Tom and Luanne Jones visited. We are planning a trip to Buenos Aires with them in January with a cruise through the Straits of Magellen to follow. The other picture is of Evelyn's friends enjoying a cookie exchange at Progreso Lakes.

These are pictures of our back yard and our Christmas decorations in the front or our unit.

Here we are at the Horseman honkey tonk with John and Sue Hamel from Wisconsin. John plays accompaniment at our worship service sometimes. The group singing is called "Double Decker" and consists of Dad, Mom, and Son Decker. We go to the Horseman every 2 weeks usually on Wednesday. This is a Thursday, Christmas Day. The table is where the owner served free barbecued chicken to everyone there because it was Christmas. Last week he had served free tamales. I tried to pay him but was refused. We will take some cookies to him after New Years.

Pictures from the welcome back party in Mercedes given by the chamber of commerce. There is always a band, free punch and cookies and BEER. We took our 2 neighbors from Canada.

another busy day

We were up as usual. I walked and Evelyn exercised. I took our materials to the office to be copied and then came home to shower. I had invited the Reddels to come since they had just arrived. We used the new DVD player to show the Answers Academy video and discussed it with the group. I had not prepared well but we got through it anyway. We came home and Evelyn showered and worked on her hair. I made a sandwich for us and put what was left of yesterday’s salad into bowls for us to eat. We enjoyed that and then Evelyn rolled her hair and went to bed. I went to Tom Crouch’s and he fixed our heater. I was working on the sweeper that had quit yesterday and it worked. I don’t know why nor do I know why it stopped in the first place. I came home and tightened the fitting on the hot water pipe in the bathroom. I hope that corrects the leaking problem. When she wakened, we went to the recycle center and picked up her shoes from the repair shop. They looked good. I left the mate to the sandal I had repaired a couple of weeks ago. It had come apart too. We tried to get the results of Evelyn’s biopsy and were told we would get a call from the doctor today. Evelyn went for a ride with the bike club around the park while I dumped e-mail. John and Sue came a bit early and, we were off to the Texas Roadhouse for the “Twofers” special: two dinners for $14.99. Evelyn and I ordered one dinner to eat there and one to take home. The eat in dinner, pulled pork, was delicious. We will pass judgment on the pork chop dinner later. We went on to the Dodge Arena and had to wait in line for tickets, missing the opening face off. The reason we went was that there was a special $6 price for winter Texans. We had pretty good seats and had just sat down when the Killer Bees scored a power play goal. That meant that beer was only $1 for 10 minutes. Back I went to get two for John and me. The service was very slow, and I was doubtful that I would get there before time ran out. Suddenly, there was another goal, extending the time 10 more minutes. Still, I was at the keg after the second 10 minutes was over. I was still able to get the beer. The game was good but our guys, after leading 3-1, lost 6-4. We were home late so I didn’t get to publish this until now. Oh, yes. The call from the doctor never came. Cest le gere.

More visitors

I was up and off with the neighbor to pay for our golf. There was no one there (because I had forgotten the time), so I went to the scheduler’s house and learned we were the only 2 going and could pay there. We took the golf cart and picked up the small refrigerator I had bought last night. I put it in the shed, plugged it in, inserted some beer and sodas and went back to the park meeting. I tried to line up some ticket takers for the dances and evidently stepped on someone’s toes who is in charge of the 50’s dance. He informed Evelyn that we were not involved with that dance. I had gone to the golf course with Armond. We were able to tee off by 10 but things didn’t go well for the first 3 holes. We got better but not good. The scores were not impressive. We had a beer and some popcorn before returning home earlier than expected. A young man came and sharpened our Cutco knives for us. We had invited 2 new neighbors for spaghetti, but one of the wives had stomach problems and couldn’t come. I went looking for a single man to invite rather than a single woman. I got the mail as I was looking for the man I never found. I also decided to go talk with the agent who insures our house. We keep losing shingles from the damage of hurricane Dolly. I asked that she send an adjuster to look at the roof, even though we had already contracted to have a metal roof installed. Perhaps we will get some adjustment to help with the expense. I came home and helped prepare for our guests who came at 4. There was Jim and Kathy Whitney and Armond O’Kell. We enjoyed some artichoke dip, salad, home made spaghetti and a delicious date pudding. They stayed until after 6 when it got cold out on the porch. It was a blessing that it was warm all during dinner. We cleaned up the kitchen and then tried to practice some of our tango steps, using the video we made of the instructors doing the steps at our final lesson. Evelyn was very tired and in bed by 8:30. I think her throat is better, but she worked hard today. I prepared an future order of service.

Getting ready to go.

