Praises – Grandbaby Sara Alejandra Nicholas, new contractor, Mississippi friends and fellowship
Prayers – Renters still needed for house, medical test results and decisions for Connie, continued healing of John’s back and head cold, health and strength for January/February SOWER projects
“. . . be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:18b-20 Christian Standard Bible (Make it a point to make music to the Lord in your heart each day and you will have a far more joyful and productive day.)
Hello to our followers, family, and friends:
The first half of November we had several mostly cloudy days, and since Connie’s notes didn’t say anything about temperatures it was likely in the 70’s. Once the temps started dropping, she had lots of notes mentioning ‘cold’ a lot! The last half brought progressively lower temperatures. Morning temperatures in the upper 20’s and low 30’s several days, and one day we had no water for an hour (the pipes were better insulated with no further problems). Lower temperatures mean multiple electric heaters and the gas furnace – we’re emptying a propane tank every 3-4 days when it’s cold. We had one day of hard rain and wind causing rivers to run down the driveway, and even though the French drains still have some bumps they seemed to work keeping the water away from the addition. We were able to see the last super moon of 2024, huge and bright, rising in the northeast sky one date night. In the sunlight there are still a few trees with leaves looking a bit colorful, and the heated seats in the truck feel wonderful.
We trust you all had great thanksgiving gatherings, large or small. We joined our Journey Church family and their families with about 48 for lunch in the fellowship hall of church. Great food and conversation, of course memories of past meals with our own families, and hot cocoa for supper! Throughout the month there were 4 date nights (guess we were always feeling better on Friday nights), usually involving shopping or returning something. John went out with the guys from church for wings and had a good time with them.
After painting and finding new screws for the hinges, the house rental kitchen cabinet doors were ‘done’ we thought. A few days later they were still sticking so John went through the whole process again and now they fit very well and are really done! We did invest in a dehumidifier; the first one was very small and didn’t have much water in the tray after 24 hours. It was returned and a larger unit was purchased; within a few hours the tray was half full and we were emptying it at least twice a day for several days. We had two prospective renters but neither worked out. One requested a plug for a freezer in the carport, so we searched our leftover electrical supplies and added a plug. We finally got the back porch cleaned up a bit, and removed the fluorescent light fixture with all its dirt, grime, and mud wasp nests.
John has kept busy around the property with little fixes here and there. He took out some cement blocks from a drainage area that no longer needs the protection and we eventually arranged them into a large circular fire pit. Fires look great from inside, we’ve enjoyed the warmth and beauty up close a few times, and we had an impromptu hot dogs and chips cookout with some church friends for our first fire.
Exercise – so good for the body, yet so hard to remain consistent! Connie has a pretty good morning routine and actually stuck with it for about two weeks before skipping a day or two. We have missed several swim days and are averaging every 3 days now. The mask and snorkel work very well for Connie (she can almost do 15 minutes), but isn’t water tight with John’s mustache/beard. Amazon is getting to be our friend delivering his new snorkel, only to find lots of water up his nose (still working on getting nose plugs, the first ones kept sliding off). It is wonderful to have these comforts available to use at any time of the day, and we’ve had morning, afternoon, and evening swims. The hot tub is so relaxing, the perfect end to a long day – we are so blessed!
Our addition swim room is still unfinished with no response from the contractor. We made a new list of things to finish up and had another contractor come; he found several other problems and we are making arrangements with him to get it finished (likely not until January). In the meantime, John has tacked up a falling sheet of beadboard from the ceiling, winterized the outside water spigot, and fixed the unfinished exterior of our “L” block window. We are working on the optimum settings for the heater and vent fan when we swim (and are gone) now that colder weather has arrived.
John’s hearing aids arrived on the 8th bringing grumbling, programming the phone app, mumbling, and trying lots of different settings. We went back and the audiologist changed some settings making them a bit better, but John was still too loud in his head to hear others, especially when playing music. He is waiting again for them to come back from more modifications from the factory. John has also had a few back episodes, stuffy head from working in the cold and wind, and probably a few days with the flu. Missing the last step on the step ladder at the end of doing some winterizing repairs didn’t help – he twisted, landed on his right arm, jerked his neck, and hit his head. We almost made a trip to the ER when he couldn’t read a few hours later or remember how to operate the TV remote the next day. The results of the fall, combined with sinus and flu symptoms made for a week of miserable days.
