It must have rained most of the night. This morning we walked next door to a restaurant for breakfast. Not only was it raining, but there was some sleet and snow. It was in the 30's. Before we left Utah, we had mostly sunshine. But it was still cold.
Our sale in Idaho Falls was very slow. The last half hour we had about four customers that made up most of our sales.
One more sale tomorrow and we're home again for another week. We have to restock for Las Vegas. We've found out trying to have a sale over Memorial Day Weekend doesn't work. So we get a little break.
So it'll be another week before you hear from me..................
Monday, May 24, 2010
May 23 Odgen, UT
Our day was slow and lazy. The sale wasn't until 4:00. Then there was a miscommunication. The school had Track and Field today. It started at 9:00. By 4:00 almost everyone had already left and was too tired to come back. Our sale was still good but it could have been better.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May 22 Odgen, UT
Happy birthday to my car. I bought my Honda 18 years ago today. It only has 250,000 plus miles on it and is going strong. I'm only getting to put on around 3000 miles per year now, so it will probably last forever.
This afternoon we found a short trail that we could hike. I saw these weeds that I thought we neat looking, so I wanted to share them with you. It is cold out. We actually put on two jackets to take this hike. The wind was sharp.
This afternoon we found a short trail that we could hike. I saw these weeds that I thought we neat looking, so I wanted to share them with you. It is cold out. We actually put on two jackets to take this hike. The wind was sharp.
May 21 Salt Lake City, UT
Boy! did we ever blow it. We got to the school at 11:30. We were suppose to meet a man to deliver a big order at noon. It was 12:30 before he showed up. The good thing was that we had plenty to do in the truck to keep us busy. But we ended up with a 7 hour sale.
Our sale was scheduled from 2-6:00. Since we were there, customers kept coming in early. And our last one came just as we were ready to pull out of the driveway. (We stayed for her)
The exciting thing about today is that we passed our sales amount for our last run. And that run was over a 25% increase from the time before. And we still have seven more stops to finish our Spring run. The Lord has really blessed our work BIG TIME.
The other interesting news is that it looked like it could rain all day. It didn't until we were finished packing up and the last customer left. Then it poured for 20 minutes. There was even some sleet and hail.
Our sale was scheduled from 2-6:00. Since we were there, customers kept coming in early. And our last one came just as we were ready to pull out of the driveway. (We stayed for her)
The exciting thing about today is that we passed our sales amount for our last run. And that run was over a 25% increase from the time before. And we still have seven more stops to finish our Spring run. The Lord has really blessed our work BIG TIME.
The other interesting news is that it looked like it could rain all day. It didn't until we were finished packing up and the last customer left. Then it poured for 20 minutes. There was even some sleet and hail.
May 20 Ogen, UT
Here we go again! We'll finish Utah and Idaho this week, then only one more trip to the Las Vegas area. And then two campmeetings to do in June. Then we will be finished with the first half of the year.
It was a busy time at home. Between the two of us, we went to five doctor appointments. Luckily Jim's temporary fix on his tooth lasted. He went to his dentist to get it fixed correctly.
It was good seeing our friends in Idaho again. I suppose our friends are more important to us then we are to them, but that's who we are. If it wasn't for our friends, this would be a very lonely job.
It was a busy time at home. Between the two of us, we went to five doctor appointments. Luckily Jim's temporary fix on his tooth lasted. He went to his dentist to get it fixed correctly.
It was good seeing our friends in Idaho again. I suppose our friends are more important to us then we are to them, but that's who we are. If it wasn't for our friends, this would be a very lonely job.
May 12 Meridian, ID
Yea! we're home! Coming home before the trip is all finished, is about too hard. It only takes a few minutes for it to feel like I don't want to leave again.
This morning we stopped just outside of Odgen to see a vendor. She sales 'La-di-dolls'. They are the cutest dolls. They are like paper dolls,only they're wooden. The clothes stay on with Velcro. And they have yarn hair. They are quite dolls to play with in Church. So far they've been a great seller.
The trip home felt faster than usual. I watched two videos. I might have to do that more often. It makes the trip go quicker.
This morning we stopped just outside of Odgen to see a vendor. She sales 'La-di-dolls'. They are the cutest dolls. They are like paper dolls,only they're wooden. The clothes stay on with Velcro. And they have yarn hair. They are quite dolls to play with in Church. So far they've been a great seller.
The trip home felt faster than usual. I watched two videos. I might have to do that more often. It makes the trip go quicker.
May 11 Odgen, UT
The calendar says spring, but the weather is definitely winter. We drove through light snow in the mountains today. It's cold out. We even wore jackets and had the heater on driving to our sale in Provo.
