Wednesday January 30th 2008

Maybe I should have named this blog something besides Strizver Progress. We certainly haven't been making any progress lately. In fact we have been so bogged down with details and battles that there's little time to even think of progress. All the government agencies we have applied to for help have turned us down several times. We have been TOO RESPONSIBLE, in saving for college and retirement and paying for insurance. They want us to use those resources. I hope you never find yourself in our predicament. I guess it's like hard working families losing everything to medical bills while non-citizens get FREE health care! So much for my tirade.

There is good news on the horizon. The couple in the red shirts are founders of Christ in Action. They were first on the scene in Ramona, setting up tents, serving food, doing laundry and providing basic needs. They and their volunteers drove from West Virginia and stayed 3 months. They left Saturday, but not before announcing that a west coast disaster relief team will be set up right here in Ramona. It made me so joyful. We can now have a deployment here on the west coast to help those affected by a disaster. We certainly have learned what people need. Please pray for Denny and Sandy Nissey and their 11 children. God's gift to us.

The rainbow came out Sunday after torrential downpours pummeled us for two days. I thought we should start building the ark. There's a lot of mud and debris flows around. Our neighbor's driveway is under 5 inches of mud again. I hope my next post is a happier one. My bible reading this morning was Luke, Chapter 11:1-13. I was led here after desperately seeking guidance for today and wanting to feel thankful for the food, shelter and clothing He has provided. Please take a moment to see how the Lord answered me. Who can deny Him? Looking forward to a brighter day.

Saturday, Jan. 25th 2008

Well it's been a frustrating week so I didn't post progress.  It's been 2 steps forward, 3 steps back.  I don't want to Boo Hoo all over the place but I couldn't help myself.  The boys are off to school and living elsewhere during the week. John was gone for two days in San Francisco and I became extremely melancholy.  I began thinking of all my Valentines that I loved to look through and reminisce over that are now gone.  I cried my eyes out for awhile then I got over it and thought of asking the boys to make me one this year that encompasses 18 years. We are all sick to varying degrees.  Nasty head colds with persistent coughs and even Preston was sick all over the place, lovely!  We keep having to think ahead, hard to do when you're stuck in the muck. Next week has to be better. Pray for us PLEASE. 

January 20, 2008

The property is really shaping up. We had another work "party" here Saturday and a lot of the black ash was scraped off the back and side yard. Preston was beginning to look like a Greyhound. He needs to go to the groomer because he loves to roll in the grass after a bath. Our grass is not the place for a clean dog. The two boys on the tractor are Nolan and Blake. They were helping clean our yard and got a tractor ride. It reminded me of Sam and Nick when they were little. The shed is for the washer and dryer. It will be nice not to be carrying around my laundry in the car.

January 17th, 2008

TIME FOR SOME FUN!!!!!
Nick and I went skiing today. Despite the horendous traffic in San Bernardino (1hr=6mi.), we had fun. We left Ramona at 6:30 am. We got on the slopes at 12:00 noon. We skied until 4pm. Drove home in more traffic, missed our turn off, got home at 7:45pm. next time we'll go up the night before and stay in a motel!!!

Monday Jan. 14, 2008

GO CHARGER'S!! It was so much fun watching our team win. We're looking forward to next Sunday. We have been going to Jonathan Spooner's new condo to party and watch the games on his HDTV. On Friday, Nick and I climbed Starvation Mt. , walking distance from our pad. Here's the view from the top. Nick tried to give me a heart attack by jumping to the top rock and standing on it. Then he wanted me to join him. From so high up we could see the widespread devastation. It's amazing to see how far the fire traveled.

Wednesday, Jan. 9th 2008

The cell phone rang at 6:15AM. It was the demolition crew manager. They were going to start the clearing of debris on the property next to us. He wanted to know if we wanted the burned 40ft. storage container removed. What a question! Nick and I raced down there, took a bunch of photos of the contents and made a quick inventory list. Within hours it was gone. How nice was that? Now I can get another storage container so I have someplace to put things. At the post office today was an envelope filled with store gift cards. We were adopted for Christmas by families in Poway. I won movie tickets so Nick and I went to see "The Bucket List". NOT A BAD DAY...........

Tuesday Jan. 8,2008

Well we have experienced the extreme weather yet again. The wind gusts were so great we thought we would wake up in OZ! The motor home was rocking and rolling all night. Nick and I had to bring the slide outs in to protect the debris tarps. It was quite cozy, almost claustrophobic. Nick had to go outside in the rain late at night to retrieve a 12ft. piece of corrugated aluminum that blew up onto the pad next to the motor home. It was a night that Nick can tell his kids about some day.

January 6, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We returned from Buffalo on New Year's Day. Since then the weather here has been very stormy. Lots of rain and high winds. We have to pull in the slideouts on the motor home to keep the debris tarps from tearing. That of course leaves us with even less room inside. We're quite cozy as you can see.

Sat. Jan. 5th 12:30 AM