Mixed Year

While looking back over 2015 and the events that highlighted the year, it was a very mixed year.

I started the year working at Sam's Club which was a good experience for me. During the time I worked there, we were involved in building a house that slowly became a clear indication of a mistake in progress. As we watched the home being built, we became increasingly concerned that it was: too expensive, too inadequate for our needs and a real cash hog. We ended that project and began looking for a better fit for us.

We located a much better home for our needs and moved into our new home in June. Shortly thereafter, I developed  some health issues that resulted in my resigning from Sam's Club and having a couple short stays in the hospital to have my gall bladder removed and to have an aneurysm repaired. That was not a pleasant experience.

Our new home is a very good choice for our goals to provide a nice place for family to visit and for a long term investment. We did have family visit us during the late summer - Kristine  and Justin - and we had friends visit from our workamping and traveling experiences (Rodger and Sue Sandlin).

Of course, there were many more experiences during the year that is winding down today. One of those was a spin at driving for UBER that recently ended when I traded my vehicle for another King Ranch truck so that we could once again begin the use of our fifth wheel which has been sitting in storage since we moved into our home. With our plans to return to Jackson, WY, this summer, it was a necessary move. As the plans to return to Jackson this next summer involve decisions on the house, we are planning some changes that keep our investment here while also taking advantage of our regained mobility with the truck. Those changes will be discussed very soon as they are a subject that requires a lengthy explanation.

The weather basically "sucks". We went from the oven to the freezer without a transition and we haven't enjoyed any of the winter so far. The new year has to be better from a weather standpoint. We have had 6 days in December where the lows have been below freezing and there are more in the forecast. Arizona is suppose to have mild winters with highs in the 60's and 70's - where are they? We had one day in December (10th) where we reached 70 degrees. I'm sure it will improve as the dreaded El Nino slowly disappears.

Even though we had mixed experiences for 2015, we are thankful that we are healthy and happy as we approach 2016. We hope that you are all healthy and happy as well, going into the new year...

HAPPY NEW YEAR  !!!

Year End Stuff

Of course, right now the main objective is to be ready for the new year. That means gathering all the 2015 paperwork and files to prepare the taxes and to make sure all the new "books", charts and planners are ready for the new year. I have everything ready to go now with the exception of a couple charts that need to be done for 2016.

It's unfortunate that the combination of Josie's work schedule and our appointment schedules have precluded taking any trips over the holidays. Today is a good example. Josie has the day off but she has an appointment scheduled with the Dermatologist to check on her problem thumb and I have an appointment at the Ford dealership to have the bedliner replaced with a sprayed-in liner which is much more permanent and rugged. I get a trade-in on the plastic liner that is in the truck now, but nowhere near what the sprayed-in liner will run. Once the liner is dried and cured, I get the hitch installed which is scheduled for Monday of next week.

By the time all of the work is completed on the truck next week, I will be ready to take the fifth wheel into Robert Crist RV in Mesa to have the repairs done. I'm hoping that everything goes smoothly, but I'm sure there will be some glitches along the way. I do feel comfortable taking the RV into the facility where it was purchased over 8 years ago.

Get ready for the New Year's celebration which is only two days away. Part of that New Year's celebration is a schedule of terrific football games. Yeah!!...

New Washer

Our home warranty came through for us yesterday when our replacement washer was delivered. Once again, I am thankful for this warranty as it has paid for itself several times over with the replacement of our A/C unit and our washer. This warranty was purchased by our realtor and the previous owner as part of the sale when we closed on our house. This is something that should - and will - become a must item in any sale of a used home.

The insurance company for our fifth wheel also came through yesterday when they informed us that they were cutting checks to take care of the repairs to our fifth wheel resulting from the two tire blowouts we had in May 2012. Believe it or not, the damages to the body of the fifth wheel are close to $10K. The amazing thing about this whole transaction is that we changed insurance companies about three months following this experience in 2012 and the insurance company had no choice but to cover the damage as I had proof of the whole situation from photos and descriptions from my blog.

I have appointments scheduled for the new truck to have a new bedliner sprayed in tomorrow and a fifth wheel hitch and electric brake controller installation early next week. Following that work, I plan to take the fifth wheel to Robert Crist RV in Mesa where we originally purchased our fifth wheel. That should be the best location for performing all the repairs.

