Praises – Found trailer tenants, a family with a dog; Safe travel and a great vacation with family in Virginia; God’s beauty all around
Prayers – Safe and timely completion of addition; Nothing else goes wrong with RV, truck, rentals, etc.; Music ministry opportunities
“You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light that shines for the world to see . . . Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16 Easy-To-Read Version
Hello to our followers, family, and friends:
John had a busy month, mostly enjoyable although a lot of work. He spent a few days with yard work; mowing (when it wasn’t too soggy), weeds, and clearing thorny brush from the woods. There was a lot of hauling between the multi-purpose room and shed then from the RV to the multi-purpose room; instruments, tools, pantry food, anything in the way or heat sensitive while it was repaired. There was a bit of sorting going on as well, finding a few “lost” things and piles for Good Will, scrap metal, and junk. He pulled his saw to the new porch concrete, modified a door for the bathroom, and we hung that. He had several days pulling up wet carpet, pad, and tack strips from concrete in the multi-purpose room from rain seeping inside.
Our renovation and addition progress was quite slow, mostly due to the rainy weather. Our delivery date for the hot tub and swim spa is 6/28 with lots to be finished first. We moved things off the common wall to avoid water damage, and kept two ceiling fans running to help it dry out after repeated rainfalls. Many details for the addition room are now finalized, we know what is needed for electric runs, and 811 has been called “before we dig.” On our return home from vacation, we found evidence of mice in one area – we mistakenly put some edibles in the multi-purpose room while away. Our mice prefer Ferrero Rocher Raffaello white chocolate hazelnut cream and purple tootsie pops!
Salty Strings was not very busy this month. No church music, only a few songs for the senior meeting. John found a dulcimer club however, and we joined them at the Natchez Trace visitor center west of Tupelo. They play for 2 hours the first Saturday of the month as a large group made up from area smaller clubs, it was fun and interesting. We then connected with the smaller dulcimer club in Booneville that gathers twice a month and joined them as they entertained for an hour at a nursing rehab center, getting to know them better at lunch. Many have “music stands” for the music they use; John took a few pictures then gathered leftover scraps and made one for Connie to use.
Connie made a trip alone to town for shopping and picking up ‘her’ block window order. She had quite a few hours tearing out wet carpet and pad (eventually wising up and using the shop vac); putting ceiling fan blades back after misplacing the piece that goes against the ceiling; removing the wallpaper (peel and stick kind) border, anchor bolts, and screws from a few walls; and some organizing and sorting, including the containers of miscellaneous screws, nuts, bolts, etc. She helped John a bit and carried a few loads of RV things, instruments, and refrigerator items to the trailer refrigerator before taking it in for repairs. John was delighted and snapped a photo of her practicing harp one afternoon.
One of John’s adventures this month was working with a church friend at Camp Morganwood east of Tupelo. The guys spent a day preparing the “ark” to be moved and straightened. The church work day included help from several others to move and level the ark as much as possible then installing new accessories and a coat of paint. We put his saws and tools in the truck the night before and covered it with some plastic for the dew. It was great to help this small camp with some tools and about 24 hours of labor!
We hooked up our RV and were ready to take it in for diagnosis when the hydraulic system went crazy. We finally were able to use a drill to manually (1/4” at a time) pull in 1 ½ slides and raise the jacks. By this time it was after noon so we had some lunch, did some shopping, and came back for the diagnosis and price, ouch. The bedroom a/c started leaking again and John was able to take it apart, cleaned it a bit, and cleared the plugged drain hole to save a bit off the repair bill. We planned to leave it for a week while going to Virginia, but that turned into 2 weeks. The day after we received this news Connie’s devotion was something like “While the Lord’s timing might not be yours, remember that His is perfect – He is never late, and nothing hinders His plans.” That was absolute confirmation we needed to spend more time with our family and quit worrying about things out of our control. We got a call informing us there was an incident over the holiday weekend that put a few dents and rip in the skirting, hopefully that is only cosmetic. Our trip back was by faith, unsure if it would be done until noon the final travel day. We arrived, paid the bill, hooked up, and were home by 6pm for microwave pot pies and veggies.
May was a month of decisions, planning, and travel. We were gone the last half of the month, during RV repairs, on vacation with family in Fredericksburg, VA. We dropped off the RV and started our travels at 9am the 16th, arriving at 4:45pm the next day. It was great traveling without the RV, although we spent what seemed like hours in stop and go traffic getting through Knoxville along with traffic delays from an accident. Our hotel room was huge with speedy internet and cookies, coffee, and cocoa to supplement our cooler leftovers.
