A crazy rule

Tuesday found us up early. We both had to be somewhere at 8: Evelyn at the “eternity” retreat and I to leave for the egg toss finals in Harlingen. It was cold but not wet. We arrived quite early and my partner and I were next to last of the men’s group which was after the women. We walked around a bit and then tossed. We were 34 feet apart, well ahead of anyone to that point when I tossed a bit short, forcing my partner to step on the stick marking the distance. As a result we were not just put back to our previous spot but disqualified altogether! When we returned I wrote a “suggestion” for making that rule obsolete. It should have been the same penalty as breaking the egg. I said I would not participate anymore unless that rule was changed. Actually, I only entered the competition so we could go to the dance following the awards ceremony. Evelyn got home about 1:30 and had her lunch (I had already eaten sometime earlier). The man who says he will do the back yard was to have started at 9 but could not get the truck started and was not here until 11. He and his friend began peeling the topsoil off the back. Evelyn and I went to bed for a nap and slept ½ hour. We got up and talked with the workers and got dressed for the evening out at the concert. We went to Denny’s for dinner with the two other couples. We can never drive because we have room for only 4 in our Vue. The driver gets to choose the restaurant. We shared the lemon pepper tilapia, but Evelyn didn’t get enough of the sauce, making the fish dry. Mine was delicious because I had sauce. We went to the concert, “Puttin’ on the Hitz,” a review of many of Irving Berlin’s songs. It was good but not as good as the one last month. We were home by 10:15.

A big surprise

Monday always features the park meeting. I had to speak regarding the AARP class in March and the dinner for the states east of Illinois. Almost every state has a dinner for those from their state. Since there are few people from east of Illinois, we join together to have a dinner. We are co-chairs of ours. We also had a presentation from Texas State Bank, featuring the money machine. 10 people were chosen from the park to stand in a telephone booth type box that blew dollars into the air. The person in the box could grab all the bills he/she could in 19 seconds. We didn’t get chosen but the people sitting on either side of me did. We left and came home to distribute medicine for the week. I then did some things around the house because it was too close to lunch time. After a ham and cheese sandwich, I went on some errands. I went back to Bonny and Joe’s to get the chili we had forgotten last night. She also gave me some of the beans she had made because Joe doesn’t like them. We talked about having a Bible study based on Max Lucado’s “He Chose the Nails” video lesson series. We must wait to see if they arrive before we plan much. I then went to the repair garage and changed the air filter. I wanted to do it there so that I would have a back-up in case I had a problem. I deposited some rebate checks into the bank and went to the electronic repair to see if the portable CD player could be repair. He said he would try. I came home and both Evelyn and I painted: she on the archway and I on the frame of the back step. I got some paint on one of my good shirts despite being very careful. I then went to practice for the egg toss tomorrow. I was shocked that my partner wanted to practice. I got into that event to go to the dance for the participants. Who would want to practice? I thought it to be nuts but went anyway. I came home and took my golf cart to Tom’s to see if he could repair it. Just as I was returning with a piece of rubber tubing, Enrica, the painter who was supposed to landscape our backyard showed up. He hadn’t been here for a month, and I had given up on him. I had even asked another man to start the job. We made an agreement with Enrica to do the work and called off the other man. We then had dinner and went to the grocery mainly to get balloons for tomorrows “Eternity” seminar Evelyn will help with. We came home and did this.

Sunday blessings

Sunday was another day of blessings. We were blessed with 40 people at worship. We were blessed with Holy Communion. We were blessed to see our friends Lionell and Janet who are in the same rehab hospital. We returned home for lunch early because our Bible study had only one of the regular attenders was there. One other has pneumonia and his wife was in Connecticut for the funeral of her sister. We had a nice salad and a prepared South Beach Diet dinner of marinated chicken breast and broccoli. We may go on that diet. We were able to rest for a couple of hours before going to the tea dance at Victoria Palms, another RV park near here. We enjoyed dancing to the big band type music. We saw several fine dancers. We came home and I washed the car. It was quite dirty and had not been washed at the Saturn dealer last Saturday when the oil was changed. Evelyn was tired from dancing and napped until time to go to Joe and Bonny’s for a dinner of beans, fresh garden salad, delicious corn bread and an apple pie with more apples in it than either Evelyn or I had ever seen. We visited with them until 9:30 and then came home. They did say that they were coming to our party next Sunday. We also called another friend who is a winter Texan from Nebraska. His wife is undergoing chemotherapy in NE but will be here by next weekend.

