The Bowl "Party"

These are the wives who were spared the boredom of watching the game.




These are friends politely watching one of the most boring games I have ever seen Purdue football teams play.




After being up quite late, we slept quite late. We continued the clean up procedure and then had lunch. We rested in the afternoon, and I got the mail containing another Christmas card. This is great because Christmas continues until Epiphany January 6. We took a bike ride despite the brisk wind. I picked up a ceiling fan that Tom Crouch had repaired. He can fix almost anything. We then went to the Iverson’s to view a DVD they wanted us to see. Our DVD player is in the repair shop. The DVD was of Guy Penrod, the lead singer for the Gaither vocal band. It was good. Those people are very good to us. They even sent dinner home with us as well as some candy they had received for Christmas. We came home and ate, after which I worked on tomorrow’s service while Evelyn put names into our new address book. We threw out several names that we will never communicate with again. I am still trying to post pictures on the blog without success so far. I will try again tonight.

A big disappointment

We were up and doing the usual. While Evelyn was gone, I had to take a copy of the hymns to John Hamel. I sent them via e-mail Sunday evening, but they must have never arrived. I returned to clean up and continue the preparations. We went to the hospital at 12:30 to volunteer. I relieved Evelyn at her post in outpatient an hour early so she could go home to finish the preparations. I came home and we waited for the guests. They arrived on time and we had hors doerves until 6:20 when we served the ham and potato dinner. Evelyn had also made the Ramen noodle slaw. Janice brought several tamales too. We had mince meat pie and trifle for dessert. Joe and Bonny and Ray and Genny did not come. I was not surprised about the latter but did think the former would come or at least call. We watched what was a poor excuse for a football game. Purdue just can’t play well in Bowl games. One couple could not even stay past the half time. The dinner was delicious, a tribute to Evelyn’s creativity and hostess skills. We have enough left over that we may invite guests for dinner Sunday after church.

Party preparations

Our new clock radio wakened us at 7, but we didn’t rush out of bed. When we did, Evelyn completed her regular routine. I put things out of the Texas room to clean it for the party tomorrow. I loaded two coolers with drinks and made labels for them. Evelyn began the preparation when she got home. We will use our new warming tray to keep food warm. She went off to the grocery for last minute supplies while I cleaned out the ice tray from the freezer so more could be made today and tonight. I must begin tweaking the sermon for Sunday because I will have no time on Friday. We worked more in the afternoon to prepare for the party. We really don’t know how many people are coming but we will have a ham dinner at 6 before the football game. We went for a short bike ride around 4:30 but it was very windy so the rest of the bike club did not go. We spent the evening watching Singing in the Rain with Gene Kelly. Musicals are not the same. I also got a call from Tom Jones who told me to play the disk that came with the Magellan 360 in the computer. I just put it in to see if it worked and it did. Tom will call back Sunday afternoon to talk me through the procedure.

Party preparations

Here are the "watering" holes for the party.


The flags are ready for the big Champs Bowl party 12/29/2006: Purdue/Maryland

Big buys

We were up and went separate ways. Evelyn to exercise and I to play golf. We went to the course in Mercedes, but it was still closed due to mud. We went on to the Executive par 3 course. I played my usual pathetic game. We had a couple of beers and then came home. The electronics people had come and made some suggestions but did not take anything to repair. We decided to go to McAllen and stopped at Gonzoles Hamburger palace in Donna on the way. They make huge fried hamburgers that are so big we have to share one. They must weigh 8 ounces. We also share an order of french fries. This place is packed each noon mostly with winter Texans, but the funny thing is that there is no sign in front of the place. You don't go if you don't already know it is there. We still have the $500 gift card we received when we bought the Saturn last year. We needed several expensive items: a printer/scanner/copier, a warming plate, two clock radios, a dust buster, and a portable CD player. We took the car to the Saturn dealership to have it washed, and they took us to the Target store and also brought us back. We came home and met with the man who sold us carpet and laminate flooring for our kitchen. we have spent $1350 on painting our unit and will spend another $2000 on new flooring. We still have the back yard to deal with and then may be finished. We then had dinner, a pot roast that had been cooking all day. We spent the evening working to get ready for Friday’s party. We think there will be 10 people at most.

