Visitors from the past

We both wakened during the night thinking about things we had to do. We were up around 4 but back to sleep by 5. We slept until 8 and left for town around 9. I sent a fax to BSF headquarters with our applications for volunteering. Then we took our recyclables to the site and returned the blanket she had bought yesterday to K-Mart. We had another from Wal-Mart that we liked better. It is cooling down for winter, and we need to keep Evelyn warm. We went to Weight Watchers where she once again maintained weight. We were both surprised. We returned a book to the library and bought some gas for $2.239 before taking a note to the Best Western. We invited Jennifer and John to dinner. I went to Auto Zone and bought some oil and a filter for the motor home. We came home to work on tonight’s dinner. We saw Alicia working in the yard and invited her for wine even though it was morning. She stayed for more than a half hour and no one brought up the subject of her marital status. We had lunch and then cleaned the house. We showered and just loafed around the rest of the afternoon awaiting the call from the visitors. Actually, I laid around. Evelyn rested some and then continued preparation. The call came and we went to get them at 5:30, drove them around the lake and came home for a scrumptious dinner of pork loin. The dessert was a pumpkin recipe from the Flatrock cook book donated by a former student of mine who lost a fight with cancer 5 years ago. We took them back at 9 so they could arise and get an early start in the morning. We came home and went to bed, leaving the dishes until tomorrow since they were rinsed. We had used the good china and don’t like to put it into the dishwasher.

Oh, so close to good.

Work was normal but tiring Wednesday. I have decided that November 7 will be my last day for the season. Evelyn got me, and we went to play golf. I get very discouraged. I had a score of 41 with two holes to play but added 15 strokes making 56. That is really not bad for me but still discouraging--especially the final holes. We came home and I showered before going to choir practice. We learned that it had been postponed for 30 minutes but we didn’t know. We went across the highway to visit a neighbor who had both back and gall bladder surgery. She looked good and sounded optimistic. She thinks she will be released tomorrow. We came home and I went to bed just after 9. We had a problem with our telephone which kept giving us an “emergency only” message each time we tried to call. I am going to complain tomorrow. Evelyn also called Weslaco earlier in the day to transfer some money into checking to cover the electric bill. I got an e-mail saying it couldn’t be done because she is beneficiary on the account. I guess they are trying to prevent murder or something.
The prediction was for rain and cold today, but the weather was pleasantly cool and sunny for most of the day. I worked until 2;30 and then was taken home by Evelyn. Upon arrival I crawled up onto the roof of the motor home parked in our front yard to see if the degreaser from work would kill the mildew. I had to scrub it vigorously, but it did a great job. Unfortunately the predicted rain came before I could finish. I showered and then watched some sports shows before a delicious dinner of tilapia. We then took the motor home to the local Wal-Mart for a couple of days. We need it for the family next week and want to have it near. We went to the hotel and did my computer work. We went home to rest. We have decided to invite Evelyn’s high school friend, Jennifer, and her “friend”, John from Australia, for dinner tomorrow evening if they come to town and contact us. We will serve the pork loin we bought in Middlesboro Tuesday.

Worship and travel

We arose and Evelyn was better. We dressed for church and went to Bruno’s parking lot as usual. We walked up to Bible study and worship. I was blessed to read the Gospel. We changed clothes and left for Decatur. We stopped outside of Delphi for lunch and outside Wabash for a nap. We arrived in Decatur under the threat of rain. I wanted to dump and fill with water before it rained and was blessed to accomplish those tasks. We came to Kelley’s and set up our unit for the night. We called Knape’s and got him to order the pizza from Pizza King, our favorite Indiana pizza. He went to get it and picked us up, taking us to their house where we ate and played protestant poker. We came back to the coach at 9 and watched TV since we have electricity. Hopefully we will be able to leave around noon tomorrow.
We went for a walk this morning after we had moved the coach into place for the repair to be done. On the way I made the mistake of stopping at the discount grocery in Decatur. We bought some things and carried them on around the mile. We returned to see that Dale had worked on the awning and had left the ladder in place before he left to get some parts. I thought he must have something left to do or was letting some caulking dry. While waiting, I tried to scrub some of the mildew off the roof. I had little success even with the mildew remover we use in the shower. Dale returned and looked at the water heater and the bifold and then we left. We stopped in Portland and had lunch before going on to Richmond. We stopped there and took a nap before going on through Oxford, OH on our way to I-275. We went on to Walton, KY where we filled up with propane and went on to the Dry Ridge Wal-Mart for the night.
We didn’t try to arise too early because we wanted to go to an outlet mall in Georgetown, only about 40 miles south. When we got there, we found that the mall was nearly a ghost”mall”. We just drove through and went on. I found gas for $1.989 at Love’s Travel Center and drove on south. I wanted to treat Evelyn, so we went to the original home of KFC in Corbin for lunch. She was thrilled. I call the place the “shrine”. We went on the Middlesboro and imprudently stopped at the Kroger store. I wanted a loaf of bread and left with over $100 worth of groceries so we could get $.10 per gallon reduction in our gas price. What a dumb idea! I just don’t know what gets in to my head sometimes. We came on home before dark, unloaded most of the things and had soup for supper. I took some beer from IN to Steve across the street. We learned that he and his wife, Alicia, have separated after little more than a year of marriage. I am not sure either of them is interested in reconciliation. There is really nothing much we can do. I went to bed around 10 because I have to work tomorrow.

