Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2024

Spending time with our grown children is such a huge blessing in our lives. Each one of them has grown into amazing adults that Ron and I are privileged to call friends. Sometimes, because the family has grown so much, one on one time with each of them is hard to come by. So, we crash their parties… so to speak.

Last summer, Molly mentioned that she and Scott had booked a cruise for the first week of December. After talking to Ron, we decided to book the same cruise. In my opinion, cruising with family is the perfect vacation. No cooking, cleaning, planning, or organizing is required. You just sign in, click your cruise, pay, and plan. 

Keeping everyone busy isn’t a problem. There is always a variety of excursions to choose from; and, you don’t all have to go on the same ones!  The onboard entertainment is varied and can be age appropriate. The scenery is beautiful; and, it can be enjoyed from the comfort of your balcony or deck chair.

Cruise ships are large enough to provide space for alone time, in addition to gathering together. You can eat together, or not. You can play together, or not… Just make sure you use the onboard app to stay in touch.

When cruising, take lots of pictures. That way you can relive the experience whenever you want. Especially on freezing cold days in January. Brrr!

Dinner together each evening gave us a chance to

share how our day went.

Formal night doesn’t mean fancy. 

Hawaiian shirts for Ron and a comfy dress for me.

We took the dress advice from Molly & Scott.

One of many beautiful harbor pictures.

Getting ready to swim with the sea life.

Beautiful scenery everywhere we stopped.

Stingray center landscape

Sandy beaches and vast horizons 

Breathtaking… 

Historic mansions…

Tropical flowers…

Great companionship

Celebrating life’s accomplishments…

Captain Searls

He remembered his binoculars!

Home sweet home for the week. 

Pay extra for the balcony! Well worth it!

Bald palm and pine trees due to recent 

hurricane activity. 

Government buildings… island style.

Another port of call

Last ocean side view of our cruise…

Until next time!

Captain Ronald Scott Searls, Temple Fire and Rescue

 About 14 years ago, Scott had just returned from a deployment with the National Guard. He got home too late to register for the fall semester at college. And, he wasn’t really sure he wanted to keep going. His ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) working full time, and National Guard commitment made it difficult to carry a full course load. It was looking like he would be lucky to graduate before he turned 40! 

One day, he mentioned having an interest in applying for the fire academy. I thought it was a brilliant idea. So, I called his sister, Rebecca, and tasked her with getting him signed up. She got online, signed him up, he was accepted, and started on a career that has been perfect for him.

The fire department has a promotion process that I find narrow minded and discriminatory. It is all score based, with no performance assessment or job evaluations factored in. While Scott is brilliant, studying and test taking have always been a struggle for him. All because of the ADD. Therefore, advancement has been slow.

After several years of endless study and test taking, I think he was becoming really discouraged. The latest test was especially frustrating due to the lack of retiring captains. After talking to Molly about a few other stumbling blocks, it looked like Scott was going to miss out again. Wanting to enlist all the help I could on Scott’s behalf, I decided to turn it over to God. And,  He answered my  prayers! Scott was officially promoted to Captain on December 18, 2024.

The department held their annual Christmas party and promotion ceremony at the Mayborn Center in Temple. Several members of the family were able to show our support and attend. We were all so very proud of our firefighter!

Captain Searls

Molly pinning on his badge.

Ron and I pinning on his rank.

Receiving his official red captain’s helmet.

Swearing in and administration of oath.

The city official’s receiving line.

Happy family! Rebecca, John, Ron, Marian, Molly, Gwen and Scott

The ceremony was wonderful and  I am sure our proud smiles lit our faces. The feeling of brotherhood and family that the fire department has for one another was evident. We are so proud of Scott and his dedication to the community he serves.

KOA cabin Pros and Cons

Since we made the (stupid) decision to get another dog, traveling has become problematic. We now have to find places to stay that permit dogs; and, provide easily accessed potty areas. We decided to try staying in a KOA cabin in Argillite, KY during our summer 2023 road trip.

It came with good points and bad. Mostly good; with fairly easy solutions to the bad. The good points are economical as well. We can cook our meals to avoid eating out all the time. We avoid the pet deposits that motels now require. Using our senior, military or KOA membership, makes staying for an extended time less expensive than motel rooms. There is plenty of beautiful outdoor space to walk the dog. And, we don’t share walls with people that would be bothered by the barking.

