Cold, cold rain

Evelyn was back at exercise while I cleaned up and loaded some recycleable materials into the car. I had rained during the night but had stopped around 8:30. I walked to the hall for the park meeting. I tried the DVD in the player in the exercise room because we will have to meet with our Bible study there a week from tomorrow. We learned of many events slated for the next month. Things get very busy around Christmas time. I talked about the Bible study and am encouraged about how many have shown interest. We will compare the Bible to the Quran; I think this has attracted some especially after the Fort Hood attack. We returned home just before the rain began in earnest and contiuned all day and all night. One and a half inches are expected. I worked on preparing orders of service for the next 4 weeks, so I am ready until after Christmas. Evelyn worked on making a shrimp salad, some Mexican wedding cakes and a cereal snacks. We ate lunch in the hall for the first time this season. We don't do this often. We were both sleepy so we took a nap from 3 to 4. Then I went to get some peanuts and mustard but returned with much more including some needed after shave. We had the shrimp salad for supper. We usually do our daily devotion at an earlier meal but did it at supper. The night was exciting in that Drew Brees led the New Orleans Saints against the New England Patriots. It was cool in the house due to the cold rain so we dressed for the weather.

Back to preaching

We were up and off to Trail's End so I could lead worship. There were 31 in attendance. I had expected around 20. It was good to be back and meet many friends from years prior. Evelyn seemed to like the message and went with me to Llano Grande where I preached to 165 people. That is a smaller crowd than usual because it is still early in the season. There were many compliments from the people there too. I really thank God for blessing the people despite my poor preparation. We had intended to have John and Sue come for lunch, but they couldn't work it into their schedule. So we ate alone. Evelyn prepared a low country boil. Neither of us can understand why she did that because neither of us thinks there is any flavor to it. We added many table condiments. We then wasted the entire afternoon just lying around. I did spend a great deal of time looking for the Bible study materials the office ran off for me. I finally found it but saw that the pages had not been done properly. I also watched the Colts play football. They have a way of coming back from huge deficits and did that again. We went to the hall to sign up for the bike party Tuesday afternoon. We watched some "Monk" programs that were recorded today and some of the movie we started yesterday. Emily called and talked for a while. She first mentioned calling on Skype tomorrow, but Evelyn talked about everything possible this evening. We must get busy on the Bible study tomorrow. Rain is predicted for the next 2 days so we will likely be indoors, giving us plenty of time.

Sewing trouble

I got up and wondered why the plastic fitting would not work on the ice maker. I decided to try again. I attached it, using all the equipment from the ice maker filter, but Evelyn saw it was slowly leaking. I took it apart and applied some Teflon tape and it worked. I thank God for giving me the idea. Armond and I went to Lowes but didn’t find what we were looking for but did find a flashlight to replace the one that won’t work. We came home, helped unload Kruse’s trailer and ate lunch before I rode the bike to the hospital. I substituted for someone who couldn’t make it. Paul was working but was not looking nor feeling good. We had wanted to go to the dinner with him and Donna but will have to wait until next week. I rode home and invited the Kruses to go to Long John Silvers with us. We went and had a good time. We came home for the evening. During the day, Evelyn had tried to sew on the bathroom curtains, but the sewing machine stopped working. We had just paid $67 to have it fixed last Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving to God

We slept a bit later this morning and then readied for the dinner. Evelyn put together the chocolate pie while I put the doors back onto the cupboards and tried to connect the ice maker. Ken had not brought one of the pieces I needed so the neighbor and I went off to see if Lowes was open. They weren't and neither was Home Depot. We took our food and place settings to the hall on the golf cart. We began socializing when I remembered the camera so I walked home to get it. I couldn't find it and am worried that I have left it somewhere. After the dinner, I brought the cart home and attached the charger. It worked this time. Our neighbors from Canada had arrived just before the dinner so we invited them for supper because we knew they didn't have any food in the house. We enjoyed tortilla soup and talked a while before they left for the grocery. We watched a movie and then Evelyn went to bed. I watched some NFL football. We watched Kyle Orton play at Purdue and like to follow his pro career.