It's been two and a half months since we left home. This is our last night in a motel for a whole week. Tomorrow we get to make the trip home. I'm getting excited.
It's been two and a half months since we left home. This is our last night in a motel for a whole week. Tomorrow we get to make the trip home. I'm getting excited.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
May 10 Price, UT
We were able to spend a little more time with Ron and Viki. They took us out to breakfast this morning. Good food and good friends. Nice combination.
Our trip to Price seemed short. I read most of a book on the way over.
Price is usually a small sale. It was smaller than usual. It always makes you wonder why it's bigger one time than another. Not just Price, but any stop.
My aunt came to see me while we were here. She was just in the hospital a couple days ago. But she looked good tonight. My cousin Joyce was there with her. So I got to see Joyce twice in one week. Nice!
Our trip to Price seemed short. I read most of a book on the way over.
Price is usually a small sale. It was smaller than usual. It always makes you wonder why it's bigger one time than another. Not just Price, but any stop.
My aunt came to see me while we were here. She was just in the hospital a couple days ago. But she looked good tonight. My cousin Joyce was there with her. So I got to see Joyce twice in one week. Nice!
May 9 Grand Junction, CO
Happy Mother's Day! I heard from all my children today, so I'm happy.
We drove to Delta for our noon sale. Sales on a holiday are never as good as other days, but we still had several customers.
Then we drove on to Montrose for our evening sale. We found a couple new 'old friends'. First we saw Vickie, a fellow alumni from Enterprise. We see her every time.
Then another lady heard us talking and asked where in Kansas we had lived. She is one of the Clark family that lived in Newton when I did.
And the third person is the special friend of an old friend of mine. He lives in Montana and shops on the truck up there when we come through.
I do enjoy this job!!!
We drove to Delta for our noon sale. Sales on a holiday are never as good as other days, but we still had several customers.
Then we drove on to Montrose for our evening sale. We found a couple new 'old friends'. First we saw Vickie, a fellow alumni from Enterprise. We see her every time.
Then another lady heard us talking and asked where in Kansas we had lived. She is one of the Clark family that lived in Newton when I did.
And the third person is the special friend of an old friend of mine. He lives in Montana and shops on the truck up there when we come through.
I do enjoy this job!!!
May 8 Grand Junction, CO
We had a wonderful afternoon with Ron and Viki. It's so nice to set in someones home and fellowship with them. We probably outstayed our welcome by a long shot. It was almost midnight when we got back to our room.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
May 7 Canyonlands National Park, UT
Pastor Ruben from the Moab Church is quite a guy. This is the second time he has acted as our own personal tour guide. Last time he told us about the dinosaur tracks around here. So this time he took us to see them. You have to have a 4-wheel drive to get up t here. He put water in the tracks so they would show up in the pictures better. This dino had about a 3' stride. And you can see several in a row. Isn't that neat? Ruben said in another place there are even better prints, but they are in a higher elevation, and still covered by snow.
Also, he is still young enough to be part boy. He did a donut in the sand on our way back down in the sand.
Ruben is such a neat guy. He even offered to let us use his car to tour the Canyonland National Park, while he was busy with other commitments.
Canyonland is basically across the highway from the Arches National Park. But what a difference! We were mostly on the mesa looking down, on the north side. Next time I want to do the south side, which will probably look like a totally different park too.
We climbed and hiked in a couple different places. We climbed about a half mile, one way to see the Upheaval Dome. It went up 200'. I took it slow and easy because of my knee and leg. We were almost to the top when this older couple passed us. She was using two walking sticks and just buzzed right by us. She's 74 years old, had one knee replaced and the other is worse than the first one was before she replaced it. I wanted to tell her that I really was 96, but decided that might be called an 'untruth'.
We drove on to the lookout point. It had a canyon rim walk that went for about a mile. We probably did half of that. There are no guard rails and the edge is an unforgiving ledge. It's just straight drop offs. Be sure to notice those scary pictures.
The view was fantastic. The gaping holes boggles the mind. It was hard to walk away at the end of the day, because everything was so neat. I took no less then 300 pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras. It was very hard to cut it down to a somewhat reasonable number to share with you.
We went back to Moab for our second meal, picked up the truck and hurried on to Grand Junction, CO for the weekend.
Our friends, Ron and Viki brought their second car over to the motel (at 9:00 P.M.), so we could have transportation to Church tomorrow. Don't we just have the neatest friends ever?
Also, he is still young enough to be part boy. He did a donut in the sand on our way back down in the sand.
Ruben is such a neat guy. He even offered to let us use his car to tour the Canyonland National Park, while he was busy with other commitments.
Canyonland is basically across the highway from the Arches National Park. But what a difference! We were mostly on the mesa looking down, on the north side. Next time I want to do the south side, which will probably look like a totally different park too.