The next couple weeks look to be very busy, and very important, to preparing for our anticipated very busy 2016...

Cardinals are Ready

The Arizona Cardinals played a near perfect game yesterday, beating the Green Bay Packers 38-8. They are peaking at the right time as there is only one more regular season game left before the start of playoffs.

The Seahawks, on the other hand, had a wake-up call yesterday, losing - again - to the St Louis Rams, 23-17. It was the first time since Russell Wilson became the starting quarterback for the Seahawks in 2012 that they didn't have the lead at any point in the game. For some reason, they just don't match up well against the Rams. They are in the playoffs anyway, but they have a tough road to hoe having to play each week during the playoffs and all games will be away games. It should be interesting. Before the playoffs begin, the two teams meet next week- Cards and Seahawks - in the final game of the season. It doesn't really matter that much for either team so the intensity won't be there.

The Christmas holiday is ended now and we get to celebrate the New Year next. We expect to get a lot of plans completed this week for the new year. Starting with scheduling the warranty work and repairs on our fifth wheel, hang on for some surprising changes that will reshape our plans and goals for the near future...

Bowl Frenzy

The college football scene has expanded to 40 bowl games this year. That's a lot. It makes for plenty of options on TV even though many of the games are between schools we never heard about in the past. I watched a couple of those games yesterday while Josie was at work and the best one was between Miami (FL) and Washington State. It was a very good game that WSU won, 20-14, and was played in the Sun Bowl in El Paso TX - in a driving snow storm through part of the game. The weather is crazy all over the country this winter.

The next event is, of course, New Year's. We still are thinking of going somewhere for a short trip over the holiday - maybe Laughlin and spend a little time in our favorite casinos. Both of us are antsy to go away and have a change of scenery for a couple days. If we can scrounge up a few bucks, it would be a welcomed trip.

With the weird weather this year, we are hoping for some warm temperatures. It has been mostly in the 50's every day and it is time to warm up into the high 60's and 70's. I keep looking at the daily temperatures in Jackson, WY, and they are in the teens for highs, and minus temperatures for the lows. I guess it could be a lot worse here...

Wonderful Christmas

Only 365 more days to Christmas.

It was a wonderful Christmas made even better with the Bowl win in the Bahamas. We understand that Austin got all kinds of goodies from the game, including a ring that will be made for him. What a great experience. Next year will be his senior year and we sure would like to see him finish his WMU football career with another bowl win. The team just keeps getting better, so there is a good chance for that to happen.

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning and went for a drive in the afternoon. We put a few miles on the new truck and just enjoyed the day. Josie goes back to work today for just the one day today before having tomorrow off. She will be working another unusual schedule this week as we approach New Year's.

Pretty soon we will kiss 2015 goodbye and enter a new - and even more exciting - 2016. At least we expect it to be exciting. We have surprising plans for 2016 which will be revealed after the first of the year and as we finalize our schedule...

WMU Historical Win

What an exciting game yesterday. Austin's WMU team made history for the University by winning their first ever Bowl game, beating Middle Tennessee University in the Bahamas Bowl 45-31. Austin played a terrific game as did the rest of the team to complete a season that gave them their second consecutive 8-win record. In a year where they played the number 1 and number 2 ranked teams in the country (at the time), Ohio State and Michigan State, the team is getting more and more notoriety. It's hard to imagine what they can do next year which will be Austin's Senior year.

As an aside, I realized yesterday that I had been to the same hotel in Nassau where the team stayed for the Bowl activities. In 1983, I went there - Paradise Island -  and stayed as part of the Go-Club trip that I won when I was with Sperry Univac. I'm sure it has changed a lot, but I recognized the hotel from the TV shots and I got out my Go-Club book and looked at all the pictures from my trip.

We made a trip to the new casino in our neighborhood last night after Josie got off work and the jury is out. The Desert Diamond Casino and Resort will eventually be a real showplace - probably in about two years when it is completed:

We didn't fare very well in our first attempt, but it has been awhile since we played any slots so we are a bit rusty.

Our tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve continued last night as Josie received this nice pair of pajama bottoms:

She is officially a Seahawks fan.