renewing Christmas supplies

We had our Monday park meeting today. We heard about the upcoming activities for the week and heard about deep sea fishing. Most weeks feature a business in the Valley, and they provide doughnuts for the park. This makes most people tolerate listening to them. We went to the Bible study at 10:30. We came home afterward and changed the bed sheets. Before we had lunch, I took a bottle of wine to the neighbors and invited them to the bowl party Friday. The pastor and his wife had to go to Chicago for a funeral. They are big Purdue fans and were planning to come. We wanted to get some after Christmas bargains on Christmas items so we went to Wal-Mart to get some lights for next season. We came back and I cut the grass. I then went back to the Ace hardware to get a new fiber optic tree for the living room. Our small one is quite weak for some reason. We rode around the park with the bike club and then had a sandwich for dinner. We watched some TV and had a dispute about how to turn the set off while leaving the satellite on. We ended up watching nothing to Evelyn’s delight.

Jesus is born!

Christmas Day. Jesus is born! We didn’t sleep later despite being up so late last night. It was quite cool today for the Valley. The wind was also quite strong. Nevertheless, I had decided to ride my bicycle to Trail’s End and get some Communion supplies because I wanted to take the Lord’s Supper to a couple of shut ins. The trip to the park was difficult into the wind but easy coming back. We got ready and went to the community hall for the Christmas dinner. We were at a table with 13 other people. The turkey was furnished by the park but the ladies met and decided who would bring what for the dinner. We had a delicious selection as usual. I took a bottle of wine and drank it all myself. I was quite tired when we returned home at 2:30. I laid down and napped until 5. I would have slept longer but was wakened by Evelyn so we could visit Ruth Muller at an abandoned RV park and Janet Ballou, an attendee of the worship service at Trail’s End who had fallen and was in a local nursing home. Both were appreciative of my bringing them the Supper. We came home and had no dinner because we were still full from noon. We watched the Christmas program by Mannheim Steamroller. We tired out quickly and went off to bed right after the 10 o’clock news.

Our Christmas decorations 2006

 
 
 

A Christmas Eve of worship

Sunday was a busy day of serving our Lord. We were up at 7 and off to Trail’s End to lead worship at 8:30. There were 37 there, two new couples. We were blessed to serve Holy Communion during the service. Only one person didn’t take it. That was the third person put off by the real presence. The other two were close friends last year and we haven’t seen them since. I am blessed to serve the Body and Blood of our Lord. I served the bread and Evelyn served the wine. We had our short Bible study afterward and then came home to wait for John to take us to Immanuel to practice with the small choir for tonight’s Christmas Eve service. We were home by 12:30, had lunch and watched some of the Saints game. At 3 I went to rehearse with the Southern Comfort choir for the Vespers service at 4. The hall was fairly full, and the choir sounded very well. I really enjoy singing with a larger choir and did well considering I had only rehearsed twice before today. There was a finger food party afterward, but we couldn’t stay because we had to go to Immanuel for the Christmas Eve service at 5:30. Evelyn and I were two of three laypeople who read scripture. The service consisted of mostly singing by the congregation and two by the choir. We came home for popcorn and watched a movie, Mr. 3000 that I had recorded. I also inserted a disk into our DVD player but couldn’t get it out. We have had several electronic disasters and will not be able to get them fixed until at least Tuesday. I stayed up very late, preparing some future orders of service for the worship services and watching Poirot, the Agatha Christy detective.

cold and rainy

Saturday was a slow day indoors. We got up and went to the grocery to find wine to use for Holy Communion tomorrow. While at the grocery, I met a man going to Tampico on a mission trip. I was wearing my “The Lord is my Shepherd” T-shirt and he wanted to talk with me. It is always a thrill to talk with other Christians, especially ones who are excited about serving. We were also blessed in that we had been awaiting a sale on Pepsi products and we found it today. Buy 4 12 packs at $2.50 and get one free. We brought home 10. We had run out last night. We went to Trail’s End and filled the cups for Communion. It did not take long and we went on to our friend who owns an electronic repair shop. He was not there so I left a note for him to call me. He didn’t. We arrived home in the rain and it rained much of the day. We need rain so it was welcome. The temperature also dropped so it was cozy in the house. One of the painters was also a landscaper who said he would fix our backyard but of course he didn’t come in the rain. We mostly laid around, I half heartedly working on the service and Evelyn baking a bit and reading. We had some stuffed sole that we got with our order of Omaha steaks shipment. We ate them with a spinach salad and baked potato. We had only popcorn for dinner and watched The March of the Penguins I had recorded earlier. What a tremendous struggle!

new license plates

Friday I took a walk around both parks. I came home to work on the sermon a bit. I also put some of the things away that the painters had to move before they painted. I tried to give some of the golf balls away that Billy Riggs gave me in NC but he already had too many. I vacuumed the floors for tonight’s party and then we had lunch. I took Evelyn to the hospital and then went to the local license branch to get our new plate sticker. I found the building and got the sticker without incident. I had thought I never received the renewal form but found it in the glove box while looking for my insurance policy. I also went to the bank to cash the check from the AARP for attending the meeting last month. I went to the hospital half an hour late but still in time to help the other two volunteers. We were quite busy most of the day, but Evelyn was not. She has volunteered at the wrong position. We came home and Evelyn napped while I prepared dinner: I opened a can of soup. We finished eating just in time for our friends to come to play hand and foot. We enjoy playing cards with them even though we have little in common. This one of the few lasting friendships we have made in the park. We have invited many couples for dinner but have had very few try to establish a lasting friendship. They left around 10, leaving me some time to write this blog entry.

Yesterday and today

Tuesday we went to Bible study in the morning and came home for lunch. We have a good time talking with the painters too, and the one who was a landscaper in Ohio, Enrice, wants to fix our back yard for us. I will check with the man in the park to see if he is still interested. I went to practice with the park choir again and then came home. We rested a while and then dressed to go to Harlingen. We met Janice and her friend Diane at Boog a de Boos for dinner. Don had to stay home to bring their granddaughter, Morgan, to the Vance Greek concert. The restaurant side was closed for a private party, and we didn’t want to eat in the bar side (unfortunately, while we were waiting, Evelyn left her glasses there), so we went to a local Mexican restaurant. We ordered a botana for four (we had forgotten the one for two was enough for four) but had to take most of it with us. We enjoyed the concert that featured Vance’s two sisters, brother-in-law and daughter. Most of the remainder of the cast was from the Rio Hondo Baptist Church. The highlight of the show was a performance of Ave Maria by the band director from the Rio Hondo High School. He sang and played a trumpet marvelously. We came home right after the show. One interesting thing was that we could not understand how to use the new Magellan GPS system we had bought. Evelyn read the instructions to no avail. We will work on it together sometime soon.

Wednesday I walked around the park and ordered the AARP driver materials for the class I will teach at Llano Grande. Evelyn made a loaf of bread in the bread machine. It worked better since our friends from Canada told her how to do it. We had lunch of the leftovers from last night and still had some left over. We rode our bikes to the pharmacy and the bank. I got angry because they would not cash an AARP check even though Evelyn has an account there. We rode back home and took some gifts to be loaded for the trip to Mexico tomorrow morning. We came home and the painters finished. We paid them $1350 dollars. It was well worth the money because they not only did a good job but took many things down from the siding and put them back. The place really looks nice. We went to worship and then had choir practice. We will sing at the Christmas eve service after I sing with the Southern Comfort choir at the vesper service here. We came directly home. I told the pastor’s father-in-law how to get to the restaurant where Evelyn left her glasses last night. He is going to San Benito and the restaurant is sort of on the way.

