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!

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

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

Dec 5, 2019

Temperature 65 Degrees

Two Important Parts of the UMOM Program

Tis the Season to Give Gifts

Team Night Out

No big breakfast this morning.  Two teeth out and I couldn’t really eat much of anything.  Not to fear, I’ll make it up sometime later today.

Let me introduce you to our team.

In the very front we have Robin and Carry, fulltimers.  Back row, from left to right:  Barbara and myself, fulltimers; Steve and Jean;  Keith and Kris; Anton and Sandy, fulltimers; Mark and Debbie, fulltimers.  It’s a great group to be a part of.

I want to share with you two important parts of the UMOM program.  The whole theme of UMOM is breaking the cycle of homelessness.  One way they accomplish this is

 

through the Helpings Cafe.  The Cafe runs a program called Homegrown Training.

As a part of the Homegrown Training, students learn and follow the Starbuck’s Barista curriculum. Once they have completed their six-week training, they are certified Starbucks Baristas. This provides another hands-on track with the potential of job opportunities.

Graduates then move to the next part of the program which is the Employment Center.  The UMOM Workforce Development Team works with each Homegrown graduate to prepare a resume’, attend job fairs, incorporate job search strategies and provide interview training. With the added services of UMOM’s Employment Center, the Center is truly focusing on securing a successful source of income for clients –  thus breaking down one more barrier to ending their homelessness.

It’s a privilege to be volunteering for an organization that is actively working on so many levels to end the problem of homelessness in this area.

Our day began in the usual way.

Each morning we gather together for morning devotions and prayer.  Each of us is asked to lead a given morning if we feel comfortable doing so .  It might be a commentary on a passage of Scripture, a poem or other reading that is special to the person presenting that day, or a story about their own life that is special in some way.  This is followed by a time of prayer wherein we lift up the joys and concerns of the team as well as many others.

At the end of devotions and before we go to work we share what we have accomplished to date and receive assignments for the day ahead.

Today was all about toys.

This, I am told by those who have been here in the past, is just the tip of the iceberg.  For the next two weeks donated toys will continue to come in by the pallet load.  The way it works is thus:  each case worker is given a list of toys the children of their families would like receive at Christmas.  List in hand they come here to shop.

Our job is to sort through the toys that come in and put them in the proper place.  They are sorted by age, the type of toy, etc.  Barbara on the move.

  Debbie is working on arranging toys on one table.

Here’s a tub full of Hot Wheels, My Little Pony and all other kinds of toys.

Anton and Sandy going through the tub and sorting the toys.

Their work resulted in a box full of Hot Wheels cars.

Debbie and Kris working on sorting another table of toys.

It’s not just toys.  There are clothes of all shape and size.  Barbara working on one table sorting shirts by size.

Jean and Debbie working on another table.

Jean doing her version of the new break dance craze, Break That Bubble Wrap!

There are blankets that will be given to families in need.

Steve bringing in another pallet full of donated blankets.

That was our morning.  After lunch we returned to this.

Piles of wrapped presents prepared by case workers that will be given to their families on Christmas.

Our job was to take everything that was there and move it all to this room.  Once here we were to place each bundle under the name of the respective case worker.

That was day four, Period Sixteen.

This being Thursday, tradition said it was time to go out for supper as a team.

Not much to look at.  Yet the food is fantastic and the size of the portions is out of this world.  Everyone, almost without fail leaves with part of their supper in a box.

We are now at the end of our day on The Road of Retirement.  Once again we accomplished all that was assigned to us.  We then ended the day with some great fellowship around the dinner table.  Days like this are so precious and so fantastic.  We wouldn’t trade our life for any others.

Thanks again for coming along with us today.  We so 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!