Halloween happiness

Tom was able to go to the office a bit later because he had a training session. We only saw him drive away, however. Peter waved to him and returned to bed. Stacy had Olivia in the shower but that process was a bit late and Stacy had to drive her to school. While she was gone, we got Peter up, and he got himself ready for school and packed his lunch. Stacy came home, and we all went on her carpool run to take him and two brothers to East Cobb school. After that we went to Einstein’s bagel shop for a pumpkin bagel. We, however, split a pumpkin muffin and a peach/mango muffin. Of course they were both delicious. We sat and talked, ate and drank coffee for more than an hour. Olivia had a therapist and doctor appointment, so they brought me home, and they went to take care of that. I worked on printing some address cards and showered. They called around 12:30 and asked if I wanted to go shopping with them. I opted out and prepared food leftover from the party and some delicious chicken in a great sauce. I also found one of the many beers to enjoy with the meal. I was reviewing my blog and heating and eating at the same time, so it took me quite a while to eat. I was just cleaning up when they arrived home at 2:00. Some time was spent cleaning up the microwave at least three times due to things exploding or boiling over. I took several things to the motor home and brought in a key to the house in NC. When everyone came home, Stacy discovered that she already had a key, just as I thought. When Tom came home he had some work to do on the computer, so we took a nap until he was finished. We then packed the kids into the van and went to their jujitsu class. It was fun to see them work out. From there we went to the neighborhood “Goblin roost” where the parents of the trick-or-treaters had tables for the adults featuring beer, wine, bratwurst, hot dogs, dips, cupcakes, etc. Some of the parents went with the kids around the neighborhood while others stayed with the “goblins”. We went with the kids and saw some of the neat decorations in the neighborhood. One man dressed as the Grim Reaper and gave candy personally to all children brave enough to come to his door. Most of them were. I noticed a police car near the party site and decided to take them something to eat. They were very appreciative as were we. It was nice to have them there to control the speed of the traffic while the children were around. They seemed to be very appreciative that someone thought enough of their service to treat them. We then came home, and Tom prepared the best stromboli I have ever had. It is usually great but this was superb. We played on the computer for a while and then received a call from our friends the Waters in Texas. They had been robbed during the day but had had all of the items returned. The police had spotted the culprits and tried to arrest them on charges of running a stop sign. The robbers fled the scene but left all of the loot behind. We praise God for His mercy. They had lost a daughter earlier in the summer and needed more mercy from God during this time. We went to bed, anticipating our departure tomorrow morning.

Worshipping in Roswell

We arose after losing an hour of sleep. The Daylight Saving Time ended at 2 AM this morning. We readied ourselves, trying to ignore all the clocks that had not been changed, and went off to Fellowship Bible Church for the 11:00 worship. The church will add an 8:15 service next week to the 9:30 and 11 services now held. The praise/worship team was quite polished and uplifting. I did think that some of the songs went on longer than necessary but that is typical of mood setting praise teams throughout the country. The message was also uplifting although it could be seen as emphasizing the law (which can create deep feelings of guilt). Most of it was encouraging us to live out our faith by allowing God to live it out for us. I thought the part speaking to me concerned regaining the fire of being a “fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ“. This is the motto of Promise Lutheran in Fort Wayne. I was somewhat disappointed (but not really surprised) that there was not hint that the Sunday was the Reformation Sunday, commemorating the formal beginning of the reformation movement started by the posting of the 95 theses on the door of the church in Württemberg. Most modern churches have discarded most of church history and tradition. It is really a shame because the church, just as our nation’s history is rich in tradition. Alas, history is usually forgotten. We then went to an Italian restaurant. Evelyn and I shared a Greek salad much larger than I anticipated and a calzone. It was good (but not as good at the stromboli Tom makes) and Peter had some of it too. It was about 2:30 when we got home and nearly everyone took a nap. We got up and Tom helped us get some pictures loaded into my computer. He probably gets tired of having to get me “computerized” every time we get together. If this is true, I hope continues to tolerate it. We just had some Razzleberry pie for supper and then went to the basement to watch an old Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes mystery before going to bed. We had originally thought we would leave late this afternoon, but I decided we should spend a bit more time with family. Evelyn likes that process but did not like the change of plans. We are sleeping on the hide-a-bed in their living room but it causes her some back pain during the night. We may sleep in the motor home tomorrow night.

Fun with family and friends

We were surprised that it was 10 until 9 when we looked at the clock. We rushed to get ready to leave to meet Barry and Jackie at Shoney’s for brunch. I did not shower but did wash my hair and shave. We enjoyed the brunch and then hooked to car and left for Roswell. We arrived around 2:30 and iced cupcakes and cut up vegetables. We went to Mama Fu’s for dinner around 4:30. We shared a garlic chicken salad and then went back to take a nap before the birthday/Halloween party. We had a great time. Peter played the drums for the Crocodile Rock number they had rehearsed. There was a Karaoke system set up and Stacy sang with many of the guests but not me. Evelyn had wanted Stacy and me to sing a song together, but I was never asked and I did not want to assert myself because it was not my party. I offered to play the drums once after Peter had departed but was not welcomed into the event at that level either. I was disappointed but not bitter or shunned. It was a party for the younger people, and we were blessed just to be there. We will always hold it as a fond memory that we were even welcomed. It is always a joy just to hear Tom play and Stacy sing. They are truly a gift to each other. We all sang happy birthday to Tom. I am much more comfortable attending a birthday party than a Halloween party even though we did wear the wonderful costumes Evelyn had made. We stayed up later than we should have and went to bed around midnight looking forward to going to worship with them tomorrow. We still don’t know when we will leave. Perhaps Evelyn will receive an “oracle” tomorrow or tonight during her sleep.