We climbed and hiked in a couple different places. We climbed about a half mile, one way to see the Upheaval Dome. It went up 200'. I took it slow and easy because of my knee and leg. We were almost to the top when this older couple passed us. She was using two walking sticks and just buzzed right by us. She's 74 years old, had one knee replaced and the other is worse than the first one was before she replaced it. I wanted to tell her that I really was 96, but decided that might be called an 'untruth'.
We drove on to the lookout point. It had a canyon rim walk that went for about a mile. We probably did half of that. There are no guard rails and the edge is an unforgiving ledge. It's just straight drop offs. Be sure to notice those scary pictures.
The view was fantastic. The gaping holes boggles the mind. It was hard to walk away at the end of the day, because everything was so neat. I took no less then 300 pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras. It was very hard to cut it down to a somewhat reasonable number to share with you.
We went back to Moab for our second meal, picked up the truck and hurried on to Grand Junction, CO for the weekend.
Our friends, Ron and Viki brought their second car over to the motel (at 9:00 P.M.), so we could have transportation to Church tomorrow. Don't we just have the neatest friends ever?
May 6 Moab, UT
It was a beautiful day today. Lots of sunshine, fresh air and the temperature was perfect.
This is a tourist town. We left the trailer at the Church so we could get around town. We went to the bank and then across the street to a pasta place. It was good food.
Our sale was different. After the first hour we had almost no customers. The pastor got busy on his phone. Within the hour we doubled our sales. It's so nice when we get help like that. Apparently everyone is out of town this week.
This is a tourist town. We left the trailer at the Church so we could get around town. We went to the bank and then across the street to a pasta place. It was good food.
Our sale was different. After the first hour we had almost no customers. The pastor got busy on his phone. Within the hour we doubled our sales. It's so nice when we get help like that. Apparently everyone is out of town this week.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 5 Blanding, UT
We found that if we drive down through Arizona to get to Utah, from Colorado, it's an easier trip. There's not the mountain roads with the 8 - 10% downhill grades.
By the time we stopped in Colorado for fuel and WalMart for water, then again in Arizona for more fuel, we didn't have time to find dinner. So we bough a couple of our TV dinners off the truck and had that for our other meal. Much better than nothing.
Our two hour sale became a four hour sale. We'll start later next time. They just straggled in.
After the first hour, we ran out of propane and there was no electricity available. So I had to do all the rest of the sales by hand. This is the first time that's happened to us. Everyone was so kind and patient with me.
We had time to visit with my cousins, Joyce and Joel and their family while we waited for customers. They are doing such a neat missionary work here with the Navajo Indians. We're always inspired after we've been with them.
Since we're staying in motels, we drove on to Blanding for the night. The one motel in Monument Valley in UP a narrow dirt road that semi would never fit on. The trip was about two hours. We'll figure out something different next time. The road is two lane, has 8 to 10% grades (with curves at the bottom) and it was dark. And it was at the end of an already long day.
After we got here, I had to enter all the sales we had tonight and cash-up. It's almost midnight now.
By the time we stopped in Colorado for fuel and WalMart for water, then again in Arizona for more fuel, we didn't have time to find dinner. So we bough a couple of our TV dinners off the truck and had that for our other meal. Much better than nothing.
Our two hour sale became a four hour sale. We'll start later next time. They just straggled in.
After the first hour, we ran out of propane and there was no electricity available. So I had to do all the rest of the sales by hand. This is the first time that's happened to us. Everyone was so kind and patient with me.
We had time to visit with my cousins, Joyce and Joel and their family while we waited for customers. They are doing such a neat missionary work here with the Navajo Indians. We're always inspired after we've been with them.
Since we're staying in motels, we drove on to Blanding for the night. The one motel in Monument Valley in UP a narrow dirt road that semi would never fit on. The trip was about two hours. We'll figure out something different next time. The road is two lane, has 8 to 10% grades (with curves at the bottom) and it was dark. And it was at the end of an already long day.
After we got here, I had to enter all the sales we had tonight and cash-up. It's almost midnight now.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
May 4 Mesa Verde National Park
Jim climbing the ladder.
We decided to go to Mesa Verde National Park on our way to Cortez. The two towns are only about an hour apart, so we had plenty of time.
Just outside the park we stopped to drop the trailer. Jim went inside to ask where we could leave it. We found a relative of Sandi Bowman. I think we met her a couple years ago on our first run.
I never expected for these Indian Cliff Dwelling to be on the top of a mountain. The trip up was nasty. Look at some of the pictures looking down the mountain that show roads of where we were, just minutes before. Pretty scenery, just down right scary for me.
