a few things done for our annual retreat this year. My sisters and one brother-in-law are coming here in early November. Really looking forward to having them see why I love it so much here.  We will be going to antique stores and flea markets and do some sight-seeing in the process.  

Had my first real chat with the neighbor next door today.  Her name is Fay.  Sweet, friendly southern lady.  We were discussing the poor condition of the house on our left.  It's bank owned and seemingly abandoned.  Hopefully someone starts taking care of it soon.  The HOA hasn't done anything for it.

That's it for me today.  Thanks for reading!

August 29th,2016 My Mom

 Today is the anniversary of my mother passing away and going to heaven.  It sometimes seems like it was ages ago, and sometimes it seems like just a short time ago, but it has been one year.  I'm just going to share a few things that I remember to honor her today. She was a good mom, a good woman and a good friend to those who knew her.

I was blessed to be able to be with her for much of the last 10 years, and more specifically the last three. It was 2012 when I left my job in Yorba Linda.  I had initially planned on finding another job, but it became clear that I was needed at home with her.  My being home gave my sister Sue a break from being at the house every day and she gave me a break for a few hours every week. 

It was difficult at times, helping her do things that she couldn't do for herself and being wakened in the middle of the night because she needed something.  Because Mom was in a wheelchair due to her osteoarthritis, if we went anywhere, I had to load the wheelchair into the trunk, get Mom in the car, then reverse the process and get her into the wheelchair at Walmart, or Dollar Tree, or some other place she enjoyed going to.  She had a power chair to use at home, but we didn't have any way of transporting it, so we had to use an old fashioned kind when we left the house. Sometimes we would load her lap with so many items in the store that we would start laughing as she tried to keep everything from falling off.

This was her first ever ride in the new wheelchair

We did have fun on some of those trips out. Because we were often out at lunch time, I would suggest we go to Wendy's near Dollar Tree, for a hamburger.  That was not something she would have done for herself normally, but it became almost a habit to stop and get the children's meal that comes with a "frosty."  She thought that was pretty neat and really enjoyed it. Her other favorite thing to do was stop at Costco for one of their frozen yogurts.  She would ask for hers to be "swirled" meaning chocolate and vanilla mixed in the cup.  If there wasn't enough chocolate in hers, she would be sure and point it out to me!  I'm glad I didn't have to go back and tell them we wanted a new one, with more chocolate this time!  It was those simple pleasures that I think about often because they really did give her some pleasure and something to look forward to now and then.

After the trips out for shopping, of course the whole process was repeated when we got home.  By then it was time for her nap and me to have a break for a while.  Until it was time for her to get up!

Another favorite thing to do with Mom was make s'mores! She and I would roast a marshmallow on the gas stove and make a s'more once in a while in the afternoon.  Hey, if your 90 year old mother wants a s'more in the middle of the afternoon, you make s'mores!

Mom enjoyed gardening and doing jigsaw puzzles.  We worked on jigsaw puzzles on a daily basis. Her most favorite thing to do I think, was baking! She loved to bake bread and cinnamon rolls. Of course Sue and I did a lot of the work, but she would tell us what ingredients to bring her at the table, and then she would do the mixing.  She was a good cook too.

My Mom wasn't much of a dog lover, but she loved Elaina's dog Abby.  Abby was a rescue dog and was very scared of a lot of things, like Mom's power wheelchair.  (It had wheels! And it moved! Oh so scary!) I'm so glad I have this video of Mom petting Abby, even though Abby was scared to death at the time, she allowed it to happen.

If the video doesn't work, I'm sorry.  I don't know why. If it works for you, great.

Mom got a kick out of watching Abby run around the backyard, because she didn't just run, she raced like a greyhound and she chased after apples that had fallen from one of Mom's apple trees.  It was so great to hear Mom laugh and giggle at Abby's antics, even though she was in pain most of the time.  Abby keeps Elaina and I laughing all the time and I think of how Mom would be laughing at Abby today if she were here.

Mom's 90th birthday in 2014 with most of the grandchildren and great grandchildren

The reason I am here in North Carolina is because Mom had a reverse mortgage which we borrowed on in order to provide for her to stay in her own home.  Of course, that meant my life would be changing almost immediately when she passed away.  I needed a home and Elaina graciously said I could come here.  It's still a temporary situation for me, and I love it here in North Carolina, but I do miss my Mom.  Just looking forward to the day I see both my parents again.

