Moving Day

Well... Escrow has finally closed and the move has begun. To tell the truth, the furniture that we bought for the house has been there for two weeks already. Over the last two days Larry has moved some of the bigger stuff.

Escrow closed Wednesday but the RV has still been home... up until this week-end. Starting tomorrow morning the kitchen gets moved, then the bedroom, then the rest. We've decided to leave the RV in the RV park for the rest of the pre-paid term (a couple more weeks) and move the old fashioned way - in our vehicles back and forth (rather than pull the RV to the house). It's much easier to keep the rig protected against the cold nights with it being plugged in and all.

It supposed to rain late in the day tomorrow so we'll get as much done as we can before the rains begin.

Give us a few weeks to get settled and then ya'll come see us now, ya hear?

New Job

Hi Everyone,

It's official. As of Wednesday, Dec 13th, I (Shirley) will be employed with one of the largest employers in Chattanooga: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. This is the building that I'll be working in (it doesn't really lean). Right now the 4500 employees are housed in six different buildings. I understand they're building a new building somewhere nearby. I'm unclear whether it will house everyone or not. I'll learn more about that later.

My position is called "Kronos System Administrator" which means I'm in charge of the time and attendance system (called Kronos) for about 4500 employees.

I'm thrilled to get this job because the pay is very good and the benefits are excellent. I've never seen better. The payroll department has about six people in it and they use an in-house payroll system. They cross train so I'll learn a lot!

License Plate mania - updated 12/13

Sometime after our first RV travels and we landed in Las Vegas, Larry and I saw a map like this at a local casino. This last week-end I found out that the casino completely remodeled. I called them to see if I could buy the map but they had already liquidated all their old art and furnishings. Laura suggested we check out the internet. That's when we found this photo and learned that to buy an original art piece would cost in excess of $3000!! That's when Laura suggested I make my own. Um... I think I could do that! I could at least try. With the right tools, why not? Mine will include Alaska and Hawaii.

So, I'm on a quest to locate license plates from 50 states. It'll take two for CA and three for Texas. I think one will do it for all the rest (New York is iffy). Do you have any resources for salvaging license plates? Do you have any plates lying around that you would like to donate? If so, please let me know by adding a comment to this blog entry.

Laura has one from NV and I have one from South Dakota. Two down, 51 to go.

Dec 13th

Larry has talked some sense into me and has offered some alternatives to actual license plates. One suggestion is to make color copies of plates on paper (perhaps from DMV web-sites for each state). One advantage is that I can shrink the little states and enlarge the large states. Another advantage is the ease of cutting out the shapes. It makes sense.

One other idea is to use a pack of USPS post cards, one of each state, that Suzie gave me. I do want to use those for something unique but I'm not yet sure this is it. I have a couple other ideas for those too.

In any case, I'm putting a hold on the quest for actual license plates from all over the US. If you're one of those who offered plates I appreciate you very much!! You're the best!

Trip to LV & CA

This last week Larry had jobs in both Las Vegas and CA. Since I can fly for free when I go with him, I did just that. We got to spend some time with Ben & Laura.

Ben has set up a wifi system in their house so here are the two guys simultaneously surfing.

Laura saved the Christmas decorating until we got there. Jingle Bear was among the things unboxed. Jingle Bear is only 3 years younger than Laura. :-)

We got to visit with some friends in Las Vegas and Santa Rosa and also spend a little time with my parents. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos the rest of the trip. Silly me. So, this photo of my parents is from 3 years ago. (Better that than none?) Though we were away from home a whole week, there didn't seem to be enough time at any one place. We were on the go a lot!