Manydays on the road

Monday was dentist day. I took Evelyn to have her mouth prepped for a crown on a left molar. I dropped her off and went to the hotel to do computer work. I picked her up after 1 ½ hours of work and brought her home for a soft potato soup lunch. She was wiped out from the novocane and the valium she had taken so I let her sleep for ½ hour while I fixed lunch. After we ate she wanted to take a walk before going to get her hair cut. It was hot but I stayed outside to listen to Rush since I don’t get a chance to do that often. After that we came home and began to work on the left over chicken from Sunday and the turkey breast I smoked yesterday. I had sliced most of it off before lunch but now we had to pick the bones to make chicken salad. We worked almost 3 hours including the clean up. We had some of the salad for dinner along with some roasting ears we had bought Saturday. We settled in to watch Salina, a great family film we had seen before, but I suddenly remembered I had forgotten to transfer money to cover a credit card payment that will occur tomorrow or at least soon. So here I am finishing this at the hotel.
Tuesday was a good day at work. It was the end of the pay period, and I was just under 40 hours. Next Tuesday is payday but we will be gone to Indiana. Evelyn picked me up at work promptly at 2:30, and we went to Charlie’s Corner where gas was $2.31. We then went to Barber’s orchard to get cider for Bill and muffins for Jones’. We drove to Franklin and worked on getting the motor home ready to bring back for our trip to Purdue. I had put the tow bar on the car last night and put some items we wanted to pack into the coach too. While I put the tow shield on, Evelyn was talking with LuAnn and helping with dinner. They are such wonderful, giving people. They had prepared a hot dog dinner for us including potato salad, slaw, spiced onions and a broccoli slaw. We enjoyed the meal and company. We took the coach and to car to the movie theater lot (flat and big) where we hooked up the car and towed it home. When we arrived, I plugged us into the house outlet and tripped a breaker. We had hooked there before without a problem. I moved the cord to another outlet with the same result. I also noted that the refrigerator was not working on either gas or electricity. I was so worked up that I couldn’t go to sleep. I kept worrying about not just tomorrow but the situation when the family comes in a few weeks. We need to have the refrigerator and lights working. I finally went to sleep.
Wednesday I awakened at 4:30 and couldn’t sleep. I got up and found the number of Kelly RV in Decatur. I went to work and called his 800 number. I talked over the problem with him, and he told me some things to try. I also talked about his fixing the awning he had installed in May. I noticed that a screw is pulling out from the front edge of the living room slide. He said we could come there Sunday afternoon, and he said he would work on ours first thing Monday morning. We have been there so often that we are pretty friendly. I stayed at work until 10 and then checked out and came home so Evelyn could go to the CWC luncheon. It was “antiques road show” day, and she took a couple of our antiques for evaluation. One was evaluated at $150 while a purple flowered bowl that my mother left us was likely worth around $1,000! Who would have guessed that. I wish mom was still here to spend the money. While she was gone, I prayed for help from the Lord with the coach problem. I tried the things Dale had suggested, took the protective grate off the back, looked inside and blew on it, jiggled some wires, turned off the gas inside and reignited it, and prayed some more. Prior to this I noted that not only did the refrigerator not work but neither did the gas water heater. I went back inside and lighted the gas stove, and it worked. I felt the refrigerator (on electric), and it was cooling. I switched it to gas, and it ignited. There was nothing unusual nor reparative (is that a word?) that I had done, so I am confident it was just the mercy of the Lord in caring for the helpless. I also installed the new bifold for our counter top that had arrived yesterday from Rexhall in CA. They had sent the old and the new one. The old one was broken. Another blessing is that the new one was not. I brought some items out to the coach, washed the outside with plain water (it had been under a tree and was badly stained) and then decided to lie down around 1:00. I may have slept a few minutes before Evelyn came home. We finished packing and then left at 3. We had a wonderful drive and made it to Corbin KY where we parked at the Wal-Mart. We stopped around 6:30, fixed some leftover carrots and potatoes, and found some dishes we had left in the sink last May. I scrubbed them and finally got them clean enough to use. There is a difference between clean and camping clean. We went to the Wal-Mart to buy a plastic scrubbing pad that worked well. We were in bed by 9.
