Bye 2024, Hello 2025!!

 Whew!

What a year!!!

We started the year off purchasing a new

little house in WaKeeney, KS.

In March Kyle made a trip out there and ripped up

all the carpet and discovered HARD WOOD floors!

He also repainted the kitchen!

It WAS the ugly "boy scout camp beige" you can see

 in the next room to the right...

(And on the cabinet above the fridge... ugh!)

While he was there he got to experience his first Kansas snow!

And made a traditional snowman!

Meanwhile, back in Florida we put carpet in my office.

And put the house on the market.

Which meant open houses EVERY WEEKEND.

April saw another trip to WaKeeney, this time with me driving

Rod's F250 and pulling this UHaul trailer.

The trip was not without its challenges...

While there we sanded and refinished all the floors!

Once we got back to Florida, there were the obligatory beach

trips with the red toes in the sand pictures...

Another milestone was when Kyle sold his mulcher head.

It made him a good living for several years...

We took our final walks through the woods

near our house.

And then our FINAL trip to Kansas!

We were gratified to see GREEN GRASS as tall as the truck

since when we first saw the property it was at the end

of a horrible drought and everything was scorched earth.

It was skimpy, but we got moved in.

Kyle was happy to see his house still standing

and ready for more work...

We got a new (FREE) roof on the little house and garage.

Kyle built a fence to keep Beau in the yard.

And we started gardening.

The living room progressed to two nice chairs.

And the farm garden started producing!!!

(We were SO nervous...)

We started attending the WaKeeney Farmer's Market.

Our first table was kind of slim pickin's... but we were

happy to have ANYTHING to bring to market.

The AC died on the HOTTEST day of the year. (107)

Beau was not impressed.

We got a new realtor and .... UNDER CONTRACT!!!

I got the freeze dryer out of storage and fired that baby UP!

Rod RETIRED!!!!

His very last day at the airport, a flight instructor was

also celebrating his last day so took him for a spin over our farm.

My market table started to expand...

And then there were THREE comfy chairs!

We discovered people LOVED freeze dried stuff, so I tried

to bring something "new" every week to the market.

The guys built a privacy fence and dog yard for the big girls.

Kyle continued making progress on his house.

And then we switched focus to our house.

Got the foundation dug!

(With the help of his new excavator!!!)

I took a quick trip to Tucson to celebrate Mom's 89th Birthday!

It was so good to spend time with family!

And then right back to the farm.

We got a POWER POLE!

(Actually, two, one at Kyle's house as well!)

In November Jim came for a quick visit!

And took a turn in the new machine.

Then came the concrete for the crawlspace.

WHEW! That was a LONG day...

Just before Thanksgiving we got our first snow!

(And a peak of the new chicken coop still under construction...)

We switched focus back to Kyle's house.

Rented a scissor lift to finish the siding and

get the roof shingles on.

And another trip (of MANY) to Home Depot

to pick up all the cabinets for the kitchen and bathroom.

And then it was CHRISTMAS!

And the year was OVER!

Here's to another GREAT YEAR!

Welcome 2025!

Piano

 I got to attend Ward Council this morning since

our YW president is under the weather.

After the meeting, the Ward Clerk asked if

I happened to play the piano.

I said I hadn't in a year... but yes, I can play.

We had NOBODY to play for Sacrament Meeting.

Our regular organist (who is REALLY good) had

shoulder surgery and can't lift her arm.

The backup is the YW Pres and she was out.

The next one is line is out of town for the holiday....

so........

luckily they had picked easy hymns, all except

the intermediate hymn.

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today.

Which isn't "hard" but for some reason I was

really stumbling with it.

But I knew it would be ok.

(I was playing the piano, not the organ, I haven't

even looked at it and have no idea what stops to use...)

Anyhow.

The 1st youth speaker was excellent and short.

The 2nd speaker is a lovely sister and she

talked and talked and talked and talked and

when she finally finished there were 5 minutes 

left in the meeting.

So, no intermediate hymn, no final speaker...

just the closing hymn (We Thank Thee Oh God

For A Prophet... nice and easy...) and we were done!

YEA!

(Our piano the day we sold it... Oct 9, 2023)

Anyhow.

It was fun, and I enjoyed it.

Maybe they will call me to be the primary pianist

and release me from YW? 

Hahahaha.

(The Bishop said... OH! NOW we know you can play!)

Sounded ominous.

A Quiet Friday

You guys....

I'm really enjoying NOT teaching this week!

It's been a good break.

I'm off again next week and I plan to

enjoy every minute of my time off.