It is early on Christmas morning and it is a sleep-in day for us. Santa stopped here, but it will be a little while before we get around to opening our gifts. Enjoy your Christmas Day everybody...

Excitement Builds

It is now just one day before Christmas. This is the day when all the young kids are thrilled to watch the skies for Santa's sleigh and get so excited it will be almost impossible to get to sleep tonight. All of the TV stations will be giving progress reports on where Santa is located,  and everybody will be anticipating a mountain of gifts under the tree when they awaken tomorrow morning.

Today is also the day when we get to watch Austin and his team play in the Bahamas Bowl. We have been following the activities from Nassau and it looks like everybody has had a great time so far. What a neat ending to the football season for Austin, especially if he and his team can bring home a win.

It should be a short day at work for Josie and she is ready for the marathon work schedule to end. It will be nice to have a rest and enjoy some free time.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Slow Motion

I have noticed that the closer we get to Christmas, the longer it takes for businesses to respond. I have been trying to get commitments from hitch companies, our RV warranty company and other RV related suppliers without success. It seems that either there are fewer people working these jobs during the holidays or there are just many more requests for business. It could be the year end rush to get more business which is causing the slowdown. At any rate, it is frustrating for folks wanting quick turnaround on projects.

The report from the Bahamas Bowl travelers is one that sounds like a good time is being had by all. Patty and Mark were at the Casino last night and had mixed success. Patty had little success but Mark won some money. The surprise was that Austin was in the casino with a couple teammates and they ran into a former Bears player - Bryan Urlacher - who gave Austin and his teammates each a $500 chip. Not too bad. They were going to the beach this morning so we will wait to see pictures of their activities. Tomorrow is the big game and we are excited to watch that on TV.

Two more days of Josie's "crunch" schedule and she will have a break. It looks like Christmas Day will be spent resting from her hectic schedule. We are still looking at a couple options for going somewhere over the holidays, even if it is only for a day or two...

Warranty Surprise

The big surprise yesterday was the result of our home warranty repair on our washing machine. The technician arrived yesterday with the replacement part and couldn't remove the defective part as a result of corrosion around the area. He said (jokingly) it was a shame, because now he has to replace it with a new washing machine. Too bad! We will now get a new GE washing machine similar to the model we have, but it's the brand new model with some newer features. We receive that in about two weeks and they will install that when it arrives.

There was some bad news from the Cardinals yesterday as their star defensive back - Tyrann Mathieu - will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. That's a real bummer as it definitely will impact the team's performance in the playoffs and we want them to be full strength. I still think they can win as one player doesn't make the team, but at that level in the playoffs, it could make a huge difference. Should the Cardinals lose, you hate to say "what if" to make any excuses.

I'm still lining up appointments to have a 5th wheel hitch and a bedliner installed in the new truck. Actually, it has a bedliner already, but it is a cheaper, flimsy drop-in liner instead of a more sturdy and permanent sprayed-in type. When they are done, we will really be ready to go and take the 5th wheel on trips once again...

Our Teams Are Set

It looks like the final, regularly scheduled game of the season between the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks will be meaningless. The Cardinals have clinched the Division title, and the Seahawks have clinched a playoff spot. I believe that both teams, however, will face off again for a third time this year, in the NFC Championship game. Both teams looked ready yesterday and they both had blowout wins.

Patty and Mark leave early tomorrow AM for Austin's game in the Bahamas Bowl. We are hoping they have a great trip and that Austin's team wins and he has a good game himself. Most of all, we hope they all get home safely. Patty will be traveling on Christmas Eve in order to get back home in time to celebrate Christmas morning with the family. I told her to watch-out for Santa and his sleigh while flying home on Christmas Eve. It promises to be a wonderful trip.

Josie doesn't have much free time over the holidays, but we are trying to figure a way to get a couple days to take a short trip somewhere to celebrate the season. Maybe Laughlin or someplace where we might dust off our casino skills. We took a drive over to the new casino that opened yesterday just a couple blocks from our house. We couldn't even get into the parking lot as there were no places to park and people were parking blocks away and walking to the casino. It may be awhile before we get to try it out as there aren't many machines available to play yet and the construction continues on the resort part of the new casino. It will be a real showplace when it is all completed. Maybe we will walk over to the casino when Josie gets another day off...

