Nice Thanksgiving

We had a very nice Thanksgiving yesterday with family. That is, family that is local without Patty and her family who were certainly missed. We arrived at Brian's house at around 2:30 PM and the rains held off for the entire day. We had very cool weather though, and some pretty hefty wind at times. We didn't get to enjoy the usual gathering outside around the table but just found room around the inside tables and counters to enjoy the wonderful meal. These photos were the best chance to get everybody getting ready to go through the food line before settling at the table in the kitchen or outside - braving the chilly air and occasional wind:

Everything was delicious and, of course, there was too much food as always.

Maybe we will have a larger family group next year if we can get Patty and her family to finally make the move to Arizona.

Next on the agenda is to get Josie ready to begin work again at the flower shop. That occasion is on for tomorrow as she starts back at Sun City Florists for another season. I hope to have an update on that after tomorrow....

Ready for Thanksgiving

This was a shot of the sunset last night on the eve of Thanksgiving:

The AZ skies are so beautiful.

We received a nice Thanksgiving gift from Patty - a tin can of delicious home made chocolate chip cookies - that were better than any we have ever tasted before. Keep that recipe, Patty.

We will travel to Brian's house this year for Thanksgiving dinner. The plan is too arrive there at around 2 PM and have a nice afternoon with the family's, including Cot & Lois. It was suppose to rain yesterday, today and tomorrow but the forecast was revised to have rain only this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow. That's fine with us. We will get some pretty fierce winds though as part of the storm. There should also be some good football on TV this afternoon after we welcome Santa Claus into town at Macy's in New York.

Have a great day everybody and we'll catch you again down the road...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Lots and Lots of Rain

We have had enough rain over the last three days to last for six months. According to the local measurements, we had about 2.50" in our area. There was also some lightening and thunder to go along with the rain and it made for some tough sleeping the last two nights - for Josie. I can't hear all the thunder, but did see some of the lightening. I wanted to post these photos of the storms to show how it looked while all the rain was dumping:

Notice the nice crop of oranges and lemons we are getting this year. We took most of the furniture off the open patio during the storms and moved it under the covered portion. Today, we will replace all the furniture and enjoy the sunshine again....

New Blog Practices

As a result of our decision to stay close to home for a while, we will not be doing the blog every day as we have tried to do in the past. There just isn't enough "new" and exciting activity to report and I don't want it to become so boring that our readers will stop checking on updates. It may still get boring, but you won't have to read the same stuff everyday. I will try to keep it relevant to our activities that may be of interest. At any rate, you will not see entries every day as I have tried to do in the past. This is a new chapter in our lives - one that involves some new direction and a lot less travel.

We plan to try to sell the RV and the truck. I will place ads in the RV "for sale" columns (of which there are many) and hope to get an interested party that wants to start RVing but don't know what to buy to get started. Both vehicles are in good shape, although not new. A person can save thousands by purchasing the combination and this one works! Hopefully, we will find a buyer.

There are many other areas we are downsizing and will try to keep everybody posted on the significant changes.

I apologize for not committing to daily entries, but it is time to rethink our future plans. It is interesting to note that a couple that we have been following ever since we began our adventure almost 12 years ago has decided to settle down in the Villages in Florida and have stopped their full-time lifestyle after 15 years. They are Howard and Linda Payne and are the founders of RV-Dreams.com that has become a national RVing institution. Their life on the road has been an inspiration and a rewarding experience to follow during our 12 years.

We'll still be interested in RVing - always will - and will most likely obtain a smaller RV down the road to continue to enjoy some short travel during our retirement years. We don't expect anything like we have done in the past, but once you fall in love with RVing, you never get it totally out of your system....

Changes Starting

The first step that was taken in our quest to tighten the belt was a review of expenses that we can control and have not looked at in a long time. The main one is the mortgage which we committed to refinance yesterday at an interest rate 3/4% below our original rate. That saves us a couple hundred dollars each month. Further, we have made the decision to change insurance companies and get rid of Progressive. I received a nice quote from Farmers that saves us lots of money on our vehicle insurance and our homeowner insurance. It also has the advantage of being with the same company versus splitting the coverage with Progressive.

There are several other areas we have made changes to in order to reduce the monthly obligations. Another that I will take a long look at is our telephone coverage. We are spending way too much each month with AT&T and we are not all that happy with them anyway. Since we do not plan to travel as much, it will be worth looking into other providers that perhaps don't have the wide coverage that AT&T and Verizon have. One that comes to mind is T Mobile. They are a lot cheaper.