A new refrigerator

I was up and off to the hospital for my Wednesday shift. I was only there until 10:30 when Evelyn called to say the refrigerator was being delivered. She had stayed home for exercise class so she could call me. It sadly turned out that the unit would not fit underneath the cupboards. After the delivery men put the old refrigerator on he porch, I went to get our neighbor and borrow his jig saw. I cut off enough for the fridge to fit but was disappointed to find it still too big. Lloyd came over and worked for nearly 2 hours but was successful. He is a good worker and that kind never wants to let anyone else do the work. When he finished, we cleaned up all the sawdust that was all over the kitchen. I then called Borderland Hardware to ask Ken to bring parts for me to attatch the ice maker. He brought it to church. We were somewhat disappointed with the worship service. We came home and Evelyn worked on baking some pies for tomorrow. I worked on the sermon for Sunday.

Great bike ride; great rain storm

We were up and loading the bicycles onto the trailer for the trip to South Padre Island. Evelyn met us at the trailer after exercise. Lloyd and Marilyn went with us to insure they would get to eat at Daddy’s wonderful shrimp and Cajun restaurant. The weather was beautiful all during our trip. The air was calm and the temperature mild. We always enjoy the rides on the Island. We went to have a wonderful shrimp lunch, but I had jambalaya which was pretty good. We stopped at the Cactus Flower, an expensive specialty shop before beginning the trip home. The farther we drove the worse the weather was. We were into a heavy downpour by the time we reached Harlingen. It continued until we got home. For some weird reason, Marilyn decided to ride her bike home despite the continuing heavy downpour. For a weirder reason, Evelyn and I did the same while Lloyd drove our car home. Those of us who rode were quite drenched despite having our blue rain jackets. After we dried ourselves, we took a nap. I think we got almost an inch of rain. Evelyn had cooked a chicken last night and we had taken it off the bone so she could finish the tortilla soup she had planned. She chopped the vegetables (usually my job), and we enjoyed the soup for supper. We watched a movie, “Monster in Law” before going to bed for the night. The delivery of the new Kenmore refrigerator is scheduled for tomorrow between 11 and 1. I will have to come home early from the hospital to help put the items in the current one into coolers until the new one gets cool.

A new fridge

We were up early so Evelyn could lead exercise, and I trimmed some more fronds from the Sega palm in front of our house. I then met her at the park meeting. She talked about the exercise opportunity, and I talked about the Bible study that begins December 1. We then returned home and ate an early lunch. I had to wait for the insurance adjuster, so Evelyn went alone to buy a new refrigerator. Ours has a bad seal and the ice maker doesn’t work. She bought one at Sears, a close out model that was the color she wanted. The adjuster said our policy didn’t cover our problem with the damage to our shed. I was not surprised at all. After he left, I rode my bicycle to a nearby auto electric store and had them make 2 cables to connect batteries on the golf cart. I returned, smeared Vaseline on all the battery terminals, replaced the cables and started the cart. It ran like it was supposed to. We had no nuthin soup and then went to Whataburger to try one of their A-1 Thick and Hearty burgers that will be discontinued just before Christmas. We discussed the problem of dispensing the old refrigerator and have a plan. We will have the men who deliver the new one take it out to the screen porch. We will put up a for sale sign and sell it if anyone wants to buy. If not we will just leave it there and leave our small one in NC when we return next year. We watched some recorded Monk episodes during the evening.

Trying to use Skype

I had turned the alarm off so Evelyn could sleep but was surprised to learn that she had not gone to sleep until around 6 this morning. I quietly dressed for church when she wakened and wanted to dress for church. I made her stay in bed and she did. I went to church and sang with the choir. I came home at 12:10 to find that she had wakened at 11:55. We cleaned up the kitchen from last night and then had lunch. I worked on registering us for our cruise in April. I had much trouble and took most of the afternoon. Fortunately, I was able to watch more football. This time NFL. The Colts and the Saints both won to stay undefeated. Evelyn talked with Stacy. She also talked with Janice and learned they were not coming to our park for Thanksgiving. They will do the Christian thing and serve a friend who has cancer but no family. We also cleaned up some of the porch residue before taking a bike ride. Evelyn felt a bit dizzy but wanted to ride anyway. She did well. We came home and discovered a movie that we had seen before, Assination Tango, was playing. I called the Jones to tell them because the movie was set in Argentina and Tom and Luanne love tango. They will have to rent it because they don’t get the channels we get. We went to the hall to see the Sunday entertainment, Ruthie. We seldom go to them on Sunday night but wanted to support her because she preformed for us at last Monday’s park meeting. We came home and talked with the Beelis on Skype--sort of. We could see them and they could see and hear us but we couldn’t hear them. They think the problem is with their Skype software. We watched the news and went to bed.