It was much cooler on this day of worship. I felt really distracted during the service. I seemed to get lost in the order of things and in the communication of the ideas. Perhaps I was the only one who noticed. We were blessed by the serving of Holy Communion too. We were also blessed by some younger people (same age as our elder) who have come from Saskatchewan to visit their parents who are second generation winter Texans. They are lovely ladies and bring their children with them. One little girl is an Oriental adoptee around 8. The others in our group are also quite an inspiration too. We came home and began matching clothes for me to take on our trip that is now only about a month away. Evelyn took a nap and I heated soup for our lunch. She has a bit of a sore throat but not a full fledged cold as yet. We spent some time selecting clothes to take on our cruise. Evelyn helps me choose matching outfits appropriate for the climate and occasion. I spent more time during the day rolling those I won’t need until time to go. It is only a month away! I went to the trailer to take some items there and look for our hanging bags. They weren’t there so I returned home and immediately found them under our bed. I also decided to buy a small refrigerator to keep drinks cool. I will keep it in the shed. I will have to rearrange things but can’t really do that until after we dismantle the Christmas decorations after Epiphany. I will bring it back tomorrow morning on the golf cart. We ate the leftover pizza and tamales for supper and fruit compote for dessert. I have decided to try doing with our candy, cookies, or other sugar desserts. I have made it 3 days so far. It is really cold turkey after the glut of the holiday. I will try to lose 10 pounds before leaving for the trip. I must face the fact that I am too fat and not getting any slimmer eating the way I am. I know that my health will improve if I can lose some weight. This may not work, but I must try. I think I can lose on the cruise by going high protein but must do something before that. I rolled some clothes and packed them into the suitcase. We just vegged out in the evening.

The quiet day after

We were up and off to the normal routine. I showered and worked on the e-mail a short while. Evelyn returned and we decided to skip breakfast and have an early lunch. I worked on the service for Sunday, hoping to get done so we could go to the jam tonight and then go shopping tomorrow in McAllen. I was able to get everything done that I needed. We left and went to mail the grapefruit to the Millers in Seattle. I also took some books that I wanted to get rid of to the local library. From there we went to the hospital for our shift. We stayed only until 3 because Evelyn’s director told her she could go home due to lack of traffic. I went with her because the 5 of us had little to do also. Evelyn needed to rest so she napped. She got a call from John saying Sue was not going to the jam so we decided not to go as well. Instead I called for a pizza from Pizza Hut, and we ate it at home. This was more along the lines I like because I can drink beer with it. Evelyn polished shoes while watching Santa Clause 2. She noticed a leak under our bathroom sink. I tried to fix it using Mighty Putty and will know if it worked tomorrow morning but it seemed to stop the dripping tonight. We enjoyed the quiet evening at home. I still greet people I meet with, "Merry Christmas". It surprises most of them but will drive them to distraction when I keep it up until Epiphany.

Christmas Day 2008

Wow! Was I tired. I had turned off the alarm and slept until 8:30. I don’t remember the last time I slept that late. Evelyn was up writing something, waiting for me. We went to walk around the park, but Evelyn was concerned that the humidity would harm her hair and went to the exercise room to walk the treadmill. I went to invite the full timers from TN that we had met at the Vesper service to go to the Chinese buffet with us. They were already registered. We rode with our neighbor who has a van and took all 6 to lunch. The woman who organized the meal had decorated the room for us also had some sheets with Christmas carols for us to sing after the meal. All buffets are death to people like me who like to taste everything, and Chinese buffets are the penultimate challenge. There are too many choices. We arrived home at 3:30, Evelyn rested a short while, and we went to pick up other friends to go to the Horseman for dancing. We heard the group recommended by a woman at the Victoria Palms dance Tuesday. Tonight, there was a father, mother, and son who sang to prerecorded music. It was like karaoke. They were entertaining though. As a big surprise, the owner again provided a free meal to everyone there. It was a barbecued ¼ chicken, 2 kinds of potato salad, clam dip, and cookies. I wasn’t going to eat any but saw Evelyn and our other 2 friends coming back to the table with full plates. I joined in the feasting. John and I had split a bucket of beer (6) and left around 6:45 before I was finished with mine. We were home by 7 and prepared to watch “A Christmas Story”. It was a good nostalgic look at a Christmas past. We went to bed early still tired from yesterday.

Silent Night, Holy Night

We were up with the usual regime until 10 when we led the Bible study. We had to meet in the exercise room because there is no DVD player in the Outback. There were 4 regulars missing, leaving only 5 of us. Perhaps next week will be better when we begin meeting on Tuesday. The DVDs seem to be keeping the interest of the class. We came home and had the rest of yesterday’s lunch. We cleaned up the kitchen, I worked on the next message and Evelyn rested. We dressed and went to the hall for the Christmas vespers service. I have sung with the choir for 2 previous seasons but never made the rehearsals this year. We took cookies for the fellowship afterward but didn’t stay. We ate half a sandwich for supper and went to Immanuel for the Christmas Eve candlelight service. It was one of the best services we have had there. The men in the choir read some of the Scriptures during the service. We left there and went to the Bruhn’s for a coffee and cookie Christmas party. They worship with us and live in Trail’s End. We stayed until 9 (about half an hour) and came home. We thank God for allowing us to enjoy remembering the night of His birth. We love Him because He first loved us.