Our time with our son, daughter-in-law, and grand-daughter in Fredericksburg, VA was very enjoyable. We received the grand tour of their new home and stayed in the guest room, almost as large as our RV, with attached bath in the basement. They took us to church with them where we enjoyed the beauty of their sanctuary along with a wonderful organ. We were driven through some historic areas, ate out a few times (a neat German restaurant in an old train depot, and Freddy’s burgers), and helped out with a few things in their new home. They have a great front porch with rocking chairs that we enjoyed especially in the mornings, mellow wind chimes, watching blue birds and a large Northern Flicker, and the wooded views behind the house (at least one deer appeared on the camera after they were put up).
While in Virginia there were three big parties – their open house/anniversary, a double birthday party, and another birthday party – and lots of food; grilled fajitas, chicken legs, hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta, and lots of watermelon. Connie braved samples of a few “too spicy” things and enjoyed Agua de Horchata, a Mexican rice drink flavored with cinnamon or hibiscus tea (tart, cranberry-like flavor and deep-magenta color). Two of the extended family have outdoor pools where our son and grand-daughter entered the chilly water for the first time this year. Our 3 almost 4-year-old grand-daughter was quite active, full of lots of emphatic “no” answers, grouchy after some of the party days, and threw a few tantrums reminding us of our parenting days! We thought we were fairly well in shape with our evening walks, then our subdivision walks began and we got fairly winded going up and down hills! Alone or with family, grand-daughter in tow walking or on her bike (with a handle for adults to help push and steer), it was always uphill at the end and great exercise.
After a week delay and the Memorial Day weekend we headed home on a Tuesday with a three-day schedule this time. The first night was in Abingdon, VA with a relaxed Italian meal providing leftovers for day 2. We left mid-morning to try to avoid delays in Knoxville, had our lunch at a rest area, drove past a church we looked at to buy a few years ago, and did get slowed down going through Chattanooga with stop and go traffic. We made good time, even hit 20 miles per gallon! Our second night was in Scottsboro, AL with reheated leftovers for supper. Day 3 we planned on walking around a park in Huntsville but had problems with the QR scanning to pay for parking. We left and went to a guitar shop then on to the Lowe Mill, an old set of factory buildings converted to arts and crafts spaces. We chatted with a guitar luthier, cigar box dulcimer maker, stopped by a pottery studio, and looked through the windows at Cattyshack adoptions with “escape artist” kittens before stopping for a late lunch at Steak ‘N Shake and rushing to the RV center.
There were many frustrations this month. Connie’s phone was sent in for repair and arrived back the day after we left for Virginia. We missed the National Day of Prayer at our nearby town of Jacinto getting the RV diagnosed. On our way to Sunday School a truck went through a stop sign right in front of us, John ran down the hill and tweaked his back, no injuries, and we were late with an unbelievable excuse. The washer in our rental house is not spinning out fully, and didn’t get any better while we were gone. John’s phone hotspot/internet drastically slowed down, stressful when you can’t get the information you want (or watch a good movie). Rain, and more rain, and more wet floor to clean up. And, the final straw, our truck rear slide window wouldn’t close, John taped it up for travel; it was gone for 2 days getting repaired at a Chevy dealer in Virginia needing a new switch and control unit.
There are always bright spots as well. Connie had a beautiful, pleasant Mother’s Day talking with some of our children. There were many special times with our family in Virginia including grandma and grand-daughter working puzzles on the computer (up to 25 pieces, she’s smart and knows what to look for). We had a few date nights. Connie also had time to look into pros and cons of changing to Mississippi residency – everything is favorable so we will begin address changes, titles, insurance, and licensing vehicles making us official Mississippi residents by the end of July.
A few thoughts for the month from our devotions, we hope you find them as comforting as we did:
** Hope is the absolute assurance of future good. It is also the source of peace now.
** “If we find that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” C. S. Lewis
** True faith is not a matter of what we see with our eyes, even when we see miracles. It’s a matter of trusting God’s promises despite what our eyes see.
“May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.” Psalm 115:14-16 NIV
Please keep us in your prayers . . . and THANKS for traveling with us!
John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
Contact Information:
Mail: John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
NEW ADDRESS: 30A Hwy 367
Burnsville, MS 38833
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
- June-July – Burnsville MS property upgrades
- August 28 and August 30 – Music in Lincoln, IL
- August – October – Tentative Illinois/Wisconsin, SOWER Project/family visits