We have been in the east for about a week and a half running between Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and New Jersey. We were able to leave that area ahead of the white stuff. Yea, thank You, God !!! We are spending this weekend in Sevierville, Tennessee which happens to be the place we are planning to relocate to in the near future. This area is so beautiful with all the mountains and change of seasons without the harsh extremes.

We listen to Enlighten on Sirius/XM satellite radio. This is a total Southern Gospel station without any commercials or ads 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. It is a real blessing and help during the all-night runs we make. On this station we heard about a restaurant in the Sevierville area that was started by a Gospel singer and were looking forward to finding this place when we relocated. As luck, or a higher planner, would have it we drove right past it after our delivery in the area. The name of the restaurant is Tony Gore's Smoky Mountain BBQ & Grill. Last night we drove there for dinner. This place has absolutely the best ribs in the world. The best I've ever tasted! A half slab of baby back ribs covered 2/3 of the large platter. It was served with cole slaw and your choice of 1 other side. Ron had a baked potato and I had corn nuggets. The sauce is Tony's own recipe and is delicious. I could only eat 1/2 of mine and Ron ate all of his and the rest of mine. I think he could have easily eaten a whole rack. They make everything there including several desserts. We had a wonderful white chocolate cheesecake. We took the server's advice. She said the cakes and pies were served in large enough slices to feed 2 people but the cheesecake was smaller slices and she brought us each a slice. Let's just say that 1 would have been enough. We brought 1/2 of each slice home. Guess what we're having tonight for dessert!!!

The weather here is mild and at the moment dry. It was raining yesterday but not today. This has been a weekend of laziness and catching up on some much needed rest. We had a very busy week last week and travelled a lot of miles, day and night. As I blog this Ron is doing laundry and I have the TV on with all-day chick flicks on Hallmark. We don't have a load waiting for us yet so we may have several more hours of stillness ahead of us. Hopefully we will have another full week. Until next time . . . . . . . . . .

Good-bye 2011, Hello 2012

I can't believe it's been 31/2 weeks since I've posted but there it is on the calender. I'm sorry for taking so long. We were home for 2 weeks for the holidays. What a blessing after 3 months on the road. We were able to get a lot done: bought a new car (2012 Honda CRV), got new glasses for both of us, got my annual physical done, I got a new phone (I had to update in order for both of us to get an employee discount from Verizon), caught up with friends, enjoyed family at Christmas and had New Year's Eve dinner at Red Lobster. I'd say we got a lot accomplished even though Ron was sick when we got home and I got sick over Christmas. We even celebrated Caleb's birthday before going back on the road.

We went back to work on January 3 and runs were slow in coming that first week, as usual. We spent the first part of the weekend in Houston and had a wonderful time visiting with my niece, April, her husband, Jesse, and their children, Jessica and Joshua. Jessica was the flower girl in our wedding and seriously injured in a car accident a month later. The amount of recuperation she has made is nothing short of several miracles. Both kids are growing up too fast. We were able to spend about 3 hours with them. After their departure we left Houston and headed to Arkansas on Saturday afternoon for a pick up on Monday morning. This was about 20 miles from my sister's home so we were able to spend Sunday with them. It was a pleasure to attend their church with them and join their friends for dinner at our favorite pizza place, Larry's for Sunday buffet. This is the neatest place as the pizzas are brought around to the tables. If you don't get a particular kind you can special order whatever you want. We love ending the meal with dessert of bavarian cream or peanut butter-chocolate chip pizza. DELICIOUS !!!!

The weather in the south was wonderful. We were in capris and t-shirts the entire weekend. This weekend we are in Pennsylvania with snow on the ground and in the air. We are in sweatpants and flannel shirts trying to avoid cold feet and brain freeze. :) We will be here until Monday and then on to Long Island, NY, back to Pennsylvania and on to Baltimore. I'm hoping that the major snow waits until we can get out of here. Oh, how we want to go back south to some warmer weather. What is helping is that I'm making blankets for 2 of my great-nephews. Certainly keeps my lap warm while working on them.

Well, it's time to be thinking about dinner for tonight and getting some things planned in the food department for the road. Tonight's menu is grilled burgers, broccoli & cheese, salad and fruit. Since we're sitting still I get the chance to cook. I'll be making chicken salad for sandwiches on the road later. It really helps to get things done ahead of time because some of our runs are direct runs straight through and overnight.