Christmas in Mexico

It was cold again when we went to the rendezvous point for the trip to Mexico. We didn’t have anything to transport but went anyway. We took a 25 year old girl who honestly looked to be about 15. Her parents have recently bought a unit in our park. The colonia we served this year was around 5 miles south of Neuvo Progreso, Mexico. It was the best gift distribution we have had since we have been going. In fact this was the most upscale colonia we have ever seen. It even had running water and flush toilets. We helped distribute gifts and then left to get our teeth cleaned. We had found a deal for $10 and both agreed we got the job worth what we had paid. We then went to the Red Snapper for lunch. Evelyn had shrimp while I had catfish. We both brought nearly half of them home. We were home by 1, and Evelyn called a former beautician who helped her with her hair coloring. She showed me how to do it next time. I tried to get the neighbor to go play golf with me, but they had plans. I went to the golf cage in our park and hit a few balls before coming home for supper. I suggested we go to a nearby park for the country and western dance. We had a good time but my left knee nearly buckled a couple of times, and Evelyn’s shoes hurt her feet. We stopped at the grocery on the way home to get some pineapple for a dish Evelyn wants to make and came home. We have many encounters with Christ on the eve of his birthday tomorrow.

collldddd!

It was a very cold morning (not compared to the states north of us) so we had to dress in our warm jackets. I walked around the park and took some toys for boys to a collection point. I continued walking for a while and went to the park meeting. We left there and took some things back to the Wal-Mart. Of course we bought some other things to replace them. We went out and paid our Hildalgo County taxes on our mobile and returned home to finish preparation for our lunch guests from across the street. We enjoyed the visit and the great charro bean soup that Evelyn had prepared ahead of time. We had just sat down when a man came to the door to look at the golf cart. I asked him to return later, and he did. He drove it and it stopped on the way to his house but resumed after he shifted gears. He returned it and had no trouble. I have it priced at $1200 but tell everyone that I am cutting the price by $200 because it may cost that to get the new gear mechanism that I think is needed. Evelyn took an afternoon nap, and I went to help load the vehicles with clothes for Mexico. Our car wasn’t needed for goods but may be needed to take some people to help distribute. I returned home and worked on the computer a while. I booked 3 shore excursions on our cruise. We had a can of soup for supper and finally found 2 boxes of Christmas cards we have looked for the past 2 weeks. Evelyn completed some and sent them off. We watched some of the Bears/Packers football game. The Bears quarterback, Kyle Orton, is a Purdue graduate. We watched him play many games in West Lafayette. We go to Mexico tomorrow, hoping it is warmer than today.

Christmas serving

We were off to worship by 8. I tried something this morning I had never tried before. We sang Christmas Carols and had two short messages. As the last part of the worship, we all wrote a favorite memory of Christmas past on a paper and laid them at the foot of the Creche I had brought. I then gathered them and read them as gifts from Jesus from the past. Some of them were quite moving, a couple even sad. We went about 20 minutes longer than usual, but most people were caught up in the moment. I received a few comments about how much the service was appreciated. We left there and came home for a coat for Evelyn (the temperature had dropped about 15 degrees from the time we entered worship) before going to Immanuel to sing with the choir. We will do that again on Christmas Eve. We came home to share a lunch from Church’s Chicken before relaxing. Our friends from Winnipeg dropped in with a gift as I was working on sending e-mail Christmas greetings. We rested a bit and went to Immanuel again to join our friends in caroling 8 shut ins from the church. We had to drive about 40 miles to get to all of them. Afterward we went to Winston’s lake house for a party. We all brought something but Bonny provided 10 dozen tamales and some beans she had made. We had a good time and talked with many people. There were 2 men from the North who were in the Valley working with Laborers for Christ in helping a pastor repair his home, damaged during the hurricane. They were interesting and enjoyed singing with us. We came home and talked with Emily and her family for a while and then went to bed.

volunteer day

We slept later this morning but got up and went to LaFeria to help with the Prison Fellowship gift distribution to the children of incarcerated parents. It was held at the Methodist church and quite a few people attended. The gifts were organized by families. Before the informal worship service, I helped put cookies out for the children to decorate. There were sugar cookies in Christmas shapes and icing, sprinkles, kisses, and M&Ms to use for decoration. The kids loved it. Evelyn helped with some crafts they could make for Christmas. The gifts had been wrapped last night and were distributed after the service. We drove to the Shriner’s hall to get some more battles of barbecue sauce, but no one was there. We went to Joe and Bonny’s to borrow an extended pole for fruit picking and went to one of the units in the park and picked some grapefruit to take to Mexico next Tuesday. The people in Mexico love citrus but can’t get it for some reason. We came back home, delivered the fruit to the collection point, got some of Evelyn’s shoes, took them to have rubber attached to the soles, drove to Big Lots looking for some soft gingerbread cookies. We found none but found a few other things and left to serve in the Feast of Sharing. This is sponsored by HEB, the local grocery chain, and is held each year. This is the 4th year we have volunteered. It gets bigger and better organized each year. This time in addition to the band outdoors, there were many rides for kids including the jumping cage, a miniature Ferris wheel, a climbing wall and other rides. We stayed until 2:30 then left because there didn’t seem to be a need for us to stay. We came home and watched some of the Purdue/Davidson basketball game. We decided to take a ride around the park and get the mail. It was a pleasant evening but a bit humid. Anything beats what it thumping the Midwest and Northeast. We came home and I washed the car while Evelyn cleaned the inside and watered the garden. I think I forgot to mention that the neighbors caught the rat that has been eating our plants. They had bought a large rat trap and successfully killed the thing. I have finished the service for tomorrow but am concerned about how it will be received. The Lord will have to bless it or it will flop.