Not all cabins are the same. Depending on how much plunder you want to pack, you can select one that is basically an empty shell; but very inexpensive.  We didn’t want to haul bedding, dishes, towels, etc. because our car isn’t that big. So, we opted for the deluxe cabin.

The cabin has a porch and private patio, complete with furniture and a grill.

There is a complete mini kitchen; dishes, towels, pans, and cleansers supplied.

There is a small table with 4 chairs. We used 2 chairs as end tables

There is also a television with cable.

There is a futon with bedding in the living room.

No carpet, which is great!

There is a separate bedroom with a full sized bed.

And, a small bathroom with shower.

Towels were also included.

The cons are easily surmountable: 

1. We need to pack a laundry hamper to keep our dirty clothes in until we can wash them at the campground laundromat. And, take detergent from home!

2. We need to generate a list of easy meals that do not result in left overs. We ended up throwing out a lot of food that wasn’t eaten. Plus, we need to cook food that doesn’t require a lot of seasoning or condiments. 

3. We need to take our own pillows and an extra blanket for TV viewing.

4. A surge protector long enough to plug in phones, tablets, Ron’s c-pap machine is a must! There were very few outlets.

The cabin ended up being a great option. One we will choose again.

The Fabric Stash is Finally Manageable

 When Mom passed away, she left behind enough fabric, sewing machines, books and notions to stock a small quilt store. When we cleaned out her house, I wasn’t able to convince any of my brothers to take some of the stash. My one sister-in-law that also quilts, did take one sewing machine, a few unfinished projects, and some notions. Everything else was boxed up and moved to our house. Just getting it all organized took most of the summer. There is a previous post about that; but, these pictures show all of the nooks and crannies I stored fabric in. 

The last picture is of the boxes of fabric and miscellaneous sewing supplies I donated to the quilt guild. There was just soooo much fabric! 

Over the years, I have used up a significant amount of fabric by completing all of Mom’s unfinished projects, making and donating baby quilts, lap quilts and pillow cases. I even sewed countless masks during the COVID pandemic! Still, it felt like the stash wasn’t really dwindling away fast enough. Eventually, I conned Leslie into joining me in one last ditch effort to sew up fabric by opening an Etsy shop and setting up booths at many craft shows. 

Admittedly, I often felt like the little ant trying to move the rubber tree plant. I had “high hopes.” It paid off because I can now say the fabric stash is a normal, manageable size. All thanks to this beast of a cabinet. 

I spied this massive gem as Ron and I were driving through the neighborhood. It was sitting in the garage of an empty cottage that our maintenance guy, Cody, was painting. At first, I thought he might be adding a pantry to the kitchen, but, it didn’t match the cabinets. So, we stopped and Ron asked Cody about it. He told him the previous residents just left it when they moved. He gladly hauled it down to our garage; just to keep from having to bust it up and haul it to a dumpster somewhere.

It turned out to actually be an entertainment center. After consulting Scott about putting shelves in it, Ron gutted it and installed shelves. I used shelf liner on the back and shelves just to give the fabric a smooth surface to avoid accidental picks or snags. 

Once the cabinet was finished, Ron and I muscled it into the bedroom and I gave the fabric one final, thorough purge.

The beast after Ron gutted it.

We had to remove the crown molding, just to get it inside!

The door are “retractable” so Ron put strips of wood behind the mechanisms 

to hold the shelf supports.

Ron stained the wood strips and shelves to match the cabinet.

I used spray adhesive to attach 

shelf liner to the back, hoping it will

make it a little brighter inside.

Ready for fabric!

Here are pictures of what remains of Mom’s fabric stash. The fabric is sorted by color, with yardage folded and stacked in the rear. The remnants that were of usable sizes were wrapped around comic book boards, then stacked in front of the yardage.

The bottom drawer holds all of the fat quarters; and, all machine embroidery materials are in the upper compartment. Sadly, not all fabric fit into the beast. So, I am in the process of lining the remaining plastic containers with shelf liner. That will keep the sun from fading streaks on the folded fabric. 

I am hopeful that this organizational system will help me see which fabrics work together in any quilt I decide to make. Plus, I now feel like I can actually buy coordinating fabric when needed without feeling wasteful. So… mission accomplished, goal met, and rubber tree plant moved!