Christmas dance!

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On November 29th, 2008....a really rare sight in the evening sky! The Moon, Jupiter and Venus appeared togther! A sight that won't reappear until the year 2052......I set up my camera on a tripod and had to take a time exposure....pretty cool, huh?

(thank you Maricruz...for your comment)

Then,

Thanksgiving week, I got to have my FIRST big meal, on my new table! Impressive, huh? We had a housefull....the boys (my brothers) and their wives, brought their dogs, and I have Shadow, Nikki, and my 2 cats and Buster (the bird). We had to have a schedule to let the dogs out in the yard! (unfortunately, they didn't all get along).
Then, on Friday, Ty and Sandie had to leave, so Jimmy and I took Gaylord and Gloria out to the lake to ride on the big boat.....all in all, a nice weekend.

This month was quite a blur. Jimmy and I got an early Christmas present "for us" and bought a new "SPA" . It's really neat, wonderful jets, color changing lights, waterfall, a fountain, stereo speakers, satellite radio, mp3 hookup,.........Jeez! A much needed relaxation tool, since we just hired eight (count 'em 8!) new drivers!

Then one of our friends from Oregon was in town for business, so we talked him into playing golf out at The Cliffs (the golf course at the lake), Jimmy hasn't hit a golf ball in years....so it was interesting, to say the least! BUT.....the scenery was beautiful!

Probably, one of the neatest things we did, this month....was this.
One of the Fedex dispatchers, Natalie, helps a particular shelter for Battered Women. (She WAS one about 12 years ago), so she asked some of the Fedex contractors to bring some things to help, so she filled her car up.
Friday night, Jimmy and I and Rick (another contractor, friend of ours) went to WalMart and Sam's and loaded up 4 shopping carts at WalMart and the back of Rick's pickup truck at Sam's (about 2 grand's worth of food and supplies), and met Natalie on Saturday morning.
We took all the stuff to the shelter, at an "undisclosed" location...no address, just directions (wild,huh?)
None of the women or children were allowed to come out, because there were men around, until after we all left and the doors were locked. Then I remembered all of our old cell phones...even though they are not on a service, they will still dial 911.
Anyway, it was a really cool experience, they director told us it was about 3 months worth of food.

My brothers and their wives will be here for Thanksgiving, so I'd better go and get ready!

During the month of November, we went to the lake, Mitch (Jimmy's 26 year old nephew, broke his ankle......skateboarding!)
Jimmy has been working a lot, on paperwork, with occasional driving, and we have hired eight new drivers! WHEW!
This economy, taking a dump, has really hurt a lot of people, but the driver pool has increased!
The world may be going to hell, but at least we can all afford to drive there, now! ha!ha! (gotta find SOME humor)

The last of October, brought the NASCAR race to Texas on Halloween weekend! There were a lot of crazy people dressed up, but my favorite was the hanging skeleton of Kyle Busch (driver of #18)....(everybody dislikes him....he's a very talented driver, but horribly arrogant and rude).
We met friends from Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, New Mexico and even Louisiana., had a blast!
In the meantime, Jimmy was working, between races.

Well, this weekend, my brother came to town and there was a car show at Texas Motor Speedway. so Jimmy and I took the bus and headed up there. Unfortunately, we didn't get to make it until Sunday, and a lot of them had left....but my brother saw it on Saturday and said it was fabulous! I got a few pictures...my favorite was the green Cadillac!
Jimmy got called by a local RV dealership, to install a satellite dish on the roof of one of the motor homes that they had just sold. Evidently, they do not do that , nor do they even know how, so they wanted to call Jimmy in the future, for more of these. ( anything for money.....ha!ha!)

Well, Jimmy has a new endeavor.......the Titanic! We had seen an ad for a guy selling a 43 foot Wellcraft, Portofino, one weekend when we were at the lake, so we decided to go look at it.

