I did another first that I know Mike would be proud of me for doing. The tire pressure light came on a couple of weeks ago and the owner's manual told me that I would need to check the air pressure in my tires for colder weather - basically add air to them. So today while it was sunny out - I did that. Never added air to tires before but knew how to check air pressure with my handy-dandy tire guage. Five minutes later had enough air in all my tires and a couple of minutes after the car had been running that annoying tire light went OFF! Success!
I also caught myself starting to do something that I hadn't done for a while - hoarding boxes. You know when you come across a good, strong box that is a decent size that you may some day in the future need to mail something to someone - you know you just have to keep it. I think I've kept three boxes in the past week and placed them on the shelves in the basement - Mike would not be happy with me for doing this :) I promise I won't keep any more boxes, I've just got a stash of 2-3 boxes "in case" I need one.
This weekend was a craft show at Adventureland that I went to this morning, and as I was driving to it, it hit me that 25 years ago this past week we purchased our timeshare in Branson, MO. Our first ever vacation was Thanksgiving week 1985. Neither of us had much vacation built up at our jobs so we only had to use three days by being gone this week. We had signed up for those "free three days/two nights" deals at a sports and vacation show and I backed a tour in Branson up against a tour in Eureka Springs, Arkansas (I can never remember the abbreviation for Akransas). So our first vacation cost us one night in a hotel in Springfield, MO the night before we checked into Branson. We toured Roark Resort and as they say, "the rest is history".
We were at the resort in Eureka Springs on Thanksgiving and the day after. Our Thanksgiving dinner was on the Eureka Springs railway train ride that evening and it was really nice - we were fortunate to have a table to ourselves. For you trivia buffs, this railway and train was used in the mini-series "North and South" that was on tv many, many, many years ago. Patrick Swayze was in that movie. And the day after Thanksgiving Mike played golf in some "challenging" weather but he played. I remember we walked all over downtown Eureka Springs in t-shirts and shorts the day before Thanksgiving and everyone was giving us looks like we were crazy because the town folk were bundled up in coats. To us northerners the weather was nice :) Wow - the vacations we were able to take because of buying that timeshare! We were and I am still truly blessed.
Another vacation that we took that actually started today and went through next week was a few years ago when we went to Branson. The week we own at Roark is Week #36 and is either Labor Day week or the week after - depending on how the year falls. When we go to Silver Dollar City they are always starting to put up the gazillion Christmas lights the week we are there and we would always say that we wanted to trade back into Branson during the Christmas season to see all the lights, shows, etc. Well, a few years ago we did and it was an awesome vacation. We froze our behinds off at Silver Dollar City to see it all lit at night with Christmas lights but it was worth it. We drove through every Christmas light display there was. We found all but one of the 12 Days of Christmas light displays they had around the community. You name it - if it was Christmas-related - we saw it. I'll see if I can't find some photos of that trip to share in my blogs during the Christmas season.
Speaking of photos - I'm sharing my before and after shots of my hand. I even forget how ugly this "thing" was that I dealt with on my right hand until I see the photo of after the "surgery" to take the layer of dead skin off so it could start to heal.
Tomorrow after church I head to Newton to my sis-in-law's for Thanksgiving. Traci and Brad (along with my grandpups) will be there plus Chrissy and one of her boys, Colton.
Today - it's been healed for quite a while but I still put ointment and a bandaid on it 24/7 per my doc's recommendation until the spot is flesh-colored.
This is the night when the layer of dead skin was taken off. The opening got bigger a few days later when the rest of the dead skin (upper left and some on the bottom) came off.
