Beautiful fall foilage

We slept in Friday and then began cleaning the house for the LME meeting here tomorrow evening. Evelyn dusted and cleaned the refrigerator while I vacuumed the floor and worked on the chirping smoke alarm. I can’t get it to stop but will try once more by buying a new 9 volt battery. I have one but it seems to not work because it still chirps. We had lunch and then went to town to get some of the supplies for tomorrow’s dinner. It had gently rained all morning and was not very warm. We went to BiLo for the pork chops we had ordered, and I found some Killian’s Irish Red for a good price. I bought two 6 packs. We went to the bank to cash our rebate check from Pepsi and then on to Big Lots to try to find a square table cloth for the card table we will have to use tomorrow. I also bought a 9 volt battery that fixed the chirp. I am not sure why the smoke alarm needs a battery because it is hard wired to the ceiling. It was late in the afternoon and Evelyn went to work making the pork chops. I chopped onions and celery to mix in with the stuffing and washed the dishes. We had pizza left from the dinner with Paul and Shirley Wednesday. It was still good. We also had some more of the apple cake made at the same time as the muffins. We then retired to the living room where we watched the biography of Carolyn Jones, star of the Addams Family television series. We were tired and went to bed a bit earlier than usual.
Saturday was the men’s breakfast, and Evelyn went along so she could prepare the altar for tomorrow’s worship. We finished the Max Lucado series, He Chose the Nails. It is truly a wonderful representation of the love God has for us. Afterward we went to return some books to the library and check to see if the flowers for tonight were ready. They weren’t so we decided to get them at the BiLo grocery. We got them and came home to continue preparation. We had lunch, and I began gathering some items we want to pack for our return to Texas. I also listened to the sorry excuse for a football game between Purdue and Penn State. Purdue’s offense could not score a point. We were able to rest for awhile before the guests came. When they came, we had hors doerves and then watched a segment from the Lucado video to provide a question for us to discuss. We then enjoyed the pork chops and the other items the other couples brought. We had a very nice visit with them. After they left we loaded the dishwasher and hand washed the things we didn’t think were dishwasher safe. I changed the clocks in the house because tonight is the last day of daylight savings time. We relaxed and went to bed. Oh, yes. We talked with Stacy and Tom and told them we plan to leave Wednesday or as soon as we are packed. Tom has been working hard on a project that he finished Friday. He can enjoy his birthday and Halloween night without pressure.
After an hour of extra sleep, it was off to worship at church. Our choir sang and this will likely be our final participation this season. We came home after church for an all vegetable lunch--squash and sweet potatoes from Saturday. We they started the dish washer and went to rest a while. I watched some football and napped while Evelyn read in the bedroom. We then went to walk at the lake and came home to change clothes and go to the choir concert at the Methodist Church in Waynesville. Our choir director, Rosalind, was in it and had a couple of short solos. We had invited she and her husband to come over for popcorn and Bailey’s Irish Cream that we had forgotten to serve when they were here earlier in the summer. We visited and played one round of Protestant Poker before they left. We went to bed at an earlier time.
We slept late again and began gathering items to load into the motor home when we got it. Around 10 we went to walk the lake and then went to volunteer at the Open Door soup kitchen. We always get a blessing from working there. I almost gave the devotion, but Perry, the director, did it instead. We left there and went to Maggie Valley to get the motor home. I went to the office while Evelyn went home. I was shocked to receive a $75 dollar bill for just learning that the marine batteries were low, causing the refrigerator system to malfunction. This on top of the $50 storage fee they had charged. I was livid but tried to keep it inside. I did, however, throw the signed charge slip back at the women. Her husband followed me to the coach, telling me how “as a minister, I should be ashamed.” I apologized to him and came home. We began taking things to the coach but received a phone call from the woman saying someone had found my credit card and had turned it in. I will have to go get it. I guess the Lord wants me to return and ask forgiveness from the woman. I will do that tomorrow. We had much wine, more than I could drink, so I went to our neighbor, Anna, and asked her to come for a glass of wine. Eventually, we went to the Rogers and enjoyed not only the opened bottle of wine but another that I needed to get rid of. We enjoyed their company especially since Kathy had her 53rd birthday this past Saturday. We celebrated with her and stayed there for two hours. One of her suppliers who was raised in Canada but now lives in Black Mountain. We had a good time there. We came home and had some cake and ice cream before watching Glenn Beck on CNN. He is quite concerned as I am about the Islamic Fascists. We are in a fight for the western Christian lives in this country. I just thank God for giving us faith in His power through our Lord, Jesus. We can go to bed with confidence in Him and His control of the world and our future.

