Category Archives: RV Life

From the plane to the party

No –  really.
Gary picked me up from the airport after my trip north, and we drove right to the 2024 SOWER Florida Rally/Reunion. He’d already moved Lizzie to the reunion site (Groveland, FL – west of Orlando) and the party was well underway by the time we arrived. In fact, we arrived just in time for the group picture!
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While what we both really wanted was a nap (I’d been up since 4:30 am to catch that 6:30 am flight home), we decided instead to give the cornhole tournament a try.
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We lost the first game, but (surprisingly) won the next two, and somehow became the first-place winners of the losers. Who knew there was such a thing? Our prize was being one of the first couples through the dinner line! Whooohoo!
The reunion party did not disappoint! We loved catching up with some of our old  dear SOWER friends, and we also loved meeting some brand-new couples! Two couples hadn’t even been on their first project!! I love to see the excitement as these new folks are beginning a journey that has meant so much to us!

We were inspired to “Stay Strong in Today’s World”,
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and enjoyed a musical evening with Dane Bailey,  the Singing Auctioneer,
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(who then did a grand job the next day being an actual auctioneer!).
We also enjoyed several meals together – all excellent, and all lots of fun!
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Someone just couldn’t resist!
We did manage to sneak in a much-needed nap, but it was just a quick power nap because we didn’t want to miss the wonderful fellowship with friends old and new that these SOWER Reunions afford.   We’re so thankful for the team that put all of this wonderfulness together! And for all the love that was in the air the whole time!

Almost caught up!
Steph

Where have I been???

Oh my! It’s been almost two weeks since my last post – and much has been happening! There have been RV moves, airplane rides, family and friends, hugs and tears, memories made, and memories remembered! I’ll try to catch y’all up with those comings and goings in the days ahead, but meanwhile – here’s a real-time update!

We’ve arrived safely at our March SOWER project location –  Hope Children’s Home,  located in Tampa, FL.

This ministry is less than thirty miles from where we were serving last month, but it certainly feels like a whole new neighborhood! We’re much closer to Tampa (Bad news – traffic. Good news – Costco is nearby!) and the ministry here is completely different. Here’s a little excerpt from the Hope Children’s Ministry’s website-

Hope Children’s Home cares for neglected, abandoned, and abused children – loving them and equipping them for the future.

Hope Children’s Home originated in Florida, and we have been rescuing children giving them a safe, loving, Christian home for over 50 years! We have an open 55-acre campus tucked away in the middle of Tampa. Among many buildings, you will find a fully-functional Christian school and six cottages where the children live. 
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We’re working with four other couples, three of whom we have never worked with before. So we’re looking forward to building new relationships and helping out at this very special ministry.

There may even be a baby to hug now and then!

Winding down

We still have several more days of SOWER work for this project, but since the next few days could get pretty busy, I figured I’d get a head start on the wrap-up!
Last week we ladies concentrated on rags. Yep – every housekeeping department relies heavily on rags, and when there are always towels that are not up to snuff for guests, why buy rags when you can make them? So we cut up towels and zig-zagged around the edges of a multitudinous pile of towel sections!
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One of us cut, and two of us sewed.
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It was a bit of a linty job
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but still fun to sit at the sewing machine and enjoy each other’s company.
As for the guys – well, they had a list of lots of smaller jobs, so I really can’t report on what exactly they accomplished. But I know they were busy –
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and they came home tired.
Oh – but I can report that the sign lighting job was a grand success!
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Speaking of lights – today we ladies joined the men at the start of the day in changing out all of the fluorescent lights in the kitchen to LEDs. It was quite the task, and our jobs were to be the hander-upper-tool-getters for the guys on the ladders.
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And I did get a rare picture of what appears to be men reading the directions.
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Shhhhhhh…..