Our first park dance.

Today I finished my AARP driving class. I had never had 1 that stretched over 3 days before. It worked out fine. Evelyn was baking when I arrived home earlier than expected. We had half a sandwich for lunch and were off to the hospital. We worked in the afternoon and visited a couple of friends who had been admitted. When we left there, we went to mail a box of grapefruit to friends in NC. They had asked us to send some so we did. I hope they repay us for the shipping costs since they had asked us to send them. We went out to Long John Silvers for supper. I wanted to try their new grilled tilapia and was surprised a how good it was. It cost more than I had expected but, aside from the poor ambiance, it was a good as would be served in a more upscale restaurant. We came home and rested before going to the dance at our hall. We sat 3 couples from Magic Valley and had a good time. One of the women (they were all single people on a “date”) was about as wild as they come. She was a lot of fun but was very forward. She had seen a man from the park next door and talked with him, pretending they had met sometime before. We told her of some of the local dance halls we know of. Perhaps we will see her in the future. We came home and I blogged. I have a great deal of final preparation to do for Sunday’s sermon.

more cookies and entertaining

It was a nicer day today. Evelyn went to Siesta Village to weigh in with Weight Watchers. She has gained another 2 pounds which is good news at this time. She baked some more cookies for the exchange today so we ate a brunch. I worked on the message for Sunday and then we got ready to go with the kitchen band to Valley Grande Manor, a nursing home. We enjoy entertaining the residents, especially at Christmas. We were disappointed that few of the residents were brought to the hall where we played. Those present enjoyed shaking their shakers as we sang. We came home earlier than expected and Evelyn prepared for the party while I cut the grass. This was only the second time I have cut it this season. I continued working until a couple came to look at the extra golf cart. They appeared to be very interested and promised to call back around 4 but never did. Perhaps they are looking for a trailer to use for transporting it back to their park. I put the tamales from last night on to cook, and we ate supper when Evelyn came home. She doesn’t especially care for tamales so she made herself a sandwich. We then continued working until bedtime.

vaccinated for travel

Wednesday was the same as yesterday. After Evelyn exercised, I went to get a haircut from a retired barber in our park. I returned home and we drove to the outback for our Bible study. The DVD player wouldn’t work at all this time. We just talked through part of the content and then left for Harlingen. We went to a seafood restaurant for lunch and then to the Texas State Department of health for our yellow fever and hepatitis A vaccine. We had waited until Evelyn’s biopsy report showed her thyroid to be clean. We also did some shopping while we were there. Evelyn would like to find a light weight raincoat for our trip south but still has had no discovery of one. We returned to our county and decided to go to the Horseman to dance and drink before going to Advent service. I had consulted a pharmacist about drinking and dancing after getting our vaccines and he suggested taking it easy so I had only 2 beers. The owner served complimentary tamales and charro beans to everyone dancing there. He is a generous fellow. We had choir practice after worship and then we came home. We will try to take it easy tomorrow.

cold and rainy again

I was up early Tuesday and off to conduct my AARP Driver Safety class. It was a cold drizzly morning but I had to drive the golf cart in order to carry the books and my attaché case. Evelyn exercised and then went to Trail’s End to invite some friends for a lunch of chili soup she had made. They couldn’t come so our neighbors from Canada were waiting with her for lunch. I had only 13 show up for he class but that is plenty for me. I won’t have as much paperwork to complete. Our neighbors and us enjoyed the meal and the visit. Rose had brought us a stolen Christmas tea ring yesterday and went home after lunch and baked an eggnog pie. She brought two pieces for us. We think she must bake as much as Evelyn does. We napped in the afternoon. A Christmas parade had been planned for this evening but was canceled until Friday due to the weather. People decorate their bicycles and golf carts and line up for a parade around our park and the one next door. After that we have a cake and ice cream party for all in the parks. We went ahead with the party anyway. Evelyn helped served cake and I helped with the ice cream. I made several people mad because I wouldn’t give them more than the 1 scoop I had been instructed to serve. This was not the first time I have been unpopular before and likely will be again. We came home and I worked on my paperwork while watching a movie, “Accepted”.

an instantaneous cold front.