Thursday was a driving day. We were up and on the road by 7:30. We bought 20 gallons of gas in Corbin, thinking that would take us to Shelbyville. We stopped in Dry Ridge, KY to shop at an outlet mall. Evelyn was looking for an orange blouse to go with a skirt she has. We found one and a long sleeve shirt for me to wear in the fall. We fixed the leftovers from last night and had some cheese too. We were full and didn’t need to eat the chicken salad. We will have that on the way home Monday. We stopped at a rest area on I-74 for a short nap. It cost us an hour because a bit further up the road was a two mile long traffic jam, the result of a truck driver’s hitting an overpass abutment. When we passed the tractor that hit it, it was burned out and still smoking. Unless the driver jumped out, he was no doubt burned up in the wreck. We came on and parked at the Wal-Mart for the night. We called our friends to come and take us to the King Buffet for dinner. It was fabulous Chinese food. They then took us to the CVS pharmacy that had its usual specials: 30 packs of Stroh’s beer for 10.99, Schlitz 24 packs for 9.99 and even 30 packs of Pabst for 12.99. I bought several packs for the neighbors who had given me orders. We then went to Bill and Shirley’s to visit more and they gave me a beer mug from a Pacers game that has a light in the bottom that comes on when it has liquid in it. They are very gracious to us. We gave them a gallon of apple cider that is only slightly pasteurized that will work and get some bite to it. They also gave us a coupon that allowed us to fill our coach for $2.029 per gallon of gas. He brought us back to the motor home and we then went to Kroger to fill up. Evelyn has begun to develop what she thinks is a cold so she also bought some Coricidin HBP and some hazelnut poppy seed bread that we love and can only get at Kroger. We came home and she called the Beelis in CA despite feeling rotten. We were in bed by 10.
We arose in a leisurely manner. I showered and while Evelyn was, I walked to the Aldi store to check on the wine supply and price. The NC neighbors wanted some. I came back just in time for Bill to pick us up to go to his house for breakfast. On the way we stopped at CVS for some cough syrup. Evelyn coughed more last night than the night before. Shirley had made an egg, ham, potato and ham casserole served with small biscuits and apple butter. She also served some frozen fruit that was good. Bill took us home, and then he and I went to Aldi to get some wine. I bought six cabernet sauvignon for the neighbors and six white wine for me. We bought some other incidentals and then he dropped me and the groceries. He went home and they returned in their motor home so we could follow them to WL. We left at 12:30 and arrived at 2. While Evelyn slept some more, I walked to the stadium to pay our JPC dues for next year and get parking passes for the Wisconsin game October 21. We may not come but wanted to be prepared in case the game was early enough to allow us to get back to Muncie in the evening. I returned and read while Evelyn slept more. Then the four of us went to Pizza Hut for the buffet. After returning, I walked around the parking area and talked to some men from Minnesota. I tried to tell them where the action was in WL but made it clear that I was too old to know much about the action they were interested in. I came back home and did nothing else other than write this. Oh, yes. We watched the homecoming fireworks and went to bed. Evelyn is still taking medicine and may not go to the game, especially if the predicted rain comes.
Saturday was the big day. It was quite windy and overcast but not raining. We were blessed to catch a shuttle bus to the Purdue Mall where the different colleges have tents to welcome returning alumni who are “homecoming”. We met Mick and Elle Keppler at the CFS tent where we had brunch of egg casserole (again), sausage links and huge muffins. We talked about their visiting us but have little hope. We walked with them to the stadium where we parted company. We called Olivia to wish her happy birthday, but she had gone shopping with her dad. We called and left a singing happy birthday message on their answer machine We then went to our gate where our bag was searched. I was carrying it containing our rain gear, 4 bottles of water, peanuts, an apple and a muffin I had brought from brunch. That bag was heavy. Evelyn carried our soft stadium seats. We sat on the east side of the stadium where the wind was mostly in our faces--a blessing since it was in the upper 70s at game time. We were 64 rows up on about the 30 yard line in the open end of the stadium. Lo and behold: Purdue beat Minnesota and only a few drops of rain fell. Nearly everyone we know thought they would lose. I think they are improving right along. They play Notre Dame there next week and will probably lose, but I think Notre Dame is overrated. We will see. We stayed for the band performance after the game and walked home. We stopped briefly to see Tom and Janet, our reunion brother and sister where they park on Slayter Hill, and then came back to begin dinner prep. I got our Q-grill and seasoned the T bones we had brought. They were so large that both us and the Oefingers decided to share one. Shirley had brought her shrimp dip and a salad. We provided the steaks and potato salad. While we ate I grilled the third steak in the package. We decided not to play cards but listened to our David Holt CD while we visited. They went to their coach at 8:00, and we went to bed after I practiced the Gospel reading I will read tomorrow at church. I also called the Ribbes to tell them we would not be back for the dinner we had been invited to at their house in Maggie Valley on Monday.

