More blessings from Christ

Saturday was dreary and heavily misty, but the bike riders were determined. We loaded the bike trailer which holds 21 bikes and drove to the local HEB grocery. More than 150 from various parks rode with the police escort. The strangest thing is that hardly any of the stopped motorists seemed upset. That should not be a surprise since the people here in south Texas are quite friendly to the gringos from the north. Many honked and waved. When we returned to the grocery, there was bottled water and cookies waiting for us. We returned home, had lunch and I worked on Sunday's message and took a nap. Then we watched TV in the evening.
Sunday was great. The Lord provided the largest congregation we have ever had at Trail's End--54. What a fantastic blessing. These are people from all walks and various denominations. I think most of them could find a local church of their tradition to attend, but I thank God that at least they are coming to worship in the park setting. We then rushed off to Immanuel to sing in the choir and take communion. The afternoon produced a phenomenon: the Purdue men's basketball team won a game! In fact it was a blowout. I hope this inspires a deep degree of confidence for future games because they aren't as bad as the record indicates. Ray and Genny came for a late afternoon visit so we could plan Genny's birthday dinner outing for Tuesday. In the evening we went to our dear friends from Immanuel--Joe and Bonny Winston--for salad and bread pudding. We decided to not go to the UTPA basketball game tomorrow evening. Bonny and Evelyn did Mary Kay while Joe talked with me about the nasty fight over Bonny's parent's will. We will certainly pray for these good Christian friends to be forgiving in this dispute. Aside from the frustrations, they seem to be taking things in stride. We have been blessed throughout our lives with Christian friends--no matter where we have lived. Thank you, Jesus. You love us and provide all good things for us. Thank You!

More classes

Thursday and Friday Bob must go to a local RV park, Llano Grande, to conduct the AARP driver safety class. It is in the morning this time so he can get home for lunch and the afternoon. We worked on things in the afternoon, and then Evelyn went to lead her Mary Martha devotional study. Bob spent the evening with the president of Immanuel, discussing the status of his call. The conversation was very uplifting and friendly. Bob has decided he doesn't want to meet with the elders because it should be a decision between the elders and the pastor as to whether he has any duties. The problem is that there has been no formal notification as to whether his call has been renewed or not. The problem seems to be that the pastor hasn't made any public decision as to what he wants done--if anything in the way of help with ministerial duties. It is obvious that he wants to do everything himself.
Friday morning brought a problem in the class. The VCR would not transmit a picture to the monitor until, after several minutes, a class member discovered a bad connection. The interesting thing is that one evaluation offered as constructive criticism that he learn to run the VCR. What a hoot! Well, most of the class members really enjoyed the class which can be very boring. After completing the many forms for AARP, we went to the bank to make a Mary Kay deposit and then went to a western shop and bought Evelyn some red cowgirl boots. We have a western dance tonight, and she has had a pair of red boots since she was ten. She also bought a western blouse. She will make these things look beautiful as she does almost all of her clothes. Then to the grocery and home. We went with Ray and Genny for fish at the Elks. We are glad they are back from Kansas and Ray's cancer has been completely removed from his face. We dressed and went to the dance featuring Whiskey Express. The crowd was somewhat small, but we had a good time. Tomorrow is the all America bike ride. We will ride six miles, just enough to get warmed up. That is for me. Evelyn can't go as far because she has less strength. I am not sure I understand that since she works out nearly every day. I think the chemotherapy must have weakened her for the duration.