Purdue uber alles!

We were up waiting for Estella, the park worker who we hire to help us clean the office area of our house. She is a nice Christian woman, and it is nice to have her come to do some of the work that is too hard for Evelyn. She worked with us until about 11. I spent time filing and brushing the cables on the golf cart. After Estella left we went to town to get the sewing machine she had taken to be repaired. The owner is not very personable but did have the machine finished. It was expensive but necessary. We also went to the HEB for groceries for dinner tonight. We had invited the Bruhns, one of the church committee members that helps us with setting up the room for worship and buying the Communion supplies. We had a light lunch and then rested while I watched the Purdue/IU Old Oaken Bucket game. Purdue won in great style but came up 1 victory short of a Bowl bid. Bruhns came at 5:30, and we enjoyed the steak I had grilled and the sweet potatoes, salad and pie Evelyn had made. We played Sequence with them and had one game that we had to stop because we had the board filled but no one could win. We decided to wash the dishes tomorrow because we were tired.

Welcomed rain

We had another ¼ inch of rain to go with the .3 we got last night. I was able to do some more cleaning of the golf cart batteries and affixed the chargers to 2 other batteries. I worked on the order of service for the 29th. I helped Evelyn clean the curtains in the living room by vacuuming the tops of the curtains. She also wants to replace the curtains in the bathroom. We were invited to go to a fund raiser at a Lutheran Church in McAllen with Hamels. We picked them up at 6:15 and left for the big city. Unfortunately, Sue had not brought the address of the church. We drove around and finally found someone who knew where the church was. The headliners were the Sweet Adelines and a very good local magician. There were also snacks included in the $10 admission fee. I talked with some of the men from Llano Grande who happened to be there too. We were home by 10:30.

An embarrassing blunder

I was up working on the golf cart while Evelyn went to lead exercise. Thursday is usually yoga day. I tried to clean the batter contacts with a wire brush. When she returned, she made some baking soda paste to put on the posts. It is to eat the corrosion. I applied it and went to Lloyd’s to ask him to come and inspect the work. He was at home dressing for his park picture and couldn’t come until around 1. He was not pleased with the work I had done. He suggested using a file and my brush to clean them. I have to try to make them shiny. I worked more and then put my battery charger on the battery that had tested lowest. Lloyd put his on the other low charged one. We left them on overnight. We had to put the chargers underneath the cart because of the threat of rain. It came down in droves around 9. Meanwhile I took Evelyn and the computer to Mercedes so she could present the program for the LWML meeting. The computer wouldn’t start at first but finally complied. I returned home after asking Bonny to bring Evelyn. She did just before it rained. I sent a fax home with her to have Joe send it again. The original was sent with our phone number wrong. After she left I saw that Toshiba had sent me a different fax number. I misread the clock, called Joe to correct the number, and got him out of bed. I would have waited until morning but Bonny didn’t tell me he was in bed. I felt terrible but gave him the new number anyway. He was already up and at least was up for a reason.

Medical issues

The alarm wakened us at 7. This time it was I who had been awake during the night. I was awake from 3-5 and was tired when the time came to shower. We ate a quick breakfast, and I went off to the hospital to volunteer at 8. There was no one there who I knew. I did make 3 new friends one of whom was a Filipino girl who was a nurse looking to get hired here. At 10:30 I had to see my own doctor to see how my blood work was. Everything was fine except the cholesterol. The nurse practioner wants me to take a statin again. I want to continue trying to get along without it. She wants me to take a baby aspirin too. I went back to the hospital, and shared a birthday lunch with Evelyn. We get one each year for volunteering. This time we shared a large salad. We went to Office Depot to get a fax number to which I could send my proof of purchase so I can get my free upgrade to Windows 7. I took the number to Joe’s office and sent it to what turned out to be a Best Buy store, possibly the one in Waynesville. I was told that I had to get the upgrade from Toshiba. I will wait and see. Joe’s secretary also sent the wrong phone number on the fax. I will have to correct it soon. Evelyn noticed the error on the way home. We had our pictures taken for the new park directory and then went to Pennys, dropping me at the hospital to get my bicycle. She found some table runners she can make into curtains for the bathroom. We ate cereal for supper and went to choir at 7. We went longer than we ever had: 8:45. I had been very tired and was not happy. But I will live. After all it was for the Lord.

