Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   UMOM New Day Centers, Phoenix 

Dec 9, 2019

Temperature 65 Degrees

All Present and Accounted For

Picked Clean

Week Two, Day One, Something Old, Something New, Something Still Going On

That’s right, today is Monday.  Yikes, that means rise and shine because its time to go to work again.  That doesn’t mean we have to go with a great deal of enthusiasm.  In fact, team meeting this morning it was obvious that though we all had a great weekend, we all were dragging.  But come what may, we’ll get it done.

The gang is now all here.

Bob and Leone finally made it here from CA last night.  They had been waiting for warranty work on their trailer.  Bob stated the problem was with the self-leveling jacks.  They would drop to road level whenever they felt like it, whether you were stationary or moving.  Not good for sure, especially if you were moving.  They were fixed three times before they finally were really fixed.

It was, we knew, sure to happen.

One of two Christmas trees in the courtyard that we had previously decorated.  Today, it was just about picked clean.  The other one hasn’t fared much better.

So, week two and we had a mixture of old and new projects.

We’re still pulling staples from documents.  Barbara, Debbie and Jean at the table.

Here’s a new one.

The refreshment counter in the dining room needed to be removed.  Robin sizing up the project.

If I remove a few screws here and

and Anton removes a few more from that side

and that’s that.  Of course, it was a bit more involved than that but you get the idea.

One unit getting the heave, ho.  Robin, Bob, Keith and Anton doing the heavy lifting.

Out the door it goes.  Robin leading, Anton following.

Carrie sweeping up left over nails and screws.

Then taking out the odds and ends that needed the heave.

Bob preparing to spackle the left over holes in the wall.

Here’s an old and continuing project.

The toy room.  Much more came in over the weekend and needed to be sorted.

Carrie, Jean, Leone, and Debbie – where in the world do we start!

Barbara – now where shall I put this?

Really Leone it isn’t that bad!  Not sure why the face but one can only wonder.

Along with toys there are still more clothes.  Sandy, Kris, and Carrie in the background sorting through what came in over the weekend.

Another new project.

All of the stuff in this corner needed to be moved to the back lot dumpster.  Many hands made light work and within an hour we were done.

One more new project which was started today.  This one will take a week or more to finish.

All of this lumber needed to be taken up to the third floor.

Into this room where it will be transformed into shelves along the two walls.

Only one way to get it there.  Anton showing the approved method which was over the shoulder, to the elevator, and up and away.

End of Day One.  We managed to get quite a bit done.  Oh, our schedule changed again.  We are now working a regular week, Monday through Thursday.  The pallets of toys will not be here until late Friday night, early Saturday morning.  Guess what we get to do first thing Monday morning?  If you said sort toys you get the grand prize.

That was our Monday on The Road of Retirement.  Let me tell you it was an exhausting day.  I’m not used to moving lumber like I did today.  If I made one trip, I must have made what seemed like a million.  Then again, a lot of us did.  I’m sure we’ll all sleep good tonight.  On the home front, we ordered the second La-Z-Boy recliner.  It will be delivered the end of the week, on Saturday.  Oh happy, happy, joy, joy!

Thanks again for joining us on our journey.  We always appreciate traveling with you and reading your comments.  Catch you again tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

 

 

Places We Have Called Home in 20019

Home Is Where We Park It:   UMOM New Day Centers, Phoenix 

Dec 8, 2019

Temperature 61 Degrees, Rain off and on throughout the day

Recharge Wesley

Let’s Add Another La-Z-Boy

Thanksgiving Dinner.

Christmas Cards and Gifts to Send

Not much reason to get up this morning.  It was chilly, rainy, and overall a great morning for just staying under the covers.  So stay under the covers we did.

However, there came a time when we knew we had to get up.  Breakfast was Bagels, juice and coffee.  Simple but good.

First item on my list today

was recharging Wesley our water softener.  That’s it, the blue thing peaking out from behind the slide.  It’s easy to do, drain it, add two containers of salt, then run a slow stream of water through it for 30 minutes.

Next on the list

I finished the electrical cover box and installed it against the wall.  This will give you an idea, also, of how the new recliner fits in the space where the couch once was.  There is plenty of room for it.  It’s amazing how much nicer it is to be able to swivel toward the TV in order to watch it.   It is also as comfortable as can be to sit in.  In fact, my lady gave me permission to sit in it and watch football today.  I spent the day the La-Z-Boy and then

later I moved back to my own twelve year old recliner.  It was then that I realized how bad this recliner really was which meant only one thing – time to give myself the Christmas gift of a La-Z-Boy recliner!  Now we’ll have a matching pair.  When we move to our new rig we’ll just take them with us.

Today we had our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner.  Sorry, forgot to take a picture.  We had roast turkey, stuffing, cranberries, vegetables and lots of gravy.  The table was sagging under the weight of all the good things to eat.  No need for supper later in the evening.  I’ll be full until breakfast tomorrow morning.

While I was watching football today

Barbara was busy in the back watching HallMark Movies, and  writing out Christmas cards and getting presents ready to ship.  I probably shouldn’t say this, but the bedroom TV has been working without an issue ever since I moved Gertrude to the back wall. I hope it continues this way for a few more weeks.

We finished the day with a quick team meeting.  Our work schedule has been changed this second week.  We’ll work Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday we’ll be off, and then we’ll finish the week by working Thursday and Friday.  We need to work Friday because according to sources in the know pallets of toys will be delivered on that day and will need to be sorted.  So be it.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  What kind of day was it?  Just another day to love and laugh, to enjoy our time together, and to treasure each precious moment the good Lord gave us.