I hope this has everyone caught up on our travels. Until next time . . . . . . . .

There's No Place Like Home

We finally made it home after 3 months on the road. It has been a long haul trying to get here. We couldn't get any loads heading this way so we just decided to dead-head home from St. Louis. We arrived around 8 p.m. Friday night and had to call a wrecker out to jump the car and get it out of the driveway. We were so exhausted after that we called it a night. On Saturday morning we got up, went to the post office and collected our "bulk" mail and headed out to run some errands. The first one was to the beauty supply for some much-needed supplies. This was our first stop (even before the grocery store--some things are more important than food) and was closer than Meijer, which was our second stop. On the way home we decided to stop at Steak N' Shake for breakfast. It's been a while since I'd had breakfast there and they've added several new items to their menu. We had a Portobello and cheese skillet that was delicious. Definitely a keeper in our book! Now we hope to get a lot of things done while we're home including celebrating Christmas and birthdays.

It was wonderful to be able to worship this morning in our home church. The children and youth had their annual Christmas program and did a wonderful job. The decorations and sets for the program really set me in the Christmas mood. I came home, got out the holiday dishes, made dinner and then made my usual fudge. My party mix batch will be the next thing.

I think we will be finishing up our Christmas shopping tomorrow. I have to get 2 boxes ready to get in the mail. And then the wrapping begins. But I love all of it. Besides all of the hubbub it's time for renewal of meds, we both need new glasses and Ron has a terrible cold. Hopefully he will be over it before next weekend.

We are wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas season and the very best for the coming new year. Until next time . . . . . . . .

The Ping-Pong Effect

I realize it's been a few weeks since I last wrote on this blog. For that I'm sorry but sometimes it's so very difficult to have time to be at the computer. We have had several all-nighters and on our down time I usually can't think of anything to say. Imagine me not having any thing to say !! :)

We have been all over this half of the country-bouncing around, back and forth. I'm starting to feel very much like a ping-pong ball!

We've been having a few long weekends of down time which has helped me get quite a bit of crocheting done for 2 grand-nieces that are on the way. With the babies dresses and blankets out of the way the next projects are blankets for 2 grand=nephews that didn't get one from my mom before she passed away. She had started making blankets for all of her great-grandchildren and I guess it is falling to me to continue the tradition. I will also continue making the dresses for the girls. So far I've done 4 of them, all in different colors, unique to each little girl. Pink, lavender, mint green and butter yellow. I do enjoy keeping my hands busy and it helps the miles go faster. I'm also still knitting the socks. I have one about 3/4 finished and one more to go. Hopefully they will be done in time for next Christmas!

We have been on the road for so long this time that we are starting to get a little looney. A week or so ago we went in to take a shower and had about 20 people in line ahead of us. UUGGGHHHH!!!!! The procedure goes as follows: Ron scans his truckstop card at the kiosk, gets a shower ticket, takes it to the cashier so he can get me one, brings mine back to me and then we wait to be assigned a shower. The screen said we had a 38 minute wait and counting. While I played a game on my phone Ron walked around looking at stuff. He came back to me and asked what number in line I had. I thought this was strange since he had the next number from mine. I asked him why and he got a very sheepish look on his face as he explained: He threw his ticket away! WHAT?? He was cleaning out some receipts from his pockets and threw it away with them. As I waited I watched as he looked through the trash and one of the employees helped him finally get a new ticket. He didn't think it was so funny but I thought it was hilarious. I took him to a bench and made him sit down until we got our assignments. We had to wait a total of 75 minutes and it was one of the best showers in a while. I really do think we NEED to get home soon.

We are planning to go home this weekend, sink or swim. The holiday season is going full swing and I have been able to do some shopping. I have dinner planned and some of the goodies I want to make are on the list. We have so much to get done while there. I need my physical done, we both need new glasses, the lease is up on our car so that needs turned in as well as buying a new one. Caleb's birthday is January 2 so birthday plans are also on the agenda. I just hope we can get most of it done in the two weeks we're there.

We wish everyone a wonderful season. Until next time . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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 . . . . . . . . . .