December 5, 2011 4:59 p.m.

Could it really be that I have a moment to catch my breath?  I believe the answer is “yes”.  Just when I think I cannot possibly get any busier, …… uh, I get busier.

But it is good busy, it really is.  But sometimes good busy gets mixed together with unexpected, unanticipated busy, and then things get hairy.

Good busy includes our Christmas Pageant, which took place yesterday.  Sweet Girl was a singing angel, and pretty much didn’t have to act at all to fit the part.  Can you spot her?

And yes, something strange about the camera has Sweet Girl looking like a space alien in an angel costume, but I assure you that is not as she actually appeared.

Chips, meanwhile, has been playing roving musician, not only playing violin at the Christmas Pageant, but also at two worship services at church.  He has also been invited to perform at an upcoming meeting of the Orlando Music Club.  But right now, he likes performing Christmas music best of all.  And he is trying his hand at fiddle music.

Sweet Girl, having recently completed Calvert’s Third Grade course, had to make stick puppets of all of the characters from that wonderful, sweet book, Smiling Hill Farm.  Today she assembled them all into a collage for displaying in our homeschool room.  I loves its colorful and cheerful appearance.

And in unanticipated busyness, we discovered that there are various things we need to do (quickly) to cope with the effects of having a 47,000 lb. motorhome in our yard.  Among them, a 50 amp 240/120 volt 4-wire electrical service circuit and some … shall we say …  site prep work.  Fortunately we really knew what we were doing as far as the electrical service went, but the site prep work called for some serious manual labor and quick learning.  We are still far from done.  More on that at another time  (assuming I care to think back on it afterwards, which is not guaranteed). 

Anyway, here are a couple of forms of pretend camping that have gone on recently.  Chips and Sweet Girl, here, pretend they are camping out by bringing along their “teardrop” trailer.  Too funny!  Our doggy, Beau, loves to get in on the action as much as he can at his advanced age.

And as we teach ourselves all the ins and outs of operating a motorhome, we did a little bit of pretend camping in the process.   This was a rare moment for R & R.  The operative word being rare.

As for real camping, we are going to try that real soon.  Fort Wilderness, we are coming to pay you a visit in the real near future.  (It is nice to be only an hour’s drive away from Fort Wilderness).