We had our regular routine and then went to the park meeting. The manager spoke again and covered coming to the office to register any visitors. She made the point it was not necessary to register for just a few hours. I found that infuriating since our friends had been towed away after being here for less than 2 hours. Our Christmas table met after the meeting and it was decided that we should just go to Lin’s Chinese Buffet instead of having the wives do the necessary cooking to provide a meal in the hall. We came home around 10 and called the endocrinologist who had not yet received any results of the biopsy. I had some short errands to run so I took off on my bicycle. I took my medicine vial to the drug store and went on the eye store to see if they had a way to repair the temple on my glasses that broke yesterday morning. They had an old one that worked and just gave it to me. I returned to the hospital to use their phone to make a toll free call to my credit card company to learn why it was declined at the Wal-Mart yesterday. It was because, they said, I had not paid last month’s bill and could not use it until I paid. I had scheduled a payment yesterday to be transacted December 26, but came home and changed the payment to today’s date. I then went to the cubicle where Evelyn had her biopsy taken and was given a copy of the analysis. I got it only because we volunteer at the hospital. I did learn that the doctor didn’t have the report because it was sent by US mail! What a disappointment. I came home and gave the report to Evelyn. We said a prayer of thanksgiving because we saw nothing in it that suggested cancer. We then called the doctor in Harlingen sho has the yellow fever vaccine and made an appointment for Wednesday for our shots. We also planned to meet Janice for lunch. We ate lunch here and my hiatal sphincter acted up. We did finish the pot roast from last week. While I was gone, Evelyn had signed a contract with the roofer who will install our metal roof. We walked to where he is working on another house in our park and paid him half of the agreed amount. As we walked back, a cold front blew in (literally) and the temperature dropped 20 degrees in seconds. We returned home and spent the afternoon working. I began preparing my AARP materials for tomorrow while Evelyn did some ironing. We had a light supper and prepared for tomorrow. We also re-lighted our outdoor manger scene. It looks more honorable now.

Sunday sloth

Sunday was Holy Communion, the first one this year. Things went well. We also did something a bit different in that we prayed in small groups before we had Communion. It was to complete part of the sermon about making ourselves more complete as children of God. We came home and relaxed as we usually do after worship. We ate lunch of the fish dinner we had brought from Immanuel last Friday night. We didn’t think it was very good but had to remember we were the very last people served so we got the last of the dregs. We continued our intense relaxing all afternoon until Evelyn watered the garden, and we went to Wal-Mart to get some lights to rejuvenate our outdoor manger scene. We will restring the lights tomorrow since it was dark when we returned from buying the lights. We also did our shopping for the week. Evelyn needs to make some more Christmas cookies and needed some supplies. I had made popcorn and we had that for our supper. During the day I was able to get us an upgrade for our cruise in February. Our friend, Tom Jones, gave me the phone number to call and then I had our travel agent call to get the upgrade confirmed. We also talked with Stacy and Emily for a while. Andrew had won honors in some home schooling oral exams. We praise God for all of our grandchildren.

15 year old grandson

Saturday is sleep in day. We then dressed and rode our bicycles to our doctor’s office. We wondered whether the endocrinologist had sent the results of Evelyn’s biopsy results to him. They were not there. We continued riding around for a while but didn’t go as far as I wanted due to the very strong south wind. When we returned home, I worked on the sermon while Evelyn tried to make the lights on our outdoor Nativity scene to work. She couldn’t and I didn’t have time to help. We continued working and then went to the golf club Christmas party. It lasts from 3-5. I was blessed to ask the blessing on the food as usual. There were more than 60 people attending. It was a carry in and well organized. First was a table of appetizers, next the entrees and finally the desserts. Many of the wives put the items, out one course after the other. Sadly it is an all you can eat and DRINK affair and naturally I ate and DRANK too much. We returned home and I tried to read and organize the mail while Evelyn called Andrew to wish him happy birthday. I didn’t know that and was not able to talk to him. I was so sleepy, though, that I couldn’t do much. I took a nap on the couch and then went back to work. I finished and went to bed around 10:30, before I wrote this.

The beginning of Christmas parties.

We were up as usual. After, I continued to work on cleaning the contacts of the old golf cart. I worked and worked as did my neighbor who helped me. I then drove off and it stopped more frequently than it had before. I guess I will have to buy an new or rebuilt gearshift mechanism. I also tried to recharge the new cart to see if the labors on it had been any more successful. I won’t know until tomorrow. It was time to dress for our service at the hospital. We rode our bikes because it was a lovely day, and we didn’t have far to go. I also stopped at the doctor’s office to have our inoculation card verified for tetanus and malaria inoculations. They couldn’t do it then and I forgot to pick them up. We went to the hospital and had fun serving. We realized that one of our friends was there. We visited her. We went to the Christmas party after work. The hospital has one each year. It consists of a heavy hors doerves buffet. It was delicious. There is a general gift--last year it was a red open neck shirt with the Knapp logo; this year it was a fleece blanket to curl up in on a cold winter night. We sat with the men I work with. We have become good friends over the years. The party also features door prizes and Lionel and I each won. He a hand mixer; I a photo album. We rode home and went to Mercedes to support the church at a fish fry. We also took a basket filled with Christmas items. Other people had brought baskets as well and a silent auction was held to raise money. We didn’t buy anything although I did bid on a golf membership. We came home and watched as much of “Talladega Nights” as we could tolerate. Evelyn went to bed to read while I watched a program I had recorded. I also looked into the Christmas special at South Padre Island. There is a package that looks attractive and would be something different from the holiday dinners in the hall.