good paint

Monday found us up early. Evelyn went to exercise again while I showered and gathered things for the trip to Mexico. I also finally got the system to work so I could get a coupon for discounts at the restaurant where we are to meet before tomorrow night’s concert. We attended the town meeting and then came home look at the sample of the paint that will be applied to the trim. It was too light. They went off and remixed the colors. We looked for the medicine that was to help Evelyn to relax and found it. She took a whole tablet and by the time we got to the bridge she was more zonked than I have ever seen her. I virtually carried her across the bridge to the dentist’s office. The dentist had to come from another office and we didn’t get her into the chair until 11:30. I left to get a haircut and find some rum (oro) for the sauce on the mince meat pie. I also bought another bottle of Kahlua and some Kahlua filled candy. Evelyn was finished early so I went to pay the dentist while she looked for some jewelry. We both remembered being told the charge would be $180 but it was actually $280. Well, compared to the $800 she paid for the one in NC, this is still a bargain. We came home and looked at the new mix for the trim paint, but she still didn’t like it. It was still not the burgundy she wanted. The painters are great, however: they went back to the store and darkened it. They did a good job. We both took a nap after lunch and then watched some sports shows before going to the grocery and Big Lots. We got a drink at Sonic and came home for popcorn. I worked on this and Evelyn made some more cookies. We signed up for the Christmas dinner in the hall and invited the Newcomers to let us take them out for dinner on New Year’s Day. She has had us as guests for dinner that day for several years. She can’t do it this year because she has had a total elbow replacement and can’t lift much.

golf party

We started Saturday in the usual way. Evelyn went to exercise while I worked on the service. Evelyn learned that the kitchen band visit to the nursing homes next Thursday has been canceled for next Thursday and the trip to distribute food and clothing to the colonia has been changed from Friday to Thursday. This really puts us in a bind. When she returned, we talked with one of the painters who has been a landscaper in Ohio in the past. He has some ideas on what to plant around our pergola and other places around our house. We also washed the outside window because the painters have removed the sunscreens from the windows. We had a light lunch, anticipating the largesse of the golf club party in the afternoon. We had an enormous spread of turkey and ham as entrees. We also had many salads, hors doerves, side dishes and desserts. All the beer, wine and sodas wanted are served too. We sat with some people we don’t know well, the blessing of not sitting with the same people each time. We finished at 5:30 but it was still too early for me to clean the coffee pots. Tomorrow is my final day to do it until I sign up again. I went back at 6:30 to do it and returned home. We began watching a movie at 8 but I couldn’t make it past 9:15. I went to bed and went right to sleep. I was exhausted from something; perhaps too much wine, beer and food. I have heard that will do it. It was a beautiful day today but a bit warmer than I like.

eating too much

We were up before 8. Evelyn went to exercise while I tried to pay some credit cards on line. It is almost impossible for me to navigate these web sites. She came home, and I went to the hall to check the coffee pots I cleaned last night. I discovered some things that I forgot to do. But I also learned how to make the coffee. I came home and we both showered to go to the Feast of Sharing. Before we left, however, we talked with the painters who think they will be finished sometime tomorrow. We went to serve at the feast given by HEB, the local grocery chain, each year. It was our second year to serve. We were greeters again but ended up doing small parts of nearly every job. It is a wonderful gesture of Christian love for the chain to do this. Each person came, sat down and was served a plate containing ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables, a roll and butter, and a piece of apple pie. Drinks were also served. There is a small band playing both Mexican and American music too. Nearly every HEB employee must show up to work there also. They plan and hope to serve 6,000 meals at this one of 20 locations. Last year 350,000 were served. And I mean served. There is a line to get into the building for seating but no food line. There is also a band playing outside the hall where people can dance. There are also games for the children. We worked for two hours and then came home to rest for the remainder of the day. We then rode to the hospital for the Christmas party and had some tamales, flautas, chicken wings, cake and fruit. Then we rode back to meet our friends to go to the Festival of Lights in Mercedes. I will try to publish some pictures with this blog. We went to Burger King but we were not interested in burgers so we just shared a coke and came back to our house for cookies and coffee. After they left, I went to the hall and cleaned the coffee pots. I have to finish the week. I also called Janice to see if they want to go to dinner before the Vance Greek concert. I think she said yes. I also called Bonny to see how Joe was doing. She said they had to decide on their treatment for the cancer. We will all be praying for the Lord to guide them.