Finishing food

Monday was dentist day. I took Evelyn to have her mouth prepped for a crown on a left molar. I dropped her off and went to the hotel to do computer work. I picked her up after 1 ½ hours of work and brought her home for a soft potato soup lunch. She was wiped out from the novocane and the valium she had taken so I let her sleep for ½ hour while I fixed lunch. After we ate she wanted to take a walk before going to get her hair cut. It was hot but I stayed outside to listen to Rush since I don’t get a chance to do that often. After that we came home and began to work on the left over chicken from Sunday and the turkey breast I smoked yesterday. I had sliced most of it off before lunch but now we had to pick the bones to make chicken salad. We worked almost 3 hours including the clean up. We had some of the salad for dinner along with some roasting ears we had bought Saturday. We settled in to watch Salina, a great family film we had seen before, but I suddenly remembered I had forgotten to transfer money to cover a credit card payment that will occur tomorrow or at least soon. So here I am finishing this at the hotel.

The weekend

We slept in this morning. I am often wiped out after just three days of work. Could I be getting old? We went to Wal-Mart for some valium for Evelyn. She is anxious about going to the dentist for a crown next Monday and asked the doctor to provide a prescription. We had to wait quite a while so she called J. C. Penny about a bill for something she had bought in July. Come to find out, the bills had not come to us but were being sent to Franke Road in Indiana. She paid it over the phone using a credit card. I also ordered some Toprol and Lipitor for myself. We then went to walk. We came home to have lunch but found Phil finishing up the sliding screen door. He wanted to talk so we didn’t get to eat for more than half an hour. We had the last of our smoked chicken breast and then cleaned up the kitchen. We took showers and a nap in preparation for tonight’s football game. Barry Conover came to get us at 5 and we went to Canton to meet John and Lisa Greene and Bill and Laura Loughridge from our church at a Mexican restaurant! Just what I need: Mexican food. It was good and then we walked to the football game that was a total blowout. We left early because it was pretty cool. We came home and went to bed.
Saturday was foggy so we didn’t walk immediately. We went to Waynesville to look for some garage sale items. We would really like to have a slow cooker and looked at a Christian thrift store but found none. We went out to Christopher’s market and bought some items for making salsa. We also bought some corn and pears. On the way back we went to the Salvation Army store and found a lamp and a toaster oven we wanted to look at. We stopped at two groceries and bought some T-bone steaks for cooking next weekend at the Homecoming game in West Lafayette. We then went to another grocery on the way home for ice cream and rock Cornish hens so that I can smoke them tomorrow. We also want some ribs. I wanted a turkey breast but don’t have one as yet. We came home, had lunch and put Evelyn to bed. She had a bad night and needed a nap. I listened to the Purdue game on our XM radio. What a deal! We can listen to an obscure game broadcast from a small radio station in Indiana while living in North Carolina. We planned our days next week so that we can make sure that we have everything we need for the game next week. We walked around the loop several times with some of the neighbors and I took orders for beer that I will try to bring back from the CVS pharmacies that have specials in Indiana. We called a couple from church and invited them for dinner tomorrow after church. Evelyn wants to make a chicken and having a slow cooker would work wonders on it. The encouraging news is that I called the Newcomers in Wisconsin who used to work for West Bend. They are selling out their household possessions in WI and are moving permanently to the Valley. They have one and will bring it with them to Texas where we will buy it from them and bring it back here with us next summer. We cleaned the house and watched more football in the evening.
Sunday featured a great worship and Holy Communion. The choir sang and sounded very good despite having only two of the three tenors there. We had invited a couple for dinner of roast chicken. It was delicious as usual but the dessert was inferior--according to the dessert maker. We enjoyed the visit very much and they left around 2:30, giving us time to clean the kitchen and get our smoking started. I sent Evelyn to the grocery to get a turkey breast to smoke with our chickens and country style ribs. She returned with a frozen product. I had just put the other things in the smoker so I added the block of ice to see what would happen. We then went to walk the lake and then went to the band concert in Maggie Valley. It was good and we enjoyed the popcorn I had made to take. It is getting cooler in the evenings but I am still wearing shorts and a tank top. We came home and brought the smoked goods in, packaged the meat, and watched Cheaper by the Dozen with Steve Martin. We also talked with Stacy about the upcoming visit. It won’t be long now!

