Submitting to the siren call of the golf demons

It was cold again Tuesday morning but also sunny and gorgeous. We had breakfast and prepared for my golf day. I don’t know why I am so driven to play this game; I am absolutely no good and have reconciled myself to knowing I never will be. I do believe that I am driven because I think I can correct some of the stupid mistakes I make. Evelyn dropped me off and then went to walk around the lake before returning home to iron. I had changed some things in my swing and did better for a few holes but quickly returned to normal. I played alone and was finished the back 9 at 12:30, the time we agreed she should return to get me for lunch. Strangely enough, I was hitting my second shot on 18 when I saw her beautiful smiling face waiting for me. We came home and ate the lunch of leftovers she had heated and then lay down to rest for an hour. I dozed a bit and was refreshed enough to go finish the front 9, yearning for the punishment I knew the golf demons had in store for me. They did a good job. I lost more balls today than I have in quite a while as I proceeded to drop farther down the leader board. ( This is an golf joke.) We had agreed the pick up time to be between 4:30 and 5, but, to cause further discomfort, I finished a bit early and she arrived at 4:45. By this time it was getting chillier and windier. I had hoped to get a hot cup of coffee at the clubhouse, but they had dumped it. This is strange because during the hot summer coffee is available until after 6. Being of weak mind and yearning for punishment, when Evelyn came I was not finished. We had talked about driving to the mountain golf course where a cart and “play until dark” after 5 for $10 is the policy. I said, “Let’s go.” and she (overestimating my common sense and thinking I was joking) said, “I’m ready.” So we drove a couple of miles north of our house to play. It was cooler now even, and Evelyn had to put on her thick rain suit we had bought for South America in order to be warm enough to ride with me in the cart. The demons followed us to that course and began a fierce attack on my game. I could feel them pull my club up to insure that I would top the ball many times. I could see them blow hard on each putt so it would be short or veer off to one side of the cup or the other. Normally, they permit a good hole or 2 as a means of luring me back another day, but, unlike Evelyn, they didn’t overestimate my common sense and continued harassment until the very end. I did quit before the 9 were finished because It was cold and Evelyn was waiting in the car where she was seeking warmth. We came home, ate supper, relaxed a bit and went to bed early. I was a tired puppy and my left hand was very tired from holding the clubs.

square dance lessons

We wakened to a chilly morning in the 50s. It really does feel a lot like fall. We worked around the house--my running the vacuum, Evelyn mopping the floors, my checking on the 9volt batteries in the smoke alarms that chirped several times during the night. I know they are hard wired to the house but still have batteries in them. I loaded the recyclables we have and got some trash from Doris and took off for the dump. I had wanted to go on into town and to walk the lake, but it was too near lunch time. We came home for chili because we are taking the local pastor, wife and 2 infants to dinner at 5. I didn’t want to eat the meals too close together. We then walked around the lake and went on to town for batteries, to cash a small check, deliver items to the thrift shop and books to the library. We went on to the GO grocery for some staples and came home. I wanted some AAA batteries too but found none anywhere. What has the government done now? It is really tragic to think that way but government has earned the swipe. I also delivered a “letter to the editor” to the local newspaper regarding the $100 reconnect fee for those of us leaving for the winter. I suppose I will get one into the ringer over this but cest le gere! Evelyn was able to rest a short time before leaving to meet the Crumes. We were on time and had an enjoyable visit, if one can have same with 2 kids 2 and 4 years of age. I did get to explain my disappointment of our treatment by the church elders but that was all. We left there with half of each of our dinners as carry-out and picked up our items for Evelyn’s dessert for next Thursday. From there we went to the armory for the square dance lesson. It was a lot of fun and we met a couple who had just moved into the area from Tallahassee, Florida. We came home and went to bed.

