A beatiful day to work

We finished walking around 9. Evelyn made a list of things we should do while we walked. We came home and got started. It was another beautiful dry day. A day that made it delightful to work out. Evelyn watered and I painted the Purdue wishing well. I used the paint that I had saved in a plastic jar. I had to add water and mix it, so it took more time than it should have. Evelyn also decided to wash out the refrigerator until lunch time. We ate salmon patties that were delicious. As she cleaned the kitchen, I went off to read the new booklet of our new camera. I went to sleep before I could get started. Evelyn joined me shortly after. We got up and went out to sand the swing and then restain it. I tried to put all the things away that I had to use in my painting. She also wanted to wash the wheel wells on the car. We came in and I made popcorn for our supper. We also watched “O Brother, Where Art Thou”. We had seen it before and liked it again. We went to bed a bit early despite our nap.

gorgeous day for golf

We walked after I got up at 8:30. I guess driving wears me out. I wanted to take our recyclable items to the collection point and cash a check in town. What a shock to find all the bins full at the one on the way to the bank. We went to the bank, deposited the rebate check from one of our credit cards and went to the Folkmoot center to get some free tickets for the performance on the 19th. Tom and Janet can go with us. We came home and asked the local Shoney’s for some candy to throw into the crowd at the Independence Day parade. I had to water the plants because we had no rain over the weekend and things looked dry. The hanging tomato plants have grown quite a bit. After lunch I worked for more than an hour paying some of our credit card bills. Evelyn spent a lot of time doing laundry and ironing. While I showered, she rested. We went to the golf course around 5 and Evelyn was good enough to ride around with me. I played well for me and she lasted through 13 holes before going to the car. I am collecting rocks to line our mulch covered flower beds. I found 6 nice ones at the golf course. There are thousands of rocks around that people try to get rid of. We didn’t eat until 9, reminding us of Argentina. Evelyn backed some cookies for our weekend company and went to bed. She had wanted to watch “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” but realized it was too late to start it. What a beautiful, temperate day it was.

Searching and recovering from mistakes.

We were up and eating breakfast by 9 and on the road by 10. We drove some back roads looking for the museum in Bristol. We followed our GPS even though it took us the opposite way from what I thought we should have gone. I asked it to take us the least use of freeways. We were content because the drive was beautiful through the Virginia mountains. We arrived it Bristol and I saw a Best Buy. I decided to stop and look at cameras. We had already missed some good pictures from the trip yesterday. After talking to a “Geek”, we decided it would be more cost effective to buy a new one than to repair the old one. So we did. We had to charge the battery and plugged it into our inverter made for the car. We drove to a park and found a picnic table for our picnic. To our surprise it was in a place setting up for a bluegrass festival. We had only 20 minutes or so to eat. The people were kind to let us stay. We went on searching for the museum commemorating where recording country music began. The “Crooked Road of Country Music” had no directions or addresses. We found someone who knew it was located in a mall. We went there and enjoyed hearing the woman tell some of the history of the Carter family. We also went shopping and bought me a pair of shorts. We left there, programmed the GPS and drove off toward Hiltons. I made a wrong turn and we were lost. I reprogrammed and again selected least use of freeways. We were led through some of the most primitive roads I have ever driven. We went up mountains on gravel roads. We must have driven 15 miles before we were reunited with pavement. Evelyn was disturbed and concerned we would get stuck in the hills. I was only mildly concerned but was glad when we finally found our destination--The Carter Fold. We took what was left of our packed food into the theater and watched the Larkin Family perform while large crowds clogged to many of the songs. We danced a few waltzes and continued to be amazed that so few people recognize a waltz and can’t dance to one. We met some interesting people again and enjoyed meeting them. We sat beside a couple from Waynesville! We returned to the motel we stayed in Thursday and had a nicer room.

Birthday boy

The birthday boy. Can you guess his age? Hint: he is over 40.

