Christmas, 2010

As our year comes to an end, we are grateful for all of God's blessings in our lives. It has been a very different Christmas this year, and very quiet. With Ed, Deb, Suzanne and DJ in China we have not had much company or family with which to share the holiday; but we are so blessed to have many dear friends at Hillside Baptist Church and Charity Riders CMA chapter. We are so very glad our children are safe and healthy.

Pat and James, Emma and Rachael are in Wichita and Mitchel is living in Iowa at this time. Dan, Mandy, Katelynn and Jacob live in Iowa so we were not able to see them at Christmas. But Pat was here for Thanksgiving and we had visited Dan and family in Iowa back in October. Mama stayed in Louisiana this year and my sister Judy went to Kentucky to help her two younger daughters move back to Louisiana.

Katherine, Judy's oldest, did come to spend a couple of days with us the week of Christmas. We had a good visit and some fun times playing dominoes. Come again soon Katherine as we enjoyed your visit very much.

Thanksgiving 2010

Gil and I were so happy to host Thanksgiving this year at our house for Pat and James, Gil's daughter and her husband who live in Wichita, Ks. They drove down and brought Emma, Gil's great-granddaughter with them. Emma's mom Rachel was not able to come this year because of her work schedule. However, Pat's mom Lorene also drove down from Pittsburg, Ks, to join the celebration.

We had fun visiting and just hanging out. Emma enjoyed playing with Lucky, and Lucky really enjoyed the company. It was very hot on Thanksgiving day, but a cold front came in that afternoon making the temperature drop considerably in a short time. I cooked a traditional meal and Gil took some food to three friends with whom we always share holiday meals. James took Pat and Emma shopping at Walmart at 3:30 am on black Friday and found many bargains for Christmas.

It really was a fun time for all. We are so glad they were able to join us for this holiday and we are so thankful for our family and friends.

Fall Colors 2010

Considering what a dry summer we had this year in South Central Arkansas and all over the state for that matter, we have had some beautiful fall color this November. I think we are at our color peak this week prior to Thanksgiving. I am sharing some of the pictures I have taken. Some are flowers in our yard, trees in our yard and trees in the neighborhood - all of which are a reminder of God's handiwork when he made our planet and His blessings to us each day.

Gil and I look forward to Mama and Judy coming Sunday prior to the holiday next week and possibly Aunt Sue as well. Then on Wednesday we will see Pat, James and Emma come to our house for Thanksgiving this year and stay several days with us.

Gil just returned from his last prison ministry for 2010 from the Benton Work Release Unit. I am also including a picture of him on his motorcycle.

Visit with Dan Niemeir and Family

After the Colors Rally, we headed to Muscatine, Iowa, to visit Dan Niemeir and his family. We had a lovely drive there, about 14 hours on the road over 2 days. The fall colors were pretty and the weather nice for the most part. We did have a scare one night in E. St. Louis as we were awaken at 4 am by the tornado warning siren but God spared the area where we camped.

Our visit with son Dan and his wife Mandy and their children was a very nice one indeed. Dan is progressing nicely as God heals his body after a motorcycle accident in July this year. He will be going into the hospital first part of November to be fitted with leg braces so he can continue physical therapy on his feet and begin walking again. We pray for and expect a full recovery for him in God's timing.

We enjoyed visiting with the grandchildren, Katelynn age 15 and Jacob age 8. Grandson Mitchel visited us there as well. He lives nearby with his father. We were truly blessed by this visit and wish Dan continued success with healing for his entire body, mind and spirit. Praise God!

CMA Colors Rally 2010

The Christian Motorcyclists Association celebrated their 35th anniversary in Oct. 2010 on Iron Mountain, Hatfield, AR. Gil and I camped in our RV spot that we sponsored six years ago and enjoyed the church services and seeing friends that we meet there annually. We also looked at many homes for sale in the area in anticipation of moving to the Mena area once our home sells in Camden.

The Iron Mountain campground was filled to capacity as was the worship center which covers an acre of land inside the building. There were over 3480 bikers at this event. We have outgrown every facility at this point but CMA does not use credit to further the ministry. Donations only support the local Iron Mountain facilities and will be expanded only as God adds to the financial support. The only fundraiser by CMA is the annual Run for the Son project held every May.

It was wonderful to hear once again the testimony of fellow CMAers around the world as they attended the International Rally in conjunction with the Colors Rally. We also enjoyed the sermon my Herb Shreve, CMA founder, who is now 77 years young. He inspires us all as he preaches God's word and encourages us to continue to change the world "one heart at a time." Praise God!

