Author: Salty Strings Music Ministry

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

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 16^th, 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

. . . make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”  1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV

Praises – Thank the Lord today for all His Hand has provided; Mississippi property starting to feel like home, settling in a bit perhaps; good renters in the house

Prayers –Trailer renter needed; keep us humble and our attitudes on course to bless others; RV repairs; travel to family in Virginia; safety for our contractor and workers

Hello to our followers, family, and friends:

For those who may be confused or new to our travels, we own property in northeast Mississippi that includes two large RV sites, a trailer (mobile home), a house, an addition to the house we refer to as our multi-purpose room, and now a “porch” addition to the multi-purpose room is in process.  (If you weren’t confused before you probably are now.)  We are trying to modify our language to use these terms so even we know what we are talking about!

One of our first trips in April was to get our “real” mailing address from the county 911 office.  We purchased stickers for the mailboxes, John installed our box, and at least the post office will know where the mail goes.  Years ago, the mobile home/trailer was moved to the other side of the house causing confusion with the numbers being out of order, so we added large numbers to the house and trailer (deliveries now have a chance of going to the right place).  Early in the month we cleaned up our storm shelter berm and planted wildflower seeds and two lavender plants; everything is growing well and we’re seeing some purple blooms.  John picked up lots of yard debris and helped Connie with the marigold seed around the pussy willow tree, hoping the cage can be removed and the deer will leave it alone; these seeds are not doing so well from the heavy rains.  By the end of the month, we had to dig up a beautiful large hasta and the lilac bush; they remain in the wheelbarrow and a large pot until the porch is finished.

The trailer eviction process was court approved giving us access to start cleaning and repairs mid-month.  The few minor repairs included re-gluing vinyl seams, tightening the plumbing under the kitchen sink, and patching a hole in a wall.  Lots of cleaning, spackling nail holes, some paint touch-up, a few new floor grates, and we added weather strip around the doors.  We kept the curtains they left, stabilized the rods, took a box of things to Goodwill, and finally changed the locks.

Praise the Lord – renters were found for the house and they moved in the end of March. We met them and their 10-month-old puppy early in April and helped them disassemble their dining room table to get it inside where we put it back together for them.

Connie is starting to get used to not having a phone!  After getting the first replacement phone set up and functional on April 3 it “froze up” again on the 26^th.  Frustration, of course, then acceptance and a good attitude while spending an afternoon with the provider and manufacturer for warranty service. 

John kept busy this month.  His main task of hooking up the washer/dryer sounds easy, but he had to plan the drain, modify the capped off plumbing for a sink in the future, get the electric plug wired up, and crawl around under the house.  All was going well, parts purchased, progress made until “oops” the drain ‘T’ went the wrong way!  After a trip to town, all was finished up, unit leveled, and the trial run went great with no leaks.  He got a new machete to chop some brush in the woods, mowed a few times, dug out a metal post to replant for our mailbox, and took out drywall and some framing in preparation for the addition main beam.

Salty Strings was active again this month, nothing generating income, but we are a blessing to others and we are blessed when we share our music.  Sunday mornings we were playing along, bringing special music, or leading worship.  The monthly SALT (Senior Adults Living Triumphantly) meeting and worship practices were enjoyable, and Connie brought our keyboard one morning and used our chromatic dulcimer which requires her to practice a bit more.  We had a last-minute call asking us to provide music for a Friday afternoon at the Corinth Park for the Autism Run Registration.  We agreed and prepared several 45-minute sets.  It turned out to be slightly over an hour since other musicians were found, in sunny 84 degrees very windy weather.  The “covered” stage turned out to be a non-level (until we arrived) flatbed with a canopy rigged up giving a bit of shade.  The wind gusts were strong enough to blow down the hammer dulcimer (safely cushioned with Connie’s hand under the edge as it fell).  We decided many years ago not to do outside concerts if it is not above 65 degrees and only with sun protection; now we’ve added hot, windy, and humid to our criteria. 