Anyway, the train is rolling along and we are making good headway into making costs more reasonable....

Starting New Direction

It looks like it is time to change direction. We are both getting weary of traveling and working and trying to make so much money that we have lost contact with reality. The reality is, we are getting older and slower and don't need to keep up this rocket-speed pace. At least for now we will tighten our belts and try to get by with as little as possible in terms of toys and money. One of the major decisions we made is to somehow get rid of the fifth wheel and the expenses associated with that. Although it has been such a big part of our lives for the last 12 years, it has outlived its usefulness and the expense can no longer be justified. It was our home for most of those 12 years, and a very good one at that. We now begin the search for an acceptable solution.

We are taking some time now to evaluate our goals and to get our lives organized for the foreseeable future. That involves some changes and some sacrifices, but we feel we need to make those tough choices now in order to have a better retirement - what is that word? It will be nice to eventually downsize our possessions - mostly in the garage - so that we can spread out a little bit and begin to know where to look for things when we need them. It will not be easy, but we are mentally ready for the task....

Amazon Gig Ends

I worked the half day of voluntary OT yesterday at Amazon. I resigned after the shift ended but left the door open a crack in case I decided to return for any reason. They allowed me to stay on as a reserve and have the opportunity to return before the end of the season. It' isn't likely that will happen.

I am in the mode now of preparing a strict budget for us to follow to get control of our expenses. I can't plan for the emergencies - like the truck repair - but can still have some kind of reserve fund for those occasions. The budget will include only employment by Josie as that is something she wants to do - part time, if possible, during holidays. I will not work unless it becomes absolutely necessary. I will provide updates as we go along.

Maybe we can finally have an opportunity to join most of our neighbors in the garage sale game. We have been ignoring the "mess" in the garage since we moved in and need to get rid of lots of old stuff. Every week there are garage sales in our neighborhood and people in this area are drawn to those sales like flies. Every garage sale creates a traffic jam on the street in front of those houses. I know that it takes a lot of preparation, but I also understand that it can be very profitable - as opposed to donating everything to charity. There are also some items in our house that need to go. We wish Patty were here to help go through those things and take what she might want. We'll see.

Today, I will watch another Penn State football game. This time, they will beat Indiana. I also plan to watch PJ Fleck and his Minnesota Gophers play Iowa this afternoon. I see no reason why they shouldn't win their 10th game this season and remain undefeated.

Enjoy your weekend everybody....

Overtime Really Kicks In

I received another email last night announcing another overtime opportunity at Amazon. Today could be overtime in addition to tomorrow which is mandatory. I signed up for a half day for today - 12:30-6 PM - so I will definitely have my fill of that place by tomorrow night. Actually, I plan to resign after tomorrow night. It isn't worth the physical stress to continue. I am not young anymore and Josie mentioned that every one of the workers we saw was in his/her 20's or 30's and very few as old as 50. There were definitely no workers in their 70's. It's almost over.

I took the truck in for the repairs yesterday AM and the expectation is that it will take 2 weeks to complete. That is OK as we have the second car and Josie will need it for her work - probably beginning sometime next week. The point is that we could not both work with just the one vehicle being available.

We have some belt tightening planned and expect to get things under control following the truck repair....

Overtime Kicks In

Amazon is known for the mandatory overtime that is required each year during Peak Season. It is incredible how that company can stock millions of products, employ thousands of workers, create all kinds of unnecessary costs and handle overhead that seems like child's play to us and still make billions of dollars in profit. That time has arrived as I was informed that I must work this Saturday - my first overtime day. Of course, all workers on overtime will receive time-and-a-half for the 10 hours. That translates into $225 for my one day effort on Saturday.

I will be looking at all options these next two days as I don't especially care for the commute or working alone without Josie. I will definitely work Saturday, but next week may or may not happen depending on what happens the next two days. Josie is waiting to talk to the flower shop owner about her schedule.

The truck goes into the collision shop this morning to get the repairs done from the tire blowout. I don't know how long it will take, but I'm hoping for a quick repair as we will have to get along with just the Escape until it's finished.

Josie went to the doctor yesterday and he said she was severely dehydrated which probably resulted in her problems. She will have some bloodwork done today and she also has to get an x-ray on her problem knee. Hopefully, we can get her back to normal soon....

