Planning, Norman, Victoria

Mama and I spent about an hour at a friend’s house last night looking at her set up for her freeze dryer and it really augmented our desire to get one. The long discussion with Jan built in Mama’s and my mind an application for a freeze dryer that would allow us to justify the expense. I made the commitment to the Lord, however that I would not buy a freeze dryer until we had the cash set aside for that particular expense. At this moment, we do not have that money in hand, but there is no urgency either. We will continue to pray and see what God will do. It’s exciting to see God work in our lives and to see our prayers answered. We have had a freeze dryer on our prayer list for a while, so maybe we are close to getting one. After last night, it seems far more practical than over the past few weeks. 

One of the issues I have been wrestling with is where we could fit the large appliance. It is not necessarily a quiet appliance to operate and the cycle of freeze drying can be as long as 24 hours. The vacuum pump for the freeze dryer can also generate a good bit of heat, so the placement of the unit needs to take into account that additional temperature in the room where it is placed. 

So, when we got home, Mama and I began to look for a place. I believe we settled on removing a set of upper cabinets from the west wall of the chef’s pantry and setting the freeze dryer on the counter on that wall. That would allow us to run a dedicated circuit to the plug on that wall. That solves two of our problems. Now we need to settle on what size unit we need and focus our prayers on that. 

Today I spent most of the morning finishing up what I had started last night on a course review project for Energy Worldnet. But this morning, Word messed up on me so badly I lost everything I had done the night before. As I reworked the document, Word messed up on me again. I thought I had lost, for a second time, everything I had done. I finally got the bug worked out and got the document review completed and sent off for updating by the author, but that rework took me almost 3 hours to get done. This one revision will open the door for me to do many more projects of this nature for Energy Worldnet. The money that I earn doing this sort of review is not insignificant. It actually pays pretty well just to do course revisions as a subject matter expert. I’m not sure how many courses might be available for me to help with, but at least the door is open. 

Friday afternoon, the Lord began to open up doors for Norman to find enough work to stay here. As of today, that opportunity seems to have expanded quite a bit. As always, with Norman it’s difficult to tell what the outcome may potentially be, but for the moment it looks like there may be enough ongoing work for him to do his renovation, remodeling, landscaping, and handyman work, and earn enough money to more than meet his needs in our general area. If things work out that way, that will be a great relief to Grandpa. And admittedly, it’s a relief to Mama and me as well. It is not what Norman said he wanted, but that seems to be what he has gotten.

Victoria let us know today that she has an interview with Florida Health System for an opening as a pharmacy tech. That is a wonderful answer to prayer. It is only an initial interview, but it is a great opportunity. The interview is set for Thursday next week at 9:30. Please be praying for that to go well. What she is doing now does not suit her physically. It is a huge strain on her knees, back and wrists, but she is doing her best to apply herself to the scope of work she agreed to do for Walmart. She is obviously younger than me but walking over twenty miles per day pulling grocery orders in not an easy daily routine to meet. Then she will go home and take Kira and Kobe for a long walk…at a much more leisurely pace. 

Again, please pray for Victoria.