More on the Truck

One thing I didn't count on when we got the new truck - parking it in the garage would be a problem. The truck is way too long to pull into the garage - by about 5 feet! I spent a good portion of the day yesterday rearranging the garage and maneuvering the new truck into the space. It is amazing that we have a three car garage and I can't park one vehicle straight-on in the garage. This is how I have to park the truck so that it fits into the space:

Our garage is definitely suited only for "normal" size SUV's or sedans.

Ford has come a long way though in providing conveniences and new technology in the accessories and amenities in their new King Ranch vehicles. I had a tutorial yesterday at the dealership when I returned to pick up the hitch-lock from the Jeep that I forgot to take with me on Friday. They actually had a girl, specially assigned to that task, to show all of the gadgets and widgets that are installed on the truck. It may take a while to learn all of them.

Today is another day closer to the end of the football season as the Cardinals take on the Eagles tonight and the Seahawks play the Cleveland Browns. I look for both teams to win as The Cardinals clinch the Division title and the Seahawks clinch a playoff spot. I hope I'm right on both of those predictions...

New F350 King Ranch

Yesterday was a day of surprises. We had been talking about getting another truck so that we could have full use of our fifth wheel again. Well, I went to Peoria Ford who advertised a new 2016 King Ranch that they had just received in stock so I decided to go take a look. There was no way that I anticipated spending the entire afternoon at the dealership and driving away with the truck. Yes, we are back to a single vehicle and (almost) back to being flexible again with our fifth wheel. Because it was month end - and year end - at the dealership, they were not going to allow me to leave without making a deal. They did all the right things and made a deal I couldn't refuse. The clincher was the trade-in offers on our two vehicles plus a new financing program that made the decision very easy.

These are some shots of the new F350 King Ranch:

I am also grateful to have a wife who doesn't lock me out of the house when I do impulsive things like that. We agreed that we needed another truck in order to utilize our fifth wheel again, but the timing was not necessarily the best - Merry Christmas.

I now have to get a fifth wheel hitch installed and we will be ready to go. Our problem of getting the fifth wheel to Jackson this summer is solved, and we will once again be positioned to take advantage of the mobility that we once enjoyed.

There will be other surprises along the way as we continue to plan for the future and our eventual, total retirement...

Closing In on Christmas

One week to go until Christmas. This is the time when it is easy to "snoop" and try to peek at the gifts under the tree. Oh well, it doesn't look like I'm getting my new Corvette this year either.

Josie worked her first full day of the holiday season yesterday and then stayed up half the night making chili for the girls at work. They each make something to have for one meal during the long holiday schedule. It is starting to pick up at her shop now as the orders are beginning to back up. I don't believe that the business is as good as it was years ago. More and more people are buying arrangements from the grocery stores and the warehouse stores like Costco. I keep telling Josie that I believe we sold our store in Washington at the right time.

We had the washer repair guy at the house last night and he discovered where it was leaking. Of course, he has to order a part so we have to go easy on the washer for another week or so until the part arrives. It sure is a good thing that we got the Home Warranty when we bought the house. It isn't often that those things pay for themselves, but this time it did...

Big Push Begins

Today begins the big push for Josie at her flower shop. She will not have another day off until Christmas beginning today. It's the part of the business that she dreads the most. Even though it isn't as bad as Mother's Day or Valentine's Day, it has the same effect. Our shopping is done and the presents are mailed, so we are about ready.

There will also be a visit from the other warranty company (Old Republic Home Warranty) today to fix our washer. I don't know what we would have done without that warranty that the seller provided for us when we purchased the home. This is the second call we've made and we already have a new A/C unit to show for the warranty. We should know today what the deal is with the washer and whether or not we get a replacement.

We are also dealing with unusually cold weather. We had a low of 30 degrees last night and yesterday morning we had frost on our outdoor furniture:

This is Arizona and it is expected to be in the 60's at the coldest! This El Nino stuff better quit! The east coast is enjoying Spring now. I bet that when we warm up into the high 70's and low 80's, the east coast will be getting their blizzards...