Love and miss you Mom (and Daddy!)

End of August...Misc. Thoughts

• I went to Stovers Auction House sale on Thursday in Burgaw and found a few great things to list on Etsy.  It was a fun day being around other people who appreciate antiques.  It seems to me that people who appreciate antiques and vintage items, are just nice people. 

• When I have listened to the news on TV, I have thought in the back of my mind, that it sounds different than in California.  It hit me the other day, why it sounds different.  I know, you're thinking, well, duh.  But here's why. There is so much "country" between towns and cities here in Eastern North Carolina, that when an accident happens, or there's a crime committed, the reporters usually say that it happened in _____county. For instance, "An accident on highway 17 in Onslow County..."  Or "Big rig turned over on highway 24 in Carteret County."   They seldom actually say a city name because the accident probably wasn't anywhere near the town!  In California, events are usually named in the city they actually happened in.  In So-Cal, one city runs right into the next city, and often you don't even know you've crossed into the next city.  There are probably areas in Riverside County, CA more spread out, but the norm is city after city without space in between! Anyway, that's just a thought about living in the "country."

• Went to church last night (First Baptist of Jacksonville, or as they call themselves FBJAX). Was reminded that they bought 400 Law Enforcement Bible/devotionals for Jacksonville P.D. and Onslow County sheriffs.  I love that they did that. Several officers are part of the church.

• Had my first Bojangles dinner last night.  It came in a box 

and was chicken fingers, fries and a biscuit.  Yes, it was yummy. I saved the biscuit to eat this morning with some honey!

• There's a possibility of thunder showers tonight and for the next two days due to a tropical depression near the Florida Keys.  We're still in hurricane season, so who knows what will come next...

I hear Elaina in the kitchen preparing to barbecue some hamburgers, so I better go see if I can help.

August 23,2016 Royal Story Time

Today was the "Royal Story Time" at the USO.  The room was packed with little princesses and some would-be princes and their moms.  We hung up Disney princess posters and ephemera around the room and Disney princess place mats on the tables.  Everything was pink and pretty.

I helped set up the dessert table with cookies, brownies, and cupcakes.  Most of these come from people who volunteer to bring desserts for these events.

I worked at the craft table where the little ones were making  princess wands out of a popsicle stick or a tongue depressor. There were stickers galore and glue sticks and of course glitter. Lots and lots of glitter.  

The volunteer coordinator had on a Prince Charming costume and the assistant director had on a yellow ball gown much like "Belle" and read Beauty and the Beast to the kids.

Lunch was submarine sandwiches cut into small sizes from a local grocery store here called Lowes.  Of course they always have pb&j sandwiches for the smallest kids, chips, lemonade and tea.

Clean up means folding chairs, putting away tables, wiping down high chairs and sweeping the floor.  I did a little of some of these things and came home exhausted.

Whenever the USO does these events, they pass out surveys on the tables so that people can give their opinions of how the event went.  
Today, I asked them if they compile the surveys into one document for ease of reviewing and storing.  (My former co-workers will understand this.)  They have not done that in the past and mentioned that they have trouble storing everything.  So.....I asked if they wanted me to compile the surveys for them into one document.  They heartily agreed that it would be a good idea.  

So, this afternoon after I got home, I took 26 surveys from the last "No Dough Dinner" and compiled all the information into one 3 page document.  It's an easy thing to do, but could be time-consuming for the staff.  I hope they like what I did and will have me do more.  The No Dough Dinners and the story times all have surveys and maybe other events that I'm not familiar with.  By the way, a "No Dough Dinner" is done once a month at the USO or also now at the Cherry Point Base when it's not quite pay day, but you're "out of dough."  Local restaurants provide the food for those events too.  They probably average around 150-200 people for those.

Anyway, it was a tiring but fun day.  I got to do some office type of work that I enjoy and help Marine families enjoy a nice lunch.

Just found out that the auction house in Burgaw is having another sale on Thursday, so I'm excited about going to that again.  Let's hope I find some great bargains for re-sale there.