On the 17th Connie woke up very dizzy and nauseous, and didn’t go to church. She was able to stay up a few hours in the afternoon, walk a bit outside with a walking stick, but spent most of the day in bed. A few days later she was able to get out for two nursing home programs, although the ride was a bit tipsy with the bumps and curves. She finally scheduled a doctor appointment for the 22nd where she had a mini-EKG and blood tests. Results are still being reviewed, but we/she will have some decisions on further tests related to her swirly vision, dizziness, and occasional migraine headaches.
We have two ‘additions’ this month! The first (only because it came first) was the arrival of John’s German/Japanese 12-string guitar on the 15th. Many days of beautiful guitar practice followed getting his fingers used to the extra strings. Connie loved to hear the 12-string guitar when we first met 40+ years ago and had forgotten how great they sound. Of course, a new strap was needed, a ‘button’ for the strap to fasten to the guitar, and a capo. John installed the ‘button’ and the capo had to be returned (but Amazon delivered a capo that works great with all the strings).
Our second addition, actually greater than the first, is our new granddaughter! Sara Alejandra joined our family on Wednesday the 27th. She is almost a copy of her older sister, similar birth mark, almost the same weight, but definitely more hair! Grandma had been frantically working on baby’s knit blanket and had it finished it a few hours after Sara was born. (Our son texted on the 21st that baby could come any day; Connie’s plans were to have the blanket done and delivered by 12/5, the due date but we all know how easy plans change.) Mom and Dad got to enjoy the hospital’s special Thanksgiving meal and were headed home 24 hours after delivery.
Connie was prompted to add a time of self-reflection with her daily devotions; she focuses on a question about personal character and has found a few touchy subjects. She shortened a pair of new jeans, did some mending, made appointments, enjoyed working on the baby blanket, finished a crochet lap blanket, and found a baby blanket (both will be donated to local organizations). Once we were both in a healthy spot we decided on and applied for our January and February SOWER ministry projects in Melrose, Florida.
Church and Salty Strings this month go hand-in-hand. We shared at the SALT meeting, provided worship music and backup a few Sundays at Journey Church, and had a few practice sessions. November is the month of thanksgiving (although we need to be thankful each and every day) and one of our evening studies was using the letters of the alphabet as prompts for something we are thankful for. Another evening service was movie night with fresh popcorn and “The Forge,” a very inspirational film for all ages. We were able to be with the dulcimer group at the Natchez Trace Visitor Center, and joined them for three nursing home programs this month (including a Chinese and pizza lunch). We also traveled about an hour away to the New Albany Museum for 2 hours of dulcimer and dancing dolls as small groups of kids and special needs groups toured the grounds.
The end of the month kept John busy helping paint and assemble the church Christmas Parade float. By this time the weather had turned cold and windy, many days in the 40’s, but the guys kept at it (a few breakfasts out before working helped). The parade theme was Christmas movies, and the church float was the Little Drummer Boy. D-day was December 2, finished pictures to come next month.
Some may think that we are exempt from daily struggles and frustrations, not so. Sewing machine thread breaking, new capo not working, still can’t make fluffy dumplings, freezer temperature wonky (needs ice or water under drawers cleaned up), and the Taylor guitar pickup and amp were not working (eventually replaced guitar battery, duh) to name a few this month. There are always obstacles to overcome, we just try to stay thankful for the blessings all around us and trust God to get us through each day.
Quote for the Month: Ruth Bell Graham says, “We can’t always give thanks FOR everything, but we can always give thanks IN everything.”
“In that day you will sing: “I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me. See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.” Isaiah 12 New Living Translation
May each of you and your families have a blessed and wonderful Christmas/New Year!
John and Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
Contact Information:
Mail: John & Connie Nicholas
Salty Strings Music Ministry
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
- December-January 9 – Mississippi home base
- January 10-March 2025 – SOWER Project, Melrose, Florida (2-day travel time)
- March-April – Tentative Mississippi home base