Surprises

I got up fully expecting to spend the day in Nashville. We began packing and went for the continental breakfast the motel offered. We came back and finished packing. Evelyn went to check us out and get our $10 gas card. This was the best motel deal I have ever had: a room, breakfast and free gasoline. She came back as I was ready to walk to the Opryland Hotel, but she said she didn’t want to walk anymore. Instead we drove downtown to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I wanted to tour it but was unwilling to pay $16.95 to do it. We both agreed this was too much. We left and drove south to Scottsboro, AL where we toured the Unclaimed Baggage Warehouse looking for a dinner jacket. We thought there would be many bargains but both thought that most of the things were left at airports purposely. We did find a pair of shoes for me and a belt for Evelyn. We called Scott Shoemaker, Sam’s son, and made arrangements to call him tonight to arrange a meeting for breakfast tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get an answer when we called in the evening. We drove to Athens where he and his wife live and found some motel coupons at a McDonald’s. We looked at three motels in the booklet and landed at a Super 8 for the evening. The room was nice although on the 2nd floor. We hoped Scott would call early tomorrow.

Taking a makeup bag to Nashville

We were up and at breakfast by 8. We also went to the housekeeping leader named Jane and got the elusive make up bag we had come back for. Evelyn was so appreciative that she gave the housekeeper $5 for turning it in. She was a Hispanic woman who was very grateful for the tip. We loaded everything and drove off on I-71 to Louisville. We had never traveled that highway before in all our travels. There aren’t many Interstates we can say that about. We turned south on I-65 and drove to Nashville. We were here and checked in by 3. We had road coupons again and found the Fiddlers Inn. We walked to the Opry Mill Mall looking for the golf shop where I had bought a golf bag last year. We learned that the man had not returned to the Mall. I thought he was just going west for the winter but had instead moved there permanently. I ate some of the chicken gumbo for dinner and then took Evelyn to the Scorecard, a sports bar we had a coupon for and had a Quesada for her dinner. We walked around the area until about 8 and went to bed. We are now in the central time zone. We changed our clocks as we drove but will have to change them back Sunday when daylight savings time ends.

Visit with the Oefingers and blessings

We were up at 7 local time and showered for the day by 8. They were not up until we were finished. We had offered to take them out for breakfast, but Deana had planned pancakes and sausage. She is old and very slow and deliberate, working laboriously around the kitchen. The sausage was delicious, making me want to take some with us. Evelyn was concerned that it might spoil because the locker did not have any frozen so we didn’t get any. After breakfast (it should have been during) we did our laundry and left for Shelbyville at 1 Indiana time. It was an even more beautiful day and we made very good time again. We arrived in Shelbyville at 4:30, called Bill (thinking we would take them out to a Chinese restaurant) and learned that Shirley had prepared ham and escalloped potatoes for us. We enjoyed the short time we had to visit with them, learning that Bill is not healthy. His Parkinson’s disease makes him uncomfortable sitting for any length of time, even in church. Shirley asked us to keep praying and keep in touch. We had to leave shortly after 6 to get to Erlanger at a decent hour. We were able to buy gas for $2.13 + our 5% discount. We arrived at the motel where we left the make up bag but had no discount coupon, meaning we would have to pay the full $79.99 price. We drove to a service station and found one allowing us to pay $54.99. We had prayed we would find one and it must have fit the Lord’s plan. We carried many things into the room and Evelyn showered again today; this time washing her hair. We watched the final game of the World Series and rested well.

Visits with Pauline and Brumleves

We packed and left Grotrian’s at 9:30. I took Evelyn to Pauline’s who had lunch prepared for us. I didn’t stay then. I went to the CVS to get more beer for the winter. From there I went to the auto auction and looked for Darrel for 45 minutes. I enjoyed being around the arena where I once worked. I saw many faces I used to work with and for. Finally Darrel and I found each other. We left in his car to go pick up some young guy in Ft. Wayne. I don’t know why but he worked for Darrel. We took him back and just talked a while. We did determine that we would continue looking for a car when we arrived in the Valley. There is a Manheim auction in San Antonio but he will have to do the buying for me since I am not a dealer. I went back to Pauline’s at 12:30 and ate the soup she had made for me. We then left for Teutopolis. It was a nice day for driving and we made good time. We were trying to decide which way to go around Indianapolis until we saw a warning sign that the way the GPS suggested was under construction so we went the other way. Praise God for His watching over us. We made it on to Teutopolis by what turned out to be 4:30 because we had crossed into the central time zone. We had planned to take Don and Deana out for supper, but she had prepared a meal. We ate there and visited. We went to bed at 11 our time but 10 their time. They had a nice queen bed for us.

Seeing man Fort Wayne friends

We slept late and rose to shower and enjoy apple pancakes that Janet had made. I went outside and picked some yellow delicious apples and then Evelyn and I went to Casterline’s. Paul drove us to meet Shirley at the southwest Casa de Angelo restaurant for lunch. We were back at their house around 2 and made visits to old friends Gene and Jackie Dettmer, Terry and Martha Hoeppner, Tom Gerbers and Helen Fisher. We then went out to the campus and followed Louise to Appleby’s on Stellhorn Road. We shared a 3 course meal and had plenty to eat. We went to Kohl’s where I reluctantly bought a long sleeve heavy shirt. I didn’t deserve to have it since I have many in NC that I could have brought but didn’t have the foresight to know it would be cold in the north. We visited and watched some of the Colts game with Tom and Janet before going to bed. We have to get up earlier tomorrow to meet Evelyn’s friend and get started on the road to Teutopolis to visit Don and Deana.