More Miscellaneous

I haven't written in a while.  I guess nothing exciting or interesting has been happening!  The weather has been so hot and humid that it's hard to feel like doing anything outside.  It feels like you just entered a sauna when you step outside.  We had a BIG thunderstorm two nights ago, the second one in two days.

I have spent a lot of time trying to promote my Etsy business.  Most successful Etsy sellers promote their business using Pinterest, and Instagram and a host of other social media sites.  So far neither of these has brought me any business, although I have had two orders this month.  One thing I have learned is that handmade Etsy businesses sell much more than vintage shops like mine.  I've seen people, (mostly young women) making a couple of thousand dollars a month with their handmade items.  That is a dream for me.  Don't know still what I'm supposed to be doing to earn a living.  I've applied for a few jobs, but nothing has come of them.  I can sew, but I'm still a novice and can't compete with some of these Etsy sellers who have been sewing for years.  I guess time will tell!

The USO had a rummage sale yesterday and I bought a desk chair (on wheels!) to use at my sewing machine.  It will make sewing a whole lot easier.  I also bought the book, Two Years Before the Mast.  I started reading it and couldn't put it down, but I'm not sure how long it will hold my interest.  It was written in the 1840s, by Richard Henry Dana and the first copyright date is 1909.  It's his account of being a seaman when he was a young man.  Since his sea journey took him to the coast of California, I'm assuming Dana Point is named for him.  Dana went on to be a student at Harvard and later a district attorney for the state of Massachusetts. Interesting guy.

Elaina and I visited a church last night that we think we will be involved in.  It's a huge church with a Saturday service and 3 on Sunday, plus a satellite location with 2 Sunday services. Apparently there's about 3,000 in the congregation. The church building is 120 years old and looks like an old fashioned style church building.  It's a church with contemporary worship, which we love, and a young-ish pastor.  They gave me a water bottle with their church name and logo on it as a first time visitor.


After church we stopped for dinner at Chuy's, a Tex-Mex restaurant that is quite popular here in Jacksonville. Good Mexican food used to be harder to find here in Eastern North Carolina, but it has improved a bunch according to Elaina, who has lived here for years.  Being half Mexican, she should know. We also like a restaurant called Mi Cabana.  The food is different than what I'm used to in California, but it's acceptable!

On Tuesday I'm working at another USO story time.  This one has a "princess" theme.  Should be fun!

Catch up

On July 29th, I worked at the USO helping put together 650 deployment packs, and 600 rack packs.  It was the first day I got to wear my official volunteer name tag.  (You have to put in 24 hours of volunteering to earn a name tag! I have a total of 34 hours now) These are the nice kind that attach to your clothes with a magnet.  Nice.  No pin needed.

We had a thunderstorm Saturday afternoon and then we drove to Beaufort (Beaufort on-the-Sea, their full name I guess).  We bought a few things at the Farmers Market like peaches and a gluten-free lemon bar that you would never know was gluten-free.  I also found some sourdough bread there. It is really, really sourdough.  The crust is so tough I can hardly cut it, but that makes it really crunchy and chewy for toast!  Spread with some blackberry jam...yum. It came from a bakery in another town:  

http://wildflourbakerync.com/Breads.php

They also have a cafe, so maybe we'll get to try it sometime.

I have to tell you, I have never felt humidity like I have here. When we are in the car, the a/c is on of course, but the minute I step outside, my glasses fog up and I can't see for a few seconds!  I feel like I have to cut through the air before it's breatheable!  The temperature at the market yesterday (about 7 p.m.) was 88 degrees and the humidity about 70%.   Never felt it like that before.

We have a storm on the way again today.  Thunder and lightening happening as I write, but no rain yet.  I'm glad we are getting some rain again; earlier this week I was having to water the impatiens 2-3 times a day because of the heat. (We don't have any covering on the patio and no shade).  The temps may only be in the 90's, but the "heat index" is considered the low 100's.  The weathermen have the "feels like" phrase that they use all the time.  Like today's:

(Although our thunder started around noon here!  Sometimes the thunder makes me jump right out of my seat! Like just now!)

I need to get some more items listed on my Etsy shop:

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/PicketfencesVintage

So I will close for now.  Thanks for reading my dribble.

Well people, we did it.  We moved over the weekend.  We are still settling in of course, but at least the heavy work is done.