More computer transfers

We went to church in Waynesville and were blessed with a message about not tearing the church apart. I hope the elders of this church were listening. They have certainly split us from regular attendance. We came home and had a delicious lunch of chicken, peas, onions and a baked potato. I worked on transferring our e-mail from the old computer to the new one. That took most of the day. We went to walk around 3:30 because it was very pleasant. We invited Frieda and Doris to play hand and foot. We had a good time and had just popcorn and Doritos for our supper. The ladies had never played that game but did well. I watched some of the Colts/Cardinals football game before going to bed. We are trying to pack for out trip to Purdue next weekend. The weather is predicted to be wet. We will watch the predictions for the next few days. I called John Mader tonight and learned of their many medical problems. He is several years older than I.

Returning some of God's money

As we walked, we just marveled at the power of God. What a gorgeous landscape and colors. How majestic is His Name in all the earth. We returned home, and I began making on line donations to various charities. We had spent some time on the drive back from Georgia deciding on how much to give to various groups. It is a tedious process because so much information must be entered on every webpage. I did this until lunchtime. I received a call from the credit card company wanting to know if I was aware of the unusual volume of charges. I was thankful that they are alert to possible fraud. After lunch I continued making contributions for another 2 hours. After that we just wasted the day. We were tired of staying home so we planned to go to a local high school football game with our friends, the Greenes. We met them for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then went to the Pisgah high school game. We went thinking it would likely rain but none came. The game had exciting moments but was somewhat one sided. We left after 3 quarters and came home. The prediction is for wide spread rain tomorrow, making our outdoor plans quite tenuous.

A day of rest.

We slept in and went to walk. We had thought of going to Asheville but decided we were tired of driving. We wanted a day to rest up. We came back home and went to see if a friend was in the rehab center near us. She was so we planned to visit her soon. She has therapy in both the morning and afternoon, leaving only the evenings for a visit. We came home and I found a box to use in shipping a pan away to be rebrushed. Last year, Evelyn had let it get burned up very badly. We had applied some oven cleaner and got the pan in shape enough to use. We continued using it this summer but want it to look better. We had avoided sending it earlier because we wanted to use it. Now, however, we plan to leave for Texas and want it back before we leave. We boxed and wrapped it for shipping. We then ate lunch and began preparing chili. We worked at that for about an hour and think it is very good. We rested in the afternoon and then decided to invite Doris for supper. She enjoyed the chili and the cornbread Evelyn had made. I made an announcement to pass out to the neighbors concerning our monthly eating out together. I delivered what I had but must make some more. We just watched TV for the rest of the evening.

The trip home

We were up and on the road by 8:30. There were no refrigerators in the rooms so the manager allowed us to put our sandwiches in theirs and our ice packs in the freezer. We gathered them up, set the GPS and drove west before going north. We essentially traveled back up the same route we came down on. By noon we were in Madison where we found a very nice park and ate the sandwiches. Evelyn had bought some chips too so we had them as an adjunct. We also ate the banana muffins we had brought from the motel breakfast. We tried to gas up before leaving GA because it is so much cheaper: $2.22--2.39. $2.49 in NC. We were home shortly after 5 even though we stopped for milk and KFC chicken sandwiches for our supper. We unloaded things and began planning for the next trip in early October. We went to bed early again. We really like living in the mountains. As we drove north, we marveled at their beauty as we traveled.

These are just a few pictures of the beautiful Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. One picture is of some beautiful butterflies that have died were pinned and framed. There were many indoor displays and we enjoyed the visit.

Little White House

These are pictures of the little White House, inside and out. Evelyn admired some of the many canes given to Roosevelt by many friends. We enjoyed the visit and our lunch in the picnic area.

Little White House.

We were up and eating breakfast in the motel by 8:30. We were almost run out of the dining area at the end. We packed our lunch and left for Warm Springs, GA to visit FDR's little White House. It was about 40 miles away and we arrived at 10. We spent 3 1/2 hours viewing the memorabilia of FDR. There was great emphasis on how he fought yet adapted to his infantile paralysis--polio. He was quite an inventor and designed an automobile operated by hand only. He was quite debilitated, unable to even stand much by himself. He kept the seriousness of the disease from most of the public. He came to Warm Springs for the warm mineral waters that he believed had healing powers. He was quite generous with the community and built large pools for polio victims to receive therapy. It was from here that many ideas for his national programs came. He died here while sitting for a portrait. We ate our picnic in a lovely area just outside the White House and went off to the Callaway Gardens. It is a 750 acre plot filled with flowers, butterflies, and vegetable gardens. We really enjoyed the displays. I will try to publish some pictures. On the way back to Columbus, we got behind a crew painting the white strip on the right side of the road. The crew was in no hurry and wouldn't pull over to allow the 30 cars backed up to pass. We finally came to a side road and drove around the crew after creeping for 30 minutes. We arrived back in Columbus, ate dinner, and came back to the motel to rest up for the drive tomorrow.

