Party Time

Last night we hosted a dinner for our fellow work campers at Happy Jack.  We had everything set up to have it outside with our 10x10 canopy even with the screen sides.  Bill was set up to grill the brats...it was sort of an  Octoberfrst theme even though it's August.  I was inspired by the fact that I still had 2 packages of Cincinnati chili left.  I also made wsome German potato salad complete with bacon & it's grease.  Oh I just remembered I totally forgot the sauerkraut!  Oh we'll, just after everyone got here a big storm came up 

and we had to move indoors.  Now this is the first time we have had 8 people in here at one time!  But as it turned out it was much more fun & intimate of a gathering than we've had previously.  The fun began when lighting struck something nearby & it set off our smoke alarm.  I handed Kenny a bag of  shredded cheese that I forgot was opened to fan the alarm & cheese landed all over Andy as we as the carpet!  That brought apt of laughs as well as quick action from everyone to start picking up the cheese shreds..I brought out my Shark hand vac which was losing its charge, but we got most of it picked up.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the chili & Bill did grill the brats out in the rain. He and a couple of the guys had to take down the canopy.  We also discovered today that our awning got ripped in the corner.  But the good news was the conversation started after I noted that we all happened to be believers in The Lord Jesus.  Several shared stories about their faith and it almost felt like a small group Bible study.... Proving that we could possibly host a small group in the future if God wills that for us.  Unfortunately I did 't get any pics!

Birthday Party

Saturday was Abbey's birthday party...she turned 2 today!  She had friends from California there, Freya (almost 2 but bigger than Abbey & her 6 yr old sister Skyler @ their parents.  Michelle's employers & former co-worker, later came Mike's co-worker & family with 2 year old twin boys & their 6 yr old sister .., & us plus Mike & Michelle

Next Job in Ohio!

Shortly after posting our resume on the Workampers website, we got a reply from the managers of Timber Ridge Campground in Amherst, OH.  We found out that they were wintering in northwestern Florida less than 100 miles from where we were in Alabama, so we arranged to meet them for lunch about half way.  They told us about the job & campground & we decided to commit for the summer of 2012.  Discovering that Glenda & Stan were Christians made our decision even easier.  They wanted us there before May 1 so that enabled us to be able to take our time on the way to Ohio.  Our first stop was in Columbus, GA so we could spend Easter with Mike, Michelle & little Abbey, who by that time was about 8 months old.  Before that, I had gone up for a week to help when she had tubes put in her ears.  But it was sure good to see them again for another week.
 Our next stop was Cincinnati where we stayed at a Hamilton County campground.  We visited with Jan & Dave  and they also came over to see us at the campground.  Next stop was Athens County to see Carole.
We stayed at Happy Hills Campground outside of Nelsonville.  What a hill we had to climb to get there!  But we had a good time visiting Carole as well as cousin Esther.  We brought Carole out to the campground for dinner one Sunday just so she could get an idea of what our "home on wheels" looked like as well as see how we could live in so many different areas or states!  We also visited cousin Anita's family in Heath, OH.
Soon we were on our way to Timber Ridge.   It was a little disappointing as we drove in.  Let's just say it was a work in progress.  Behind to office building was an old metal open air building.  Turns out this used to be a big dairy farm and that was where they did the milking.  Now they use it for bingo and potluck dinners, etc.
There was also a good size pond as well as an indoor swimming pool!  This turned out to be one of my favorite features, as I was able to do my water aerobics 2 or 3 days a week 
We also went into Amherst 1 or 2 times a week to attend SilverSneakers classes.  We also found the Amherst Library to be one of our hotpots. 
We only worked 10 hours each to make up our 20 hours for workamping.  We usually worked all day Saturday and half day on Sunday.  They served a sandwich dinner on Friday eve for $2!   It was nice for the campers coming in on Fri night for the weekend.  It was a seasonal campground....mostly families from the area.  They also served breakfast on Sat & Sun AM's for $2!!!!  We collected the $$ on Sat.  Also Bill was the ice cream man for Sat. afternoons.  Looking back it was probably the easiest job we've had.  They used
a Campground Manager software, so that was good to be able to put on our resume. 
The other great thing is that one of the couples there offered to teach a "clown school", so I said why not...
And so my clown character was born!   Glenda aka "Joy"  and one of the other workampers Bob as well as a few other adults and about 4 youngsters took classes for 9 weeks.  At the end of our class we put on a show for the campground. It was a lot of fun and we all got official certificates!  
One couple that we met there became friends and we still communicate occasionally by email.  We also found a great church...Church of the Open Door and joined a small group that met at the pastor's home.  We also helped out with their Vacation Bible School while there.