April showers – plenty of those along with thunder and some hard, driving rain.  Like everyone after a few days of clouds, the beautiful sky and sunshine always lift our spirits.  A few nights with heaters, and many more with air conditioning on all night.  We caught a glimpse of the solar eclipse through the clouds, and had some evening sunset walks around the driveway.  Blue birds were passing through, a male cardinal hung around a few days, and we have squirrels in the woods swinging the tree branches (haven’t seen any before).  The driveway edge erosion is cutting deeper, and we think some of our seeds are buried too deep to grow.  Such is the cycle of life.

In our past there were several years of going to the YMCA pool to swim 2-3 times a week along with a small hot tub at home.  As we get achy-er and older we were looking to the future and dreaming of a pool for exercising and another hot tub.  After reviewing our finances and property layout, we made down payments on a swim spa and hot tub at an expo last month.  They allowed us to come back and try out the stationary swimming, John was like a fish back in water, and Connie enjoyed the experience as well.  This, of course, changed our plans and schedules for spring – we have found a contractor to build the porch addition and put in a beam to open up the multi-purpose area.

The porch leveling, framing, metal mesh, and concrete is done.  We watched as a cement block wall appeared for drainage and keeping the dirt around the storm shelter along with 2.5 of the three walls appear.  After many hours of research and grid drawings, we have a final plan for windows, doors, and electrical locations.  Being a general contractor of sorts is very demanding organizing time frames, window purchases, cash flow, and patience.  It seems there is nothing to do one day and too much to decide the next.

We were without water for 4 days, carrying water from the multi-purpose room and taking showers in the mobile home, from a break in the line when the cement workers were digging.  It sure feels good to have running water and showers in the RV!  (By the way, it takes about 2 gallons of hot water to do daily dishes if they’re not very greasy.)  In the midst of this our propane tank had to be switched over while we were cooking breakfast one morning.  Just some of the expected unexpected when you live in an RV that moves around.

We are also in the process of getting some much-needed repairs to our RV as well, taking pictures of problems to avoid packing up for a day for them to look at it.  After waiting a few weeks for them to pull together an estimate, we will have to take it to them for diagnosis next month.  In the meantime, John started cleaning things out of the under belly and moving our bikes to the shed. 

Connie was very careful clearing and planting the berm, avoiding the areas she got poison oak last year.  But, after the second round she apparently got too close, developing what she thought was a few bug bites (scratching them, of course) that spread and caused discomfort most of the month.  She had just a few slightly dizzy times and some stomach upset (likely from taxes and building financing).  John has paced himself, keeping the joints and back functioning pretty well this month.

We celebrated our 40^th wedding anniversary on our Friday Date Night with a card and some chocolates from our friends.  The Mexican restaurant thought it was Connie’s birthday, we tried to explain, and one of our friends tried to tell a waiter it was our anniversary which promptly brought out several of the waiters, singing, with a huge sombrero and plate of whip cream smooshed in Connie’s face – lots of laughs of course and disbelief.  On Sunday, our real anniversary, we shared special music in church, watched a Tom Selleck movie in the afternoon, and were treated to DQ blizzards and great fellowship after the evening study.

Connie had a good mix of mental activity and demolition work for the frustrations this month.  Taxes took several days; the final check found some missing income and we owed a LOT more than expected!   There was financial planning, filing, and ‘blue print’ drawings for the addition and remodel work.  Demolition included using the pick ax to loosen drywall and pulling nails; some reorganization and cleaning leaves from culverts finished off the physical labor.  She really enjoys not having to plan a laundry day with our washer/dryer now working.

Our addition multi-purpose room still needs more organizing, but we have the drywall and some framing out of the center.  John made several wheel barrow trips to the driveway to dump drywall pieces over the edge, and spent a day pulling nails for recycled lumber.  Connie did a lot of the drywall removal, getting rid of frustration (John now knows why she wanted a pick ax!).  There were many days we were both sore, tired, and dirty.

We took a Sunday afternoon to go about an hour south to visit with a friend at the mid-point of his addiction rehab.  He is searching his Bible, not necessarily enjoying the program, but aware this is where he needs to be, and has 3 months to go before having to face the world again.  It made us aware of all the blessings we have, and that our feelings may be real but not necessarily ‘true.’  We all so easily bend the truth to fit what we want; we are thankful for this visit to open our eyes to the reality that many others face.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20b NIV

Tune in again next month for our progress and plans!

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

TRAVEL PLANS AND UPCOMING LOCATIONS

• May-July – Burnsville MS property upgrades; possible travels
• May 16-25 – Travel to Fredericksburg, VA to be with family/RV work being done
• August 28 and August 30 – Music in Lincoln, IL
• August – October – Tentative Illinois/Wisconsin, SOWER Project/family visits

ONLINE DONATIONS via PayPal through our web site

Praises – Rest and time off; good travel day; house rented; walks in God’s beautiful woods; taxes almost done

Prayers – Eviction process and prayers for this young man; renter for mobile home; RV repairs; contractor for multi-purpose house room beam

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.  Titus 2:11-12  NIV

Hello to our family, friends, and followers:

Last month ended with “Life is certainly good and blessed!” and that remains true.  We had great sermons and music opportunities in the small church we have been attending, watched some interesting videos on Noah’s Ark, a wonderful Palm Sunday including branches, and Easter Sunday back with Journey Church in Mississippi!  God’s word reminded us throughout the month that we don’t have to live in fear.  Our thoughts are where irrational fears originate but followers of Jesus have power, love, and self-control to replace those fears in our minds. 

The usual monthly activities when we volunteer included an evening fire and lots of food: a few meals out together with other volunteers (Mexican, Deli, BBQ), meals at camp, and great potlucks almost every week.  Connie’s special foods for the month included cheese cake, pudding cake, homemade noodles (again), yogurt, sausage balls, and the last resort macaroni and cheese with hotdogs.  Our bedroom air conditioner acted up making the end of the bed wet while on high one hot and sunny afternoon.  John was a big help getting the newsletter almost ready to go before his Emmaus Walk.  Connie had many hours getting her new phone set up, “chatting” with agents when the phone quit working, and going a few weeks without any service while waiting for a replacement phone to arrive.  More frustration ensued as she started our taxes, organizing and tracking down receipts for all the rental property expenses, 

Continuing from February, our recording room had many hours of editing and getting reacquainted with our programs.  John recorded some new guitar parts which use a direct plug in.  We then set up for microphone recording for the autoharp.  All was well until Connie marked the song “copyright” during editing and it locked up – no more editing or recording until we had “permission” from the song owner, with no help found for how to get this permission.  Very discouraging, and ending our recording enthusiasm.

Bethlehem Camp again provided us with several meals, many leftovers, and a few chances to attend speakers and worship with groups that were there.  Their new shooting range had many visitors, based on pops we heard from the Men’s Retreat.  John was a “pilgrim” at an Emmaus Walk, sleeping in a dorm room and eating with the group, sequestered for 3.5 days to focus on personal and spiritual development.  Connie got permission to scout out the grounds and dig up spiderwort plants to transplant to Mississippi; about 10 clusters were brought with us and, as of now, are healthy in their potting soil/yellow clay dirt.

With John sequestered for a long weekend, Connie had lots of time for herself.  There was some exercise with a long walk and a bike ride, mostly uphill (how is that possible?) and a bit of plarn making (plastic bag yarn).  Almost two days were spent without talking to anyone and she found her voice became very weak.  Sunday morning brought two excellent sermons from “home” churches via the internet, and Sunday afternoon was picking up John’s bags and attending the final Emmaus Walk closing ceremony.  Once he was back to the trailer there was a gathering of friends outside before we both crashed from socializing.

John spent a lot of time under “Gilbert” dorm working with PEX plumbing.  It wasn’t fun but he had lots of above ground support and help!  Of course, when working with plumbing there is always those pesky little leaks to fix once water pressure is back.  Other volunteer work for the month included a few parts runs; finding needed wood and electrical supplies; building, painting and installing a few more bathroom doors; helping with a window replacement and concrete sidewalk; repairing a vacuum filter with an old sock; wire brushing block shower stalls for the ladies to paint; and lots of cleanup.  We were the last SOWER group of volunteers so cleanup included picking up all our tools as well as making our work areas usable for summer camps – all the lumber, equipment, paint, etc. had to be put away in various sheds.  While visiting these storage buildings John found some old ceiling fan blade holders and had the great idea to use them for some missing door handles; a little shaping and they look and work great!

Connie and another lady SOWER put their volunteer hours to use cleaning after guest visits, painting more bathroom doors, setting up for potlucks (16-20 people), putting a primer coat on 6 block showers in a dorm, and did I mention cleaning, multiple days?  It is always great when something doubtful turns out well; one morning the task Connie accepted was to replace a ceiling fan.  The old was disassembled, and while checking the wiring a loose connection was found, fixed, reassembled, and the old fan works fine now.  That day there was lots of exercise, stretching, climbing, and walking back and forth for tools.

John’s back was great this month, even with many tired days crawling around under a dorm.  His knee held up physically but with the heat and knee brace a rash started that was aggravating.  Connie has not been as good, starting the month with a morning of “swirly” eyes that turn into a migraine-type headache thankfully fading by the end of the day.  Our last week she developed a sinus cold, stuffy head, and some occasional dizziness.  By travel day she had both sides of her head stuffed up (lots of overnight snoring as well) and we kept our behind the wheel time short as we traveled.  Of course, it passed to John after we got “home” causing him to miss Easter Sunday at church.

 There are several “cottages” on the camp grounds that are maintained by their owners with volunteer help at times.  John worked on the back porch of this house, rebuilding and repairing the soggy wood, and then picked up shingle pieces from the roof replacement.  Connie helped out as well, in the kitchen, helping the owner fix an excellent meal for all the workers.  Our last week we finished up a couple of projects in the works, mainly the finish paint in the showers.

It was another busy month for Salty Strings.  We provided special music for two Sundays at Restoration UMC in Cottondale, learning a new song for Palm Sunday.  The camp had a potluck and midweek concert for St. Patrick’s Day; we worked a half-day then cooked, practiced and tuned for a wonderful evening.  We also brought some instruments for our final devotion theme of the hope that Christian believers have using our song “Well Done” for closing.  The camp, through us, hosted an evening jam session where we enjoyed fried chicken with sides and potluck desserts before going ‘round the circle of musicians.  Lots of picking, grinning, and singing in multiple styles for slightly over an hour before the crowd started dispersing.

We planned ahead, started packing things up gradually a few days before, and had a good day of travel back to our Mississippi home.  John checked the trailer and truck tires and packed up all but the electric the day before.  Connie had the inside packing almost done and the snacks and sandwiches prepared as well.  Although we planned on leaving by 8:30 there was a slight delay in getting one slide to come in.  We have been having some issues anyway, so the hesitation was expected however this time it was an awning slide cover that was full of water, starting to tear, and not rolling up with the slide.  John noticed it and had to crawl on the roof to help empty it and coax it to roll up.  Once on the road it was a fairly smooth trip, we avoided a near miss accident when a pickup truck pulling an empty trailer switched lanes and hit the brakes right in front of us (don’t think they remembered they were pulling a trailer), and managed to get to the diesel pump before running out in rural Mississippi.  Our first large yellow butterfly sighting was at the Mississippi Welcome Center when one flew up from behind John’s hat.  We arrived around 5:15 to easy parking and set up and were ready for TV by 6 pm; what a great parking spot!

After getting set up for the night we realized we still had weak access to internet for some relaxing television our first night, however Connie had to go without her usual tablet games and devotions before bed.  John’s phone was switched to ATT service and that is working great here.  We set up his hotspot the next day and have all the luxuries now.  We still have a phone booster to connect if needed once Connie gets her phone (Verizon network).  Our first trip out was to the post office in Burnsville to check on getting an address and mailbox for us since the house is now rented.  We made a second trip out that evening, joining our other couples here for Friday Date Night.  It was wonderful to reconnect and enjoy their company again.

Florida weather in March is unpredictable, much like spring anywhere.  Several rainy days, a few very windy days, a few very pleasant days, and one hot humid day marked by Connie’s frizzy hair.  We had a thunder storm in the early evening with heavy rain and some very close lightening followed by huge booms.  One shopping day we had sprinkles leaving the camp, rain in Bonifay (FL) for lunch, and sunshine on our way home from Dothan (AL) shopping!  Our few days back in northeast Mississippi were overcast, slightly cooler, and from our living room window the apple tree in full blossom surrounded by big yellow butterflies.  Connie enjoyed our swing with a bit of sunshine and a book, and again marveled at so many butterflies and apple blossoms; always bringing a smile and thankfulness for the beauty of God’s creation.

QUOTE FOR THE MONTH:  Mark Twain said, “Don’t complain or talk about your problems; 80% of people don’t care, and the other 20% think you probably deserve them.”

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds (a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy), yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 AMPC

Thanks for traveling with us and being part of our family too!

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

• March 28-July 31 – Burnsville MS property upgrades; possible travels
• August 1-26 – Wisconsin Tentative SOWER Project and family visits
• August 27-September ?? – Clinton, IL – Little Galilee volunteer work

Praises – For finishing the rental house; the much-needed rest to come.

Prayers – Full recovery of our strength for the Florida Sower projects; protection from any further injuries; good renters for the house.

But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.  Galatians 4:4-5 New English Translation

Hello to our followers, friends, and family:

Guess what?  We’re still in Mississippi!  We started the month with a hopeful departure date of 12/22 – it got moved to 12/30.  The hitch went back in the truck on 12/31, Connie wanted to leave 1/4, and we really did leave on 1/5 (more next month).  There were several times in the last weeks that we were totally discouraged and a few times we looked at each other at the end of the day with smiles knowing we were getting closer to being done.

 We are now “healthy” again but not back to where we were a year ago.  Our November sickness took a toll on strength, stamina, and sanity.  December 1 we still had heavy chests, a bit out of breath, croupy coughs, and gunk in our lungs.  By the 4^th we had a fairly good work day and survived a 4-stop shopping/restock grocery trip to town.  John did punch a small hole in his palm and the ‘miracle tool’ grazed a finger, and Connie had some stiffness from painting and carpet burns to her hands/knuckle.

You’ve likely heard enough about our remodeling ups and downs by now, so we’ll try to keep this brief.  There were many days we had to fight to maintain forward progress, but lots of really productive days as well.  At the end of December there were very few things on the list and it was rewarding to be “done” with many steps.  John handled all the baseboard (mostly reclaimed door trim), caulking, custom stained door sills, built two custom closets from old closet pieces after we agreed on the design, and the final fitting of doors with locks and vent grates.

Connie was busy cleaning old window blinds, installing five new cordless mini-blinds, laying carpet after John stapled down the old underlayment, and gluing vinyl in the small master bathroom.  She hung the curtains (cleaned/modified by a church friend) for closets and doorways with tie-backs.  As she reviewed the switches and outlets for cover plates there were many needing to be replaced, tightened to the wall, needing brown outlet screws (improvised, none to be found in the stores), and found a solution to the ordered outlet spacers that never arrived.

There were hours spent in researching “how to do” things with lots of helpful tips and tricks.  We learned about heating with a heat pump and emergency heat, a hook blade works great for vinyl and carpet installation, and found our “reversible” refrigerator doors don’t reverse without special order parts.  Slightly frazzled by the end of the month we purchased the wrong size LED tube to replace the bathroom light that was left on and burned out.  Finally getting the right bulb the light did work and the switch was clearly marked “off/on” to avoid future mishaps.  

Salty Strings music was limited this month due to our recovery – the SALT group was cancelled from cold weather and illness going around.  We were able to play with the worship team and shared two special music Christmas songs at Cross Point Church in Iuka, and John joined the Journey Church Men’s Group skit and led two songs for their Sunday School Christmas Party and breakfast with lots of food.

We were invited to Christmas Dinner with the Pastor’s family where we enjoyed deep fried potatoes and chicken wings in multiple flavors, ham, freezer coleslaw, ramen and macaroni salad, and lots of goodies.  It was really good being with multiple generations of family, kids opening presents, and lots of conversation.  New Year’s Eve included communion at church in the morning and going to a sister church in the evening for a great message followed by fellowship and a pot luck dinner.  We were home and in bed by 10 but Connie stayed up, heard our neighbors fire crackers at 11:45 and saw the new year start – first time in many years either of us has been awake at midnight!

Other fellowship and reprieve from work included a Sunday lunch with friends, and date night (moved to Saturday early afternoon) at Cracker Barrel.  We were whisked off for a new late lunch adventure to the Outpost (Pickwick/Savannah TN) with great views of the outdoors, shops to explore, and good food followed by a stop at the drug store in Burnsville on the way back for ice cream (pharmacies and ice cream go together around here).  We treated our friends to a Mexican lunch in Burnsville for their help with the curtains and unloading the stove, giving us a long break that day.

Shopping seemed to be problematic this month.  We made a trip to a scratch-and-dent appliance store only to find they didn’t have a no-frills electric stove, ordered it from Lowes (last day of sale), picked it up and they forgot the cord.  We ordered a replacement for our dying CO2/propane sensor in our RV along with some electric outlet spacers; tracking said it arrived 12/19 but didn’t and the replacement order was to arrive 12/29 and didn’t.  Eventually we had to disconnect the beeping sensor in the trailer and Connie devised PEX spacers for some of the outlets.  We planned a 7-stop shopping trip to Corinth, including the court house for titles and taxes, only to find 2 places closed and we (Connie) forgot the paperwork for the court house.  John’s order for Pleasoning actually went right!  Lots of lost time in ordering, traveling, and phone calls. 

Our December weather averaged mid-40’s most of the month, with quite a few cold and damp days.  Freezing overnight temperatures ranged from 2 hours long earlier in the month to 12 hours, meaning our water was off.  We did run out of propane overnight, but not until ~6am so the rise and shine RV temperature wasn’t too bad.  There was one thunder storm with some big boomers, and some spitting rain with a few snowflakes one morning.  We also had a mid-morning visit from a pileated woodpecker, right outside our RV window.  We had to do some research to identify this crow-size red headed woodpecker!

With all the shopping trips there were several meals out including Chinese take-out, sampling the slug burgers in Iuka (Connie still prefers White Trolley in Corinth), and home-made beef stew with macaroni.  We’ll wait a year and see if we have a new Christmas snacking tradition – Connie made tuna salad and Wassel which is typical this time of year, and added cornmeal sausage balls which turned out good but a bit dry (she’s already tweaked the recipe for our second batch).  John was cutting some old hardboard (for the shower access panel) and commented it smelled like maple syrup, which led to a wonderful pancake supper!

After cleaning and sanding painted surfaces there are now two coats of paint everywhere, there is sticky vinyl base trim by the bath tub and shower, and all the cabinet drawers and doors are in place (using toothpicks several times to tighten them up) along with their hardware.  The front looks better with a clean light, miscellaneous nails and screws removed, and there are appropriate cover plates on the outside junction box and outlet.  We had a teenager come over and put Old English on all the wood surfaces (a lot) and a few other things to help her go on a mission trip to Brazil this summer.  Our multi-purpose room was finally vacuumed and organized to make room for the supplies and saws as we cleared out the house, and the refrigerator and stove were moved in place after a door frame modification.  (P.S. finish photos to come next month or at Corinth Realty.)

Towards the end of the month John had two days in the crawl space adding pipe insulation to the water lines and making final connections to the toilet.  With the colder temperatures he also shut off the water to our second RV site, wrapped up our long hose, and added a new fitting to our RV water line to restore pressure.

John continued to find peace and stress relief on his walks through the woods.  He found all the boundaries and is planning his (hopeful) spring build of a bridge over our deep gully creek.  He put the old abandoned double chair that needs repair and paint in a little clearing, obviously he’s sat there and pondered with his coffee.  We took a pleasant evening walk around our driveway and a bit of the highway Christmas Day noticing the beautiful full moon rising through the tree tops and cloud streaks as we returned.  Sometimes the work of the day made him/us too tired, or the setting sun brought darkness too soon to enjoy our blessings from God. 

Devotion Thought this month:  As a believer, we have been called by God for specific work for a specific time in His kingdom on Earth.  Be faithful to the opportunities God gives us.

God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food.  And God will give you spiritual seed and make that seed grow.  He will produce a great harvest from your goodness.  God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely.  And your giving . . . will make people give thanks to God.?2 Corinthians 9:10-11 Easy-to-Read Version

Thanks for traveling with us and being part of our family too!

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
• January 5-March 27, 2024 – SOWER Project, Bonifay, FL
• March 28-September ? – Travel to property, Jacinto, Mississippi; travels IL, WI, SD
• August 1-26 – SOWER Project, East Troy, WI and family
• August 27-?? – Clinton, IL – Little Galilee

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 69^th 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 14^th, made several calls to no avail, and finally ordered a new one that arrived on the 27^th – 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

Praises – John’s knee improving, able to be under house by mid-month; wonderful contractor found; safe travels; babysitting granddaughter; beautiful location and weather

Prayers – Health care providers still needed; strength and perseverance to finish house remodel; safety in our work and travels; RV heat pump, a/c, and awning issues developing

The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.  Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.  The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! . . I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory! . . You are my God, and I will praise you!  You are my God, and I will exalt you!  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His faithful love endures forever.  Psalm 118:14-15, 21, 28-29 New Living Translation

Hello to our friends, family, and followers:

Our month of September in northeast Mississippi has been great with temperatures of 70-95 early in the month and 55-85 by the end of the month, getting into Connie’s comfort zone.  We’ve had only a handful of rainy days and the rental house remodel keeps us quite busy.  Our theme this month is from Gomer Pyle – “Sur-prize, sur-prize, sur-prize” as we change doorways, find electrical wires in the attic, and try to rebuild to the original house and likely three add-ons; we never know what we will find, including two pennies used as shims.

In the last three weeks we have had a much-needed helper in our labor.  He has removed walls, added headers, built new walls, taken out and reframed the steps to the lower addition (adding a 2^nd bedroom), made some very constructive suggestions, endured our changes and decisions along the way, crawled around the attic fixing electrical junction boxes, and rewired for old and new switches and lights.

John took about a week before tackling crawling under the house to finish up the hot water PEX lines, and by mid-month the plumbing was complete and the bathtub drain line was fixed.  He fixed the trailer deck railing (requested by insurance company), pulled up the vinyl plank flooring in a redesigned room (to be used elsewhere), changed all the light bulbs to LED, pulled nails from old wall lumber, tacked up the drywall ceiling in the utility room, fixed the weakening back deck stairs, loaded a borrowed trailer with construction scrap, reworked the bathtub diverter, rebuilt the tub end wall, and secured the bathtub in place.  The moment of truth came in connecting the hot water heater, turning on the water, finding a leak in the crawl space, fixing the leak, and connecting the washer to hot water! 

Between aching body parts (John) and not much strength (Connie) we were able to unload many lumber purchases, the very heavy exterior door, took down a heavy sliding barn door in the living room, and removed a bathroom cabinet with mirror.  John was able to get into the attic, trace wires buried under insulation, and we had success in moving a kitchen light switch but tried moving a dining room switch with no success.  We found the attic gets very hot in the afternoon as well as being dusty and grimy. 

Connie was able to patch several bare spots in the old popcorn ceilings, tore out multiple track doors, removed door trim/frames to use elsewhere (including removing nails), removed more wallpaper borders, replaced a broken ceiling fan with a new light, added vinyl to the water heater platform, scraped off the popcorn ceiling in one room, and kept things cleaned up after the guys.  She also did a lot of research for cold air returns trying to calculate air flow, and found our exterior door for the ‘multi-purpose’ area of the house.

We were blessed to provide the music for Journey Church one Sunday and John sat in with the worship band once at Cross Point in Iuka.  The end of the month we have been planning for more worship, the senior group, and music for a pastor’s appreciation banquet in October.  Sometimes it seems like ‘one more thing to do’ with all the busy work we have, but it always turns into a blessing as we listen to God and choose songs. 

September turned into a month of travel.  Our first adventure was an overnight trip to Nashville with our youngest son and family.  We took the Nachez Trace scenic route to the Gibson Guitar Shop, hiked downhill about three blocks to the trolley stop and toured the city sights.  After pizza and a Reuben sandwich, John drove the crazy interstate across town to our hotel where we were able to babysit our three-year-old granddaughter for the evening while Mom and Dad went to the Opry.  It was fun taking this very independent gal for a walk through the gardens while ‘grandpa’ rested his knee, then he took over with story books until she fell asleep.  We had a wonderful breakfast buffet in the gardens, packed up for checkout, and toured more instrument shops before heading home.  There was a good thunder-storm around sunset with several rainbows and glorious skies.

Our second trip was a very relaxed overnight stay in Paducah, KY.  Connie has always wanted an oval beveled glass front door but we found that to be above our budget.  She was able to find a rectangular shape within our budget that we both liked better, however, it was only at Menards and the closest store was Paducah, four hours away.  The trip was about half the cost of shipping the door, we had lunch at Mel’s Diner, stopped at three music stores in the historic district (John played a $3900 Breedlove 12-string guitar that stayed at the store), saw an Ohio River boat, had complimentary milk and hot cookies before bed at the hotel with a wonderful breakfast in the morning, and Connie enjoyed her BOGO ice cream birthday treat at Cold Stone Creamery before we headed home.  After two hotel stops this month, we decided we needed something besides huge black garbage bags for our pillows (we always take our own) and we found the perfect ‘luggage’ at Goodwill for $11.

Aside from our many shopping trips and travels this month we went once with friends for Friday date night, followed, of course, by four shopping stops.  John was able to wash the truck a couple of times and played mandolin and guitar outside as well.  Connie enjoyed a couple of work breaks in the swing (still in the shade at lunch time), we had several evening fires with house decisions made as we sat in the swing, and we took one walk together through the woods complete with spider webs across the paths.

One of the first things Connie checked on was her pussy willow tree – it survived the summer heat and the fuzzy fall buds are starting to grow.  She purchased a “Crimson Doll” lilac bush and is waiting to find a magnolia tree to plant to complete her wish list for landscaping trees.  The humming birds are back to the feeder, there are some occasional sightings of squirrels, blue birds passed through for a few days, lots of butterflies, and a bright green katydid bug held onto the truck on one of our many shopping trips, making it back home safely.  There are apples on our tree, a bit tart for our taste, but cooked with some brown sugar they are wonderful.  There was a squirrel perched in the tree behind our RV that really liked an apple; we don’t know how he got it to the tree branch.

Newsletters by nature highlight the positives in life, but we have many oops moments as well; like the day John finished dusting and vacuuming then spilled his milk and cereal on the floor.  He enjoys his time on the mower, although the blades need to be sharpened more to get through the weeds, and he helped organize in a church friends barn and hung two doors with him.  We acquired an aluminum awning that will eventually be used over a pallet deck area, hopefully with a small hot tub someday.  Connie made coleslaw for a church garage sale BBQ plate and, at John’s request, got out her harp for some practice and is figuring out a new song.  She was able to get all the plates moved into our multi-purpose area, sorted out the unboxed plates, and moved four complete collections back to the RV to get listed someday for sale.  Our check list is getting shorter, but there is still much to be done before the house can be rented.

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!  Share the news of his saving work every single day!  Declare God’s glory among the nations; declare his wondrous works among all people. . . Then the trees of the forest will shout out joyfully before the Lord, because he is coming to establish justice on earth!  Give thanks to the Lord because he is good, because his faithful love endures forever.  1 Chronicles 16:23-24, 33-34 Common English Bible 

Thanks for traveling with us and supporting us with your thoughts and prayers!

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