Finally, brothers and sisters, be joyful! Work to make things right with one another. Help one another and agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God who gives love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 New International Readers Version
Praises – Renters moving in June 5; trailer a/c unit repaired, duct work redone; refrigerator found and in place; beautiful RV place to “live” when off-road
Prayers – Travel and music June-August; wisdom, patience, prioritizing rental house repairs; relax and enjoy more, worry less; RV a/c to keep working
Hello to our friends, family, and followers:
April 1, we took the cats (Mama and 5 kittens) to the shelter, they are all still there and, unknown to us, Mama was pregnant again when we took her in. Once settled in we put up the hummingbird feeder – it was found less than 24 hours later with these little guys being not as aggressive with each other and scared of the noises and us in the trailer at first. Then there was Connie’s first lizard siting – April 13 – two little guys sunning themselves on the trailer back entry stairs.
God is watching over us with travel protection and our health. With 211 hours in April and another 180 in May, John’s back is holding up well except for one slip on the outside steps requiring some ice breaks and modified work for a few days. Connie woke with a stomach ache, light headache, and very dizzy one morning – that lasted about 3 days. She stayed home getting caught up on bills and taxes (still had the last-minute crunch) while John was at the property getting the RV electric trenched and hooked up.
Our RV driveway and site were ready so we drove around the driveway on April 22 and found a big ditch across the drive where some electric cable was buried, enough to almost get stuck with the truck. We sent some pictures and the contractor was there first thing Monday morning to pack it down, allowing us to “move in” early afternoon (April 24). Our driveway needs a bit more work: we almost put the trailer wheels into some soft gravel over a culvert, backed up a bit, then inched the truck tires along the outer edge to get to our spot (need to widen the curve!). Now we can take more breaks and even take an afternoon siesta when needed.
Salty Strings has remained active for the twice monthly meetings of SALT (Senior Adults Living Triumphantly) as well as some special music at the two churches we attend. We occasionally attend worship practice at Cross Point Church in Iuka and helped cook after church one Sunday for a motorcycle suicide awareness ride (Savannah TN to Iuka MS). They had a work day where John enjoyed the fellowship and working with Christian men to remove/replace a section of the front wall. April brought a foot washing evening service at Journey Church during Lent, Good Friday (Jesus’ death), and Easter Sunday celebration of His resurrection. We love these two little churches for their wonderful messages, teachings, and people!
We are finding the location for our RV is even better than we imagined; we are sheltered from the wind for our awnings and most window views are of trees. We fixed the chain for our inherited swing and enjoyed an evening fire. Our phone booster was moved, then raised higher, and we have a fairly good signal most of the time for phone service and hotspot. Connie finished a 3-generation granny square small blanket early in April and started another crocheted scrap yarn blanket later in May. We have neglected, or been too tired, to take walks but did find it is a quarter mile if we do the double loop – that means 4 trips around for a mile, which sounds way too tiring! We did have a curious pickup truck driver stop by our RV looking for the RV park he heard about, we didn’t volunteer any information.
There were more storm and tornado watches early in April and lots of rainy days slowing driveway work and causing some washout areas. The rest of April and May brought sunshine, blue sky, and breezy enjoyable days with an occasional thunder storm. Summer is coming though, the last several days being 90’s and humidity rising.
May 18-20, we travelled north to a hotel in Macomb, IL for John’s brother’s memorial/celebration of life service. Two of our children were there, staying in the same hotel and we enjoyed hotel breakfast with them. The service was wonderful, we did some walking around the ‘square’ and took a nap in the afternoon before joining more family in the evening. We ate at a wonderful café, 7 total, with haystack onion rings and huge pork tenderloin sandwiches (would fit on 6 large buns easily). A hotel bagel with leftover tenderloin and John’s leftover BLT became our lunch as we drove back to Mississippi. It was a quick trip but we saw lots of family while we were there.
Work continued on the trailer to be ready for “open house” mid-May. Painting, entry floor, trim, doors, carpets shampooed, and more surprises! With warmer weather the repaired air conditioning was not keeping up; after removing several handfuls of insulation from the ducts we hired a contractor to replace all the duct work (we planned on doing this in the fall). Also, the front door started scraping again; John’s new repairs along with changing the entry to vinyl has fixed the problem permanently (we believe). All around the outside John picked up limbs, washed the outside walls with bleach, and cleaned the windows – no more green moss. We met the prospective tenant the last day of May and now have a 1-year lease!
April marked our 39th wedding anniversary and we got a new (scratch and dent sale) washer/dryer combo, hooked it up, and have clean laundry as we need it. We have continued joining others for the Friday date nights as our energy and finances permit, even did one alone at the end of a very tired Friday. Mother’s Day in May we enjoyed a light breakfast at church and Connie received some homemade cards from the kids along with a rose. John made a dolly and some ramps to get the hitch back in the truck so we could move the RV. Connie has figured out Marketplace where we have listed and sold a few things, finally getting our inherited 14’ trampoline out of the yard. We also found a larger refrigerator for the rental trailer, helped fix a moving trailer to haul it from Tupelo, and eventually switched it out, moving the smaller one into the house. A treat at Baskin Robbins was payment for all involved.
We started working on the rental house with shampooing the carpets before returning the cleaner. John proceeded to work on modifying the kitchen cabinets for the refrigerator, planning for new PEX plumbing, and lots of cleanup inside and out. Connie has the electric panel labeled, door locks changed, and two rooms almost ready to paint. A contractor has started work on the foundation and floor joists to get the floors more level and replace the rotten plywood. Lots of sorting junk and Goodwill (with a few trips already) to clear the clutter; and a borrowed trailer has been filled and junk hauled to the dump – the yard looks better already!
Many improvements have been made to the property as well. The flowering apple and plum trees were trimmed just a little so the branches don’t scrape vehicles, a pussy willow tree/bush from our Wisconsin daughter was planted, 6 tulips (a door prize from a SALT meeting) found homes, and our curbside trash container was finally re-bagged and a pallet put inside so us short people can reach the bags on the bottom. We spent a day digging up 30+ pine tree seedlings, grasses, and wild flowers and relocated them throughout the front, most ending up on our berm that covers half of our storm shelter. That brings us to the soil around here – hard, clay, sand, red dirt – mostly chopping rather than digging and a real mess (wet and dry) on the work clothes. We have many beautiful surprises growing in the yard; flowers, roses, hostas, and many others hidden during winter. May we be patient in all things, God knows when and where we will “bloom” next!
Do not be surprised when you encounter seemingly overwhelming situations . . . God puts you right in the middle of real messes! But He puts you there with a purpose . . . stand in faith asking God to intervene in the struggles you see . . . you are called and equipped to bring healing on Earth in the name of Jesus Christ. paraphrased from The Presidential Prayer Team Devotions, “The Purpose” April 11, 2023 (https://www.presidentialprayerteam.org)
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
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
- June 26-July 27 – Little Galilee, Clinton, IL
- June 28 – Music for Jolly Seniors, Lincoln, IL
- July 27-August 24 – SOWER Project, East Troy, WI
- July 31 – Portage, WI Music for Enduring Skills Historic Festival
- August 24-31 – Carlinville, IL RV park – visit friends
- September 1-November 24 – Our property, Jacinto, MS – house repairs/rental
- November 24-February 2024 possibly – SOWER Project, Bonifay, FL
Salty Strings Music Ministry 