Cover Removed

The main event yesterday was removing the cover from the fifth wheel and having the pictures taken by the insurance company. It was a more difficult effort to remove the cover than I had planned. I ended up having the insurance adjuster help with the removal - he went up on the roof and did the tough part of unhooking the cover from the roof A/C and all the other vent covers and snags that occurred. The pictures are taken and the RV is ready to go to wherever they say to take it for the repairs. Of course, I still have to locate a truck or some means to have it hauled to the repair location.

I also took a couple shots of the fifth wheel as I was disappointed to see that another RV was moved into the area next to ours and was very close to our unit:

Now, it is impossible to open the slides on the one side without moving the fifth wheel out from the space. That won't happen without a truck to move it. Anyway, I'm glad to get that step out of the way. I expect to hear back from the insurance company either today or tomorrow about the next step.

Josie and I went to Costco for a few items late in the afternoon when she got off work and then we finished the day at the Red Robin for dinner - had a couple terrific burgers...

Warranty and Insurance

We are making some good progress in getting our RV repaired and in getting our washer repaired. I don't know if I mentioned that our washer is leaking water, but we made another call to the Old Republic Warranty Company who replaced our heat pump a few months ago. They are coming out on Thursday to fix the washer problem.

I am meeting the insurance adjuster at Lake Pleasant this morning who is going to take some photos of the fifth wheel damage that needs to be fixed. The first thing though, is to remove the cover which I will do before the adjuster arrives. I don't know how I will get the fifth wheel into the shop without having a truck but maybe the adjuster can help figure out that problem. The plan is to get another truck, but that won't happen before we need to move the unit. I'm thinking that maybe the shop, wherever it goes for the work, can assist with moving the unit. This down time with the fifth wheel will give us a real chance to fix all the nagging problems we've had with the unit over the last couple years. That way, we will be in a position to sell it - or trade it - for another, smaller unit that we can use for the summers.

Most of the Christmas shopping is now done and we can breathe a little easier about having it done before Christmas. There are only a couple little things left to do and they will be done before the end of the week. It would be nice if we could somehow squeeze in a short trip somewhere over the holidays. George and Cheryl are going to Oregon for a few weeks over the holidays and we had hoped to go to the Bahamas to watch Austin's Bowl game, but that didn't come together. We'll try to figure out something that will give us a break from the day-to-day grind...

Cruise Control

I believe the Seahawks have reached Cruise Control on their season. They destroyed the Baltimore Ravens yesterday, 35-6, and for the fourth consecutive week, they look like a team that nobody in the world can beat. Russell Wilson has thrown 16 touchdown passes during those four weeks and the offense has averaged over 30 points per game. The defense isn't bad either - giving up three touchdowns in four games. I would guess that they will win out for the year and that the final game against the Cardinals will not mean anything. I'm sure the Cardinals will want to rest their starters and so will the Seahawks. I will bet that the real game will be when they face each other in the NFC Championship game which is bound to happen.

Josie did some more decorating and "tweaking" of Christmas decorations in the house. She has the house looking like a Christmas store. Starting with a re-make of the "village":

and the rest of our living/dining area:

and finally, our Christmas tree:

I would say we are now ready for Santa Claus. I just hope he can see our lights and doesn't fly over without stopping...

Strange Weather Patterns

I have seen occasions where the weather may be opposite the normal trends, but this is crazy. The entire east coast is basking in summer weather while the west is freezing and digging out from snow storms. We have only had some light rain locally, but it went down to 12 degrees in Flagstaff last night (36 here in Glendale) and there is snow all over northern Arizona. It was near 70 degrees in Chicago from what I saw yesterday. The only thing I can think is that the east will be digging out from blizzards while we are enjoying 70-80 degrees here. El Nino is one thing, but this has been ridiculous.

It appears that my approach of placing baggies over the electrical connections is working on our outside lights. At least so far. Everything worked fine last night even though we only had light rain. I think I'll leave everything the way it is.

There is a big game today for the Seahawks. They play the Baltimore Ravens and can get closer to clinching a playoff spot with a win. I don't doubt that they will make the playoffs and if they continue to play the way they are, may meet the Cardinals for the third time this year in the NFC Championship. That would be a tough game to watch even though I would be happy with either team winning. Well, I would still root for the Seahawks in that game. We're getting to the point now where the cream will rise to the top for the end of the season...