On the crooked road

We had slept about 9 hours last night but managed to struggle to the breakfast room for some Raisin Bran Crunch. We liked it. We then packed everything and set out for Clintwood, VA. We went though Norton so we checked in to our motel for the night but pressed on to Clintwood. We took the mountain road route to get there and found the Ralph Stanley museum. It was in an old 3 story Victorian mansion built in 1902. The inside was an extensive display of the career of Dr. Stanley. Nearly every display featured an oral commentary on the career of him and his brother, Carter who died in 1966. He almost quit but many fans and friends encouraged him to continue. He did and is 82 but still performing. We heard later in the day that he and some friends had been rear ended, knocking them down a 40 foot embankment. I don’t know if that is true but he escaped injury while his grandson had 2 broken legs. Perhaps it will be in the news if true. We returned to the motel and rested before going to an Italian restaurant for supper. We can’t remember being in a restaurant the had such fantastic acoustics! Everything was intensely magnified. We talked with the manager enough to learn that he had attended the University of Texas. We drove back to Coeburn, VA to hear bluegrass. We were able to dance a bit too, although many of the dancers did clogging. The people danced the same step to all the songs. We danced a waltz but looked out of place. We told the ticket seller that we were from Texas and were rewarded with a pencil sketch of some of the people who had played there. It is one of the stops on the “Crooked Road Music Tour” through western Virginia. It has been hot and dry although rain and storms have been predicted. Tomorrow it is off to Bristol and Hiltons for more museum tours.

Final pictures on our camera

This is a picture from Father's Day. We were given a Sunday brunch as part of my birthday present from Frankie Bones restaurant.

Evelyn and her friend Rolene Lewis preparing the VBS supper. We made the macaroni and cheese (not shown).

Traveling

I was up and off to the golf course to play at 7:30. I shot poorly as usual but enjoy playing with Phil. I came home to find Evelyn packing our lunch and supper. She is quite a wife! I watered the plants outside, showered,and took off for southern VA. It was after 1 when we left. We drove an especially windy, hilly road through Hot Springs and on to Greeneville, TN. We stopped there and toured the National Historic Monument to Andrew Johnson. He was the only President to be impeached, although Clinton should have been for lying under oath. We enjoyed the short tour and drove on to Church Hill, TN to spend the night. Evelyn wanted French fries so we went back 5 miles to get some. She deserved it for all the work she did in preparation for the trip. We enjoyed the meal and I spent some time using the WIFI to upload a few pictures. I still can't get the camera to work so there won't be many of this trip.

Activities

Walked. Returned. Watered. Made arrangements with neighbor to water while gone. Showered. Ate remaining gumbo. Evelyn cottage cheese. Drove to hospital. Worked until 3:30. Came home. Rested. Prepared items for supper. Guests arrived. Ate hamburgers. Talked. They left. Finished prep for tomorrow. Bed.
Isn't this style of sentence construction frustrating?

Relaxing day

We went for our morning walk and then watered the plants outside. We also packed a bit more for the trip. We left for Asheville around 10:30 to meet with the pastor at 11. He had many good questions and points to make about my pulpit supply problem. He convinced me that it would never happen. We agreed that I would send an e-mail to the district president to ask him for an interview. We then took the pastor to lunch at Long John Silvers. We returned home and rested a while before going to the golf course to play. Evelyn was good enough to go along for company. It cost $10 after 5 and includes a cart. I didn’t play 18 because I wanted to get home to watch the Cubs. I did find some rocks on the course that we can use around our mulch areas. We ate the Rueben sandwich from Frankie Bones for supper. We went to bed early.

Working Italiano

We had set the alarm for 6:30 but neither of us slept past 6. We got up and set the table, set out the omelet ingredients, sliced the toast and filled the fruit dishes. Tom and Luann were right on time and I mixed the eggs with bell pepper, onion, chives, and cheese, poured the mixture into the omelet skillet and cooked them one at a time. They were so big that I just made 2 and cut them in half. They were delicious. I had also started to fry the hash brown potatoes I had made. Unfortunately they had turned black. I intended to throw them away, but Tom tasted them and liked them as did we all. I read later that they posed no danger but looked terrible. We enjoyed visiting with them until 9. It was very nice of them to stop here on their way to the East. They are very good friends. We cleaned things up after they left and then left for the dermatology clinic. The doctor thought he should shave off the raised place on Evelyn’s shin and send it away for tests. The numbing was more painful than the cut. We returned a DVD to the library and went to get some milk, butter and soft cheese. We had to come home and work on making the macaroni and cheese for the VBS. We had 3 pans to use for cooking but made a mistake. We put the macaroni into water before we boiled it. We did save the pasta by draining it and starting over. I stirred both pots (we made only 2) and kept things from globbing together. Evelyn made the cheese sauce, and we both participated in mixing them together. We had to leave here at 4:30 so we could be have the plated filled for serving at 5:30. We made it and cleaned our pans before going to the lake for our walk. After that we came home and watched the Cubs/Braves game. We had popcorn and fruit soup for supper. I went to invite our new neighbors to supper Wednesday. The bad news for today was that the pastor at Emmanuel in Asheville learned that I would not be eligible to be pulpit supply. That is not the situation my friend Barry is in. He goes to preach in Bristol, TN once each month. I will just have to accept God’s will and realize I won’t be preaching during the summer. I thank Him for using me in the winter.