Relaxing day

Thursday was a slow day. Evelyn went to exercise while I polished the sermon and prepared introductory remarks before the reading of the scriptures. Then we dressed in our red and aprons to go to a nursing home to entertain the residents. As we left the painters showed up to start on the house. We were gone for about an hour and a half and when we returned, they had almost everything taken down from the outside siding and had begun painting. We rode to the nursing home with Norm who plays a violin to accompany the kitchen band. He was a coach and used to run the chains at the Minnesota Vikings football games. He and I might play golf sometime. We had lunch of most of the delicious gumbo Evelyn had made. She then took a nap while I tried to make a donation to our World Vision child, but the website is so convoluted that I couldn’t do it. I am not computer illiterate but I am not that smart. We watched a great movie in the afternoon, For the Boys starring Bette Midler and James Conn. The moving was never acclaimed, but I loved it. We then took a bike ride and finalized our plans for dinner tomorrow night after the light show. After we rode the park, we had dinner of a rock Cornish hen I had smoked in NC. We then went to the grocery and bought the meal deal of spiral ham. With that we get 12 sodas, a box of melty cheese, bagettes, frozen vegetables, and a marble pound cake. We finished the evening watching The School of Rock. What a mess!

Wet fun

Wednesday was exciting. We got up a bit late (this is becoming normal) and I went off to take the Communion supplies, take the recycles, and get the car inspected. I found that the car was inspected for two years last year. I also washed the car for Evelyn so she could drive to the Christian Women’s Club. She had found a friend to go with her at last night’s party. She went off to Harlingen. I worked on next Sunday’s service and had lunch of no nothin’ soup. I also swept the floors and got the mail. I still don’t have my check from Taco Bell. I rode my bike to the pharmacy to get some hydrochlorothyazide. I think they miscounted when I got the medicine in late November. Evelyn got home around 2:30 and we were both so tired that we took a long nap. We got up and went to ride the float for the parade around the two parks. We rode with the kitchen band and had a good time until about half way around when we had a downpour. We were soaked, so we came home to change clothes for church. We saw a friend from Canada we haven’t seen for several years, so we invited her to go with us. We were blessed by the message and invited her to come home for popcorn and wine. I also called and made an appointment with the floor guy to come and give us advice on what the floor should look like in our home.

Welcome back, winter Texans

We were up early. I went to the flea market to be with the items we had for sale. We sold none of them. None. Zero Nada. I did give some of them away. Evelyn came home to talk with a painter who will paint our unit. He will do it for $1,350. I think it will be a good investment in the life of the unit. We had a light lunch and then I went to invite some friends to go with us to the welcome back party tonight. They were going with someone else. I went to practice with the choir since I will sing with them for the Christmas Eve vespers service. Afterward the painter came back to have Evelyn to choose the colors. We couldn’t find anyone to go to the party with us so we went alone. It was the same type of event as usual. There was a local band, and our good friends from church were the masters of ceremony. There were many door prizes, but we didn’t win any. I did enjoy the beer and pretzels they offered. Evelyn drove home since I had drunk many beers that were free. We came home and I wrote this. I was tired from getting up too early. Earlier in the afternoon, I also rode to the hospital to inform them that we would not be there Friday afternoon because we would be serving at the Feast of Sharing on Friday afternoon. They will find someone to replace us.

going once,...SOLD!

Monday was a busy day. I gathered some items that we want to sell at the flea market tomorrow. We have Mom’s TV, a portable sweeper, a Lexmark printer, and a fold up table. Evelyn came home from exercising, but the furnace man was not yet here (an hour late). I had to leave for Harlingen to sell the unit. I made the transaction and took a few small items from the trailer that we could probably use in our mobile and returned home. The furnace had been fixed but the day was beautiful so we didn’t need heat or AC. We ate lunch and rode our bicycles to meet with Evelyn’s oncologist. He took blood and gave her a physical exam. Everything seems to be fine, and she will not need to see him until April when she has her mammogram. We rode back to the hospital and saw Roy’s wife Vi. She thinks she might be released tomorrow. We hope she can. We rode back home, and I took the flea market items to the outback to arrange for tomorrow morning’s sale. I came home and we readied ourselves to leave to go to the home of our friends the Bauknechts for dinner. Before we left, I received a call from Texas Trader saying they had sold our motor home. I really have mixed emotions about that, but the Lord’s will be done. Our friends used to own a hotel in Winnipeg, and she loves to cook and bake. We always enjoy being with them even though Heinz has a heavy German accent. We had a pork loin for dinner and then played hand and foot, a game they love to play. We usually play men verses women and, through absolute luck, we usually win. They talked very much about their paraplegic daughter who is a world renowned wheelchair racer. They had never told us the story of how she was injured and misdiagnosed in the follow up to her surgery. She is a very competitive woman and had won the world competition in wheelchair racing this past summer in Holland. Alice was quite emotional as she shared the story of her accident. So was Heinz when he talked with me about the story. I hope we were of support to them. I don’t know what chord the story struck because they had never been this open in all the times we had been together before.