It hasn’t been all work around here, but it’s getting late and that alarm is going off at 6 tomorrow. So the fun stuff will have to wait until tomorrow!
Thanks for stopping by!
Steph

My sweet Valentine

I’m rerunning a post about Gary from way back in 2010 because he is still this guy. My guy.
April 28th, 2010 – Gary
Before I continue with more “pictures of rocks”, I need to share a little something about Gary.
He turns 60 today.  [He’ll be 74 in April]
Many of you know Gary – you know what a hard worker he is, what a good job he did taking care of his family, and I’m sure you know how much he has loved these last five-plus [19 plus!] years that we have been on the road. But maybe you don’t know this about Gary.
He has become an expert at waiting.
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At Death Valley while I find just the right spot for that perfect picture.
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In Sedona as I climbed up to the cathedral view. (Don’t know why the hood is up!)
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At one of the small lakes in Prescott, AZ – as I checked out the shoreline.
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All bundled up waiting for the bus that wasn’t going to get us to the Grand Canyon rim for the sunrise.
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Or passing the time while I wait for the sun to set.
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Maybe he’s waiting for me to finish exploring some Hopi ruins.
It’s true that sometimes he walks on ahead, knowing that I’ll catch up once I figure out how to get that pretty flower into the picture.
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I don’t have any pictures of him waiting for me at various quilt shops around this big country, but he’s done it time and time again.
And always with a smile.
I think it has something to do with those verses in 1 Corinthians –

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Happy birthday Valentine’s Day, dear husband of mine. Thanks for waiting for me, and watching out for me, and putting up with my horrible sense of direction (along with just a couple of other idiosyncrasies), and for loving me even when I’m less than lovable. I’m so thankful you’re my Valentine!

Mondays are for Memories – Happy Hour – SOWER Style

This past weekend we joined together with some other SOWERs working in the area for dinner out and a local play.

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It was a lovely evening, and it made me think about the blessing of fellowship that we have with our SOWER family. And that brought to mind this sweet “Happy Hour”  we had with our fellow SOWERs back in 2010!
Happy Hour – SOWER Style February 12, 2010
Have I mentioned before how we not only have a twelve-mile commute to work at this project but that our rigs are parked in two different locations? We’re only about a 1/4 mile apart as the crow flys (over the desert and through private property), but it’s about a 15-minute walk so it’s not like we can pop over for a quick chat or to borrow a cup of sugar (you know, for all that baking I do!). To try to compensate for our slight lack of “community” and to celebrate the end of the week (yes, even hardworking SOWERS are happy for the weekend!), yesterday we had our very own “Happy Hour” over at the other neighborhood!
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While the guys were busy setting up chairs, I took in the view –
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Quite nice, don’t you think?
Our Happy Hour is a little different from the traditional HH – we decided to concentrate on Ice Cream instead of drinks! One of the couples picked up some ice cream on the way home and the rest of us raided our pantry for toppings. We had chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, pecans, almonds, chocolate chips, craisins and Cool Whip. And while I wish I could show you pictures of our lovely pre-dinner ice cream social, I was too busy enjoying it to snap any pictures. You know the saying, life is uncertain – eat dessert first. We concur.
I did get the camera out, though, when I saw a bird feeder set up just outside the parking area. And even though the feeder was just about empty, there was still plenty of activity –
A beautiful little House Finch
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A House Finch coming in for a landing –
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A White Crowned Sparrow –
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And my personal favorite (well, today anyway), the Gambel’s Quail-
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who were busy scooting around between the rocks under the feeder. They are very fun to watch!
It was so nice to sit and relax with friends after a busy week. Plus the drive home (all 2 minutes of it) was lovely.
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(That’s us down on the left.)
We have lots of options this weekend here in the Valley – the Riverside County Fair and Datefest starts today, there’s a Greek Festival on Saturday and Sunday, there’s always the big flea market over at the College of the Desert, and different RV resorts offer entertainment and festivals…Phew. Oh, and the weather? Well, the cute girl on the local station is promising sunshine and 75.
Ah……..