We wakened to a heavy rain, making it impossible to walk. We got ready for church and then made preparations for tomorrow’s omelets. I chopped onions, cooked sausage and cut it into pieces. We drove to Asheville hoping the pastor would have some information about my position. He said he had been waiting for me to call him so I did when we got home in the afternoon and made a tentative appointment for Tuesday at 11. After church we went to Frankie Bones for my free Sunday brunch. We shared a steak and poached egg brunch items. As it was stated, we had to buy another entree so we brought a Ruben sandwich home. On the way home we stopped and bought some macaroni and cheese to prepare for tomorrow evening’s VBS. We also bought some blueberries for only $1.50 per pint. We had gone to the Farmer’s market and looked at some for $5. Evelyn also bought some peaches that the salesman guaranteed were cling free. They weren’t ready and won’t be until early July. We came home and Evelyn began preparing Norwegian fruit soup for tomorrow’s breakfast. We went to the band concert in Maggie Valley and then to a pizza restaurant for supper with our other friends who had met us there. We got gasoline on the way home and went to bed after the news. I received an e-mail from Stacy and a phone call from Emily for Father's Day. I thank God for 2 great Christ loving daughters.

finishing the Shack series

We walked the lake before going to town for the big Weight Watchers weigh in. We had to be there by 10 and had no problems. We returned some materials to the library and came home. I had a friend cut a notch in the back of the entertainment center so the wall wouldn’t show. In the process of replacing it, the TV set came unplugged. It was a struggle but we finally got it plugged in. We were successful but could not get the remote control to turn the set on. I hope it is just the batteries being weak. I ate gumbo and Evelyn finished some steak from a week ago. We had planned to go to Maggie Valley for a Trout festival but thought it to be hotter than we preferred. We stayed home until leaving for the church service at 6,marking the last sermon on "The Shack" we will be able to attend. Tonight also happened to be the fellowship night and hamburgers were served. I didn’t want to stay but Evelyn did. We met an old friend and sat with her. We came home and I shredded potatoes to fry as hash browns for Tom and Luann Monday morning. We came home and watched “Secondhand Lions”. It was a movie I had recorded and we liked it.

Ballroom dancing

We walked the lake and were dressed for the day by 10. We went to town trying to see Dr. Teeter who runs the walk in clinic. He is a dermatologist and a Christian man who gave up his normal practice to offer his services to the poor. We aren’t poor but find it nearly impossible to see the other dermatologists in town. We have appointments in October. Meanwhile, Evelyn has a bump that we would like to have advice about. If Dr. Teeter says we should see the others about it, we will get in earlier than our appointments. Unfortunately, Dr Teeter is not in until Monday morning. We then took our trash to the collection point before going to Big Lots to look for some items. Then on to the Open Door. I gave the devotion based on the scripture, “Pray without ceasing”. We then served, ate our lunch and cleaned up the dining area. We weren’t alone, of course, but do enjoy working with the other volunteers. We won’t work again until July 3. We went to the grocery outlet to see if they had some frozen macaroni and cheese without success. We did learn that Wal Mart had some. We need it for the vacation Bible school that begins next week. The LWML is responsible for providing the supper for the children. We came home and rested before the dance. We arrived there just before 8 and were about the 20th persons there. We took some shrimp dip and enjoyed the dishes brought by the others. We enjoyed dancing until about 10 when my legs began to ache again despite my wearing the support stockings. We enjoyed our visit with Karen and Dallas and even made plans to meet them next Thursday for a picnic before their cha cha dance lesson.

