Sad departure

Wednesday we got up and the family began preparing to leave. I scrambled a dozen eggs and cooked them while Evelyn cooked some hash brown potatoes. I broke some bacon into the eggs, and we all seemed to enjoy the breakfast. They left around 11:30. We were sad to see them go because we had such a good time with them. The kids are always doing something: reciting poems, playing songs on the piano, hugging us, singing songs and helping clean things up. It is different now that they live close enough to visit once in a while. We have been blessed to visit with both our families of grandchildren 3 times this year. That is more than ever before. After they left Evelyn took me to the golf course and went to walk around the lake. She tried to deliver 2 German dinner tickets but couldn’t. Our friends, the Montieths have to leave to go to the coast where they have to foreclose on a family that is buying a house they own. They really feel terrible about having to do it but can’t pick up the payments for them. I finished the first 9 holes but had to stop on 10 because it began to rain gently. In July I would have stayed, but the rain was cold as was the air temperature. I called Doris who told Evelyn I needed to come home. She got me and brought me home. I showered because I was wet. We had a light supper and went to choir practice. We came home hoping our friends, the Bollingers, would come to get their German dinner tickets after their choir practice but we never heard from them. I worked on the computer despite the broken screen. Andrew and I had decided we could hook it up to the TV monitor and see the script. It worked well but I couldn’t do anything else while working. I can watch TV and work on the computer at the same time when the computer screen is working. It is also uncomfortable to sit in the chair close to the monitor because one of the cords is short. I wore out and went to bed around 10.

Family visit

We slept late Tuesday and had cereal and toast for breakfast. The kids don’t get much cereal from boxes at home. They get oatmeal and eggs but not any cereal. They were quite excited to have some. Andrew and I took off to find some place that might repair my computer screen. We started at Best Buy , but they would have to send the computer away for several days. We looked at new computers in case that was our only option. The rest of the family had gone to the Rec center to play. We went to 2 computer repair places and then I took Andrew to the center to meet them. I went to a 3rd place that seemed to be the only one that could get the screen. I returned to the center to learn that it would have cost them $18 to go inside. Instead, they had been taking turns in talking with Grandma as Emily had requested. When not talking, the younger kids played in Richland Creek and had a great time. Andrew was disappointed because he wanted to play basketball inside. We came home and had lunch. Then Emily and Andrew went back to the center hoping he could play basketball but no one was there to play with. They returned home and we talked before ordering pizza from Dominos. We had a buy an extra large and get a large free. I went there because I thought that would be enough to fill up the kids. It was. We watched 2 movies that Emily had brought from the library while Emily and Evelyn had many long talks. We went to bed around 11.

Surprise birthday party.

At 4:30 AM, the attendant knocked on our sleeping room door. I took a shower in the compartment smaller than any shower in our motor homes. The room left in the room when the lower berth is made into a bed. Calves with legs attached can barely slide by to get out of the room, not to mention closing the suitcases. We were able to get to the exit door just in time. What a blessing to see our car—left in the parking lot for 10 days—was left there and intact. We loaded up and began our search for Bloom, a grocery store, where I planned to buy some Matthew Fox wine for the winter. We went down the street to the south and couldn’t find it. We went the opposite way and were told it was back down the south. We went back and found it, still wondering how we missed it the first time. It wasn’t open so we went to a Hardees for breakfast. When it was 8, we went to the store and bought 18 bottles of white and red wine. We then left for Asheville. We arrived at Frankie Bones, the restaurant we planned for lunch, just before it opened. The manager was very accommodating and allowed Evelyn’s birthday dinner to be used for lunch. He also gave us a recipe for the breakfast casserole they serve. Evelyn plans to use it for her turn at hostess at the next LWML meeting. We made our way home, unloaded our suitcases, picked up the hearing aids I had forgotten and went to the audiologist. We had my aids tweaked and then returned home. Then, when Evelyn went into the door, the Beeli children jumped out wishing her happy birthday. I knew they were coming but she didn’t. We had a wonderful visit and began a game of Phase 10 while Emily prepared dinner. We ate the birthday cake Rosalie and Elizabeth had made and brought from Ohio. We really enjoyed the visit during the evening. Much of it was spent in preparing the house for sleeping. I talked with both boys, especially Andrew about what to do about my computer. We will search for a solution tomorrow morning.