Birthday dinner: 30th anniversary of 39th birthday

These are pictures of Evelyn's birthday dinner. The interior was lined with "stuffed" fish. I couldn't find a catfish on the wall, but there were many others. It was cool in the restaurant but very hot outside. We ate so much that we had to take a walk throughout a long mall before comin back to the room.

Day 1 if Evelyn's birthday trip

We left home early Monday morning in a driving rain. We stopped in Clayton, GA for a breakfast sandwich. We continued driving in the rain until lunch time. We ate in a Subway at a Wal-Mart in Grey, GA. We came out to sunshine and drove on to Columbus without further rainfall. It is very hot in Georgia; not just in Hotlanta as some think. It was so hot here that we actually tried to go swimming. The pool was not heated, however, and neither of us was excited to get in. The Lord helped us by sending more rain. After we came into the room, a thunderstorm began. We don't like lightning and water--or golf clubs. We dressed and went to a local catfish restaurant for dinner. It was wonderful. We returned to our room for Monday night football. I neglected to mention that the room we have contains 2 double beds. I distinctly remember reserving a king bed room on the phone with La Quinta central. The manager graciously said we could have a 50% discount on the room for the second night. The first night was free because we stayed in a La Quinta when they had a BOGO deal back in April.

More rain in the mountains

It was raining again as it has for most of the past 4 days. The weather counters now say we are more than 2 inches above normal for the month and year. Evelyn appreciated the birthday card I made for her. We drove to Asheville to worship and take the preacher to lunch at Ianaccu’s restaurant for lunch. We shared a delicious lasagna and Italian sausage. We went to exchange an appliqué and came straight home expecting a call to pick up our travelers. We were home by 2:30, and Evelyn went to bed because she had not gone to sleep last night until after 3. I played on the computer creating an invitation card to be used in October. I looked out the window after 4 and noticed a car in Doris’ driveway. I called and learned that her son had brought her home. I was a bit miffed in that she hadn’t let me know so I wouldn’t have to wait for her. I could have taken a nap, but I am glad I didn’t. I went to bed earlier than I would have had I slept. The weather was too bad for Evelyn so we didn’t go to the band concert in Maggie Valley. We hardly ever miss one during the summer. We just ate leftovers and popcorn during the evening. I did drive some nails in the attic so we could have more hanging space for some wreathes, etc. There.

College gameday

we walked around 9 this morning and returned home to work on cutting back the knock our roses near our house. It went much easier than we had expected. I borrowed a pitchfork from Gene Ford, and we used our manual hedge trimmer. We also trimmed the creeping jenny from our front flower bed. We packed the trimmings into a garbage can and threw them into the empty field just west of our development. We came in and I made omelets for lunch. Then the sad part of the day: I watched the pathetic performance by the Purdue football team. I was really encouraged by the performance against Oregon last Saturday night but was really disturbed by the poor tackling today. We went to town to get some Bogof fish oil at the CVS pharmacy after I had dropped off a prescription at one nearer our home. I was tired and not feeling too good so I took a nap. I got up around 5:30, and we ate shortly after 6. We then watched a movie and some more football before going to bed.