Walking 18 holes is tiring

I wakened before the alarm and got ready to go to the golf course. Evelyn slept until the alarm and dressed too. She took me so I could meet Sam Hale for our 7:20 tee time. She returned home and made her breakfast pizza and finished the other items she had prepared. It was very humid on the course but still had the morning coolness. I had worn a tank top under my shirt, not wanting to be too cold. That lasted until the turn. I went to the restroom and took off the tank top. I walked the entire 18 holes and the ground is not flat here either. I didn’t play well and was a little embarrassed because I really held the others back a bit. It got very hot causing me to sweat a great deal. To my surprise, we finished about an hour earlier than I had expected. I asked Sam to take me home and gave him lunch of hamburger. Evelyn arrived home around 1(I had called the church to let her know I had come home), and I helped her unload things. I made her go to bed to rest because I know how hard she works at anything. I watched the Cubs pull off a miracle victory. Actually, based on their play, any victory could be classified as a miracle. We ate a light supper of salad and then I surprised her by taking her out to Dairy Queen for what I thought would be a Blizzard. We got a BOBOF waffle sundae instead but had to bring half of it home to eat later. Evelyn spent half an hour playing the piano. She loves to play hymns and gets great therapy from the playing. Evelyn worked on a treat to take to tomorrow night’s dance while I worked on this and cleaning up my e-mail files.

shades of square dance lessons

We were up and off to the usual place. We took some items from Doris with us because we were going past the Open Door, and she wanted to donate them. We went to the library to renew some DVDs and then dropped off the items. We also wanted to tell the scheduler that we would be unavailable to volunteer on Wednesdays. We then began a search for some items Evelyn needed for her party Thursday morning. She wants to make some sort of breakfast pizza and needed a round pan. We also bought some other necessary items but only after going to the 3rd store. We came home and had a heavy lunch. Evelyn rested and then began preparation for the brunch. She made blueberry muffins and other things. We then ate snacks for supper and went to a local RV park to meet some friends from the Valley. They are here for some square dances. We enjoyed watching them dance. The moves are complicated and require knowledge of the vocabulary the callers use. The music runs throughout the gamut including pop songs. The callers are so good they can call to anything. We invited Vance and Jackie to visit our home tomorrow after we serve at the hospital. I think Evelyn has a plan for us to take square dance lessons next winter. I was not too excited about that but did enjoy seeing what the advance dancers did. We tried to watch a movie, “Noel”, but I was discouraged when Evelyn was flitting around and not paying attention. She did watch most of it but lost me.

Renewing a friendship

We arose early and walked the lake. We were finished by 10 and came home expecting the man who built our steps to come to be paid. He didn’t come. I went to help Doris with some heavy boxes she wanted moved. Afterward I came home and worked on the computer while Evelyn ironed. We received a call from some people from our Texas park saying they were in NC and inviting us to come to their RV park to watch square dancing tomorrow evening. We had a light lunch and rested until time to dress for the dinner and ball game. We drove to Asheville in an off and on rain shower and went to Frankie Bones for my free birthday dinner. On the way I stopped at a bank and withdrew some cash. The restaurant gave me a free dinner and lunch during my birthday month. We had been there last year and liked it. We ordered tilapia but Evelyn thought we needed a crab/artichoke dip for an appetizer. We also had an order of French fries. This was far too much to order. We had all this, a salad and tilapia and rice to share. We left there with some French fries in a box and drove to the baseball game. We met Dallas and Karen Norris for the first time this year. We have a very good time with them. He used to be quite a good catcher and his son was a good 3rd baseman. His son came to the game too. The game featured 4 home runs and some great catches. We left with plans to meet at the Friday night dance. On the way home we shared a strawberry slushie from Sonic.

A great party

We arose early so we could worship at 8. We went to an Episcopal church where there is a woman “priest”. I enjoyed the liturgy and even communed but was disappointed that Jesus didn’t make the sermon. Instead an historical figure Julian, “the first published female in history”, was the center of attention. We will not be returning. The “priest” was very friendly and welcoming after the service. In fact I thought she would never let go of our hands. We returned some DVDs to the library and then went to the Waffle House for a waffle. We drove to OSLC to get the rhubarb our friend had promised to bring. We returned home and rested. Evelyn drifted off to sleep and I ate some dry cereal for lunch around 1. We left for Franklin around 2 and tried to find our friends, Barry and Jackie Conover but couldn’t. They were at a picnic. We went to a mall to kill an hour before we were expected at Jones. We looked for many things to put atop of the entertainment center and finally found something Evelyn liked--some artificial geraniums. We went on to the party--a low country boil--and had a good time with Jones neighbors. The menu was gumbo, boiled sausage and shrimp, boiled potatoes and corn on the cob. Of course there were plenty of drinks. I controlled my intake, but Evelyn still wanted to drive home. We got here and she redecorated the entertainment center in mostly red. She talked with Emily and learned about their beach camping trip. We went to bed late.

