Christmas and New Years in Alabama

Pattie made this stocking for our son Chris

Our mobile decorations

Tuscaloosa. AL, the home of the University of Alabama, nemesis of my Auburn Tigers, was our home for a little more than three weeks.  We enjoy visiting with my mom and my sister’s family as often as possible and they live in Tuscaloosa.  We like to stay at Sunset RV Park adjacent to I-59 because it is close to mom’s house. This year we were able to help mom with a few doctor’s appointments and even an overnight stay in the hospital.  Once out, it was off to the store for groceries where mom wields a scooter buggy with the best of them.

She has her list and checking it twice

Pattie did a great job helping cook a traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and a beef roast on Christmas Day.  Our son’s William and Chris came up to visit and William brought his girlfriend Rachel.  We basically over ate, exchanged gifts, and celebrated Christ’s birth as many American families do each year.

After Christmas, my sister invited me to go hunting with her and her brother-in-law Jim.  She loaned me a rifle and we got out in the woods well before daylight.  It was nice to be out and hear the woods wake up.  Just after daylight, I heard a shot from Jim’s direction and soon after got the text that he had shot a buck.  They loaded it up in the ATV and picked me up.  I didn’t see any deer where I was, but I am glad Jim was able to take this nice buck home.



Jeff Mohr, CEO of Mohr Manufacturing, contacted me with a offer for a new SuperBumper to select customers.  I have used his SuperBumper products for years on various vehicles and have written a few reviews of them.  They fit in the receiver hitch and are designed to move in and out to absorb low speed impacts with other cars or stationary objects.  I was hit in the rear in Washington, D.C. a few years ago and the SuperBumper prevented damage to my vehicle as well as the vehicle that hit me.  Last year in California, I backed into the concrete base of a light pole.  Again the SuperBumper absorbed the hit with no damage to my Jeep.  Jeff offered me a new Stainless Steel version, which looks much better on the new Grand Cherokee.  I gifted my old one to my nephew to protect his SUV.  If you own an SUV, you do not have much in the rear to protect you from significant damage even in a slight collision.  SuperBumper can protect a vehicle and reduce potential for whiplash injuries.

Before leaving mom’s house, she asked me to lubricate her garage door as it was making strange noise. Much to my surprise, I found that the center anchor point for the garage door opener had pulled away from the wall causing the entire mechanism to move back and forth.  The builder apparently thought that five nails would sufficiently anchor the assembly to the wall.  They were wrong.  I disconnected the motor assembly and installed five lag bolts to properly secure the anchor.  Once we adjusted the door AND lubricated it, the strange noises stopped.

With mom fixed up, we headed to the Lake Martin Recreation area to camp and be in position for Pattie’s follow-up medical appointments the following week.  The weather has turned bitterly cold and local forecasters are warning of 1-2 inches of snow in Alabama. We are thankful that our AquaHot heating system seems to be keeping up with the demands for heat.

Thanks again for keepingupwiththejonesrv!