Prep for Rain

The forecast says there is a chance for rain over the next couple days. That means that we need to protect our Christmas lights from the potential water so that they don't short-out and create a problem for us. There are lots of connections and connections where there are multiple plugs going into a cord with multiple receptacles. I thought that the best solution for those was to place a ZipLoc Baggie over the plug and just tape the single plugs with black electrical tape. This is how they look:

It did rain during the night but I won't know if the plastic bags and tape worked until tonight when they come back on at dusk. I don't know what I'll do if they don't work, as it will be a real problem finding out which one(s) aren't working and are being shorted out. I knew it would be too much to ask to not have any rain for a few weeks during the Christmas Holidays. I can remember years where we didn't have rain for a couple months over the holidays. I guess it could be worse and we could be living where it snows and the water would almost certainly get into the electrical wiring.

So, here we are with only 13 days left until Christmas and we haven't done our shopping yet. That is the main target for us to have completed by tomorrow night. It may be a challenge, but we are going to give it the old college try...

More CoPays

We had another session at a Doctor's office yesterday. This time it was the Dermatologist and it was, essentially, another waste of money. At least it was for me. My skin "blotches" that I have been getting on my hands and arms are still there, and the Dr claims that they are natural and a result of aging. Well then, why am I spending time and money going to him to have him tell me that there is nothing that can be done about them and don't worry. He even scheduled another follow-up appointment to see me in four months. Not a chance. I'm done with those appointments.

Josie was concerned about some spots she had and he nixed those also. She has normal aging spots and there is nothing for her to worry about either. Kaching! Another $90 in co-pays. She did have a nagging sore on her thumb that she got at work several months ago for which he prescribed a steroid. We hope to see that heal once and for all.

The Cardinals had a squeaker last night. They barely beat the Minnesota Vikings, 23-20 - the team that the Seahawks mangled last Sunday - and are now assured a playoff spot. If it weren't for a last minute turnover, the game could have gone overtime and who knows who would have won. It's strange how some teams match up better against certain opponents. The Cardinals can clinch the Division Championship this weekend if the Seahawks lose. That isn't too likely though, as they play the Baltimore Ravens...

Eye Exams

Josie and I both had our annual eye exams yesterday. We have been having some problems with our vision and it was time to get things checked out. I have some changes in my glasses prescription and some worsening in my cataracts, but Josie has more serious concerns. There is some activity behind her retina that will require an Ophthalmologist evaluation. She has scheduled an appointment with one for as soon as they can take her which is in early January. The problem is one that could deteriorate into very serious vision loss, and even blindness. We are keeping our fingers crossed on this one. At any rate, the Dr said she should not get her glasses changed as the problem now is not her glasses, but her vision in general.

Today we have appointments with our Dermatologist as follow up to an earlier appointment a few months ago. I have had some blotching on my skin and Josie has a problem with one of her thumbs that has a sore that doesn't want to heal. I guess we are at the "breaking down" age and these things are bound to occur in everybody- eventually. We are being inundated with co-pays these days but we are thankful that we have Medicare - as bad as it is getting. The Government - specifically, Obama -  is doing everything it can to eliminate Medicare entirely. That's another subject for another day.

Also today, I have some follow-up to do with the insurance claim we submitted for the fifth wheel repairs. It promises to be and exciting day...

Big Fix Underway

I'm sure you will remember back in 2012 when we were traveling from Vista, CA to Jackson Hole Wyoming for our first year when we had the two tire blowouts on I-15. We had to replace all of our fifth wheel tires and, worst, each side of our fifth wheel had damaged wheel wells and siding. Here are a couple shots of that damage:

The left side (first blowout):

and the right side (second blowout)

The one thing we never did was have our insurance repair the damage to the fifth wheel.

That process was started yesterday after over 3 1/2 years. I traced down the details - thanks to the blog - and found the insurance information that we had at the time. There was no problem creating the claim and I expect to hear from the claim adjuster today. That will be a huge relief for us and now is a good time to have the work done while we are in the house. I'm not sure yet how the logistics will work out without our having a truck, but we will find out.

One thing we are looking at as a change to our transportation arrangements is to acquire another truck. We will have to make some kind of arrangement, soon, for the fifth wheel. To do that, we would have to eliminate one of our cars - or both - so that we could afford another truck. There are all kinds of options we are looking at for our travel plans to Jackson, so hang on for the news of all the changes...