Two days

Saturday we went to the hall to practiced with the kitchen band. I learned that Roy, the man who does some of the organizing for the band, would not be there because his wife is having trouble with her legs. She had undergone open heart surgery this past summer, and this might be related. He took her to the emergency room at the local hospital. The band members were mumbling around and I had to leave to make a phone call to our investment advisor, Clayton. I finally got him on his way to pheasant hunt near his home in South Dakota. He could not answer my question but would learn the answer Monday and call me back. We had lunch at home, and I watched some college basketball and relaxed. Evelyn was hungry for hamburgers, so we thawed two of the Omaha steak burgers. I grilled them, and we enjoyed them with onion. We were invited to the Van Wells mobile to play dirty Uno with them as we did last Saturday. We had a good time but went later in play than I wanted, so I came home to practice the church service for tomorrow.

Sunday was a great worship service. There were 33 people who generously gave $82 in the offering. They know this is the only money I receive for preparing and leading the worship service. The people have formed a committee to serve the church service so that we can have representation with the governing board of the park. The committee is concerned about the expenses we might have (communion wafers, communion wine, etc.), but we have few if any expenses. We bought all the communion ware last year and many individual cups. We may have to buy some wafers but not likely for another season. Therefore, they would like me to establish a salary and deposit the excess into a contingency fund. They asked me to set a figure, and I will. I didn’t think much of my sermon this morning, but many people disagreed and said so. I am humbled by that type of comment. After our Bible study, one of the men offered to come over to inspect our furnace since he has retired from the business. He came after lunch but couldn’t find the exact problem. We appreciated his trying and will wait for the man to come Monday. We laid around in the afternoon until time to go to Immanuel for the fish fry. We were planning to take Roy and his wife, but she was admitted to the hospital. We went and were somewhat disappointed with the fish. We talked with the Winstons about going on the cruise through the Panama Canal with us. They seemed somewhat interested. Yesterday I received a call from a man interested in buying our unit in Harlingen. He will only pay $1900, but that will get that thing out of our lives. We will meet at 10 Monday to consummate the deal.

In need of a heater

We got up and Evelyn went to exercise while I showered and dressed for the day at Knapp Medical Center. We went to the reorientation meeting and were one hour late. The secretary forgot to call and tell us that the meeting had been moved up an hour. We did learn some new things, but it was mostly a recharge meeting for existing volunteers. We were finished by just after 10:30 so we went to look at floor covering and outdoor tiles. We found some laminated flooring that was reasonably priced, making us interested. We returned to the hospital for a free lunch given for our birthdays and did our volunteering. I enjoyed working with our regular friends while Evelyn was bored and cold in the outpatient section. We left at 5 and came home to rest and eat. I had taken too much lunch, so we mixed it with some left over sausage, bell pepper and sautéed onions. It was very good but still too much to eat. When we came home, we found the furnace running at high speed. It was 82 degrees inside. I went to the hall to call Bonny for the telephone number of a good heating guy. I just wanted to know how to stop it. I found two circuit breakers and shut them off. I called the service man and told him he need not rush here. He said he would come Monday morning. Evelyn spent the evening sending Christmas letters, and I worked on the Sunday service. It began raining again late in the evening. It is really cold for this area but we don’t need heat. We can snuggle together to keep warm in bed.