parties galore

We worked all day on getting things packed. We never even took time to walk. We had to take many items to the refrigerator and freezer. I called LuAnn and told her we were planning to attend their party tomorrow night in Franklin. She sounded excited. When the young neighbor came home, he helped me load the curio into the motor home so we can take it to Stacy. She had called this morning and talked with Evelyn for quite a while. She is ready for her party and said that a lawyer from their new church would be in attendance. He has been nominated for a position on the Georgia supreme court. She is very excited. Evelyn also spent much of the day between loads baking for the party. She had some miniature cupcakes left over, so we took what we had left around to the neighbors as a farewell gift. Most of them were appreciative, but one couple seemed put upon. Some people just cant accept kindness. We relaxed during the evening. Evelyn is looking forward to escaping the cold. She suffers when it is cold.

profit and packing

We arose thinking we would go to the library first thing and walk immediately after. Instead we first went to Wal-Mart for some medicine and pictures and a battery for the DVD player. It stopped working last night and I couldn‘t get the DVD to eject. I thought it was something else but it turned out to be the battery in the remote. It was only three months old. We came home and it worked. I went around and talked with Sharon a while and got the list of loanable items from Bill. Only four of the residents returned their sheets although they all seemed to think the idea was good. We went to the library for computer work. It was after lunch time so we came home instead of walking. Jerry called and the motor home was ready to be picked up, but Evelyn needed to rest. After resting, we went to walk the lake and pick up the motor home. We made $169 on the five day rental. Unfortunately, we both believe the renters had been smoking inside. I am disappointed in Jerry because he was supposed to make sure they were not going to do that. We brought the motor home back, intending to park it at Michael’s house for two days. He had said it would be fine this morning but someone was parked in the spot when I arrived. I parked in front of the house and began to work on getting ready to leave. I threw away some very old items while Evelyn heated the etouffee for my supper and began washing the linen from the motor home. We watched As Good As It Gets and Evelyn worked on our costumes again--the cards. We also have an opportunity to go to another party Friday night at Tom and LuAnn’s. I think we can get everything ready to leave Friday noon. It will be fun to do that. We can stay at their house and continue to Roswell Saturday since they live in Franklin which is right on the way.

Cooooldddd

We got up to very cold temperatures and wind. It had rained sometime through the night. Somehow our flag had become separated in to stripes and had become threaded through the flagpole. I tried all day to understand how that could happen. I couldn’t. We began separating clothes that we might want to take with us and had breakfast. The owner of the Haywood Nursery came to plant the Chinese Dogwood tree we had bought. He intended to plant it where the grass wouldn’t grow but scraped an inch of dirt from a large manhole cover that we assume is related to the water or sewer line. Regardless, we planted the tree near where we had planned. After he left we went to pay the water/sewage bill and found a worker who recorded that we want the service discontinued November 1. From there we went to the doctor’s office for some stronger samples of Benicar, have other prescriptions called in to Anthem, and for Evelyn to get the address of record changed on her mail order prescriptions. We left there and went to the library for computer work. We came directly home but it was already 2:30 when we ate lunch. We rested for a while and then went to the lake to walk. By this time it was 5 and getting colder. The high today was around 55 and the wind was plowing a bit harder than usual for here. We came home and had a Lean Cuisine dinner. We had checked out four DVDs from the library and decided to watch one called Deja Vu. We also found a copy of O Brother, Where Art Thou? at the library. What a surprise. We will watch it at a different time. We got a call from the Jonathon Creek Hideaway asking how to turn the heat on in the motor home. I told them and hope that they are warm enough. It is cold. We watched the DVD called Deja Vu. It was very slow moving but had a lot of depth. Unfortunately, the theme was to leave the life one has built for the thrill of the moment. It glorified adultery and fornication. It is quite a blessing to know that the Lord brought us together from the beginning, not years after our marriage to someone else.

Tuesday was very cold--under 40. We were going to walk to the top of the mountain, but it was sprinkling cold water. We came back inside and decided to go look for a wide red marker to use in making our Halloween costumes. We don’t believe in observing Halloween, but our son-in-law’s birthday comes just in time for a costume party. We could not find a red marker so we had to choose a black one. While we were at K-Mart, we noticed that there was a crowd waiting for flu shots. We thought we should sign up but didn’t want to wait the predicted hour. We asked if we could sign up and return in an hour. We took the hedge clipper to Casterline’s cabin and then went to get the poster board from the motor home. Unfortunately, the renters were still there but Jerry offered to bring the things to us when they left so he could get them. We came home, ate some more delicious etouffee, and then settled in to wait for Jerry. We began to watch La Dolce Vita that turned out to be several hours long. We had to take a break and walk to the top of the mountain we had started this morning. We got back and kept watching the movie and waiting. Jerry finally came around 5. I decided to work on an outdoor table I had built during the summer. I added some braces to keep the legs apart. It is a very amateur job, but I think it will work. We had a Lean Cuisine for dinner and then finally got to watch the feature presentation of O Brother, Where Art Thou? We really enjoyed it again but had forgotten much of it. I still plan to buy it when I find another copy. I think the renters leave tomorrow around noon so we can begin loading in the afternoon. The evening weather showed two sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway as being shut down due to show! We will be very happy to escape the winter.