Poker Run for Women's Crisis Center Fundraiser

Gil and I recently participated in the poker run in Camden to raise funds for the local Women's Crisis Center. The ride started at Sandy Beach on the Ouachita River just on the edge of town. There were 15 other motorcycles riding that day. That morning was a beautiful, cool fall day. We rode out of town through Holly Springs to Smackover and then on to Arkadelphia, then to Gurdon and Prescott and back to Camden through Chidester. We stopped in Chidester long enough to greet friends at the Fall Festival there and partake of home cooking for our lunch. The ride ended at Coleman Stadium about noon. The sun was hot by then and the temperature was about 91 degrees. It was a nice morning for a trike ride and a good afternoon for a nap. Retirement is wonderful!

48th Annual Tate Barn Sale in Camden, AR

Mama and I had a booth at the barn sale this year. She had over a dozen of her lovely quilts and afghans to sell and we took books as well. The crowd was not as large as usual due to the rain. It rained most of the morning and some in the afternoon. The officials closed the sale about 3:30 because of the mud and the area began to clear out. We did meet some very nice people who came out in spite of the weather. The man in the booth next to us sold quite a bit of honey. His family has been in the honey business for over a hundred years. He said they have about 38 hives near Benton, AR, and he delivers honey to a number of customers in central and south Arkansas.

Trip to Bastrop September 2010

Gil and I camped at Chemin-A-Haut State Park near Bastrop over Labor Day weekend so we could visit mama and Judy. It was a perfect weekend for camping because the temperatures turned off cool at night and were very pleasent during the day. The campground there is very nice with tall shade trees at all camp sites. There is a pool and a huge picnic area for day visitors. We also took our trike behind the motorhome so we had several nice rides into town.

While in Bastrop we also visited Grandma Virginia and Grandpa Billy Kitchens one afternoon. It was nice to see them and catch up on family talk. I took them several pictures of Suzanne and Destiny. We also visited my cousin Sharon and her husband Troy Wayne. They live just off Old Bonita Road which is not very far from the park. We had several meals with mama and Judy and Katherine, then one night they came out to the campground to eat with us in the motorhome. It was a very nice camping trip and family get-together!

CMA Fun Ride Aug 21, 2010

Our Charity Riders CMA chapter from South Arkansas includes El Dorado, Magnolia and Camden. We had a fun ride to Lake Claiborne in north Louisiana near Homer. It was about a 2 hr ride there and was rather hot on Sat. afteroon, temperature hitting 102 degrees. The restaurant was right on the lake and had excellent catfish dinners. There were about 20 bikers, several on trikes and a couple in a truck. We had a cooler ride home and a lot of fun.

Sunday we had a Biker's Sunday at Temple Baptist in Camden. More CMA chapters showed up for the service....from Fordyce, Arkadelphia, Crossett, and Hope as well as our Charity Riders chapter. It was a wonderful service of singing, testimony and preaching with a potluck dinner for all. These are special services where CMA enjoys sharing with local churches the work that we do around the world in USA and 27 other countries.

Trip to Iowa in July 2010

Gil and I did not plan a trip to Iowa this summer, but when we got word that his son Dan had been in a motorcycle wreck and had broken his neck and back, we headed out to Davenport to be near him. He was with a group of other bikers, it seems, and came around a curve to find some of the other bikers in the road so he and the 3 bikers with him had to hit the ditch. Dan was hospitalized but could move his arms and legs when we got there. We stayed about a week then after we left he had back surgery and is now in physical therapy. He does not have movement in his legs at this time, but we pray he will soon. We took pictures of the grandkids while we spent time with them in our motel. We played dominoes and took them swimming in the pool. Katelynn is 15, and Jacob is 8. Their cousin, Jordan, who is 11 was with us.

Then after we got home, I spent the first week of August with my mama in Louisiana. We had two book events that week, one in Monroe and one in Mangham. We had a good visit and a lot of fun meeting new friends at the book events.

June 2010 Vacation

Gil and I went to the National Rally for CMA on Iron Mountain near Hatfield, AR, and had such a good time meeting with dear friends there. The preaching services each morning and evening were so inspirational that we did indeed come away from the mountain top refreshed in body, mind and spirit. CMA's Got Talent show one night was a lot of fun. Gil sang "Long Black Train" and the judges said he reminded them of Johnny Cash because of his deep bass voice. Everyone enjoyed the show!