Monthly weigh in and dance

We were up early to walk since we had missed yesterday. We returned home, cleaned up and went off to Weight Watchers. I thought it would be raining, preventing our walk, but it held off until we left for Waynesville. Then it poured down. Evelyn maintained the same weight she had last month, making me glad. I don't like it when she loses weight because she has stomach problems and might have something more serious wrong with her. Her leg has healed up nicely, so the Lord has taken care of that. I had cashed a check and suggested we go to McDonalds for a breakfast sandwich. We did and then stopped at a construction site to see if they had any metal rods I could use to support the box I wanted to build below our outdoor steps. They had 2 so I brought them home and used them. I dug some narrow trenches and fitted the boards into them, making a box. I put the mulch we had left into it and stopped work because I was too hot. I am not satisfied with the project and will probably redo it next week. It began to rain again so we just rested during the afternoon. We ate a late lunch so we wouldn't have to eat again before the dance. Everyone brings some snacks so many make it their evening meal as we do. I was pretty good about avoiding the desserts but ate a great many deviled eggs. We danced quite a bit and our legs didn't hurt as much as at other dances. We were home by 10:45.

Bible study and golf.

Thursday I played another typical round of golf in the morning. It was raining when we left home, and we thought we would return immediately. Phil was there, we paid, we teed off and never had another raindrop for 18 holes. Evelyn went to lead her Bible study at 10 so she was not home when we returned. She does a great job when she leads the study, and all the women appreciate her. I ate leftover boudin for lunch because I thought Evelyn might want to eat when she returned. She had gone for a pedicure after leaving the church. We did eat together when she returned around 1:30. She was tired and so was I from walking the golf course so we rested for a while. It did rain more in the afternoon. We always welcome the rain because we don't have to water the flowers. I found the Cubs playing baseball and watched the last half of the game. After supper, Evelyn watched a movie we had seen before while I went to the bedroom to watch CSI. We went to bed later after I spent a lot of time trying to get on to the blog site.

volunteer party

We didn’t walk Wednesday. We just dressed for our tour at the hospital after I finished the dessert for tonight’s volunteer dinner. We arrived in a wonderful rain shower that we needed. We ate our lunch and went right to work. Since there is not always a huge overload of business, I take my new computer so I can use the WiFi there. We stayed until just after 3 and returned home to get our insurance cards. We drove to the health department and got flu shots. I guess there will be an H1N1 immunization shot later when the vaccine is developed. We drove back home and rested until 5:30 when we left for the Folkmoot Center. The meal was catered this year and featured the dessert bar as usual. The custom is to eat far too much which we observed. My blueberry dessert was well consumed, but we were able to bring some home. I didn’t judge it to be the best there but was a close second. There was a slide show of many of the dancers both on stage and off that was entertaining. We returned home and Evelyn put finishing touches on her study for tomorrow. We are having a dispute as to whether we should go to Fort Wayne while in Indiana. That was never in the plan and won’t be unless Evelyn makes arrangements for us to stay with some of our friends on the Saturday night after the game.
Please note: Since we established our new e-mail account, I have had much trouble publishing this blog. In fact, I may have to stop permanently when I discontinue the Juno account. Gmail won't let me use that account on my blog. It has been fun but may not be entirely over. I may forget one of the lunch menus, causing anguish among the faithful readers. :-)

Dessert preparation.

We got up and walked. After that we went to the car wash. It was next to the Speedy Lube and I was able to empty my old oil into their receptacle. After washing the car (and noticing some slight damage from yesterday's little joy ride), we took a package to the post office. It contained the electronic device that Olivia had left. We returned home and worked on making a dessert for tonight's dinner. We ate nonuthin soup for lunch. We continued in the kitchen making a dessert for tomorrow evening's volunteer dinner. We rested during the late afternoon until Don and Betty arrived. We enjoyed boudin and etoufee plus the lemon dessert we had made. They brought their videos of their trip to Alaska this past August. We enjoyed seeing them. They caught many pictures of bear, moose, carribo, and glaciers calving. Before they came, I took a letter of protest to the water department. They charge $100 to reconnect our water in the spring, and I wanted to complain. I may get into a bind with them but que sera, que sera.