Dear friends in Fort Wayne

We enjoyed some French toast Orpha had made before going to worship. Today is Reformation Sunday when we remember Luther nailing his 95 theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg, Germany . He didn’t intend the result, but began the protestant movement. He wanted to protest against some of the practices of the Roman church that conflict with Scripture but didn’t want to start a new church. Since he was not welcome back into the Catholic church, he had no choice. We returned to the Knape’s and packed our clothes into our car and left. We spent a large part of the afternoon at the Decatur library working on the computer and killing time until we could go to Grotrian’s. We arrived at 4:30 to find Tom’s sister and brother in law, Charles and Lavon, visiting. We knew them from Via de Cristo some years back. We had a good visit about working at the election, and then Tom, Janet, and we went to Decatur to have Pizza King pizza again. We love the stuff and they had never tried it. They liked it alot. We came back to their house and visited while watching some of the World Series. We went to bed early again. I had talked briefly with Andrew concerning his next paper on the abolitionist, John Brown (his body lies amolderin in the grave). We start on a visit whirlwind tomorrow.

We stopped to visit my high school buddy and brother Sig Ep. He is only one year older but moves very slowly, thinks slowly, and talks slowly. Some have been concerned about his health, but he seems no different now than he did 2 or 3 years ago.

Me on the swinging bridge and us on the floating swinging pontoon bridge. Children run across these things and don't seem to have any trouble. We walk and hang on for dear life.

Outdoors at the Creation Museum. The emphasis is on the cycles of life in nature. The pictures show the landscaping including a rushing stream, boardwalk along a pond and a swinging bridge.

nice gardens and good friends

For some reason we both wakened at 6:30 and were hungry. We slipped on some clothes and went to the breakfast room. We enjoyed some biscuits and gravy, waffles, and juice. We returned to the room, nd Evelyn went back to bed for a nap while I loaded some pictures into the computer since I had forgotten to do that last night. Then we showered and began packing for the next leg of the trip. I took the plants out of the trailer for some sunlight and warm water. I took some from the room since it had stopped raining. We drove back to the museum and walked around the outer gardens for an hour. Then we went to the gift shop and bought a Bible study we might use in Texas. We left there and proceeded toward Decatur. I called my friend Ned Knape and asked if we could spend the night at his home. We were a day early for the Grotrians who were at the homecoming game. We stopped for lunch at a closed motel, having spotted a picnic table. The owner said we could use it. We stood out in a cold wind and finished off some more of our traveling food before continuing to Decatur. We arrive a bit earlier than expected, unloaded what we needed and left for out favorite pizza place, Pizza King. We have only found this pizza in Indiana and love it. We all enjoyed the buffet and returned to Ned and Orpha’s. It was then that Evelyn discovered that her make up bag was missing. I went out, searched the car and returned with the news that we must have left it at the motel. We went to bed around 10 since the World Series game had started late.

A model of Noah and family building the Ark. This is only 1/50 scale model. There is a plan to build an Ark outside on the grounds, but I doubt is will be actual size: 851 feet long.

A large display of what the Garden of Eden might have looked like, sans Evelyn

Pictures recalling how the world has drifted away from the true meanings of creation found in Genesis

Lunch at the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, OH

Pictures of our flower gardens before we left home October 23, 2008.

The museum honoring the Creator

We got up to a heavy rain. I walked to the 3 chair breakfast room and filled a cereal bowl for Evelyn and took it to our room. While in the breakfast room, I talked to the owner to see if she would refund our money for the second night. The bed was so hard my hips hurt all night. She graciously agreed to let us go to another motel. We loaded our car and then drove to the Creation Museum. We entered and bought a lifetime membership. We put into Stacy’s name because she is much younger. I joked with the man signing us up that a lifetime membership was rather questionable for a 70 year old. We will call Tom and Stacy with the details this weekend. We spent the entire day looking at many displays and videos advancing the case for Creationism. I was impressed with the balance presented. The displays willingly admitted that many things could not be proven. The interpretation depended on the world view of the interpreter. Of course, the case was made that the Biblical world view leads to the truth. It was a very impressive museum. There was a large outdoor exhibit we were unable to see because of the weather. We may return tomorrow morning to see it. We came to a Comfort Inn we had seen yesterday and got a room using our road coupon again. The bed was much softer and the room was nicer. There was no microwave in the room so we took our food to the lounge, used their microwave and ate our bratwurst/sauerbraten dinner. The sauerbraten is gone so I will eat the final bratwurst so Evelyn can get something from a restaurant.

This is our mandevilla we are trying to take to Texas in our cargo trailer.

Riding lessons for Olivia's birthday present. That same weekend the entire family went to the Shindig on the Green.

These are pictures of the German dinner. Evelyn worked very hard decorating the church basement with Dorothy, the woman she ushered with on LWML Sunday. She also made 16 pounds of beef into sauerbraten. She did all this while feeling weak from the surgery and the hyperthyroidism. The bratwrst were barbecued outside by some men in the church.

