Our December to Remember - 12/1 to 12/26

Question: What do full-timers in a motorhome do about decorating for Christmas?

Answer: The couple gets out the few things they brought along and make a trip to Old Time Pottery and Walgreens to get something new that adds color but takes up very little room.

Just because we have no house, garage, yard, etc. doesn’t mean we’re that much different. We just have less to worry with and can’t buy as much. This, in itself, is a blessing. It’s all a part of living with less and being just as happy and alive.

When we got out the lights to string along the side of the Dutch Star we noticed that one was missing. Since we couldn’t find the spare bulbs, we went by Walgreens to get some. Well, wouldn’t you know, they didn’t have the spares we needed but they did have a string that looked similar to the string we had. Byron, being the “big spender,” suggested we go ahead and by a strand and use the supplied spares in the box for the lights at the motorhome. They appeared to be the right thing but, when we got home, they didn’t fit correctly in the base. So, we have now started a junk collection. Thank goodness it’s only a strand of Christmas lights. After all, we don’t have room for much.

The trip to Old Time Pottery was to buy a pair of small Christmas trees on sale. The box said they were to place at the entrance of a house. We have one decorated with knitted and crocheted ornaments from Grandama Mildred (Byron’s mother) and the other outside to complement the lights on the motorhome. We also have a Hallmark nativity set up by the inside tree. It is sitting on the dash.

We also have a few Christmas place settings, some candles and a couple of other small things. It doesn’t take much to decorate 400 square feet, especially when you have little room to store it for the rest of the year. Besides, we have the decorations of others in the RV park to enjoy.

The office building of Great Oak RV Resort

decorated for the holiday season.

On December 9 Byron began is first day as a Walt Disney World cast member (employee). This involved three days of orientation beginning with a general introduction to the Disney brand and the values it represents. Seasonal positions are quite limited so he elected to accept a position in the Food and Beverage group. He was assigned to the Casey’s Corner/Dessert Party group. Casey’s serves a variety of hot dog meals while the Fireworks Dessert Party is a ticketed event. The on-the-job training for these venues involved five shifts of training under the tutelage of five different trainers. Finally, the opportunity to work unassisted was presented. As Byron has found, there are a lot of people working at the “grumpy” level of the work force to create the “magic.” As he also told some his younger co-workers he’s back to working a few percentage points above minimum wage like he did when working at the hospital while in college.

Casey’s Corner on Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom at

Walt Disney World decorated for the Christmas season.

Byron has been told that Casey’s Corner is the second busiest quick service restaurant for the Walt Disney Companies. Considering the little amount of space and the high volume of traffic, it helps one understand that it takes a lot of team members doing their task well to create the magical Disney experience, that underneath the showy surface a lot of works is being done.

A benefit of occasionally working the Fireworks Dessert Party

is being able to get a glimpse of this unobstructed view

of the Wishes fireworks display and take more time

to interact with the guests.

Martha is still working as a medical transcriptionist for a Utah-based company. She has enjoyed working for this company and has found them to be very respectful organization. When not working during the evening hours, Marta can be found playing Hand and Foot with her new friends at the resort’s meeting room.

Our experience at First United Methodist in Kissimmee continues to be a positive one and one for which we are both thankful. Another couple from our RV park also attends worship so we sit together on occasion. Since Byron was working he wasn’t able to attend one of the Christmas Eve services. Martha was ill with cough and chest congestion so she wasn’t able to attend either.

For Christmas we shared lunch with several of the other residents. That is, the one’s that didn't go back north or to visit with other relatives. There were probably about 30 of us that were together for the meal. Other, less social people here over the holidays stayed away preferring to eat in their units. They also don’t get out to play cards or participate in the karaoke nights.

It was a “red out” for the luncheon on Christmas Day. Byron,

not pictured, chose to wear green.

Speaking of karaoke, Byron has picked up a voice student. While the person truly loves music she has had no training in reading music and was quite intrigued when he explained the ”Do, Re, Mi” song from The Sound of Music. Because of the way she handles her voice, Byron says he feels he’s teaching someone to play the trumpet with a trombone.

We’ll close this weblog by saying Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and include two photos. The first is of Byron’s fellow cast members at the Magic Kingdom. You may recognize a few of them even though dressed in their holiday best. The second was taken at the Candlelight Processional performed from Thanksgiving through December 30 at Epcot with 200 in the choir and a full orchestra. We’ll be attending the December 26 presentation featuring Blair Underwood as narrator of the birth of Jesus from Luke 2.