riding and clowning

We did our morning thing and ate a small breakfast because we had planned an early lunch. We rode our bicycles to Tierra Santa golf course with the bike club and split a hamburger and French fries. It was a beautiful cool but windy day. Some of the route was hard riding. We began with warm clothes but had to pull many of them off on the way back at 12:30. We were home by 1:15. I began my project of cleaning the contacts and battery cables on the golf cart but broke 2 of the cables. They were very corroded and snapped right off. I went to Napa thinking I would just walk in and out with them, but theirs were much longer than I could use. I bought some more oil for the Saturn that was on sale and went to the Advance Auto Parts store and got what I needed. By the time I returned, the kitchen band had left me. I drove to the nursing home nearby and joined them in singing Christmas Carols. The residents are always given some shakers so they can join us in making noise as we play our washboards and kazoos. Some of them sing along so they remember some things from the past. We went to the grocery afterward to get some ingredients for chili that we will make tomorrow morning. We returned home and I continued cleaning the golf cart. One of the cables was not what I wanted but the neighbor showed me how I could swap one of the cables already on the batteries for one that I had bought. I think I got things cleaner and filled the batteries with water. I began working on the cart I am trying to sell. I only got as far as filling the cells because they were so dry that it took several minutes. It was nearly dark, so I came in and we ate more of the leftover pot roast. It was still very good. I watched the Bears play the Saints while I cancelled some credit card receipts. Both quarterbacks, Kyle Orton and Drew Brees, were quarterbacks at Purdue. Their college coach, Joe Tiller who has retired, was at the game and posed with them after the game.

Its coooold down here!

We got up and opened the cupboard so the ladies could exercise. I went along to make sure Evelyn didn’t join in after being told to skip a day. We then went to the La Gloria restaurant to have a farewell breakfast with Tom and Luanne. They left and then we went to prepare for our Bible study. We showed the video from the Creation Museum. There were no more in attendance than last week. We finished and went downtown to look for a dinner jacket that might be for sale as overused. The young clerk said he had a tuxedo jacket at home and would rent it to me for $35 as the charge for the entire time we will be gone on our cruise trip. He said he would throw in a cummerbund and black tie as well. We came home and ate soup for lunch and then took a nap. Having company had worn us thin. We went to the outlet mall on the way to church looking for a cordless drill but couldn’t find one that was satisfactory. We went to Advent service and stayed for choir practice afterward. In fact that was the only reason we went to Immanuel at all. The shock was that we had 6 men and 4 women plus
Bonny. This was more people in the choir than we have seen in 6 years. It is cold; in fact we have a freeze warning until 9 AM in the morning. We have brought our plants in but might lose the tomatoes because we don’t have things to cover them.

thyroid attacked

Evelyn had made last night. They had never heard of it but liked it very much. Tom even came up with some different ways to serve it as something other than a breakfast. They left for Mexico to have dental work done and get medicine for their dogs. We worked on chopping the vegetables that we placed into the slow cooker with the beef for the pot roast. We plugged it in on the porch to keep the house cool. We then went to the bank to get a new debit card for use on our trip, to the Ship and More to mail a package to the Grotrians, and to the hospital for Evelyn’s thyroid biopsy. We had to wait a while so we went to the doctor to ask that his nurse administer our typhoid inoculations. She was at lunch so we had to wait there as well. She finally returned and gave them to us and stamped our international card. Back to the hospital and more waiting. The appointment was for 1 and we left the hospital after 3. Evelyn was a bit woozy from the Valium she had been given but wanted to go to Big Lots for something to use in decorating our bicycles or golf cart for Friday’s parade. The biopsy had hurt more than we had anticipated but she got through it. We found some things she wanted and decided to make us into a gingerbread couple. This started as a search for decorations and turned into a costume party. We came home and beat Tom and LuAnne by 20 minutes. We ate some hors doerves and drank wine for a while before eating our salad and dinner. The meat was fabulous and delicious. We had some of the apple pie with the oatmeal crust for dessert and then watched some TV. Before long everyone had retired but who had this blog to write. Our friends leave tomorrow morning and we lead the Bible study soon after. Evelyn wants to exercise in the morning despite having the doctor and our guests (retired army physical therapists) advising against it. I won’t let her exercise. I will accompany her to unlock the cabinet but not let her stay. We won't get the biopsy results for 2 days and then can think about yellow fever vaccine.