This is a suculpting in downtown Waynesville made of old scrap metal. It depicts the many amature bluegrass musicians in the area. The scrap items are old boiler parts and bolts and nuts.

I went on the air to advertise our German dinner at Our Savior Lutheran Church. The station manager, John Roten, interviewed me after he hosted the "Trading Post" program in the morning.

Evelyn's final living aunt, Pauline, and her husband, Miz, came to visit on their way to their Florida winter home. They went on to visit Stacy before going on south.

Dallas and Karen Norris, people we met in our tango class, asked us to attend a football game at Mars Hill College on a Saturday afternoon. They invited us to their home for dinner afterward.

On the road again

I wakened before the alarm and was ready to dress before it did. Evelyn got up, and we had breakfast to use more of our food. We took the last minute items out including food from the refrigerator. We got it pretty well cleaned out. Doris came over offering biscuits and ham but we were full. We were on the road around 8. I had gone to the truck stop to check the air in the tires on the trailer but the air compressor was malfunctioning. I did get to check them later in the day and learned they were lower than was good for them to be. They are fine now. We drove our usual route, 25E, and stopped at the KFC “shrine” in Corbin so Evelyn could have lunch. I ate a sandwich I had not eaten Monday at the golf course. We were on the road and in the Econo Lodge in Erlanger where we stayed by 4:30. We used a coupon from a rest area booklet that offered a reduced price. The room was acceptable but not as nice as the Comfort Inn across the street. We came back to the room after taking a walk across the street. We heated the bratwurst and sauerbraten we had brought for our supper. I had also brought what was left of a half gallon of ice cream which we drank because it was melted. It was just as good. We have a cooler with ice that keeps things from spoiling. We just laid around the motel room and watched the second game of the World Series. We will go to the Creation Museum tomorrow.

Final arrangements

We just ate cereal for breakfast, after which Evelyn continued packing, and I assembled the trash and recyclables for our trip to the dump site. My trash bag was not full, so I went to the neighbor’s and got some of theirs. I took a half gallon of ice cream to Doris and our last 2 venison/sausage burgers to Gene Ford. We left and paid our water bill, took the items to the dump, and went to the church to look for a jacket I can’t find. It wasn’t there but two Pyrex pans and sunglasses were. We left them after the German dinner. I hope the jacket is in one of the hanging bags or someone who really needs it gets it. We went to our dancing friend’s, Don and Betty Perry, for lunch. They have a beautiful mountain home with a fantastic view of the mountains. It was a great deal to take care of so we appreciate having our little house. She served corn and potato chowder which was delicious. We talked until 2 and then left. We came home and put the finishing touches on our trailer packing. We even began putting things into the car that we will need to have along the way. We have also managed to put everything inside from our deck and the carport. We are almost ready. We enjoyed brats and sauerbraten for supper and then put our Direct TV receiver into the box and then into the trailer. We still had the one in the bedroom and watched some of the World Series. I also called Direct TV to put our service on vacation. The only thing left to do is to pack the cooler with food we will take and then add ice. I don’t know if the cooler is large enough. We hit the road tomorrow.

new questionable nodules

I got up again and made us a breakfast egg and cheese sandwich, using our final eggs and the biscuits Evelyn made yesterday morning. We really enjoyed them. We then left for Clyde to see if Evelyn could get a haircut. The lady wasn’t there so we went back to the church to see if I had left a jacket there. The secretary has been sick and wasn’t there either. Since Evelyn was in desperate need of a haircut, we went to the place she went 2 years ago. She made an appointment for 2. We went on to say goodbye to Kathy at her work and then came home. We pulled the tomato plants out of the tubs and moved the Mandevilla into the sunlight. I watered the plants for the last time this season, trusting that the Lord would preserve them over the winter. We also covered the fern and wishing well hoping the same. We continued packing for a while and then went to Shoney’s for lunch (we had a coupon). I then took Evelyn to the beauty shop and came home because she would be there an hour and a half. I vacuumed the floors and packed some more before returning to get her. I then returned some DVD discs to K-Mart that I can’t use. We came home and rested a while before having a light supper at 6. Evelyn finally got to talk to Dr. Dodd's nurse and learned that there is a nodule on her thyroid. She will have it biopsied when we get to TX. I offered to stay here a while longer if she wanted to have it done before we left, but she wants to go on. I took some more tubs to the trailer after supper and shredded some charge card receipts. We balanced Evelyn’s checkbook after she watched “Dancing with the Stars”.

farewell dinner

We went to worship and share in the Lord’s Body and Blood. Billy Riggs gave me a 3 wood because he feels sorry for my having to use old clubs. We came home and had lunch before continuing our packing. I was able to load some of the heavier items into the front of the trailer as is recommended. I also try to put the items not needed until we reach the Valley in the front too. We had a carry-in dinner at one of the neighbor’s house. The man is a Cajun and made some delicious gumbo. We came home and just made phone calls trying to arrange visits with friends in Indiana and my cousin in Illinois. I have been tired all day so I went to bed a bit early. Golf tomorrow. We are supposed to have a freeze again tonight so it will be cold on the course. I moved the plants into the shed last night and left them there. We will try to take them to a friend’s house for the winter on Tuesday.