End of the season

Thursday will be me final day at work. I told my colleagues and they put up a sign saying goodbye. I had taken some muffins Evelyn had made, so they had something to ameliorate their grief. J I was disappointed that many of my regular customers didn’t come through so I could wish them well for the winter. Anyway, I took my things and came home. I had driven, so I got Evelyn and we went off to a different Iron Duff golf course in Crabtree north of here. It was a “mountain golf course” so we decided to get a cart. We were glad because it had some long hard hills. I didn’t play well, but that might be partly the result of not knowing the course. Shirley and I will have to go there some next summer. They have an 18 hole $20 rate for geezers during the week, including a cart. We came home and readied ourselves for our gourmet dinner at the Herron House. We went at 7 and had plenty of wine with dinner. The dinner included squash soup, a salad, including pears, an entree chosen from the three selections. Evelyn had crown roast of pork with red plum sauce and I had salmon with roasted red pepper cream sauce. She had bourbon chocolate pecan pie for dessert while I had Belgian white chocolate brule. Of course we shared both the entree and the dessert. Everything was delicious, albeit $40 each. We had a coupon worth $25, so our cost was less than some others. We had a nice conversation with the man and wife who own the bed and breakfast who had gone to many of the same sites in Canada that we visited two summers ago. She also gave us some tips on where she gets her supplies of food. We came home and stayed up a while to let the food settle. I was very tired and went right to sleep as usual and remained asleep, unlike last night when I was up for an hour around 5 AM.

The impending smell of Texas

We were up by 7 even though the alarm was set for 7:30. It was very cold and work outside was challenging. Traffic was slow most of the day. It was payday so I didn’t have to wash the windows--the professional guy was there. Unfortunately, I think my check was short some hours. I thought that last time but was wrong. This time I think I am right. I will check tomorrow. I came home and cleaned up but was too tired to play golf so I took a nap. We left home and met Paul and Shirley and their friend Jean for pizza at Angelo’s. We enjoyed the visit but won’t see them again until next summer. Shirley ushers at the coliseum and can’t drag herself away to visit us in Texas. Evelyn is really getting eager to go south. It was too cold and windy for her today. She would leave tomorrow if the coach was functioning properly and we were packed.
I went to work in the cold but got warmer during the day. Evelyn did some very revealing calling. She learned that the refrigerator in the motor home is working fine, causing Evelyn to get revved up to go south. I told the manager at the Taco Bell that my days there may be numbered. I had planned for November 7 to be my final day of work, but that may be a bit overstated. Tomorrow may be the last day. She also called our choir director to see if they could go to the Bear’s Den with us tomorrow evening but could only leave a message. This was in the Lord’s plan because I received from the Bear’s Den saying they wouldn’t be open tomorrow evening. Therefore, we made reservations at The Herron House, a bed an breakfast that offers meals to the public two evenings per week. The price is $40 per person plus tax and gratuity, but we have a coupon for $25 that cost only $5. Our price will be $30 each. I also called the man who gives me golf balls and asked him to bring some more to church Sunday. I can give some to my former friend and another friend that invites me to play occasionally. We went and picked up the sewing machine we had taken for a new bulb because Evelyn can’t see well without it and only one functioning eye. She also made a delicious chicken dish for dinner using many small items out of the cupboard and refrigerator.