Preparing for the next cruise

We were up as usual. Evelyn and LuAnne to exercise while Tom and I had a brisk walk around the parks--we went to Country Sunshine too. We returned home and worked on our respective computers while the ladies attended the park meeting. We heated the oven and began cooking the casserole for breakfast which we ate around 10 when the ladies returned. Afterward we went over some of the particulars about the trip. Tom knows very much about traveling and South America. They have taken the same cruise before. We all cleaned up and then the ladies went to mail a package while Tom and I worked on getting a debit card to use without a processing fee. We printed off our registration and cruise tickets. We also printed our airline tickets. We took another walk around the park and then watched some CSI I had recorded. As it turned out the ladies had gone to the outlet mall. When they returned, the ladies moved some cilantro plants from one flower bed to the one with the chicken wire. We decided to go to Fat Daddy’s for supper, but first we went to Winstons to get a bottle of barbecue sauce from the trailer to give to the Joneses. We went on and Evelyn and I shared a smoked turkey sandwich. Tom paid for the meal. We returned home and watched TV and ate cookies before going to bed. I forgot to say that I worked on and finished critiquing Andrew’s latest paper on the Declaration of Independence. He needs it by tomorrow evening.

Double disasters

We went to worship and had a nice congregation of 36 people. There may be more next week when more people arrive. We left there and came home for lunch and spend time finishing cleaning for Tom and LuAnn. We suggested they park in a driveway where we knew the people had not arrived yet. I put some boudin on to cook and got distracted in putting our chicken wire around our garden (the neighbor saw a critter eating leaves from our tomato plants). The boudin burned and smoked up the house. We opened the doors and turned on the fans while clearing the house. It seemed to work and the odor didn’t last as long as the burning in NC this past summer. That was disaster #1. Tom and LuAnn arrived and we visited and watched a DVD of their first trip to Buenos Aires. We went out to the screen porch and were talking when a tow truck went by with Tom’s truck on it. We nearly fainted but ran to our car and raced after the truck. We caught up with it and learned that a neighbor had called the police and the park manager about a suspicious vehicle. One of the park workers looked the truck over and instead of looking around the neighborhood to see if anyone knew about it just let the car be towed. We had to pay the man $80 to get the truck back. That was disaster #2. We came home and entertained our 2 other guests--Tom and Sharon. We had snacks and drinks and desserts before they left. Emily called and talked with Evelyn for more than half an hour. Then we and Tom and LuAnn took a walk around the park before retiring. It was a beautiful evening without wind, making the walk a delight. We prepared our medicine for the week and went to bed.

cold and rainy

We were up and moving before breakfast. Evelyn had driven to exercise because she had to go help decorate the church this morning. After my walk, I came home and hung some icicle lights on the front of our unit. I also unwrapped and strung our rope lights around the perimeter of our screened porch. I came in and dealt with the e-mail and was surprised when Evelyn came home early. I quickly showered and we had lunch before leaving for the hospital. Before that, Evelyn began another batch of cookies. The day at the hospital was routine even though it was a cold, rainy day. Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough to make much difference. I told the volunteer coordinator about our cruise and missing 4 Fridays of our volunteering. We came right home and turned on the heat as well as some space heaters. Evelyn has worked on cookies for the past days including this one. She worked all night after supper on more cookies. Tom Jones called and confirmed their arrival on Sunday afternoon. We will try to make arrangements for the Newcomers to come for popcorn Sunday evening. We watched Ball State literally throw away the perfect football season by losing to Buffalo in the MAC championship game.

closing in on the thyroid.

A normal beginning to the morning: Evelyn exercised and I walked around the park. The abnormal part is that it was pretty cold and windy. We came back and got ready to leave for McAllen. We first drove to the radio station and signed a petition to free 2 border patrol agents who shot a drug dealer. We also gave a check to the Salvation Army to buy a Christmas present for a fatherless child. We drove to the Remington Steak House for the Mexican buffet. We had a 2 for 1 coupon and used it wisely. The buffet was fantastic featuring tremendous salads, guacamole, and chips. The entrees included chicken enchiladas, poblano peppers, charro beans, menudo (we didn’t like this), and gordito. And the desserts were unbelievable. The 2 best were a raspberry/mango cheesecake and a cake. We stuffed ourselves and didn’t eat anything else the rest of the day. We had our car washed at the Saturn dealership and looked at some of the new ones. We then went to the endocrinologist, the real purpose of the day. Dr. Moore was an oriental woman who was very good. She made a request for lab work with Evelyn’s oncologist tomorrow and made a tentative appointment for a biopsy of Evelyn’s thyroid. We want to get results soon so we can get our yellow fever inoculations before December 22--1 month prior to our trip to South America. We left there and went Christmas shopping at JC Penny. She was furious with the poor quality of clothes and service. The clothes were also all over the floor, making it look like a “rummage sale”. It is unlikely we will ever return despite the fact that so many retailers are going belly up that there may be no other place to buy clothes. We stopped an HEB grocery on the way home to get some dates for cookies and a few other things. We came home and Evelyn mixed up some more cookies. She also talked with Janice who is finally in their home.

