A busy day

Kind friends from Wisconsin Rapids who took us to dinner.

I had to go to the hall early to “train” the parking crew. We had a big shuffle tournament here and everyone entered came here to learn which park they would playing in. They all had to leave at the same time and needed help to exit the park. When they come in we must keep them from parking in front of some resident’s driveway. I could not stay around because we had to go to the hospital for a chest X-ray. We get these free for volunteering at the hospital. They want to give us a TB skin test but we refuse them, knowing we will fail and need an X-ray anyway. We then mailed a birthday present to granddaughter Elizabeth who will be 6 on the 13th. We also took a check from the renters to deposit in Alamo Bank. By the time we finished, all the shufflers were gone. We returned in time for Evelyn to go to the Bible study. I worked on some paperwork and watered the garden until Evelyn returned. I also picked and cleaned lettuce, cilantro and Swiss chard for lunch tomorrow. We had some lettuce salad for lunch and then left for Mercedes so Evelyn could get a bone density scan. I also went to Immanuel to get some communion wafers. From there we went to Elsa, a small town north of here, to get some eyeglasses for Evelyn because there was to be one of two locations in the Valley where our Pacificare coverage for eye care is honored. We never could find the location so we will have to try the other one supposedly in Edinburg. We came home and Ray and I went to Mid Valley to play golf. Neither of us did very well. I got home just in time for Ed and Nona Drews (pictured above) to pick us up for dinner. We went to the Courtyard at the Best Western Hotel. They have a special item most evenings and rib dinners for two for $13.25 is Tuesday’s item. We happened to arrive just in time for the happy hour provided for their guests. We enjoyed a beer before being seated for dinner. The ribs were delicious and plentiful. We nearly always bring some ribs home and tonight was no exception. I did have an attack in my spincter and was forced to go out and walk around until I could get my food down. We came home and watched the excellent State of the Union speech. How can people not support the common sense ideas the President conveys? We had a dessert with our benefactors from dinner as we watched the speech together. I was very tired and went to bed earlier than usual. We had planned to go to dinner to celebrate Genny Durkin’s birthday tomorrow evening but had to cancel so we could talk to our renters in Harlingen. We can’t get everything done and still make the Bernie and Red show in the evening.

A fishy day

The best part of the meeting: lunch


Older people training to teach people to drive.

We were up, and I was off to McAllen for my final day of training in the new edition of the AARP Driver Safety class. I had to spend the day listening to people explain how to use the book. I agree that the new layout is much better and the new video is superb, but it will take me some time to learn how to use it comfortably. This despite the fact that I have only used the old book 4 times. I won’t be qualified to use it until after my February class and don’t know whether I will have another class prior to next fall. We shall see. I went to the Christian book store afterward and bought 1,000 plastic communion cups. They are really expensive but should last us for several years. At least we will be able to borrow the trays from Ranchero village. I think there are several misplaced wafers at Immanuel that won’t be used. I came on home and Evelyn had just laid down. I opened the mail and read the e-mail. After that I finished reading a book that some friends had loaned me: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger. It is a good read set in a restaurant between Jesus and the author who was invited. The discussion over dinner was an attempt by the invited party to find out whether the host was who he claimed to be. I am almost finished with it and want to return it to our friends before we go to dinner with them tomorrow night. We had fish for dinner. Evelyn ate the creole tilapia that I had brought from the meeting today. I ate the fish she had brought from some other friend’s fish fry to which we had been invited after church yesterday. We then took a walk, intending to go to the park meeting next door to ask people to come to the hospice talk Friday afternoon. We had forgotten that both of these parks had been invited to a Mel Tillis concert, and the meeting had been cancelled. We went to the Durkins to see if Genny wanted to go to dinner on her birthday Wednesday. We decided to go to the King Buffet because Genny likes Chinese food and Whiney Ray will only pay for Chinese food on her birthday. They talked about asking whether there were any tickets left for the show. We came home, I read more of the book, Evelyn read upstairs, I watched TV as I wrote this blog. We have a couple of doctor’s appointments tomorrow and an invitation to dinner with imperfect friends.

Worship and generous friends

We were blessed in our worship again this morning. We had 47 in attendance and good singing. I prayed for forgiveness for me and healing. We had several requests for prayer for people who are having biopsies. I have to get one next week for a growth on my arm. I don’t think it is anything but want to be sure. I don’t go until next week but I do go to McAllen tomorrow for another AARP meeting. I spend too much time with this stuff. Back today. We had our Bible study and discussed the OT lesson from Deuteronomy. We can’t understand the difference between Mt. Horeb and Mt. Saini. I will have to research this. We returned here and had a salad for lunch. We laced it with chicken breast. The base was left over from Thursday’s meal. We both thought that salad was delicious and have enjoyed it for three meals. We laid around in the afternoon. I always need a little rest after the worship. I usually take Monday off but you already know what will happen tomorrow. I watched most of Rush Hour during the afternoon. It was a good action movie I have always wanted to see. It was followed by Rush Hour II which I had seen part of before. I kept switching to golf too. It was the Buick Open and it appeared Phil Mikelson could win until about hole 14. He fell apart after that and Tiger came on to force a three way playoff without Mikelson. For some reason I like Phil. Well Tiger won again. We were invited for a salad dinner at Joe and Bonny’s so we went there. She had harvested lettuce and other things from her garden. She had been gone for a week and no one had harvested. We came home in time to watch O Brother, Where Art Thou? We always enjoy it. I have been asked in a backhanded way to take Holy Communion to a shut in from Immanuel. Evidently the pastor has not done it for any of the shut ins. There are only three. I will try to do that next week for the shut in, not the church. They didn’t want me to work there.

anointing for healing

Wow! I turned off the alarm again last night, and we slept until 8:50! This can get to be habit forming. We had to begin preparing for our guests for lunch. The woman just had surgery on her elbow to repair damage from an accident this past summer. She had to go to Dallas to have an elbow replacement specialist who works on professional athletes repair hers. We cleaned the house, and Evelyn prepared the chicken we had left over from Thursday’s heart healthy meal. They arrived shortly after 12 but our remaining in bed caused Evelyn to get behind on the project of making our favorite hazelnut/poppy seed bread. As a result we could not eat until about 1. We enjoyed the meal and the bread and the visit. I offered to anoint Sharon with oil, and she was receptive to that. After they left and we cleaned up the kitchen, I went to invite a couple for crawfish next Saturday. They accepted and will arrive around 1 with the other couple. I also took our week’s worth of trash including the old toilet seat I had replaced. I came home to work more on tomorrow’s sermon. We had eaten so late that we were not very hungry so we went to the Dairy Queen where we used the coupon for a buy one get one free banana split I had won at the 50s dance last week. We also went to Wal-Mart for some Brita filters and other items. The service there is less than acceptable so we don’t like to go there. We waited for the cashier to get one’s from the change girl. As we waited, a little girl with two older girls threw paper from a candy she was eating on the floor. We tried to get them to understand that she should pick it up with no result. We aren’t sure the older girls could understand English; many Mexicans come here to shop on the weekends. We returned home, and I continued looking for someone to read the scriptures tomorrow. I only found one so Evelyn will have to read the other. We watched some of a movie called It Could Happen to You starring Nicholas Cage early in his career. I then watched the ending of Saturday Night Fever, an old film we had never seen. I practiced the sermon and prepared the hymns for next week so I can give them to the accompanist that will help next week. I wonder if John will be back. He has been on a cruise during the month. The weather today was more humid than yesterday but still quite pleasant. After all it is January.