There and back

We were up at 6:30 (Evelyn had been awake from 2 to 4 because she had gone to sleep at 8), packed, the car loaded and on the road by 7:30. We left in a heavy mist and drove in and out of rain until we got into KY. It then cleared up, giving us a beautiful view of the peak weekend in the mountains. We made very good time and were in Corbin by 11:00. We got gas and surprisingly recorded 23.1 mpg. I was suspicious of that number because it can be a result of not filling the tank completely. I was especially suspicious because I had set the cruise on 65 while I rarely drive faster than 60. We ate lunch as we drove (Evelyn had made ham sandwiches on delicious Kroger bread) because it was too cold to sit outside on picnic tables. I reasoned if we had to sit in the car to eat, we might as well make time. We took a different route in that when we got to Lexington, we took I-64 west to Louisville. There we took 65 north to Indianapolis and went to the Trader Joe’s to get Charles Shaw wine. We had called ahead from our On Star telephone to see if they carried it. It was frustrating because we had trouble getting the car phone to understand us. I was screaming into the microphone only to hear, “Let’s try again.” Finally we got through. We bought three cases of wine at $3 per bottle. That should last me all winter. I also bought Evelyn some flowers, -romantic fool that I am, and we went on. We went back to I-65 and called the Super 8 at West Lafayette. We had an ad that quoted $45 plus tax but they had no vacancies. We refueled and recorded 27.1 for gas mileage. Perhaps the earlier record was right! Perhaps it is the flatter terrain helps. We pulled in to Lebanon and got a room at Lees Inn for $47 plus tax. I had to talk hard to the young desk clerk to get that rate but did. We ate the rest of our lunch for dinner and then went to get a DQ Blizzard. As the Lord had it, it was half price week. We went to the Kroger store across the street and found Hazelnut/Poppyseed bread for $1.89. Quite inexpensive. We returned to the motel for a night’s rest. I want to be on the road by no later than 9 tomorrow morning so we can meet our football friends for lunch.
We got up, had some continental breakfast, packed and left for Purdue by 9. We mat Paul and Shirley at their motor home for the sandwich they had made for us. We wished them well for the winter and rode the shuttle with them to the stadium. We began talking with anyone we saw with tickets holding them in the air. After talking with several, We found a couple willing to accept the amount I had determined to pay: $40 for two. Their face value was $55 each. The tickets were great on the east side 59 rows up on the 30 yard line. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the experience. The defense played very well but the offense was terrible. Wisconsin is a very good team, but it was the poor passing that cost the game. We were able to stay in the stadium until nearly the end, but the outcome was certainly decided. We walked to the lot because we needed the exercise. We jumped into the car and rushed off to Muncie. We arrived at 6:00 in time to redress for the dinner. We went with my friend, Sam and his sister and husband, Donna and Darl. We enjoyed the dinner and Sam’s induction into our fraternity hall of fame. I was also able to see some of my brothers from the past. We came home and I retired by 10:30.
Sunday we were up by 6:30 and on the road by nearly 8:00. We drove secondary roads to the interstates around Cincinnati and on into Kentucky. We made it to Lexington where we decided we wanted to lunch at a Red Lobster. We spent nearly half an hour looking for the location. We finally lunched and went on to Corbin to get fuel but the stations were all busy. We did, however, find one farther on and filled up. We recorded 24.2 MPG.. I hope this trend continues. We stopped at the Clinch Mountain restaurant to check out the view and the food. The former was great; the latter was only passable. We continued on, arriving home at 7:30. We unpacked and watched some TV before going to bed.
We were both tired and didn’t arise until 8 on Monday. We began gathering things to take to the motor home so we can begin packing for our exodus from here to Texas. We took the things and discovered they have not yet found the problem with the refrigerator. We pray it is not the entire cooling package again. We are also in a potential bind concerning our leaving with things working correctly. If there are many parts needed to make repairs, we may have to leave without a working refrigerator because we are committed to being in San Antonio by the 12th. We also stopped to get a ring replacement for Evelyn who bought a ring August 30 and lost the set around the first of October. The people were very understanding and gave her a new ring plus an $8 credit. We came home for lunch of soup and some rest. At 3 we went to the golf course for my final round in NC this season. I lost more balls than on any other round because of the leaves that were all over the fairways and greens. Since lost balls cost a stroke, I didn’t shoot my best. We came home and invited the neighbors over for dinner of smoked salmon, squash, green beans, apple salsa and delicious chocolate almond cake. We have a good time with them and learned that one of our association members (who is a pain in the neck) are building a new home and are causing the contractors no end of anguish. We will all be glad when they leave here. We went to bed early: work tomorrow.

