I usually feel more "inspired" when I sit down to compose an Update, but at the moment it feels as though if we wait for an inspiration, you may not hear from me before Christmas.
Our weather has zipped from "rainy season" into full-blown SUMMER with very little warning. One day there were moisture drops on the awnings and the next day the plants need to be watered with a hose! I don't have many that have to be watered by a hose.. but I celebrated the Easter season with a few annuals tucked in here and there--crystal blue Lobelias, lavender Violas, purple Pansies--and I'm enjoying their little faces.
My rose garden just exploded into bloom! But it's moisture supplied by an automated watering system which Alberto regulates for me when we aren't having enough rainy days.
I don't know HOW warm it's been. Brenda sent a photo yesterday of the dash thermometer in her car showing 107 degrees. I honestly don't think it's been THAT warm here but it was 80 degrees in my family room with the windows open and a pleasant breeze.
The downside of that is that many days I'm not here until late-dusk so the house is closed. Once I get the windows opened, it does cool down but it takes awhile. Last night it cooled 10 degrees and is a pleasant 72 at the moment.
I don't think I mentioned in my last Update that when Mary Lou took "Lil Truck" for service the last time, the mechanic told her the compression is dropping and ...don't pull the trailer with a load again. I honestly don't know what that means but I think it's mechanics language for "terminal". We had a couple of interesting weeks finishing up the pending projects without being able to pull the trailer... but God provided substitutes to pull the load. That's a story of its own.
Yes, it does have a tonneau cover. No, we can't move furniture very well with the cover on. We are tentatively planning a roadtrip beginning in late May during which we intend to deliver items to various destinations as we go so we decided to leave the cover on until our return.
The trip: If you live along a path that is roughly between San Diego and Indianapolis and would like to see us, we are beginning to plan the itinerary. We know the first stop is Mesa, AZ for birthday celebrations over Memorial Day weekend. Our farthest point (as of this moment) is Indianapolis, IN with visits in Bartlesville and Claremore, OK and Carthage, MO.
Beyond that, I anticipate spending much of August in Fayetteville NC helping my grand-daughter after the arrival of her daughter (Brantley's sister) as Matt is deploying.
Meanwhile we have been keeping VERY busy. Those who follow us on FaceBook know that we have been at the Warrior Warehouse at Camp Horno almost every Friday for close to 3 months. This is a Rotary Club sponsored distribution center located in the heart of Camp Pendleton. Like Helpful L.O.U. they "channel" furniture and household items from civilian donors to military families. They are open for distribution from 9-12 on "Friday only" so the hours between 7-9 are busy with stocking whatever has been picked up by their big box truck during the week.
Mary Lou still has her own ministry and we are able to make contacts through the folks who come to the Warrior Warehouse. We are also still doing a lot of pickups. Last month we did a clean out on a 3 bedroom 2 bath house in Ocean Hills; and are about to wrap up a clean out in Solana Beach. They were approximately 4 truck/trailer loads each. Those projects represent a lot of work...and we are grateful for the volunteers who help.
Whatever did we do before we had the use of the trailer??
We are grateful for those who "hands on" help and also for those who help in other ways.. especially for those to pray for our safety as we spend hours on the highway.