Looking up on the golf course

We both slept poorly last night. We were awake from 1 to 2:30 but were able to sleep after that. I went to work on time and hustled to get my work done. I cleaned the rest rooms but took around 20 minutes. I doubt it will take that long next time. I did not get things all done until nearly 11 when my drive up window opens. We had a steady day. I enjoy working with the young people there. They all tell me how much they like me there and keep trying to talk me out of going to Texas. Fat chance. After work we went to the golf course and walked the back nine. It is good exercise. I did stay under 60 but was unhappy with the flight of the balls. At first I was able to get the ball in the air but soon lost the ability to get under the ball. I am sure I was looking up. I did par a hole and nearly did two others. We came home and I cleaned up. I had not shaved since Tuesday afternoon. It felt good. We had thought of inviting our neighbor, Steve, to eat burritos with us because his wife works various shifts and he is often alone for dinner. He failed to show up before Evelyn had to leave for her LWML meeting at church so we ate some delicious potato soup she had made today. She brought me to the lake so I could get on the Internet. She chose a route different from the one I usually take and met a car on the one lane bridge. After it passed we proceeded to Lambuth Hall where we encountered a march and could not pass. Since she was late for the meeting and had chosen the wrong route, I had to get out and walk more than half a mile to the hotel, lugging the computer. I waited until she was finished at church when she picked me up and brought me home.

Back to work

Tuesday brought a drop in temperature. It was chilly and overcast when I clocked in. It was cooler to work outside than it has been for the first hour. Then the sun came out, but it was still not hot. I didn’t sweat nearly as profusely as usual. Things went well and without incident. After work we went to talk the insurance babe at the doctor’s office. She is still trying to bill the correct company that was our supplement in 2005. The confusion is in that Evelyn had an appoint the day after she went onto Medicare. She is still looking. We went to the bank to cash my check. I still haven’t received the $40 dollars I supposedly won nearly two months ago. The manager called and learned that perhaps the shoe company has not credited Taco Bell. We will see. We came home and planned to go to an association meeting but the rain came. We are trying to decide where to locate some plants to conceal some of the utility boxes. The meeting was cancelled. We came in and watched Eight Below. We had a coupon for a free movie rental, so we used it. The movie was very good, based on a true story. We went to bed a bit earlier than usual.
We both slept through the night. I arose and went to work slightly late. It had rained all night and was continuing, so I could not work outside at first. The rain abated and I did sweep up some of the trash. I didn’t degrease the driveway but did the other things. The traffic was heavier than yesterday’s, but the highlight occurred just after I had clocked out. One of the big guys told me that I had not been doing one of my major jobs: cleaning the restrooms. The floors were clean and the supplies were adequate, but the urinal and stools were stained. I have never noticed that and thought all this time that the night shift was doing the job. I don’t know if that was not explained well to me or whether I just forgot it. Regardless, I will have to clean them tomorrow morning. I am somewhat concerned about how this daily duty will affect how much I get done before opening time at 10 AM. We went to choir practice after finishing the bratwurst from last night. Then I watched the Cubs play until Glenn Beck came on. After that we went to bed.

relaxing day

Monday we walked early and got ready to go to lunch. I had won a $10 gift certificate to a small bakery shop downtown that serves great sandwiches, but it is closed Mondays. We went to the Underwood cafe near here and then downtown and all around looking for oval carpet and Vera Bradley knock-off purses. I also took my letter of “resignation” to Taco Bell. Actually, it focused on what I expect to happen if I should decide to return to work next summer. We went to the library for computer purposes. We returned home for tilapia for dinner. Some friends had brought us some vegetables including okra that Evelyn fried as a side. We did the dishes and then walked around the loop twice. The weather in the evenings have become cool and pleasant, something we have been awaiting. We watched some of Monday night football and the Cubs and Braves. Of course it was early to bed because of work tomorrow. The bonus: payday. The added bonus: this is the day the window washer comes so I don’t have to wash them.