The trip home on the Amtrak

We ate breakfast in a leisurely fashion because we knew we could get off at almost any time. We took our carryon bag and went to the dock to get our others. We strapped everything together and started across the street. We were accosted by several drivers but one was especially persistent. He kept coming down in price and finally we took his offer of $25 including tip to take us to Penn Station. Evelyn tried to get the driver to take us to Ground Zero, but he didn’t understand English. We got to Penn Station and I gave him a couple of dollars for himself since he was just the driver, not the one we had contracted with. It was a more pleasant drive since it was Sunday. We went to the waiting area because we had a 4 hour wait until we could board the train. I worked on the computer since they had Wifi and I could publish more pictures. I finally found a place to check the luggage for the remaining 3 hours. There were several soldiers carrying camouflage back packs. Since we had to buy our lunch, I offered to buy lunch for one of them. He had already eaten (it was nearly 1), so we went by ourselves. On our way out of the many restaurants lining the interior of the station, I saw another soldier, thanked him for serving and gave him $5 for his lunch. We finally boarded the train at 2 and left NYC at 2:15. We had what is called a room for our trip back. It had a wider bed and a personal shower, stool and sink. We still had Wifi so I continued posting. We had a 7 PM dinner setting so we ate after leaving the socialist capital of the world. The waitress was perky and jovial, but we had to eat with a nice black man who talked with his mouth full much of the time. We returned to our room and had the attendant convert it to sleeping quarters. In the process of our getting ready for bed, I closed my computer but neglected to remove the earplug I keep with me, cracking the screen. I will have to either have it replaced or buy a new computer. We were asleep by 10 for the rhythmic ride to Greenville. I have decided that the increased price of this room compared to the roomette we had going north is not worth the extra unless the ride will be more than 1 night.

St. John, NB

We were inticed to have this picture taken with the constable outside the former police car. He told us that years ago he and 3 other large men rode in this bug. The other shots are inside the museum.

St. John, NB

This is an old Anglican church, the first in Canada.

St John, NB

Herb and Debbie Terry are friends we met from New York State. He developed clostrophobia, causing them to leave after this stop. The center park had many beautiful flowers.

Inside the citadel

The interior where the soldiers did their work. The top offered good views of the harbor and the northern part of the town. Evelyn found a place to have ice cream and there was some sort of tugboat figure of a small restaurant that was closed.

The citadel

The fort at the top of the hill is inactive but tours are conducted for the public. There is a guard on duty at all times. This is New Scotland hence the outfits. Actually, the "soldiers" are all college students. Our tour guide talked loud and fast for 45 minutes. The masts were Prince William's attempt to make sure everyone was on time for the arrival of ships. The flags are raised when the ship is on the horizon. Our ship is visible from the vantage point at the top of the citadel.

More hilly Halifax

Perhaps the steep grade is observable from the top of the hill where the citadel is located. Evelyn is standing near the top. We have walked from the bottom. The view of the harbor was breathtaking on the is clear but windy day. The Large clock is inaccurate but does look beautiful.

Maritime Museum

There are plaques commemorating ships that have sunk in the north Atlantic near Halifax. This represents only a few since my wide angle camera isn't that wide! Why are we smiling in front of the picture of the main stairway on the Titanic? We know we are about to take a swim in cold water. more than 140 bodies from the shipwreck are buried in Halifax. It was the closet town to the sinking site. I think piracy was discouraged in NS.

Tragedy in Halifax

These 2 pictures are from July,1917. One is the day before the munitions ship caught fire and hit the city. The next is the picture taken shortly after. 20,000 people were killed and the town was all but totally destroyed.

Halifax 1

The Harborwalk was the place to begin our walk. There were many painted porpoise along the way. The maritime museum was fascinating and featured a section on the Titanic and other undersea discoveries. We didn't realize how huge the lanterns were in a lighthouse.

Onboard

The band that plays in the Spinnaker Lounge for dancing. Evelyn examines some of the art for sale at auction. There are auctions on every cruise. The sunrise over the horizon was just too beautiful to miss photographing despite the morning dew on the window.

Cruising

Evelyn loves our balcony. We sailed past the Statue of Liberty which may be replaced by one of Hispanics climbing a fence to get into the country instead of coming in to be naturalized. The atrium is beautiful on the Dawn.

New York City

Our hotel room was small. We found an unusual fruit and some gafitti along the steet. And we found the Empiree State Building.

