Happy Birthday Ronnie!

Ronald Thomas Gilmer - born January 13, 1955 in Wurzburg, Germany.
The photo on the right was his passport photo which was added to my passport.

Jim was in the Army and stationed in Wurzburg.  Ronnie was born in a US Army Field Hospital, but has a German  birth certificate.  He never had any problem with his birth certificate until he was nominated to attend the Air Force Academy his senior year in high school in Paris, TX.  The Academy asked for his naturalization number and we had no idea what that was all about.  We had to go to Dallas for Ronnie to become naturalized!  He went thru the ceremony with all the people from other countries who were becoming citizens that day.  And he got a naturalization number.  He had dual citizenship until he was 21.  I glad he chose to stay in the USA!

The next photo was one he had taken at Curtis School in Ala. when he was age 5 and visiting my parents (we were living in Atlanta then) and he went to school with my youngest sister Carolyn one day when they were having school photos made.
The next photo was made when Ron was in Jr. High School. (I think)

He was elected "Mr. Crockett Jr High" and rode in the homecoming parade with the school homecoming queen.

He played football when at Crockett Jr High.  I think it was about this time that he got a motorcycle (or was it Bill?)   Ron was very active in Boy Scouts and spent several summers working at the boy scout camp in Oklahoma at Camp Dierks.

When he turned 16, we got him a used red VW.  I was so glad that he could help me taxi his 2 younger brothers and take them places.

When in high school, he played football, and was also in the band.  He would change from his football uniform to his band uniform and march at half time with the band.  Sometimes he marched with his football uniform on.  He played a saxophone.

Ron loved to go deer hunting before class and sometimes went to school with his hunting clothes on.  His senior year he let his hair get long.  He was an honor student at graduation.  There was a terrible storm and graduation had to be held indoors, and it was hot and very crowded in the auditorium.  When it was time for Ron to receive his diploma, there was a loud flash of lightning and thunder when they called his name.

Ron started to Tyler Jr College after graduation, and joined the band (so he could travel with the Rangerettes).  After one year at Tyler, and having dropped most of classes before exams, he decided to come home and go to Paris Jr College.   After a stint there, he decided to go to Texas A&M at Galveston to study Marine Biology.   He changed majors several times, and dropped out of school and worked as a boat captain, taking workers to and from oil rigs.  

About this time, he met his future wife, Cindy Simpson, who was from La Marque, TX.  She was attending Stephen F. Austin University in Nacodoches, TX.   They decided to get married and Ron started back to college.  He and Cindy both graduated from Stepen F. Austin.  I think Ron has had a beard ever since he started to college, and often long curly hair. 

The picture below was made thanksgiving 2011when our boys came to visit us. 

Bill, Nell and Ron Gilmer    Nov 2011 

Our church website

Our little church is high tech now with a website where you can go and click on the sermon each Sunday afternoon, after Jim gets it transferred to the website.  He records the entire service, and brings the  memory card home and puts on his computer.  

Sometimes we make a copy of the sermon on a CD and take to a shut-in who doesn't have a computer so they can listen to the sermon.

He is learning all about transferring info to the computer and spends an average of 1-2 hrs each Sunday afternoon, listening to the recording and getting it ready to download to the website.

There are two brothers in our church who own a studio and make commericals, record weddings, events, etc. and they have been so helpful in getting the sound system just right and helping to record the services each week.  

To hear (no video yet) the sermons that have been posted, go to www.elbaumc.org and scroll down the page until you see on the left side "click on today's sermon".  Yes, you will hear Christmas carols being sung today!  This is the first Sunday after Epiphany and the sermon was about the Three Wise Men.  

Winter is coming!

It's hard to believe the temperatures are so mild for this time of the year.
This weekend we were wearing short sleeves and enjoying the beautiful sunny weather.

Tonight we are watching the temperature as it is dropping way down.  We have wood stacked in the fireplace with kindling underneath so all we have to do tomorrow is light the fire. The flowers are stacked in the greenhouse and the warm weather has caused the tropical flowers to produce an abundance of blooms.  These photos of bouginvillas and geramiums was taken yesterday.

 The cabbages are "heading up" and they are outside in the cold. They will soon be ready to eat - if the extreme cold doesn't cause them to freeze.

I will update this page tomorrow with the actual temperature in the morning.   Update:  Temperature was 19 degrees the next day.

I will not be leaving home tomorrow unless I have to go to the market for some bread.  I will be sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a big stack of magazines and working on some DAR reports that are due Saturday when we have our annual brunch and business meeting in Enterprise.  I hope it warms up some before then.

My New "Sewing Cottage"

Since moving to town about 8 years ago,  I have had my sewing machine in the laundry room, on a table between the washing machine and dryer!  Not much room to sew.  Also my serger sits beside the sewing machine.  Most of my sewing materials are in the storage building in the back yard.

Today I gained a building to put all my sewing supplies in, including a table for my sewing machine and serger.

It will be so nice to have everything in one place - and I can leave everything out until I finish sewing a project.  I've never had a separate room for sewing.

This came about when we cleaned out James "club house".  We gave several boxes of baseball cards to Bo Sauls, my cousin Betty's husband.  He also took all of James' trains and accessories, as well as some old record albums that James' had collected over the years.  Also included were several collector baseballs, a few toys, and other miscellaneous items.   It was sad parting with James' things and we were sad to see them go.  We were so glad that Bo wanted them.  He said he might have to build a train room now.

Nobody in our immediate family wanted them and we need the space.

The small building is insulated and has nice birch paneling, 4 windows, air conditioning, heat, and carpet on the floor.  It also has cable TV and stereo radio.   I can watch TV or listen to music when I am sewing.
The building is located just outside the back door, at the end of the porch.

I don't sew very often; mostly make repairs or hem tablecloths on the serger.  In the past I made our granddaughters costumes or night gowns when they were growing up.  My latest sewing project was to make our granddaughter Nerissa's wedding veil.  I think she is very pleased with it - a long, cathedral style veil for her wedding on April 28, 2012 at Clemson, SC.

I will post a photo when I get my sewing room in order, hopefully in a week or two.

Christmas 2011 in Florence, SC

 We spent Christmas 2011 with Bill and family in Florence, SC.  Jim and I went to our former church, First Presbyterian, for the 7 P.M. Candlelight and Communion service.  Bill and the girls went to midnight mass at St. Anthony's.  We stayed at a motel and slept in on Christmas morning, arriving at Bill's around 9 A.M. We ate breakfast around 10 A.M. and then moved into the den to open presents.

Caroline announced that she wanted to be Santa this year and hand out the presents. She handed out one to each person in the room and then we took turns opening them, one at the time.  These pictures show some of the presents.

Dec 22 - Nerissa graduates from Clemson

We traveled to Clemson University in SC  on Dec. 21 to attend Nerissa's convocation at 8 A.M.on Dec 22, 2011, for the nursing graduates.  It was held at Tillman auditorium in one of the older buildings.  It was very foggy when we arrived. The 38 nursing graduates walked across the stage and were "pinned".  It was such a nice program.  Mark presented Nerissa with a dozen red roses when the program was over.

Getting Pinned

Roses from Mark

Vahle's: Kristen, Mark, Barb and Chet

Convocation 

Caroline checking out the Nursing pin

We left the convocation and went to the Littlejohn Coliseum  where graduation was held at 2 P.M.  It was starting to rain and it was raining real hard when we came back outside.  We went to Pixie and Bill's restaurant for a late lunch.  

Nerissa graduated Summa Cum Laude

Graduation for 1,200 graduates

Proud Dad

Clemson tradition:  Reversing class ring after graduation

My greenhouse is full!