Two days

We were up earlier than we wanted. I wakened around 6, messed on the computer and then got ready to go to Mexico for a haircut. I picked Evelyn up after exercise and off we went. We found the streets to be a bit muddier than we like. The dust mixed with just a little water forms a surface slicker than ice. We made it to my Negra Modelo supply store, but they didn’t have any. I always pay “Ocho” for 20 bottelas but had to pay $9 American. I had my bottles from the previous case and left them to be picked up later. We were off to the barber shop where I got in quicker than expected. I was finished by 10:10, giving us time to go to a pharmacy for drugs for Janice and Don and a liquor store for friends in NC. I learned that we can bring back two liter bottles and one case of beer each trip across the border. We made it home in time for some of the delicious tortilla soup Evelyn made the other day. After that we went to the hospital for our weekly stint at volunteering. I really enjoy working with the people on Friday afternoon. Today was exciting in that one of the regular employees could not get her car started after her lunch, so I went home, got our jumper cables and jumped her in the park. We finished our shift and went to a local women’s clothing store and then on to the Best Western hotel and their new restaurant. We had the fish special and enjoyed it although we had heard mixed reviews. The fish was a bit greasy but the other things were fine. The server we had was especially good. We went to the rehab center where our friend was supposed to be. We learned he would be arriving within the hour. We didn’t wait because I had to clean the coffee pots in the hall. I also learned that I will go to play golf tomorrow morning at 7. We have a shotgun start at 8. Evelyn has many errands to run in the morning since her retreat for tomorrow has been cancelled. I reviewed the sermon before we went to bed.
Saturday we were up at 6 so I could play golf on fun day. Our neighbor and wife picked up me and three others to go to play. We were on time despite missing one turn. We were put into foursomes and each started on different holes. We had some special obstacles on each hole. We had to put left-handed, use wooden putters, putt tennis balls, putt using a driver, etc. I hit several good shots but matched the achievement by making several bad ones so I finished with a 60. I could have had 57 had I taken some advice about the wooden putters. Oh, well. We went to the clubhouse to drink beer and wait for some awards to be given for bad play. I drank far too many cans of beer. It was not yet noon. We came back and I made a lunch of bratwurst from last Monday. Evelyn returned from the shopping trip she was on. She didn’t find anything she wanted. I went to the bedroom and slept for a good hour. I still didn’t feel rested when I got up but began the final practice on the sermon for tomorrow. Evelyn worked on painting the wrought Iron archway for the back yard. She got ¼ finished because it is hard for her to bend over to get to the bottom. We went for a bike ride around the park and returned for dinner. We finished the country style ribs I had smoked in Waynesville. They were very good again. This is the last day of the month on our Cingular cell phone plan, so Evelyn called Emily and talked quite long. We will still never use all the minutes we have left for this month. A new month begins tomorrow.

Another class down

We had some time Thursday morning so I went to the hall to find Tom Crouch. I wanted to ask him to look at the sweeper. He did and it ran for him. This has happened before with this sweeper. I brought it home. I also went to the back door and removed the old planks and bolts. I took some ospho out and painted it onto some of the metal tubes that support the planks. Then I laid the new ones on in case Evelyn would step out. I will paint the frame with black Rustoleum before permanently attaching the planks. A fellow volunteer picked us up with another neighbor to go to the volunteer lunch at the hospital. We told the people in charge that we had to leave early to get back to my driving class on time, so we ate more toward the beginning. When we finished we went back, and I finished the class quite early. Roy and I went to the model park model (I meant to say that) being sold by the Encore system. They are very nice but overpriced. I came home and Evelyn was gone, riding around the parks with the bike club. I read the Purdue sports newspaper that was not extremely optimistic about next season. We really didn’t have a meal this evening because Evelyn was busy packing a box to send to the Beelis. They have four birthdays in February so we are sending the gifts all at once. I thought we might go to a dance since we have stayed home most of the evenings this week, but she never made any move to get ready to go. She did call our friends in Ranchero, but had to leave a message. They didn’t return the call so I guess we can’t go to the dance by ourselves. We watched TV again, finishing “Mr. Mom” which was a funny old movie.

Rain, Oh my!

Tuesday was a day a little worse than the rest of the days so far this week. I walked to the hall for coffee and found my friend Tom there so I rode home with him so I could use his golf cart. I needed it to bring the planks for the back step to his house so he could notch them to fit on the frame of the back step. It is cold riding in a golf cart even though it had a windshield. Evelyn went to the Bible study without me because a man plans to lead a study using the same videos that is being used on Tuesday morning. I don’t know what evening he has chosen yet. We had lunch and then I took Evelyn to the doctor for her baseline examination. The doctor wants to be able to note how much we change in the next few declining years. I will have mine later. He did express concern about one of the readings on the blood work we had done last week, so he made another draw to check for an error. I went to have the tires rotated, get an air filter for the Saturn and buy some white grape juice for Communion. I returned and we came home just in time to go to the welcome back party thrown by the park ownership, featuring a baked chicken dinner. It was delicious. I noticed that Evelyn had a leg/thigh quarter while I had a breast/wing quarter. We switched and were very happy. We came home to relax before choir practice. It is approaching Lent and Bonny wants to have some songs ready to us to praise the Lord in those services. We returned and watched some of “Walk the Bible,” a DVD Bonny wants me to watch. I also received a W-2 from Taco Bell that told me exactly how much money I was shorted by my not receiving my final check. I will have to make some phone calls tomorrow because I am frustrated in waiting for it.

