HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We are celebrating in Elkton, Maryland this weekend and heading for Georgia Monday morning. The weather today is just beautiful--mild and sunny. After several days of rain this is a very welcome relief. Today I am thankful for a wonderful husband that loves me, a very loving family, a boatload of friends, and I'm grateful for the many blessings given me by God! I'm also thankful for all the military for the freedoms afforded me by their sacrifices. May God bless them all.

We just returned from having Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel. Fabulous! We got turkey, ham, dressing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, green beans, carrots, biscuits, corn bread muffins, beverage, and pumpkin steusel pie for a grand total of $8.99. The portions were so filling that we had to bring the pie home for later. I feel as if I just got back from my mother's table. You all know that feeling!

We are hoping to get to Florida after Georgia if possible. We'd like to see Ron's sister for a day or two before trying to head toward home. We are planning to be home the last two weeks of the year. It seems forever since we've been there. This has been the longest time out for us since we started this job. We left home on September 15. If anyone had told me I'd be living in 100 inches of space I would have probably died laughing. But that is exactly what we're doing and pretty much liking it. I only wish we had just a little more storage space. I've been buying a few gifts and having a hard time finding a safe place for them. Not for much longer though. Thank goodness.

Wherever you are for this Thanksgiving Day enjoy it fully, try not to overdose on football, try not to overstuff on the wonderful food and most importantly, don't forget to give thanks for your blessings and other's sacrifices for our freedoms. Until next time . . . . . . . . . . . .

Courageous

We had the opportunity to go see the new movie "Courageous" last night. I've read the book rec ently and loved it. The movie followed the book very well although did not include all of the characters, details or subplots. Those would have made the movie at least two hours longer. The main plot was how good a job were these men doing at being fathers. We laughed, cried and had every emotion in between. If anyone wants to see a thought-provoking movie as well as be entertained this is the movie to see, even if you're not a parent. Just wonderful!

We will be leaving Denver in a couple of hours to get our load and head for Texas, delivery around noon tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be a little warmer there. This morning had frost on the hood, 31 degrees, puffs of breath, and blindingly bright sunshine. In other words: beautiful but cold! Must go now so we can eat before we have to leave. Until next time . . . . . . .

Greetings from Denver

Hello, we're trying to keep thawed out and warm in Denver. We've had our first taste of winter: we arrived in the middle of a blizzard and have had all the winter we want for the entire season. Fortunately we brought our heavy coats and boots with us but forgot gloves. Our boots are in the back of the truck but the padlock on the doors was frozen solid. I guess we won't wear out the boots any time soon that way. Ron bought a small can of de-icer and after about 3 hrs. we were able to get the lock off. By that time the sun had come out and the roads were all clear. So the boots stay in the back for now. We did learn to keep the lock off unless we have a load. The weather was so bad that our load was scheduled to land in Colorado Springs but was diverted to Denver, making us drive back to Denver, pick up and then drive back to south of Colorado Springs to deliver. The good part was that the day turned out to be really beautiful and sunny. Today is another great day for weather which is wonderful. We don't pick up our next load until Saturday and deliver in Texas on Sunday. I certainly hope it's a little warmer down there.

I read a great book last week---COURAGEOUS---and it was absolutely wonderful. I know it's a movie that is playing at the theaters right now but we don't get a chance to go to movies too often and trying to find a place to park this truck presents some challenges. We had the time last weekend but it was playing 38 miles away and that is a little too far to drive off-duty. The story was compelling and thought-provoking for any parent regardless how old our children are. The book brings all emotions to the surface (so does the movie according to my sister) and I sat with the Kleenex box next to me most of the time. It definitely is a MUST---book and/or movie---for everyone.

I'm a person that can't just sit while going down the road if I'm not driving. My hands must be doing something. I read books by the dozen, I've made 2 sets of gowns, bonnets and blankets for great-nieces, a great-nephew on the way to make a blanket for, placemats for our kitchen and now I'm undertaking something I've never attempted before. I'm knitting myself a pair of socks! If you've ever tried to make a pair you know what I'm going through. They will be great when they are done. At the rate I'm going they should be ready for NEXT winter! :) I've never used knitting needles so small nor yarn so thin. The pattern is a nice ribbed design, the yarn is self-striping and simple but I am having to use 4 double-tipped needles for the first time and I'm also teaching myself how to knit European style which is moving along faster than regular knitting with a more even tension on the yarn. I guess I just like a good challenge to keep my hands and mind busy while we cruise on down the road.

We've both had minor colds the past week or so and I'm asking for prayers for a healthy winter and safe travels for us this season. We're not sure when we'll be home (we've been out since the third week of September) and are hoping to get a load heading that way soon. Until next time . . . . . . . . . .