Serving lunch

Following worship we served at the fellowship lunch. The fare was mostly cold meat. I served up the coffee because the coffee makers take too much room on the counter. Afterward we came home to relax and watch some football. We went to walk around 5 and then did some computer work. We came home for popcorn. Evelyn was interested in watching the “Manning Bowl” on Sunday night football. I think she likes to human interest aspect. We were up somewhat late because the game went long.

Time off together

We didn’t walk this morning but prepared for Tom and LuAnn. I wrote a letter to give to the manager at Taco Bell, outlining what I would like if I returned to work there next year. Evelyn worked in the kitchen. When they arrived, we had wine and visited for a while before having our lunch of quiche and stuffed French toast. We then decided to take them to Maggie Valley because they had never been there. We took them to see Ghosttown from the bottom, Cataloochee Ranch and ski area, and then went to Cabbage Rose. Tom and I walked over to Thunder in the Smokies, a rally of Harleys at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds. We couldn’t get in so we walked down to the Wheels Through Time Museum. The admission price was too high so we just talked with some bikers who were visiting Maggie. Evelyn and LuAnn spent much time looking at the knick knacks in Cabbage Rose. We went across the road to a gift shop where Evelyn bought some Tee shirts for a group family picture when the family is here. We went to Butts on the Creek where we had a barbecue sandwiches. We brought them back to their car so they could return home to care for their dogs, but we went to the grocery to get some items for the friendship lunch after church Sunday. She spent the evening baking cakes for the dinner too. I wrote this and watched some episodes of CSI I hadn’t seen this season. Phil Bollinger called saying he would be here around 10 tomorrow to work on the screen door.
We went to the lake to walk in the fog and arrived home just as Phil came to begin work on the door. He put everything out on the driveway and read the directions. He was very thorough in making sure everything was fitting together before doing anything. Regardless, when he had everything hung, the door was binding in the top track. He made many adjustments but said he would come back Tuesday and do something to make an adjustment. We had just enough time to get ready and go to the church to meet the other M.E. couples to ride together to the host couple in Marion, NC. We had a good meeting and a great dinner. The hosts made a large chicken pot pie and the rest of us brought side dishes and desserts. We had to drive a little over an hour each way to get there. We got home and Evelyn prepared a cheese tray for the fellowship lunch tomorrow. She had iced two cakes while Phil and I played with the door. This door is a screen that works on a spring similar to that in the old pull blinds except it runs horizontally instead of vertically. It is better for us than a screen door that swings open. We need it because we can open it and a window across from it in the kitchen

Happy tales

I am ready for the long work week to end--all three days of it. It has been cool and pleasant lately and fun to work outside. Evelyn provided a big brunch of apple stuffed French toast, zucchini bacon quiche, grilled fresh pineapple, sausage links wrapped in bacon, and sour cream coffee cake for the ladies’ Bible study at church this morning and came home tired. She lay down for a nap and wakened late to come to get me. She was 15 minutes late, but I hurried into the bathroom to change into my golfing clothes. We had decided yesterday we would walk the course. We played the front 9 and had a good time after the first three holes. I was amazed at the end that I had shot a 53 or 54, my best of the summer. (Weep, Shirley!) Perhaps I was too tired to tighten up. We also went pretty fast. Our Tee time was 3:10 and we finished at 4:50. I was ready for a shower and relaxation, however. We did just that and went to the hotel for computer work before going home to await a call from the Jones couple.

Work, work,....