Sunday--after Monday :-)

Critical addendum to Saturday: Emily called to talk. I guess the boys also talked with Evelyn. We also received some precious grandparent’s day wishes from the Beelis. They were all written in their own hand! Sunday we slept somewhat late and prepared to drive to Asheville to worship. John Greene leads the worship and he is a good friend. His wife is off to mission in El Salvador where she has helped develop an orphanage for abused little girls. Since she was gone, we invited John to go to Frankie Bones with us for lunch. He couldn’t go because he had planned to have steak with his son. Lisa doesn’t eat red meat. We enjoyed the birthday lunch at Frankie’s. They gave Evelyn two free lunches. Of course I had to buy mine. We went to get some appliqués at A. C. Moore and then returned home. We rested and watched football. Oh, I forgot: I had recorded the final half of the Purdue/Oregon football game. I watched it before church. I was very impressed with their play even though they lost. I decided to go to their homecoming game instead of Ball State’s. We had popcorn for supper again. We didn’t walk today. Evelyn has had stomach problems off and on although her staph wound is much improved. We still don’t know what caused it to develop in the first place. I must have been tired from yesterday’s golf (I walked 15 holes up and down hills) because I went to bed shortly after 9. Could I be advancing in years?

Monday--perhaps published out of order.

Monday was eventful. We slept late and then walked before going to town to get a few items at the GO grocery. As usual we came out with much more than intended. One item was 2 oddly cut T-bone steaks. I thought they had been marked down to $1.59but the package said $3.99. After lunch I took it back to learn it had b een marked down from $4.99. I returned home after getting 3 other items needed for some desserts. I tried to drive onto the oil changing ramps I had positioned before leaving. I was wearing some slip ons and one got caught under the brake pedal preventing my use of the brake. I drove onto the ramps, off the end, through the the porch swing (it jus swung over me), down the small hill behind the house, backed up and drove through the open lot and back into the carport. I thought I had not been observed but the neighbor asked if I was OK. I was but embarrassed. I drove back up onto the ramps after repositioning them and proceeded to change the oil as planned. I really thank God for allowing this to be just a humorous incident instead of a tragedy. We ate supper and then watched TV and working on a Bible study for Thursday. We had invited the Perry's for etoufee tomorrow night. I also called and made reservations in Columbus, GA for next Monday and Tuesday. Evelyn wants to go the little White House park in Warm Springs for her birthday trip.

Marriage Encounter spiral

We were up and walking by 9 but that wasn't enough. I had wanted to get to Taco Bell before 10 but didn't make it. They gave me ice for our party, but it had to come from the regular drink dispenser. I hoped to get there before customers arrived. We put the ice into a cooler and went to the hospital fitness center where there was a women's expo being held. Evelyn hoped to get a cholesterol reading but that was 1 thing not offered. There were muffins and grapefruit juice offered and we indulged. That is all we had until the spiral members arrived. We rested until 2 when Evelyn began putting the final touches to the etouffee. The couples arrived right on time, and we drank the entire box of wine we had brought from Texas for this event. I was concerned that we might have lots left, but we were able to finish it off. Everyone enjoyed the etouffee, moque choux, slaw and apple pie. They left around 9 and went to visit one of the couples in the hospital. We watched the first half of the Purdue/Oregon football game and taped the 2nd half to watch tomorrow. They played in Oregon so it was 10:30 when it began.

good news from the wound care center

Friday Evelyn wakened early worried about getting the dusting done for the party. Before 7 we had begun. By 10 we were finished. I dusted the high parts and treated the top portions of the cupboards. She worked on the bedrooms. She had to leave to go to the community college to get a haircut at 10:30. I stayed here and vacuumed the floors and used the leaf blower to clean the carport. I confirmed our date with Casterlines and made plans to play golf with Phil at 1:30. I also heated the last of our hamburgers and prepared for us to eat lunch. Evelyn returned looking good but had an interesting experience. The girl who was to cut her hair had missed the class on the instructions so the instructor cut most of her hair. She was not disappointed but the student was. She didn’t get to do anything. After lunch, Evelyn took me to the golf course and went on to the wound care center. The Lord blessed her in that she didn’t have skin picked off and the nurse said she could take a shower and get the wound wet. She must wear the compression stocking for 2 more weeks but might be able to stop going for appointments. I had another lousy round of golf. Phil brought me home, stayed for one beer and left me to take a shower. We had planned to meet Casterlines in Maggie Valley, but they had eaten Italian food for 3 nights running so we went to Hardee’s for hamburgers. We went up to their cabin again to enjoy the peach pie Evelyn had baked for that purpose. They will be leaving Sunday so we won’t likely see them again for a long time. I was very tired from the walking golf (we played 15 holes) and nearly went to sleep while driving. We have more preparations for the spiral tomorrow.