Beginning to Blog: Arizona Life!

We've been in AZ almost 2 months! We stopped in Tuscon to met Pam and her family for lunch at Cracker Barrel. We hadn't seen Daun for over 15 years and got to meet her 2 younger kids, as well as Samantha her oldest who we saw the last time she visited Pam in Florida. Pam & Samantha have recently rented an apartment together. Pam is working for a temp agency & Sammy is working & going to college.
We got into Mesa late afternoon and headed for the Mesa Regal Resort. We hadn't made reservations, but luckily we were able to get a site there. Mike, Michelle & Abbey came to greet us as well as Mike helping getting the Goldwing off the trailer. We discovered in Tuscon that the bike had tipped and broke several of the straps, so the 1-1/2 ride from there to Mesa was made a little more stressful. But somehow (angels?) had righted it up along the way.
Since we were to babysit for Abbey on Good Friday, we went over to there house a few times that week to get reacquainted with her. She was shy at first but it didn't take too long to warm up to us....especially with Bill pushing her around in her Little Tykes car that we had gotten her for Christmas. She is such a cutie, she loves to "dance" whenever she hears music! That Friday we took her to the park. It was just fun to be grandparents enjoying the day! We also had Easter dinner at their house and realized it had been Easter time last year when we had seen them last!
We were also called into duty the following week when Abbey developed an ear infection & fever & couldn't go to nursery school for a couple of days. It'll be nice when we are back down there (in the "valley") in the fall so we can be the support system for Mike & Michelle.
The Mesa Regal Resort was so appealing that we put our resume in and secured a workamping job there for the fall. We'll work in the gift shop for 2 six hour days a week. That will pay for our site as well as our electric. No pay, but we have all the amenities to enjoy...3 pools, 2 hot tubs, sauna, exercise classes, computer lab, hobby classes, tennis, pickleball, bocce ball as well as entertainment. It's like a little town and you hardly ever have to go off the property as there is a grocery store within walking distance!
Now we are up at our summer job at Happy Jack Lodge & Resort. I'll write about that on my next post!

Goodbyes continued....

Saying goodbye to Carole was fairly quick & easy as her therapists were still working with her helping her get a shower & get dressed. She had just put on one of the new outfits I had purchased at Walmart (with her money). She looked good in the turquoise color top & pants. Sorry I didn't take the time to take a picture. A quick hug & then hugs to both Cheryl & Mark and I was on my way. No time for tears as I knew she was in good hands.

After stopping at the Havar office to turn in the apartment key & talking briefly to Carla, then gassing up the the Fiat I was on my way to Dayton Airport. Roads were good all the way but Columbus definitely had more snow. When I stopped at a rest stop I almost got run over by a snow plow! Had to park with the big boy trucks and trudge through the snow and slush to the restroom! Proud of myself for getting to the airport in plenty of time. Treated myself to a matcha latte. Discovered the benefit of match a tea at the tea room in Cinti as well as an Internet post saying how many anti oxidants it has. Definitely plan upon buying some soon & adding it to my stash. It did give me a bit of the jitters but could have been the sugar or the trip anxiety.

Saying goodbyes

Hard to believe I've been back from Ohio over a week and haven't written since then. When I woke up the last day there was about 2 inches of snow. Been a long time since I've had to clean the snow off my car! Luckily it was just a little Fiat. I loved that little thing. So fun to drive...had the option of shifting gears without a clutch or just using automatic..after I figured out why I couldn't go faster! Good thing I didn't ruin the transmission. Anyway, got to meet Carole's OT & PT therapists and made me feel so much more confident about her progress and care. They assured me she was doing well and should be home in the allotted timeframe. They do a home inspection first and make sure of all safety features needed. Since Carole won't be going back to her job is another plus. She called McDonalds from the rehab & told them she quit...good for her! There are no steps in the apt bldg and her neighbors will look out for her. She'll still have Havar services and home health visits too. So praying that all will go well there. I was able to stop at Havar and talk to Carla the program Manager before heading to Dayton airport.

Afternoon Entertainment!

Enjoying listening to The Back Porch Swing Band at The Laurels with Carole. They have lots of a activities here!