friend for lunch

We awoke and readied ourselves for church. We usually have a Bible study in the basement, led by some lay person. We have begun making coffee for the attendees, but no one showed up for the study. We had made coffee before we realized that. We went on up to the pastor’s study on Galatians. We went back downstairs to rehearse for our final choir presentation of the season. This was also the Sunday I had volunteered to read the Old Testament and Epistle. After that I went to the balcony where we sang. One of the choir members is having a heart catherization tomorrow, so we invited her to share our leftover etouffee. She couldn’t come but another widow did come. The etouffee was great and the good news is that we still have enough left for another meal. When the guest left we took a nap and watched some of the San Diego football game. We got up and prepared to go to the lake to walk. The weather has changed dramatically since yesterday. It is 20 degrees cooler. We wore warmer clothing. The hotel was closed so I couldn’t do my blogging. I had told Ray that I was going to do that. I talked with him while we walked. He and I discussed the river barge cruises we are contemplating next spring or summer. I gave him what I thought to be the website address so he could request a brochure. We came home and enjoyed our Sunday favorite: popcorn. We also began accumulating the items we intend to take back to Texas with us. We have to wait to load the motor home until it is available . We have a great deal to prepare for transport but not as much as we have in the past because we are leaving a great deal of clothing etc. here.

eating football tickets

We got up and showered by 7:30, but Bob and Carrie had already been to the top of our mountain. We made a light breakfast of toast and made plans to go to the lake to walk. Carrie went off to shower and decided they wanted to leave rather than walk so they did. We had a great time with them and were truly glad they had come to visit. We did go to the lake to walk and do the computer stuff. We didn’t get home until after noon and had some left over tortilla soup. I then began to watch some football. I learned that the Purdue game was not the selected game in this region but it turned out that it was just another way the Lord spared me the pain of witnessing another slaughter. We will definitely not return for the final two games. It would cost us more to drive to Purdue than we will lose on “eating” the tickets. We will just go to Roswell and leave from there. I have had no response from the synod web site I have contacted to see where we could go to volunteer in the Gulf area. I guess I will have to contact a pastor in the area directly. Evelyn did some reading and writing of letters during the afternoon. Neither of us did any real work although I did load the trash/recyclables and took them to the drop off site. I thought we would go to downtown Waynesville for music this evening, but Evelyn did not really want to go. We stayed home and relaxed.

Wine, wandering Waynesville

We all arose and went to the Jonathan Creek Hideaway to set up the motor home for the honeymooners who are renting it for 5 days. Bob followed me and helped me get the unit backed into the spot on the creek. When we got the slides extended and the bed made, they were both impressed at the living space we had compared to the coach we had at their home near Seattle. We did not get away from there until around 10:30 and decided to stay around Waynesville. Bob wanted a Latte, so we took them to “Frog Level”, an old historic district in Waynesville. There is the Panacea Coffee Warehouse that has good coffees, etc. Bob & Carrie said they thought they were back in the northwest where Starbucks is king. We left there, and they dropped me off at the library to publish blogs. They went on to downtown Waynesville and walked the streets to look into every shop. I walked down to meet them and found them with little trouble. I tried Nick and Nate’s restaurant first because Evelyn had decided we would go there for “lunch” (we didn’t get there until 1:30). I left my computer there so I didn’t have to lug it around town. I did go to T. Michael Jordan’s office to get some eggs from Laurie. Then Bob and I went to the car to deposit the eggs, some things he had bought, and get the DVD I had forgotten to take to the library. It was due today. Bob and I walked it back. We also took the defective Dish network receiver to the UPS drop off point so it could be returned. That was a relief to me. After eating the pizza and drinking beer, we went to the Barber fruit stand and bought some apples. On the way we stopped at the nursery where we bought a tree before we left for Purdue. The owner had forgotten he was to have his son plant it. He promised to have it planted Monday at 4. We went to Ingalls so Bob could buy some beer, and came home. We sat on the deck and drank while Evelyn rested. When she got up, we began preparing hamburgers I had grilled days ago. They were great and we consumed a bottle of wine together. We then opened another and they helped me consume about half of another. Feeling pretty good and not wanting to clutter the refrigerator with half a bottle, Carrie and I finished it off. We played the CD soundtrack of O, Brother Where Art Thou, and I decided they should see the movie. Bob, Evelyn and I drove to Wal-Mart where I intended to buy it. They were out. We walked to the rental store but it was unavailable for rental. We came home disappointed. We were all fairly tired so we went to bed. We had eaten late so it was bed time. Perhaps we would not have been able to remain alert enough to watch the movie anyway.

Traveling the Blue Ridge

We arose and everyone but me had breakfast. I had to have a fasting blood draw at 10. Evelyn had an appointment too. Mine went smoothly as did hers. The doctor was pleased with her progress on her new medical doses. He gave her an script for a higher dosage of Benicar and a higher dosage of potassium. We left the doctor’s office in their rental car for the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drove to the Pisgah Inn for lunch. We had to wait half an hour but were very satisfied. We split a rainbow trout dinner. We left there and went to the Folk Art Museum on the Parkway. After musing for a long time, the girls decided to go to the civic center in Asheville to go to the fall juried craft exhibit. We went there and looked at everything. I thought of looking for a holder for stir spoons that rests on the counter. There were many ceramic crafts there, and I thought we might find one there. We didn’t but did talk to one of the artisans who said she might make one for us. We left there and drove to The Lodge, a restaurant we had visited before with Paul and Shirley. It is atop a mountain where there is a ski lodge and some homes for sale. The setting is beautiful, and we all had a great meal in this beautiful setting. Unfortunately for us beer drinkers, the restaurant is located in a dry county. Fortunately, the Pisgah Inn was not in a dry county. We drove home and I returned a call from Jonathon Creek Hideaway. They said they had a renter for the motor home. It will be rented for 5 day. I will take it there tomorrow. Carrie bought us a rooster magnet at one of the craft booths. We will use it on the refrigerator.