Baseball

We were up and preparing for the day. We just love living here. The mountains are quite an attraction even though we grew up as flatlanders. I worked on learning how to work the computer I bought a couple of weeks ago. Evelyn still needs to rest once in a while each day so she did before we went to volunteer at the hospital. We were not too busy so we left at 3:30 because it was threatening rain. Evelyn napped a while and we prepared our stadium seats, rain gear and supper to take to the baseball game. We went to the rec center to board a bus that would take us to Asheville. As we prepared to board, the driver came out and told us the game had been postponed until tomorrow. We just drove to the lake and took our walk before driving to the Casterline’s cabin. We found no one there and started home. As we drove down the one lane gravel road, we encountered Paul coming home. He had to back up some until we could find a place to turn around. He followed us up and we visited a while until Shirley came driving their daughter’s car. She had borrowed it so we could play golf tomorrow. We visited a while and came home for bed.
Thursday Evelyn took me to the golf course to meet Shirley. We had a 10:10 tee time. We both had terrible rounds but did get to ride since we rented a cart. Evelyn met with the LWML women until 12:30. She went to the local college and made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. She came home and met me here for a bratwurst sandwich. She rested later while I worked on the computer again. We both expected that the rain would hit the ballpark again but went to the Rec center again. This time we left in a light rain that quickly dissipated on our way. We met Dallas and Karen at the park and saw one of the best games I have seen in years. The Tourists lost but the game was great. There was not a drop of rain. We returned to Waynesville a little before 11. I must mention that we bought $8 tickets and paid $2 each to ride the 25 miles to Asheville. This was almost free compared to the cost of driving there. We have to do more serious cleaning tomorrow for the spiral Saturday. I chopped most of the vegetables needed for the crawfish etouffee.

Cleaning day

We got up and walked before going to town. We went to the rec center and signed up to go to the Tourists baseball game tomorrow night. We will meet Karen and Dallas there. We went on to the bank to get some cash for the coming weeks. We returned home and I worked on the computer while Evelyn rested. After we lunched we washed the tops of the cupboards and the items on the top. We also washed the kitchen windows. We rested some more after that and dressed to go to dinner with some of the people in Cypress Meadows. We went to Fat Buddies and had a great visit. We were just sorry that Frieda and Doris were gone, but they will be back next month.

Back to normal

Neither of us could sleep late but had to go to the would care at 10. Evelyn was treated and had some of her wound cut off. She is scheduled for 7 more treatments. We pray for quicker healing. We went to Best Buy to see what was wrong with my air card. They were busy and asked that I leave the computer for work. That was fine since we were scheduled to work at the Open Door from 11:30 to 1. Someone else was there to give the devotion, and there were far fewer in attendance than usual. We finished at 1 and returned for the computer and air card. Somehow the settings on the old computer were changed and had to be changed. I was charged $30 for the restoration. I was disappointed in that I didn't insist to be shown how to restore them myself. I always suspect that the changes are simple. We came home and vacuumed the floor and mopped as well. We then took a nap and got a call inviting us for a Spanish dinner. Phil and Joanne hosted the Greene's and us. We had a great time of fellowship with them. We have decided to go to Asheville to see the Tourists in their playoff game. We read about a bus trip from here for $10 each. This includes the ticket to the game ($8) and the bus trip. We can't drive there and back for $4 so this is a great deal for us. We plan to meet our friends, the Norrises.