A BIG FAVOR

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serving the Lord and the park

We did our usual morning routine and then tried to work out a plan for the back yard project. Evelyn wants to lay some tile and then have an arbor of some sort built. She has to select the materials and measurements to use. If we are going to lay the tile, I want to make sure we enclose the area squarely so that I can mow the little grass that is left. I think she will make some decisions soon. At least I hope so because the man who will build it for us this summer would like to know before he comes so he can bring some tools if necessary. I also worked on the drain in the bathroom and the cold water faucet in the shower. We then had lunch and rushed off to volunteer at the hospital. We spent our 4.5 hours there and came home to rest before the dance. We had signed up to work some weeks ago. We were assigned the job of collecting money from those entering to dance. We were all disappointed that only 32 people came to dance. This produced $112 of the $150 the band charges. I am sure the park owners are not going to support our dances if no more people are going to attend than did tonight. We will have a better band next week that has a following throughout the Valley. We are also planning to invite two couples here for crawfish etouffee next Saturday. One couple accepted but we need to call the other one tomorrow.
serving

Fun on SPI

Evelyn went to exercise while I prepared the car and took my bicycle to the trailer that will take us to South Padre Island. We left around 9:30 and we rode with another couple that had their bicycles on the back of their car. We arrived at the restaurant where we were to lunch and rode to the end of the island to the south. There is a large statue of Jesus in memory of men lost at sea. We returned to Blackbeard’s and shared a grilled mahi mahi lunch. We wanted to have an ice cream for dessert but the service was so slow (the fault of too many people in our group) that we had to leave in order to get home and finish preparations for tonight’s heart healthy meal. The guests arrived and we enjoyed the chicken we had skinned last night and a game of hand and foot. We got to bed a bit earlier than usual.

School's out!

I got up intending to walk but went to the hall and began talking with many of the morning regulars. That was my mistake. I stayed longer than I wanted and had to shorten my walk. I did encounter the man in charge of the bicycle rides. He assured me that we would be riding in the morning at South Padre Island, have lunch and then offer the option of riding to the north end of the Island. We will have to come home instead to prepare for the heart healthy meal. We are hosting and providing the entree. Around 10 Evelyn met with her partner in charge of ladies leisure to plan the rest of the year. They finished and we ate lunch. I went off to the last half of my driving class. It went well, and I received many kind compliments. When I begin to think I deserved them, I remember that the glory goes to God who gave me the gift to communicate in an entertaining manner. I came home intending to pick up the car that was to have the mounting iron welded to it, but the welder had another more serious problem and could not get it onto the hoist. The kind neighbor took me to get it because we need it tomorrow. I also had to drive to Alamo to talk to the AARP area coordinator about sending my report in. He had one hour to devote, but I didn’t take that long. We went to a Stars drive in and I had an extra long hot dog and Evelyn had a banana split. We then went to the HEB to get some groceries for tomorrow. I also found a bargain on wine and stocked up. We brought everything home and skinned the chicken quarters and thighs to make them more heart healthy. That is a horrendous job that would have been much easier had they been cooked first. We couldn’t do that because we wanted to roll the chicken in the heart healthy corn flakes. I finally got to write this blog and went to bed to be rested for the ride in the car to and ride the bikes on South Padre Island. We did receive word from Geneva that Evelyn’s mom seems to be strong enough to go to the dining room for dinner, even though she is still has weak lungs.

All day in class

Up this morning and walked. Evelyn prefers the treadmill indoors. It was quite cool. I showered and took the cardboard, plastic and mixed paper to the recyle center. I then took the communion ware back to Ranchero Village and went to Trail’s End to talk with the lay minister that I hope will take my place when I have to be gone to attend Mom’s funeral. I came home and continued preparing while Evelyn attended the Bible study. I was then off to class which went rather well, except one couple came in 45 minutes late. I was quite furious but held my tongue. I talked with them, demanding they return for the first hour of the next class in February. We finished early and I came home, asked a neighbor to follow me and took our Saturn to the welder to get our mounting iron welded so we can tow it. The welder said he is fairly certain that he can complete the work by the end of the day tomorrow. I hope so. I spent the evening completing the certificates given to the students upon completion of the AARP course. To relax I watched some reruns of Law and Order and a new The Closer.

Monday

Today, I prepared for tomorrow. I have to teach to AARP Safe Driving class tomorrow, and, since it has been a year since I have done it, I need to practice. I did walk in the morning and Evelyn exercised. We got ready and went to Wal-Mart to see about getting Evelyn some new glasses and some herbs. She talked with the optical department and was shocked to learn that they did not accept Pacificare. We learned that the pharmacy does accept that company. We then went to Home Depot to find some ideas for our back yard resort area that the summer renter will build. The strange thing is that she can tell me exactly what she wants, but can’t draw her own “schematic” to give him. She has a talent of making a simple task complicated. We came home for lunch even though I offered to take us out to the new Chinese restaurant in town. We rested in the afternoon and then Evelyn made mefallato sandwiches for our guests for dinner. We had the nurse who takes blood pressure here in the park and her husband. He is the one entered the egg toss contest last year. We finished second and I would like to win this year. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to ask him. They left and then I practiced some more and checked my materials and watched Leno’s headlines feature. It wasn’t very good this time.

Divine and delicious meals

Guests from Trail's End for dinner


We arose and went to Trail’s End to lead worship. I learned that there was another lay minister in attendance, so I invited him to assist instead of Evelyn. There were 45 in attendance and several were blessed by the Communion service. One lady even asked for a copy of the sermon saying she had never heard the Lord’s supper explained so well. I doubt that but was thankful that the Lord had given me the words to communicate the Holy service as well as He did. We then had our Bible study and were all blessed again. We only had 4 people stay but they were seeking ones. We had invited a couple from that congregation for lunch today, and they accepted. Evelyn had made pork chop casserole, covering the chops with corn bread stuffing. She was very disappointed because it was somewhat bland, but the guests liked it. She had also made surprise peach pie that the host did not. It was more of a custard pie that he doesn’t care for. The guests were somewhat interested in finding a nicer place to live, so we sent them over to a neighbor’s to look at one for sale. They never said how they liked it. After they left, we took a nap and I then watched Pittsburgh mutilate the Denver Broncos. Stacy, our older daughter, called on her way to Indianapolis from her visit with Evelyn’s mom. She said Mom was surprisingly healthy, at least physically. She was very tenuous about who Stacy was and that was very sad for her to see her grandmother that way. But it was better than seeing her as a corpse. She was very glad she had gone to visit. She also got to visit with her cousin, Justin, and his family. We spent the evening with our regular friends, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. I miss having two TV sets because I would have watched Barber Shop on USA, but as a good friend says, I only have one vote.