Wednesday was not just rainy: it really rained hard all day. Evelyn took me to the Outback for the AARP class. We carried the things into the room through the rain. She helps me distribute the materials around the tables. We will try to publish a picture. There were only 17 people in the class and that is plenty for me. We all got along well, but for some reason I can’t get through this day’s lesson early. I was rushing throughout and really rushing during the final hour. I was blessed to catch a ride home with one of our neighbors who is in the class. Evelyn had stayed home, not wanting to run in and out of the rain. She had thought to go to McAllen to find costumes for the Mardi Gras party next week. We may not go if we can’t dress. We just stayed home the entire day because it was not fit to be out. I did have a lot of work to do completing the certificates showing that the class members have completed the course. They will be sent to their insurance companies. We also watched a movie, “Can’t Buy Me Love”. It starred the lead character of “Grey’s Anatomy” when he was a young guy. I worked as I watched. Evelyn was able to stay awake throughout most of the film but slept afterward. Since it rained all evening, we stayed home. We have to get out of here tomorrow evening. Perhaps we can go to a dance.

More cold, rainy weather

Monday was cold and rainy again. We met at the park meeting for a short time. Evelyn had to go home to get ready to go to lunch with Bonny. I stayed and won a calendar. We are given tickets at each meeting and some door prizes are given away. Since we don’t need another calendar, I just kept quiet and let someone else have the calendar. I picked up our park T-shirt to wear to the egg toss finals next Tuesday. I came home and took Evelyn to Bonny’s and went on several errands. I tried to get the tires rotated but have to wait until tomorrow. I got some Communion wine, went to Wal-Mart, took some cash we had around the house to the bank and got gasoline. I came home and had the leftover half of the hamburger from Boog-a-de-Boo we had last Thursday. It was still very good. Evelyn came home and brought another half a burger we will eat sometime soon. It was too cold and rainy to work on the back step so I just worked on the order of service for Sunday. The rain had no doubt made the streets in Mexico muddy and slick, so we took a nap, and then she went back to work on the garment she is making for the girls. I got the mail and found a package from Clayton, our investment guy, containing an elegant thermos and two travel mugs for hot or cold drinks. We needed another mug. I called the doctor in NC asking for his e-mail address so I could talk with him concerning the herbs recommended by the man who analyzed our blood work. I got no such message. I wanted to watch one of the movies I had recorded but Evelyn chose to read. I watched some of the CSI programs and Glenn Beck until time for the news.

An unwanted victory

Sunday was a great day. The sun came out in the afternoon and the temperature was in the high 60s or low 70s. We were blessed with 49 in attendance at our service. We had a group of six of the men sing a couple of hymns for us too. I was apprehensive about the sermon because it was about Spiritual gifts and how they don’t give anyone the right to feel smug about having a gift such as speaking in tongues. The people are always gracious and gave me compliments again. After the service we did not have our usual Bible study because Jim Bruhn, one of our regulars, was bad with chest congestion. We went to see one of the elderly women who attends most Sundays. She fell almost a month ago but is still in the rehab hospital. She is such a spiritual women and has a marvelous positive attitude. She really has the Holy Spirit in her heart. We came home and had some delicious leftovers for lunch. We took a walk because it was such a beautiful day and stopped at the Crouch’s to see if Tom would come down to supervise my changing of the planks on our back step. He will and then may go with us to Mexico to get a haircut. I watched some of the Bears/Saints football game and sadly, Drew Brees and his team lost. During the halftime, I had to go to the egg toss for the Encore games. The corporation that owns our park and 5 others in the Valley sponsors some games for geezers in their parks. The competition includes many card games, ping pong, swimming and tossing raw eggs back and forth to see who can toss the farthest without breaking the egg. I talked one of our neighbors into tossing with me because all who enter go to an awards banquet and dance. We wanted to go to the dance so I entered. Unfortunately, my partner and I won. It is unfortunate in that we now have to go and play the champions of the other parks. I don’t have time to do this. I was hoping to lose. I returned to find Evelyn working on some fleece jackets for the granddaughters in CA. I also wanted to watch the remaining football game and the Colts finally won. It looked quite iffy at the end but worked out in the end. We have a big day tomorrow.

Saturday was a bit warmer. Evelyn decided to go to McAllen where she had the oil changed and took some items back to Target. I worked on the sermon. I never did get satisfied with the results but tomorrow is Sunday so I must give it. God must have someone coming that needs to hear it. I am usually the one He is speaking to and I may be tomorrow. We will see. She came back in time for the golf club party from 1-3. It featured beer, wine, sodas, barbecue sandwiches, potato salad, and ice cream bars. I was blessed to ask the invocation before dinner. I told the joke about the golfer who hit a tree on his second shot, ricocheting and hitting him in the head. He went immediately to Heaven where St. Peter asked him if his golf game was any good. "I got here in two, didn't I?" he said. We had a good time and came home for a nap. We were both tired: Evelyn from being awake since 5 AM and me from drinking too much. When we wakened, I took the neighbor’s mower and cut the grass. We had only popcorn in the evening since we had eaten too much in the afternoon. We watched part of the movie, Jeremiah Johnson, but stopped before it became too violent. I found a program on the miracles of Jesus that was pretty good and objective. Most programs ridicule His life but this one did not do that so much.

