Praises – Beautiful crunching leaves and fall weather, the people God surrounds us with, endurance, each of you for your prayers and support.
Prayers –strength and perseverance to finish the house remodel before Thanksgiving; safety in our work; renters for the house; travel to our Florida volunteer project.
Put your work in order outside, and make it ready in the field; and after that, see to the building of your house. Make wide the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your house be stretched out without limit: make your cords long, and your tent-pins strong. For I will make wide your limits on the right hand and on the left. Proverbs 24:27, Isaiah 54:2-3a Basic English Bible
Hello to our friends, followers, and family:
We still have lots of stiff and sore muscles. John’s knee is much better and he is learning not to push too hard for his joints. Connie’s right upper arm/shoulder has been aching most of the month making everything a bit more difficult, especially holding things outstretched. She also received a small hack saw nick on her thumb while helping our electrician Pastor change out the panel – not everyone can say their Pastor tried to cut off their thumb!
Amidst the busy-ness there was plenty of fellowship this month. We made it for two date nights, Omar’s with wonderful BBQ sauce and onion rings, and Pizza Grocery where we splurged and had a chocolate calzone (plenty of pizza and calzone leftover too). Connie had a last-minute invite to a Senior Ladies Banquet with great food, conversation, music, and a speaker (John got to shop and enjoy Starbucks). We took deviled eggs, Jalapeno eggs, rice pudding (with and without raisins), spaghetti, and Hawaiian roll mini-sandwiches with honey mustard mayonnaise on the side to three potlucks (two on the same day). There was lots of conversation and encouragement when we treated one Pastor and spouse to supper, John and another church friend went out for breakfast, and we managed one Chinese takeout lunch after church (yummy left overs). Guess that’s why we aren’t losing much weight!
Salty Strings spent a week of planning and practice for Mid-South Christian College Minister’s Appreciation Banquet that went very well. The speaker commented our songs were perfect for his message (that’s from God), the food was wonderful and, even though it was a late night, the hotel was nearby and we were very blessed by the accommodations they provided. We joined the worship group at Cross Point Church twice and had some special music for their worship and testimony Sunday. At Journey Community Church there was music for the SALT group, three songs for their evening Sing Service, and we took our headsets and led the worship one Sunday morning.
You ever have one of those ‘oops’ moments? Connie did – the house bathroom sink stopper (no longer connected to the drain rod) was clogged at the bottom so she had the bright idea to clean off all the gunk. Good so far, however time turned to slow motion as she placed it into the drain, it lowered all the way, and her brain said STOP a bit late. Now it was stuck, tight, but she eventually fixed it with a drill sideways into the top to fish it out. Old stopper in the trash, new rubber stopper now by the sink.
What didn’t we do this month? Electrical – we moved and added switches, traced wires, put up a new light, fixed reverse polarity plugs, corrected attic junction boxes, pulled 18’ of old furnace wire (repurposed for our washer/dryer), added GFCI protection to outlets, fixed extension cords, and watched and learned basic panel wiring (the old panel was unsafe and we added another for our area). Painting – so much mud, sanding, scraping popcorn ceiling off and repairing other missing areas, removing wallpaper, cleaning greasy cabinet doors, trimming (ceilings, baseboard, doors and windows), learning to use a sprayer (20 cabinet doors, ceilings, and inside cabinets), and we’re not even finished with the primer coats. Floors – removed damaged areas and patched, laid repurposed kitchen entry and stove areas, and moved stacks of old floor ‘out of the way’ until needed. HVAC – John cut the hole through the floor into the furnace plenum and ran 10” duct for cold air return from our section of the house (designated the multi-purpose room). Plumbing – Everything leaked, replaced and secured the master bath shower fixture and bathtub fixture, replaced and repaired drains, and only a few pesky fitting leaks to overcome now.
Connie did a lot of vacuuming (guys sure are messy), removed nails from old trim, made a few supply runs (electrical parts for the panels and to borrow a hole saw), put on our new door lock, and added pull chains for five fan lights (so she could reach them). A prolonged task was cleaning the cabinet hardware and sanding/spraying the doors; hard to do when your toes get really hot from the sun when working under the carport.
John helped our contractor put in the new door, add siding, and hang drywall to permanently separate the rental ‘house’ from our multi-purpose area, a huge step forward for us! He removed a propane wall heater and pipe (more difficult than it sounds), rebuilt the ramp to the shed, and greatly enjoyed mowing the yard and making some cleared areas in the woods as Connie gathered smaller branches and pine cones for fire starting.
Connie is the writer and publisher of our monthly ‘Salt Shaker’ newsletter update (John is the editor and ‘what do you think’ guy) and in October it came together easily, what a blessing! Along with that, she planted our Kentucky lilac tree, hand-cast some grass seed that didn’t grow, and sewed the straps back on our new ‘pillow’ bag which broke as it was loaded into the truck. She also celebrated, in our low-key way, her 69th birthday; providing music for the senior group, a quiet lunch out, a bit of work, and ice cream by an evening fire.
We had one overnight outing to Memphis, TN where we planned a bit of sightseeing. After driving over, we rode the ‘trolley’ around the Memphis Botanical Gardens then set off on foot for a closer view of some special areas. In the morning John enjoyed a long hot bath, we had a fantastic complimentary breakfast, Connie had a great bubble bath, and we packed up. Next stop was Bass Pro Shops Pyramid (535,000 sq ft, 32 story, 321’ high former basketball arena), Perkins for a late lunch and of course French Silk Pie, Lowes for siding, and back to Corinth for two more stops before arriving home for a late supper of leftovers with pie and ice cream. Our nearby unincorporated town of Jacinto had a fall festival and we were able to see their museum and court house (Confederate Generals used the main hall for their horses at one time). This was once a thriving 600+ county seat before the area was split into three counties.
Routines and conveniences – we all have them, and they do control our lives. Connie uses her Chromebook each night for evening devotions and puzzles. She left the charger at the hotel the 14th, made several calls to no avail, and finally ordered a new one that arrived on the 27th – sadly the old routine has returned. Restrooms we expect to find in nearly every store but, after going to three stores in a mall-like complex we were finally told of a water main break forcing a mad dash and hopeful prayer to the McDonald’s down the road that wasn’t affected. For us, living most of our lives in the country or small towns, a trip to “town” always means long lists and multiple stops – our longest this month was seven stops. Of course, there are always new routines to be made. Hopefully, when the remodeling settles down, we can enjoy many evening fires roasting a few hot dogs and bratwurst as well as the beauty and warmth of an evening fire.
Praise the Lord because he is good! His faithful love will last forever! I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord for help. The Lord answered and made me free. The Lord is with me, so I will not be afraid. No one on earth can do anything to harm me. I will live and not die, and I will tell what the Lord has done. Psalm 118:1, 5-6, 17 Easy-to-Read Version
Thanks for being a blessing to us; count your many blessings this Thanksgiving Season!
John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
Contact Information:
Mail: John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
3916 N. Potsdam Ave. #3962
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone – John 909-336-8910 or Connie 909-336-8912
Email – SaltyStrings@hotmail.com
Facebook – Salty Strings Music Ministry
Web site – SaltyStrings.com
ONLINE DONATIONS via PayPal through our web site
TRAVEL PLANS AND UPCOMING LOCATIONS
** September 1-November 24 – Our property, Jacinto, MS – house repairs/rental
** November 24-February 2024 possibly – SOWER Project, Bonifay, FL