A wonderful day with family

We were on the road by 8 and stopped in Franklin for breakfast at 9. We drove on to a farm market and took a break to buy some relish we like. It was then on to Roswell. We arrived just after noon, cooked the crawfish, heated the cornbread and enjoyed a wonderful lunch with Tom, Stacy, and Peter. Peter left with a friend at 2:30, leaving us to take a ride in the new Mazda. It is a spiffy car. We drove to Trader Joe’s for 2 cases of wine to drink during the winter and went to the church to pick up Olivia who was attending a sort of workshop. She was learning how to run a sound board for theater productions. We all came home and Evelyn gave her the sewing kit and other things she had brought for her. They then sewed some doll garments together before we left. Olivia is quite talented, and, bless her heart, was concerned that I was driving home. We had sat around the table watching the work while we drank wine and ate a few snacks. She just doesn’t realize her grandpa’s capacity. When I feel even questionable to myself, I let Evelyn drive. I had not drunk enough to feel unconfident in my ability. We left at 6, got gas and drove to just north of Gainesville where we stopped for a pumpkin blizzard, the flavor of the month. Evelyn loves these things. We came on home, arriving around 9:30. We watched a bit of the baseball game, then I paid a bill on line before retiring.

dance night

We were up and off to the drug store and then to WW for Evelyn to weigh. She weighed 122--19 pounds under her goal weight. She doesn’t have to pay to go to the meetings if she stays under 141. We decided not eat out and came went to Haywood Christian Ministries to get some earrings that had been lent to the director. We stopped at the Food Lion on the way home and then took some hymnals back to the church. We stopped at the sanitation district and asked that our water be turned off next Thursday. We then mailed a package to the Beelis before coming home. We had lunch and then continued packing. Actually just gathering things into a central location. We won’t pack anything until next Monday or Tuesday. Evelyn worked on making a rhubarb pie for the block party Sunday and brownies to take to the dance tonight. She also made corn bread to take to Roswell tomorrow. After supper we dressed and went to the dance. We danced a great deal and had a good time with our friends the Perrys and Norrises. We stayed until the end of the dance and stopped to get some magnesium that the doctor recommended. We had called the endocrinologist earlier in the day, hoping to learn something about her swallow Wednesday but got only a machine recording. We pray we will get something before we leave.

Bible study and doctor visits.

I was up and out watering our plants and the neighbor’s. I gave the mums we planted yesterday a good drink. Evelyn was making final preparations for her Bible study. We ate breakfast and fixed the boom box so that it would play the song Rosalind had recorded yesterday. I dressed and walked the loop a couple of times. I also answered and sent e-mails. I was in the kitchen washing the dishes when I noticed how dirty the right side of the sink was. I scrubbed it, removing the stopper and cleaning it with a toothbrush. It has probably never been so clean. At noon I began heating some chili for our lunch. At 1 I began eating. Evelyn finally arrived after 1. I never understood why she was so late but she wouldn’t eat anything. The big disappointment was that the cassette wouldn't play. I saw that she had changed the mode to CD instead of tape. She was very disappointed. We left shortly after that to see Dr. Lafata. He changed her medications slightly and sent her off for another blood test. The results from yesterday’s tests were not in his office. I had my annual “Christmas goose” and found that my PSA had risen a bit since last year. He also renewed a prescription for me. We left and came home for a nap. Then I went to sweep out the trailer in preparation for loading next week. I learned that we had put the Maxxaire on backwards but think is will work better this way in allowing ventilation throughout. We ate supper and then fell into the normal routine for the evening. Evelyn did write a note to the CA family and watched a movie.

more tests

We were off to the hospital by 7:45. Evelyn had not slept until 3:30 but had to make the appointment. She had to drink some effervescent liquid before having the X-ray and ultrasound. It made her sick. We left there and went downtown to have her weighed at WW after stopping to get my results from the dermatologist. It was good: no cancer. The Weight Watchers was not open today so we went to get some scrap material for Olivia to sew with. We came home for a light breakfast and loaded our weekly medicine containers. We then went to our friend’s house for lunch of some crab and cheese and bacon on toast. It reminded us of a hot brown. Rosalind played a hymn for Evelyn and Herb recorded it for tomorrow’s Bible study. We stopped at the bank on the way home to cash a check and were home by 2. Evelyn was asleep by 2:15. When she wakened we planted the mums I had set out yesterday. We had hoped to learn the results of the tests this afternoon but received no call. We will try to get Dr. Lafata to get them tomorrow at our regular appointment. We shared some of the German dinner she hadn’t eaten Sunday and then went to our final choir practice for the season. We came home and Evelyn worked on the Bible study she will lead and wrote a note to the Krauses. She was asleep before the final Presidential debate was over. I watched the news and went to bed. I had recorded the dance lesson demonstration onto some flash drives, hoping the people in our class will be interested in buying them to help them practice the tango.