Volunteering

We had to arise at 6 AM so Evelyn could go to the hospital to volunteer for selling jewelry for the hospital volunteering corps. They sell these items to raise money for something to do with the volunteers. I was called last night to deliver a prayer at a short memorial for the Canadian who helped establish the geezer softball league I used to play in. I was told to be there at 10 and was. I delivered the prayer at 11:15. I wasted a lot of time and sort of yearned to get back out and play. I know I am in no shape to do that--bad knees, overweight, no throwing arm--but struggle with acknowledging my age. The prayer was uplifting, however. I made it to the hospital to get Evelyn and take her to Long John Silvers for fish and lobster/crab cakes. I still think the fish is mostly grease and breading, but she likes the cakes. We shared a dinner and came home for the afternoon. She read and made a shortcake while I tweaked the sermon for Sunday. After our salad supper, we went to see if she could practice with her ping pong doubles partner. I will hit balls to them so they can adjust to hitting alternately as doubles rules require. The partner was having a party, so we could not. Evelyn has a possible major conflict with the tournament anyway, so she might not be able to play. We went to bed early in an attempt to curtail our (my) eating late at night. I have begun to eat a piece of toast for breakfast and nothing after 7 PM. I have to lose some weight somehow. We have too many eat outings to stay on the Weight Watchers program. I am trying to drink more water and stop eating sweets too. Something will work, with the help of God.

Forgotten stuff

I neglected to mention in the previous blog that we took an 8 mile bicycle ride on Saturday. We left our park with 50 other people and rode to a local expensive golf course. We have an entertainment book that contained a coupon for a 2 for 1 hamburger. Nearly everyone had a cheeseburger and french fries. We cut ours in half and took the other one home for another meal.
But on to Sunday. We had 31 for worship, including Janet whose husband had just died. We went home for an Italian chicken breast lunch. We went for another bike ride and then to a widow friend from Manitoba. Nearly half of the winter Texans here are from Canada and most of them are from Manitoba. Fanny is a very gentle, kind lady who comes to worship Jesus with us most Sundays. She lives in the park next door, and we met her when we lived there 4 years ago. We came home for the evening to discover that our VCR was improperly set, so we missed American Dreams again.
Monday I had to repair the aerator on the kitchen sink. I have a new friend who can do many repairs, and he diagnosed the problem and took me to another friend who sold the part I needed right here in the park. It was cold so we rode on a golf cart to get the park. Every time I ride around here in a cart, I get tempted to get one. I can't though because I would be riding around everywhere instead of walking or biking. Some day I will be unable to walk, so I must resist the temptation and continue walking while I can. Evelyn and I had our hamburger left from our ride Saturday and then went out to mail packages and other things. I had to go to another park to check the logistics where I will teach the AARP driving class Thursday and Friday. We returned home so I could practice for the competition of the slow bike ride. We must ride through a serpentine path a slow as possible. This is the fourth event I am entered in for the "Encore Games". I don't know how I got into so many things. Evelyn was slowly but surely eliminated from all of hers. The final event was ping pong, but she learned that the competition time conflicted with a group meeting she is in charge of. Perhaps the co-chair can handle the group, and she can still compete. We spent Monday evening at home.

Busy days.

Thursday was our older daughter's birthday: 44. Whoever thought we would live to see this birthday occur! We truly feel like geezers. But we are busy geezers. Evelyn went with the 17 ladies to lunch at the Echo Hotel and then on to the historical museum. In the meantime I found a partner to join in the egg toss, and we won! The bad news is that Evelyn didn't return in time for her competition, so she was eliminated. When we came home, there was a message canceling the Mary Martha meeting Evelyn was supposed to lead. So we had the evening off. Two more things: First, when the ladies went to Edinburg, they needed drivers. One woman who volunteered was 87 and refused to ride with anyone else. The women with her were frightened all the way. She was feisty and refused to ride the elevator to the second floor of the museum. Evelyn felt responsible and nursed her along all the way except when driving. She gets hyper even on good days, but this one was a challenge. The second problem is that my e-mail stopped working. The page just went blank and gave me error messages. I was worried. I had some e-mail that I needed for information.
Friday I went to Joe's office that employs and young man who helped me destroy some viruses last year. I left my laptop with him to see what he could do. I went to the funeral home to see what I could do for the memorial which had been scheduled for 4:00. I was shocked to see that I was listed as officiant. I knew that a minister from the Baptist church was involved, so I went there to meet with him. He said he would just say a few words and lead a prayer. I met with Lucy, a precious woman from Trail's End who had organized the memorial service. She told me of the arrangements. I came home to prepare a homily. The service went as planned, but the Baptist minister used almost everything I had planned to say in his "few words". I just cut everything short because I saw no need to repeat everything. Afterward we had cake and coffee with the attenders and family. We then came home and got ready to work at a dance in our hall. The band, Lyle Beaver, was good as usual, and we had a good time.
Saturday was work. Evelyn went to the grocery while I cut the grass here and at the neighbor's. He is supposed to cut it in the summer while I do it in the winter. He is not in good health so he doesn't do it all the time. While I showered, Evelyn went to get my computer which was partly fixed. The friend had downloaded a new program of e-mail. I have found a way to get to everything I need except the old in box. I pray that I can find some way to do that. We went to Mercedes to practice with the choir for singing at baptisms tomorrow. We went at 3:30 so we could just stay for the chili supper held to raise money for the Lutheran Laymen's League. We aren't especially fond of the chili but like to support the Lord's work. We left early and spent the evening at home. Tomorrow is the best part of the week when I am blessed to lead worship. I need to go practice.

