It felt good to have it a little lighter when we got up this morning, of course, the trade off was that it got darker earlier in the evening. The amount of daylight is decreasing each day and by the end of December, our days will be pretty short. We had our normal Sunday morning and, after church, ate lunch and watched the NFL games.  I  spent some time getting several of the electronics ready to pack--gathering chargers and different cables.  Tomorrow we're up early to head out for the final doctors' appointments.

We had a couple of inches of snow overnight, but by late afternoon it was just about gone since the temps reached the upper 30's.  

It was a pretty quiet day for us--not much to do since we are winterized outside and most of the major packing is done. There are still several little things to gather like chargers and camera cords, but they will have to wait just a little longer to get packed. Since John wasn't busy today, he took care of making both breakfast and lunch in between working on the computer and watching football.  I did some light cleaning today--I like to leave the house in some semblance of order when we leave.  That was our day--not much happening until we get to Texas.

   
I ran outside real quick this morning and snapped this photo from the front deck looking between the bushes. 

It was cold and overcast all day with temps only reaching the mid 30's--a good day to just hang out around the house.  Suppose to get a little snow overnight.  This weather sure makes us anxious to leave next week.

John took care of a couple household chores today.  He cleaned the inside of the Honda and all the ceiling fans in the house.  After such a dry summer, the fans were pretty dusty.  I did a couple of small loads of laundry and paid a few bills so I won't have to think about the finances until after we get settled down south.   I also spent some time on the computer booking hotel rooms for the trip--we hope to make St. Joseph, MO the first night, and Wichita Falls the second. We found a few more items to pack, but right now we are in good shape to leave.  There are always a few little last minute things to take care of like turning off the internet, phone, and TV.  

This evening we just relaxed watching some TV and reading.  Right now we are just marking time until next Wednesday when we hit the road. 

John had to be in Bemidji by 9:45 a.m. for his annual eye exam.  He was pretty certain his eyes would be dilated so he asked me to go along to drive after he was finished.  The doctor found some scratches on the lenses of his glasses and told John they were still under warranty.  They are going to order news ones for him, but they won't be in until after we head south.  If we waited until April to order them, the warranty would be void by that time.  So they will order the new lenses and we will have them installed in his frames when we get back.  John had a good report, but has to have another eye test on Monday.  He couldn't have it today for insurance purposes.  I don't even begin to understand what that is all about, but he will return Monday get the eye test.

JD needed a new battery for his pickup truck, so after leaving the eye doctor we headed to LM Fleet where we found the battery he needed.  By then it was time for lunch, so we stopped at BK for a quick bite before leaving town.

We returned home via Matt's place so John could pick up his 22 rifle that Matt had borrowed.  We ended up visiting for a while with the guys talking about the opening of deer hunting season this Saturday morning.  John decided he wasn't hunting this year, but Matt and Sam are all set to go.

This afternoon I did a little light cleaning while John got JD's truck running again.  We are pretty well packed for the trip south--just have those few items you can't put in until the last minute.  With the temps in the 30's and snow in the forecast, we are ready to head to Texas.

It was a pretty quiet day around here. After being gone all day yesterday, I spent my time today getting the bulk of the packing done and making lists to make sure we have everything and forget nothing.  I also took some time to catch up with emails and finances.

John found an outside job he'd overlooked and spent some time today cleaning the outside grill and then removed more ashes from the outside furnace.  He wants the ashes to be as low as possible before we leave, so every day or so, he clears more out.  JD had to take his car into the shop to get a new mufler installed, so John followed him into town to give him a ride back to the shop. 

Our evening was spent watching Survivor and a couple of other favorite TV shows.  Tomorrow we head back to Bemidji for John's annual eye examine.

 

Over the past couple of weeks I have been bothered with allergies and developed a cough I just couldn't shake.  I finally decided to give the doctor a call and got an appointment for this morning.  A mammogram was also scheduled for this afternoon, so that meant an entire day in Bemidji for me. Since I had over three hours between appointments, I used that time for completing some errands and doing some shopping.

First stop was the doctor's office where I explained my symptoms and he ordered a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia.  The x-rays were clear so he gave me a prescription for an inhaler to use four times a day, and cough medicine.   From there I dropped some used clothing at the Goodwill shop and then stopped at BK to grab some lunch.  I still had almost two hours before I needed to be back for the mammogram, so I made a stop at Target to pick up a new blanket for our bed in Texas and then spent the rest of time at the mall.

I arrived early for my appointment, and went right in for the test.  I got a clean report and don't have to go back for another year.  My next stop in Bemidji was Wal Mart to pick up some milk and yogurt and then I hit the road to Bagley where I stopped at our local pharmacy to pick up the prescriptions faxed over by the doctor. 

This morning John went up to Matt's job site and hauled the old windows he replaced to the landfill and, after lunch, worked in the shop with JD helping him stain some assembled product.  The rest of his day was spent puttering around the house and checking the weather on the internet to see if we can leave next Wednesday morning.   

 

 

This morning was cloudy and cold, but this afternoon the clouds moved out.  It sure felt good to see the sun after several gloomy days and have it a little warmer.

John discovered a couple of outside jobs that he had overlooked, so  this morning he covered the air conditioner and the tiller.  We keep thinking we have everything winterized and put away, but then we find something we missed.  I did some laundry again and sorted through more winter clothes.  We should have the majority of the packing done this week.

John and I spent a quiet evening watching TV and following the hurricane. We have good friends who live in Beach Haven on Long Beach Island off the south Jersey coast.  We were watching the news this afternoon and saw photos of their island town.  The ocean had breached the sand dune barriers and was pouring into the streets.  We're sure they were under mandatory evacuation and are safe and sound with their kids inland.