We also took the opportunity before the rally began to once again look for a house to suit our needs if we get to move there. After touring dozens of houses with a local realtor, we decided that one we had seen in April was still the best one for us. It has a large garage/shop in the back yard that is big enough for our motorhome, both motorcycles and one car. The home itself is large and located on the main highway that goes through Mena so we would be near the hospital if needed, and best of all IT HAS A MOUNTAIN VIEW. Now we pray God will bring to us the perfect family to purchase our home in Camden.

When the rally ended, we headed for Kansas to visit Gil's family in Ft. Scott and attend his 45th high school reunion. What fun Gil had seeing his classmates, some of whom he had not seen in many years; some of whom he had not seen since grammar school at Hammond Elementary School. Our daughter Pat drove down from Wichita and was able to stay several days for a visit.

Book authors interviews

I have recently connected with another Tate author, Elaine Littau, who has a blog and website where she features interviews of other Tate authors. This website highlights those authors and connects them with each other and information about our books. My interview (via email) with her will be highlighted there this summer.

Just today I also connected with Mike Huckabee's blog on line where a link to the blog to yours truly may be posted as well. I am trying to connect with as many possible resources as I can to promote the book Mama and I wrote several years ago. Unfortunately we have not had but one book event in the past 12 months. We found out by trial and error that the book does not sell well unless we have book events and meet people and talk about the book. Tate Publishing and Enterprises has done its job of getting the book on many websites such as Borders, Books A Million and Amazon.com but that alone does not sell books.

Sharecropping in North Louisiana is so interesting because it not only gives history from a real family's perspective, but because it tells the true story of a family's struggle through the Great Depression and World War II. So many people have told us how exciting it was to read about those hard times during the 20s, 30s and 40s and that they too lived through that era of history. They all stated how important it is that we keep history alive in the minds and hearts of Americans so those lessons taught by the people who lived during the era are not lost. If you are interested in learning more about the book, go to my website at www.niemeir-duff.com or to the website of Tate Publishing and Enterprises (just google the name). Good reading until next time.

Spring Vacation to Texas

Gil and I love vacations in April because the weather is so nice - not too cool and not too hot! We reently went to Mena, AR, in our motorhome to look at houses there in anticipation of moving there if/when our house sells in Camden. After spending two nights at Iron Mountain, just south of Mena, at the CMA campgroud and looking at about a dozen houses, we headed south to Texarkana, then west to my Aunt Margie's for a visit. We also visited Jeff and Patty Fletcher, my cousin, and their daughter and grandson.

We camped in Canton for three nights, then headed to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to see dear friends, Sylvia and Lucio Bustamante, whom I have known since 1968 when they and I lived in Germany. It was a wonderful visit with them and we tried to catch up on news of children and grandchildren and the past 40 years of not seeing each other.

After a wonderful time with the Bustamantes, we headed to McKinney, TX, just north of Dallas to visit my cousin, Charlie Haddox, his wife Judy and their 16-year-old daughter Sarah. Charlie and Judy showed us around the area of lovely homes, downtown McKinney, and their beautiful church, First Bapitst of McKinney. We dined out a couple of times and then Judy fixed a lovely evening meal for us our last night with them. Charlie and Sarah also entertained us with songs - some of Charlie's many ballads, and a couple of Sarah's lovely songs she has sung for school or choir groups. It really was nice to visit them and catch up on their lives, and catch them up on ours.

Garvan Gardens in April

Gil and I took a field trip today to Hot Springs to see the lovely gardens there. It is past "peek tulip time" but we were able to see some lovely flowers in the garden, and a few tulips. It was an absoutley lovely day, perfect temperature and the picnic lunch was so good on the deck under the shade trees just inside the gardens. We knew there would be a lot of walking in order to see the entire garden, so we took advantage of the carts and a driver. One other couple rode with us through the trail of flowers, ponds and waterfalls. The Gardens are near Lake Hamilton on the outskirts of the city and only a 2 1/2 hr. dirve from our home.

The tulips will be dug up in May, bagged up and sold to individuals at a very cheap price. Then in the fall, another 130,000 bulbs will be planted for the new crop in the following spring. Enjoy the pictures and plan your own field trip to see Garvan Gardens. They are also open during the winter with millions of Christmas lights.