First Work Day Apart

Yesterday was a tough day for me at Amazon. Josie stayed home, I drove the truck through some very bad traffic (almost 1 hour commute) and I worked the day without her to share breaks and lunch. I have one more day to work (solo) this week and then I get three days off to ponder the next step. In the meantime, Josie scheduled a doctor's appointment for today to try and get a handle on her stress and horrible feelings she has experienced recently. I worry about her, for sure.

The good news is that it seems like there are openings at her flower shop in Sun City if she can connect with the owner. With the holidays approaching, they lost some people unexpectedly. I hope that goes well.

My day today will be a long one as I am tired and anxious to get some rest. The only real task I have scheduled this week is to take the truck to the collision shop tomorrow to get the repairs done from our blowout. That appointment is at 8 AM tomorrow.

I hope the next few days will bring some good news for us....

First Casualty

It was another day of stress and uncomfortable results for Josie. She signed out about two hours early as she was feeling sick and not getting any comfortable feeling at all about her work. We stopped by the desk of the HR folks and tried to get another task assigned for her. There are no openings in any of the other departments at this time so it looks like she has to either quit or take a chance on openings occurring soon. My recommendation is that she cut her ties with Amazon and try getting back to the flower shop for the holiday season where she is much more comfortable.

I'm not sure what I'll do other than complete this week myself. That means two more days for me and then we can figure out a longer term solution. I've come to the conclusion that we are no longer "spring chickens" and need to find work that is more suitable for people our age. The last two jobs - the pumpkin patch and Amazon - are jobs for people that are closer to 35 years old rather than 80. We'll learn.

I went to bed at halftime of the Seahawks/49er's game last night and it was 10-7 in favor of the 49er's - good game. This morning I saw the final - 27-24 Seattle in OT. It turned into a great game. The chase is on for the NFL West Division crown....

Kind of Tough Day

The 10 hour days are definitely something we are not accustomed to although the pumpkin patch was far worse. The biggest difference at Amazon is that we walk the whole day except for breaks and lunch. Also, the work we do as "pickers" is not nearly as difficult as what we did at the pumpkin patch. Our legs and back are taking the brunt of our daily activity. It will be a crap-shoot to see if we can adjust and get into this flow before deciding to quit. I'm in favor of going the distance with the program. Josie would leave today if given the option. The next couple days are critical.

The big thing we have going for us is that we only work 4 days a week. I mentioned to Josie that after today, our week is half over. I think it sounds better when put that way.

I had a scare yesterday morning when I lost a screw from my glasses and one of the lenses fell out. It was a miracle that I found the tiny screw sitting on top of my computer and got it all fixed again before leaving for work.

We'll keep the faith for now....

Nice Break After Week One

We enjoyed our break after the first week - 3 days. We got some things done, had a nice rest and got our minds in the right place to prepare for the second week. The fact that we have 3 days off is a blessing. If it were only 2 days, we might have had a problem. I think as time goes on and we get closer to Christmas, the time off will be important, but not as critical as it is for the first couple weeks. What I mean is, the 40 hour week spread over 4 days is easier on us than over 5 days.

It looks like coach PJ Fleck is using his magic in Minnesota to repeat his outstanding effort at Western Michigan University with Austin's team. His Minnesota team is now 9-0 for the first time since 1904 by knocking off undefeated and 4th ranked Penn State yesterday. If PSU had to lose, I'm glad it was to Fleck. I understand the University extended his contract for 7 years at $4.5 million. He surely deserves it.

From now until Wednesday night, we will be go-go-go and not have a lot of time for much else than eating and sleeping each night. We got everything done that we needed to and I am ready to go the next 4 days without any major tasks to be done....

Truck Appointment Set

The main accomplishment yesterday was scheduling the truck repairs for next Thursday - our next day off - to take place at Caliber Collision in Surprise. They will work from the insurance company estimate and, hopefully, get it done in a short time with no problems. My main concern is that the collision shop be able to perform the work within the estimate from the insurance company. I can tell you that I can't fork over any more money if they can't.

Part of our conversation with Patty this morning was, as always, about the boys and their activities. It seems that Austin is enjoying his friendship with the NFL Pro friends he has. He always spends time with Troy from the Broncos when he can and this weekend he is in Tennessee, staying at his former roommate Corey Davis' house and going to the Titans game tomorrow. I'm happy for him to be able to do those fun things.