Germanfest

Friday was just a bit warmer. I uncovered most of our plants because they had not seen the sun for three days. Evelyn to exercise and I to the recycle station and the hardware store to cash in my $5 coupon. I used it to buy bolts and nuts to attach the planks to our back step. I found out by accident that tomorrow’s fun golf day has been cancelled. I knew it would be but really feel neglected in not being called. We had lunch (mine was sausage and boudin then took our blood test results to Dr. McDougal on the way to the hospital. We both took our required chest X-rays at the hospital. Volunteers are required to have them but we should because of my family history of TB. We came home early again because we had to get ready to go to the Germanfest. The dinner was bratwurst, Sauer Kraut, hot German potato salad and German chocolate cake served at 5. Afterward was a dance by Lyle Beaver. We sat with our friends from Winnipeg, Heinz and Alice Bauknecht. Do they sound German? We stayed until 9 and then came home even though it lasted until 10. I had work to do on the sermon and will have little time tomorrow. Oh, yes. The rye bread we made last night was very good but had stuck to the handle and made an unattractive loaf.

Finishing class one

AARP again this morning. Everyone was there except the woman who will have to come to the Thursday session next week to complete her course. I finished much earlier than yesterday but don’t understand why. I came home early, surprising Evelyn. I ate lunch but she didn’t. She went off to tour the planetarium with the Ladies Leisure. I have to complete some paperwork after each class and send it away to San Diego. I had things all completed when I discovered I had assembled the items that will go with the class I have next week here. I had to reassemble the items and then send them off. Evelyn had returned and left for the grocery. I finished just as she returned. I mailed the envelope and then unloaded the car. It is too cold to do much outside, so we just stayed indoors. I worked on the service for Sunday and also collected the recyclables to take tomorrow morning. I will try to make myself cut the grass tomorrow morning. After dinner of poblano peppers and a delicious cheese sauce, I put the back on the entertainment center. There must have been 60 screws to hold a ¼ inch piece of plywood in place. Well, at least I could move the unit back to the wall. We received an invitation to volunteer at the Stock Show again this year. I sent an e-mail accepting. I then took the invitation across to the new neighbors. They are from Ontario and like to get involved. They sounded interested. I watched the first original CSI that I have for two years. Evelyn put together some bread and loaded the bread machine. She got tired and didn’t feel too energetic, so she went to bed around 9:30. I had to set a timer for two hours because the bread must be removed from the machine. I watched the weather and learned what I think I already knew: it will be cold again tomorrow.

AARP class one

We were up at 6:30, dressed and off to Llano Grande by 7:05. Evelyn drove me over so she could have the car to drive several friends to the Christian Women’s Club luncheon. I had to set up the room for the class. Only 18 of the 25 people showed up but that satisfies me. One man came at 8:30 and I turned him away. For some reason, I ran behind almost from the beginning. I usually finish a bit early but really didn’t finish some of the lesson or skimmed over some important parts. This is the first time I have used edition 6 and that may have been the reason. It may not flow as quickly. The people were told to bring cash but we are discouraged from accepting it and writing our own checks for the course. Most will have to bring a check tomorrow. At the end of the class, a man told me his wife would be unable to attend tomorrow because she “has an obligation she can’t get out of.” Does he think that I will turn away someone a half hour late and complete a certificate for someone who will miss 4 hours? I will try to get her into the afternoon session of my class at Southern Comfort next week. If she can’t make that, she just won’t get a certificate. Don Reddel came to bring me home since his wife had gone with Evelyn to Harlingen. I thought we might go to lunch but he had errands to run. Besides, we have too many leftovers for me to justify eating out any way. I finished some of Bonny’s delicious charro beans and some of our dressing from the chicken breast casserole from Sunday. I then worked on completing the certificates for the class. They have to give copies to their insurance companies for their discounts. Evelyn knitted on her boa while I worked on the service and watched TV. Nothing much was good.