financial blessings

We were up at 6:30 (Evelyn had been awake from 2 to 4 because she had gone to sleep at 8), packed, the car loaded and on the road by 7:30. We left in a heavy mist and drove in and out of rain until we got into KY. It then cleared up, giving us a beautiful view of the peak weekend in the mountains. We made very good time and were in Corbin by 11:00. We got gas and surprisingly recorded 23.1 mpg. I was suspicious of that number because it can be a result of not filling the tank completely. I was especially suspicious because I had set the cruise on 65 while I rarely drive faster than 60. We ate lunch as we drove (Evelyn had made ham sandwiches on delicious Kroger bread) because it was too cold to sit outside on picnic tables. I reasoned if we had to sit in the car to eat, we might as well make time. We took a different route in that when we got to Lexington, we took I-64 west to Louisville. There we took 65 north to Indianapolis and went to the Trader Joe’s to get Charles Shaw wine. We had called ahead from our On Star telephone to see if they carried it. It was frustrating because we had trouble getting the car phone to understand us. I was screaming into the microphone only to hear, “Let’s try again.” Finally we got through. We bought three cases of wine at $3 per bottle. That should last me all winter. I also bought Evelyn some flowers, -romantic fool that I am, and we went on. We went back to I-65 and called the Super 8 at West Lafayette. We had an ad that quoted $45 plus tax but they had no vacancies. We pulled in to Lebanon and got a room at Lees Inn for $47 plus tax. I had to talk hard to the young desk clerk to get that rate but did. We ate the rest of our lunch for dinner and then went to get a DQ Blizzard. As the Lord had it, it was half price week. We went to the Kroger store across the street and found Hazelnut/Poppyseed bread for $1.89. Quite inexpensive. We returned to the motel for a night’s rest. I want to be on the road by no later than 9 tomorrow morning so we can meet our football friends for lunch. The game is at noon o'clock.

Wednesday I went to work as usual. Evelyn and Nancy walked part way up Utah Mountain. They then returned to dress for lunch at the Christian Women’s Club. They heard a great testimony and dulcimer player. They then went to shop downtown Waynesville. Meanwhile I finished work and came home, changed clothes, and went off to play golf. I walked the first three holes of the front nine. At that time a young man in a cart behind me asked if I wanted to play with him and ride in his cart. I quickly accepted and finished the round. He was a very nice 20 year old, and we enjoyed playing together. He is a ski instructor at Cataloochee Ski Resort during the winter and also a student at Haywood Community College. I shot the usual 56 but didn’t play as well as I have. I came home and showered. The ladies came home and decided to walk the lake so they left. I had to go to the hotel to transfer some money to cover a credit card bill. I also took my pants back to Goodys, hoping to return the pants and buy them back at 15% discount. Unfortunately, the pants didn’t qualify for the discount. I don’t understand that, but that is the way it is. I came home about an hour before the ladies and ate several snacks because I was hungry. When they came home, we warmed the casserole and quiche from the days earlier in the week. Dinner was so late that we visited for a short time and retired. Evelyn showered and washed her hair in preparation for her Bible study tomorrow.
Just before 4 AM I wakened and could not go back to sleep right away. I guess I just think about too many things. Eventually I seem to come to the e-mail I plan to send Emily. I don’t know what it will do to our relationship but must try something. I keep praying and thinking about what the Lord would have me do, but it is difficult. I also think about what we have to do to prepare for the trip to IN on Friday. Since it is so late and we have guests, I can’t really work on that because I would waken everyone. I just tried to go back to sleep. I slept fitfully and finally gave up at 6:30. We were up to see Nancy off and then Evelyn took me to work. She came home and prepared to go to the Bible study. I went to work in the fog that soon became rain. The day was slow until around 1 when things picked up. Evelyn’s Bible study was again blessed by our Lord. She picked me up and we cleaned up the car for tomorrow’s trip. We packed some of the things but will wait for most until tomorrow. We ate dinner of leftovers early and then went to the hotel to look at Dobson’s web site to see what the candidates in Texas stand for. We took our absentee ballots and voted there. We ended up nearly voting straight Republican. We came home and went to the bedroom around 7:30 and watched some TV before going to sleep. We would like to get a good night's sleep before going to Indiana tomorrow.