Much Ado

We have been running hectically. We drove to Edinburg to find how to get to the museum on the agenda for Thursday. We also found the Cornerstone Restaurant and had lunch. Then we visited a member of our park who had by-pass surgery. Tuesday I learned that the husband of a woman who worships with us at the park had died. I visited her, and she indicated she wanted me to participate in a memorial service. It will have to be Thursday afternoon if she wants it at the park hall. I then took a friend to McAllen to get his truck at the heart hospital. Wednesday found Evelyn going to the Christian Women's Club luncheon in Harlingen. After that we went to the Octoberfest in the hall. We enjoyed bratwurst, kraut, German potato salad and German chocolate cake. German Joe and his band played great German polkas and waltzes. We met some new and some old friends at the dance.

Sunday

What a great day in the Lord! The day was cool but brilliant. The service was uplifting, and there were 35 worshipping together. The music was uplifting and John Hamel was the accompanist. He and Sue left for San Antonio to get a friend from the airport. We couldn't go to the brunch because we went to Immanuel to sing with the choir and receive Holy Communion. That was a great spiritual meal this morning. We then went with the Iversons to a small, common restaurant in Donna. We had to get back because the Nazars (renters of the motor home) arrived at 2:00. We went over how to operate some of the equipment inside and outside of the coach. They have never spent much time in one before. We came home and relaxed all afternoon, what was left of it. We had popcorn and some summer sausage in the evening. Evelyn wrote her mom a letter, and I caught up on my blogging. We must go to Edinburg tomorrow to check out the route to a museum she will attend next Thursday. It is a blessing to have such days knowing we are close to Jesus.

Lots of food

Saturday was a much cooler day. I was busy with tweaking the sermon and didn't take time to exercise. The renter in Sunshine called and reported a leak in the water pipe in the kitchen. I called several places for a repair man but had no success. One that came did not have the necessary part. We will call F Street Monday. The sun was comforting, so I put the tire covers on the motor home tires and washed down the coach. We relaxed in the afternoon and prepared to meet Joe and Bonny to go to the Neuhaus mansion for the steak fry thrown by the Gonnermans each year. The steaks are always too big but people eat them anyway. This new mansion has a huge great room with a 20 foot high ceiling. It was more impressive from the outside. It had two large pillars in that southwestern sunset color. The John Deere tractor dealership must yield a great return.

Friday

We went to Sunshine in Harlingen to meet the renters and see if things were OK. They weren't. The water heater was not working. We looked around for a way to turn it on but couldn't. They were very understanding, and I said I would talk last year's renters to find out what they knew. We stopped at the Cingular store on the way home to check to see whether Cingular had coverage in Waynesville, NC. While waiting, I called DeHavens and they told me of a switch on the sink that controls the water heater. We came home and practiced for the fast walk in the Encore Games. That is a series of contests between members of the Encore parks in the Valley. We took a nap and then dressed to go to dinner at Olive Garden with Joe and Bonny. We had such a confusion in our payment method that we ended up paying nothing. We will go with them to a steak barbecue tomorrow evening and will give Joe $20 for our dinner this evening. I can't even figure out how it happened that we didn't pay. I just hope that Joe and Bonny will find this as confusing and amusing as I do.

