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Mondays are for Memories, RV Life, SOWER Projects, The Adventure

Mondays are for Memories – Happy Hour – SOWER Style

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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!
Parking spot 2
While the guys were busy setting up chairs, I took in the view –
Parking Spot 2 view
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
House Finch
A House Finch coming in for a landing –
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A White Crowned Sparrow –
White crowned sparrow
And my personal favorite (well, today anyway), the Gambel’s Quail-
quail
Gambel's Quail
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.
evening sky
(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……..

Pictures of the Adventure, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2022, The Adventure

A Short January

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Tomorrow at Zero Dark Thirty, I’m leaving for a much anticipated “Winter Sisters Getaway” back at that lovely cottage on Alton Bay in New Hampshire. Since my days will soon be filled with all things “sister,” I thought it would be wise to do a little SOWER wrap-up before I leave.
Aside from the weather being a little on the cool side (but still – no snow!) it’s been a perfectly lovely project. I mentioned in my last post (Week One Done Again)six of the 8 of us were working on refreshing (i.e. patching and painting and painting some more) one of the cottages that had been vacated due to COVID several months ago.
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While they finished up that project and then moved to a variety of other maintenance chores, Beth and I kept busy in the kitchen.
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Yes, that is a monster pile of bacon (about 50# – lunch later that week was going to be breakfast for lunch!)

It was a busy week and lots of work was done, but the best part of the last week was really the fellowship!
We enjoyed a campfire last weekend
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and this weekend we checked out the Suwanee County Historical Commission Museum.
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It was filled with all kinds of local history and since we had the place all to ourselves, we even enjoyed a private tour by the curator!
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You can’t check out a museum in the morning and not go out for lunch, right? (I think it’s a SOWER (unwritten) rule.)
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We ladies had a very good week of fellowship, starting with a little tea party at Jan’s on Monday afternoon complete fancy tea, homemade scones, clotted cream and lemon curd.  What a precious time of fellowship!
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Then Wednesday (after work) we had a little LDO (Ladies Day Out). We did lunch in Live Oak and a bit of ‘in town’ shopping! It was a sweet time of fellowship and sharing life.
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(No pictures of the shopping, but we did find some great bargains at a little Christian Book Store that was (sadly) closing! At least we helped them clear out some inventory?)
We rounded out this last weekend with putting together our group picture at a massive Live Oak tree on the edge of the property!
Since we like to see actually those dear faces, we started out with this configuration.

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But that tree was calling for some more creative photography! This one was really fun!
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Today was my official last day of this SOWER month, so for me it’s a ‘short January’. Gary and the rest of the team will be working through Thursday (well, except when Gary is taking me to the airport tomorrow!) and will be finishing up a variety of jobs around the property.
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This afternoon I took a break from pre-trip preparations (i.e. trying to figure out packing for WINTER), and the four of us ladies gathered for one last cup of tea and prayer.
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What sweet new friends God has blessed me with this month!

Tomorrow’s an early day (and a long one with a 4 hour layover in Baltimore)and there are still some odds and ends to wrap up before I call it a day. I can’t promise lots of blogging over the next ten days – the computer is staying home. But the tablet is coming along so you just never know what may (or may not) be happening here at this little corner of the internet. Thank you for your patience with me!

And (as always) thanks for stopping by!

Steph

 

PS – If you’d like to see a few more pictures of our time here at FL Sheriffs Youth Ranch (work and play) you can check them out here!

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2021, The Adventure

Things we didn’t have to do

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It’s been a great month! And we got to do a lot of stuff! But –
Although our guys did indeed put suspended ceilings in 12 rooms
(some with definite challenges)
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they did not have to hang the suspended ceiling in new sanctuary.
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(Which is not to say some of our guys wouldn’t have enjoyed playing with that scissor lift!)
While we ladies did a bit of finish sanding on the walls
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we did not have to walk on stilts to accomplish the task!
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While the guys installed a myriad of lights and outlets throughout this new addition
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they did not have to worry about making the air conditioning system work!
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As always, the time has passed so very quickly. Time that has been filled with ceiling tiles, LED bulbs, baby clothes and brooms. But it was also filled with cake-breaks, sluff games, Chinese food, and sweet fellowship! What a joy to serve this month at a church whose tag line is “Living by the Book!”
This morning the first of our crew set off for their family Christmas time in Florida.
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Monday we head to our little winter get-a-way and Bob and Cathy head north for their family time.  While it’s always hard to say farewell, we can rest assured that we will meet again! Here, there, or in the air!

Thanks for coming along for this, our final SOWER project of 2021!
Steph

PS~The church put together a sweet video of our time here as a thank you! If you’d like to see it, you can check it out HERE!

And as always, if you’d like to see more picture of this sweet month – you can view them HERE!

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2021, The Adventure

A Variety Pack

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Our first week is  ‘in the books’ here at Dothan Community Church (DCC), and it was a good one!  Here’s a little recap –
Monday we ladies started out with decorating the sanctuary and narthex for Christmas. No big trees here, just some tasteful seasonal additions to an already lovely space!
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The guys, meanwhile, were working over in the new (large) addition, installing the lights in the main hallway.
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Tuesday we joined the guys in the new building and starting sanding walls.
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It wasn’t difficult – just trying to smooth out any roughness that appeared after the primer was applied, so we just spread out, and sanded away!
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And the guys got started  installing drop ceilings in the many side rooms.
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Good job, guys!
Wednesday, well, Wednesday was a delight! Instead of picking up our sanding poles, we were driven to a local pregnancy center – Wiregrass Hope Pregnancy Center, where we were able to help with some basic care items – like repackaging diapers to be given away
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or organizing baby clothes – also to be made available to moms!
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It was a beautiful way to spend a Wednesday morning. This Care Center provides counseling, ultrasounds, connections to available resources, and all kinds of pre and post-natal care. We were honored to be included in their ministry!
Back at the new building the guys were continuing with that drop ceiling project – this time in a room with some crazy angles!
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But of course, they were up to the challenge, and by the time we returned from our little off-site diaper counting, they were well on the way to wrapping up that room!
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Thursday we ladies we back on sanding and clean-up duty
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and the guys had moved to another (more rectangular) room!
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So it was good first week on all fronts! The folks here have been so very welcoming, and one sweet member even gifted us each with a lovely pecan pie! We had sweet pie-eating community time each day as we shared in all that goodness!
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Like I said – a very good week, indeed!
Hope y’all have a lovely weekend!
Steph

SOWER Projects 2020, The Adventure

The Fellowship Component

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I know I’ve shared a lot about different SOWER jobs we done over the years, and this project has been no exception. But one thing I sometimes fail to mention is the wonderful fellowship that we have each month.  We don’t often work such a large (10 couples) project, so even our break time seems like a party in the making.
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(This was on a cool morning last week. These days we’re all looking for shade!).
We’ve worshiped with these good folks, shared meals with them, attended a local gospel concert with some and tonight we had a lovely hot dog roast/potluck with not only our group but also some SOWER Alumni that live in the area.
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It was actually kind of warm to be clustered by the fire, so we let the men do most of the cooking.
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It was a lovely evening of sharing stories and blessings and some pretty fine food! After dinner some of us retired for a round of “Sluff”, a classic SOWER card game.
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Although our neighborhood changes each month, our fellowship connections come quickly. It truly is one of the best parts about being a SOWER.

Thanks for stopping by – and don’t worry, Sisters’ Winter Getaway – Part III is coming soon!!
Steph