First bike ride of the season

Despite the rain all the way to McAllen,we decided to ride with the bike club along the street in McAllen. It was cold (upper 40s) so I wore a long sleeve shirt. Not enough. I was uncomfortable throughout. So was everyone else so we didn’t ride as far as usual and were at the door of Mr. Ghattis when it opened. It offers a pizza buffet, salad bar pasta bar and baked potato. Evelyn ate just a salad from the extensive bar. We put our bikes onto a long trailer to travel the 20 miles to the bike path and back. We transported 3 ladies in our car. We were home by 1:30 and Evelyn rested. Lloyd Froment came over to examine the ice maker in the refrigerator. He thinks the solenoid is stuck, preventing water from reaching the ice maker. Bob Schwinghammer came to see the damage to our shed and suggested we see if we can file a claim with our insurance company. I will do that tomorrow. I will also call the plumbers Joe Winston had recommended to see if we can move the water pipe instead of the shed. I worked on the sermon for the first Advent season as well as the order of service--the hymns, scriptures, etc. We went our to look for some groceries and ideas for new curtains that Evelyn wants to make. No success. We watched some prerecorded TV shows before going to bed.

Concert # 1 of 6

We slept a bit late and were just on time for the park meeting at 9. Rain had been predicted as a cold front came through, so I took an umbrella but there was no rain. We decided to take the ride around South Padre Island with the bike club on Thursday and signed up. Evelyn found a woman who said she would cook the turkey in case Don and Janice want us to come to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. We came home and I continued working on destruction of the cactus in back. I used my old back saw as before and removed all the paddles. When I got to the very thick trunk, the Lord sent the neighbor over with his small but very effective chain saw. He made relatively short work of what would have taken me all day if I would have ever finished. We worked until about noon when I went in for lunch. I then showered and dressed for the evening. I worked a bit on the computer after drying the dishes Evelyn had washed. I got sleepy and took a nap until it was time to get Joe and Bonny. We drove to McAllen and went to Mimi’s for dinner. We had BOGO coupons and enjoyed the chicken dishes we had. We went to the concert by Buffalo Rome (sic), a group of 3 that sang songs from the 70s and 80s. They were pretty good. We came home and I cut the 4 muffins the restaurant had given us as first timers with the Winstons. We will enjoy them for breakfasts. Evelyn agreed to lead the Mary-Martha Bible study Thursday night and will have to begin working on it before Thursday.

Clearing the driveway.

I was up at 7:30 and cut down some more cactus. I have wheeled 5 loads and have many more to complete. Evelyn put some chicken breasts into our slow cooker before leaving for worship. We were blessed by Holy Communion but remembered we had signed to eat with the church and its new members inducted today. We drove to Harlingen and had a nice lunch . There were 3 tables (about 36 people) including 6 inductees. The first table was finished and leaving before the third table had even been served. It was not a good place for that kind of meal. We returned home and found the chicken breasts in good shape. We washed the dishes from last night and then hooked up the trailer. We took it to park at Joe and Bonny’s and plan our evening at the play tomorrow. We came home and ate popcorn for our supper. We also talked with Don Waters about Thanksgiving, Stacy about her plans for the holiday, and the Beelis about their upcoming move to Dayton in late December. We went to bed after the news.

Sad football Saturday

We were up and planting our garden in the morning. I also called to ask the Winstons if we could park our trailer at their place for the winter. They said yes. When we finished the garden, I began cutting down the cactus in the back but stopped after 3 wheelbarrow loads. We then rushed off to WalMart for some Roundup and a hose nozzle. Evelyn also wanted to make a picture for Louise’s retirement party. It is a picture of our trip to Australia in 2005. We rushed home to see the Purdue/Michigan State football game. Purdue almost won and played well. I then began working on the sermon for the first Sunday in Advent. We invited the Froments over for dinner and served Luky Fogels, a type of hamburger. Afterward we played Sequence until almost 10. I never did take the trailer to Winstons. Perhaps tomorrow. We also learned that our family in California will be moving to Dayton, Ohio. Pieder is taking a job there. That means that they will be only 400 miles from us during the summer.

