The Holidays: Fun, But Hectic

We had a great Christmas, as well as a great pre and post Christmas. Having Howard, Kris, Mark, Mike and Kim with us was so much fun. We got lots of presents and drank lots of SLUSH (Grandma's recipe).

New Year's Eve is here and Sue and I (and Wickett) plan a quiet celebration at home. Mike and I will be going to Akron this evening to sing with the barbershop chorus. This is part of the 13th annual First Night celebration. The chorus has participated in all of them.

When we went to bed last night, we had no snow on the ground at all. This morning, we woke up to about 5 inches of the white stuff. My first job was to clear the sidewalks and the driveway, then brush the snow off of the cars. Luckily it was kind of a light fluffy snow, so it was easier to push around. I worked up a good appetite for breakfast. If we needed a reminder of why we go south for the winter, this did the trick.

We plan to leave for Florida on Saturday. We have been packing the bus a bit each day and we're in pretty good shape. The last minute things will go out on Saturday morning and then we'll be on our way. It's always a busy time for us, but I think that all three of us are anxious to be on our way.

Happy New Year to everyone and watch future blog posts to keep updated on our adventures in North Fort Myers. Kris is flying down on Jan. 10th to stay with us for a week. We will try to do some of the things that we didn't get to do when she visited us last winter.

A Visitor From The East

Our original plans were to drive to Erie today and bring Sue's dad back to spend Christmas with us in Kent. When we listened to the weather forecasts on Friday, they were calling for single digit temps with lots of snow and high winds along the lakeshore. Our trip along I-90 was going to take us through the heart of the bad weather. So Sue called Howard and we made arrangements to "collect" him, as my British friends say, yesterday (Sunday). It was very cold, but sunny and we had no travel problems at all. We got to Erie, packed Howard's baggage, etc., and even with a stop for lunch on the way home, we were back in Kent by roughly 2:00 pm.

Our weather here has been cold ( 0 deg. , -20 wind chills), but not much snow. To the north, the predictions of 6-8 inches of snow were accurate. We are glad that we don't have to travel today.

Kris and Mark are arriving tomorrow. They have been spending a couple of days in a rented cabin near Hocking Hills State Park. Their dog, Sammy, is coming along. Our big Christmas dinner is planned for Wednesday night. Mike and Kim will be here too. It will be fun.

On Thursday, Mike and Kim will being going to visit Kim's family. The rest of us will be winding down and maybe taking in a movie in the afternoon.

On Friday, Kris and Mark are going to Hamilton to be with Mark's family and we will be taking Sue's dad to the Cleveland airport to fly down to be with the Tennessee Moomys and Meadors.

After that, we'll plan a day to visit with my mom and my aunt Esther. Then it will be time to get serious about packing the motorhome for our trip to Florida. Departure will either be on January 3rd or 4th. We've seen enough snow to remind us what it is, but we are ready for warm tempertures and sandy beaches.

You Gotta Love Giant Eagle

On our way home from Burt Greenwald Chevrolet, where the motorhome got it's pre-Florida trip oil change, we stopped at the Get-Go station to fill up. We had built up $1.91 in Fuel Perks and the price per gallon was only $1.59. That meant that the first 30 gallons were free and then we put in 11 more gallons at $1.28. The end result was 41 gallons of gas for slightly more than $14. Not bad. Two weeks ago, we put 14 gallons in the Santa Fe for free. So our $14 actually bought 55 gallons. Go back a couple of months and that many gallons would have been over $200 at a regular gas station. Sue bought groceries this afternoon and we already have $.45 in Fuel Perks for the next visit to the gas station. Too bad we don't have Giant Eagle gas stations on the way south and in Florida. The last one is in Marietta, just before we cross into West Virginia.

A Joke From My Mom

This is a joke that my mom shared with me tonight. It came from Margaret's, the coffee shop in downtown Malvern, OH that she visits on a regular basis.


A couple parked their car on the street and went to do some shopping. When they returned, the driver's side window had been completely broken out. They were particularly worried because they had left two Cleveland Browns tickets on the dash. They were surprised when they looked on the dash and found FOUR Cleveland Browns tickets.

Beware Of The Dog House

Since many guys are doing shopping at this time of the year, please watch the following video before you purchase any gifts.

(presented as a public service by Bill)

Renewing Wickett

We mailed out the paperwork today, along with the $12 fee, for Wickett's 2009 dog license. Now he will be legal for another year. I kind of hate this process because those bolts that fasten the license to his butt are always so rusty.