Friends, food and fun

We got up and decided to wait for their arrival to do our walking. Carrie said they would call when they got to the area. I went around to the neighbors issuing Cypress Meadows directories to everyone. Evelyn decided that today was a good day to cut my hair so she did. I then began to work on mounting a hook on which to hang the hair umbrella I wear to keep hair off my clothes. As I was in the storage area gathering hooks, Bob and Carrie drove into the driveway. I had not showered yet, but we sat in the living room and visited for a while. Evelyn began to heat the crawfish etouffee and bake the razzleberry pie she had planned. I went off to shower and shave. I returned to help set the table with the good china and silverware. We enjoyed the excellent lunch, and Bob helped me fix the problem with the motor home compartment door. Evelyn and Carrie went for a walk up the mountain behind us. We all finished and decided to go to walk around Lake Junaluska. Carrie and Bob love to walk and love roses. There is plenty of both around the lake. We went to the Terrace Motel and I learned that the young man from Purdue does not want the tickets. We returned home and had a light dinner of tortilla soup. It was delicious. We watched a bit of the baseball playoff game, and they went to bed. I stayed up and watched “Lost” again. It wasn’t quite as silly as it has been lately.

Waiting for visitors

We got up and began to unload the motor home. I wanted to get it moved before Sandy came home. She thinks it causes her a problem in driving into her drive. We continued doing laundry and folding the clothes, some of which we need to put back into the motor home. I also looked at one of the compartment doors that had rotted a bit. I dug out the wood and will have to replace it. I moved the coach over to Michael’s parking area where he said we could park it for a few days. We drove to the library and stopped at Lowes on the way. We finally used up all the money on our “gift” card. While at the library, I forgot to publish my blog. I did remember to e-mail the young man at Purdue that had expressed interest in buying our football tickets. We will have to wait for his response. We came home and ate. All the while Evelyn thinks we will receive a call from Bob and Carrie. I think it is crazy because they will want to take some time seeing the country on the way here. Nonetheless, we waited. In the meantime, we went to the lake and did our daily walk. We came home and I grilled some hamburger patties we had bought in Peru, IN for the football game. We ate two and saved the other four for when the guests come. They didn’t call, but I did call the satellite company and got the receiver activated. I must have done something wrong but the technician led me through to success.

home again

We got up quite early and began our drive. We drove for a couple of hours and stopped for breakfast. We drove on until lunch time and then I took a shower and a nap. We passed up some gasoline at Corbin to wait for Middlesborough but lost in the gasoline price game. We filled up anyway and went on so we could get home before dark which we did. We were able to park in front of our house and take out our laundry including the linen from the bed. We had dinner and did a couple of loads of laundry. The new receiver for the Dish network and the new Oreck vacuum had arrived, and I tried to activate the new receiver but had to call for help. I talked with some young man who was probably in Weslaco although he was not allowed to tell me where he was. I thought I had it solved but when we hung up the receiver stopped making progress. I will have to call them back tomorrow after nine. I watched some of the football game and CSI Miami before turning in.

Halfway back

We got up and went to Bible class at church and then stayed for worship. We were blessed by Holy Communion and the annual chili dinner presented by the Witte family. It was the best chili we have had in quite some time. Pastor Barton asked me to help with the liturgy after the next football game. I agreed but doubt that we will be there. We will let the Lord decide because we may be able to sell our tickets. If so, we will likely leave for the south from Stacy and Tom’s. We changed clothes after church and left for home. We stopped at the Tippecanoe Mall to buy a Purdue shirt for me, as if I really wanted one. We went on to Shelbyville where we filled up at Kroger. Shirley had given me her Kroger card that got me 10 cents reduction per gallon. We drove on south to Dry Ridge, KY where we spent the night at our national campground--Wal-Mart. We were very tired for some reason and even though it was only 7, we ate popcorn and went to bed. I tried to watch TV a while but could not stay awake.

Another "blood Sacrifice"

We got up and got ready to go to the CFS brunch at 10:00 before the game. It was a beautiful morning, and we had a pleasant walk to the site. We enjoyed eggstrata and sausage links. We happened to get there at the same time as Mick and Elle Keppler. We had a nice chat with them and went to the game at noon. The game was a tragedy in the first half and better in the second half even though Purdue eventually lost. Evelyn left at the half when the score was 28-9 Northwestern. I wanted to see how things might develop during the second half so I stayed. I thought things were looking up so I followed the ball all around the stadium. Purdue actually took the lead once but lost it. I really enjoyed seeing the game from many different angles. I walked the mile and a half back to the coach where we had beer, cheese dip, tacos and cake. I had invited Lydia Edge but didn’t really expect her. She didn’t show up. Perhaps she was still in Texas. We plan to attend church and the chili lunch tomorrow so perhaps she will be there then. I walked the half mile to the airport to get the Jeep and bring it back to where we park the RV. We will drive it and the coach to church tomorrow and then begin our trip back to NC.

