'17/#7 Family Is Tough work

It has been 2 weeks since we arrived in Port St Lucie and have we been busy! Grace is in her final resting place and now we are getting Uncle Don ready for the next step in his life. The house has an accumulation of 90 years of living, and did she live. After 39 years as a secretary to the Supreme Court in Washington DC there was quite a bit of political memorabilia. We found programs and invitations to presidential inaugurations from Eisenhower to Regan, group photos of the Supreme Court and staff. It was like going through a museum.

Then there was all the personal things. Memberships to the Masons, Eastern Star, and so many other community organizations. If Grace could make something better she joined and did her best, whether it was her church or the city beautification commitee, she was there.  Oh, did I mention that Grace was an avid crafts person? We found one whole room full of  needle point, embroidery, hook rugs, sewing, crochet, knitting, counted cross stich and more. There was a full Santa suit that was hand made years ago by Grace for her husband "Woody" that would rival and out shine any store bought suit. But there is more! Grace liked to hand sew quilts. We found a bunch of them in the house. And not just any size quilts, mostly queen and king size quilts.

It has taken us 2 full weeks to go through the house and get ready for a garage sale so Uncle Don can move on with his life. He wants to down size and doesn't need this big house and all the things and work that go with it. He is actually thinking about moving to the west coast of Florida so he will be near our kids and grandkids. I think the kids are more excited about it than he is. We have worked hard and put in some long hours to help but that is what family does. It is tough work but for real family it is a labor of love and we wouldn't have it any other way.

We are tired and will sleep well in Uncle Don's home because ours is in his driveway here in Port St Lucie because....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'17/#6 Time To Say Goodbye

We made it to Port St Lucie and got the rig settled in the driveway at Grace and Don's house. Greetings, including hugs and belly rubs for Tessa the dog out of the way we just relaxed for the rest of the day. The real work will start soon enough. Time to enjoy each others company.

The house is very large and is full of years of accumulated memories, also known as stuff. We respect and love our elder family members but the stuff can be overwhelming. Now don't misunderstand, we didnt finish any one room but we did get a good start on each. Switching rooms gives us a break from the work. Keep, sell, or throw away. Decisions, decisions, decisions. We will get this done because no one else will.

Today is the day we will say goodbye to Grace. Funerals are not fun but death is a part of life. I personally hate the term "celebration of life" but Grace's life is one worth celebrating. I won't go into details but the stories about the places she went, the things she has seen, and the people she has met could entertain for hours. More important was the people who met Grace. They got to meet a special woman with style, grace, and compasion. I feel very fortunate to have met Grace and only regret not meeting her sooner. She will be missed but will be with her beloved "Woody". I can only hope to have a life as full as hers. Goodbye Grace.

We will be leaving Grace's home soon while our home is in her driveway in Port St Lucie because.....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'17/#5 Chasing The Jello!

Saturday morning I realized how early 5am comes around. That is when we pulled out of Forsyth MO and started our trek to Florida. We had talked about how we were looking forward to some warmer weather and what does mother nature do? The last few days in Missouri we have temps in the 60's and 70's. Where was that weather a couple of weeks ago? With no interstates on our route through southern Missouri and northern Arkansas it was all state and county highways until we got close to Little Rock. Then we hooked up with I-40 and it will be interstates all the way. Not necessarily the most scenic route, but this trip we wanted to cover some ground quickly. It was a long 13 hour day. We stopped for the night at a truck stop near the Alabama-Georgia border. 600 miles is a long day towing a 40' trailer. Day 2 was a little easier. All interstate, only 500 miles, and 9 1/2 hours. Also we lost an hour crossing time zones. Tomrrow we should be in Port St Lucie. An easy day of 4 hours and only 200 miles. Time for a rest.

Our second night will be spent in St Augustine. This will be one of the rare times we don't spend time in our honeymoon city or as I like to call it "the scene of the crime"! Even though we didn't stay long we did get a chance to have dinner with some very good friends that we hadn't seen in a while. It was good to see them and catch up. Tonight will be another early night. Tomorrow we will sleep in until 6:30 or 7 am and be on the road by 8am.

After 1300 miles we will be glad to be sitting anywhere but in the truck. We will spend time with Uncle Don and help take care of everything that needs to be done when a loved one passes away. As time allows, we will travel accross the state and see our kids and grandkids as well as some of our friends before we have to be on the road again.

So goodnight from our home for tonight in St Augustine because......

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary

'17/#4 A Rant And Some Warm Jello?!?!?

I need to blow off a little steam. I am not much of a presence on facebook but I did read a lot of what was posted. I was what people called a "lurker", mostly I read and posted very little. I enjoyed reading about what other people like to share about themselves. I was entertained by videos that ranged from cute to bizarre. The RV community was always interesting to me so that I could learn more about the lifestyle we have chosen and share what we have learned with others. What I didn't like was the meanness that some felt was OK to spew all over the internet while staying basically anonymous. The vile and obviously unsubstantiated political comments ( from both sides) throughout the election process made my stomach turn, but the continuation of this asinine rhetoric has pushed me over the edge. There is no way that I can enjoy facebook while the world finds this platform a place to attack from a position that has no accountability. For that reason I am boycotting facebook for the foreseeable future. I will no longer "lurk" nor post. Any information I will get will be relayed to me in person by those who can get past the incivility on facebook. I am sorry to those who might miss my presence, but anyone whom I really want to communicate with and vice versa, well, we will find a way.

In my last blog I talked about the passing of Aunt Grace and what family does for each other. Well it looks like we will be heading to Florida a little sooner than we had planned. It looks like we will be needed by Uncle Don, so we will take our jello south to a warmer climate.It will be nice not being so cold, but we would have liked it to be for different reasons.

And the prep work begins. This week is Mary's last at work and the next will be our last in Missouri. We will be getting the rig ready to travel over that time. This will entail a little more than usual because of all the winterizing we did earlier in the season. We have enjoyed our time here and as usual we have meet a lot of great people and made some good friends. Leaving is always the hardest part of living this lifestyle but it also allows us meet more people while discovering this fantastic country. We try not to say "good bye" but " see you down the road". You never know when our travels will bring us back this way so that we can talk more about our home in Missouri because.....

Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary