We got up at 5:30 a.m. ready to take off but the weather forecasts changed our mind. We have heavy snowfall here until noon, and it’s even worse in Ohio where there are severe weather forecasts. Eleven inches in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area.

It’s such a frustrating situation. This afternoon the weather will clear here, and it won’t be bad late in the day in Ohio, but in order to get to Knoxville to overnight, we’d be hitting the worst of the weather. Therefore, we have postponed until tomorrow. There’s no reason to endure a ‘white knuckle” trip.

We were supposed to get up early today and head to Florida, but we have delayed our departure until tomorrow (or Thursday).

The reasons?…

There’s no rush. It’s supposed to be lovely today in FL but cool this weekend. We want to be there by Friday at the latest. (We have purchased tickets to a dinner dance for Saturday.) But we have a little leaway.

So, we’ll plan to leave tomorrow. We’ll get up at 5:00 and be on the road by 6:30 or thereabouts.

Since we were ready to go today, everything we need (food, etc.) is in the truck. Oh, well…

Tomorrow we head south. We’ll be in Florida Wednesday (“Good Lord willin'” my grandma used to say).

This past weekend was a lot of fun! We left Florida January 14th so we could host the Snowfest Concert in Frankenmuth, MI, January 24, at lovely Fischer Hall. It was a total success. The Frankenmuth Museum benefitted and we had a grand time with friends that we don’t see often enough.

The concert Saturday started at 11:00 a.m. and went to 6:00 p.m. Three showcase acts performed when the whole group of musicians would leave the stage and they were were phenominal! They were Sonas, Moriath, and Picks and Sticks. These groups are the best! Their CDs were available for sale and you can buy them from their websites. (To get to their websites, click on their group’s name.)

We had standing room only crowds and folks loved the whole event!

Then yesterday Glen and Judi Morningstar brought the Ruffwater String Band to Frankenmuth. Fischer Hall was a perfect setting for a lively contra dance.

But now we will be heading back to warm weather. Today, when we got up, it was about zero. It’s only supposed to get up to about 14 degrees. It’s 84 in Sun City Center. Tomorrow we’ll leave about 7:30 a.m. and plan to get as far as Knoxville, TN. Hopefully we won’t have any cold weather related problems as we head South. It’ll be in the high 70’s when we get there Wednesday, but cool down toward the weekend.

Wish we could be there today. 85!!! I can envision everyone at the pool now!

I took a series of videos January 13, 2009, at the South Club of Kings Point in Sun City Center. The event was a “lip sync contest.” There were lots of great acts. I don’t know who won, but I’ll find out. The following nine acts competed. All deserve our applause.

Sun City Center is an over 55 community. The energy of these acts shows that these folks may be “seasoned citizens” but they’re from over the hill.

The Blues Brothers were the first act. They did a super job and set a high standard.

Sue did “Middle Age Woman.” This was a repeat of an earlier performance. It was just as fun this time. We loved it! “I’m a Middle-Aged Woman” was written by Lisa Koch ©2005 Mamajune Music (BMI)
http://www.heylisa.com

Donna had fun with “the Name Game.” Can’t imagine remembering the lyrics.

“I Had the Time of My Life” from “Dirty Dancing” had all the right “moves.”

“Don’t Worry…. Be Happy” had us all smiling.

“Slow Hand” by the Pointer Sisters and Conway Twitty was fun to watch.

Linda, who is a “great grandmother,” did a super job as “Dolly.”

Bill and Donna Markland did “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” (recorded in 1960 by Brian Hyland). Bill in his polka dots was unbelievable!!

Bad Girls were really “bad”! This trio had so much energy that they were definitely loved and appreciated.

I plan to take a lot in today while slipping in some house cleaning.

After the swearing-in we’ll need to go into town (I have a dental appointment at 2:15).

It’s historic and definitely interesting. It really does signify a hopeful change in U.S. politics.

It’s good to be home.

Friday we finally got our truck running at about 7:30 in Sharonville, OH. We had to pack but as quickly as possible, we hit the road. We had a five and a half hour drive ahead of us. It was incredibly cold on the way home. The temp was -9 in Ohio.

Stopping for Gas in Beaverdam, OH, was numbing. Poor Willow needed to “go” but it was just to cold to stand still outside. I finally smuggled her into the restroom of the Flying J Gas Station and put papers down for her. She was also not feeling well so it was necessary.

She’d been ill for a couple of days (a bad digestive problem).

When we got home (I don’t even know what time it was, but late late), the furnace wasn’t working. John messed with it and got it going. But when we got up Saturday morning at 7:00 (after a few hours sleep), we had to assess the situation. A winter snow warning blanketed our area (and there was a blizzard out there), Willow was sick, the furnace wasn’t working right, we were pooped, and I had already sent in my reports, so my absence wouldn’t be critical. We decided to stay home. And boy, I’m glad we did. We got between 8″ and a foot of snow. It was a white-out most of the day.

Today we drove to St. John’s (an hour trip). The roads were fairly clear, but even today, we stuck to the main highway.

This week is going to be hectic. We have Monday-Friday to get our house spick and span for a crowd. Saturday, January 24th, we’ll host an all-day Snowfest Concert in Frankenmuth, MI. Six folks will come back and stay overnight here.

Sunday we’ll feed them a nice breakfast and we’ll all head back to Frankenmuth where Glen and Judi Morningstar will present a contra dance. John and I will do the “sound” and keep things working smoothly.

Our initial plan was to leave on Monday at 8:00 a.m. but thinking about how we’ll feel after two full days in Frankenmuth and then having to pack, we decided to revise our schedule. Now the plan is to take off Tuesday a.m. but do the nearly 1,300 mile trip in two days instead of three. We’ll go as far as Knoxville, TN, which is 605 miles, the first day, and the second (last) lap will be 685 miles. We will be economizing by doing sandwiches for lunches during the trip and maybe eating dinner in our room (which is supposed to have a microwave).

We should arrive at our condo by about 7:00 Wednesday night the 28th.

We are headed home. Or at least we’re trying.

We left Sun City Center Wednesday, January 14th. We over-nighted in Kennesaw, Georgia, Wednesday night. Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon we arrived in Sharonville, OH, where we stayed last night in a Red Roof Inn just north of Cincinnati. We’re still about 325 miles south of Saginaw. We could have made it last night, but it seemed more sensible to finish the trip today (Friday) so we’d be fresh.

It was bitter cold last night. At about 8:00 a.m. when John tried to start our diesel truck it was -6. The truck wouldn’t start. It’s now 12:30 p.m. We’re still trying to get it started. We’ve had the engine block heater plugged in all morning and a hair drier running in the engine compartment. The temperature is supposed to stay in the single digits today.

We are stuck here.

If we have to stay until tomorrow, the temperature is supposed to be a toasty 30 but we really wanted to get home today. I’m supposed to be at a board meeting of the Original Dulcimer Players Club at 10:00 tomorrow.