When we drove up to it, in the boat, Jimmy noticed that it was sitting lower in the water, than it should have. When we stepped on board, in the cabin, the carpet went "SQUISH"... somehow, it was sinking. The engines, batteries, etc. were 2 feet under water! Needless to say, Jimmy called the guy and said "Do you know that your boat is sinking?" He freaked and called his worker to go to the dock and see what he could do. In the meantime, Jimmy had found a fuse and switched it into the bilge pump, so one of them worked....for a little while....and pumped about 6 inches out of the boat. The batteries had corroded so bad that the posts rotted off. All the wiring harnesses were ruined, the whole boat needs to be rewired. The inside was all mildewed and moldy..the walls, etc. were awful! (They had just put new carpet and upholstry in) The couches had leeched the stinky water and were ruined....it was so sad!

Anyway, the guy who owns it says the insurance company will pay for everything and he and Jimmy have yet to work out the final deal, but we spent the last weekend in the boat slip, working on the boat. It has not regained any water, and no one can find where the water came from. Jimmy drained the motors to check for water in the oil, but they seem okay. Saturday, he got one engine started, and it actually sounded nice and smooth. The starter is shot on the other one, so he "Jimmy rigged" everything and basically "hotwired" the second motor. Once they were running, we took the boat out on the lake (as you can see from the picture) and it ran fine. It seems to be a sound boat, but needs to be rewired, water pump, bilge pumps, one of the a/c pumps replaced and the interior re-done. But, if the price is right, Jimmy has a new project!

Since we are not ready to build our house at the lake, yet, this would suffice, for awhile.

My $470.00 Iced Latte! (the tow bill was 470)

Well, I have to tell you about my $470.00 Iced Latte from Sonic..... We were on our way to the lake, for the weekend before headed to Bristol for the NASCAR race when (1/2 mile from our house) I announced that I would like a Sonic drink....... there is a wide place in front of it, where you can pull off and park. It had rained, so there was a mud puddle... Jimmy saw tire tracks going through it so he pulled in....the front tire went through it, no problem....but when the back tires got there. the soft ground gave way and KAPLUNK! we were buried up to the bumper! the bus was leaning over so much, I thought it would roll.....luckily, Jimmy had our semi-wrecker guys on speed dial, so here came the calvary!
Unfortunately, there is nothing really to hook onto but our bumper ball, so with the steady pulling backwards, and Jimmy driving, he put it in reverse, and they slowly pulled it out!

Jimmy had to have his new lake toy! It has a hole in the middle, so you can hang your feet in the water. Even the dogs love it. We tie it behind the boat, throw out the anchor and float in the shade and sip our sodas. We spend as many weekends as we can at the lake.....we're headed to Bristol in a week or so!

I got a new car!! Isn't it pretty? Its a Cadillac STS, and the color is Desert Blue. When the sun hits it, it sort of changes color to a champagne gold....lots of metallic!

Anyway, are you sitting dowm? Jimmy decided to get rid of the Hummer, so we now have a Jeep Grand Cherokee...it's pretty cool, too...4 wheel drive, diesel and is quite a bit lighter to tow behind the bus. (better fuel mileage). We'll probably get another Hummer H1 someday......

After we left Reno, we decided to drive through the backhills of Arizona, Where it was much cooler, on the way home. It was really pretty and we stopped at the Petrified forest store, so I could buy a piece of it to take home! Then we stopped in El Paso, to see Jimmy's former orthopedic surgeon (who only consults now) to look at my foot, that I have had problems with for years. He wanted to get an MRI. The upshot is that I have torn/sprained tendons in my foot and that its actually my ankle that is inflamed and messed up. He doesn't see where surgery could fix it, so he suggested a cortisone shot in my ankle and possibly wearing a foot brace for awhile(Jeez!, I hate getting old!)
I'll be doing that probabaly next week.

Then we came home for awhile, earlier this week. (July 21st) and Jimmy's friend Rodney and his girlfriend Georgeanna have decided to put in new flooring at their lakehouse, sooooo Jimmy decided that WE (our mechanics,& Jimmy) could do it! So that's how we spent Yesterday.

About the third week of June, We headed out to Reno, Nv. For our Marathon "bus Rally". We arrived on a Saturday... and happened to see our friends Bob and Nadine from Oregon, going to Las Vegas for the Truck Show, on the same road going East! We met with them and had dinner. Then we settled in Sunday and started activites on Monday, after everyone else arrived. Monday was the Reno Rodeo, complete with barrel races, bronco bustin', bull riding and calf roping! Lots of fun. Then dinner and music at the "Bucket of Blood Saloon" with the 'Comstock Cowboys".