More clearing weeds

We have been blessed with cool evenings and low humidity. It has been in the high 80degree range but with tolerable humidity. Even though the porch was cleaned again yesterday, it is still not very clean. The dirt and dust are very active. We spent more time grubbing the weeds in the back. I put them out front with the large pile we had from this week and it was gone in an instant, picked up by the park maintenance men. I found the sprayer and sprayed the remaining weeds with 2-4-D. I need to get some Roundup. Evelyn made rows for our vegetable garden. I went to see the park manager about getting permission to move our shed but she has more investigating to do. She may do it next week. As I returned home, she was leaving to go get some seeds and other items. She even bought a bag of ice since our ice maker is not working. I changed the filter hoping the water would flow to the freezer. There were none at this writing. Evelyn is again talking about a new refrigerater. I also put many travel items--suitcases, etc-- into the traler. I was able to do that because I had cleaned the porch floor some more and was able to put the beer and wine inside. Now we have to move the trailer to the Winston's. We picked up a friend from this park and took him to the organ concert performed by Joe and Bonny's son Chris. He is getting a master's degree in organ and probably played his recital. His 9 year old son played one song and his wife sang a few classical songs as well. We returned home and Evelyn picked out more pecan meats.

Back to the Horseman

The Horseman has built this outdoor dance floor and performance stage. Evelyn and Sue Hamel are talking while John and I drink Shiner Bock. There were many people in attendance for the grand opening and free lunch of barbecue brisket.

bikers at the brewery

We stopped at the Spoetzel brewery in Shiner, Texas. So did a group of bikers. They must have been on the tour. We left before they returned to enjoy samples--not too many we hope!

water leak mess

We arrived in Weslaco to discover water leaking from under our shed. The plumbers had to break through the concrete in front of the door and inside the shed to repair it. Praise God we had no water leak inside the building or the trailer.

south of the border

We were up working outside again in the morning. We wanted to work in the cool, mosquito free morning. We also wanted to go to Mexico to get some beer, Bailey’s Irish Creme, pedicures and some medicine to help Evelyn sleep. The medicine was unavailable, but the others were. We would have liked to go with our neighbors but things didn’t work out. I would like to get to know them better. We were home by 12:30 and ate lunch. I wanted to eat in Mexico, but Evelyn is always uneasy even though we have done it several times over the years without incidence of death or illness. We worked on cleaning the porch even though we had paid a park worker to do it. I also began working on unloading the trailer. The worker returned and did some work on the porch ceiling that should have been cleaned earlier. We picked some pecan meats out of some shells and watched some football in the evening. It was very pleasant and cool after being 87 during the day.

Veteran's Day

We were up and working outside by 7:30. We have a jungle of weeds in back. We can’t even begin to plant any garden until we clean it off. We worked for an hour while it was cool and then I went to talk to the park manager about moving our shed. She said she would come to look at the situation later in the week. This is Veteran’s Day and she has some responsibilities. We had lunch and then went to the ceremony. I thought it a fiasco: the park manager's daughter sang 3 songs well off key and used an innovative melody for each one (I didn’t know that 1 song could be sung in so many keys at once), the Canadian national anthem was sung in French although the majority of Canadians speak English and don’t like French Canadians, and there were many misspellings in the program. We really appreciate the surviving veterans in our parks and they deserved better than they got. We dressed and went with Hamel’s to the welcome back party at the Horseman. We went there several times last season. The owner, Adam, is quite generous and gave away brisket sandwiches, potato salad and Charro beans. John and I split a bucket of Shiner Bock (3 each), and we left by 5:30 to come home to leave for choir practice. We had a good practice even without 4 of the members. We returned home and I tried to register for our Windows 7 update without success.

Finishing some errands.

I was up and showered by 7:30. Evelyn hadn't been able to sleep until 3. Ironically, I wakened shortly before 4 and worked on the computer, ordering gifts for the Beeli girls. I went to the hall and returned to find the pile of residue gone, so I went back and pulled some weeds and cut down some volunteer trees that always grow in our garden over the summer. I also found Hector, the man who will move the shed. He was supposed to be here at 8:30 but had to be hunted down. He made a rough estimate of $5-600, much less than I expected. When Evelyn wakened, we rode to the doctor and made arrangements to have blood drawn tomorrow morning. We then went to the hospital, agreed to work Wednesday mornings, and went to pay the oncologist. We came home, jumped into the car and went to Big Lots for some supplies, especially napkins. We then went to the bank to prove that we still lived at the same address, and then went to the license branch to renew our tags for another year. It was noon so we used our first 2 for 1 coupon from our new coupon book and then went to Wal-Mart for some ice cream. We went to Tom Crouch's on the way home to learn what medication he uses to help him sleep. We will look for some in Mexico soon. We then came home and took a nap before Evelyn went to Weight Watchers for November. One of the park maintenance guys came to wash doen our unit while we ate supper. He had to finish in the dark. He will return to wash our shed when we get it moved. Evelyn went to bed early. I had to stay up until the card players finished so I could upload pictures of our mess.

