Praises – RV service techs on own time to help us out; Trailer is rented to a young family; No damages from wind gusts and heavy rain; Faithfulness of God to His children.
Prayers – Small drill press; grinding wheel for sharpening mower blades in place; floor steam cleaner; addition electric and finish work completed.
“So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory. That glory is much greater than the troubles. So we set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time. But what we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 International Children’s Bible
Hello to our followers, friends, and family:
June weather, at least this year, was hot, humid, hotter, and more humid! There was one morning we had our little heater on for the morning chill and the day was great as long as you were out of the sun. John took many walks alone with Connie sticking her head out the door and declaring it was still too hot and muggy at 7:30pm. Thunderstorms were around a few days bringing some wind and heavy rain at times but nothing threatening.
John found lots of things to keep busy this month. He does well in the heat and humidity and could enjoy his time on the mower and clearing some of our jungle woods. After borrowing an electric (battery) pole saw, he found it worked well on branches and some of the vines so we went shopping for our own. Our timing was right and after looking at other brands we found Lowes had the Ego brand on sale so we were able to get the saw and a trimmer attachment for slightly less than our budget. Back to the woods he went and the trimmer made the vines and ground growth much easier! He wanted an extra battery but his battery needs to be charged about the same time as the tool does!!
Our addition progress was slow and stressful, not knowing when the contractor would be here or what would be accomplished. Our leaky wall continued to be a headache until John finally used several coats of flex-seal. The windows are in place, the roof is up, and almost everything is covered with wrap. Electric boxes have been slapped in place, 811 was contacted twice for the all clear to bury cable, and the final payment on the spa and hot tub was made, received too late, and wire transferred. There is still lots to be done, but the finish line is in sight.
Connie has had many days of research, ordering, and physical shopping trips this month. UPS actually paid some attention to the delivery instructions and found us. Another package arrived on our neighbor’s porch, and a third on the porch of the rental house. There was a leisurely “window shopping” trip thinking ahead for needed items for our spaces, and another with the sole purpose of getting John a battery pole saw/trimmer for weed and brush clearing. For a change, Connie splurged and used our 15% off air conditioner savings to purchase a small toaster oven. She has wanted one for quite some time and it was tested the next day with homemade French fries and convection oven pudding cake, yummy! Our longest trip was to Muscle Shoals and Florence Alabama where John stopped at a guitar shop, we purchased our electrical wire, and stopped at a Habitat Restore looking for cabinets. The restore had some nice exterior doors (not pre-hung however) and we got some plastic saw horses and a folding table, no cabinets.
We had a few surprises with the RV this month! Our large awning, the one just replaced, wouldn’t roll in one evening (June 7). We checked the weather and tried again the next day, waited until Monday morning and called to see what could be done. Eventually a service technician came on his own time, checked it out, and ordered a new motor and switch. Keep in mind we had to get it tied down for wind and empty the new fabric as rain accumulated as well as a constant eye on the weather and many, many prayers. When all parts came in there was another delay for his helper to recover from a flu bug, and again on their own time, the parts were installed (June 28) and our awning works. So many answered prayers and helpful hands getting the tie-downs tight, the awning angled better for rain, and no damage to the frame.
As we were in bed and reading that same night (about 9:15pm) there was a pop and whooshing sound – the new toilet valve blew its spring and water was pouring out all over the bathroom floor, into the hall, and around the corner to the bedroom! We grabbed towels, John quickly dressed and headed outside to turn off the water, and about an hour later we were back in bed with clean floors and gallon jugs of water for flushing. The next day John put a toilet shut-off valve in the line so we would have water for the rest of the RV and now live with a manual flush system until the it goes in for the back-ordered items from our May repairs.
Salty Strings had a busy month again, mostly with the great people in the dulcimer club. There were three care facilities (of course lunch as well), and one practice evening. We led the worship three Sundays at Journey Church, and shared seven songs with Cross Point Church in Iuka on their Testimony and Song Sunday. Journey Church had a Sunday afternoon “homecoming service” where another group (Sweet Peace) shared beautiful harmonies, and we shared a few with Connie on the organ and one song with another singer and piano. Of course, when you are a ‘group’ that means practice! With all the special events, potlucks happen and we made lots of deviled eggs. We planned some songs for the SALT senior group again this month and accompanied the leaders to Jack’s for ice cream after.
The addition and renovation, although frustrating, kept John busy as well. There were nails to pull, lumber to be stacked (and moved), the last of the framing and drywall cleared out, attic floor pieced in as needed getting ready for running wires, and getting a different bathroom door ‘hung’ (it was a bi-fold, now a solid door put in a slightly crooked angle wall). He removed the wall bottom and insulation where water had soaked up from the leaky cement, and eventually spread flex-seal along the crack and up the outside to stop the leaks. Lots of sweeping too – rain water puddles on the cement and dried mud footprints preparing for our delivery. His saw found its way to the porch to be used several times, and he completed a second dulcimer music stand with a few upgrades (Connie gets to use the new and improved one).