A slow day

We slept in this morning because we rarely get to, and I turned the alarms off during the night. We didn’t get up until 8:30. Evelyn then went to walk and I began to work on the sermon. The Lord was merciful and made me satisfied with what I have. I called Lee Anderson and he and Marilyn agreed to read the scriptures. They just arrived last week but he was a teacher and can do many things in the services. Evelyn and Joan Birdsong met and filled the Communion cups and prepared for the feast tomorrow. I went to get the mail and found the golf club having its monthly lunch. I had forgotten to sign up for it but did get a beer to bring home. I pulled the list of AARP class hopefuls because it was too large and ran into four ladies in the office who disagreed. There is not enough room in the outback for the number of enrollees. They said we could accommodate twice that number but they don’t have to lead the group. They don’t have to deal with people complaining about the lack of room to use their workbooks. None of them was willing to lead the class. J Evelyn wants to invite guests for lunch tomorrow but her helper with communion didn’t want to come so we will have to call someone else. We might find someone free at worship tomorrow. After we took a short nap we took a walk in the quite chilly weather and then nestled in for the night. I tried to find a decent movie on the PPV channel of our Dish Network but couldn’t. I have trouble knowing how to do some of those things. Evelyn worked on a dessert for tomorrow’s guests called peach pie surprise. I did some organizing of some papers into folders. That’s a wrap!

Still in Texas

Here we are. We did not go to Indiana as I was sure we would. Instead we went to the Doctor together. Evelyn wanted to see about her medicine and get some new prescriptions. I wanted some opinion about the spot or growth on my left forearm. The doctor recommended Evelyn have an MRI of her brain because she has complained of headaches and dizziness. We don’t know whether it is related to her blood pressure or not. He also wanted more blood. He then brought in a second year medical student to look at me. He did too but the student spent some time with me. He hummed and hawed about my arm. He took so long struggling for some guesses that I steered him to my sinus drainage. He did better on that subject. He recommended Claritin. The real doctor agreed. We finally escaped after nearly two hours. We had to go to the Texas State Bank to get some money and a notarized signature. We own a viatical settlement that may lose us some money. We had to sign as to whether to sell our policy, keep it, or accept the cash value. We opted to keep it. We took the money to the Alamo Bank to cover some checks. We then rushed to the grocery to get some grape juice and wine for Sunday’s Holy Communion. We rushed again and had lunch before going to the hospital. Evelyn dropped me off and went back to get her MRI. As it turned out she had to drive to McAllen to have it done. While at the hospital, I called the local Baptist Church to acquire some Communion wafers. I went and picked them up just before we left our posts. We realized on the way home that Evelyn had not received any prescriptions. Evelyn was tired, took a short nap, and then left for the steak dinner presented by a winter Texan from Nebraska. He and his wife do this each year, and we have been blessed to be invited for 4 years. We went with our good friends Joe and Bonny Winston. On our way home we went to church to get our contribution envelopes and some communion wafers. Bonny was surprised and likely disgusted that I would serve Communion in a non LCMS setting. I wouldn’t but no longer work for the LCMS and don’t feel obligated to adhere to its restrictions. I may never get another assignment but don’t look to get that anyway. We got home just in time for bed. We have not been going to Immanuel at all and many of the people seemed genuinely happy to see us. Perhaps we have been missed.

Blessings again

Up again. I walked both parks and Ray wanted to show me what he had torn down in their mobile. I could never undertake any project like that for fear of getting things so messed up that we could not live there. He said he would work on reloading Windows into my old computer. I came home and dressed for the day. At around 9:15 Evelyn came home to relieve me from my telephone watch. We thought Dixie might call. I had some errands to run before 11 so we could eat and Evelyn leave for the program at the hall. I went to Trail’s End to deliver a picture and Purdue clock to the motor home. No one was there so I put them into an outdoor compartment. I also sold one of the vanity bulbs for the Winnebago we once had. I got home so Evelyn could make it to her meeting. I would have gone but was again on phone watch. Just before Evelyn returned, Dixie called with the good news that Mom had been accepted into hospice but was thought to be somewhat improved. The nurse said she was not in imminent danger. That likely means that we will not be rushing to Indiana tomorrow. Evelyn came home and reported that the talk by the man from the sugar growers association was very good but poorly attended. Only half of the 60 who had signed up showed up. We had a little celebration, and then I had to get hot on a sermon since we will likely be here Sunday. As I worked, Ray and Genny came to deliver the computer he had reloaded. He caught his toe in a separation in our porch carpet and would have gone headlong into the wall had I not caught him. Both Genny and I thought he was joking until we saw the hole in the carpet. We just must take it back to Camping World to see if we can get our money back. It is less than a year old. They left and I went back to work. Shortly Evelyn brought some sausages for me to cook on our new Q-grill. As I began Dixie called again and was able to talk with Evelyn this time. I had to continue with the grilling since I had started it. We have had it since the morning of our colonoscopy but haven’t had occasion to use it. It is likely one of those things that works better on the drawing board than off. It did an adequate job despite being in the wind. We ate one each and then Evelyn left for an evening Bible study while I went back to work. As I write this, I am listening to Johnny Cash and Stephen Curtis Chapman on a Billy Graham special. It is very uplifting to be reminded of what I already know--God loves me. I continued working. The Lord continues to give me ideas so I will keep at it. Oh yes, I had been trying to cover myself for being gone next week but can discontinue the search for back-ups. I am worried about the AARP class, however. We have at least 33 signed up but I don’t think we can all fit comfortably into the room we have to meet in. I think I will ask if some of them will meet another week.

