Well, I've been hearing about huge sales at JC Penny's, so I decided to see if there was one here. On line it said it was in the Lakeland Square Mall. People had talked last year about the mall on 98, but I assumed it was what I would call a strip mall on the east side of 98. Since I stay a block off 98, it's very familiar to me. So I asked for a map to it online. It was on the west side of 98! So I went there and it is about 4 or5 blocks from me. Sort of a small mall - the anchors are Burlington Coat Factory, JC Penny, Sears, Dillards's and Macy's! So I went to Penny's. I looked at cardigans, and they were all about hip length or shorter in the back and knee length or longer in the front! Needless to say, I didn't buy those. Then there were long-sleeved tops with scoop necks. Now if you want long sleeves to keep you warm, why in the world would you want a scoop nece?! Not only that, but they were way more scooped than I would consider wearing. I did find one top that would have been alright except for the HUGE print that it was. It would have made me look like I were the size of this room!

About the faucet - Lee said it might have gotten just a little ice in it and it was weak before that. He's going to fix it at his convenience.

I was flipping through channels and ran on to Little House on the Prairie, and I think it must be one of the first ones. It is Laura's and Mary's very first day of school ever! Guess what? Laura and Nellie Olson got into a fight!

I don't know how much you have heard about this. Monday morning two St. Petersburg police officers were murdered as they were assisting a Federal agent serve a warrant. This was on the day of funerals for two Miami officers who were killed in a similar situation. I go to Breakfast Club on Fridays, and the man who organizes that goes to the same church as one of the officers. Their funerals will be there Friday. One of the officers was off duty and just wanted to go help out! Quite a sad time in the area. I'm about 30 or 40 miles east of there.

Have a nice day. It's about 65 or 70 here today and we got 2.23 inches of rain yesterday evening and last night. It's been very dry here, so it was quite welcome.

Of course The Taylors were great tonight. I even made the www a couple of times I'm told. Now I've been around the world tonight! The oldest Taylor is 23 and sings tenor. The bass and alto are 21-year-old twins. The soprano is 19 and is the spiritual leader of the group. She recently started driving their van pulling their trailer and when she drives, they all pray a lot! They also have 2 older brothers.

I talked to two couples from the Cedar Rapids area tonight that I met last year. They live at the Florida Holiness Association Campground where I have my name in.

It was nice to hear that I now need a new faucet in the kitchen and Lee has the dehumidifier and a fan running in the basement to dry up some carpet. I'm a little concerned about a fan running unattended. Perhaps I'll mention it to him.

Have a nice day/evening!

Tonight's concert was by the Crist family and was very good. If you are interested, all the concerts are streamed live on Saturday and Sunday nights. Go to www.lakegibsonchurch.com and scroll down and you will see the schedule as well as the area to click to watch live. Tomorrow night is the Taylors. They are 2 sisters and their 2 brothers who are all under 25 and extremely good. Last year the oldest had to drive all night to get the other 3 home so they could take midterms at college. One boy and girl are twins and they have other siblings too.

I learned tonight that (I believe yesterday) Tribute's bus burned completely in Texas. They blew a rear tire and a volunteer fireman was following them and got them to pull over. They wonder if an oil line ruptured and was ignited by a spark. They grabbed paperwork and jumped off the bus. They all threw sound equipment into the median and the bus erupted from rear to front. No one was hurt. It could have been a lot worse if they hadn't been stopped.

Phyllis about the van. It started surging at low speeds on the way down here (like in construction for 50 miles at 40 mph). Lee suggested I check the transmission fluid and it was low and I added up to the normal level. Funny thing, I had the oil changed at a WalMart after it started surging and they checked the box that they had checked the transmission fluid! I'm not sure if it's okay now or not for sure. I pay so much attention, that I'm not sure if it is still surging or if it's just the normal shifting action. I had it to a mechanic and he is supposed to investigate more and get back to me.