early packing

We slept very late this morning. I don’t think I got up once and Evelyn only once. We began organizing our things to pack into the trailer and the car. We have to pack 2 weeks worth of clothes since we will take that long to get to the Valley. We also have some other clothes that we will take and leave in Texas. There are also many other items--records for tax returns, boom box, computer, etc. that we have to pack into the trailer but can’t until next week. We made a great deal of progress, maybe too much because we still have 9 days to go before we leave. I still don’t know exactly which way we are going and won’t until Saturday afternoon when Purdue plays Northwestern. If they win, we go to Indiana; if they lose we don’t. Evelyn is eating better but refused to drink her Ensure. She says she ate enough. She did take her potassium and drank her PowerAde. Evelyn has her ultrasound and Xray tomorrow morning around 8:30. She has to fast but we will go to some friend’s house for lunch. I put some of the mums out on the slope to the south of our house to be planted tomorrow afternoon. We bought them after the German dinner.

gof and guests

We were awake some last night but Evelyn more than I. I let her sleep until 8. Actually she wakened when I began to shower. She fixed me a sandwich and I grabbed the small cooler and went to Cruso to play golf. I had a horrible first 9 but only a bad back 9. I did enjoy playing with our friends from church. I tried to get my playing date extended but couldn’t so I still have to play once more before we leave to use up my prepaid card. Evelyn worked all day on cleaning and doing laundry. She did take some time to rest too. We made the bed together when I got home and then waited until our guests came for chili at 5:30. I had made the chili but didn’t think much of it. We did have a good time with them again. Evelyn then watched “Dancing with the Stars” while I tried in vain to burn a DVD of our tango lesson. I called Betty Perry and she said our computer might not be able to burn those. I will have to check with a computer geek to see. Evelyn wants to see the Georges before we head south so we will drive to Roswell Saturday morning and back by Saturday evening. We can't stay Friday night because of the final ballroom dance of the season and must be back Sunday to sing in the choir. We must begin packing our trailer soon.

The German dinner

We were off to worship. Today was LWML Sunday so only women were active in the service, with the exception of the pastor. Evelyn was an usher. After church we helped more with the set up of the basement. I helped set up the large round tables outdoors. We came home and I ate 2 pieces of pizza for lunch. Evelyn slept and ate some Ramen noodle soup when she got up. I watched a little football and read some of the Sunday paper we get. Then it was off to Taco Bell for ice and on to church. I had not volunteered for any job but Evelyn had. We were early so I just talked with people and helped direct traffic. Evelyn began working too. When her shift began, she served bratwurst and sauer braten. I helped remove some trash and then helped with the tear down of the outside cafe. I ate a dinner with Dallas and Karen but Evelyn wouldn’t eat. We were home around 8:30, after I had stopped to get some eggs for brownies. Emily and Stacy had both called so Evelyn called Emily back and will call Stacy tomorrow. Evelyn strangely consumed her Ensure without a fight. She takes potassium 2 or 3 times a day and did that too. We were tired and went to bed early. I am to play golf tomorrow morning. Evelyn doesn’t want to go and will stay home.

Ready for the German dinner

Up to work on the sauer braten. We had to put all 4 pieces into a dish to take to church. We also cleaned the dishes and put the excess brine into pans which I put outside for the cats and dogs that roam the neighborhood. We left for church and I took our trash to the nearby dump. We were 2 of 7 people who showed up to help set up the church basement. We worked until 12:30 and then left for home. We had a light sandwich and then Evelyn rested while I went to fix the Maxxaire vent cover to the trailer. My neighbor who helps me made another mistake and the screws we used to hold it in place don’t connect with the wood inside that he thought they would. We did put some caulking around the cover, hoping that will hold it in place. We also put 2 screws into the front that did hit the wood. Most of the pressure will be from front to back so it should hold. I called Betty Perry to come to help me record our dance lesson tape onto a disk but learned that I needed a disk that would record a video. Mine are for music and texts. I knew that but had forgotten. She and I visited while Evelyn rested. We called Jo from church and the 4 of us went to Snappy’s for pizza. It was very good but too much to eat so we brought nearly half a pizza home. We watched most of the finish of the Purdue/OSU game that I had recorded before going to bed. I was impressed with Purdue’s defense. The offense is a big disappointment, but the defense held 12th ranked OSU to 16 points (one TD). I think we will still go to homecoming IF Purdue doesn’t get mauled by Northwestern next week. If they do we will just skip the event, even though it looks like they can beat Michigan the following week. The college football season has been one upset after another, making it difficult to predict winners and losers.

packing in calories

We were up and off to the neighbor’s for breakfast. She has wanted us to come over for nearly all summer. She wanted to teach Evelyn how to make biscuits and gravy. She had made that, grits, applesauce, and sausage patties. We ate a huge breakfast. She and I have a great time bantering with each other. We left there and went to the new Wal-Mart to get Evelyn’s medicine. Their wait time had expired so we had to go to Rite Aide to have them call to have the prescription transferred. We went on to Barber Orchard to get some Honey Crisps to take with us and then went back to Belk. We had our coupons and bought a house warming gift, another shirt for me and a long scarf for Evelyn. Then back to Rite Aide to have initiate the transfer. We will get a $30 gift card for the transfer. We bought some powder and band aids with some of my card. We delivered some magazines to the nearby nursing home and came home to begin cooking the sauer braten. We nearly forgot but recovered. We 2 of the 4 pieces of the beef into our crock pot and cooked them for 6 hours. We ate the egg casserole for supper. I am making Evelyn drink Ensure and a bottle of PowerAide each day. She has to get some calories and nourishment from somewhere. We went to the drug store to get the rest of her prescription on the way to the HART theater where we ushered for a play called “Floyd Collins”. It was about a 1920’s spelunker who got trapped under Kentucky. He was a big news story and a sort of folk hero. He didn’t make it out alive after 2 weeks of entrapment. It was a musical tragedy. We left before intermission. The marvelous news is that the costume closet had a white double breasted dinner jacket! The manager let me borrow it for our cruise. I will look for a nicer one on the way south but at least I have one now. Only a black tie and cummerbund to go. We came home and took the half of the beef we had started cooking at 4 out of the crock pot and put the other half in to cook overnight. We went to bed a bit earlier than usual.