visitors

Sunday we were blessed with Holy Communion. Before that, as we drove to church, we saw a man in a tan stocking hat. When I was practicing my reading for the day, he came into the church. He never said so for a long time, but he was looking for money. We have none at the church, so he went on to a nearby Methodist church. I would have helped him but I could not go with him to the motel where “my wife and grandson are.” I just can’t make myself trust those people with money. We came home and ate lunch before resting. I watched some NFL games, and then we went to the lake to walk and do computer work. We went from there to where the motor home is stored to get the hang tag for free parking at next Saturday’s football game. From there we went to the band concert in Maggie Valley, the final one of the season. We came home from there to enjoy popcorn and some more football.
Monday we were leisurely. We just ran errands. We took some books back to the library. We also went to see if we could find some tomatoes at Christopher’s farm market but they were $1.59 per pound. “I won’t pay that.” So we got two romas and found they were the same price. The joke was on us. We went to Goodys and Belk to return the pants we didn’t want. We came home and picked up some soup and cake that we wanted to take to our shut ins. We went to their mobile home and visited them for a half hour. We all had a good time and learned that they had spent several winters in San Benito. They made butterflies as crafts and sold them at craft sales around the Valley. We think they were probably selling at the craft sale in our park. We then came home so Evelyn could finish preparation for Nancy and Garnet. They came just a bit later than she had predicted but much earlier than we had thought they would. We visited a short time and than had dinner of chicken casserole. They had brought us a goody bag with many food items. I was very tired for some reason and went to bed early. I was dead asleep when our friends from Purdue called to ask if we could join them for lunch before the game. I said we would try gut had trouble getting back to sleep.
Tuesday I went back to work. It gently rained the entire day which made it impossible for me to clean the outside lot. Instead I did the bathrooms and helped with some of the prep by filling the salsa cups. Evelyn and the guests went to Asheville to visit the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. They had lunch in the Biltmore Village. They also went to the Farmer’s Market to see what was still being sold. They seemed to have a good time. After I came home and showered, I went to the hotel to see what Focus on the Family had to say about the candidates’ stand on the issues but couldn’t get on the Internet on the second floor. I spent most of my time there trying to get the problem fixed and finally went to the 4th floor where it finally worked. Unfortunately, I had left the election ballot on the 2nd floor. In short the time there was wasted. I returned home shortly before the ladies returned. We drove around Lake Junaluska and through Maggie Valley, ending up at Butts on the Creek, a barbecue restaurant. Nancy bought our dinners and we picked up our stadium seats on our way home. We played Protestant poker for a while and then went to bed.

We slept later Friday than we had slept for many months and were still tired. We showered and had a light breakfast. We had planned go to a local bakery/sandwich shop in Waynesville with our neighbors so we met them at her work and drove to the restaurant. We enjoyed sharing a Reuben sandwich and a pimento cheese sandwich. We left them and took our sewing machine to be repaired. Evelyn thinks a new light will help her thread the needle. I don’t think she can see that well. We went to the library for a while. I was working on the computer when I received a call from across the room saying a book I had ordered was in. The librarian brought it to me with a smile. We went by Taco Bell and I learned that my paycheck was correct as I was afraid it would be. I had missed days when we went to Purdue. We then continued to the lake for our walk. We came home for lunch and relaxation. We needed some milk and powdered sugar, so we went to Food Lion and came home the back way due to the excess traffic. We spent the evening watching The Sound and the Fury, an old movie based on the novel by William Faulkner. We found our way to bed afterward.
Saturday we slept late again. We only got up because Evelyn had to be at church at 9 to prepare the altar for Holy Communion tomorrow. She took me to the hotel where I worked on the computer. She went to Weight Watchers after finishing and found that she was still under her target weight. I tried to call several people and got only answer machines. I also tried to apply for a NCL credit card but couldn’t do it on line. I also called the camping repair shop and learned they had not even looked at the refrigerator yet. We will have to go to make sure the doors are open to prevent mildew. Evelyn came and we started to walk but decided it was too cold. We decided to come home but got distracted and went to shop for some light slacks for me. We spent an hour and brought home 5 pairs to try on. I chose two of the five and will return the others tomorrow or Monday. We finally got home and had lunch. It was ironic because we were going to eat early because we were scheduled to meet some friends for a trout benefit dinner at a local church. We rested in the afternoon and left for what was the best church fish dinner we have ever had. Afterward we went to the friend’s house (they were from Geneva, Evelyn’s home town) and did much reminiscing and looking at the many woodworking projects he had made. We came home and watched some of the Michigan/Penn State football game. Oh, yes. We had a hard freeze last night and lost many plants we had neglected to cover. This is the second time we have done this. We did bring some of the potted plants inside.

