Newport News Folks

Greetings from Newport News! I just wanted to say a big "THANK YOU!!" to Eric, Peggy, Fred, Alice, David, and Chunnan for all of your wonderful hospitality! David and I had a wonderful time while we were out there and definitely plan on returning soon. No Peggy, David has not decided to move just yet but I am working on it. I certainly hope that everyone enjoyed playing tour guide with the things that we went and did, I am already planning on what I want to do the next time we are out there......

Again, many thanks to you all!

Love and Hugs for everyone
Cheryl & David.

Just Wondering

I haven't heard much from the Seattle folks or Phoenix folks in a while. Wazzup?

Updates

Okay, so I have been slacking and haven't been keeping up with posts or writing them, so here is a quick update.

First off. That roommate I told you about. Well, as of today, he officially moved out. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. He really does have a drinking problem and I didn't realize how taxing that was for myself and others. Anyway, we are planning on getting another roommate, but in the meantime, we have his room for our use or storage.

Secondly, work has changed quite a bit for me. I am still the resort, but this season there has been no business whatsoever. We have done several weddings, but this time of year we rely on corporate functions and we don't have any. So, I have been lucky to get maybe 12 hours a week of work. So, with this development, I applied at the Holiday Inn and received a job as a host of their restaurant. The work is easy and doesn't pay well, but it is a paycheck which we definitely need. I might also have a job with my stepbrother. Just waiting to hear back.

Thirdly, it's official. We're going to Vegas. Booked our trip today. I think we went against all advice and decided to stay in the Circus Circus hotel. Reason being is we have to be conscious of our spending and they were the most realistic. Not to mention it is close to several of the attractions that we want to take part in. We have also decided to take one day to do the Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam Bus Tour. It makes for a long day and is kind of expensive, but for us it's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity, so why not take advantage of it.

Well, I guess that's about it from my end. Mom is doing well. She has been having troubles with her new car, but finally got it back from the shop for the last time and seems to be running ok. And overally healthwise she is doing well. Don't get to see her much right now, but plan on doing something for her birthday.

Well, gotta finish a puzzle so more later.
T.

I survived!

Colonoscopy and upper endoscopy today - Other than a few diverticuli, no problems. Nothing that needed any treatment.

Happy Birthday Barb & Dave

Happy Birthday!!!

Pepper Has a New Playmate

Name This Puppy Please!

Sorry about the picture quality. None of the ones I took were worth a darn, all being way too dark. Guess I need to adjust the camera somehow.

This little boy is only 4.5 weeks old, really too young to come home with us, but I just couldn't leave him there in that flea infested house. I asked the owner to bathe him before I would take him, but she was anxious to start the two litters out the door so didn't complain about it.

He's not pedigreed, but, she says, is purebred. He's eating soft food mixed with milk so I'm hoping he'll progress well. He was a real fatty so has a good start on life.

Anyway, he needs a name. Any ideas?

Happy Birthday to Alice & Barb

I found the Pig Pic I was looking for.

Happy Birthday girls!!

If you have time, please drop by this site and run your cursor over the stars and choose how many stars you think my poetry rates (Then click on that star of course!) Thanks!

Challenge Quilt

I've worked on two challenge quilts this year. The Visions of Vibrant Florida one which I quilted while in Seattle has been submitted, but I won't know anything about that one until November sometime. This one shown below was a "bag challenge" for Springhouse. We were to choose a gift bag we liked and then duplicate the picture on the gift bag in a quilt. I chose to do a large wall hanging whereas none of the other entries were that big and most about the same size as the bag they chose as can be seen from the second photo. These were shown at the meeting yesterday, but had to be viewed by the Night Owl group last night before a winner was chosen. They were to announce the winner by email, but I haven't seen any emails from Springhouse today. But, since I had told Esther I would post a photo of the quilt and couldn't get a picture of it until the viewing ('cause I had already turned it in and forgot to photograph it), it had to wait until now.



You can see the original bag pinned to my quilt in the picture.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Today is Tim White's 22nd birthday!

Happy Birthday Tim :o)

ps. Tarja, Tim is Barb's son.

Free Gift

Each year State Farm where I used to work allows it's employees and retirees to "Select-A-Gift" for Christmas. The last couple of years I've not been able to find much of anything that I really wanted and this year is the same. I have ordered things in the past and given them away as Christmas gifts to others.

But, this year, I am offering my gift to any one of you who visits the website at http://sag.myemployeegift.com, sees something you like, and the first to email me with their choice gets the prize!

I can place the order right away and they have been sending it right away so you probably wouldn't have to wait until Christmas to receive your selection.

So, who reads our blog and who wants a free gift???

Love and Hugs to all,
Ruth/Mom

Oops!

Early Sunday morning (6 am-ish) we were awakened by a LOUD crashing noise. I knew it had to be a tree limb falling in the yard since I've heard similar sounds many times before when we've had a lot of rain and the dead branches get waterlogged, but just not this loud. I went back to sleep and waited until I got up later to investigate. This is what I found. A huge limb had fallen on the overhang roof behind Merle's shop. Now he definitely has something to keep him busy once the weather cools off a bit!



You can see a better shot of the damage below.

Travel Help Please

hi all. Sorry it's been a while. Lots happening I guess. Work is slowing down, so I have an interview scheduled with the Holiday Inn. Probably next week. And my stepbrother approved me to work with him at his 5 Star restaurant. So, work wise, things should be interesting.

On a different note, I killed my first animal on Sunday. Meaning, it ran into the tire of my car and died. Police aren't sure if it was a large fox or a coyote. But have heard that coyotes have caused many accidents recently. I was not hurt and the car had minimal damage(as it hit the tire and base of the car.) But it was a traumatic experience for me, because I have never, hit anything, killed anything, or had to call the police for anything. A first for a lot of things.

Anyway, now on to the title of my post. I am definitely going to Vegas in November with Dave. However, I have never planned a trip like this before. I have looked at several sights and have found a few good deals, but I would like input if anyone can help me out. Here is the information I know.

Leaving on Nov. 11 and returning, Nov. 16.
Flying from Manchester, NH to Las Vegas, NV
Looking for a flight/hotel combo package.

The research that we have done, has led us to the 4 Queens Hotel as being the most reasonable in Price and in close vicinity to other area attractions.

We have looked at Priceline, cheaptickets, and travelocity(the latter being the better deal)

Finally, our goal is to spend less than 1000 for flight/hotel for both of us. the 4 queens has given us a price of 766 which is extremely reasonable.

any help would be great. Even if there are other suggested websites to gather information.

Oh, our other goal is to be within reasonable distance from major attractions, like the strip, the Star Trek Experience, and other things of that nature.

Thanks in advance and will write again soon, I promise.
T.

Mom's Modem Malfunction

Mom asked me to let everyone know that her modem died last night and
she'll be offline until mid-week.

Sent from my iPhone