Tuesday was "Great Gatsby" day!

Jimmy and I rented roaring 20s outfits.... complete with a feather in my sequined headband, fringed dress and Jimmy in a Zoot suit with bright yellow hat with a pheasant feather! We were the hit of the day! We were treated to a fabulous collection of very rare cars (about 300 of them) owned by a Mr. Lee. Lots of security, we weren't even allowed to take pictures!


Wednesday

Was a "free" day, or for the people who play golf.....a."golfing" day. We spent a lot of the day with me doing payroll on the internet and Jimmy on top of the bus...messing with the dish!

Thursday

Today, we went on a paddlewheel boat ride on Lake Tahoe! Nice weather, cool, except in the sunshine....pretty warm! The only drawback was that the fires in California were sooooo bad that the smoke had settled over in Nevada. It had even invaded the campground where we were parked. Really smoky....the news was talking about resipiratory problems. After the boat ride we went to our hosts home....a quaint little shack on the banks of the Lake, 23,000 square feet, three stories, three elevators, wine room, gold gilded ceilings in the poweder room, theater room, etc.!!!! Jeez! White Lamborghini and Black Masarati in the garage.....Chuck and Cindy Bluth...he used to own the Cal/Neva Casino.....Holy Cow what a place! It seems that he wanted to build a boat dock for his boat, and the army corps of engineers said no. SO>>> he bought a small Marina (already existing) kicked everyone out, tore it down and built his house on the shore. Pretty cool!

Friday

Most of the busses lined up and caravanned through downtown Reno... on the way out of town and the Bluths had arranged for a photographer to snap a picture of each bus, as we drove under the arch! I will post that picture, as soon as they send it to us!
A very nice ending to a nice week!

This was just a cool picture, so I thought I'd post it!!!

On the first weekend in June....the Indy race (open wheel cars) was at the Speedway, so we went to the races....hoping that Danica Patrick would win, but she had some bad pit stops.....oh well....it was fun anyway! Then, the 3rd week in June, we took off on a road trip to Verdi, Nevada (near Reno/lake Tahoe) for a "bus" rally with friends.

May, was an uneventful month, except for Jimmy's birthday on the 22nd. We had been working with an architect, on plans for the lake house.....but Jimmy has found different land that he has been looking at and I was not thrilled with the way the plans were going, so we decided to put it all on the back burner, for awhile.

Once again, I have been very remiss in keeping up with my blog. In April, there was a NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway, and we, basically have just been working a lot. Having moved 6 trucks into Fort Worth from the business we have been running in Louisiana for 2 years and finally, purchased.....we have been busier than a one- armed paper hanger, keeping these trucks moving, drivers in trucks, along with the maintenance, etc.

well...23 years!

Jeez! I didn't think we'd make 2 years....... March 30th was our anniversary so we had a great brunch a Mac's Grill, then just goofed off all day until dinner....Lobster from Steak and Ale, YUM!

Monday, back to work until Thursday, then we will go out to the track in the bus, and park. All our buddies are supposed to be coming in on Thursday.

This is a movie.....click on it to play.

Well, on our way home, Jimmy has made arrangements to stop in Ruston, Louisiana to look at some 2007 Volvos. They are repo trucks from some poor company that went broke. We have a couple of brand new ones on order, but they won't be delivered until July. If these will do, we would save about $25,000 each and buy them.

After looking at them, Jimmy decided to buy one of them to try out the mileage, etc. So, when we got home, he arranged for us to go back down, next weekend and pick one up.

In the meantime, Hector, our friend and former driver, who owns his own trucks, now.....one of his drivers and trucks had a wreck in Houston. The driver was fine, but the truck was totalled. So we drove down on Thursday to retrieve the satellite equipment and some other stuff. Friday afternoon, we drove to Louisiana to pick up the truck.

Really nice track.

Parking is really close. And the seats were right at the top of the stairs!

After we got parked, we went over to the garages and watched race practice and got to see a lot of the drivers....this is Denny Hamlin, .......he drives the FEDEX car in the Cup series....this is the Nationwide series race... a sort of minor league to the big boys...but a lot of the Cup drivers like to drive in the lower league too, for practice.