RV--black lot

We got up and went for a walk. We returned, showered and asked for help in loading the curio. Dale is a great guy. He helped me figure out a way to pack the thing with a minimum amount of risk to it. Then I drove to the dump site, and Evelyn drove the Jeep. We had to wait for another couple to dump and fill and then it was our turn. We completed that chore and drove to Peru. We bought enough groceries to elevate our total to $100, qualifying us for the 10 cent discount on gasoline. We paid $2.559 after that discount. We had lunch and drove on to West Lafayette where Bill and Shirley were already waiting. I had to find a place to park the Jeep we had towed because we will return to NC from here. I decided to park at the Purdue airport using our “A” hang tag. I walked the ¾ mile back to the coach to be with the others. We chatted a while and then walked to the local Pizza Hut where we enjoyed the buffet. I thought I had a gold card that would get us 15% off our bill but it was not good for the buffet. We came back after buying something at the local University Bookstore. We said goodnight and went to bed early. Evelyn was chilly and I was hot. So what’s new?

Back home again

WE GOT UP AND LEFT DECATUR EARLY ENOUGH TO GET TO THE AUCTION SO DARRELL COULD CHANGE THE SPARK PLUGS BEFORE EVELYN NEEDED TO ARRIVE AT PAULINE’S. WHEN WE GOT THERE, DARRELL PUT US INTO THE WORK BAY WHERE DOUG CHANGED THE PLUGS. THE CHARGE WAS $26 AND WE DISCOVERED THE PLUGS WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD FOR ANOTHER 25K. THIS UPSET ME BECAUSE I TAKE THINGS TO DARRELL BECAUSE HE DOESN’T CHARGE A GREAT DEAL AND DOES ONLY WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. HE COULD HAVE TOLD ME HE WAS TOO BUSY AND I WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD. IT IS OVER NOW AND I COULD NEVER DISLIKE DARRELL. HE HAS BEEN TOO GOOD TO US IN THE PAST, BUT I AM DISAPPOINTED. I HAD FORGOTTEN MY CHECKBOOK SO I DIDN’T PAY HIM. EVELYN KEPT BRINGING THAT UP SO WHEN I DROPPED HER OFF, I WENT BACK AND PAID HIM CASH. THAT IS WHEN I LEARNED THE ENTIRE STORY. WHEN I RETURNED TO PAULINE’S, I LEARNED THAT ELAINE, THE THIRD FRIEND, HAD NOT ARRIVED SO PAULINE INVITED ME TO EAT HER SHARE OF THE BRUNCH SHE HAD PLANNED. IT WAS DELICIOUS AND A MARVELOUS FEAT FOR A WOMAN WHO WOULD NEVER HAVE ATTEMPTED THIS KIND OF THING A YEAR AGO. ELAINE DID ARRIVE AND I PLAYED ON PAULINE’S COMPUTER WHILE THEY VISITED UNTIL 1. WE LEFT AND RETURNED TO THE COACH FOR A SHORT NAP AND THEN WENT TO BERNE TO VISIT AND HAVE DINNER WITH MOM. EVELYN AND I SHARE A DINNER WHEN WE GO. MY PORTION PLUS WHAT MOM DOESN’T WANT AND WHAT EVELYN DOESN’T WANT MAKES ME QUITE FULL. I CAN’T IMAGINE THE VOLUME OF FOOD THAT WE WOULD HAVE IF WE ORDERED A MEAL FOR EACH OF US. THE FOOD IS ALWAYS DELICIOUS AND ALWAYS INCLUDES ICE CREAM WHEN REQUESTED. MOM AND EVELYN ALWAYS ASK. WE WENT TO MOM’S ROOM AND PLAYED CRAZY 8 AGAIN. EVEN THOUGH MOM OBVIOUSLY SUFFERS FROM ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, SHE IS REMARKABLY SHARP. SHE WON SEVERAL GAMES AND WAS ABLE TO ADD MANY CARDS TOGETHER. WE REALLY ENJOY OUR VISITS WITH HER. WE HAVE THOUGHT OF SELLING THE LAST TWO SETS OF FOOTBALL TICKETS AND GOING TO THE GULF COAST TO HELP WITH RECOVERY EFFORTS. WE WILL LIKELY KEEP THE FIRST ONE, HOWEVER, JUST SO WE CAN COME BACK TO SAY GOOD-BYE FOR THE WINTER. WE CAME BACK AND WATCHED TV UNTIL TIME TO RETIRE.

A day of work

We arose and went for our walk. It was cloudy but not drizzly as it had been. We came home and I began washing the roof of our motor home. Evelyn worked on cleaning the bugs off the front. It took quite a while to get started because I had to borrow hose from the RV center and then string the hose out and hook it up. I worked until 11:45 and stopped to shower because we had plans to meet Tom and Janet for fish at 12:30. The special was two for one whitefish dinner, including French fries, slaw and a roll. It is a very good deal. Tom brought some cider he had pressed that I will take to Bill this weekend. When they left I went back to washing the outside of the coach. During this effort, I washed the inside of the of the compartment doors. I then started the waxing process but only got as far as the front. That is the most vulnerable to bugs. About 6 we heated our leftovers for dinner and then went to the laundromat. We finished in record time. When we came home we had a voicemail awaiting us. The Jonathan Creek Hideaway called and said our renters had called and cancelled their reservation. It is disappointing because we won't make the money I hoped would buy enough fuel to get us back to Indiana. Cest le gere! I went to the motel to use the wifi on the computer and watched Lost. It is just too bizarre to continue.