Smilebox Memories

Personalize a scrapbook design

March trip to Little Rock

Gil and I had a lovely camp trip to Little Rock this spring, staying 3 nights at the Maumelle RV Campground on the Arkansas River. We had some business to attend to and also spent some time with friends while there. Carl and Darlene Kitchens took us to lunch one day at the Olive Garden and we had a nice visit with them there. One day the RV was in the shop to have some routine maintenance and then on Friday Gil had his checkup with his heart doctor for his annual stress test. He passed again this year.

To the right are a few pictures we took at the campground.

Mid March 2010

Spring has sprung in Camden and the 17th Annual Daffodil Festival was a huge success and attendance was largest in history. Many of the daffodils in my yard and the little field on the other side of the house where mama used to live were picked and used in the local businesses during the festival.

The kids are settled in China and Ed has started his 3rd week on the job of teaching English to the Chinese students both in Ivy English (private) School and several public schools. It is still cold and snowy there. DJ is growing with leaps and bounds and talks "baby jabber" to us on the skype webcam calls.

Gil and I have almost completed painting the 3 bedrooms and 3 baths in our home and it will be ready to put on the market first week of April. We have a business trip to Little Rock next week and we have company coming for the weekend we get back. Then I plan to visit my sister and mama in Louisiana before Easter.

Kitchens Family in China

I have not been posting anything lately because we have been so busy at my house painting the bedrooms and bathrooms getting ready to put our house on the market in April. We hope to move to Mena, AR, so Gil will be closer to the Christian Motorcycle Association Headquarters at Hatfield so he can do volunteer work there.

To update anyone interested, my son and his family are now settled in an apartment in Jaimasui, China, and he is teaching English at a private school as well as going into public schools there also teaching English. The school provides them with a furnished apartment including a babybed for little Destiny who is now six months old. Suzanne, who is 12 yrs. old, is being home schooled. Right now the weather is rather cold, getting to below zero at night and barely above freezing in the daytime. They have snow on the ground and seems like it will stay for a while. I have included some pictures they sent from their trip.

On their way to new adventure in China

My son and his family are now at the Houston airport this morning (it is 5 am CDT on Feb. 9) awaiting their flight to Beijing. I spoke to Suzanne a short time ago and she said she was still anxious about her first airplane ride. They were at the airport waiting at the gate to be checked in and I could hear little Destiny in the background talking up a storm and chewing on her fingers. They will leave Houston at 6 am (in about an hour) and have a two hour flight to Newark, NJ, and have about a 2 hr. layover before going on to Beijing. Spot will join them in NJ for the long flight today. This picture was taken just before they left my house in Arkansas.

Grandchildren moving to China Feb. 8th

My son and his wife are moving to China to teach English in a school there and the two granddaughters are going with them, along with granddog Spot. It is Friday night Feb. 5th as I write this and they are staying with us over the weekend until they drive to Houston in a rental car and drop Spot at the airport on Feb. 8th. They are supposed to leave the next day on a flight going to Newark, NJ, and then on a non-stop flight from there to Beijing. I pray the big snow storm on the east coast does not delay their flight out. They will be in Beijing a week while Spot is in quarrantine, then take a train or bus to the town north of Beijing where they will live. The school has arranged an apartment for them, furnished even with a baby bed for DJ.

I will keep posting updates on their trip as I receive email or phone calls on skype from them.

No travels in January 2010

It is hard to believe that we are more than half way into January of the new year...and ten years now into the 21st Century. It has been cold in Arkansas this January and we are looking forward to spring this year. Gil was able to take a motorcycle ride this afternoon on his bike because the temperature was up to over 60 degrees. He said it was a nice rice. I will be glad when it is warm enough for us to take the trike out for a ride, but that may be a while.

In the meantime we mostly stay indoors and go out only when we need to for groceries and to church. I have new pictures of little DJ who is now almost 15 lbs. and growing like weeds in my yard! She is a sweet baby and enjoys sitting and watching TV with her sister or listening to country music.

Sad new year beginning

Gil's Dad passed away Jan 2nd and we drove to Kansas for his funeral. Even though Dad had been ill for a long time, it is still a shock to lose a loved one. Gil's stepmother Helen was surrounded by family and friends during the visitation time and the funeral service but undoubtedly the loss will be felt by her and the family for a long time. Mr. Niemeir had many friends and relatives whose life had been touched by his kindness, his wisdom and his loving generosity. He left behind not only a dear sweet wife but also four sisters, four children, ten grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter. His suffering and pain from the illness he fought for the past many years is over and he is now with our Lord and Saviour. The angels in heaven rejoice at his homecoming as does Gil's mother, Dad's parents, his five siblings and many dear friends who went before him. We shall see him again some day!