dull day, wild finish

Up and the usual. It was not nearly as windy this morning, making for a more pleasant walk. I had to come home and leave for my all day AARP meeting in McAllen while Evelyn was off to the Christian Women’s Club luncheon in Harlingen. She met up with Janice who brought our folder containing the title to our unit in Harlingen. She took the Skoal and medicine to her from Mexico. She has convinced Evelyn to return to Indiana to see her mom. I spent the day in a meeting to explain the use of the new edition of our instruction manual. I had to take the second half of the training session first because I could not go to the first one yesterday. I had a delicious lunch of lemon pepper tilapia. I may have to change my opinion of Dennys--at least this one. Both the food and the service are quite good. I went to get the other car remote reprogrammed but could not. I went to the pecan house and got a pound of hazelnuts for our favorite bread. We arrived home at about the same time. She napped on the porch and I looked at the mail and e-mail. We went to Ranchero Village to borrow some Communion ware for Sunday’s service if we are still here. We saw the Bauknechts out walking and talked for a while. We got the items and brought them back home because I didn’t have the key to the storage room at Trail’s End. We had dinner and Evelyn decided she wanted to fly to Indiana Friday. She wants me to go too. She is willing to stay for a week. We have made plans to make plans to fly out then. We have many activities to cover before we leave: the worship service (covered), parking for the shuffle tournament, replacement for my scheduled AARP class, our heart healthy meal we are to host, and our working for the dance next Friday. I was blessed to notice that our property taxes will come due while we are gone, so I wrote and mailed checks to pay them. I also tried to tally some of our tax deductions for last year. Evelyn called Dixie trying to get some final determination from the hospice people caring for Mom. There was nothing we could find out because they had made no determination and would know nothing until tomorrow morning, when we will perhaps make a final arrangement for travel--or not. We are still praying for direction.

Not happy campers

We exercised and then I went to Trail’s End to try to set up the service on
Sunday if we are gone. We will have some scripture reading and singing many hymns. I think that things will go well and we will be here, although the current report on Mom is that she is now on hospice care. Evelyn went to the morning Bible study in the park. Afterward we went to the luncheon held for hospital volunteers and enjoyed lasagna. We then went to see a doctor in McAllen. Evelyn thinks she wants a face lift and wanted a consultation. The procedure seems unnecessary to me: she is already one of the most beautiful women in the park. We will think about it. We went to the Saturn dealership to complain about the interest charges we incurred in making the loan. By not knowing the amount we owed, we were forced to wait for a statement and by then we owed around $100 in interest. Neither of us remembers this type of thing being discussed. We know we were never told where we could obtain the amount so we could pay the note off as we had proclaimed we would do. I think I will write Saturn to complain. We also had to get the remote control to the car reprogrammed. It stopped functioning at the golf course yesterday. We also had the car washed. We went on to the mall so Evelyn could shop for some items. On the way we filled the gas tank and was shocked to find that we only got 17 mpg on this tank. That is the same we got on the Jeep we had to trade. Perhaps it will improve after the car is broken in. I am beginning to think that we made a mistake in changing cars. We went to an elegant restaurant and used one of our coupons for appetizers. We had two different kinds of shrimp in sauces. Evelyn was unimpressed and thought the premises were depressing. We came home and relaxed for the evening.

golf with a friend

Up and off to exercise. We then attended the park meeting. One of the parts of business that lingers on is what to do with $4000+ that has accumulated through the profits from some park activities. We were to have 4 choices as to what to do with the money. One involved the park management’s providing a security system but that was rejected. So we are down to three: charity, padded chairs for the hall or a big party. One of the people moved to drop charity from the list and it passed. What a bunch of greedy geezers! Since that happened, I don’t care what is done with the money. We came home and washed some of the windows, and had lunch. I had talked with Ray about the possibility of playing golf during the afternoon, so we went to Mid Valley to use my prepaid card which is good for 9 holes and a cart. We normally walk, but he had walked 9 holes earlier in the day. It was very windy and I wish I could blame it for my score. I have never scored so high. I asked the golf pro if Evelyn could come along for the ride sometime. I think he said yes if it was in the afternoon. When we finished, I came home and worked on the computer for a while and then went our for Mexican food. We have eaten all of our leftovers in preparation for our leaving for Mom’s funeral. We have heard from John and Dixie that things are not improving. We still can’t get plane tickets because we need round trip and don’t know when to make reservations. We will just keep praying. We came home and watched a program on TV called She’s the One. It was close to a porno film, at least in language and subject matter, not graphic in nature. I hope the renter in Harlingen calls soon so that I know he is aware that he has the unit until April. I also finally got a message from Dick Worman, a friend in Indiana, about a viatical settlement he sold to us some time ago. I thought the money had been stolen a la Enron, but he said it has not. We will see. It would be nice to get the money back.

The beginning of the end of a wonderful life

I got up earlier than usual so I went for the e-mail. I was grieved to read one from John and Dixie saying that Mom’s pneumonia had returned. We went to church and were blessed when 47 people came to worship. This was quite a surprise since this morning was the morning that the park holds its Sunday brunch and several of our regulars work. We don’t usually have that man any Sunday except when the men’s chorus sings. We had our small Bible study and then came home to call John about Mom. We learned her room has been quarantined so the germs won’t spread throughout the nursing home. He seemed to think that it would serve no good purpose for Evelyn to come now because she would not be able to spend any real time in her room. They will call when she improves or expires. Evelyn called both girls and Stacy has decided to fly to Indy Friday. She has a ticket she was unable to use around a month ago when she was sick. Evelyn called some others too. I had told the park congregation that I might be gone next Sunday so I spent much of the afternoon planning a worship service of singing in case I am gone. I did this while watching an exciting game that the Colts managed to lose at home. What a disappointment! It reminded me of the Purdue season. In the evening we watched our Sunday evening programs. I sometimes play Free Cell while watching TV. I won 8 games. I often find one I can’t beat but sometimes return the next time and win. I will try this one again later. I began some time ago with game #1 and have played through 950. I have had to give up on several but win most of them. We stayed up later than we should have but had taken a nap earlier. I forgot to mention that.

disappointment in art, fun in the 50s

This is the young man we should have hired. He did some for us earlier.



The beauty, the artist and one of the spray painted products.

The usual morning of activity. Then I went to the bank for some cash and we were off to Mexico. The spray painter was only half finished so I wentr to the dentist to see if he could stop my flipper from causing my tongue to be raw. He worked on it again and thought he had improved it. We went on to the grocery to get some more dark and white vanilla for Emily. We had talked with her before we left and told us what to bring back for her. She wants a total of 8 vanillas. We bought two and went back to a pharmacy for some Toprol for me so we could get a refund on our parking ticket. We got some Lamotil for Janice and some Skoal for Don. I hate to contribute to his habit but he will get it without me at a higher price. I also went to the export store and bought Emily a 1.75 liter of vodka. She will use it to separate the oil in garlic. Wow! She will make her own Kahlua. We got the tables around 1:00 but didn’t look them over well enough. When we got home we noticed many minor flaws. We didn’t get the correct artist to do them in the first place. The young man who did our Texas ones used a brush and they look high quality. These look rather cheap. We didn’t notice that until we came home. We had lunch and then rested for the dance we are certain will be held tonight. I downloaded some of the pictures we had taken of the artist at work and took a nap.
We arose and got ready for the 50s dance that we thought was last night. I thought it was at 7:30 but we were ½ hour late. It is fun to see old people try to dress like they did during their early days. I won the best dressed prize last year, and I wore the same thing this year: jeans and a white collared shirt with the collar up and curled down at the ends. I also combed my hair to a point in the front. I was beaten this year by a guy with a duck tail and a T shirt, holding a deck of cards in the sleeve to simulate a pack of cigarettes. There were twist and limbo contests. A juke box had been rented to provide the music. There was pizza served and many door prizes given out. There is a 50/50 drawing at our dances. Tickets are sold and there are two drawings for 50% of the money each time. The men who won $65.50 donated their winnings to Mabel’s kids, the same organization that provides free dental care and other things in our little border town. It is the group that we joined to take Christmas gifts to one of the colonias. We had not won anything but left our tickets with friends at the dance so we could come home and get rested for tomorrow. Earlier, I sent an e-mail to my friend who might work on our Panama Canal cruise. I think I am ready to lead worship tomorrow.