Set up

After exercising, we went to get the motor home for set up. Our renters should be on the way from Canada by now. We had little trouble and the coach seems to be on a very nice site. We hope they are happy. We returned home so Evelyn could get dressed for a lunch for volunteers at Knapp. I ate delicious leftovers. My wife is such a tremendous cook that things sometimes taste better the second time. I had to go to Alamo for help in filing paperwork for the AARP class. It seems that there is a lot of paperwork connected with this volunteer job. We went shopping after that for some more supplies. I don't think we have room to warehouse all the materials that AARP expects me to collect. Our new phone came today. I am suspicious that Cingular doesn't have coverage area in North Carolina. We don't want a service that is good for only half of the year. Perhaps we will get some information at the Cingular store.

Class over!

After taking Evelyn to Knapp to volunteer, I had to go to Harlingen to check on the rental unit at Encore park. I checked the appliances, and they seemed to work fine. I could not get the television set to work, so I went to Wal Mart and bought one along with some supplies I needed for the AARP class. When I took it to the unit, I couldn't get it set up. I just left a note and came back to Weslaco. I did go to the home of Henry Torrez, a man who said he might know someone interested in buying the unit. This was several weeks ago, but he has not returned my call. I did learn that we don't have to put a new roof on the unit to sell it. That is good news. I think we will put the thing up for sale at the end of the season, regardless of what we get for it.
I bought us a Burger King for lunch and walked to finish the two day class. It went quite well but now must deal with the paperwork that I must submit. I hope I have done everything I am supposed to do. The Harlingen renters arrived. We are both concerned that they may be extremely disappointed. We will try to go see them soon. We had sandwiches for dinner and then went to choir practice. Tomorrow we take the motor home to Trail's End to set up for the renters who should come in from Canada on Saturday. Busy, Busy.

Back in the classroom again

After my morning walk/jog, I had to come home and continue preparation for the AARP class. Evelyn worked out and went off to Bible class. At breaks in my preparation I went up to check on the men who volunteered to help direct traffic at our craft sale. I met my coordinator at 12:30 and realized I had forgotten to buy pencils, tape, etc. for the class. We finally got it started late, but everyone seemed to be understanding when I confessed this was my first class. We did finish early so I am sure this mollified many of them. We were taken to dinner by some friends from church and came directly home so Evelyn could go lead her study while I prepared for the second half of the class tomorrow. I have to go to HRL in the morning to look after the unit. The first renters are due in tomorrow.

Humidity is back

We arose early and went to exercise. Only one treadmill was available so I let Evelyn have it while I jogged outside. The doctor reduced my dosage of Lipitor if I will exercise more and more vigorously. I came home to shower and returned to the park meeting. I then went to the bank to get away from the refrigerator. We ate leftover sandwiches--one from New Year's Eve and one Pannida from Jack in the Box. We liked it but thought it overpriced. We napped, then went for a bike ride to the adjoining park. We have been tired in the afternoons lately. We pray it is not an illness coming on. I called our broker who told me we had more money than I thought. :-) I spent 45 minutes on the telephone with Cingular trying to upgrade our telephone system and understand their billing system. I am concerned that they don't have towers in North Carolina where we plan to summer. I will have to check with a Cingular store for a coverage area since I can't get a map on the web site. The evening was spent in still more review for the Safe Driving class I will teach tomorrow. The weather was rather hot and humid all day; exactly what we pay for when we come to the Rio Grande Valley.

Blessings galore

What a wonderful day! It began foggy. We went to Trail's End to lead worship and 33 people were there--the most for the year. Afterward we came home and Evelyn started lunch. We then went to Immanuel to sing in the choir and meet the couple we had invited for lunch. We had sausage and sauer kraut because the man is diabetic but the big blessing is that he showed us how to play our Q-chord. I don't know if I will make myself practice enough to learn to play it well enough to be an accompaniest. By now the weather has warmed up to a glorious but sultry 74 degrees. We were both tired, so we took a nap. I forgot to tell about my back. About two days ago I began to get random pains in my very lower back. It doesn't hurt all the time, but, for example, when I stand with my weight on my right leg, it hurts. So I put some ice on it and lay down to watch some of the Colts game. I finally got up and went to bed. We slept until 4:30, and then went to play Jokers at the Durkins. We came home early so I could review the 55 Alive class I am to teach Tuesday and Wednesday. This project may be fun but is also a bit frightening. We must go to bed and rest up for tomorrow's fun.