sliding rock

Monday was the day our family fragmented again. The Georges family had to leave after breakfast to return to Roswell in order to make it to their appointment with the teachers at their school. Evelyn distributed the T-shirts she had bought for the family picture. Mine was too small, even though it was labeled as large. I just wore mine from the Cherokee museum. We were able to get a neighbor to take the pictures and then they left. Since they had bought a new van and had kept their old one, the Beelis were left with one to accommodate their family for the remainder of their visit here and their return to Georgia. We all went to the lake to walk around and view the beauty of the fall change of colors. We didn’t finish until after 1 and returned for lunch. We decided to call Queen’s Farm to see if the kids could ride and made an appointment for 3 o’clock, causing a flurry of activity because it was already 2:30. Pieder stayed here for a nap while the rest went to the farm. Emily and the four kids took the hour ride and then I led a horse around the yard with Stephen on its back for his ride since he is only three and couldn’t ride by himself. We came home and got dressed to go to dinner at the Bear’s Den in Maggie Valley but it was closed even though I had called and received a recorded message that they opened at 3 on Monday’s. We went to another restaurant we knew and Pieder bought us dinner. We had intended to use a coupon I had bought on line to use at the Bear’s Den, so the dinner was somewhat more expensive than we had originally planned. We returned home and prepared a picnic for tomorrow’s long anticipated trip to sliding rock and the Cradle of Forestry. We pray that tomorrow will be even more beautiful and warmer than today was.
We got up “early” and had breakfast while finishing the packing of our picnic. We were able to leave around 11 headed for our two destinations. We arrived at the Cradle of Forestry around noon. We learned that Tuesdays are free admission days and we went happily in to the building. What an impressive place that is. It was interesting to learn that our entire forestry system was born in the Vanderbilt family, who brought an educated trained forester from Germany to plan the system and train the future foresters. There were many well planned displays and some very enjoyable and challenging scavenger hunts for the kids. We finally decided to have our picnic on those grounds at 2:30. We went from there to sliding rock. All of the Beelis (except the 3 year old) made at least two trips down the rock into the 40 degree water. Noah actually made 8 or more trips down. There was hardly anyone there. In fact there was only one other man seen sliding down the rock. Of course everyone was cold and wet but still interested in continuing to Looking Glass Falls and returning to the Forestry site to walk one of the trails. We returned home driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, admiring the wonderful colors and even many Monarch butterflies migrating to the Yucatan Peninsula. We had potato soup for dinner and watched the movie Eight Below that I had taped earlier.
Only Noah was up before 9. We enjoyed breakfast together and he helped us with the clean up. The last of the family got up around 10. They had planned to leave around noon so as to get to Roswell in time to take the Georges out to dinner. The kids all pitched in to help with the cleaning and packing. They finally were ready to leave around noon without lunch. We sent them with fruit and some water. We finished cleaning until 1 when we began the great leftover cleanup. I had hoped for a call from the RV repair place saying they could come today to fix the front jack but got none. They had promised to call back earlier in the morning. We began finding some of the many things they had left here and prepared a box to mail to them in Lancaster. Evelyn had to lie down for a while to rest. She has worked herself very hard this past 6 days. I took the trash to the dump area. After she got up, we went to the lake to walk and do computer work. I was looking for a product on line and forgot to publish this blog. We had to come home for dinner before choir. Afterward we came back, and I went to our neighbors, the Rogers, to see if they would go to a trout dinner this Saturday. Things don’t look promising but we will wait a few days to see what happens. We came home to get ready for tomorrow. I go to work, and Evelyn goes to LWML to deliver the devotion. She worked it over tonight.
We got up and Evelyn took me to work. I had quite a bit of cleaning to do but had plenty of time to do it. The workers were glad to see me back. Evelyn went on to the LWML meeting where she led the entire lesson since the scheduled presenter failed to show up. She did such a good job that the women wanted her to finish the lesson. She said maybe next year because we won’t be here for the next meeting in November. I made several telephone calls and arranged to get the jack on the motor home fixed this afternoon. I returned the call from Dr. McLelland about my blood test results. I wonder what he learned about my cholesterol level. I also called the nursery that was supposed to replace the tree they planted last year. I had to threaten them with calling a lawyer. Perhaps they will come this next week. We made plans to go to lunch tomorrow with our neighbors because I won a $10 gift certificate for a neat little restaurant downtown. I also took my paycheck that came Tuesday and think I was shorted some hours. I will have to go to have them check my hours tomorrow. We came home after work and the men came to fix the jack. After they left, I pulled the slides in and found that the living room slide awning is malfunctioning again. Also the refrigeration is malfunctioning too--on both gas and electric. We took the coach to the repair shop to have them check the problems and store the coach for the next month until we go to Texas. We came home for dinner and watched some of Deliverance, a movie from the 70s.