It's amazing to think people lived in these caves. This is Colorado high country. It must have been cold. They were probably snowed in months at a time. I just can't imagine.
Jim took the tour down into the cave. When I saw the ladder you had to climb, to get out, I decided to stay on top and take pictures. Jim said he was winded when he finished climbing out.
We got to our sale about an hour early. This time no one came until it was time to open. That doesn't happen very often. But we still had a full house and good sales.
May 3 Durango, CO
I was going to eat my breakfast in the truck. Jim ate the motel's continental breakfast. He came back and told me this one had so much more variety and he was sure I'd like it. So about 20 minutes later, I went over for breakfast. All they had out was chocolate muffins. Now that's what I call a great breakfast! They had already put everything else away, about a half hour early.
We worked about three hours in the truck. You'd think that once it's all organized and put away that would be the end of that. But after you sell thousands of dollars worth of stuff, there are big holes on the shelves.
We had a nice sale here too. The best thing was seeing Mrs. Schultz. I must have been about 13 when I first met her. We saw her son about a month ago.
We worked about three hours in the truck. You'd think that once it's all organized and put away that would be the end of that. But after you sell thousands of dollars worth of stuff, there are big holes on the shelves.
We had a nice sale here too. The best thing was seeing Mrs. Schultz. I must have been about 13 when I first met her. We saw her son about a month ago.
May 2 Durango, CO
What an interesting day. Lots of different things happened. First, Jim had a sale in the motel parking lot. A lady who couldn't come to our noon sale saw the truck, so she stopped by. She bought for her Church and for herself.
The sale in Farmington was super. Our sales were almost double from last time, and it was good then. We had customers still coming in an hour after we were suppose to close.
We were restocking the shelves when another lady came in. She saw the Bookmobile so stopped. She was a Seventh-day Adventist about 40 years ago. She remembered a book that she liked, but gave away and wanted to replace it. Of course, she couldn't remember the name or the author. But she told us about the book. We are going to try to find it and send it to her.
So finally, I started to cash-up. The first lady this morning forgot to sign her check. We called her, so she came over to sign it.
While we were waiting for her, another lady came in. She wanted the Bedtime Stories for her grandchildren. Her children grew up on them and loved them. We didn't have them on the truck, but showed her how to order them.
Our 3 hour sale lasted more than 5 hours! (sound like Gillian's Island?)
After our supper at Golden Corral, we drove on to Durango, CO. Jim always calls ahead to find a motel, with truck parking and hook-ups for electricity. The first place was clear through town (N). There was no way you could get a truck in there. Same with the second place on the opposite side of town (S). And the third place had truck parking but no electricity. We do need that electric for the deep freezers. All this took more than an hour. We finally found our new home for the night around 9:00 P.M. (W) Even at that, Jim plugged into our room and ran the cord under the door. (most rooms you can see light under and around the doors)
The sale in Farmington was super. Our sales were almost double from last time, and it was good then. We had customers still coming in an hour after we were suppose to close.
We were restocking the shelves when another lady came in. She saw the Bookmobile so stopped. She was a Seventh-day Adventist about 40 years ago. She remembered a book that she liked, but gave away and wanted to replace it. Of course, she couldn't remember the name or the author. But she told us about the book. We are going to try to find it and send it to her.
So finally, I started to cash-up. The first lady this morning forgot to sign her check. We called her, so she came over to sign it.
While we were waiting for her, another lady came in. She wanted the Bedtime Stories for her grandchildren. Her children grew up on them and loved them. We didn't have them on the truck, but showed her how to order them.
Our 3 hour sale lasted more than 5 hours! (sound like Gillian's Island?)
After our supper at Golden Corral, we drove on to Durango, CO. Jim always calls ahead to find a motel, with truck parking and hook-ups for electricity. The first place was clear through town (N). There was no way you could get a truck in there. Same with the second place on the opposite side of town (S). And the third place had truck parking but no electricity. We do need that electric for the deep freezers. All this took more than an hour. We finally found our new home for the night around 9:00 P.M. (W) Even at that, Jim plugged into our room and ran the cord under the door. (most rooms you can see light under and around the doors)
May 1 Farmington, NM
It's been a slow day for us. Just Bible study, reading and relaxing. It's still cool here, 50's, but a nice sunshiny day, with beautiful fluffy clouds. Jim even took a walk. My legs didn't want to go. They're older than the rest of me.
April 30 Farmington, NM
This was a very long day. We drove millions of miles to get here. And it felt like it took forever. Spring is over. We drove through winter today. It's been cold, compared to recent weather, the 40's. And in a couple places it actually snowed! Once for almost a minute! We were driving through 7000' mountains. But at the end of the day, we had a safe trip, good roads and a decent motel to stay in.
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