Monday
May 4, 2009
I got up early this morning to catch a ride into work with a friend who just bought a new H2 Hummer. It is very nice but just not something I would ever own. At work we park in a garage which has height restrictions. He wasn’t sure of the height of his hummer so he went very slow careful into the parking garage. They have these steel beams before you enter that states maximum height 7’ 6” and one would expect that if you were too tall that you would hit them. Well he cleared them with about 6 inches to spare. So off we go into the garage. He made it up the first incline and then when he was turning the rear bar on his luggage rack got caught and in the process got ripped off along with a clearance light. Apparently the steel beams outside of the garage aren’t accurate.
I did my usual wake up call to Gina to tell her good morning. She didn’t really have anything planned today. She was looking forward to a mellow day. She did call me back around 10 o’clock telling me that there was a turtle in her garden and asked what to do. I said go get a shovel and pick it up and bring it out to pond in the back of our yard. She said it’s too big! I said it can’t be that big but if it is then just push it out there. She said it might bite me and I said I'm sure you can move faster than it can. There were a more words exchanged than what I have written here but let's just say she got it on the shovel and she did managed to get it out of her garden. I which I could have watched it in person but the story was still worth a good laugh. Although, she wasn’t laughing. Anyway, that was her excitement for the day and my laughter for a few days.
I had a meeting with the US Coast Guard to discuss the project that I’m working on. Overall it went alright but there were a few surprises. I had to call the Volvo truck dealer here in Houston to see if they had a height leveling control valve. Apparently while the truck was sitting in Louisiana it decided that it wanted to develop an air leak. I guess she was feeling lonely and it was her way of getting back at me for leaving her there by herself. I told her I wouldn't leave her in Louisiana again by herself. So today I’m going by the Volvo dealer to buy the part and will replace it later this week.
I got home and helped the friend that gave me a ride this morning to see if we could fix his luggage rack. We got it fixed except for the clearance light which he’ll have to replace. I heated up the leftover roast & gravy for dinner which was still delicious. Gina is a wonderful cook. I guess that is a good thing since us RV’ers seem to always talk about food. It was getting late so I called Gina and talked for a little while before I said good night and headed off to bed. Another good day but it could have been better if Gina was here at home with me in Houston but we’re still enjoying a wonderful life.
Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
A Busy Weekend
We got up Friday morning and did our coffee thing outside before we got started on our agenda for the day. First thing on Gina’s list was calling the doctor to get an appointment to check out her poison ivy. I watered and fed the ducks. Then my attention was all focused on the installation of the AC unit on my truck. My dad stopped by around noon and we discussed the remaining brackets that needed to be fabricated and then we went to home depot and bought a breaker box and some electrical cable and connecters. We got the wiring hooked up on the outside unit and called it a day. Gina saw the doctor and he gave her a shot and a prescription for some cream and told her to keep the rash covered.
Saturday morning found me getting up early to drive 30 miles to Campers World to pick up some electrical components. I bought a 50 amp receptacle just like what’s on the side of most RV’s and a 50 amp cable that you use to connect shore power to the RV. From there I headed to Lowe’s for more bolts since I had ran out yesterday. I made it back home by 10 o’clock. I called Rickey & Dana (my sister and brother-in-law) to come down and have a cup of coffee and discuss our summer trip to the Grand Canyon. They stopped by and we sat outside and discussed our itinerary. We believe it is good enough to get started with. Right before they left, Nicole stopped by which surprised us and she said she just wanted to relax. It was a beautiful morning so we just sat outside talking and relaxing. Between the water sounds and the birds chirping you can just let your mind relax and soak up all the sounds of nature. By 12 o’clock Gina & Nicole went over to Debbie’s house to choose and order pictures of Thomas. When they left I got started on finishing up the AC installation when my uncle stopped by. We visited for a little while but I had to get the AC installed today since I had to drive my truck back to Houston tomorrow so I can move my camper on Friday to another site. My dad finally made it down around 3 o’clock and we started on the electrical side of things. We got the breaker panel and the shore power connection mounted. I would like to say that the power cable I bought this morning was complete but they do not sell it that way. You have to buy the female plug and cover separate along with the cable. We got all of this assembled along with the remaining braces for the outside AC unit. Gina finally made it back from Debbie’s and then she worked outside in her garden pinching off the dead flowers and plucking out the single grass stalks that seem to always come through her mulch. She then watered all her plants and we finally made it inside around 9:30. I sat down on the computer to write but was just too tired to think. I decided that I would just get up early Sunday morning and write an entry about “Our Garden”. Gina soaked in her Jacuzzi to relax her muscles and I took a shower to get cleaned up. After which we both sat down on the couch to watch the news. Neither one of us remember much after that until we both woke up at 1:30 in the morning deciding that we should go get in our bed.
Sunday morning found me on the computer writing an entry but mostly it was uploading pictures to Picasa to use in the blog. While I was writing Gina prepared bacon, eggs, and biscuits for breakfast. Once our bellies were full we headed outside. I cut the grass inside of the garden. I don’t know how to say this but Gina was removing grass outside of her new flower bed. She doesn’t like the weedeater because it throws grass in her flower bed so she does it by hand. She hasn’t had time to do this on her new flower bed so today was the day. Once she does it the first time it’s easier to maintain that nice sculptured look. I helped Thomas finish the duck coop since they are getting too big for the cage they were in and we wanted them out by our big pond which will be their home once they become adults. The weather was looking pretty bad and I wanted the grass cut. I went and hopped on the lawnmower and cut the grass and finished up right as it began to sprinkling. It didn’t rain much but we got the ducks moved to their new pen. It was time for me to prepare for my trip back home to Houston. I jumped in the shower as Gina was folding my clothes. Thomas helped me load up the truck and I got on the road about 4:20 and made it home at 9:30. I was starving so I heated up and enjoyed the roast and gravy Gina cooked all day Saturday. It was a busy weekend but we got a lot accomplished. All our attention now is focused toward Thomas’ graduation and his departure for the Marine Corps boot camp.
Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.
Saturday morning found me getting up early to drive 30 miles to Campers World to pick up some electrical components. I bought a 50 amp receptacle just like what’s on the side of most RV’s and a 50 amp cable that you use to connect shore power to the RV. From there I headed to Lowe’s for more bolts since I had ran out yesterday. I made it back home by 10 o’clock. I called Rickey & Dana (my sister and brother-in-law) to come down and have a cup of coffee and discuss our summer trip to the Grand Canyon. They stopped by and we sat outside and discussed our itinerary. We believe it is good enough to get started with. Right before they left, Nicole stopped by which surprised us and she said she just wanted to relax. It was a beautiful morning so we just sat outside talking and relaxing. Between the water sounds and the birds chirping you can just let your mind relax and soak up all the sounds of nature. By 12 o’clock Gina & Nicole went over to Debbie’s house to choose and order pictures of Thomas. When they left I got started on finishing up the AC installation when my uncle stopped by. We visited for a little while but I had to get the AC installed today since I had to drive my truck back to Houston tomorrow so I can move my camper on Friday to another site. My dad finally made it down around 3 o’clock and we started on the electrical side of things. We got the breaker panel and the shore power connection mounted. I would like to say that the power cable I bought this morning was complete but they do not sell it that way. You have to buy the female plug and cover separate along with the cable. We got all of this assembled along with the remaining braces for the outside AC unit. Gina finally made it back from Debbie’s and then she worked outside in her garden pinching off the dead flowers and plucking out the single grass stalks that seem to always come through her mulch. She then watered all her plants and we finally made it inside around 9:30. I sat down on the computer to write but was just too tired to think. I decided that I would just get up early Sunday morning and write an entry about “Our Garden”. Gina soaked in her Jacuzzi to relax her muscles and I took a shower to get cleaned up. After which we both sat down on the couch to watch the news. Neither one of us remember much after that until we both woke up at 1:30 in the morning deciding that we should go get in our bed.
Sunday morning found me on the computer writing an entry but mostly it was uploading pictures to Picasa to use in the blog. While I was writing Gina prepared bacon, eggs, and biscuits for breakfast. Once our bellies were full we headed outside. I cut the grass inside of the garden. I don’t know how to say this but Gina was removing grass outside of her new flower bed. She doesn’t like the weedeater because it throws grass in her flower bed so she does it by hand. She hasn’t had time to do this on her new flower bed so today was the day. Once she does it the first time it’s easier to maintain that nice sculptured look. I helped Thomas finish the duck coop since they are getting too big for the cage they were in and we wanted them out by our big pond which will be their home once they become adults. The weather was looking pretty bad and I wanted the grass cut. I went and hopped on the lawnmower and cut the grass and finished up right as it began to sprinkling. It didn’t rain much but we got the ducks moved to their new pen. It was time for me to prepare for my trip back home to Houston. I jumped in the shower as Gina was folding my clothes. Thomas helped me load up the truck and I got on the road about 4:20 and made it home at 9:30. I was starving so I heated up and enjoyed the roast and gravy Gina cooked all day Saturday. It was a busy weekend but we got a lot accomplished. All our attention now is focused toward Thomas’ graduation and his departure for the Marine Corps boot camp.
Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Our Garden
In 2004 Gina created a sitting area with a swing and a few plants and bird feeders. In 2005 we decided we would expand it. Well we started tossing around ideas on what we wanted and we kind of had some things wrote down on paper. We decided our garden could wait so instead we spend the summer in Rockport, Texas having fun fishing and catching crabs. Also, if you remember 2005 was the year of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We received damage from both of those storms and on October 1st I took a job in Houston. In January 2006 our oldest son caught our house on fire and did some major damage. We had planned on remodeling our house around 2010 but instead we decided that we should go ahead and do it now since there was no reason to just repair the fire damage and then remodel in four years so for the remainder of the year we worked on the house every weekend non- stop. Needless to say Gina’s garden didn’t happen. 2007 found me working down in Rockport, Texas again so this didn’t leave any time for us to start Gina’s garden. On September 16, 2007 our oldest son was killed in a accident. Gina and I decided that we both would quit working and spend some time at home together. About two weeks after the accident, the teachers that Gina worked with got together and gave Gina a fountain, bench, navy seal, and an angel with her finger over her mouth all made with concrete. We decided to get started on Gina’s garden one morning in October while sitting outside. We hired a man to build the two pergolas in November. In December we put the picket fence up around the garden and planted a red maple tree on our son’s birthday. In January I got the pond and stream completed the night before Gina’s birthday (it didn’t look pretty but it was a waterfall and a pond). In March we started on the plants and from there Gina has kept evolving it to what it has become today. The garden is so peaceful and a wonderful place to meditate and most of all it provides Gina with wonderful therapy. There is a lot more detail to this story but that’s the highlights. Gina & I have put all our love into this garden as a memorial for our Son, Rollie Joseph Thurston. I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
The Beginning (January 2008)
We hope you have enjoyed these pictures and everyone is welcome to come visit us and spend time here.
Until tomorrow, Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.
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