God's providence in action

Evelyn is still having trouble falling asleep. I got up and loaded the amaryllis into the wheelbarrow and took them to the front of our unit. I thought Monday was the day of the pick up but it wasn't. I also pulled a few weeds. We went to the town meeting and I announced the steak fry and the organ concert scheduled for this week. We then came home for breakfast and clean up. I brought our bicycles out of the garage and inflated the tires. (I left the car doors open and the neighbor thought it might have been broken into.) I took the golf cart battery charger to Tom Crouch and learned that it needs repair. He will work on the heater from NC that likely needs a new coil. When I returned home, I found the park manager and the plumber at our house. She said our shed would have to be dismantled but I learned from Tom that it could be moved if the manager would permit it. The mover will come tomorrow to give us an estimate. After lunch, we took a nap. I also began to work on selecting sermons for my Advent services. We wakened and took a bike ride before dark. We also watched some Monday Night Football. Kyle Orton and the Denver Broncos lost for only the 2nd time this season. We also praised God because Emily's husband has a job offer in Dayton, Ohio. He may accept it.

A full Sunday

We were up and off to church by 10:10. The service was OK. We went with Joe and Bonny to Port Isabel for a LWML rally. It also included an LLL meeting. We stopped in Harlingen for lunch at Lubys and Joe paid for all of us. I hadn’t ever liked Lubys but today I had a delicious salad. I might change my mind. The presenter, Bervyn Merching, was riding with us and gave his presentation on the Lutheran Hour Ministries. It was a power point that emphasized what the organization does for Christ. We were impressed as to how the Men’s Network is growing. We plan to use one of their Bible studies in our park. The LWML served a carry in buffet so we enjoyed a good supper. We left and got home by 8. We had been on the move since we left for church at 10. We were happy to shed our Sunday clothes. Stacy had called 3 times during the day, but we were without our phone. We called her back and had a nice visit. Evelyn went to bed while I watched some football and put some more things away.

Big mess at our house

We wakened and went to the hall for pancakes. We rarely go for the park pancake breakfast but had no milk or anything else. We saw a few friends but couldn’t stay long because we were to have the Dish network men come to hook up our set. They were supposed to be her between 8 and noon. I didn’t want to be gone when they arrived so we came home and proceeded to unload some more. Meanwhile the plumbers came back and worked on finding the correct source of the leak. They began digging and then breaking the concrete slab in front of our shed. I waited until exactly noon for the TV hookup and was watching the Purdue game on the computer. It had begun at 11 and it was almost halftime when the TV began working. Evelyn had stopped working and was sleeping through most of the game. I continued working on putting things away while watching the game. Purdue played well and beat Michigan by 2 points. I was confident they had the ability to win but was doubtful when I began watching. Meanwhile the plumbers had broken the floor of our shed and found the leak. It was so bad that the water had to be turned off in the entire park. This is a big place. After the game (around 2:30) we went out for lunch and shopping. We had Mexican food and bought over $60 of supplies before coming home. The plumbers had repaired the line but couldn’t put any dirt back due to its being wet. They will come back Monday. I know they will do what they can but wonder who will pay to put the floor back in the shed. Evelyn went to bed early, hoping to get a solid night’s sleep. I worked on putting things away. We will go to Immanuel for worship in the morning and then possibly to Port Isabel for a church meeting with Joe and Bonny in the afternoon.