more dancing and fun after worship

We had our first Bible study today. We went early to the room and learned there was no DVD player. We had to go to the exercise room where Evelyn knew how to run her machine. Things went well after that, except that there were only 5 women attending. There were over 10 last year. Perhaps more can come later when they arrive for the winter. We came home and put some riblets into the slow cooker. We then went to church for the Advent service at Immanuel. The service was really good, except for the song the pastor sang. It was a duet but would have been better as a solo. We went to the hardware store to get some chicken wire to protect our garden and then to the grocery for some more items. I also got my sandal from the repair shop and then came home. As I was putting the milk into the refrigerator, I knocked the glass baking dish full of the cookies we had rolled last night out onto the floor, breaking it into pieces. We were both hungry but spent about 20 minutes cleaning the kitchen floor. We then ate the pork riblets for lunch. It was around 2:30 by now. We had waited until late because we planned go to the Horseman to dance. Evelyn rested while I washed and dried the dishes. I worked on Andrew’s paper and then left for the dancehall. When we arrived, we were without our friends so I called and talked them into coming out. We had a good time dancing, talking and drinking until 7:30. We then went to a local fast food Mexican restaurant where we had 2 for 1 coupons. We shared our coupons with our friends and then came home for the evening. We really enjoy being with these friends.

two parties

Evelyn wakened around 5:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep. So we went about our daily routine except that I put signs in our outback and in the Country Sunshine hall. We came home and ate breakfast before riding our bikes to the internest (requesting him to fax the hyperthyroidism results to the endocrinologist) and the oncologist (seeking advice about the effect of the new disease on the old ones. He wasn’t in today but will see us Friday). We came home and had a light lunch. Evelyn took a nap and I worked on the computer. We went to have a coffee with Heinz and Alice. We played hand and foot and drank wine and had coffee and pie and many cookies and bread. She loves to bake and entertain. We came home and took another nap before taking our Canadian neighbors, Lloyd and Marilyn, to the Mercedes welcome back Winter Texan party. We enjoy it each year. Last year we won some tickets to the local hockey game but nothing this year. We came home and watched some of the Purdue basketball game with Duke. Things are not looking up for Purdue if they don’t learn to shoot.

Strange guest

Monday is park meeting day. We attended and were finished by 10 and on our way home. We had received a call from Alice saying she couldn’t make lunch for us tomorrow but could have coffee and cards at 1. We will go. Evelyn worked on baking cookies for Christmas while I worked with the neighbor to see why many of our icicle lights and rope lights won’t work. He checked the continuity of all of the strands and found then fine. So why won’t the lights work? We gave up. We went to the hall for lunch and listened to some of the jam. This must have been the worst group of singers ever assembled. I don’t know how any musicians could have followed them but they did. John Hamel had come to buy our tickets for one of the McAllen concerts when we will be gone on our cruise. We decided to go to Dillons to get some cilantro seeds and tomato plants. We have been friends with them since we came to the Valley. The son gave us a mixture of lettuce seeds for our garden as well. We took them some pecan pie. We came home and talked to the new neighbor. He wanted to play golf so we went to the par 3 course again. And again I played quite well. We were finished in less than 2 hours. Evelyn had planted the garden while we were gone and had invited the neighbors across the street for supper. They had just arrived this morning, and she wanted to help them since they had not been shopping. We had the jambalaya and they seemed to enjoy it. The woman is a true boor. We could hardly get rid of them. She just stayed and stayed. Even the husband couldn’t get her to leave for quite a while. I hope to never suffer through her presence again. We cleaned up the kitchen while she stood over our shoulders, carrying on about how nice it was that she didn’t have to help with the dishes. We then worked on what we wanted to do for the first class of the Bible study. Evelyn was very tired and went to bed early. I worked on a future order of service for my Sunday service.

Saturday and Sunday, the end of November

We slept a bit later this morning because there was no exercise. I went to Mercedes to get the tires rotated and see if I could get my sandals glued. I left the sandals there. I went to Borderland and got a deal on 4 chairs for our porch. Two of the green ones had broken. This was the second deal that ken had given me. I returned and we finished most of our Christmas decorations before lunch. We ate and then took a walk. I watched some football as I went over the worship service. We have put up a tree and many lights around the door and railing. We had a light supper and then went with Joe and Bonny to a concert in McAllen. It was a female singer, Emily Skinner, who had worked on Broadway. She had a good voice but didn’t perform much. She did tell some interesting stories about the songs she had selected. We came back here for pecan pie and ice cream. We talked with Bonny about the choir situation and learned that we probably wouldn’t have one. The pastor wants to have soloists instead. I went over the message again after they left.


Sunday was my first worship service at Trail’s End. We had only 17 people attend but it is early in the season. The people are very welcoming to both Evelyn and me and are very generous in their offerings. We came home and raised our star of Bethlehem on the palm tree above the manger scene. Evelyn spent much of the early afternoon mixing up some cookie mixes. Some were very good, but she misread one recipe and had a batter that was too thin. She did fix it up and then put the mixture into the refrigerator to set up. We took a walk and invited the Schwinghammers for popcorn and beer. When they came, we just sat and talked instead of playing table games as we had planned. We have a good time with them and meet them at the Horseman honkey tonk on some Wednesdays. We plan to go again this coming W and take another couple with us. They left early and we watched a movie called “A Walk in the Park” before going to bed. We have a busy week coming up.