Labor Day! We slept very late this morning but got to work as soon as we arose. I went out to look at the insect webs in our trees. Our River Birch trees have several of them and the association members are concerned that all the trees will die. I cut one branch out but know that we must use another method or we will cut the trees to death by ourselves. We then went around the house cleaning the fan blades. They were quite dusty. We then went to the Open Door to volunteer. We were late--just as the director was about to begin the devotion. He asked if I could do it since whoever was scheduled had not arrived. I agreed and gave basically the same message that our pastor did yesterday. I received many compliments and will have to pass them on. It had been cool when we left home but warmed up considerably while we were there. We went to the grocery again because she has to prepare a brunch for the Thursday Bible study. We took a $5 off coupon to the BiLo store we had shopped Saturday. I took our receipt to the customer service window and was given $5. We have two more coupons to use by the end of the month. We came home to rest because it was too hot to walk. Around 3:30 we began peeling apples for the apple salsa she wanted to make. I watched the Cubs while peeling. After a while we went to walk and do computer work. We returned home and I fixed some eggs and hash brown potatoes while Evelyn ate a tomato sandwich. We then went back to cooking. We peeled more apples and I chopped pecans for the special French toast she was making while she assembled the ingredients. We both cleaned up the kitchen, finishing the cooking marathon at 9:50. She was exhausted and went directly to bed.
Tuesday was work day. The traffic was quite slow and we seemed to be overstaffed for a change. I usually have to do something in food preparation such as fill cups of salsa. Today I mostly stood around when no cars were coming through. The highlight of Evelyn’s day was that she finished 3 of the 12 lessons she has to lead in October. Also Evelyn went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning and picked me up at 2:45. We came home and cut down the black eyed susans around our house. We then just relaxed until after dinner when we relaxed some more.
Wednesday is delivery day at Taco Bell. It started as a cloudy, overcast day but cleared up by 9. The truck arrived around then but the young man who was hired recently did not show up for work. For some reason he can’t drive and, after oversleeping, could not get his mother out of bed to bring him to work (his story). The general manager and an extra assistant manager had to come in for the job. I could do some of the storing (the truck driver brings the things into the store) but many of the items are heavier than I want to try to lift. So I do my regular job. Evelyn came to get me late--again. I don’t mind but wonder about why she can’t remember when I get off. Today, she spent the day cooking many things for her brunch tomorrow. She had to make many things because she volunteered to do so earlier. She just didn’t get it all done before 2:30. She wanted to go and watch me play golf, but we could not get a tee time today. We did get one for tomorrow. We are going to try walking the course tomorrow at 3:10. I hope she can make it all the way around. I decided to take her downtown because she had been at home all day, so we went to the drug store for some bargains and then went to Mast General Store where I bought a new hat for walking around the lake. I need something to protect my ears. We came home for smoked chicken breast sandwiches and went off to choir practice. We also took many items to church for tomorrow’s brunch. She will have to bake many things tomorrow morning and get it there by 9:30. We came home and put the golf clubs into the car for tomorrow’s game.

Helping

Up and off to the flea market. I wanted to talk with someone about parking the motor home in the fairgrounds area where the flea market is held. It is only a half mile from here. Evelyn found some decorative items for the kitchen and I found something useful: a hedge trimmer I can use for cutting the black eyed Susans in our yard. We went on to the library so I could go to some websites and publish the blog. We also found gasoline for $ 2.669! Almost free. We then had to go to the lake to walk. We had walked last night before attending the bluegrass festival. We came home and finished the pizza we had made Thursday. We heard from John Greene that Barry could not come to the football game and that John had some free tickets for us. About the time we were to leave, it rained really hard. But it stopped and cleared off for a lovely evening. We drove to the field but had to park half a mile away. There were over 12,000 people there for a high school game. The game was between two rival schools very near to each other: Tuscola in Waynesville and Pisgah in Canton. We stayed only through the half time show and then left because the score was 35-3. The final score was 56-10. We stopped at Wal-Mart for some supplies and then came home.

We went to Bible study and worship. I was scheduled to assist with Holy Communion. The pastor told us he had decided to change the way the elements were distributed. He would distribute the bread, Gene would distribute the individual cups, he would distribute the common cup and I would collect the empty cups. Our choir sang and during that time I decided I would not assist with Communion in the future. I assisted today because I was subbing for a friend who went out of town for the holiday. We came home for lunch and rest because we had to drive to Black Mountain for the Marriage Encounter closing. Our former pastor went with us because he had volunteered to distribute Communion to the Marriage Encounter couples. We brought the pastor home and came home as well. We decided to stay home rather than walk and watched a Poirot mystery on TV. We have several things to do tomorrow, but I called the Jones couple, friends who live in Franklin to see if they would come here for a barbecue tomorrow. They can’t come, however, because they just returned home from NY and must unload their camper. They may be able to come next Friday.