Heading home

We were up at 7:30 again but only in spite of Evelyn’s lack of sleep. We loaded our items into the car and trailer. We said goodbye to Don and Janice, filled up with fuel and drove toward Seguin for pecans. We stopped at a store that sold pecans, and we bought a pound of pieces. We drove on to the Belmont farm where we usually stop. The store said theirs were from Chicago and we wanted local. We bought 5 pounds from there and went on to the Shiner brewery. I bought 6 bottles of the 100 year anniversary bottles and tried to find 1 to replace the one I don’t have from the 98th year. They don’t have any and suggested I try e-bay. We left there and had lunch in Victoria. We drove on to the Valley and arrived at 5:15. We learned that the water line in back of our house is broken and there was a big trench of water running out the back of our shed. The plumber was to come back tomorrow to find the leak. I backed the trailer into our carport and began unloading. We worked until 9:30 and went to bed. We had hardly accomplished anything because we had brought so much with us.

Alex Meixter

If you have never seen or heard this guy, please listen to this one time.

Mor and more Wurstfest

Here is the headliner, Jimmy Sturr, and his 12 piece band, followed by Evelyn and Janice playing "groupies. There is a man who dresses like a German clown and walks around on stilts entertaining the crowd. He must be nearly 10 feet tall. The final is Janice helping me try our smile sensor on the camera.

Wurstfest

More pictures from Wurstfest. The locals in lederhosen taking tickets; the girl dancers from Munich out of costume; the interior of the Wursthalle; and a blurry picture of the Sauerkrauts playing some Alpine horns.

Shopping

Evelyn and Janice spent an hour looking for some bargains

The best night of Wurstfest

We went downtown but didn't find any bargains that meant anything to us. Don and I went for a cup of coffee while they shopped. We went to the Friesenhaus again for our lunch. Don knew an old college roommate and wanted to spend some time visiting with him. We went to Hobby Lobby to look for some material. We didn't find any and brought Don back to the motel. We tried to take a nap but neither of us could sleep. At 4:30 we went out by the pool for snacks and beverages before going to the Wurstfest for the last time this year. When we arrived at 6 there was not a large crowd and we saw a group we enjoyed from last year, The Funbunch. After the hour show, we went to the Wursthalle to dance to another good band and then went back to the grosse zelt to see the Sauerkrauts. They always put on a great show. Back to the main hall for food and to listen to Jimmy Sturr and his band. It was a great show too as always. The most delightful thing was that the college kids had just begun to roll in. We were able to dance more than last year. The place was just beginning to fill up when we left at 9:30 when we had been leaving. We came back and enjoyed a funnel cake before retiring. It was another glorious cool evening.

Girls from Munich, Germany

The 4 girls and a lady yodeler performed cowbells, danced and played a mirimba type instrument. They were very good.

Wurstfest

The residents of New Braunfels really dress the part of the Germans. This must be the Kaiser. This is also a shot of the Wursthalle that gives a represtation of the size of the place. It is quite near a football field long.

Crazy Alex Meixter

Friesenhaus lunch

Waters, Schwinghammers, Jones at lunch in a fine German restaurant in New Braunfels.

Fool me twice, shame on me!

I was up for breakfast early. Evelyn had been unable to sleep until late so I didn't want to disturb her. When she wakened, we worked on rearranging the things in the car and watering the plants. We also put some of the newly purchased sodas into the trailer. We then took Bob and Theresa downtown to look around. We learned that the sidewalk sale we found last year was tomorrow. We planned to return to look for bargains. We met Tom and Luanne for lunch at the Friesenhaus. We shared a Jagerschnitzel as we did last year. We then separated for the afternoon but met again by the pool at 4:30. Don and Janice arrived from Rio Hondo and joined us. We then rode with Don in his truck to the fest. Tom and Luanne met us there. We enjoyed Alex Meixner again as well as the girls from Munich. They played 3 songs on the hand cowbells and were fabulous. Their dancing was very sedate and unimaginative but the cowbells were great. We ate at the festival again, and then came back to the motel. When we arrived, Bob dropped the bombshell that they were leaving tomorrow morning. This really irritated me. We only planned to stay 3 nights to accomodate their wishes. They had pulled an early departure on us this past spring from Weslaco. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I won't be fooled again. As much as we enjoy being with them, I will prearrange anything with them again.

Wurstfest #1

We wakened and went to breakfast. We were a bit disappointed in the cereal but ate anyway. We went to the local HEB for some laundry and snack supplies. I needed some toothpaste but there was not the kind I like. We got a rain check. We went to OMA’s restaurant for lunch and enjoyed it more than the one last year. We returned to the motel and found that Bob and Theresa had arrived we made arrangements to meet them and Jones at 4:30 for some wine and snacks. We had a good time talking about the summer and then left for the festival. We picked up the tickets I had ordered for us. We had decided to eat our supper at the festival but got distracted by listening to the wildest accordion player on the planet, Alex Meixner. He played for an hour straight, going from one tune to another. We had a sausage plate and a drink. We danced some but not as much as usual and left at 9:30 when the bands stopped playing. We will go back tomorrow night and hopefully remember our camera. We will meet with the 6 of us for lunch at noon tomorrow.