celebrating the Christmas season

During the night, I noticed that the stool would not stop running, so I went to get some advice at the coffee table, knowing I needed to get a new fill valve. I got one at the hardware store and installed it as best I could, but I could not get it to stop leaking. I almost did but never completely. I went to my can-do-it-all friend with the depression problem, and he came and made the final adjustment to stop the leak. What a guy. Evelyn meantime baked some of the cookies she prepared yesterday and went off to tour one of the local newspapers with the Ladies Leisure. She is not in charge as she was last season and can enjoy going as just a lady this season. I also received more information about the cruise and train trip we are planning in April. I think we will end up shortening the trip due to the high cost of going through the Canadian Rockies. We may have to wait until we can see them from Heaven’s heights. Evelyn had planned to be home at 2:30 but didn’t arrive until 4:00. I had made an appointment to have the car inspected for the state at 4 so I drove to the garage at 4:15. It was closed. I returned and found Evelyn asleep. I watched some of the sports shows featuring writers arguing with each other about things that happened yesterday in the world of sports and then printed the information about the rail trip for Evelyn to read. I woke her and put together a sausage sandwich for our dinner. We dressed and went to get our friends from MN to attend a Christmas concert with them in Harlingen. I thought we would drive our car, but they insisted I drive theirs. We left far too early and had to stand around until we were allowed to enter the auditorium for seating. The concert was expensive but beautifully done. There was a large orchestra and two large choirs. As the concert moved on, I really gained a great deal of respect and admiration for people who arrange music for large orchestras. Just knowing when to have this trumpet or that piccolo play a note or two is amazing and beautiful when all put together. We left happy and drove back to our friends’ house. They wanted to go for a hamburger, but we have too many responsibilities tomorrow and needed to get to bed.

Looking for tile

I don’t get it. I went to bed late last night but wakened at 5:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. I got up and worked on the computer for a while. I found an e-mail from Tom with the pictures we wanted for our collage, but it was already printed. Evelyn woke at 7:30 and went to exercise. I went for a short walk and then to the coffee table. I came home and made some calls on the OnStar telephone in the car. We are not renewing the service, so we need to use up the minutes we have. I called Taco Bell in NC and got to talk with most of the girls I worked with. I also talked with Jeff who once again promised to mail my check to me. We then took showers and left to look for tile for the back yard. We went to two places and learned several things about choosing outdoor tile. We went to Big Lots to get some ginger snaps and then it was too near lunch time, and I decided to eat out. We went to an average Chinese buffet. We liked it but there were fewer choices than the others in town. We decided to go home for a nap before returning to look for more tile. We never made it out of the park again. I went to talk to Bud, the man who said he would work on our yard, and he said he would go look at the tile with us some day soon. I stopped to talk with our friend, Tom, who we had not seen for a few days and learned he had been depressed and had even contemplated suicide. He told me how he had planned to do it. That is very serious when a person has a specific plan. We talked for a while about his trip to a psychiatrist and the medicine he is on. After while the man who does much work in the park came and gave me the names and phone numbers of people who would paint our house and lay some interior tile in our kitchen. I came home with some red spray paint for a basket Evelyn wants to take to the fish fry at church Sunday evening. We dressed and went to the Advent service and choir practice afterward. We also learned that Joe, our good friend from church, is going to Houston for a second opinion about his prostate cancer diagnosis. We will pray for him. He is a very good friend and Christian brother.

Bike ride with the club

Tuesday was another sleep in day. Evelyn sleeps so hard she doesn’t even hear the clock radio come on. I was up and showered before she was out of bed. She dressed and took the car to the bicycle trailer then went to exercise a short time. I changed the hanging lights in front of the house until she returned. We rode our bikes to the trailer and loaded them with the other 30 for the trip to McAllen. The Newcomers rode with us to a pizza buffet parking lot where we unloaded the bikes and took a ride on a lovely bike/walking path north. We went 2.4 miles and then returned the same way but rode around a housing neighborhood and saw many elegant homes. We returned to the restaurant, loaded the bikes and then went inside to enjoy the buffet. While we were finishing, 94 middle school students came in for lunch. They mobbed the place and helped us fat people by blocking access to the pizza. We played bingo and Evelyn won a 2 for 1 coupon we will use next Thursday. We stopped at a Wal-Mart on the way back looking for bread machine flour but didn’t find what we wanted. We got home in time for me to go to practice with the park choir. I can’t sing with them on Sundays but will try to join for the vespers service on Christmas Eve. Evelyn spent the day preparing Christmas cookies to bake tomorrow. In the evening we put together our picture collage to send to our friends and relatives with a Christmas letter of what we did in 2006. We finally got it together but without the pictures that Tom was sending. We don’t know when he will do that and can’t wait any longer. We will try to mail them in the next day or two.