Family from GA and CA

Thursday is my last day of work for a week. I did everything I was supposed to do in good time. I know that I often slow down and have slowed down since I first started. I guess my energy is depleting. I posted my petition and got some laughs and some signatures. I guess Taco Bell doesn’t do that anymore. Besides: it was a joke. Evelyn had been gone from home all day. The morning was in Bible study and the afternoon was shopping for things for the visit. We came home and got the keys for the motor home, returned to Wal-Mart and brought the coach here to park it in the commons area. I had cut the small dead tree down and we pulled in being careful to avoid running over the drain from our neighbor’s driveway. We leveled the unit as best we could but were not really satisfied. We will have to look for more blocks. We came home and I cleaned up before going to the lake for a walk. We came home and had some more of the roast pork we had some time ago. It has lasted a long time but is still very good. Evelyn had been marinating some beef to make sauerbraten for the church dinner Sunday and had slow cooked it all day. We took it out of the cooking bag, she cut off some of the burned portions and then packed it into an aluminum pan that we will take to church tomorrow. A friend from church will slice it Saturday. We watched a weird movie and I tried to adjust the pull cart I have been using when we play golf. It twists on the hills. I think I tightened the correct place but failed to get the pull handle exactly straight. I will try it once more next week and decide whether I should just go back to my original one. We stayed up a bit later than usual but went to bed tired.
We arose on Friday and went to Taco Bell! We went so I could make a toll free call to Indiana. We then went to the lab for me to get a blood draw. It was there that my right lens fell out. From there we went to pay a bill at the hospital. Then to the church to drop off the beef we had marinated and cooked. From there we went to Wal-Mart to have my lens re-inserted. We weren’t finished. We had to go to Bi Lo for more groceries for the guests. We had one more grocery stop for bananas and oyster crackers. I also picked up some Estee Lauder Evelyn needs and had ordered last month. We brought them home and Evelyn began putting things together. I went to try to make the motor home more level and ended up knocking a spring off the right from jack. Now it is less level than before, and I can’t drive it the way it is. I will have to find some way to have someone come with a hydraulic lift mechanism and hopefully put the spring back on. I will worry until I think of someone who can come here and do the work. We had a good visit when everyone finally arrived, They were hungry so we ate almost immediately and then packed into the two vans and drove to Lake Junaluska so we could see it at night and allow the kids to burn off some energy. We came home and assigned beds and sneaked off ourselves.
We arose Saturday and showered quickly so we could be out of the way of everyone else. The final time of the last riser was 10. We had some oatmeal and bagels for breakfast in loose shifts. I came into the bedroom and watched some of the college game day predictions. I also called an RV place in Maggie Valley that said they could come next week and fix the jack. I sure will thank God if that is the case. We finally left here shortly before noon headed for Cherokee. We stopped along the way for some boiled peanuts that I thought some might like. As it is Stacy and I were the only ones that really like them. We stopped at Granny’s buffet in Cherokee for lunch that Pieder bought for everyone. We went on to the Oconoluftee Village, a working village of Cherokees reenacting life even before the Revolutionary war. We had taken the tour last fall, but this time it was better. Everyone seemed to like it. The kids asked many good questions and learned many things. It was 5 when we finished so we just decided to come home for chili and hot dogs. I had thought we were planning to eat at a restaurant in Maggie Valley where I have some discount coupons. Perhaps we will go there some other day. I also thought the four younger adults would want to go walk around Waynesville and hear some music, but we all stayed home and watched Polar Express. We were in bed by 10 which was fine with the older adults. Evelyn also had to start the sour kraut she volunteered to make for the German dinner tomorrow.
We were up and to church on time. Evelyn and the Beeli girls acted as greeters for LWML Sunday. I went to rehearse with the choir and we sang during the service. Everyone we talked to was impressed with our grandchildren. We came home for lunch and planned to go horseback riding but could not get a response to our call. So some of the kids went swimming at the indoor water park while most of the adults rested. They came home and we went off to the German dinner. It was a big success and quite good. The bad news is that we had run out of sauerbraten. We had plenty to eat though. I freaked out most of the evening thinking I had lost our digital camera, but, thank God, Rosalie found it. We watched a movie and retired. We were disappointed to learn that the Georges will have to leave early in the morning. They will not be able to go to sliding rock with us tomorrow because they have a conference with the teachers in their school.