Major events

We had hoped for more rain today but didn’t get any. I checked the neighbor’s rain gauge and found we had .5 inches yesterday. Doris had planned to go to the Open Door with me but was sick. She let me use her car so that Evelyn could drive to the church. I worked at the Open Door from 11:30 until 1:30 when I received a call from the church. Evelyn had become very weak and did not respond to conversation. She was white and the nurse there had sat her down and called me. Another lady and her husband had brought her home and unloaded the car. I had to stop at the drug store for some medicine prescribed yesterday and hurried home.
She was much better and in bed. I gave her a phone and had her call the gall bladder surgeon to ask for a referral to Dr. Nathan, a gastroenterologist. She called but had to leave the request with the nurse. The retired nurse that was at the church with her called to see how she was and said she would talk to some of her friends who worked for the doctor. It may be that she will be able to get her in to see him. It is difficult to get in and we don’t have much time. I had leftover sesame chicken for supper and Evelyn ate 2 HUGE bites of the chili I had made during the afternoon. We had some hamburger that needed to be used, and I mistakenly browned it, thinking we could still use it to make meatloaf. Wrong. We had wanted to make chili anyway so I added the onion, Rotel, and spices and cooked it more. I walked around to Jim and Kathy’s to invited them for chili next Monday night and then came home. Evelyn rode with me to the grocery to get some Ensure and PowerAde. She won’t eat much and will never gain any strength if she doesn’t so I bought these supplements to give her some calories and nourishment. We came home and sort of finalized plans for the neighbor to host us for breakfast tomorrow morning. She wants to teach Evelyn how to make biscuits. Otherwise it was a quiet day and evening.

Good thyroid prognosis

Thanks be to God, it rained all day. We were up and off to Asheville by noon. We stopped at the doctor’s office to get Evelyn’s medical records to take to the endocrinologist. We were purposely early and went to the Biltmore Mall where we met Dr. Lisa Greene, the wife of our former pastor. She is an optometrist for Lenscrafters there. We also had lunch using one of our famous 2for1 coupons. We were early to the doctor because we had paperwork to do since this was our first visit. We got in sooner than expected and learned that Evelyn would need an ultrasound to see what kind of medicine she would need. The doctor made no mention of surgery and confirmed that he saw no sign of malignancy. We thank God for that too. He will make an appointment at HRMC for the ultrasound and an Xray. We will learn the date later. We came home in more rain and Evelyn put the finishing touches on some of the things she wanted to take to church with us when we went to choir practice. We didn’t stay for all of the practice because they are beginning to work on Christmas music. We set up the coffee for tomorrow morning and talked with the choir director who wants us to come for lunch next week. They have moved into a new home and want us to visit. We have to look around for a housewarming gift. We came home and Evelyn fixed the breakfast casserole for tomorrow. I don’t know how those women can eat so much and still have time for a devotion and a program. Evelyn is in charge of everything, hopefully for the final time this season. We talked with Stacy about their family and finished watching the “Old School” movie we had started 2 nights ago. It was still goofy. I received a response from our Canadian friends saying I should book rooms and order Wurstfest tickets for them. We will be on our way in a couple of weeks. I am also considering not attending Purdue’s homecoming. Their team is terrible and we won’t be going much anymore. I have decided to not join the John Purdue Club again.

more baking

Up early again and off to Waynesville so I could go on the radio with the local morning man to talk about our German dinner. We were early and waited for half an hour before going on air. We thought things went well. He was very accommodating and does a good job of trying to make the community aware of projects. We left there and went to the grocery to get some apple cider for Thursday’s meeting. Ladies certainly eat a lot and Evelyn is very good at making things. We got some of the items and went to Hardees for breakfast. Don’t order their sausage breakfast sandwich. The one here in Waynesville is not very clean either. We then went to Belk to get some Estee Lauder during their gift season. Unfortunately they had a 30% reduction on many items and it was also “geezer” day offering another 20% if using the Belk credit card. Evelyn found a nice coat, and I found 2 nice shirts. We didn’t need these things but bought them anyway. We do plan to give some clothes we already have to the thrift store Thursday. We went to the doctor's office to get Evelyn's medical records to take to the endocrinologist tomorrow. We had trouble but hope things work out for tomorrow. We came home and had a light lunch. Evelyn rested a short while and then continued baking (will this never end?) but had a bad experience. I put a bunt apple cake into the oven, and she forgot to take it out before preheating the oven. A beautiful large platter was broken. The blessing was that the cake was not ruined. I helped clean things up and then we relaxed while things baked. I had a burrito for supper but Evelyn didn’t want anything. She still has nausea and pain after eating. We walked the loop once and went to our association meeting. We received our notice of taxes and our responsibility of $52. We paid that and our 4th quarter dues. We also learned that the deeds to our property (which were supposed to have been finished in April) are supposedly finished and recorded. We will know for sure tomorrow--we think. The son of one of our property owners is the lawyer handling the matter. We came home and I put the guest room back together while Evelyn ironed. We talked with Stacy about Olivia’s new school. The Lord is merciful in His provision. I listened to the 2nd debate.