The miracle of God's mercy

We got up early but didn’t walk right away because it was foggy. I read a couple more chapters in “The Shack” and then we showered before we walked. Evelyn wanted to go to the trout festival in Maggie Valley (we learned it wasn’t until next Saturday), but we did learn some things about future events. We also went back to the golf course and were shocked to learn that our camera was there. We had lost it 11 days ago and some man from Nashville, TN had found it and took it home with him. He called to tell the golf course he had it and wanted postage to send it back. The course manager was furious and told him he should pay the postage since he was the one who had taken it. He did pay to send it back. We thanked God many times for His mercy. We went to the Waynesville Country Club for lunch. I still had some money left on the card I had bought through Relay for Life last year. We came home and took a nap before walking around the loop a couple of times. We talked with our neighbor Doris a while. She is really funny and very compatible with us. We met the new owners in our association but learned they have been unable to move it yet. They plan to move next Saturday, and we will try to invite them for a meal to get to know them. We plan to attend an Episcopal church tomorrow and have to go early because of the things we want to do in the late morning.

Coupon books

We were able to walk earlier and went to the doctor’s office to get my bloodwork order straightened out. We changed our address from Weaverville to Waynesville and confirmed my appointment for July 14, but in the confusion I neglected to get the bloodwork order. I had to call back and ask for one to be ready for me Monday. I don’t know if I got the correct nurse so things may not be correct yet. We went to the central school administration office and bought 2 more coupon books so we could have some coupons to use for when the girls come. There are others in them that we can use also. We came home and pulled some of the weeds and small trees that come up on the slope of our yard. After that we had lunch and showered. Evelyn went to bed, and I went to the couch to watch the Cubs on TV. Fortunately I slept through most of the game. Alas, I don’t think the Cubs will make the playoffs this season. Somehow their roster improvement program did not work out. I ate some steel cut oatmeal that Evelyn had made for supper before we left for the HART theater where we ushered. We get to see a play by doing that. This one was called “The Immigrant” about a Russian Jewish couple that immigrated to the US around 1900. They lived in Texas. The play was pretty good. Evelyn was hungry for ice cream so we went to McDonalds for a McFlurry. Neither of us was impressed with the quality. We came home. We need to call the Norrises tomorrow to plan for a night out for dinner. I received a coupon for a birthday meal at a restaurant we went to with them last year.

Great golf

We were up early and off to the golf course. Evelyn dropped me off at 8:30 and went home to get ready for her LWML meeting. She learned that her group cleared $1,000 on last Saturday’s garage sale. Strangely, the group voted to not give any money to former pastor Greene’s wife, Lisa, for her support of abused young girls in El Salvador. They did have the usual large brunch even though the group had voted to have smaller servings. Meanwhile I played 18 holes alone. It sprinkled lightly for a while and threatened to storm much of the morning but didn’t. I saw my friend, Isidro, who works at keeping the grass cut at the Iron Tree course. I shared one of the breakfast bars Evelyn had sent with me for breakfast. She is such a sweetheart to care for me like she does. I played 2 balls as usual and scored 101 and 92. I don’t remember ever shooting that low. She picked me up at 1:15 and we came home to clean for our dinner guests. I prepared the sirloin tips for cooking on our Holland Grill. Evelyn made a spinach salad and some dip for an appetizer. I decided to make home fried potatoes instead of the normal baked potato. I peeled 7 potatoes and thinly sliced them and an onion, put them into a skillet and fried them. We were eating supper by 6:15. Evelyn had also made Norwegian summer fruit soup for dessert after which we watched 3/5 of our South America DVD with the Perrys. They have to drive to Wilmington tomorrow and couldn’t stay for all the trip. We had part of a heavy storm this afternoon. The wind blew about as hard as we could remember, but we didn’t get the hail nor experience the damage other people in the mountains got. We will have another round of storms tomorrow.