More days

Sunday we were up and blessed with worship and Holy Communion. The choir sang, and we were blessed to receive our Lord’s Body and Blood, reminding us of what He did for us. We brought our share of the beef we are to marinate into sauerbraten for next week’s German dinner at church. We picked up the motor home and brought it home. We had lunch and I changed oil in the motor home while Evelyn prepared the marinade. After that I read the manual for the water heater and drained the water, hopefully to create an air pocket at the top. I think I may have stopped the dripping, but there is another problem: the electricity is not making it to the coach. Therefore, the refrigerator is running on gas, and I can’t vacuum or do anything requiring power. I don’t know what is happening. The same thing happened last week before we left for Purdue. I will look for the cause tomorrow morning. We then went to walk, but my back hurt too much to finish. I returned to the hotel to dispose of some credit receipts by checking them against our credit card bill. We came home for popcorn and a relaxing evening. Evelyn talked with both of the anticipated families about the visit later this week. We both have appointments with different doctors tomorrow.
Monday was a rather leisurely day. I took Evelyn to the dentist for her permanent crown. I thought it would take around an hour, but she called after half an hour ready to come home. On the way home we went to the fair grounds to see what produce might be left unclaimed. There was none,but I did see a man about parking our motor home there after the family leaves. I will hear from him this week. We then went to town looking for some paint to use on the sliding screen door. I am concerned that someone might walk through it, so we want to paint a graphic on it. We found a special brush and hope the paint will stick. We went to Beaver’s drive in to share a cheeseburger for lunch. We enjoyed it and went on out to the Barber Orchard to get some apples for the visit. We came home, and I went to the roof of the coach to continue scrubbing the mildew and dirt off the roof. I used some degrease and seemed to have some success because it looks much better. I had to go to the dermatologist for my skin cancer follow up. I had two spots removed last year. He said I looked fine but still “froze” a few places on my face. He also bought two tickets to the German dinner next Sunday. I came home and returned to the roof. I have finished about two thirds of it. We had dinner and then took the motor home back to Wal-Mart for the next four days. We returned home and Evelyn began work on washing the Venetian blinds that Tom Jones cut to size for us. Evelyn also noticed that the garbage disposal is no longer working. We will have to buy another one before Friday. We also noticed that the bathtub will not hold water. I called the builder, and she said she would have the plumber come later in the week. We had to retire a bit earlier than last night because I go to work tomorrow.
Tuesday was a normal day at work. The only difference was that I could not get all my work done by 10 because the parking lot was as dirty as I have ever seen it, especially in small, hard to get items. There were also things strewn over the hill that leads to the access road below the store. I also have been using a stool at the drive up window. It was brought for a woman worker who has a bad back. It really helps me too. Evelyn picked me up and took me to Lowes to look for a new garbage disposal. Ours quit last night. As a blessing, we talked to an employee that advised us to try the reset button on the bottom. It worked and we don’t need a new one yet. We came home, showered and relaxed until dinner time, after which we walked the lake and did computer work. We came home and I talked with a neighbor about parking our coach in her back yard. We are concerned as to the safety hazard putting the living room slide out might pose. We have tried to find another nearby place to park. We will ask our duplex mate about parking next to her house. .
Wednesday was another normal day. We had a lot of fun bantering. While I was cleaning, one of the veterans (age 23) said, “Bob, you work so hard. You should be employee of the month.” I thought it funny so tonight we made a petition that I will take to work tomorrow. It will be a riot. After work, Evelyn and I went to the golf course for a round on the back nine. It is a tough walk because of the hills, but it is enjoyable. I played better even though I didn’t score any better. Most of the shots went up into the air and few went over the greens. We came home and showered. We were both quite tired, rested and had a sandwich for dinner. We went to choir practice and picked up a booster chair from a friend at church. We have decided to park the motor home in a vacant grassy area in our association area. Then we can extend the slides and leave them. They will not have electricity but won’t actually need it since the heater would trip the breaker anyway. I also went to a neighbor and confirmed that he had two sleeping bags we could use for the visit. I came home and assembled a rack Evelyn wanted for the guest bathroom. We watched a little TV and prepared in our minds for the visit.

Friday and Saturday

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.

While I was at the men’s breakfast, Evelyn helped prepare the altar for Holy Communion. We left from there and went straight to Cullowhee and the Mountain Heritage Festival. We met Tom and LuAnn and enjoyed the crafts and the music. We ate some Scottish food for a light lunch. We noticed the name of the Western Carolina University stadium is the “Bob Waters” field. We took a picture of us with the sign but for some reason I cannot post pictures on the blog anymore. We also finally heard some shape note singing. We think the notes tell what “do, re, mi” to sing but don’t know for sure. We left there around 3 with the Venetian blinds Tom had cut for us. We will have to wash them and rethread them ourselves. We came home and watched the Purdue/Notre Dame game I had recorded and then went to bed.