health and music

Still cold. You in the north may laugh but the wind makes it dinging cold. I worked more on the AARP lesson as Evelyn exercised and did ironing. After lunch, we planned to rest but remembered that we had to listen to an explanation of our basic blood analysis from last week. We had a few surprises but nothing major. Unfortunately, mine could get serious: my glucose and triglycerides were at the top end of the acceptable range. That means potential diabetes. I don’t like that possibility. The presenter gave some helpful suggestions: take red yeast extract, non flush niacin, 2 T apple cider vinegar with mother, and grape seed. All these things are to help the internal organs instead of stantin drugs like Lipitor. We rushed home to get ready to go to the concert series tonight. We thought we were to leave at 4 so we were ready. We had left at that time for the most recent concert. This time we waited until 5. We went with the other two couples to Boog-a-de-boo for dinner. We arrived in plenty of time and got a table in the back, away from the door. The dining room was not heated because there are few days that get cold enough. Our driver nearly froze to death because he has poor circulation. We stayed because I had a coupon for $25 off the total bill. We all liked our food but not the atmosphere. Nearly all of us took half our orders home. We went to the concert. It was fantastic. The performers were young men, two of whom played violins and one double bass player. The latter had written several of the songs just for them and had done a masterful job. They displayed fantastic energy and seemed to really enjoy their jobs. They are all members of philharmonic orchestras in Philadelphia, etc. We came home in a light mist, making potential hazardous on bridges and overpasses. We were able to avoid them on our way home. We went directly to bed.

COOOOLLLLDDDD

Monday was quite a change. We arose to a temperature of 58 and falling. The wind was blowing at 20 mph accelerating to 35-40. On top of that there was a fine mist falling, making it a miserable day. We went to the town meeting at 9 and were finished by 10. On the way home I went to the Crouch’s where they gave us the concert series tickets so we will go tomorrow night. I came home and was surprised to find Peg coming to help me fix my business card design. We were cooking right along when the men from the electronic repair shop came to show me how to make our DVD player work. We had the entire Texas room full of people working on separate projects with me trying to work with them and the projects at the same time. Everyone finally left and I was able to begin reviewing for my AARP class Wednesday and Thursday. I was not sorry because it was too cold and miserable to be outside. (Although I was told it was -16 in South Dakota). After lunch I continued working while Evelyn ironed, cleaned the kitchen, and lay down to rest. Just as I was ready to nap, George came back to fix another problem we had encountered this morning. He ran into a snag and left to return in an hour. He did and I had not quite wakened. We fixed the problem but I still have a problem getting my business cards lined up with the printer. They don’t come out in line with the scores on the paper. Regardless, I printed some. Now I need to learn how to put them on the back of the card, reflecting both our summer and winter addresses. We watched some TV, knitted and worked more on the class.

Record attendance

Sunday found us up and off to Trail’s End early so we could get Communion prepared. Evelyn finished and, to our surprise we had 60 attend our service. She had to prepare more wine. I led the worship but forgot many things. Perhaps I was too nervous in the presence of so many people. Afterward the church committee wanted to meet concerning the collection. Instead of all coming to me eventually, they want to give most of the excess over my $65 to a food collection. The park board plans to match the food fund or even give more. I can’t help but praise God for the way He works. Four years ago the board didn’t even want a worship service in this park. Now they not only welcome us but are willing to give money for this. We came home after our Bible study which was very Spiritual this morning. We had lunch and then I went to a friend’s house so she could show me how to install and use Picture It, a computer program that will make business cards for us among other things. I spent 2 ½ hours and came away with too much knowledge. We took a walk and visited some friends, drinking a glass of wine. On our way there, I noticed that one more person was needed to serve ice cream. I had signed up and served. We took our ice cream home and watched TV for the evening. I also reconnected the tape deck and turntable. They all work. The son of the R&A electronic repair shop is supposed to come tomorrow morning to see what is wrong with our DVD player. I will have him check things before I re attach the back of the entertainment cabinet. Tomorrow I must practice for my AARP class Wednesday and Thursday.

Money in the bank

Saturday was CPR morning. We met with two Weslaco firefighters who are also EMS qualified who reviewed the procedures with about 25 park residents. They were good but allowed too many questions. Despite that we were done earlier than I had expected. We drove to Texas Trader because they were having an open house to rival the RV show at the Stock Show grounds. They were serving sausages, barbecued roasting ears in the husk, and cookies. The real reason we went was to see what had happened to our motor home. I looked for it but couldn’t find it. I went to the financial secretary who gave us a check for $35,000. The buyers had taken it. We looked at some others, knowing we wouldn’t buy one. Many of them have compartments that don’t come out with the slides. That makes it very hard to get things out of the compartments. It is also dangerous to the back which can be raked on the slides. We took our money and came home. I had to go back to the electronic repair shop to say that our tape deck and phonograph turntable were repaired. It cost $40 each but was worth it because those pieces, though old, fit our cabinet. I will try to reconnect them tomorrow. Evelyn went to prepare the Holy Communion elements for tomorrow but came home, having forgotten that I had a key to the Saturn that would have allowed her access to the Communion ware. They will do it tomorrow morning. We took a walk and inquired as to what the pizza selections were for the 50s dance tonight. Since it was from CiCis, we decided to remain home to watch the Saints play football. I worked on tomorrow’s sermon and service. I am also trying to find out the names of the other people who are listed to sit with us at the Germanfest next week. We think we might have too many tickets. We don’t know whether we were given too many or bought too many. The ticket seller was not home so we still don’t know.