Conference on service

Up early again but didn’t walk as far. We had to get home, clean up and go for our conference with the Pastor. Things went just as I expected. I stated my complaints of disuse at the church. He said he couldn’t do anything to help me be qualified for pulpit supply. He expressed a real desire for us to stay active. He asked us to lead another Bible study. I asked if this would be an unpaid called position (I need something like this to even request to be pulpit supply), but he said no. Evelyn kept trying to get some closure during the interview, but I was not ready to acquiesce because I want to see how things play out at Emanuel in Asheville. We left in exactly the same position as I thought we would. We went to the Open Door and served to the indigent. I was surprised how few people came in today. There were only 68 served and many of the regulars were absent. I talked with Perry about OSLC serving one day each month. He said they had plenty of servers but needed people to work in the Thrift Store, organize the pantry and clean items in the kitchen. I will run that by the Pastor. Evelyn doesn’t like any of those options, but I pointed out to her that we were already scheduled and would not necessarily be involved with this church function if indeed anyone was interested. We left there and went to 2 groceries for unneeded supplies--mostly. We swear we are not going to the grocery in a given week and then spend $60+. We came home and rested until supper time. The sky really got dark and we got about a 10th of an inch of rain. It did cool things off and we ate our supper on the deck. We talked with the neighbor who had surgery yesterday and plan to take here something soft to eat tomorrow. We came in for the night. I called Don and Betty Perry and invited them for dinner tomorrow night. We will grill the steaks we bought today at the GO grocery outlet. The butcher told us the sirloin tips were a great buy.

What happened to yesterday?

We were up walking early. It is interesting to see the fog lying in the slopes and valleys around here. It was not too thick by the time we got there but quickly dissipated. We walked nearly 4 miles this morning instead of the usual 2 ½. There is a wooden walking bridge that crosses the lake but another way that bypasses that and continues around beside the expressway, coming back up the road that goes around the lake. We finished in the heat around 10:30. I don’t know whether we will ever do that again but are happy to have done it. We took a couple of more cuttings from a different type of maroon plant and brought it home to try rooting it out. We took one of the cuttings of the plant yesterday and planted it with a new one in soil instead of just water. I dipped them in Rootone and planted them in potting soil and Black Cow. I also watered the plants in the afternoon so the roots would have a chance to dry out. I also took a jar of paint I had saved from when the house was painted to Lowes to see if they could shake it for me. They couldn’t while it was in the plastic container. I will just shake it by hand. I did that and added some water. I will try it tomorrow on the Purdue wishing well. We had lunch on the deck and rested while it was hot. We then worked on dusting and sweeping the carpet until supper time. I took a hamburger and some stir fry vegetables to our friend Frieda who had parathyroid surgery yesterday. We watched a DVD called “Nanny Diaries”. We liked it pretty well. I also watched some of the NBA playoffs but not all.

More plants

We didn’t get off to a very good start. We had a piece of toast and went to walk around 10. We had to walk a bit slower because Evelyn’s back hurt at yesterday’s pace. We stopped at the Junaluska office and learned that the theme of this year’s Independence Day parade is “overflowing with hope”. It sounds suspiciously like some Obama thing. We went to the doctor so I could request a blood draw. I want to stop taking Crestor thinking it might be causing my legs to ache. If I have my tyglicerides checked, stop for a month and check it again, I can draw some conclusions. We then returned some DVDs to the library and checked out some more. Evelyn wanted some more plants so we went to a nursery to buy some English ivy and coleus for our wishing well. The landscaper brought the final azalea for our front. She also planted some basil. We ate our Cuban sandwich from yesterday for lunch. We also took naps during the afternoon. I found some old outdoor white paint and began stirring it to use for painting the wishing well. We had a salad for supper and then watched 2 movies: “Out to Sea” and “My Blueberry Nights”. One was funny and the other was very slow moving. We are also finalizing plans for our trip in late June. We will go into Virginia to visit some of the old time music sites. The entire trip is less than 400 miles but we plan to take at least 2 days. I will write more about it when we take it.

Hope for a oulpit job

For some reason we couldn’t sleep past 6. We tossed and turned until 7 and got up to dress for church. While Evelyn showered, I made us an omelet to share. I am not sure what has happened, but Evelyn has learned to like omelets. We drove to OSLC to meet a man who was to bring some rhubarb for us. Unfortunately, he didn’t think it was ripe enough. He will try to get some for us next week. Fortunately, he had some asparagus which Evelyn loves. We drove on to Asheville and joined in worship at the Lutheran church. John Greene, the associate pastor, introduced me to the head pastor. We talked briefly about getting me recertified to qualify for pulpit supply assignments. I pray this is what God has in mind for me. We left there and looked for a restaurant from our coupon book. The first we tried was not open until 5 so we went downtown to the Bier Garden. We had two delicious sandwiches and brought one home. We were in time to see the final 2/3 of the Cubs/Reds game. Evelyn, being smarter than I, took a nap until after 5. She wanted to walk the lake. Our neighbor, Doris, brought a chocolate dessert and agreed to go with us. We were home in an hour and watered the plants. We discovered that one of our window box gardens was retaining all the water. The plants were literally floating. In knocked a hole in 1 end liked the other one has. We came in, I made popcorn, and we finally watched “Facing the Giants“. It was very inspirational and a continuation of the video ministry of a small church in Georgia. The first film was about a car salesman made by the same brothers. The third was “Fireproof”. We had seen it in Weslaco. I would imagine there will be another sometime in the near future. We are planning a short getaway trip around the end of the month. I am responsible for planning it. What’s new?