Covering checks

Up and the usual. I went past the Durkin’s and found Ray just leaving for the golf game at the Executive Golf Course. I picked up the sweater and sunglasses that Evelyn had left there last night. I came home and showered. Evelyn came home, dressed and then we went to the motor home to collect the rent and show the renters some of the idiosyncrasies of the coach. We left there and went straight to the Texas State Bank to withdraw $6200 to cover the check I wrote yesterday. Of course we had to take the money to the Alamo Bank since that is where the checking account is. We went on to Burger King where we cashed in a two for one coupon that bought us a Mustard Whopper Combo meal. We ate one and took the other home.
We were off to the hospital for our afternoon of volunteering at the front desk. We mostly hand out room passes to the visitors who want to visit patients. We have fun trying to understand some of the Hispanic names they give us. We also get calls from various departments wanting us to take patients in wheelchairs to their rooms or from their rooms to be dismissed. We also take medical records to different departments. We work until 5 when the paid young people come in for the evenings. We came home and decided to forego dinner and just have popcorn at the 50s dance we were going to attend. Evelyn rested and then we dressed in our 50s outfits. We went to the hall only to find a hymn sing in motion. We sat in and sang some hymns, afterward noticing that the dance we wanted to attend is tomorrow night. What a surprise! We came home and had our popcorn and watched “Dinner and a Movie” featuring the film The Wedding Planner starring Jennifer Lopez. It was only fair because it was quite predictable. I also went online to try to schedule a cruise through the Panama Canal. We decided that it is too expensive to take the River barge cruise. We have always wanted to take the cruise through the canal anyway. I called a high school friend of mine who has retired from teaching and started a travel agency. I asked him to research cruises that begin either in east Texas or the east coast and sail to California through the “big ditch”. We then want to take the train back to the point of origin. We will probably go in November of this year or May of next year. He will send us some information for us to peruse. To bed we went.

A great time on the golf course

Evelyn got up and walked a while. When she was gone, I showered and got ready to go play golf with Ray. I didn't have to walk because we walked the nine holes we played, and it is quite a long course. It is over a quarter mile from the clubhouse to the first tee. But I digress. When she returned, she got ready to go to Harlingen with Genny. As soon as I got to Ray’s, I discovered that I still had Evelyn’s cushion she uses for back support when she rides. Genny had gone to get her, so I returned home but missed them. We just went on to Mercedes so I could get more insert sheets to use in our Bible study. I also went to Borderland Hardware to get a replacement bulb for our fiber optic tree that we use at Christmas time. Then we were off to the golf course and were able to tee off earlier than expected. Ray didn’t play as well as he usually does but I did. I don’t remember every hole as some do but do remember the final tally: 53. That is very good for me. I got home around 1:00 and we had a nice sandwich. We then rested and looked at the mail. Our bill for the Saturn came and is due before January 16. Evelyn wrote a check for $20,535 and I wrote one from Alamo Bank for $6200.69. The latter amount is currently in the Texas State Bank and will have to be moved tomorrow. I drove the envelop containing the checks to the post office so that it would go out before 5:00. It always takes longer to get mail to the rest of the country from the Valley, and I want to avoid interest payments. We already had to pay some that I thought we would avoid. I am going to question the dealership as to why we owed anything. After I got back, we assembled our items for our spinach salad. This was our contribution to the new biweekly heart healthy dinner. This one was held at the Durkins, but the next one in two weeks will be here. Afterward we played three rounds of Jokers with Ray, Genny, Howard and Joan. They all live in Osage City Kansas in the summer. We came home and tried to complete the order of a gift card at Border’s Book Store for Stacy’s birthday. It is easier to order on line than to try to find a store locally.

Fun in Mexico

The queen of the motor home as we finished cleaning.

We got up and did the usual after which we finished taking things out of the way of the carpet cleaner guy, Gary Fisher. We also loaded the TV trays into the Saturn on our small pull cart. I also called Janice and asked her to go with us. She arrived shortly after Gary did. He cleaned the carpet in our entire house for $30. The motor home cost more. We left and took the tables to the painter in Mexico. He will do four seasons on the trays for $100. The surprise is that he said he would finish by Saturday. I went to a dentist specializing in prosthetics to get my “flipper” fixed. He did it and would have not charged me anything although he spent more that twenty minutes. I gave him $5 and we talked for quite a while. The ladies and I went to Rene’s for lunch where we shared a poncho of both chicken and beef. The fajita meat in Mexico always seems tough, but we enjoyed it. Three of us were happy on $12. We began our search for items for Emily. We bought her many spices, two bottles of vanilla, one Kahlua, one rum, and one vodka. We had a great day in Mexico. We brought Janice back to her car and she left. We took a nap. After that we brought things back into the house, and had leftovers for dinner. We were then off to the HEB to shop for items to be used in tomorrow’s heart healthy dinner. I called Janice because I remembered that I had given her the folder containing the title to the trailer at 320. I also got a call from the F Street mobile home repair saying the furnace they are working on is going to cost $500+ to replace and $250 to repair. They will look at it to see if it is worth repairing. We certainly pray that the current renters are interested in buying it. I will try to publish the pictures of the interior of the motor home featuring Evelyn.