My phone beeped this morning at 5:00.

Grrrrrrrrrrr.

(I fixed the notification, but it was too

late for today...)

It woke us both up and Rod got up and

moved to his chair in the living room,

where he watches some YouTube and 

generally goes back to sleep.

But even though we were up til midnight

last night, I could NOT get back to sleep.

Sometimes if I get on my phone and read

for a little, I go back to sleep.

So I opened my Kindle app and started a

new book.

And next thing I knew it was 10:00 and I

had only about an hour left in the book.

Hahahahaha.

It was a really light novel by Rhys Bowen

called Above the Bay of Angels.

I've read several of her novels, they are all

historical fiction. This one is set in

Queen Victoria's court, about a young woman

who ends up being a cook in the royal kitchen.

It was light and fun.

This is a prolific author, she enjoys writing

series, but doesn't put them all on Kindle Unlimited

so I'm having a hard time finding more of her

books to read, but everything I've read of her

stuff so far I have really enjoyed.

Lots of it is from WWII in England or France

and I think one was in Ireland.

Anyhow.

After the guys left for the farm, I curled up

in my chair with a blanket and finished the book,

while munching on some crackers, summer sausage

and cheese with an apple cut up.

I've been skipping breakfast most mornings lately.

I don't seem to get hungry until around noon.

Today the guys are testing the pipes they have 

installed so far to make sure the water runs and

there are no leaks before they move forward with

the plumbing.

The Electrician called and couldn't come, he has

another big job that has to be finished so moved us

back until next week.

I just put out a pan of Rhodes rolls to start

rising and I think I'll make a pot of broccoli cheese 

soup for dinner. It's in the low 50's today so not

super cold, but a big bowl of soup and a hot

roll sounds like a yummy dinner.

Now that Christmas has passed, I'm debating

how long to leave everything up.

I love to decorate (minimally) for Christmas,

but then I'm done and ready for it to go away.

The tree was kind of dry already when we got it,

so it has been dropping needles,

but it's still really pretty and smells nice.

I think I'll probably keep it up through New Years

and then take it down on New Year's Day.

At least that's what I'm thinking now...

I hate to see it go, but on the other hand,

it's right next to the doorway into the kitchen

and is kind of in the way.

So I'm in the "definitely MAYBE taking it down" camp.

Hahahaha.

But in the meantime, I'm enjoying it.

(mostly)

Happy Boxing Day *and an adventure!

 Happy Boxing Day!

And belated Merry Christmas!!!

It was a lovely day yesterday.

We slept IN... which is nice.

I woke up about 6 and thought...

oh wow, no little kids clammering to

get up and see what Santa brought!

(Not that we've had that for a decade or more,

but still... lol)

We had a nice breakfast and then just

kind of relaxed and puttered around

(like we do...)

Then in mid afternoon we decided to open

gifts. It was fun! There were some lovely,

thoughtful gifts under the tree!

The theme this year was WARM.

Lots of yummy scarves, hats and socks

from Mom and Dad.

(I'm wearing new slippers and my feet

are toasty warm and stylish!)

Along with a beautiful necklace and earring set!

Thank you Mom!

Soni sent me a BIG FLUFFY hoody that

covers to below my knees!

It's perfect for snuggling in my chair!

(And it has POCKETS!)

And Rozie sent me Gumby and Pokey!!!

LOL!!!

They are so much fun!

I remember spending HOURS and HOURS

playing with them a thousand years ago!

Rod got us a fun picture to hang on our

TOTALLY bare walls.

We have a gazillion pictures in boxes, but I hadn't

hung anything, waiting for him to arrive so he could

help decorate and make it feel like OUR home.

But then I kind of liked just the big white walls.

Made it feel a little larger.

Putting the picture on the wall did stop the eye a little

and makes the room a little smaller, but I like it anyway.

He gave Kyle a cool picture of a buffaloe on a plain,

for him to put in his new house when its done.

And a power fence nailer, since "we" will be putting up

something like 2 miles of fence.

I got Rod a new tablet and keyboard since he kind of

hates his iPad he got when he was on the High Council

(since that was what all the cool guys were using... lol).

Now that he's the Elder's Quorum Secretary, he 

needs something to take notes on, so we went with an

android tablet that will sync with his phone.

Jim and Sabrina sent us each a thoughtful gift,

I got a wooden cutting board with a map of

Kansas laser cut into it.

Would have been handy the day before....

(hint, hint.... story to follow...)

Anyhow.

Kyle left to go to the farm to unload insulation from

his trailer and put it in the shed,

while Rod and I made a traditional Christmas Dinner

with all the fixin's. (fruit salad being the MOST

important component of the meal... lol.)