Boston

Our balcony was of little value in Boston. We were next to the pier but facing a dock building. If we turned just right we could see the Boston Harbor. The day was quite pleasant and we took the public transit into town. The bus took us underground to the subway, so we didn’t have to walk down the stair to get on. The entire trip downtown cost $2 each. We came up at the beginning of the Freedom Trail. We walked up to the Paul Revere House which took about 3 hours because of the stops at other points of history. We went to Faneuil Hall where we thought we had eaten in 1975. We never found the restaurant, so it might have been closed. After all it has been 35 years. Evelyn was especially tired and needed to rest. We returned to the ship a bit earlier than we had to. The Freedom Trail is marked by a red line of a defined set of bricks 3 wide throughout the historic part of town. We saw where the original Boston Tea party was planned and a statue of Samuel Adams in the Faneuil square. I sadly thought, “This statue will be replaced by one of Karl Marx or Fidel Castro in the future”. I can only hope the modern tea party can stop this spiral toward Marxism. Of course that statue will be short lived and replaced by one of Mohammed. I got on the computer and published some blog entries until time for dinner. We sat with a couple from Brisbane, Australia and another from near London, England. They have a bit of distortion about our health care system and were surprised to learn that poor people are not turned away from hospitals. We shared with them the amount that the hospital in Texas writes off each month because many people are too poor to pay. We went to the show in the Stardust Theater and enjoyed the staff filling their mouths with water and pretending to be fountains. They sprayed all over each other. Evelyn went to the chocolate buffet as is her custom. I even ate a small portion. The buffets used to be very elegant but are now pretty common. The offerings are not even as good as they were just 3 years ago. We were unimpressed and went to bed.

Bar Harbor, ME

Beautiful Bar Harbor may be the most quaint city along the east coast. The port is shallow, necessitating being tendered to shore. We didn’t go early because the people who sign up for shore excursions go first. We didn’t but will tomorrow. We boarded the tender (one of the life boats)near noon and walked around the shore on a lovely gravel path that showed the rugged coastline of Maine. The weather was much warmer than the ship’s thermometer showed. The temperatures are trailed across our TV screen each day but are rarely reliable as today. The hotels along the path were large, elegant ones but also very old and weathered. We came back up the main street which was not unlike the Main street in
Waynesville but longer. Many people go there in the summer, increasing the population by 10. We walked down the street looking for a way to go to an Oceanarium where we had visited many years ago. We went to a bank to ask and were met by an elderly pastor’s wife who walked us to a bus stop where we learned it would take more time than we had. She even offered to drive us several miles to expedite our trip. It would have still taken too long. Instead we walked around looking for a restaurant where Evelyn could have a whole lobster dinner. We found one but were surprised at how inexpensive lobster is at lunch time. Hers with 2 sides was 10.99, and there were many other restaurants offering similar deals. We chose “Chowdas” where the waitress even gave us a small taste of their blueberry crisp. It was around 3 by now but we wanted to do something else so we walked back to the harbor where we visited the whale museum. It was interesting but not so much as the one in the Falkland Islands. We returned to the ship and relaxed by taking a nap. We went to dinner and tried to catch some of the entertainment afterward. We got separated and went to different sides of the Spinnaker lounge where a couple did Neil Diamond songs. Evelyn returned to the cabin, but I went to watch the black couple in the atrium. The women has more energy than almost any performer I have ever seen. She never took a break between songs during her hour and a half show. What a performer!

St. John, NB

St. John, New Brunswick was supposed to be 52 degrees according to the ships messages. Therefore I dressed accordingly. I was too hot all day, except when we could go outside in a breeze. Like Halifax, the port town is far above the water level. Up hill we went. The bay of Fundy really does rise over 20 feet at high tide. We left the ship with a couple we have met from NY—Herb and Debbie Terry. They are fun and seem to like us. We walked through the farmer’s market, an Anglican Church, a police museum and a China shop. We didn’t buy anything but they did. It began to sprinkle and cloud over which was fine with me since I was hot. It felt very good. We had eaten no lunch, so we went to a restaurant so the ladies could have a lobster dish. Evelyn’s was lobster bisque. We just wandered back to the ship and found it much lower in the water than when we left at high tide. We returned at almost low tide. The gangway was at an obscure angle to the pier. We were able to relax a while before going to dinner. We ate at a table for 10 (we usually ask to do this) but were unhappy because it was too large to really get to know anyone. I talked with a couple from Newport and a single lady from Orange, CA while Evelyn talked with 2 other couples from Florida and Indiana/Florida. We left the dinner and went to listen to a couple who played country western music tonight. They will play Neil Diamond tomorrow night. From there we went to the dance company show in the large theater. We didn’t like it much and couldn’t find a good thread in the program, although the dancing was very good. Then we went to a great performance by a black group called “Fire and Ice”. The woman, Rosie, did a great impersonation of Tina Turner. Her body language was perfect and she had a great voice. She had a bottomless supply of energy and had the crowd in awe. I seldom give anyone a standing ovation but did her. We came back to the room and tried to decide what to do in Bar Harbor, Maine tomorrow.