How to sour beef

We were up around 7 (our guests had been up since 6) and served the egg casserole Evelyn had made for the occasion. We drove them to the expressway and came home to call Stacy to alert her of their leaving. They were headed toward her house. I packed my things and left to meet Sam Hale, a man I met a couple of weeks ago at the golf course. He called and wanted to play, so we met at 10. We played 18 holes with another couple of nice guys from out of town. I played poorly on the first 9 but began to play better on the second. When he stopped and left, I continued to play the first 9 over and did much better. I came home around 4:30 to find Evelyn napping. She had worked hard all day baking and getting other things ready for Thursday’s LWML meeting. She was tired. We watched the sports shows and then ate some leftovers for supper. We also had a piece of the apple cake she had made today. Then the big cook off. We brought in the 16 pound piece of beef to use in making sauerbraten. I cut it into 4 pieces, chopped onions, added bay leaves, vinegar, pepper corns, etc. We put the 4 pieces of beef into gallon Glad bags and added the mixture to each. We then double bagged the meat and put it into the refrigerator. We have to turn them each of the next 3 days before cooking them. Evelyn had to lie down because she was dizzy. She gets that way often. I watched some of Law and Order and then some of the Monday Night Football game featuring Drew Brees. Evelyn talked with Emily and I talked with Andrew about his next paper on Abraham Lincoln. They certainly have some strange writing assignments.

Welcomed visitors

We were up to greet at church. This is our job for the 3 Sundays we will be here in October. It was a cool pleasant morning, warm in the sun. We also had to go to the basement to practice with the choir. We almost always sing during the offering and were accompanies by a clarinetist this morning. After church we took our meat we will make sauerbraten of for next week’s German dinner. We also stopped at the grocery to get some spices for the meat. We have to marinate it for a couple of days before cooking it. We came home for lunch in the sun on our deck. Evelyn went to rest while I did the dishes and settled in to watch some football. About 3:00 Miz and Pauline called saying they were at exit 24. We didn’t expect them until at least 4 and more likely 5. I went to the corner to flag them down but they whizzed by, missing the turn. I called them and they returned to take me home. We had a very pleasant visit, walked around our loop once and served boudin and beer. They both seemed to really like the boudin, a surprise to me. Evelyn and Pauline looked at many albums of pictures until time for our smoked rock Cornish hen and sweet potato dinner. We all enjoyed the meal and had almost too much to eat. So much that we had to take another turn around the loop. After returning, I started the dishes until Evelyn got the cards ready for our game of hand and foot. Pauline and Evelyn took over and finished the dishes after looking at more albums. I had talked them into making a visit to see Stacy. As a surprise, I learned Miz has a step sister living in Dallas, another town close to Atlanta. We called Stacy who was very excited at the news. We finished our game about 10 and retired. We will get up at 7ish for breakfast casserole and they will be on their way. I tried to talk them into staying another day several times without success.

sports tragedies

We both wakened just after 5, talked a short while, tried to go back to sleep and finally did around 6:30. I got up and showered after Evelyn dressed and lay down for a short nap. We were both up by 9. I made coffee and skipped breakfast but Evelyn didn’t. We walked to the neighbor’s yard sale but found nothing we wanted. I continued to the fairgrounds about a mile away and looked for juice glasses and a non slotted pancake turner. I found neither. I walked back and flagged down our friend, Isidro, who works at the Iron Tree Golf Course. I asked him to drive me the last 200 yards home so I could give him some cake. He was very friendly and good to me while I played at that course. He left and we finished the chicken/rice casserole for lunch. Then the disaster continued from last week: Purdue played football again. This time the lost to Penn State 20-6, but the surprise was that the defense didn’t play too badly. PSU is ranked 6th. But the offense was really bad, especially the place kicker who missed 2 field goals and an extra point. I then watered the plants and cut one side of the roots of our tomatoes to shock them into ripening faster. We will be gone before the remaining 2 or 3 ripen. We then walked around the loop 2 times and came back in. I went onto the Manheim Auction web site to look for a Chrysler Town and Country we might like to buy but didn’t find anything attractive. Darrell gave me help over the phone. I had supper but Evelyn didn’t. We can’t quite understand what she can and can’t eat. Sometimes she does well and others not so well. We watched “High Noon” together and then she watched “Chicago” a musical. I watched some football games and then the first part of the Cubs game at Los Angeles. We talked with Stacy about her family. Things are about normal at their house and school.