Busy day

When we got up, it was cold and windy. We were in no hurry to get outside but did. Evelyn wanted to get to the exercise room to the treadmill. Many people use it and make it difficult to find a time to get to it. I began to walk and went to Tom Crouch’s to see if he was there. He was and drove me back to look at my sanded TV tables. He said they were paintable so we went back to his house where he had put my picture frame back together. I had wanted to do it myself but he couldn’t resist. I took the glass for the picture and the Purdue clock from the motor home to his workshop. I had to go to the hall to see if there were parking directors needed. Everyone I talked with said things were going smoothly without them. I thought so too. We will not have them for craft sales. We don’t draw much of a crowd anymore. I came back to clean up just as Evelyn was leaving. I showered and went to get into the car only to discover it gone. Evelyn had driven it to the Bible study. I walked to where she was and drove to the Alamo bank to establish a savings account for receiving the rental money we will get from the motor home and the Harlingen unit. I did that and then went to the hardware to find a bulb for the fiber optic tree and a glass for the Purdue clock. I found only the latter and took it to Tom’s and returned the car to Evelyn. I walked home and stopped to make an appointment to have our mobile carpet cleaned and picked up some blocks of mouse poison to throw under the unit. The carpet cleaner will come tomorrow at 10. Ed had lunch and we drove to Harlingen to get our teeth cleaned at the Texas State Technical College. We always supported the dental hygiene program at IPFW so decided to do the same here in the Valley. We were there from 1:00 to 4:30. That is the problem with this situation. It offers a more thorough cleaning but takes much longer. The instructor has to grade the student but also has to check and improve on the job. We left there and drove quickly back to the park for the free welcome back party at our hall. The menu was baked chicken, California blend and instant mashed potatoes. Two delicious things out of three isn’t bad. We had to eat outside by the pool and it got cooler and cooler as the sun went down. We came home and Evelyn insisted that we clean the carpet with the vacuum cleaner before the cleaner comes tomorrow. I was unhappy but did find some mouse residue from the summer. I kept thinking of a friend from Wisconsin who once observed that the dishes must be clean before putting them into the dishwasher. We spent some time looking into the Barging Through America brochure. We want to take a cruise with them next summer. We watched a TV program we like called The Closer and distributed our medicine. One of the highlights of our week!

Now a one car family

Here is the object of our travel affections.

We got up and exercised. I came home, showered, put the title into the Saturn and drove to the hall to get Evelyn. We had to go to the park meeting so she could speak about Ladies Leisure after which we drove to Victoria Palms to meet the buyer of the Jeep. We signed the title and had it notarized. We took the check for $6200 and put it into our Texas State Bank account. We finished so quickly that we were able to go to the motor home and put the furniture back and clean the mirrors and the inside of the refrigerator. A battery must have burst, spraying some rust colored residue around the fridge. I finally had to use Comet to get most of it off. We also put our new memory foam on the bed. We thought it might not be queen size but it was. It seemed to be a bit small for the queen bed in the coach. This is strange because queen in a motor home is smaller than queen in a regular bed. Something is strange. We are now ready for the renters who come tomorrow. We then drove back to Donna looking for the famous hamburger place and we found it. It was packed, as predicted. We split a cheeseburger and a large order of French fries. We left around half of the potatoes and were both full. We always thought the hamburgers at Tierra Santa were large and good, but these are much better. On the way home we stopped at a farmer’s market to get some bananas, peppers, onions, tomatoes, oranges and a cored pineapple. We had to get gas because I was almost out and then came home. We put things away, opened the mail and laid down to rest. Before dinner we took a bike ride around our park and the one next door. We talked with Ray and Genny as they rode around with us. Ray and I may golf at Mid-Valley on Thursday. I tried to get started on the taxes by adding the items in the “Taxes” folder. We had put most of the Christmas decorations away earlier and the place is looking a bit cleaner. I tried to call our February renters in Iowa but got no answer again. I also returned a call to a man who said he was interested in buying our 320 unit. He doesn’t want to pay $6,000 but the current renters might. He will take a look at the unit and I may call him again if the current renters aren’t interested.

A day of blessings

Perhaps I should have not insisted on this picture. I hope she was just joking!

My dear friend Ray called after lunch (later in this blog) and walked me through posting our photoghraph onto the profile page. He has been wonderfully helpful and patient with me. I think he was disappointed when I said I was going to have another person reload my windows on the computer I ruined this past summer. As a token of my appreciation for his work with me, I think I will let him reload it instead.
We arose and went off to Trail's End. When we arrived the chairs were set up but the hymnals were still locked in the storage area. The couple who usually opens the door was missing. I had forgotten the key for the first time in quite a while. I had to send Evelyn home to get it while I discussed Holy Communion with the group. I was just ready to begin the service sans music when she returned with the key. We distributed the hymnals and went on with the service. Afterward I intended to remain for our short Bible study but noticed the clock and had to cancel and bolt for Llano Grande where I delivered the message. We had 46 at Trail's End (which is a fantastic blessing) and more than 300 at Llano Grande. I returned home and found a couple who lives near needed me to take a picture of them. He leaves for two months in Africa tomorrow. We had another visitor, pushing lunch back even further. Afterward Ray called. (See above) Evelyn then took a rest before we left for Harlingen to be with our friends at the funeral home. We first went to our unit at 320 and talked with our renters who seem very satisfied with it. They paid us for the month of January and said they would stay three months if we could make arrangements with the February renters to rent a different unit. I tried to call them in Iowa but did not get them. We went to the funeral home and spent an hour and a half with Don and Janice and many of their friends. We stayed longer than we should have so we could go out to eat with them. We went to the Golden Corral but found that we could only order the buffet. We had pledged to have only a dessert so we left and returned to Weslaco. We went to the Dairy Queen and used our 2 for 1 coupon good for a sundae. We like hot fudge. We came home and looked for the title to the Jeep but couldn't find it. I know I brought it intending to sell the car but don't know where I put it. I called the buyer and explained that we would have to get a duplicate title. We will meet at the DMV in Weslaco tomorrow morning. We talked with some of the Beeli kids and Emily. They are going skiing soon. They are an exciting bunch and we look forward to seeing them in April. We talked with three of the kids about how they are doing in school. Four of their family have birthdays in February so we must look for gift ideas.

Cleaning up decorations

We had a plan this morning. We went to Trail’s End to ready the motor home for carpet cleaning. We moved the table and chairs out onto the concrete pad and waited for the cleaner to arrive. We waited 15 minutes and then drove to his RV park to see where he was. We borrowed a friend’s phone and found his number to call. He had gone to the wrong park even though we had talked it through several times. He finally showed up and cleaned the coach very well. He put us onto a good but inexpensive spot remover called “Awesome” that Evelyn had to go buy for him. We will use it frequently. The carpet was very dirty as revealed by the mud in the bottom of the vacuumed water. It was nearly noon by the time he finished.
We came home for lunch and began removing our Christmas decorations. We removed all the outdoor items and most of the indoor ones. We are always excited to find what items we overlooked. We will find something in about a week or so. We then took time to relax a while. Evelyn had asked where I was going to take her for dinner but then backed out. I don’t know why but she did. We went to Ray and Genny’s to ask if they wanted to bring their Chonda Pierce DVD to our house to watch. They don’t have a DVD player. We came home for dinner and waited for them to come at 7. They did and we watched the comedy of the “four eyed blonde”. It was both funny and inspirational. We were all moved by her testimony. It is truly a joy to be able to be with Christian friends, laugh in the love of the Lord, and worship all at the same time. Ray tried to help me put our picture on my profile in this blog but somehow couldn’t. He will have to experiment at home to learn what we did wrong. I printed the sermon and prayed for guidance in tomorrow’s message.