Over eating Friday

Up again and changed to bed linen. I mention this because we can seldom remember what day we did it last; perhaps this will help. I waited for the landscape guy Evely thought would come in the morning while she exercised. He didn't show up so I went to our electronic repair guy with our tape deck and phonograph. I had to spend about an hour taking the back off our entertainment cabinet. I hope he can fix it. I wanted to check some measurements so I came home and while I was there Dan Wehling came to get some items for the Alamo Food and clothing bank. I then went to Home Depot to get our 2X12X40" planks to repair our back steps. I got them and hurried home to shower, eat, and go to the hospital for the afternoon. While there, I finally contacted the man who bought our unit in Sunshine park to tell him he had to pay the month's rent. He said he would but implied he would not pay the 2005 tax bill. I hoped he would since I had practically given him the unit. I will see soon. It was a slow day at the information desk and we left for home a bit early because of our "kill brain cells" party. There were 10 of us there but only 5 volunteer at the hospital. One of us couldn't come. We spent an hour and a half partying and then had to go to our good friends from Winnepeg for supper. We needed nothing else to eat, but social responsibilities prevail. We were so late that they thought something must have happened to us. She is such a hostess and loves to serve dinners. She made roulladen, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and a delicious gravy. Afterward we played hand and foot as always. We really have a good time with them. Tomorrow is another big day of eating. By the way: as of right now the Wifi is back on for me. What will tomorrow bring?

Thursday

Wednesday I had forgotten to set the alarm so I slept later. Evelyn rose and
went to exercise with the video in the exercise room. I showered and put on my chartuse bicycle club shirt and went to meet the riders. We rode about 9 miles and took a brown bag lunch to the Harlon Block park, named for one of the six marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima in WWII. We rode through a couple of housing developments. It is amazing to see the size of the homes some people build here. Someone must have a lot of money from I had forgotten to set the alarm, so I slept a bit longer than usual. Evelyn somewhere. We were home by noon and lifted the top off the archway we have in the back yard. Evelyn is painting it with Rustoleum. She also painted the fenders on her bicycle. They have rust pockets all over them, causing an ugly surface. I went to Winston’s to get some horse manure for our small garden plot in the back. I spaded the dirt which was filled with grass and added the manure. I also went to two lumber yards to buy some 2X12X40 to replace our planks in the back steps that have rotted over the years. I will replace them with treated lumber and treat them as deck top, treating them with Thompson’s Water Seal. I couldn’t find any without knots but learned that they will not cause the steps to be weaker. I will go get them tomorrow morning and try to get them down Sunday afternoon before the predicted cold front arrives. Evelyn went to the LWML meeting in Mercedes tonight, and I stayed home, planning to vacuum the floor and clean some spots with Resolve. I did these things and planned to look up some things on the internet but somehow lost my wireless connection. Somehow I have been able to use some neighbor’s unsecured Wifi since we have been here this season. I hope it returns tomorrow because I have many things to do on the Internet.

Eating out

Wednesday was golf day for me. Jack Roberts and I went to the Palms at Mid-Valley. We rode in a cart because my friend, the golf pro there, had sold me ten plays for $90 last year. He included a cart free, a $60 value. We had a good time, although we both played poorly. We were finished by 11 and came home for lunch. We rested after lunch and went to the hall for the buffet. Different groups, usually residents of certain states, form, plan menus and prepare a meal. This week was a group from Michigan that prepared hamburgers and hot dogs. The charge is $3.50 per person. After this one there was a couple from Branson that performed for $3.00 per person. Neither of us was impressed much with the performance. They were only acceptable. I guess they were worth $3 but not much more. We have heard other groups we thought were better for the same amount. We came home and then took a walk. It was a beautiful, cool evening, and I wanted to take advantage of it. We returned home and watched the President’s speech. I certainly hope this new plan works. He did a good job of outlining the extreme danger our entire way of life.

selling and peddling

Tuesday was the big day. We opened the flea market at 7:30 and were able to sell several items, unlike our lack of success at the previous attempt. I went to the exercise room, paid for our basic blood screening, and had my blood drawn. I went back to the flea market to relieve Evelyn so she could have her blood drawn. After that we both went to the Tuesday morning Bible study. Our friend from Nebraska took over leading the study. We came home for lunch, and then showered. I went back to the Outback to make some telephone calls and talk with Jack about golfing tomorrow. I will pick him up at 8:15 for our 8:50 tee time. I returned and we rested a while. We rode our bikes to the mail station to mail a package to Stacy for her birthday and a few pictures and a note to encourage Ursula Beeli, the mother of our daughter Emily’s husband. We barely returned in time to take the bike club ride around the park. We try to do that each Tuesday and Thursday at 4:30. We rode 5 miles in addition to the 5 we had ridden earlier. After dinner, we drove to the grocery and Big Lotsto do some shopping. We returned home for the evening.