pizza party

We were up and off to the hospital, arriving at 8:30. We are to register people for their rooms for surgery recovery and bring some drinks and light refreshments to those after surgery and recovery. Our patients are having outpatient surgery. We aren’t supposed to have cell phones but it is good that I had mine. Darrell called about a car and an endocrinologist called to make an appointment with Evelyn for next Wednesday afternoon. Janice also called and Evelyn returned the call in the evening. We were not very busy and left after we had our lunch. We came home so Evelyn could rest a while and then went back to doctor LaFata’s office to see if he had written the check for the German dinner tickets yet. He hadn’t. I game the receptionist a card and told him to mail it to me. We went to the local health center and got flu shots. Believe it or not, it was set up so we could drive to a nurse and get the shot without getting out of the car! We went from there to the Grocery Outlet for some supplies. We also went by Kathy’s to ask her and Jim to come for pizza. They couldn’t come because they had been invited out by one of her clients. I also learned that she knew of our invitation last night but didn’t bother to tell us they weren’t coming. This was the second time that has happened. We came home and invited 2 older single ladies for the pizza. We had a good time and plenty to eat. We had hoped to go to the local community college for a dance demonstration, but the ladies didn’t stay long enough. We stayed in and watched “Napoleon
Dynamite”, one of the strangest movies we have ever seen. It was funny in spots but weird in most. I spent time trying to scan and send a recipe to Janet Grotrian but can’t get it to send. I don’t know what is wrong. Perhaps I can get some help from someone reading this.

More work around the house

We slept fairly well last night except for my CPAP machine’s malfunction. It makes a noise and I take it off : result is snoring. I went to listen to the weather and make coffee. It was 39 this morning. Evelyn showered and got ready for her Bible study. We had a small piece of homemade raisin toast because she usually has a brunch at any of the women’s meetings. I showed her how to operate the CD player and off she went. I went to the neighbor’s to see their yard sale and saw our friends from the lake, Mickey and Frances. I invited them for coffee and rhubarb/cherry crunch Evelyn had made. They really liked it and I copied the recipe for her. We had a nice visit until about noon. I went out and started the watering of the plants and began work on cleaning the Maxxaire vent cover. We have decided we can’t put it on correctly so will have to drill a few more holes in the trailer. I think it will work fine. Evelyn came home and we enjoyed more of the chicken/rice casserole. She rested a while and finished dusting the house while I continued work on cleaning the vent cover. I decided to walk around the loop 10 times; Evelyn joined me for the final 3. I invited Jim and Kathy for snacks, but they never came and never bothered to say they weren’t. That is the 2nd time they have pulled that. We continued after supper with cooking meals for our visitors and for the LWML meeting next Thursday. Evelyn is the hostess and will serve some brunchy type dish. We made several telephone calls after 9 and watched the vice presidential candidate debate. We learned that Evelyn’s aunt and uncle will not be coming here until Sunday evening. We expected them tomorrow.

Preparing for company

We were up and off to Clyde for Evelyn to have her hair colored. I got some Alaska quarters at the bank, mailed our NCL vouchers to Dave Marsh and drove to the Bethel area to buy a Maxxaire vent cover for our trailer. I returned early so I stopped and bought some items for the house before returning to get Evelyn. I was still early so I went to see the former dance teacher who owns an antique store. She has terrible shingles and is sell the items out of her store at half price. Some things were beautiful but we just don’t have room for any of them either here or in Texas. We came home and began cleaning the house. We are expecting a visit from Evelyn’s last remaining aunt next weekend. We don’t get many visits from Indiana--relatives or friends--and want the house as clean as possible. We took a break for lunch and rest before continuing until about 4. We had to go to the dermatologist to have my skin checked. The doctor found a spot beneath my eye and wanted to remove it for safety. He also looked at Evelyn a bit. We left there and went to the Waynesville Country Club for supper. I have a $100 gift card that may expire so we ate $10 worth and then I bought some golf gloves leaving just under $30 to be spent sometime before we leave. We went to choir practice and were glad to see our director who had half of her thyroid successfully removed. She should be fine. We hope Evelyn will be too when she goes to an endocrinologist. We have waited for 2 days to hear from the internist who is supposed to make the referral. We are both encouraged in that she can eat more things comfortably and has more energy. That has only happened in the past couple of days. We came home and watched a pathetic performance by the Cubs. I doubt they will be able to make it to the league playoff, not to mention the World Series. It is really heartbreaking. They have such a good team.

The last tango in Waynesville

I let Evelyn sleep until 9 while I prepared for my day of golf. I left for the Waynesville Country Club to use the golf certificate I had won in bidding for the Relay for Life. I was matched with a delightful couple from Crossville, TN. They come here and stay at the country club to play golf. She is better than he, but he is awaiting for hip surgery. They are George and Carol Ellenberg. I may try to contact them sometime. They are leaving tomorrow or I would try to introduce them to Evelyn tomorrow. I played my usual bad game but had fun. I learned that my $100 gift card is good for anything at the club and will take Evelyn there for lunch sometime soon. I will also buy some golf gloves because everything there is too expensive; e.g. golf shirts for $79. I came home and we prepared for our scheduled picnic with Dallas and Karen before tango class. We had a good albeit cool time sitting out at the lake. We had a good lesson but the teachers never play any music. They always bring a CD player but don’t turn it on unless I ask them to. I didn’t ask, they didn’t play. We came home and I called Darrell who will check with a friend about a low mileage Chrysler Town and Country. I also called a man about the Maxxaire vent cover for our trailer and agreed to buy it for $10. I will try to get it when I go back to Springdale to play golf. I may do that Thursday. I also learned that the new Alaska quarters are in banks and will try to get some tomorrow.