Crowning my queen

Monday found us sleeping later than usual. I had been up for half an hour at 3 AM and Evelyn had had trouble getting to sleep. I was up and showered when she arose at 8. I went to the hall for the town meeting. We decided to volunteer to help distribute items to the colonia in Mexico. But we had to leave soon after that for Mexico to keep Evelyn’s appointment with the dentist. We were on time, and she began her hour and a half procedure to make the temporary crown. Now, she had taken a relaxer before leaving home and was quite woozy as we walked across the bridge. I thought she might fall asleep while we walked. She made it and I went off to walk the streets until she finished. I went down to have coffee and a roll at the panaderia where we thought we would have lunch when she finished. I also looked around for the best bargain on Kahlua. I found 980 ml for $8.50 but then found one for $7.90. I will charge the friends $10 because there is a tax we have to pay. I also had a beer while I walked around. Evelyn finished a bit early but had been advised to not eat anything for an hour so we went home. She heated some of the delicious gumbo we had left and then lay down for a while. I joined her after washing the dishes. We had wanted to go to the new outlet mall in Mercedes so we went. We were impressed with the construction but bought only some candles. We went on the have dinner at the Blue Onion and then to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping. We then came home and watched some football and the news.

Baby, its cold outside

Saturday was cold again, in the high 50s. Evelyn had an LWML meeting in Mercedes so I took her there at 9:30 because she had volunteered to help decorate. It was the Christmas party at whick she learns the identity of her secret sister. She took a gift for hers but learned that the group had decided to not get gifts for each other. She was able to talk to man of the friends we know from last year. She finally got a card from her sister for the first time all year. After the luncheon, she had to volunteer to help clean up. Then she was asked to help with the altar guild preparations for Holy Communion tomorrow. In short she got home around 2:30. I left her there and went to Diana’s Diner for some of her wonderful charro beans. Unfortunately, I learned that they aren’t ready until 11:30. I had two breakfast tacos and came on home to work on the sermon and order of worship for tomorrow. I had planned for us to go to the mall, but Evelyn needed to rest. I had stopped and made plans with our concert group to go to the festival of lights in Mercedes, but it had begun to slightly drizzle, causing Evelyn to chicken out on the trip. We were not going to be outside, but she thought we would not be able to see well through the rain streaked windows of the car. The others agreed and asked us to meet at one of their houses for Hand and Foot. The hostess had made brownies and we had wine and sodas. We had a good time and came home by 10 so I could get some rest.

It was a cold, breezy Sunday, the first worship of the season. I was surprised that 23 people came. We didn’t think there were that many people back yet. The park has decided to add the service to the list of activities, meaning we will get $100 as a budget for expenses. We don’t have any that I know of but there is a committee that is supposed to make some decisions about the service. We had a short Bible study after the service with the two people who were most faithful in attendance last winter. We could have gone to the brunch but decided to come home and go next time. We had some ham and sweet potatoes with one of the brownies we were given last night. I spent the afternoon watching the New Orleans Saints. The former Purdue quarterback, Drew Brees, is having a great year. We went to the hall about 5:30 so I could serve ice cream to the park residents. We came home and watched “Broadcast News”. I hoped to watch one and record another but the DVR wouldn’t let me. I think I have done that before but not this time.

Serving at Knapp Hospital

Friday was a cold day. We were up at 7 because we had agreed to substitute for a couple that volunteer at the hospital. Evelyn worked in the outpatient area and I at the information desk. It was really a slow day for both of us and we stopped at 12:30. Next week we will be on our regular schedule of 12:30 to 5. I had to stop at the doctor to have him call in a prescription for my medicine. We came home and ate the delicious gumbo that Evelyn had made yesterday. She is a marvelous cook no matter what the ethnic background. We were both tired and napped for about 2 hours. We then got up and went to the Weslaco Christmas parade. It was pretty cold and we stayed for only about half of it. We came home and had popcorn for our dinner. We also watched White Christmas starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. It was one I should have recorded on our DVR but didn’t. We also began our Christmas card project. We will send some e-cards and some regular cards as we did last year.