We have a few minor chores to do today including taking a trip to the store before starting work at Amazon for our second week tomorrow. I hope it is a better experience for Josie this week. I think it will be as she gets more familiar with the job and the building....

Welcomed Day Off

I had to start the day yesterday with my eye appointment. At 7:30 AM and coming off a strenuous week at Amazon, It was not my favorite task. I didn't even get to see the Doctor until 8:15 after several tests were run on my eyes and, basically, a complete eye exam. The Doctor said my problem eye looks good and my change in prescription for glasses would be minimal. I passed on getting a new prescription and will be set to go for another year.

Josie caught up on laundry while I was gone and we took a trip to the store after I got back from my appointment. It was, generally, a day of doing nothing but relaxing and trying to get Josie in the right frame of mind to continue at Amazon. I think we have agreed to continue - for now.

The payroll system works as we already received our pay - direct deposit - for our one day of Orientation last Saturday. The rest of our week will be paid next Friday which is always payday.

There is still the issue of the truck repairs that is outstanding. I have decided to take it to a local collision shop to get the work done. Since the insurance is so bad and is not picking up a portion of the repair, I have to make sure I get the best bang for the buck. More research will be done on that issue today. The net of that whole experience is that I will be anxious to change insurance companies - again - when all the work is done. The discussions that Josie and I are having regarding the truck and the RV have been directed toward finding a way to sell both - the truck and RV - and settle down for at least the foreseeable future....

First Week is History

It was a typical work week at Amazon - we had forgotten. I should say that we had a lot of friends around us in Campbellsville to give support to each other. It was touch and go the whole week for Josie whether she would be able to stick it out or not. She made it. Next week is up for discussion, but I think she might want to give it a shot. I hope so - if she is up to it. It is such a good situation for us to satisfy some of our short term goals. I do believe, though, that we are about as close to committing to full time retirement as we can get. We just need to take care of a few things.

I have an appointment with my eye doctor at 7:30 AM this morning (Thursday). It was the appointment to follow up on treatment of my problem eye. Originally, it was scheduled for Wednesday, but our job forced the next day take-it-or-leave-it appointment. So, we look forward to some down time and relaxation and we have a lot to talk about regarding the immediate future.

Oh, the tale of the scale this first week is 4.5 pounds lost!....

Holiday Meal on Amazon

The highlight of the day yesterday was the nice Thanksgiving meal that Amazon provided in the lunchroom for all employees. It was catered by Boston Markets and was very delicious. They even extended the lunch break by 15 minutes so that everybody had enough time to enjoy the meal.

The day was otherwise very intense, as usual, and we are both just really looking forward to getting off our feet for a few days after today. It was also the first day that all of us were on our own without coaching. Josie is still struggling - physically and mentally - and I have to say that I hope she can adjust and get into the flow soon. It is all we can do to get our ten hours in, get some sleep and do it all again. There isn't any time to do anything else on the days we have to work.

For some reason it didn't seem so tough on us before when we worked at Amazon in Campbellsville, KY. Maybe the 8 years since that experience have taken a toll on us. Like, maybe our age is finally trying to warn us to stay away from theses kinds of jobs....

Finishing Up With Training

It was a morning of more boring discussions on a lot of procedures and other mandatory items that everybody needs to know. Today starts the real deal and there will be no coaching, except for questions anybody has that can be asked during the day when you spot a supervisor. Amazon does a good job educating their employees on emergency procedures, work procedures and all information that is needed to make it a pleasant experience. The ten hour days go faster when we actually perform our assigned duties.

There are two more days before we get a break - Thursday - and we are looking forward to that. Both of us are feeling it in our legs and backs and hope that we will get into shape before it is all over. Josie is still struggling, although improving. I'm liking it and doing well from what I'm told.

The commute isn't bad and we have seen the worst of it. That is a good omen....

Long Day to Start

As usual, the first full day on the floor was spent learning about procedures and other areas that may impact our time here in the warehouse. The main thing was that we got to work at our jobs for most of the day. Picking is very different from Stowing as I indicated before and it really is a lot of fun from my standpoint. Josie has a different opinion and struggled with most of the process the entire day. She will enjoy the job a lot more as she becomes familiar with the warehouse and the job. There are still a few areas I need to learn more about, but I like the job. It is strenuous (lots of walking) , for sure, but could result in some much needed weight loss.