Blah weather

We awakened this morning to heavy fog and drizzle, but we had planned to go with the park bike club on a ride and we were going! We loaded bikes on to the club trailer and drove to Bentsen State Park near Mission, unloaded and took off on what was to be a 5 mile ride. About half, including Evelyn, turned around half way when it was discovered the entire ride was 10 miles. The rest, Bob included, went on. When we returned, we reloaded and drove to Furr's in McAllen for the buffet. It was good but $7.49 for seniors on the weekend. That is more than I wanted to pay for lunch. On the way back to Weslaco, Bob and Evelyn both nearly fell asleep. We had another couple with us, perhaps preventing total konk-out. Bob started a nap, but was wakened with the "emergency" of bringing his bike back home. (The trailer was behind us.) He spent the rest of the day tweaking the sermon for tomorrow and half watching football. At 9:30, he went to bed. Poor Drew was behind at half and finally lost in OT. Evelyn worked some time in to watch a video on "The Purpose Driven Life", a book her Bible study group is reading. Bob's sinus is beginning to respond to the foggy weather and drains, mostly at night. Cest le gere! God is still good all the time.

Getting ready

We began the day with a full plate. We had to finish the carpets in the house and motor home so we could return the rented steam cleaner. Things went well even though I realized I had miscalculated the formula for the cleaner. Evelyn returned the cleaner and I took the motor home back to the John Deere dealer where we store it. I extended the slides to promote drying. We came home, showered and left for Harlingen to meet our friend Janice for lunch. Then we went to our travel trailer to set it up for the renters who we thought would be here Sunday or Monday. I had to turn on the water and electricity. DeHavens had left things in good shape, and we accomplished the mission. When we returned, there was a message saying they would not be here until Wednesday due to a non injury auto wreck. We had to hurry back so Bob could go get the results of Tuesdays blood draw. The Lipitor and exercise had worked well enough for the doctor to suggest reducing the Lipitor to 10mg. We had a quick supper and off to the dance we were scheduled to work. Lyle Beaver and his buddy drummer played. We like his music and his closing prayer, singing of God Bless America, and his rewriting of "When the Saints Go Marching In" featuring a focus on Christ's crowning ceremony. It is late, and I am not sure anyone reads this anyway. I welcome your comments.

Good news

After exercising this morning, we received a call from a couple in Iowa that want to rent our property in Harlingen. They are leaving tomorrow morning. We must go to HRL tomorrow afternoon to check out the trailer. We worked all morning at taking down the Christmas decorations. It is Epiphany, the end of the Holy season. We got the job done and had boxes left over. We don't know why because they are the ones we took them out of. We received Texas decorations for next Christmas from our daughter, Stacy. After lunch we went to rent a rug steam cleaner. I went to get the motor home so we can clean the carpet while Evelyn went to Donna to get weighed in at Weight Watchers. She is still below her life goal weight. We had supper and then went to a friend's house to see if people had come for a Bible study. Since no one had, we came home and cleaned the carpet in half of the house. Tomorrow the rest and the motor home.

Good news

After exercising this morning, we received a call from a couple in Iowa that want to rent our property in Harlingen. They are leaving tomorrow morning. We must go to HRL tomorrow afternoon to check out the trailer. We worked all morning at taking down the Christmas decorations. It is Epiphany, the end of the Holy season. We got the job done and had boxes left over. We don't know why because they are the ones we took them out of. We received Texas decorations for next Christmas from our daughter, Stacy. After lunch we went to rent a rug steam cleaner. I went to get the motor home so we can clean the carpet while Evelyn went to Donna to get weighed in at Weight Watchers. She is still below her life goal weight. We had supper and then went to a friend's house to see if people had come for a Bible study. Since no one had, we came home and cleaned the carpet in half of the house. Tomorrow the rest and the motor home.