We had a local moving company come and pack up a 26 foot UHaul truck that Elaina drove "like a boss" putting it in her words.  There were 3 strapping young men from the moving company that worked and sweated in high 90's temp. with about the same in humidity. Elaina has used this company before, so she knew they were good, but I was impressed.  They introduced themselves, shook our hands coming and going and were pleasant and polite all day.

So, we no longer live off of Burgaw Highway and Haws Run. Now we live off of Piney Green and "Old Thirty."  I love the street names around here.  So North Carolina. Have I mentioned there's a lot of trees here?  From this picture you can see what is behind our backyard.  Nothing but trees.  Some pines and some hardwoods.  There's probably deer and other creatures "out there."  I don't expect to find them inside the house like at the old house!  We do have a swallows' nest just inside the front porch area.  I think there are babies in there.

(Our house is where the pin is.)

Elaina did a herculean job of cleaning at the old house on Sunday and emptying boxes at the new house to try and get the kitchen set up.  She had to go to work this morning and I'm sure she had some sore muscles to take with her.

I'm getting settled in my new bedroom and bathroom and happy to have a home.  The owners had some wild choices in paint colors but I'm learning to like them! My room is half hot pink and half lemon yellow!  My bathroom is kind of an electric green.  I had to go to Walmart today and buy different towels and a bath mat.  In white!  I decided that was the best way to go.

Bad pic. but it IS hot pink

Elaina is letting me have another smaller room to use for my Etsy stuff and I can set up my sewing machine in there.   Because we now have a garage, I was able to empty my unit at Autrey Self Storage.  (Remember, Mr. Autry delivered a chair to me from my storage unit?)  All my stuff from California is now in our garage. That's saving me a little bit of money!

If you could pray that I will be able to have a home of my own sometime soon, that would be great.  I'm happy and grateful to have a place to live, but I have lived in other people's homes since about 2005.  I think it's time!  Thanks for reading!

USO Story Time

I'm just getting around to posting this from July 12th.  It was "Super Hero" story time at the USO.  Fifty military families were expected today, and I know that at least two extra tables were set up after it started, so I think more came than were expected.

They had construction paper masks to color, temporary "tattoos" to wear and a photo booth (kind of) to take their picture flying over Gotham City.  Many kids were wearing super hero costumes.

I helped tape the words "BAM" and "POW" and "WHAM" onto the walls.  Cupcakes with Batman on them, and red velvet cake pops with Spiderman on them were among the treats on the dessert table today along with boxes of pizza donated by Hungry Howie's Pizza.
"Howie" thanked the director for the opportunity to supply lunch for this event.  So great.

(I served lots and lots of pizza to moms and kids)

"Spiderman" read the story to the kids while they sat on kid-size chairs and small blankets spread out on the floor.  Every child got a Little Golden book story of the "Super Friends."

Terrible picture, sorry.

Not sure who it was, but a reporter seemed to be taking pictures and interviewing "Wonder Woman" and "Clark Kent" (USO staff).  I didn't see anything about it on news, but may have missed it.

I think it was a very successful event judging by the amount of people and the amount of food that disappeared! 

Nothing Permanent Except Change

After living here at "Little House in the Big Woods" since November 11, 2015 (me that is), we are moving.  Elaina is ready to begin the process of becoming a Foster parent. This is the beginning of realizing a dream she has had for many years.  She has known since she was a child that she "would love other people's children."  This is an exciting time, but it means a move to a much larger house.

I think we both have "love/hate" feelings for this Little House.  It is an adorable house on the outside and has a beautiful backyard. It has the feel of a cabin and basically sits in a forest. (All of Eastern North Carolina is a forest!)

Backyard last Fall

Backyard. Creek runs
behind the fence.Every time I try to count the trees back there,
 I lose count.

However, and that is a big however, it is very small on the inside and not conducive to fostering children and housing a senior citizen like me.  Elaina is a great cook and the kitchen just doesn't work for anyone who does anything more than warming food in a microwave.

This is the new backyard.
It's huge and has forest behind the fence.
(Everybody here has riding lawn mowers.
Can you guess why?) The lot is 1.09 acres.

Will have to learn to use an electric stove again!

This is the house we are moving to later this month.  Much bigger and newer!

I'm sure this the beginning of a new life for Elaina and some kids looking for somewhere to belong.  Happy to go along for the ride.