Bank error in your favor

Monday was cool in the morning. We stayed in bed too long and barely made the town meeting at the hall. We decided to have a medical screening tomorrow. We also bought our Germanfest tickets along with those for the Bauknecht table. We also decided to take a CPR renewal class on Saturday. After the meeting I went to the Frost Bank to check on the $3.50 per month charge for our savings account. I fully intended to take our money out of that bank and move to another. The good news is that they will reverse the $14 charges for the past months and move the money to the free checking account. I will leave the money there. I came home and we looked for things we want to take to the flea market tomorrow morning. After lunch we were both tired so we took a nap after which I took the items to get our table at the flea market. I don’t think we will sell anything but we can always give things to the Alamo food and clothing bank. When I finished, we took some of the fajitas Bonny had given us yesterday to the potluck at our hall. We have not gone for several years but have much food in the refrigerator and decided to share it. After that we came home and watched the Ohio State/Florida football game. What a shock that was. I worked on preparing some orders of service for future Sundays. We watched the news and Jay Leno’s “headlines” and went to bed.

Epiphany

Saturday morning I went to the hall for coffee to remember that this is pancake breakfast day. Evelyn went to the grocery for some supplies with which she would make dessert for tonight and tomorrow night. It is Epiphany and time to remove the Christmas decorations since it is the end of the 12 days of Christmas. While she was gone, I brought the ladder around and removed the icicle lights from above the driveway because the car was not in the way. I then disassembled the manger scene we have in the yard and brought the storage boxes out so we could put the things back in them. Evelyn returned and we packed the items away, removing the items from the walls and furniture. We were all done labeling the final boxes before noon. We ate lunch and rested for a while. We discussed the upcoming cruise and decided that we will now fly from McAllen to New Orleans, cruise to Vancouver, spend a few days with Bob and Carrie, and fly back to McAllen. I thought we were looking forward to the trip on the train for our return visit, but Evelyn was not pleased so we will fly. I went to Joe’s and he went with me to Immanuel to get some insert sheets we use in our services. They contain the collect prayer, the scripture readings, and the introit. We had a good visit on the trip, and he showed me why our Magellan would not work. We had not raised the small antenna! I returned home, had a light supper, and played cards with our friends when they arrived. They were very nice in that they left around 9:30 so I could practice for tomorrow and get to bed at a decent hour.

Sunday was filled with blessings again. We had 49 people at worship, despite the fact that many of the young visitors from Canada had left. There were many more people who had come into the park just this week. I received many compliments, much to my chagrin since I am so unworthy of them. We didn’t have our Bible study because today was brunch day at Trail’s End. We came home for a light lunch and rested for the barbecue party in the afternoon. We used our GPS system to find the location of the party (although we had been there many times before). We just wanted to see if we could use it after learning where the antenna was. It worked perfectly. We had a good time at the party that featured fajitas in tortillas. There were 5 other couples there. People had brought salads and desserts. We played a charade-like game after dinner and helped clean up after everyone else left. We came home and talked with Emily for a while. We also watched The Great Train Robbery, starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland.

Cleaning for the new year

Thursday was another gloomy day. I spent much time tweaking the sermon for Sunday. I was not satisfied with it. Evelyn exercised and went to a presentation by a ranger from the world birding center. We had supper and went to Ranchero Village to dance in the evening. We thought our friends from there might be at the dance but weren’t. We went to their home and learned that they had not planned to go. We visited with them for about an hour and then came home. I sent some e-mails, one of which went to Evelyn’s cousin in Seattle. We want to see if they will be at home when we dock in Vancouver in May. Their answer will affect when we schedule our return trip via rail.

Friday we got up and cleaned out our shed. We have never done such a thorough job. We wanted to clean it before we store the Christmas decorations tomorrow on Epiphany. We also threw some things away. We still have to clean the shelves, but the floor is clean. We had lunch and went to the hospital in the afternoon for our weekly volunteer stint. This time we shared duties on the outpatient desk. I also planned our “kill brain cells” party for the 19th but later remembered that we have the Germanfest that evening. I e-mailed our volunteer partners asking them to plan for the 12th instead. We also read some information about Justin and his family. We heard from Carrie and Bob in Seattle, saying that they would be home in May. We will call them tomorrow and finalize the plans. I decided to take Evelyn to the Elks lodge for fish after “work”. There was a long line so we just ordered one fish dinner to go. We brought home and shared it. It is so much food that we were both satisfied. We went to our all for the Lyle Beaver dance. The hall was full because he brings a good crowd that follows him around to dance to his music. We didn’t stay for all of the dance because Evelyn had a pain in her back. We watched the news, I blogged and she knitted for a while before bed.