a life spared

It was another drizzly day. We got up but could not walk because of the weather and Evelyn’s appointment. We left far earlier than we needed because she forgot that our clocks are an hour earlier than the actual time. We left and went to New Haven. Among other things we went to Casterline’s and learned that Paul will be coming home this week. He has been in Miller’s Merry Manor and can come home if the house passes the inspection of the therapists. It will. We had to get a stamp for a letter to Stacy and then went on to Pauline’s. I left Evelyn there and went on to the campus to use the e-mail and internet. I stayed until 11:30 and went to UNO for a free pizza. Since Evelyn wasn’t along, I ordered a deep dish pizza that had the best crust I have ever had. It was almost like pie dough. I saved half of it to share. Meanwhile Evelyn had gone to Oakwood Inn in Wawasee with Pauline and some other friends. They had lunch and Evelyn brought me half of her Reuben sandwich. They visited many places in northern Indiana. I went on to the auction to talk with Darrell. He gave me some advice and thought he might come tonight to change the plugs or I could come to the auction Thursday. I went to Auto Zone to buy the spark plugs and an air filter that they installed. I went to Pauline’s to wait for Evelyn who was supposed to be back at 3. She arrived nearer to 4. In the meantime a man on a 20 foot ladder was cutting a limb from an oak tree with a chain saw. As he worked I saw the limb fall but, it was so heavily leafed that I lost sight of him. When the limb reached the ground, he was out of sight. I worried that he might have fallen on the chain saw. As a blessing, he had hit the kill switch and thrown the saw aside as a catcher might throw his mask. Other workers ran to his aid, and I went to offer chaplaincy help. He had some minor cuts on his face but claimed to be fine. He didn’t want prayer or comfort so I went back to the car and waited for Evelyn. When she arrived, we left and saw the worker limping along favoring his arm. He had to be hurt with a possible broken arm. We came back to the unit and decided to take this opportunity to eat Pizza King pizza, our favorite. We bring it home so I can have beer. While waiting for the pizza, we went to the grocery and rented a video for the evening A House in Tuscany. We watched it. We had trouble with our reception so I had to watch it too. I don’t know if I will ever understand the television in the motor home. We have a light day tomorrow, meeting Tom and Janet for lunch and opting to skip the dinner series event in the evening. We will have the leftovers we brought home from today’s lunches.

Dreary weather, warm friends

We arose to a cold, misty morning. We skipped showers to conserve water and went for a walk in the cloud. The living room slide had crept in overnight so we brought it on in so it wouldn’t leak onto the floor. HWH called with some ideas to try before replacing everything. The two things did not work. I went to a local motel to use the wifi because I had not been able to deal with e-mail. I had 130 messages to go through. I returned around lunch time, and we had a small salad and chicken wings leftover from Saturday evening. We then went to the discount grocery looking for some deodorant without aluminum chloride. We bought nearly $60 worth of items. We don’t do well with controlled shopping. We went to Ned’s to return the cooler we had borrowed and visit. Evelyn gets stir crazy when she is stuck here in the motor home while being repaired. We came back and the technicians had received two more “solutions” from HWH. One of them actually worked: the slide stayed out without creeping in. The technicians had little to do today so one was assigned to help me set up the Dish Network box I had brought. He made some progress but will have to work on it again tomorrow. We walked to the regular grocery looking for a rebate form and once again bought other things. We came back for dinner of chili left from Saturday. We watched some of the football game and then went to bed to rest for tomorrow. While watching, Ray called from Kansas. They had just returned from Branson where they were attending a going away party for former Stonecroft volunteers. We have volunteered there three times but received no invitation unless I dumped the e-mail by mistake. Almost immediately after that Janice called for Evelyn. We always enjoy calls from our winter friends.

Visit with Mom

We got up and packed up the motor home, dressed for church, and drove to University Lutheran for worship. We left there and began the drive home. We went to Logansport and stopped to eat a salad and soup for lunch. We changed into travel clothes and Evelyn took a nap. We went on to Berne to have dinner with Mom. We also enjoyed playing Crazy Eight with her. She needs some help but is still able to do enough right to win. While we were there, Swiss Village featured an organ concert from the First Mennonite Church there in Berne. We thought Mom might enjoy it since she once played the organ. After a couple of numbers, she announced, "I bet he is not married!" This response was confusing so we asked why she said that. She opined, "No woman could stand to listen to that!" She was quite inciteful. We drove back to Decatur to dump and fill with water. I hope we won’t have to do that again until we leave for Purdue next Friday. We came back to Kelley’s and hooked up for the week. I could not get much TV reception and was hesitant to try to hook it up myself because I might blow something up inside. I will try to find someone tomorrow who knows how to do it.

Bowl game blues

We arose and had cereal for breakfast. We decided to skip showers because it had been chilly, and we had not perspired much. Besides we can always conserve water. We made plans with Bill and Shirley for dinner after the game. We walked down to the airport, something we had never done in all the years at Purdue. It was small but had many pictures featuring Amelia Earhart who was an aviation consultant at Purdue when she took off on her last flight. In fact she was flying a plane loaned to her by Purdue. We walked back, and Evelyn made chili for the evening and tried baking four cookies which blended into one. We heated hamburgers I had grilled a few weeks ago and got ready to go to the game. When I went to the location in the motor home where I keep the tickets, they weren’t there. We literally took everything from every cupboard looking for them. I finally determined I had taken them to NC in case I decided to sell them and would have them to mail. We went to the ticket office and received a replacement ticket. We also hung around Mackey Arena where there were many games and events set up. We won a T-shirt and a travel mug that I left under our seat at the game. We then went to the game early to look for Mick and Ellie Keppler but did not find them. We went to our seats for the slaughter. It was a pleasantly cool day but not much happened on the field that made us happy. It seems likely that the string of attendance at eight bowl games is over. We wonder if even IU won’t beat Purdue this year. We left before the game ended. When the center hiked the ball right past the quarterback who was looking to one side, I decided I had seen enough high school football for the afternoon. We walked back in a crowd of other disillusioned fans and heated the chili. Shirley brought many things too which is what she usually does. After we ate they went back. We ate more than we should have that late. The game wasn’t over until 7:30, and dinner was even later. We will look forward to homecoming next weekend and then the trip back home.