Lots of Computer Work

I started out yesterday morning getting involved in doing some follow up work on Aramark paperwork. It stretched-on and I ended up spending a lot more time than I planned. I also did some other, long overdue paperwork and follow-up on the computer, and before I knew it half the day was gone. I had to put together an ad for our neighborhood classifieds about some items we want to sell, and that became a bit more involved than I planned. At any rate, the day was probably classified as a detour from the planned schedule.

As we get closer to the end of the year - and tax time - I will spend more time doing data gathering and computer stuff for Uncle Sam. I also keep several different charts of various things throughout the year and I will prepare those for the new year sometime between now and January 1. December is always more than just Christmas season, as I also am reminded that the year closes out, and new "everything" has to be ready by the First. It is usually fun to summarize a year and compare to previous years. This year will be especially different with the house thrown into the mix. Taxes will certainly be "fun" this year...

Award for Austin

Yesterday was the season-ending Banquet for the WMU Football Team in Kalamazoo. Patty sent a photo to us of Austin and his roommate, Trevor, receiving the award for outstanding Special Teams play during the year. What an honor, and we are so very proud of Austin for receiving this award as a result of his hard work and dedication. He has been steadily improving in his Special Teams play, and this year it became very obvious to everyone else that he is a talented young man and a main reason for the excellent Special Teams play by the Broncos all year long. Here is the photo that was taken last night:

Next up for Austin is the Bahamas Bowl on Christmas Eve Day. Be sure to watch the game on ESPN at noon on the 24th and watch for #23 on the WMU Broncos Special Teams.

More good football news occurred yesterday as our teams, the Seahawks and the Cardinals both had impressive victories. The Seahawks beat the Minnesota Vikings, 38-7, and are now in "steamroller" mode for the rest of the season. The Cardinals beat the St Louis Rams, 27-3, and are also cruising along through the rest of their schedule. It appears that a showdown is imminent between the Seahawks and Cardinals in the NFC. Don't be surprised if the NFC Champion is decided between those two teams.

It was what you might call a "perfect" ending to a great football day...

Cruising Along

It appears now that we have reached a point where our days are becoming routine. Most of everything is set regarding the house, Josie is well into her Christmas Holiday schedule at the shop and I am doing a little bit of everything keeping things together at home and trying to get some Uber driving time in between. Oh, and I have watched some football along the way.

We started watching the Christmas shows on the Hallmark Channel which has a great schedule of Christmas shows the month of December. Every year they add some new ones that always capture the Christmas Spirit and draw you into the giving and sharing mode. It is easily the best series of Christmas shows on TV at this time of the year. They are a must see.

Actually, we need to finish up our Christmas shopping which will be on today's agenda. We'll try to get a head start on getting everything mailed early this year as travel plans may interfere with celebrating Christmas on Christmas Day. Someday, maybe, we will all be close enough that we won't have to mail our gifts and can just drive to our family's homes and celebrate Christmas together. We can hope for that anyway...

MAC Champion Decided

Last night was the championship game for the MAC Football conference. The game was between Bowling Green State University (BGSU)  and Northern Illinois University (NIU) and was won by BGSU, 34-14. It was a shame though that NIU only had their third string quarterback as the first two were out with injuries. At any rate, the Conference has a worthy champion and they are projected to play in the GoDaddy.com Bowl on December 23 in Mobile, AL. Frankly, I would rather play in the Bahamas Bowl where Austin is going.

The Conference championships will wrap up today - and tomorrow, all of the bowl matchups should be set. I read where this year there are 41 bowl games scheduled. Pretty soon, there will be non-stop football games on TV beginning around December 20 and going right through early January. Just think of all the money that flows through those games.

I picked up my hearing aid yesterday that needed repair. I just dropped it off on Monday and it already came back from the manufacturer - repaired at no charge. That's always the best price.

There are only 19 more days until Christmas. December goes by faster than any other month of the year. It's going to have to slow down though, because we haven't even started our Christmas shopping...

More Neighbor Input

There were two more individuals working in the house next door yesterday. The entire garage was filled with Styrofoam wrappings and cartons of furniture. Josie and I went over to talk to them and we are definitely getting neighbors. The two gentleman that were working there were unpacking cartons for the new neighbors who are moving here from Seattle. They can't be all bad, right? I can't wait to hear the reason why the house sat vacant for six months. From what we could see, the furniture was nice if that is any indication. It looks like the move-in is near, so hang on for further updates.