The yard sale is over!

We had to get up at 6:30 so we could get to the church in time to set up the coffee before 8. When we got there, everything had been done and many workers and customers were already there. This is even more early than winter Texans! I had to take some items to the recycle center and planted another sign on the way. I returned and we sold baked goods and coffee all morning. I worked with the former pastor’s wife for an hour while Evelyn set up the altar. I left around 11 and went to the flea market at the fairgrounds where I found a hand mixer that had a slow speed. The new one Evelyn has runs only at a very high speed. I came home and got our trash can so I could go get mulch. I brought it home, went to get gasoline ($2.539) and picked up some rocks to line one of our mulch areas. I brought then back and laid them out before going to get Evelyn. It was time to begin loading the items left from the sale. We had many things as usual. It rook about an hour to load them. I didn’t go to the Haywood Christian Ministry to unload. I did help clean up the floors before we left to come home for lunch. By now it was 2:30. Evelyn put food together, and then I made her go to bed because I knew she was very tired. I was right. She slept more than an hour. We went to a Saturday night worship at the Methodist church because they are starting a sermon series on the red hot book, “The Shack”. Evelyn was more impressed with the sermon than I but was as turned off by the warm up praise singing as I was. The songs were virtually unsingable and repetitious. Immediately after the service, we went to walk around the lake. It was not too hot but very humid, making us uncomfortable. We walked only because the “discussion” we expected to last more than an hour didn’t. We returned home and Evelyn talked with the Beelis for more than an hour.

Getting ready to sell

We were up at 7 and were walking by 7:30. It was a bit foggy but pleasant. Again we were one of the very few walking at this hour. We returned home, showered, shared a muffin for breakfast and left for the church. We had dwandled around and didn’t arrive until around 9:30. I left Evelyn and went to play golf again. The woman in charge asked me to go to the local newspaper office to get some signs to put along the road announcing the time and place of the yard sale after I finished playing. I was one of the few playing because the weather predictions had been for storms again. I walked the back 9 and was never rushed by anyone. I had an average round and would have been much better except for a 10 on a par 5 hole. It gently sprinkled for much of the round but was humid enough to feel like it could cut loose any minute. I finished around noon and drove to town to get the signs. I brought them back to the church and had to put them on sticks with nails. We put one at the corner on our way home. I had no hammer so I had to look around for a rock to pound the stake. We came home and both napped for a while after eating the salmon dinner we had brought from our evening out last Monday. We then went to Waynesville for the Art After Dark event. We are looking for something summery to put on the top of our entertainment center. We got some ideas but didn’t buy anything. This was the most unique Art After Dark we have attended. There were three spots that had musical entertainment on the street. Most of the art shops have some snacks and some wine. We came home and went to our friend Doris’ house for strawberry pie dessert. It was delicious. I came home and watched the Cubs beat the Reds while Evelyn went to bed. We hope she sleeps better tonight than last night. We have to get up at 6:30 to go to the church to work at the yard sale.

golf in the rain

We were up with the alarm and off to walk the lake. It was a mildly foggy morning but temperate. We made good time and didn’t see many people. When we walk at our normal time, we see 20+. We came home, showered and ate breakfast before I took Evelyn to church for her Bible study. I went to the golf course and walked the front 9. I played 2 balls again and did only fair. Around the T on hole 4 a gentle warm rain began and lasted through most of the round. It really felt good and I never thought of stopping. Of course just 1 flash of lightning would had me running for the nearest shelter. I returned to the church right at 1 and helped carry some heavier items for the ladies yard sale Saturday, but mostly I just hung around. I did go and hit some golf balls out in the church yard until about 2:30 when Evelyn decided we should drive to Canton to get some sodas to sell Saturday. We brought them back to the church and put them into the refrigerator. We then came home to rest. We had also bought a new ironing board cover. We didn’t put it on for fear of using it. J We just laid around until supper time. It sprinkled lightly, but I learned it had not rained here much at all during the morning. We a walnut crusted chicken tenders and then the last of the rapidly deteriorating strawberry pie. I had planned to watch the Cubs/Braves game but the rain we have here was also coming down in Atlanta. The game is postponed. They move on to Cincinnati tomorrow. I also learned this evening that the Cherokee Indians have approved the sale of alcohol at their Harrah’s Casino in the town of Cherokee. Most people are surprised to learn that they have not had alcohol sales for years. Despite this, the casino has been highly profitable. Unfortunately, Indians don’t have much success in controlling themselves around alcohol and drugs. They also have a high diabetes rate, a problem exacerbated by alcohol abuse.