Health and music

Thursday was a surprise in that I was to report to work, call the health department, give them a fax number so they could send a verification of my shot to Taco Bell, and sit around until I was called giving me permission to go to work. I don’t like to sit around and get paid so I did my outside work anyway since I was not in contact with any food. I did have to sit and read the newspaper for a while anyway but could finally do my inside work after the phone call. Things were normal at work. Evelyn had taken the Saturn to Asheville to see what could be done about our gas mileage problem. The answer was nothing. She returned to pick me up in a real downpour, probably from Ernesto, and take me to the doctor. We really like him. I did get a digital prostate exam and things “felt” all right--to the doctor. We came home and relaxed for the evening since it rained most of the night.
Friday begins my weekend from work. It was threatening rain and the rain we had had caused the postponement of the big football game in Canton. It will be played tomorrow night. We went to meet with the pastor concerning our transfer of membership from Fort Wayne to Clyde. As a lay minister, there is a conflict as to how that can be done. I don’t suppose we will transfer in that case. We are Christians and don’t much care where our earthly church membership is. Through the Grace of God, we belong to the real, universal church. Actually, it never did more than sprinkle during the rest of the day so we were able to work outside and pull some weeds. We also planted some more burgundy mums. We decided to go to the mountain music festival tonight rather than tomorrow night because of the transfer of the football game. We always enjoy this because it is an indoor “Shindig on the Green”, featuring many different performers. Most of them were good and there were half a dozen clogging groups, one from Mars Hill College. They were the youngest group and had more energy than we could stand to watch. We were home by 11:00 even though the concert lasted later than that.

A tired pup!

Sunday brought another great sermon from the new pastor. He is still a terrible chanter but he likes to do it. We came home for the smoked ribs I had made a week ago and a fresh spinach salad. We then stayed home to rest. Then we went to walk the lake after which we came home and I washed the car while Evelyn talked with her former secretary, Louise. We had popcorn for dinner, and I had some ice cream. We watched an old video of the movie, Little Women because the Beeli girls had watched it before. We will be able to talk with them about it when they come to visit. To bed and rest.
Monday we went to the doctor so Evelyn could tell him she was not much better. She saw a nurse who talked to the doctor who gave her a sample of some medicine that should “jumpstart” her recovery. We then went to look for a wallpaper border to cover a mark we made on our wall with the counter stools we have. We found one that we might like at the Sherwin Williams store in Waynesville. Evelyn will look in Asheville Thursday when she takes the car to have it examined. I called an made the appointment because we get such poor gas mileage. Perhaps they can do something to improve it. We then met the pastor and his wife and baby for lunch at DuVall’s restaurant. We didn’t get to talk much but did get to learn some things about each other. We came home after doing computer work in the library so Evelyn could rest, and then went to walk. I had two roasting ears and a toasted cheese sandwich for dinner, but Evelyn didn’t feel well enough to eat anything. We watched the movie, The In Laws, and then to bed for work tomorrow.
I wakened at 4 A.M. and couldn’t sleep until around 5:30. I did some filing and organizing of papers before returning to bed for a while. Work was normal except I never have to wash the windows on payday every other week. I got all the money I had coming except for the money I won in the shoe lottery. On my stub was an entry of $41 but no money in the check. The manager thinks it might take a couple of checks before the money comes. That makes sense but having it listed makes me curious. After work we went to cash my check and see if Evelyn’s prescription had come in. It hadn’t and she decided to ask Dr. McLelland to call the prescription in to the Pacificare prescription service. She had also gone to the dentist for an examination. She learned that she will need two crowns instead of just one. She will probably wait until we get back to Texas. Dental work is much cheaper there. We came directly home from there and I showered. I watched the rest of the movie that I had recorded from last night and some sports shows. All the time fighting to stay awake. I don’t want to sleep in the afternoon and continue to wake up at night. I had brought a new stuffed burrito from work and we split it and had a spinach salad Evelyn had made. I wrote this while the Cubs played, wrote a letter to a couple from our church and went to bed around 9.
Wow! I slept until 7 this morning. That is 10 hours straight. I haven’t slept that long since I was a teenager. When Evelyn took me to work, she told me of the news that an employee from Trevi’s where we ate dinner before the baseball game last Thursday has HIV. I went to work and told the managers. Later I was told to go to Asheville for the free Imuno Globulin shot offered to anyone who had eaten there recently. (Ray, if you still read this you will probably smile. Remember Rudy’s?) I came home and got Evelyn and left. The shots were supposed to be given between 3 and 7, but the receptionist said we would not have to wait. We got the shot and returned to Waynesville in time to play golf with Shirley. We both had better final scores than we thought we would. I shot 56 again despite an 11 and a 9. We added the score several times but always got the same answer. We went to a Chinese buffet and had our final dinner with Paul and Shirley before they go back to New Haven. We then went to choir practice and came home to rest for tomorrow. I received a message that I was to bring some verification of my shot. I didn’t know I was to do that so I don’t have any. The manager said I could check in tomorrow morning and sit around until we call Asheville and get a faxed verification. I was also pleased that they paid me for my full shift even though I was not even on the premises after 12:30 today.