I got this shot of the break area/lunch room in the AM when we arrived at 7 AM (Start time was 7:30):

It looks a lot like yesterday's shot except it was taken from a different angle and shows a little more of the huge area it occupies. My camera went into the locker after this shot and did not have access to it for the rest of the day. They are very strict about what comes into the warehouse area. Essentially, you go in with the clothes you are wearing and that's it.

I am concerned about how Josie will adapt to this new environment and hope that all goes well the rest of the week. She has had problems with her knees and back in the past so we will see. No matter what, it is better than the schedule we had in the Pumpkin Patch and welcome some time off which will occur on Thursday...

Day 1 Done

We arrived at the Amazon facility early - at around 12:15 PM - and got a good seat for the orientation. It was held in a classroom that became filled to capacity at the starting time of 1PM. There must have been 75-80 people attending for their first day at Amazon.

The orientation went according to plan and, actually, ended about 45 minutes early (5:15 PM). The classroom part was long and mostly familiar to us but did contain some new procedures and information that is unique to this area. We broke early and walked to the entrance we will be using every day from here on out and reviewed check-in, security and locker information among other items. I took these shots of the area we will be using during our breaks/lunch:

and the area where the refrigerator, microwaves and other kitchen items are located:

It is a very nice, clean, large and well organized facility and should be fun to work in for the next several weeks. Our committed time frame is only to Christmas, but may be extended depending upon their needs and ours.

This post is being prepared on Saturday night for publication on Sunday AM when we have to start our "official" first day of training. That starts at 7:30 AM, so I will end this now and hope to stay current with the posts.

Here we go….

D-Day at Amazon

This is it. Our re-introduction to the Amazon "family" occurs today at 1 PM. Although it is only orientation, it promises to be a half day full of information that we will have to digest in a short time. Fortunately, we have experience with them and feel like it cannot be that different from what we did previously - except that our function is a new one. Picking is a much faster pace than stowing which is what we did in Campbellsville, KY. Also, it was 7 years ago that we had that experience so we expect to see some changes and to (probably) feel more fatigued at the end of the day. Wish us luck. The real work starts tomorrow at 7:30 AM, so this is just a warm up.

Sometime during our days off I will try to schedule a time to take the truck into a collision shop for repairs from our tire blowout. I expect to go to the shop where I already have an estimate and try to get them to work with Progressive to agree on a price. That may be as difficult as getting the Pope to convert to Judaism.

My eye appointment that was originally scheduled for Wednesday was moved to Thursday - our first day off - at 7:30 AM. Too bad that my first day off means I still have to get up early for this appointment but you take what you can get in the medical field.

I will miss watching football games on Sundays, but can copy the good ones to watch later and I can still watch college games on Saturdays except for today....

Set To Go Now

We made the decision yesterday to take the opening they had at Amazon that starts on Saturday, Nov 2. Yep, that's tomorrow. It starts with orientation at 1 PM which goes for 5-5.5 hours, and we begin our regular schedule on Sunday the 3rd and work through Wed the 6th. The schedule is for 7:30 to 6 PM, Sun - Wed each week and will be in the "Picking" department which will be new to us, although familiar. We know a lot about picking as when we were "stowing" in Campbellsville, KY years ago, we were working in the same area that the "pickers" work. We will be walking about 10-15 miles per day within the warehouse while locating items and placing them in totes to be taken to a station where they prep for shipping. I hope we can handle that. The choice was made to accept that job so that we didn't get stuck with something worse next week. Our only mistake was applying when we did (late) as most of the better jobs have already been assigned. We can always request a transfer to a different function if, for any reason, picking does not work out for us. We are happy to be working though, and Amazon is a good place to work.

I received the estimate for the truck damage/repairs from the insurance company and it is a huge joke. I took the photos and sent them in to the insurance company yesterday and their estimate came back about 40% lower than the collision shop estimate I received last week. I could go on and on about how incompetent the estimate was but let me just say that any person physically working with the estimate from the insurance company would have to be from a different planet. Some of the repairs they estimated to be 12 minutes in labor that involved removing and repairing items underneath the wheel well that would take twice that long just to remove and reinstall without repair. Anyway, I'm still fighting that battle and can't wait to switch insurance companies again. What a mistake it was to go with Progressive. They need to spend more money on customer service and less on Flo!

We hope to enjoy our final day off today in some decent weather.

Oh, and we had zero kids last night for trick-or-treat...