The NFL game on TV last night was a thriller. It was won by the Green Bay Packers over the Detroit Lions, 27-23, on a last second Hail-Mary pass. The Detroit Lions have improved tremendously since the start of the season and have become one of the feared teams now for the rest of the way. The NFL is a mysterious league as the teams can change from bad to good and bad again during the long season.

Josie is back to work again today for the next two days. I'm not sure yet about my Uber activity. I will most likely drive some today and tomorrow, but wouldn't guarantee it. I like driving for them, but I am having a problem with the long wait times between riders. We'll see about that as the day goes on...

Neighbor Stirring

The house next to ours was sold at about the same time as ours. The difference is that we moved into our house and there has been no activity whatsoever next door since the June closing date. The last two days have been active next door as we have seen the same vehicle parked in the driveway and the same two individuals - both male - working all day inside. It appears that they are cleaning and/or preparing the place for residents. It isn't normal to make such a fuss over neighbor activity, but this is a mystery that we are anxious to solve. Stay tuned.

We didn't do much yesterday in the cold air. It was in the low 30's again yesterday morning so we did more Christmas decorating and did some things around the house. With the exception of a trip to the store to get a few items after the air warmed up a bit, we did nothing else. Basically, it was a leisurely day and just a relaxing day off...

Bowl Picture is Clear

It is official now - WMU and Austin will play in the Bahamas Bowl against Middle Tennessee State, at noon on Christmas Eve on ESPN. It sure beats the Potato Bowl that he went to in Boise, ID last year. After doing some research on costs to attend the game, it looks like it is out of our reach at this point. It would cost us $2200 for roundtrip tickets, including a plane change in Miami. There are no direct flights to the Bahamas from Phoenix. The real problem for us though, is that Josie cannot take any days off from work so close to Christmas. We will be cheering for Austin and hoping that Patty and her family will enjoy the trip and the game as a nice treat at Christmas.

Amazon.com came through for us yesterday. We had a very nice star for our Christmas tree that turned out to be defective. It was the last one that Home Depot had of that style and none of the other local stores carried that style. I ordered one from Amazon.com on Sunday, and it arrived yesterday as promised. Amazon.com just keeps getting better and better with their service and prices.

Speaking of Amazon, I saw on yesterday's news that, for the first time ever, shoppers have done more at on-line locations than physically at the store locations. That's probably good and bad. Seasonal employees at retail locations will most likely have shorter hours and some may even lose their jobs. It probably is good for traffic though.

Josie is off the next two days and there are lots of decorations that still need to be placed around the house. We will start, however, with getting the Ford serviced which is over 2,000 miles overdue. It's nice that we are into December now, as this is probably the happiest month of the year...

Bowl Rumors

The rumors are flying about which Bowl game the WMU Broncos will be playing in this year. Patty indicated that an ESPN report had WMU playing Middle Tennessee in the Bahamas Bowl on December 24. Then, the rumor was that WMU had not approved the selection as yet. At any rate, we all started checking into air fares and making arrangements for going to that game. It is a very expensive trip from AZ as there are no direct flights to the Bahamas and all of them require a plane change - some in Miami, and even some in Philadelphia if you can believe that. We'll have to wait and see what develops with the official announcement. It sure would be nice to spend Christmas in the Bahamas watching Austin's Bowl game.

Another unknown is whether Josie would be able to get the time off from work before Christmas. Those are tough days to get off with the holiday workload. Usually, days leading up to major holidays are black-out dates for all employees. We'll have to see how this all plays out but it is exciting for Patty and her family - especially Austin - regardless of when and where the game will be played.

I took my broken hearing aid to the Audiologist yesterday to have sent off for repairs. One of my hearing aids broke on Thanksgiving morning - of course, that's the only time they break is when there is no chance for repairs to begin for 4 days over a holiday weekend. It will be at least the rest of this week before I can expect to see it again. The Audiologist rigged a temporary replacement for me to use, but that is nothing like having my regular aid. Maybe I won't have to hear anything that is more than half important the rest of this week...