Saturday was the actual race, and it had turned windy and VERY cold. The sun came out and it felt okay, but once it went behind the stadium seats we froze! So, about halfway through the race, we went back to the bus and watched it on TV...in the warmth.

Well, I haven't kept up, so here's what has been going on!
After Bristol....we headed home, but Larry and Linda, our friends from Tn., talked us into going to the race in Nashville, on Easter weekend, so we stopped at the Jellystone Park campground, near the Grand Ol Opry, for the week. Jimmy flew home from there, to take care of some business...it was cheaper than driving and coming back! (never thought I'd say that!) and I stayed there, with the critters. It was a nice vacation....I just cleaned, went to the store, did some computer work and relaxed.
Jimmy came back on Thursday and we met our friends at the racetrack campground on Friday.

The rain stopped temporarily...just long enough for all of "our gang" to get together and eat. We met under Larry and Linda's awning, at their bus, and had salad, brisket, potatoes, onions, and wonderful corn bread! Good food, good friends, lots of fun. Then Jimmy brought "Buster" our cockatoo, out for a visit and everyone just loved him!

Then, David Stremme, The driver of the Coors Light car, came by to eat, and fell in love with Buster. Turned in early (10:30) because I had some laundry to do....more tomorrow.

Well, here we are at Bristol....got here yesterday morning. Today is practice and qualifying and it's starting to sprinkle....it looks like rain will be the plan for the weekend. Yesterday was really nice out, so we really were out enjoying it, I'm afraid it's getting damp out and they had to stop practice. We are going to find a mailbox and take the dogs for a ride... it's starting to get cold out....have to get the jackets out. More later...

This will be a short note.....I have been down for about two weeks with a bad inner ear infection. I guess it started with sinusitis, since the wind has been blowing 50 mph for several days! At any rate, it has knocked me for a loop and I have been dizzy and lightheaded so bad that I couldn't even drive. It started getting really bad on the day we drove out to meet the architect. I was walking into the restaurant and got hit with such a wave of dizziness that I had to stop and lean against the wall and a waiter came to help me walk to the table. After a while, I felt fine, then when we got home that evening, I got so nauseous, I tossed my cookies.....right in the driveway...ugh! Anyway.....I am feeling better now...! We are going to Bristol, Tn. for the NASCAR race in about 10 days, I'll post some pictures and stuff, then!

Bye!

Well......on Saturday we drove out to the lake and met with the architect, for the first time, that will be designing our lake house......

He already gave us some great ideas and we will, hopefully get a sneak peek, sometime this week.

Jimmy rigged up a "techie" camera on a pole, so that he could videotape the view from the lot, from 20 feet high!! (sigh!, Jimmy!)

you can't tell a lot from the picture because much of the brush needs to be cleared, but trust me, there's a nice view of the lake from the lot!

Well, today was more furniture delivery day! Jimmy and I were up past midnight, last night, moving the current furniture and shampooing the carpet, getting ready for the delivery, this morning.

They arrived about 10 and I was not disappointed!

The China cabinet and the Curio Cabinet are gorgeous and have a really neat feature.....the light inside turns on (3 levels of brightness) just by touching the metal hinge!!

Then, while putting together the dining room table, they showed me, a "secret" compartment.....when you pull the table apart to add the extra leaves....a special compartment, built-in to the table, reveals itself and you can store the extra leaves and pads there! PrettyCool.

The desk and credenza are really something to look at.....I can't wait to build the office that will hold them....Now, all we need are the bedroom pieces...but there are some tough corners to turn, and I'm afraid they'll get scratched, so we'll wait for them, until later.

Here's the sofa table, coffee table and end table, I love the marble inlaid part!
I had a glass top cut to fit on top of the coffee and end table, because I know someone would set a wet glass or scratch the wood, and they fit perfectly! A company called Binswanger, in Dallas, came out and drew the patterns. They finished and delivered the finished products in about 3 days. Really pretty, huh?
It is a really elegant design...my brother says they look like something out of Hearst Castle, or something......now, just have to build the house to fit it! ha!