Welcome rain

I was up and ready to play golf, but the rain prevented our going. It had rained during the night and was supposed to rain all day today and possibly tomorrow. Evelyn went to exercise, and I walked trying to find the man from Canada that might help us find a more reasonably priced rail trip through the Canadian Rockies. He wasn’t out but did come to our house to deliver some pepper salsa. When Evelyn came back, I heated some of the many leftovers we have for our lunch. We also tried some of the salsa that turned out to resemble Dave’s Ultimate Insanity in picante (spiciness). We then left for McAllen, trying to use our Magellan. We still can’t get it to work. I really thought we could do it. We went to Target and bought a replacement DVD player, another clock radio, a boom box that will play cassettes, and some paper for the computer. I had spent most of the morning designing some more calling cards and needed more card paper. We came home and I installed the new DVD player. I thought I had messed up the entire TV but finally it began playing, thanks be to God. We had some neighbors for our split pea soup supper. He is the man who fixes many things for me. Tom and Diesta may come to NC to visit this summer. They were supposed to come last summer to bring a stained glass piece he had made for us. I watched some of the Sugarbowl and went to bed.

Busy day

Volunteers poised to begin work at the retirement party.



Up again. I was off to the recycle center that turned out to be open, unlike the federal offices that were closed to mourn President Ford’s death. I returned to the town meeting and spoke about the AARP class in January. I then left for Llano Grande to tell them what I need to hold the class. I called Immanuel from there to see if I could get some insert sheets for the next few weeks. The secretary is not back from the East. I talked to Pastor Edge, hoping he would open the office for me but he wouldn’t. This was disappointing because he lives next door and would have only a little effort to do that. So I went on to Snow to Sun, an RV park where I preached when we first came to the Weslaco. I was told by one of the residents that they might be looking for someone to preach. I talked with a man who is part of their worship committee. I had known him from back in 1999 when his first wife died. We had a very spiritual visit but they are giving another preacher a trial until February 1. Their service is at 9:00, so I would have to have permission from the folks at Trail’s End to move our service time to 10 or 10:30. I really doubt that they will do that, but I will still be loyal to them. I went to Wal-Mart to get some medicine vials that hold quarters, but my friend didn’t have any. I bought Evelyn three roses for Evelyn and came home for lunch. While I was running around, Evelyn attended the park Bible study. We napped a short time and went to the hospital to volunteer at a retirement party from 3 until 6. We came home for a tamale dinner and watched Spiderman 2. We also watched a CSI I had not seen. We called Bob and Carrie Schroeder who live in Seattle to see if they might be home in Seattle when we land from our cruise from New Orleans to Seattle. We had to leave a message. We hope they will return our call but have not had much success with that in the past. I was invited to play golf in the morning but rain is predicted.

The beginning of another gift from God.

When I wakened, Evelyn was already gone. It was 8:30. I struggled to get up and showered. She came home and I began working on making the orders of service for the month of January. I have to select the hymns and the responsive readings as well as the scriptures. We had lunch of a salad and leftover cabbage salad. In the afternoon I continued working while Evelyn read a book, The Edge of Eternity. Around 3:30 we went for a long bike ride into town. We must have ridden around 3 miles. It was a good day because there was little traffic. We usually take some back streets whenever we ride that way. We also spent much of the morning trying to understand the GPS system. We made some progress but I tried to find someone here to help. I could not find anyone. I had to call Tom Jones around 9, and he helped me quite a bit. We spent the evening watching Pirates of the Carribean: the Curse of the Black Pearl. We had seen it before but enjoyed it again. Earlier in the day Stacy called and told us about the things happening in Georgia. They did the most clever thing last night. Around 8:00, they set the clocks ahead to read 11 PM. When it reached midnight (9 PM) the kids celebrated and being satisfied, went to bed. That is why we wakened Tom last night. We are amazed at their creativity.

Happy New Year

Here are pictures of the geezer's New Year's Eve dance. Evelyn inspecting the tables, Bill and Bernice Petra, friends from Manitoba, and geezers doing the twist.


We were at Trail’s End early. The man who usually sets up the room has flown to MN for a week. We were blessed to have 45 in attendance, although around a dozen of them were children and grandchildren visiting. We will have a much smaller congregation next week. We even have one black couple from a Baptist church in New Jersey. Most people east of the Mississippi go to FL. After our Bible study we came home and prepared dinner for our neighbors, the Heinlens. He took care of our lawn this past summer after the Stehleks left. We served them the spiral cut ham, potatoes, and Ramen slaw from the party the other night. She had open heart surgery this past summer. They left around 2 and Evelyn went directly to bed. She was unable to sleep until 2:30 this morning. We went to the hall to help decorate the tables for tonight’s New Year’s Eve record hop. We had snacks for dinner because we will have plenty for snacks at the dance. We arrived at the dance at 7 and helped put ice in containers and put snacks on the tables. There were almost 100 tickets sold. Our shift to work the counter was from 9 to 10. It was during that time that we served the Popeye’s chicken and Ci Ci’s pizza. There were door prizes but we didn’t win anything. We stayed and danced some but then left just before 11. We never stay until midnight because I don’t like to expose Evelyn to all the drunks who want to slobber over her. She is one of the most beautiful women there and they make a bee line for her. At least they did until we stopped waiting for the ball to drop. Evelyn called Georgia and talked with Tom. She was afraid to call her brother because it was so late.