Getting ready for the garage sale.

We had to be up early to get to our friend, Jo’s, house to help load some things to take to the church for the yard sale next Saturday. She had arranged to have a neighbor provide a truck. He was a big strong young guy and it was a good thing. She had a dryer and he virtually lifted it by himself. We loaded to pickup truck loads of mostly junk to take to the sale. I tried to explain that someone could use all of the items--but he or she has to show up at the sale. We were home by 11:30 and changed into our hospital uniforms. We had our lunch and got a surprise. The yogurt served at the hospital is $5.15 per pound. We get a $3.50 allowance for our lunch but nothing is worth the price we paid for the yogurt. We won’t be eating yogurt in the future. We had some activity on the outpatient surgery floor where we serve but things fell off around 3:30 so we went home. It was good because Evelyn had a difficult time going to sleep before 2:30 this morning and needed a nap. I only let her sleep 45 minutes so she wouldn’t be too rested to sleep tonight. We invited our neighbor for dessert and a movie but she could only stay for dessert. Evelyn watched a movie while I watched the Cubs/Braves game. The young man who helped us with the truck was quite a young man. He was in Galveston, TX when the most recent hurricane struck and was there to help with some of the clean-up. He was in India after the Tsunami hit. I didn’t realize it had hit India as well as Indonesia. He said he helped recover 25,000 bodies killed and helped burn them. He has quite an experience with tragedy for being so young. He is a dedicated Christian and was a pleasure to work with today.

no camera, no rain

We got up, ate half a banana and went to walk around the lake. It was a beautiful morning, and we were awaiting a call from the hair dresser. Evelyn wanted to have her haircut but had received no response to the message she had left. We finally had to call her again and made an appointment for 4 in the afternoon. After a nice lunch of walnut crusted chicken, broccoli salad, whipped sweet potatoes and spinach soufflé. Evelyn had made this meal last night. It was delicious. We decided to drive to Maggie Valley to look for the camera again. No one had turned it in so we borrowed a cart and retraced all the steps from the 17th tee. We went everywhere we could remember that I had shagged a ball but had no success. The sky was very dark and thunderous so we hurried. We went back to the Dish Barn and found 4 ramekins and 8 juice glasses to bring home. Everything was half price. We returned home and cleaned the interior of the car before Evelyn suddenly noticed the time and rushed off to the barber in Clyde. I went to the neighbor and invited him for a beer. I also wanted to ask if he knew anyone who might want to dispose of some medium size rocks for out 2 mulch areas. He said he would look. He is an old army MP and has some funny stories to tell. We talked until Evelyn came home. She prepared a small 1 course supper, and we ate some of the strawberry pie she had made yesterday. I went out and watered the azaleas that had been planted in early afternoon before watching the Cubs play the Braves.

Happy June is not off to a good start

We were up, breakfasted and off to the golf course by 8:30. We met another couple and a single man who turned out to be a Catholic priest from Charlotte. They had been paired with me. Evelyn rode along as the game observer. I played my usual up and down game--mostly down--but we both enjoyed the company and the scenery. The Maggie Valley Golf Club is an elegant course. Many young men take the clubs from the car, load them onto the cart and bring it around for us to drive. Evelyn was especially impressed that a young girl drove a beverage cart around the course. That was something she had never seen before. Worse than my score was the discovery that we had lost our camera. We remember taking a few pictures and know where we saw it last but can’t find it. We even returned to the golf course hoping someone had turned it in. They hadn’t. We came home and napped after lunch, thinking we had a dinner date with the Monteiths. Frances had gone to a large lunch and was not hungry. She had not called because she had lost our telephone number. She had expected Evelyn to attend the lunch too but we had forgotten. We went on to an elegant restaurant--J. Arthur’s--for our 2 for 1 dinner. We shared trout and brought a salmon dinner for a later date. We enjoyed a piece of strawberry pie Evelyn had made. We wanted to invite Doris over, but she has not returned from South Carolina yet. We watched a special about movie director John Ford and then went to bed.