January 5

Today is Evelyn's day at the hospital. I took her there and went on to McAllen to work in the AARP booth at the travel show. On the way I went back to St. Paul's to get the video tapes that were found after we left yesterday. The AARP booth was about 10X10 and there were boxes of materials plus six adults, not including me. I couldn't even get inside so I went around to many other booths to get little freebees and some brochures. Cajun country was extremely well represented, and I talked at length with many of them about the great attractions in central Louisiana. Since I wasn't doing anything at the booth, I went to a Jack-in-the-Box and got two Panida sandwiches for lunch for Evelyn and me. It is a good thing because she was exhausted when I picked her up. We ate and then took a short nap followed by a trip to Wal-Mart and a pharmacy to get some Arimidex that she needs. We came home and then went off to Mercedes for choir practice. We were home for the evening by 8:30. The 86 degree temperature will disappear overnight and be replaced with 56 degrees with 10-20 mile per hour winds and drizzle. The nice thing about living here in the winter is that this "cold" front will last only one day. By Saturday it will be in the high 70s by Saturday.

Busyness

January 1 was relaxing. We putzed around in the morning and went to some friend's for a large dinner of spiral ham, collard greens (something to guarantee greenbacks in the new year), potatoes au gratin, a black-eyed pea dish whose name escapes me. It is hop-something, and the most delicious black forest trifle you could imagine. I spent the rest of the day practicing my sermon for Sunday. January 2 had me scheduled for a service at 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00, all at different parks. I rushed around all morning. We lounged in the afternoon and finally took time to welcome each other into 2005. :-) We decided if we were going to diminish the cookie supply, we needed to have dinner guests, so we invited two couples to help. We had mefallato sandwiches left over from the Sun Bowl party. The two couples had not met but seemed to hit things off very well. January 3 was a day for exercising and resting up. Well, I had to begin the scripture mulling process for next week's sermon. We also had to go to Mexico for some Lipitor for me. I am trying to lower my triglycerides through exercise and drugs. We did not go for a meal but did take the Durkins along. I also got a haircut at a Christian barber shop there called Glorias. The young ladies who give permanents, manicures and pedicures (and perhaps the young barbers) are Pentecostal missionaries, so we like to support them. Monday evening was a work evening for me. January 4 found us going to McAllen to borrow some videos from the Lutheran Church there. Evelyn leads a Bible study on Tuesday evenings dealing with The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. No one could find the videos so we had a sandwich at Carl's Jr. and came home. We had so much that we ate half at noon and the other half in the evening. Evelyn is in a ping-pong competition, partnering with a friend who hasn't played since she was ten. It was surprising how quickly she picked up some of the basics. I played against the two of them so they could practice playing doubles. Evelyn went off to the Bible study, and I stayed home deciding on a message. I half watched the first half of the Oklahoma embarrassment event at the Orange Bowl. As of now I don't know who won. More later.

The beginning of the end

This New Year's Eve day began with preparations for the big Sun Bowl party. Last minute sandwich making and drink chilling took most of the morning because I also had to go the the recycle center and the church to deliver a letter. We waited for the families Durkin, Jones, Newcomer, and Edge. The other Waters could not come because Don had to pay his farm hands that day. We all sat down with beer and sodas to watch Purdue play Arizona State. During the second quarter I had to go get the charro beans a friend was making for us. We ate snacks until halftime and then had mefellato and boudin/andouilli sandwiches. Everyone pigged out and then watched the roller coaster second half, featuring a victory by ASU. The Purdue offense was just stifled by ASU. We barely had time to get to the church service at 7:00. We came home and changed clothes for the dance at the hall. It was a very good time drinking and dancing with the same people we spent the afternoon with. We had a lunch at 10:30. Isn't it amazing how much people can eat during holidays? We were a bit more prudent, taking our lunches home for eating later. We always leave NYE dances early to avoid the amorous advances of slobbering old men at midnight. I just don't care to put my wife through that. I like to be her one slobbering old man. I think she likes it too because she always leaves with me. This was the beginning of the end of 2004. Have a blessed 2005.