3 days

We have been busy since Thursday. Friday we went to the wound care for treatment. Evelyn had some painful attention to her staph infected area and was told to return Labor Day at 10. We had walked in the morning and picked up some weekend supplies on the way home. We waited and the Georges family arrived. The kids were reluctantly left here while their mom and dad went to the Marriage Encounter weekend we had planned for them. The children stayed and we watched some Monk and Mythbusters shows during the evening. Tom called and said his cell phone had no signal where they were. They weren’t supposed to call anyone anyway; they were to focus on each other. We went to bed early. Saturday morning I took Doris and Frieda to the bus pickup point. They are taking a 16 day trip to the Grand Canyon. I returned to the flea market and bought some corn and a rechargeable drill. I returned home to get Evelyn and Peter to go back and look at a bicycle and I bought it for $30. We returned home and I was thinking we would go to some of the activities of the festivals in the area. Instead I watched the Purdue football game because no one wanted to go anywhere. Olivia drew and cared for her ferrets and the dog while Peter holed up in his room all day. He came out to eat and, in the evening, to go to Pizza Hut for supper. They brought it home but I didn’t want any. I went to the Smokey Mountain festival at the lake alone. I saw a clogging group of 20 members (that is a large group) and listened to the Cockman family jam outside the auditorium. I wanted to go to the block party downtown but had no one to go with. I would have wanted to dance but had no partner. I returned and went to bed early again. Sunday John Hamel and his daughter came to join us for church and lunch. Olivia made her famous linguini Alfredo and everyone enjoyed it. After they left, we took a short nap and then took the kids and drove to Black Mountain for the closing. Tom and Stacy had a great weekend of sharing and grew closer. They really appreciated our sending them. We drove back and the kids were in a lather to leave, so they packed and were on their way around 6. We were alone once again. We have another busy week ahead and will host a Marriage Encounter spiral next Saturday night.

More good medical news

Thursday we walked and returned home so Evelyn could prepare for her Bible study. I took her to church and paid our water bill on the way. I picked up my meds and went to Best Buy to get help in installing my new disk and get help with installation of the printer onto the new computer. I wanted to check out the Verizon offer of a free aircard but didn’t have time. I returned to church and brought Evelyn home. We ate lunch and left for her appointment with the endocrinologist in Asheville. He said he thinks her thyroid has healed. We returned home and I called Phil to meet me at the golf course. We walked 9 holes and I played miserably. I don’t know why I don’t throw my clubs away. I returned home for supper. Evelyn had been ironing and reading most of the afternoon and was surprised to see me home so early. We rested in the evening and planned for the grandchildren visit for the weekend.

one final play at Flatrock

Wednesday was truly play day. I took my medicine vials to the pharmacy after we walked. I had forgotten the telephone so we came home and I called the Flatrock Playhouse to order tickets. They had seats available so we ran another errand. I paid our bill with Mountain Medical and then went to the hospital to let them know we would not be there. The play was a matinee. We came home for lunch, dressed, and left for Flatrock at 1:00. We arrived for the disappointing play called “Real Estate”. The acting and sets were great as usual but we didn’t care for the play. We drove back to Asheville and went to Frankie Bones for dinner. It is Evelyn’s birthday month and this restaurant gives bogof meals during that month. She had a marvelous steak. We wanted to go to the Tourists ball game but we didn’t feel well and were without our stadium seats so we came home. We had called the Norris’ and left a message about meeting them there. When we got home, Karen called from the ball park. I explained and they understood. I tried to work some on the new computer with little success.

Wonderful diagnosis

We haven’t walked since last Thursday and couldn’t again today. I had our friend Lisa come to help me with our new computer again. Evelyn had to go to the Urgent Care to have her dressing changed. I worked until 11 when we went to Best Buy to get some programs we needed to replace. We were to call her when we wanted her to bring lunch, but since we were out, we brought KFC home. We arrived and learned the good news that Evelyn does not have Merca. It is a staph infection but that is much better than the alternative. She is to just continue antibiotics (and probiotics in yogurt) until at least Friday. Lisa and I continued working until 2 when she had to leave. We did establish a new gmail account for our e-mail and notified many of our friends if they were in our address book. I will have to notify the others manually. We napped in the afternoon before our neighbors came for hamburger dinner. I cooked them and bratwurst and sausage links on our Holland Grill. We invited them because they are leaving on a 16 day bus trip west next Saturday. When they left we went to Food Lion for yogurt and came home to finish watching the Cubs play again.