Anyhow, when Kyle got home we had a yummy

dinner on our new TV trays (since there is no

kitchen table in this house... no room! lol.

There will be a large dining room table in the

new house though!)

In case you are wondering, the cranberry sauce is UNDER the roll...
and the beans came from OUR garden!
Sabrina, did you eat yours???

And we watched It's a Wonderful Life

and then some random shows for the rest of the evening.

So... it was a nice, quiet, relaxing day full

of love and good food, gifts, and Christmas music.

My favorite things.

Missed spending the day with Jim and Sabrina,

but next year.......

********************************************

And now, on, to the adventure!

Tuesday (Christmas Eve) I had an appointment

in Wichita at the USCIS office to do the biometrics

for my new green card.

I figured with it being Christmas Eve, everybody

would be 

a) in a good mood

b) in a hurry to get done and go home early... lol.

So not a terrible day to get it done.

I thought the traffic might be a nightmare, what

with it being Christmas Eve, and it probably

was... in Florida.

But this is Kansas.

There's almost nobody on the highways here.

So it was a pleasant, sunny, scenic drive.

Kansas is a really beautiful place.

When we got there, the building was really easy

to find and the parking lot was LARGE and mostly

empty, so no trouble parking the big truck and trailer.

We got there about 25 minutes early so went in to

see if we could use a restroom.

And there was a sign on the door.

CLOSED for the HOLIDAY.

WHAT???????

Yup.

There was an executive order issued closing

all the immigration offices the 24th and 25th.

But they didn't think it was worth sending a

quick email to everybody who had appointments.

They will automatically reschedule for the next

available date.

(Watch it be New Year's Eve! HAHAHAHA...)

So... we looked up the address and drove by

the new Wichita Temple site.

Not much to see yet.

They broke ground in September...

The parking lot and the foundation are done.

It's tiny...

This is the artist's rendering.

Kyle noticed there is NO mention of the church 

anywhere on the site.

I guess that's to avoid any problems prior to it getting done.

On the way back to Salina his odometer clicked over

to 432,000 miles!!!

We also saw a bunch of Canada Geese, but I

didn't get a picture.

We found a Taco Bell about 2 blocks from the temple.

The ladies room sign made me laugh!

Anyhow.

After a quick lunch we got back on the road

and headed back up to Salina where there is a

Sam's Club. We went in and bought

TOILET PAPER.

They have the BEST toilet paper!

So we got some.

And some other random stuff we like from there...

and then across the street to Menard's to pick up

the insulation for Kyle's house and shed.

(And some other random stuff, like a pooper picker-upper

for the dog's yard, some oatmeal soap to give Beau a

bath, he's not loving this dry climate and his skin

is itchy!!!)

And then it was back on the highway to head home.

While we were driving, listening to Harry Potter,

Jim called to tell us they went to Indialantic

to see Santa on the fire truck.

Glad they are keeping the tradition alive!

We got to chatting about the farm and the garden

and life in general. It was long dark by this time

and we pulled into a cute little town that was all

lit up for Christmas.

Kyle and I looked at each other and were like,

WHERE ARE WE????????

There are no cute little towns between Salina

and Russell and this was definitely NOT Russell.

(Russell has a gas station... that's it close to the highway.)

We had turned off the GPS because it was eating

Kyle's phone battery and it's a straight shot

from Salina to WaKeeney.

Yeah. 

Actually, it's not.

47 miles ago we missed the exit to I-70.

Hahahahahahahahaha.

So... the map on the cutting board might

have come in handy!

Anyhow.

We turned around and hightailed it back to

the correct highway.

For reference, in case you care, we were in

Concordia, which is very near the Nebraska border!

Haha.

It was REALLY getting foggy up there, so we

were happy to go back south a little - the fog didn't

roll in until much later in our neck of the woods.

Anyhow.

It was a nice drive, just an hour longer than 

we had anticipated, so we stopped at a truck stop

and got some snacks.

Once back into town, we drove down Main Street

to check out the beautiful lights, and then up

and down a couple of the streets to see people's

decorations on their homes.

And then home for some Pesto Pasta. YUM!

And BED.

So....

That was our adventure!

We got to see a little more of the state,

and some pretty lights, 

and get some needed supplies.

And I'll drive back down to Wichita in a 

few weeks and try again.

(But now that I HAVE a green card, I'm not

in a big ol' hurry...)

So.

Happy Boxing Day!

And thank you again for thinking of us!

I hope you all had a lovely day as well!