I just finished the last of my strawberries, so I guess I need to buy some more! When I came out of the church tonight, it was cold. I was wearing one short sleeved top and two long sleeved tops and needed more!

Have a good day/night!

January 20,2011

Last night at church I found out about the people I had been wondering about. The one lady that I referred to as "Josie Kessler" has kidney infection and yesterday started on a different medicine to try to get rid of it. The elderly man with a lot of medical problems was there last night and he hasn't been well enough to come for a while. The third person I had wondered about not being in choir has a brand new baby!

I haven't talked to the lady in charge of the campground apartment I applied for since I've been down here. It really wouldn't be a lot cheaper than here, but it would have activities for me to do. I'll just have to see about contacting her about it again.

Tonight's supper was a bag of 100 calorie popcorn, ants on a log (fruit, vegetable, and protein), and (of course) strawberries.

When I was at the lake today a man said there were baby swans, so I went to try to see them. The parents were black swans and I never did see the babies. They must have been under the mother and the daddy was guarding and I really don't relish the thought of one of them biting me! The people who work for the parks department of Lakeland take the babies when they are very small and raise them and sell them to other parks, etc. The black ones are a lot smaller than the white ones like they have at Forest Cemetery.

Have a good day/evening. Oh, by the way, it is now almost 10 pm here, so we'll see what time it shows when I post it.

Of course Karen Peck and New River were excellent tonight. As I was leaving I saw something that I don't think I'd ever seen before. It was a vehicle with Prince Edward Island plates on it. I had to consult my map to see where that is!

I usually arrive early enough to watch the busses arrive and be unloaded. They almost all wear jeans except Legacy Five who arrived in khakis.

Last night I'll admit it was a little hard as I was watching the Hoppers unload. I had to think about how much Bob always enjoyed helping with loading and unloading. He would really enjoy being here, but I'm sure he is enjoying heaven more than being here.

Have a good day!

I went to a great concert tonight with the Hoppers. Tomorrow night will be Karen Peck and New River. Both groups are top-notch. As I was waiting to get in, I saw a man and his wife crossing the parking lot and he looked bunches like JD Sumner! I then found out that he is Roy Pauley who writes for Singing News and has sang with various groups. The Hoppers closed with Shoutin Time and he sang with them. He definitely has a deep bass voice like JD!

I talked to two couples that I talked to last year tonight. They stay at the campground that I applied for.

Now a little about my room here. I have a microwave, two-burner stove top and a dorm sized fridge. There is about 2 feet of counter space and a single sink. I do cook a little bit here, but not much.

It's been around the lower 60's here the past couple of days and is forecast to be about 10 degrees warmer in the next few days. Have a nice day!

Well, this morning I saw something I don't think I've ever seen before. I was at IHOP and two girls got up and left and didn't pay. They walked until they got out of view of the door and then ran across the parking lot. The waitress yelled at the manager and he took off after them while he was calling the police on his cell phone. A customer also took off after them and the girls ran into a neighboring motel. Well, pretty soon a police officer arrived followed by a second one. As I was leaving (I did pay for mine!) the girls were coming back in with the two officers watching them. All I heard was one of them saying, "I guess we didn't understand..." You would think they would have known they had to pay. I'm guessing it was an expensive breakfast!

It was 72 degrees here today and it really felt good! I was outside several times getting things from the van and refreshing towels at the office and doing laundry.

The mechanic is trying to figure out why my van is surging. He was going to talk to some other people about it and call me back. He's sure it won't just completely stop though, so that's good.

Have a fun day in the snow. It sounds like you might get a lot of it.

As I was leaving church this morning I saw a car leaving from Alaska. That was the second car with Alaska plates I'd seen this trip.

I haven't yet seen the lady at church who reminded me of Josie Kessler. There was an elderly man with a lot of health problems I haven't seen either. I wonder if one or both of them is in a nursing home or has died.