Basking in the love of Jesus 

Good news on the Jeep

We stayed in bed until 7:30. Evelyn had to rush to the exercise room and perform to an exercise tape with one other woman in the park. She really can’t miss and leave the other woman alone. When more people arrive, maybe a few more will join the group. I walked the park to give Ray the announcement about the Martin Park golf tournament but remembered he golfs with his park on Fridays. I returned, showered and worked on tweaking the sermon. Suddenly I received a call from the man who first looked at the Jeep two weeks ago. He offered $5900 then but this morning increased his offer to $6100. I told him it was his if he could go $6200, and he agreed. Thanks be to God for his mercy. We will meet Monday morning to finish the deal. I went to the Chamber of Commerce to get some small stick-on calendars for the new year. When I was there, the new rehab center was giving sausage and cheese biscuit sandwiches and taking blood pressure readings. I did both. I then went to the grocery because of some specials on some over the counter drugs we needed and had coupons for. I also went to replace the mats from the Jeep for sale. I had to hurry home because we had to be at the hospital at 12:30. Evelyn had lunch ready but I ate only a portion of it because of the sausage I had eaten. We had to drive to the hospital because of time. We enjoyed the first part of our work, but after a couple of hours, Evelyn’s eyes began to water, get red and droop. I sent her home and walked home at five when I finished our time. I took some Tylenol to Evelyn who was in bed with a headache. She has been having mild headaches and indigestion for a few days now. She stayed in bed for a while and then we had hamburgers that I had grilled weeks ago for dinner. After that we were surfing the TV and happened on to Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington. It was a good movie about race relations using football for the plot. We really enjoyed the story which was based on a true story. I don’t know how much it was based because I don’t have much faith in Hollywood script writers’ ability to stick to the truth or the original story. We learned that Mrs. Waters, Don’s mother, died and we will go to the viewing Sunday afternoon. I am sorry I never met her and the casket will be closed so I won’t even get to see her in death. We will have the carpet in the motor home cleaned tomorrow.

Cutting the grass

I must confess that I couldn’t tear myself away from last night’s football game, so I saw Texas win the national championship. What a surprise to me and many others. We did sleep well after going to bed. When we wakened, Evelyn went off to exercise while I had to stay here to accept any telephone calls that might come regarding the Ladies Leisure trip today. When she returned at 9, I went for my walk and took a gas can to Ray’s because he had asked if I had one some time ago. I then decided to cut the grass because it was cool and breezy. I have cut it too many times when it was hot and sultry. It doesn’t take as long since the neighbor has opted out of our trade deal. I was to do it in the winter while he did it in the summer. He says he can’t physically do it any more. I knew he was not willing or able a couple of years ago but thought he would pay for the cutting himself. He presented me with a bill of $70 when we returned this fall. I will pay him and would be happy to cut his lawn during the winter as an act of Christian charity, but he still has the yard guy do it. I do have to use his mower and weed wacker so that is another reason for me to do it for him. I am not going to quarrel about it though. After mowing we had lunch early because Evelyn had to leave for Los Fresnos and the butterfly farm at noon. I worked on learning the sermon for a couple of hours but tired of that. I went down to Tom Crouch’s to see how we should proceed with the repair of the glass and frame of the picture that had broken in the motor home. He directed me to the hardware store for replacement glass. It was really too windy from the north, but I decided to ride my bike to the store for the glass and a couple of pieces of sandpaper. I have begun to sand the TV trays that I hope to have painted with scenes of North Carolina. We will try to get the same young man who painted those we have in our Texas room. Tom was gone when I returned so I came home and called Ray to see if he could go to the Hard Hat to play 9 holes but he couldn’t. Evelyn came home shortly after that and went to bed to rest. When she got up, she told me about the “farm”. She had thought she would not like the experience but did. She learned many things among which was the difference between a moth and a butterfly. Look it up! She is always nervous about driving but did well despite construction delays. We had soup for dinner (leftover) and then took a bike ride around the park. We didn’t think the park would ride because they had ridden 5 miles earlier in the day, so we didn’t try to get to the starting line at 6. We missed that ride but enjoyed our own. We came home and watched “Dancing with the Stars”. We enjoy dancing and Evelyn especially wanted to see this program since she had missed most or all of them this past summer. CSI was new tonight so we could watch only the first hour.

A day of fun

Evelyn exercised, but I didn’t walk. I did shower and worked again. I talked with Alice about the Germanfest. She is a wonderful woman but quite a talker. We will sit with them if they decide to attend. They are from another park but attend this event every year. Heinz is a first generation German Canadian, and they love to polka. They dance almost every Saturday to a band led by “German Joe”, a Polish musician who can sing in German. He is not playing at this years Germanfest so it is likely that many of their friends will not come. Evelyn watered the garden again and predicted that we would have Swiss chard soon. The cilantro, onions, tomatoes and squash are doing well too. The strange thing to us is that the cilantro is doing better in the shade than in the sun. We decided to eat an early lunch after I loaded the Saturn with recyclables. We had some errands to run so we left home around noon. We went to the bank to deposit a check, the post office for a stamp to mail a check to the church in Clyde, the flea market for some jalapeno decorated items (which we never found) and the recyclables. We completed the errands in that order. On the way home we went to the motor home to put the tire covers on and put some items under the bed. We will have the carpet cleaned before the renters arrive (we pray) but will have to charge the battery so the electric step works properly. We came home and Evelyn went to bed. She had a headache when she wakened this morning and has had intestinal problems since lunch. We went to some friends who had invited us for dinner. We enjoyed some very tender beef medallions and the best apple crisp I have had in years. Afterward we played shuffleboard and Evelyn seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps we can play in some groups some times. We came home and watched some of the national championship football game. Texas got an extra touchdown in the first half. I am giving up with USC leading 38-26. While I was mildly biased for Texas, I realize the game is 7 points closer than it should be. For what it’s worth: I would flip back and forth from the game to the news, etc. and when I switched back, USC was scoring. I only saw one Texas touchdown, but they did score while I was out of the room. Ooops! As I wrote this Texas scored. It is now 38-33. I hate to leave such a great game.

