2008 -- The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Happy New Year to all who might be reading this post!



Well, this year has been a real hum-dinger, hasn't it? In spite of everything on the negative side of things, we have a lot to be thankful for....but more on that later. First of all, let's address "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" shall we?



In reverse order we have "The Ugly". Well, for us that has to be our last 3 weeks of horrible weather. It started with some light rain and very cold temperatures. OK, we're seasoned Washingtonians and we can take it. Then the snow began falling a couple of weeks ago and it keep on falling and falling and falling. Just like the Energizer Bunny, it never seemed to quit. You can read about our weather problems in the previous postings. I'll attempt to attach a photo to this posting. (Keep your fingers crossed) The weather is getting warmer now and the rain has begun falling and it is slowly melting the snow. The motorhome is still snowed in at our site though.



There are a few things that can be named "The Bad" that fell on us or our family during 2008. The worst was having our son, Dennis, lose his job the week before Thanksgiving. He had a middle management job with his company and the national recession cut that job out from under him. His company began suffering and they laid off several employees in the management positions. He's been sending out applications, at least 3 a week, so I'm very optimistic he will find something eventually. However, due to his job situation he will not be able to participate in our family vacation this June at Disney World. Certainly the economy was another "Bad" thing for us along with everyone else. It will take a while before our investments gain the ground they lost, so in the meanwhile we watch our budget more closely.



In spite of "The Bad & The Ugly"...."The Good" was really good and we can be thankful for every blessing! In spite of the rotten housing market, we were able to get our home sold in only 3 months, and for a fair price to boot. Wow! Ours was 1 of only 2 that sold in our 55+ park in 2008. There are still over 10 homes for sale in that park today. In spite of the rotten economy, we were able to take an RV trip to Pismo Beach for 2 months! We enjoyed that trip and the total relaxation it provided. In spite of the fact that they often wear us out, we are blessed with 2 wonderful granddaughters that love to spend time with us at every opportunity. They love to have sleep overs with Grandma and Papa and look forward to little RV trips with us, too.



Most important of all, Bruce and I are in pretty good shape:

* We enjoy good health

* We can put food on our table each day

* We have a roof over our head

* We have the love of a family

* We can afford private health insurance (although costly)

* We have a church we feel welcomed in and we have FAITH



It really never gets any better than that! Everything else is gravy. We are looking forward to the upcoming New Year and the exciting travels we have planned. My postings on our Fulltime Journey haven't dealt with much "journeying" the past couple of months. We are still considered fulltime RVer's even if we park it for a while. I'll keep you up to speed on how things continue with this RV life as we begin the 2009 countdown to March 14th....our target date for leaving on the next big Full Time Adventure.