Thanks for coming along with us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   UMOM New Day Centers, Phoenix 

Dec 7, 2019

Temperature 65 Degrees

A New Recliner

Magic Creeper

Pot Luck Barbecue 

Well, we tried to sleep in this morning.  The guys, however, in the salvage yard had other ideas.

At 6:30 am they decided to rip into, and move and re-stack the mountain of metal immediately behind our rig.  Let me tell you it was a really loud and rude awakening to say the least!

Today was the day.  Time to get the rest of the couch out and get the area ready for the new Laz-Z- Boy recliner.

This is what I started with.  The couch spanned the length and width of the slide where it was installed.  It also had a foot rest attached to it.

piece by

piece it came out until today

the last pieces – being the seat bottom and the frame – came out.

 

This left me with this mess that had to be straightened out and cleaned up.

Originally, I was going to remove and set aside the seat belts.  That plan changed when I discovered what would be involved in removing their hold down bolts.  So, I changed directions, rolled them up, slipped a rubber band around each set and pushed them back against the wall.  Then I vacuumed the whole area.

That left me wondering what to do with this maze of wires and the two holes in the wall.

I solved this problem by building a small box to hide everything and prevent anyone from bumping into the electrical box on the wall.  This project, how do you say it, was another five minute job!.  By the time I found the scrape pieces of plywood, a saw to cut them to size, some glue and finishing nails – yup, a five minute job.

Next, I stained the box to give it a little class.  Tomorrow I’ll fill the holes in the wall with some spray insulating foam and then I’ll mount the box using a couple of small L brackets.

Now, all was ready for the new recliner.

One big truck for deliveries, one small recliner for us.

Out of the truck.

through the door and into Graybeard.

In its new forever home.

The lady of the house gives a big thumbs up to her new recliner.

I even received a new toy today.

It’s called the Magic Creeper and it is worth its weight in gold whenever I need to get under the rig.  No more ripped pants, no more cuts from crawling on the ground.  It is absolutely fantastic.  I only wished I had had one years earlier.

The day wasn’t quite finished, not yet.

We loaded up our jiffy cart and headed out to Steve and Jean’s

for a pot luck barbecue.

You bring this, we’ll bring that, someone else will add even more

and before you knew it we had a full table, but not all of the team were present.  Those present enjoyed themselves even though we finished our barbecue in the rain.  Hey, that’s what they make patio awnings for.

That brings to an end our day on The Road of Retirement.  It began with a bang, literally.  It ended with a downpour.  But in between we had another wonderful day.  We both received some new toys for Christmas.  Yes, God is good and life is wonderful.

Thanks for hanging with us today.  We always enjoy having you along and also appreciate your comments.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   UMOM New Day Centers, Phoenix 

Dec 6, 2019

Temperature 69 Degrees

A Needed Day Off

Christmas Decorations for Graybeard – The Few We Have

No need to get up early this morning.  Today was our day off.  Therefore, we were going to sleep late and once we got up go find someplace in the neighborhood for breakfast.  Well, part of the plan worked.  A certain unnamed someone in our family sort of, kind of like, forgot the time difference between east and west!  Yup, we were up early.

The other part of the plan

worked out just fine.  This is one of those places that we keep coming back to time and again.  I was in luck this morning they even had an Everything Bagel.

Next stop

The lady of the house needed a haircut.  She keeps asking me to do it, but somehow I just don’t believe entrusting me to do her hair is a smart idea!

Next stop

Its funny how canned goods, paper goods, and other odds and ends in the refrigerator keep disappearing.  I guess its a hazard of wanting to stay alive and thriving!

With all of that out of the way it was time to head home.

We never made it.  Not on the first try.  Arbys Ruben was calling our names.  Who am I to deny a cry from a sandwich like that.  Some fries and an ice tea and then we headed home.  This time we made it.

Once home it was time to take care of a few odds and ends.

We decided to put out the few Christmas decorations that we have.  The Santa my mom made us one Christmas was hung on the entrance door.

Our Christmas tree is up on the dash and decorated.  Its what we call an active imagination tree.  If you imagine real hard that there is garland and lights around it in time you will see them.  If not just have another glass of wine, or two and soon they will be there!

We have a Candy Cane and a Sled on the front.

A new set of rope lights around the rig.  The first set popped our circuit breaker and melted the tip of the plug when we tried to plug them in.  Got a refund on that set real quick.  That’s it.  No blow up’s.  No Christmas lights around the roof of the rig.  We’re going with the minimalist approach while still celebrating the season.

Oh, one more thing

Since the genie never appeared no matter how many times I rubbed the bottle (I’ll try the beer and not the wine bottle the next time), guess where I went this afternoon?  Yup.  Its a dirty job but someone has to do it!

Before I forget, the Christmas trees we decorated in the courtyard?  They’re already missing the bottom decorations.  Kids being kids they just can’t keep their hands off of them.  Some they use for baseballs, some they take home, some they just drop and break.  It’s a shame but an all too real fact of life around here.

That brings to an end another day on The Road of Retirement.  A nice laid-back, relaxing day.  We accomplished what we needed to.  We enjoyed the day together.  What more could one ask for.

Thanks for joining us again today.  We always appreciate having your along and reading your comments.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!