Shorter travel

Dale and Denise who are in communication with HWH. I asked for help in moving the curio and two workers came. I had hoped for one but didn’t have to move any of it. Dave, the technician working on our unit, came just before we left and took some numbers from the pump because HWH was on the telephone. We left the Jeep in the parking lot (hopefully Darrell will come to change the spark plugs) and then went to dump and fill with water. Off we went to Peru around 9:30. We stopped at the Kroger store and bought supplies. We also called Stehlics, Pastor Edge’s in laws we had met in Mercedes, to go to lunch with them. They took us to a nice local restaurant, Harvey Hinklemeyers. We wanted to persuade them into going to the Via de Cristo weekend next weekend. They wanted to talk to us about renting our mobile next May, June, and July when their granddaughter, Lydia, would be married. I think they won and we lost in the agenda department. We went on to Purdue and set up, saving a place for Bill and Shirley. While Evelyn was inside, I saw them walking across the field where we park. They had come more than an hour after us and had not seen us. They moved beside us, and walked to the Dairy Queen where we met them after we had some soup for dinner. We returned to our unit and played euchre until 9 when we retired for the evening. Bill and I drank a whole bottle of wine, making us a bit tired. I was able to read a chapter in the Monkey book before conking out.

Travel day

We got up at 6 and actually made it out or the driveway by 7. It was an astounding testimony to preparation. Of course, we both forgot some things, but we will get along. Evelyn rode with Pauline until we got to the KFC shrine in Corbin. I had stopped at the Middlesboro Kroger where I got a loaf of hazelnut poppy seed bread for $1.67--about half of what it usually is. We had thought it would be near 1:00 before we reached Corbin, but we got there at 10:30. At that point Evelyn moved in with me and Pauline went on to her friends in Florence. Since it was too early for lunch, we went on, looking for a Bo Jangles chicken restaurant but found none around lunch time. We split a chicken teriyaki sandwich at Subway. We drove on to Dry Ridge, KY where we went to an outlet mall looking for pillow cases. There were none there, but Evelyn found some wonderful jeans at Liz Claiborne outlet. We then drove on to Berne to make a short visit with Mom. We went on to Decatur where we unpacked our Jeep. I had called Kelley RV earlier and learned that our slides still malfunction. The Jacks are supposedly fixed, however. Hopefully, HWH has found some way to finally fix that ongoing problem. Now we are waiting for the solution to the slides problem. One pleasant surprise was that John had brought the curio we are to take to Stacy to Kelley RV. It was inside the coach but will have to be moved out for the time we are here because we can’t comfortably live around it.

Doctors galore

Up and the ladies were off to Cherokee. I was to take the German dinner cake to church. I decided to do two other things while going that way. No one was at the church so I went on to Canton to have the clock fixed. The man immediately checked and changed the battery. It ran fine. I am a bit miffed with the other jeweler who recommended I go there because, “I could find nothing wrong”. I even changed the battery but thought it to be good. Oh well. I then went to Pisgah High School to see the young teacher I had met during the summer. I thought she might be able to supply some titles for us to read with Andrew and Noah. She will e-mail me with some titles. I then went to Dr. McLelland to report the skin cancer I had neglected to reveal to him Monday. I was directly across from Dr. Thomas’ office so I walked there to have my right ear examined. It had begun to itch, and I wondered what was wrong. It was a “spitting suchre”. All I wanted was to have a determination at the seriousness of the ear, but the nurse and ultimately the doctor wanted to remove the thread right then. They did and sent me on to the Open Door to see if I could help. They had plenty of workers so I went on to the library to return books and do computer work. I came home and ate more quiche left from breakfast. I cleaned up the kitchen and put some clothes into the car. I also folded the clothes from the dryer, and then Shirley and her mother came to visit, but I was the only one here. I peeled some apples that had bad spots for Pauline and then emptied the trash to leave the house clean. I went to the bedroom and watched some of the playoff game and fell asleep. I wakened when the ladies came home’ and we went to Maggie’s Galley for dinner. Evelyn made me angry, and I left and went for a walk while they dined. We then went to choir practice and came home to pack for tomorrow’s trip.

Visitor

We all got up and had a bagel for breakfast. I had a feeling that the diet has died since the company came. Evelyn and Pauline left for Asheville where they visited the farmer’s market, drove some on the Blue Ridge Parkway, went to the Grove Park Inn for lunch and came back to walk a short bit in downtown Waynesville. They returned around 5:30. I had gone to the satellite store and found what I could do to correct the reception problem. I thought I had disconnected the system so it could reset. I had not disconnected the correct plug. When I did, it corrected the problem. I then went to the K Mart to buy some diet Pepsi for Evelyn. I also bought another shredder attached to a waste basket. I then went to the library to do the computer work. I came home and had a sandwich for lunch, read some of Summer of the Monkeys and watched some of the baseball playoffs. When they returned home, Evelyn finished cooking the stuffed bell peppers for the potluck. We went and enjoyed beating the diet to within an inch of its life. We finished our study of the history of the LCMS. We came home and they planned their trip to Cherokee tomorrow. I would go along but Pauline won’t let me drive. I thought I was going to help get chairs for the German dinner Sunday, but the nursing home can’t lend them until Friday. I will have to find something to do tomorrow.