Jolie's Lafayette

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This where we ate brunch Sunday. It features a famous painting by the owner, George Rodrigue

The beginning of Wurst fest

Evelyn was up early and so was I. We had eaten breakfast and begun driving by 8. We were very satisfied with the room but were very disappointed with the breakfast. We learned that the lady in charge of the provisions had been off for the weekend and the weekend crowd had eaten everything. I joked that we would not stay there on Sunday night again. We drove due west and were in Texas by10:30. We wanted to eat Cajun once more but it was too early for lunch. The man at the welcome center told us of a place in Winnie, TX called Al T’s. We had one of the best Cajun meals we have had for a long time. We shared a huge combination plate. It featured shrimp gumbo, red beans and rice, chicken and sausage gumbo, fish, fried oysters, a crab cake, crawfish etouffee, a piece of alligator and a large link of boudin. We both ate our fill and still had enough for our supper. We decided to go on to New Braunfels because it was too early to stop for the night. It worked out better because we were able to get the same room we will have when our friends arrive. We would have had to pack and unpack an extra time. We arrived in our residence around 5 and ate our leftovers from noon after bringing everything necessary into the room. We watched the Monday night football game featuring Drew Brees. It was a real blessing to see him play at Purdue and follow his pro career. He is quite a great quarterback and human being.

Another day in Cajun country

We dallied around early this morning. Last night daylight saving time ended so we were able to sleep an hour longer and get up at the same time.
We wanted to worship this morning and didn’t rush because the service didn’t start until 10:30. We had worshipped at this Lutheran Church in previous years. We were blessed by Holy Communion too. During the time of passing the peace, I recognized a face and learned that the couple danced frequently at Randol’s when we were there. We had just talked about how this was the first time we had traveled to Lafayette and not danced at Randol’s. It caused me to wonder what the rush was to get out of Lafayette and to the other side of Houston. I suggested that we stay another night at a different motel and leave in the morning. We agreed to do that and dance this evening. We went to a ritzy restaurant, Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro. It is owned, with another restaurant--the Blue Dog--by a renown Lafayette native, George Rodrigue. The Bistro was decorated with his paintings and was as I said ritzy. We shared a Pain Perou, a glorified French toast featuring a carmel sauce, onion, andouille sausage, and nuts. We then went out to a motel we had inspected last night, got a room, and took a nap while watching football. We left for a place to eat. We wanted to go to Fezzo’s but found it closed so we ended up at Randol’s for dinner. We shared a seafood salad, smoked potato hash and boudin balls. They were all pretty good. It was Zydeco night at the salle danse hall and we were the only couple dancing. We stayed about an hour and then left. The Cajun dancers don’t come to Zydeco night. We filled up with gas, ready for tomorrow’s departure.

Happy Reformation Day

Praise God! Evelyn got some good sleep last night as did I. I even thought some and figured out what was wrong with my computers. I had loaded the code that works in La Quintas but not others. We got up around 8:30 and met some interesting people at breakfast. We reminisced with them about things to do around Lafayette. There is a “Black Pot” okra cookoff and festival that one of the couples attended last night in the rain. We will try to find it since it continues all day today. Evelyn was able to take another short nap this morning while I was waiting to see if Purdue would be telecast on ESPN2 in this area. It turned out that the Wisconsin game was televised. Purdue must have missed the plane and didn’t show up. We decided to go to the Black Pot festival at the Acadian village after our lunch at Dwyer’s cafeteria. (We had given up on the game at half time.) We had delicious pork jambalaya and grilled catfish. The former was good. When we arrived at the festival and discovered the entry fee was $20 per person, we returned to the motel to rest for the evening trip. We drove to Eunice and saw the radio program at the Liberty Theater. It was poor compared to the ones we had seen in the past. We were able to dance several times before the show ended half an hour earlier than usual. We stopped for a Blizzard on the way to the motel and went to bed. Neither of us is running on all cylinders yet.