Tonight I saw the Rick Webb family. I had seen them for the first time on Friday morning. They are very good. Rick has a very well-trained voice. He and his wife used to sing with a group at Epcot Center. Tonight a friend of theirs sang a couple of songs with them. He is still at Epcot Center. He has an excellent voice and is very theatrical.

Tomorrow morning I have to take the van to a mechanic. He's the same one I went to once last year. He is old enough that he has a daughter in college, and he's never seen snow! He was so surprised last year when I told him how slick it is! Amazing! The van is fine at highway speed, but at 45 or less it thinks it should jump along part of the time. I hope it isn't something that will take a long time to fix and I hope it is something he can quickly figure out.

Have a good day tomorrow! It's 10:00 pm here, so I'd better get to bed!

Last night I saw the Booth Brothers and tonight Legacy Five. They are two of my favorite groups. I guess I was in the Canadian section tonight. The people to my left were from Sioux St. Marie, Ontario and on my right from Manitoba. The guy from Manitoba drives down here in 3 days of 12 hours each. That doesn't sound like fun to me. I've also talked to people from Ohio, North Carolina, Nebraska and, of course, Michigan.

Funny how I think of all sorts of things I want to include in this until I sit down to do it and then I can't think of them!

You really haven't seen the Booth Brothers until you've seen them in Lakeland. They grew up in Tampa Bay, and Michael worked in Lakeland and lived in Plant City. Jim's parents, sisters, and some other relatives were there too. It's sort of like a homecoming when they are here and they really have a good time. Michael had a sore throat and forgot to bring his vaporizer and went to Wal Mart to get one. He put it in his bunk with him and when he woke up in the morning there was dew all over his bunk. He guessed he must have bought one that was too big for the bus!

I was talking to some people from Ohio today and they asked what we did for a living. When I said we farmed, she said that would have been her guess. How do I look like a farmer?

Well, it's 10:30 here, so I'd better quit and go to bed. Have a good day Sunday.

Well, yesterday could have been better. Lee called me at 6 or so in the evening and I didn't answer him. I later called him and explained that when he called I was driving through Montgomery, Alabama in the mist and fog and dark. Prior to that I had spent most of the afternoon driving in the fog and mist and construction. Prior to that I was driving in haze and construction. I sort of had to keep going because I had a reservation in Troy. It was a nice hotel but I just didn't want to take the time to get the password, etc. for the internet. As I drove through a lot of Alabama, my mind flashed back to the news during the 60's. Selma, Montgomery, and Meridian were all in the news a lot then. I saw Medger Evers memorial interchange as well as Rosa Parks street. Of course I've seen several MLK streets. I remember trying to figure out why black people were judged by the color of their skin at that time, and I still haven't figured it out!

I did figure out that there are two advantages to being in Iowa in the winter. One is that there is no road construction there and the other is that there are no flies. I was at a drive-up window and one flew in my window yesterday! I'll still take the road construction and flies over ice and snow and cold!

Today was a very good day. I had the van serviced and they didn't try to rip me off. When I headed south on I75 in Florida, I really felt like I was headed home. I saw cars from 22 different states and Quebec and Ontario on that strip of Interstate. Many of them looked like they were doing the same thing as I was - headed south for the winter. I would say that about a third of the cars were out of state.

I'm now in the same room as I was in last year and it really feels like home. I haven't had my winter coat on since Tuesday morning when I left Jodi's house! I have two concerts to go to tomorrow and one each on Saturday and Sunday.

Gas is higher in Florida than any place else on my trip so far. I paid $3.17 this morning. I did notice one place somewhere had E85 and it was about 50 cents cheaper than their regular.

Have a nice day!

January 4,2011

I left Jodi's this morning at 9 and arrived here at Pine Bluff at 6. As I was just south of Joplin I realized that I was really enjoying the drive. Some of you are probably aware that this past year of more has not been too enjoyable for me. When I was leaving Cracker Barrel I noticed they had petunias in full bloom outside in the ground - not in pots that could be taken inside at night! I took my coat off before I got to 71 and it now lives in the van! Have a good day!

Linda