What Do I Do All Day? (For Renda)

Last week a dear friend came to visit us in our fifth wheel.  While our husbands were outside hiking through the park, we sat and visited a while.  Sitting on the edge of her seat (she does not have the "do nothing" talent that I have), she looked around our tiny living/dining/kitchen room, and asked, "So, what do you do while Tim is out playing golf or fishing?"  And I promptly asnwered, "Well, uuuuhhhh...."  

I couldn't think of a thing.  We finally came up with a few things between us.  She reminded me that I like to make jewelry, and I have adult coloring books to color.  I remembered that I like to read, and I actually enjoy cooking in my wee little kitchen.

I don't know why my mind goes blank so often when someone asks me a direct question.  Honestly, if you asked me my name, I'd have to think a few seconds before answering.

But, now that I've had some time to think, and to actually do some of the things that I do, I've made a list.

This is for you, Renda...

* I write my blog.  

* I write in my private journal.

* Before I can write in my blog, I have to sort through and label the photos I've taken, to see which ones I want to use.  This can take hours.

* I pay bills.

*  I call or text my family and friends.

* I clean house.  Actual cleaning doesn't take long, but making everything fit sometimes takes a while.  A place for everything and everything in its place is the rule in such a small space.

* I sketch or paint.

* I play computer games.

* I walk Charlie.

* I embroider or crochet or sew buttons back on Tim's clothes.

* I look online a lot, planning our activities for the trip, making reservations for our next stop, etc.

* I look at Facebook, our church website, e-mails, texts, and news channels.

* I sometimes go shopping, but usually Tim wants me to wait so he can go with me.

* I watch old movies, especially the old musicals that Tim just doesn't appreciate.

* I plan meals and make grocery lists.

* I sometimes take naps.  😌

* And, as I said, I read (I usually have 2 or 3 books going at the same time), cook, color, and sometimes make or repair jewelry.

I'm never bored.  

So, what do Tim and I do together?  All kinds of things!  

There's always museums, zoos, and gardens to visit.  

Some days we will drive an hour or two to visit a small town we've never been to before.  

In the summer we might swim in the RV park's pool.  

We go do laundry at the washateria once a week.  

We buy groceries every two or three days.  

We eat out  3 or 4 times a week.  

We go to church.  

We take walks.  (Until this past year, I loved to go hiking with him, but my knees and hips have slowed me down lately). 

Sometimes we go see a movie.  

We both enjoy live theater, so if there is a local drama group performing in the area, we may go see a play.  

We visit with our neighbors in the RV park (Tim's better at that than I am, my shyness kicks in and I go mute).  

Sometimes we just drive around to see the scenery.

I love my little home on wheels, and I feel so blessed to be able to travel around and see the country with my Cowboy.  

As I've often said, the only thing that could make it better would be if I could convince all my family and friends to buy RV's and come with us!

A Life

Our little church lost one of our dearest members early this morning.  I don't often mention complete names in this little blog, but I just want to tell the world (all five of you that read this!) how much we all loved Mrs. Ruby Haynes.  Ruby would have been 98 next month.  She had been a member of our church for 67 years.  She never met a stranger in all that time.  When visitors came to our church, she was the first to greet them and make them feel welcome.  Half of the church called her Aunt Ruby.

She loved Jesus even more than she loved people, and she was never shy about singing His praises.  If the pastor asked for testimonies from the congregation, she was the first to stand and tell everyone how much she loved her Saviour.  If she met someone at the grocery store, she never failed to ask if they had a home church, and, if not, invite them to ours.

Up until just a few years ago, she was still volunteering for everything that went on at church, and she could work rings around us younger ones.  She still taught her Ladies' Sunday School class up until just a few months ago.

She was especially dear to me, because she was one of the remaining few in our church who remembered my parents, and she often shared her memories of them with me.

And she always told me she loved me.  Well, okay, she loved everybody.  And I'm pretty sure that each of us thought we were her favorite person in the world.

She smiled.  A lot.  And that made the rest of us smile.

She wasn't completely perfect, though.  She was a real human being, and she could sometimes sound a little sharper than she intended.  But, whenever she felt that she had hurt someone, it broke her heart.


I have often said that I want to be just like Ruby when I grow up.

I think it's past time for me to start.

Do you have a home church?  Let me tell you about my Saviour...

Ruby Haynes February 19, 1919 - January 19, 2017

from our church's facebook page:

          Our sweet Miss Ruby Haynes went home to Jesus early this morning. She was an active member of Harmony Baptist Church for 67 years. Miss Ruby taught Sunday School, VBS, volunteered at the Center of Hope, was a devoted prayer warrior and always told people about Jesus.

She "always told people about Jesus."  Yes, Lord, I want to  be like her.