Rock N' Roll

Here we are in Louisville, Ky after making our way from Ohio to Maryland to Pennsylvania to Virginia back to Pennsylvania to Ohio and finally to layover in Louisville. All since Monday afteroon. We've done the miles, gone through some hard rain and some mighty high winds along the way. We even went rockin' n rollin' at the truckstop and never moved the tires an inch. Maybe God decided that we needed to be lulled to sleep a little. He did a great job! :)

The weather is starting to turn and I'm not ready. The peak season of leaf-turning in the Poconos is past. Going through there we saw some color but also a lot of bare trees. The wind was so cold that we had to buy Ron a couple of flannel shirts to keep him warm. I'm trying to hold out so I can get my winter clothes from home. IT'S WAY TOO EARLY.

Things seem to be a little slow for business right now and we don't get too many back-to-back runs without sitting for a day or two. Not to worry--if things get too tight we can eat at McDonald's for dinner fairly cheap--thanks to FREE medium fries from their Monopoly game. I think we have tickets for 5 of them and I got a free breakfast sandwich this morning. Life is good.

We will need to get home sometime-the lease is coming up on our car and we will need to make a change. Ron has been looking online for what's new and upcoming. We have seen a couple of models that were interesting but time will tell what really "trips our triggers".

I hope that all is well with everyone and that time will march on softly for you. Until next time . . . . . . . .

I'm Back!!!

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I posted anything new. We have been so busy since we left home--3 cross-country runs in a row and then a necessary 2 days down time near San Jose, Ca. We were able to stay at the same truckstop as before and visit PeaSoup Andersen's restaurant. We were also able to revisit the Los Banos UM Church. We've been there so many times that people are starting to recognize us. Ron thinks they're getting ready to ask us to membership classes. :)

We are now in Las Vegas for the second time in 3 days. We pick up our load around noon tomorrow and head out for delivery in Florida on Monday morning. We hope to be able to visit with Ron's sister and brother-in-law while we're there.

We have satellite radio in the truck and our car (which is a blessing on the road) and Ron has gotten me hooked on Southern Gospel Music. We listen exclusively to the station "Enlighten" and hear a wonderful variety of music. They play oldies, contemporary, new, soloes, quartets, groups, you name it. They also air programs like Gospel Greats, Bill Gaither's Homecoming, and guest shows like Daniel Britt & Friends. Over all I love the music but once in a while I hear one that will set my teeth on edge. At these times, usually an oldie with a very prominent twang, all my vocal instruction slams to the front of my brain. Case in point: holding a very long note or chord on the letter R. This is also usually done at a decibel level or two above normal range.

But most often the music is music to live by and relates to everyone listening= the Love and Grace of God and Jesus Christ.

I recommend this station to all lovers of music. It can be found on Sirius/XM radio on channel 18. Try it, you'll like it. Give it a chance to grow on you. I did and love it. Until next time . . . . .

On the Road Again . . .and again . . . and again

We were home for a week dealing with truck issues. We've gone into a different truck, a little heavier in the front, bigger sleeper, same size box. After spending a day in the shop in Ft. Wayne and getting everything packed into the sleeper, we were finally ready to leave. Our first load came 30 minutes later with a pick-up in Crane, In. south of Indianapolis and took us to Yuma, Arizona. Being a priority load we had to drive straight through. Thank goodness we had most of today to relax and acquaint ourselves with our new "pad".

This truck has a hardwood floor, hot and cold water, microwave, DirecTv in motion, 14 cabinets and a full size refrigerator. But in getting the fridge we had to give up our double closet. Our new closet is only about 6 inches wide. We have our coats and church clothes hanging with the computer in the bottom. No room for anything else.

We still haven't been able to get to my niece's house in Tucson. We are laying over in Phoenix--so close yet so far away. We leave in the morning to take a load to Joplin, Mo. We'll get to see how they are recovering from the horrendous tornado. Until next time . . . . . .

A Long Weekend

Thank you one and all for the travel prayers last week. We made it to Delaware unscathed right behind Hurricane Irene. We didn't see any destruction at all. God is so good!

We've been all over the place since then-Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee, back to Indiana and then we head to New Jersey. I just wish we could do some of the driving during the day instead of all night long. On our days off I feel like a new baby with my days and nights mixed up.

We have been working at FedEx Custom Critical for an entire year now. Amazing how time flies when you're having fun! Haha. If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be driving over the road I would have laughed in their faces. But here I am, and there and here and there, and back again. And I'm loving it. Of course having my hubby with me really helps.

I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful, safe, long weekend and that the weather is 100% cooperative. Until next time . . . . . .