Company comes

We did everything as planned in the morning with the addition of walking up the “mountain“ behind us. I took Evelyn for her haircut and then dropped her at the Open Door before keeping my doctor’s appointment. I am impressed with the time Dr. McLelland is willing to spend with us. He spent at least half an hour just interviewing me and I am not sick at this time. He did hear a micro valve prolapse (I think) but did not seem concerned. I had wanted a digital prostate exam for some time so he gave me one, noting that mine was somewhat enlarged. He recommended saw palmetto for the problem. I will try it for 2 or 3 months to see how it works. I was pleased to learn that I had lost around 5 pounds according to the office scales. It isn’t much but I am not on a crash diet. I tried to return to the Open Door to help clean up but nothing was left to do, so we came home and I had a sandwich there. Evelyn had eaten a small amount while serving. We waited until 5 when Pauline arrived. I had forgotten to tell her which way to turn off I-40 but she chose the correct way. After a short visit, we went to walk around the lake. She was thrilled with the scenery. We returned home for dinner of a stuffed bell pepper and a trip through her album of pictures of her trip to Alaska this past summer. I watched some but spent some time trying to understand what is wrong with our Dish reception. The transponder is stuck on reprogramming step 2 of 5. I will go to the satellite store tomorrow.

Relaxing for the week ahead

We arose and went off to church where we led the Bible study. It was a pretty good study on how to lead someone through the Bible for salvation. After that we went to worship where we were blessed with Holy Communion. On the way home we went to the Food Lion to lay in some supplies for Pauline’s visit. We came home late and had a nice lunch since it was Sunday. We watched some of the Drew Brees football game. He beat the defending Super Bowl champions. We went back to Waynesville to use the wyfy at the library. We also returned some items to K-Mart and then returned home. I cleaned the office/guest room, and together we washed the windows. We had popcorn for supper and did not count any points. We did not go too far over. I tried to organize the Jeep for the trip next weekend. We then watched “Desperate Housewives” and went to bed. We have a confusing day planned for tomorrow. Evelyn has ann appointment for a haircut at 10:30, we are scheduled to work at the Open Door at 11:15, and I have an initial doctor’s appointment at noon. By the time we get home, Pauline should be here for her visit.

Two days of work

We really slept late this morning. We got up and ate breakfast before going to walk around 10. It was one of the most pleasant walks we have had: cool, dry, and without fog. We left there and went on some errands and make a trip to the library where a book awaited Evelyn. We had hoped they might have the film version of Summer of the Monkeys. They didn’t. This is a book that Emily and her boys are reading, and she invited us to read and discuss it with them. I transferred money to cover our credit card debt. I am glad to get that taken care of each month so we don’t have any finance charges. We went out to a nursery and bought a Chinese Dogwood tree for the front yard. I am willing to pay to have it planted because the soil is so bad here that we need a guarantee. It will be planted early next week. We returned a rug we had bought yesterday and then went to Wal-Mart for a shredder to use here. We came home for lunch at 2:00. Evelyn wanted to cut some of the black eyed Susans that have died. They are mostly without petals on them, and she thinks they should be cut back. After doing about ¼ of them, she acknowledged that we have the wrong tools for the job. We gave up for today and came inside for our showers. I wanted to deliver the proposed list to the neighbor in back of us because she was home. When I went to her house, the neighbor to her north was visiting. Her house will not be finished for at least three weeks but I gave her a form anyway. I decided go to Jim and Kathy’s to see if they would go to dinner with us. I didn’t expect her to agree because she is usually whipped from her day at work but she agreed. We went to pick them up and they brought her youngest daughter with them. We went to Arfs for the second time and we shared the same meal we had last time. It was delicious again. We came home and went to bed early because we have to get up early so Evelyn can go to the LWML meeting.

We got up at 6 and I took Evelyn to church to catch her ride. I came home and swept the deck to prepare it for the coating Olympic water seal. Evelyn had helped me move the furniture from it before leaving. I used the new sponge roller I had bought at the suggestion of Tom Jones. It worked marvelously. I intended to do just the deck and the porch later. However, I am compulsive and decided to do all the wood surfaces. I finished the deck, the porch, two sets of steps, the swing and the wooden TV tray. I was done by 11:30 and fixed my lunch of etouffee and slaw. I ate as I watched “College Game Day” and the first part of the Michigan/Michigan State football game. I still had the trash to take, so I loaded it and went off to the site. The recycle center is in the same location. I also went to a garage sale on the way and bought some holiday wreaths. I then went to Wal-Mart to get some things, including some automatic lamp timers for use when we go south. I watched the end of the football game and then Evelyn came home with one of the ladies. I had been awaiting her call but had hoped things would torn our as they did. She was tired from the day and took a nap. When she wakened, we went to walk the lake. Unfortunately, the hotel is closed until Monday so I couldn’t do my computer work. We came home and had a light dinner and then watched the first half of the Notre Dame/Purdue debacle. I am glad we enjoy the company and ambiance of the games. It will make the next two weekends tolerable.