There's good and bad in everything--Hamlet

I was able to walk today while Evelyn exercised. I tried to get Ray to go with me to move the motor home to Trail’s End, but he had to go to McAllen with Genny. When Evelyn came back, we loaded my bicycle into the Saturn and drove to the John Deere dealer. We tried to start the coach but had to have a jump. I am concerned that something is wrong with the battery disconnect. We drove to the park and backed the coach into the assigned spot. I unloaded the bike so that Evelyn could go home and attend the Bible study. I set up the unit but did not hook up the electricity because Weisens will not be here until the 10th or so. I left some things undone that I will have to return to finish, but I could not start the coach again. I think I will have to get someone to look at it. The battery could not be dead because we had driven 15 minutes to get there, enough time to charge the batteries. I rode the bike home in time for lunch. After cleaning up the kitchen, I went to get the mail, but it was not up. I came back and worked on the sermon while Evelyn napped. When I brought the mail back, I invited some friends in for a drink of water as they walked in the heat. They are quite elderly and needed to rest. They stayed for at least an hour. We then read the mail and prepared for the Tuesday evening bike club ride. We ride around both parks, wearing our fed flashers. There were 27 riders. We returned home and had popcorn for dinner. I also had some tamales that Janice had sent home with us on New Year’s Eve. We watched some of the football game and went to bed. We had several calls, one inviting us for dinner tomorrow night. The problem is that they wanted us to call them, but I couldn’t understand the number she said to call. We will have to hope they call us back. Oh yes, the license plates did not come so I will call Saturn tomorrow morning and raise a stink. Another oh yes: The couple that was outside the Harlingen unit yesterday called and asked to rent the unit since the other couple had left. We thank God for them.

Complications

I decided I had to go to Harlingen to get the repair processes started. I made arrangements with Ray to go for a universal remote. I drove to the unit and met the renters. They were running the hot water and the odor was dissipating. We think that the odor was the result of the water heater being full of water all summer. It is just strange to me that it did not smell when we went there in November. I called Lone Star Propane to see if they would deliver today since the regular company, Hinogas, was not open today. I had a problem with the dispatcher because he wanted me to give him permission to be the deliverer of choice. He was reluctant to feel “used” in being asked to deliver just because Hino was closed. What a joke! I explained that I was just a guy who needed propane, not the executive in charge. He finally relented and sent the truck. We had to have propane so that the repair man from the F Street repair shop. We thought it was a pilot light problem, but he found that it may be a valve which will cost around $130. He also replaced the sink drains which have been leaking. While I was there, a man called expressing an interest in buying the unit and a woman and her husband expressed an interest in renting it. I gave her my card, hoping she would call if the current renters had to leave. I left to pick up Ray at the local golf course because he played there this morning. I got him and his golf clubs and went off to Radio Shack. We found a remote, bought it and two batteries, and returned to the unit. The repairman was there but the renters weren’t. He was able to get the television set to respond to the remote, so we started to leave. But, alas, the renters were returning to tell me that they had found another unit. I was disappointed but understanding that she was reluctant to risk staying there due to her allergies. We returned to Weslaco and had lunch. Evelyn wanted to rest so we did. I called the John Deere lot where we have to motor home stored, but they weren’t open today. We had thought we would go set up the unit but couldn’t get it. We just laid around while I watched 100 football games (a possible exaggeration) and went for a bike ride after our dinner of spinach salad and corn dip. We are going to try retrenching our food consumption for a while. I am hoping the Lord in His mercy will have the woman call to rent the unit and have the man call and agree to buy it. By the way, I am keeping the $100 deposit from the now ex-renters because it is unlikely that anyone will want to rent for just one month in January. We spent the rest of the evening watching more football. I am concerned about our license plates that were to be mailed by the dealership. The temporary plates expire tomorrow. I will really raise a stink if the plates don’t arrive in tomorrows mail.

Poor landlord

We got up at 7 but were tired. We went off to worship, and I did one of the worst jobs I have ever done. I had my tongue wrapped around my teeth most of the time. We had only one couple at Bible study but were blessed by it. We came home and Evelyn cleaned spinach for the lunch at the Newcomer’s. We worked until 1 when we walked our items to their house. Sharon serves the same meal each year. It is chicken cordon bleu, hoppin’ John, collard greens, Texas trash, marinated herring (ugh) and this year one of the guests brought chocolate cake. Most of the items are part of a southern New Year’s Day tradition. I forgot that Evelyn had made corn bread muffins too. We stayed until 4 when we walked back home. She rested while I fought to keep awake. When she arose, we went for a bike ride around both parks. We ran into Ray and Genny and rode around with them. I decided to go to HEB to get some Bioflex and toothpaste. While I was at home, the renters called from Harlingen. I think he was upset and I can’t fault him: there is no propane, there is a fetid odor under the kitchen sink, there is the possibility that the repair shop will be closed tomorrow, the TV will not work because I left the remote control in NC. (I told him that I would understand if he wanted to find somewhere else to rent). I had called earlier in the afternoon, asking one of the neighbors to send it to us. Of course the mail is closed down tomorrow, making it quite likely that the remote will not arrive until at least Friday. Ray went with me to the grocery and said that Radio Shack had an inexpensive universal remote. I may ask him to meet me after he plays golf in Harlingen tomorrow morning. I came home, and we had just popcorn and a beverage for dinner because we were still quite full from the weekend gluttony. We went to bed earlier ready for tomorrow.

Blessings of New Year's Eve

We exercised again and then went to the HEB to get some last minute items for the big events tonight. I then practiced a bit for tomorrow and waited until after lunch to shower since we would be up late. We took a nap for the same reason. We dressed for the evening and drove to our unit in HRL to leave some deodorizer for the renters. I have not been able to find the remote control for the television set I faithfully brought from NC. I am concerned that the set is worthless without the remote. There are no numeric keys to use for setting the channels. We went on the Rio Hondo for the dinner at the Waters’ house. We were first there so I could try to help Don find free cell on his computer. I thought I had found it but could not get it to appear on the screen. Five couples plus the two Waters families were there. They all went to high school together and used to gather each New Year’s Eve but hadn’t for years. Since Christmas was spent with Don’s mother in the hospital, they decided to reinstitute the dinner. We had brisket, beans, tamales (a local tradition at the holiday time) rice, tortillas, and various dips and desserts. We had gone at 6:30 with the understanding that we would have to leave at 8:30 to return to our park for the dance. We did that and grabbed some drinks and walked to the hall. The band was a couple from Wisconsin that was only fairly good. At 11:20, breakfast of scrambled eggs, cheese potatoes, sausage links, a biscuit and a fruit cup was served. We packed our up in our cooler and brought them home. We always leave the dances before midnight as to avoid the onslaught of lecherous men who want to kiss every woman at midnight. Not all of them do that, but, having one of the most beautiful wives at the dance attracts most of the lechers. Of course things may be different because we haven’t stayed in a group for several years. We do thank God for all the wonderful things He has chosen to bless us with this year, especially that He spared Mom during the month of December and provided Evelyn with a clean report on her cancer. There were many other things, but these two were the major ones. We pray He will continue those blessings throughout the next year. As I write this I remember that tonight was the first time in many years that we have not attended worship on New Year's Eve. It is marvelous that God loves us and blesses the good time we had. Happy 2006!