Connie kept trying to find things to do that would keep her out of the heat. The multi-purpose room is air conditioned, however it is quite unorganized and cluttered from the leaks along the wall. There were many days vacuuming up water from the cement and carpet pad pieces used to soak up the water before it spread further, typically 2-8 gallons after a rain. There were other days removing more wet carpet, pad, and tack strips. She would like to use the cement floor with area rugs in this area, however glue residue remains as well as holes from where the tack strips were nailed in. She did lots of research, tried ceramic sanding discs, scraping, an orbital diamond blade, vinegar, and other concoctions with lots of effort and no results. She did flip our bathroom light switch around (so up turned on the light rather than down), spackled a few wall holes until giving up working around the clutter, and removed the new window stickers in the addition. Mid-month she moved several wheel barrels of wood from behind the trailer to our wood pile, carefully avoiding the few bits of poison ivy where the wood was stacked. Connie’s not a ‘shopper’ so researching, ordering, and buying lots of big-ticket items this month was very stressful for both of us!
Many times this month we have wondered if being ‘owners’ was the right decision! Off and on all month have been problems, solutions, different problems, and wondering where our peaceful lives on the road went. Our house renters received a new washer then reported they had a mouse infestation, so John sprayed around the foundation, emptied their sticky trap, and set two traps in the multi-purpose room. Our trailer rental family moved in and within a few days they had some problems that included a bathroom door that wouldn’t latch, a wobbly ceiling fan, and the HVAC not keeping up with the heat. The door was fixed promptly and a window air conditioner was put in to help with the heat; we are still waiting for the installing company to figure out why the unit is not keeping up.
We have had lots of fellowship this month as well. The dulcimer club continues to be enjoyable as well as the lunches, there have been two church potlucks (one with homemade ‘Wendys Frosty ice cream), a date night home-cooked meal with music jam and homemade peach ice cream, two other Friday date nights, and some breakfasts and lunches with church friends. We are very blessed and know we can openly share our frustrations and concerns with any of them, anytime.
Finally, after many calls and construction delays, our delivery day arrived. Saturday June 29, another of our many heat warning days with the heat index at 105 all afternoon and no breeze to come through the open windows, a crew of 4 young people arrived at 3:15pm. They backed up their trailer in just right, unloaded and positioned our spa and hot tub, added the tie down snaps for the covers, assembled the stairs, cleared their debris, and left in an hour! Amazing watching them maneuver the big spa with a couple of dollies and two pieces of 5” PVC pipe. Being young and strong, the hot tub slid off the trailer onto a mat that was easily pulled into place. Although we can slide the tub (empty) we put a lot more effort into it.
Since we are above the age for Medicare, we are awaiting our first annual home health visit and making lists of possible ageing problems. (John turned around quickly in our music room one afternoon and ran into the wall and Connie made several comments to a sales clerk about it being Tuesday when it was really Wednesday, how’s that for ageing?) Thankfully we are healthy and not on any medications, but we also know we should be taking better care of ourselves. There have been many days that we are not very productive, sometimes we both feel drained and tired; exercise and swimming should help a lot. Connie has some concerns with heat and/or stress related nausea and headaches. Twice this month she has been attacked with the ‘swirly eye leading to migraine-type headache’ that slows her down as well as being painful! John has been up unable to sleep for about an hour several nights this month, and had an upset stomach for about 3 days. His back and knees are usually sore after a long day, and we are hoping a doctor will ok our spa as therapeutic which will allow us a health deduction for taxes.
Other unrelated tidbits of information from June: Our humming bird feeder is up, and after a few weeks of few visitors, we have dogfights and heavy drinkers now. Dragon flies seem to be drawn to our truck antenna and squirrels continue their acrobatics to pick apples to nibble on. We worked together to find a sunny permanent home for the lilac bush and slid the wheel barrow size hasta plant into a shady depression until it can be split and put in permanent locations – after a bit of watering both are doing well, and we have our wheel barrow back to use! There has been a hawk soaring and landing in our back yard (hopefully looking for mice) and a pair of yellow robin-size birds flying into the office windows and occasionally around the humming bird feeder – haven’t been able to identify them yet, warblers or thrashers perhaps. Connie modified her sausage ball recipe and used half chorizo making John very happy. Last, we found the tree by our swing (and several more in the woods) is a mimosa with silky beautiful blossoms.
This has been a challenging month, spiritually. There have been times when things didn’t go very well, lots of little arguments between us as we made decisions ‘how to do’ things, and we tended to get caught up in this world questioning and challenging God. A devotion pointed out the literal words from Hebrew for “this is the day the Lord has made” is “this is the day on which the Lord has acted.” Such wisdom, God has acted and will continue to act every day of our lives. Even when Walmart online says “item available for pick up the next day” and it isn’t (rental air conditioner) the mail brings a sale flyer with 15% off that starts the next day. Another time there was a pouring rain east of home, it quit, we detoured through town to pick up our second air conditioner and were in a downpour again west of home – we were concerned expecting more puddles yet on arrival there had been no rain, all was safe and dry. God has acted, and we thank Him for His faithfulness especially this month.
A few thoughts from devotions this month:
Every time I said “I will” to Jesus but didn’t, Jesus said “I will” to me and did.
Snowflakes grow only after they are attached to a ‘particle’ of pollution in the atmosphere, as do pearls. Whatever has polluted your life can be put at the center of something beautiful in the hands of our merciful God.
Only God turns the messiness of coming through trials into a message of His power:
“Look, we bless and honor the memory of those who persevered under hardship. Remember how Job endured and how the Lord orchestrated the triumph of his final circumstances as a grand display of His mercy and compassion.” James 5:11 VOICE
Until next month – thanks for traveling with us and being part of our family ~
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
- July-part of August – Burnsville MS property upgrades
- August – October – Tentative Illinois/Wisconsin, SOWER Project, family visits
- August 28 and August 30 – Music in Lincoln, IL