Halifax, NS, ca was a beautiful little harbor town. Unfortunately, it is far north and windy. Today, it was cold but not intolerable. A month from now it will be intolerable at least to those of us who are used to being comfortable in a lighter garment than a parka. But today it was beautiful in Halifax. We ate our meals on the ship, but Evelyn did have an ice cream despite being uncomfortable due to the cold. Ice cream, to her, is good even in the cold. We also walked throughout the town with the wind attempting to rip our hats and coats from our bodies. We did get some shelter by spending a couple of hours inside the Maritime Museum. Since Nova Scotia is a maritime province, it is naturally a country dependent upon the sea for economic sustenance. The most interesting thing about Halifax was that in 1917, a munitions ship caught fire and ran into the city. It exploded, killing 20,000 people and leveling the town at that time. It would have killed more people except for a railroad telegrapher who sent a message to the incoming trains to not continue coming to the city. He closed his communication with the words, “Good bye, boys.” He knew he and thousands of others were doomed to death. He reminded me of the bank teller who foiled the raid on the Northfield MN bank by the James gang. He was killed but is honored by the town in MN each year. We also saw a great deal about maritime life including salvage materials from ship wrecks. We know from the trip around Cape Horn in South America that over 1250 shipwrecks have occurred. Nova Scotia is close behind. We left there and walked to the old fort up a steep grade into the wind. A young college student conducted a tour, much of it outdoors. He had to scream during the tour portion outdoors because of the wind aborting his voice. It was a very interesting piece of history. We returned to our ship’s cabin early, anticipating our lobster dinner. The lobster came with a small piece of grouper, so I gave my lobster to Evelyn and ate her grouper. We were able to go to the dance area and dance for about an hour to “Big Band” music.

Monday was Evelyn’s 70th birthday. We didn’t do much special except sleep in. We crossed into a new time zone so we didn’t get up until almost 11. Evelyn went to the exercise area for a talk on how to flatten the tummy. As it turned out, the cure was to become younger. She also heard a bunch of junk on how to detoxify the body. While she was gone, I showered and went with her for a brunch. It was almost noon but I was still able to get an omelet just shortly before the station closed. We had our cards with us and played a few games. We went through the art auction and then to the shore excursion desk where we signed for a tour in Newport, RI. I was feeling a bit woozy from the rocking of the ship, so we came back and went to bed for a nap. We wakened and went to the show for the evening, “Band on the Run”. It was a high energy song and dance show. From there we went to dinner and shared a table with 3 women who were from Michigan and Canada. It was an older mother, her daughter and a friend from Canada. They were very interesting to talk with. People get a cake on their birthday and a serenade by the wait staff, but Evelyn asked that they not sing to her. She just brought the cake to the cabin. All day I ignored Evelyn’s asking what I wanted to do. I told her on several occasions to not ask me that because it was her day. She chose to go to a not so newly wed game. (We thought there would be dancing on the Spinakker lounge.) That was our last activity for the day.

blending Saturday and Sunday

It was much more pleasant in the City than I expected. It was not raining as predicted and was safer and friendlier than expected. The motel room was small but clean. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We were able to walk around many blocks. We found a small grocery and bought a Diet Pepsi for only a dollar. I was very surprised it did not cost any more. We even found some clothes that were not overpriced. We met many Jews who were friendly. Two Russian Jews were especially interesting. They are disappointed with the way our country is embracing socialism. “We came here to escape that”, one said. The one sort of problem was the party held just outside our window. We were 4 floors up but could hear the bands and the people talking. I wasn’t kept awake but did hear them periodically. Evelyn was very tired and didn’t hear anything—something very unusual for her. The bed was more comfortable than the one on the cruise ship. We looked for a place to have some ice cream but found only McDonalds. Sunday morning we saw a place on our way to the pier. We had 2 honest, friendly drivers who told us where we needed to go in plenty of time. I don’t think I want to return to NYC for another day but liked this trip much more than I expected.

Beginning of the 70th bithday cruise

We both had a wonderful night of rest in the Comfort Inn despite the party outside and 4 floors below. We heard the revelers several times but not so loudly that it bothered us for long. We got up and looked for the street sales we had seen advertised yesterday. We found some stores that were open early and went to look for pants for me. We found some and bought them. The salesman was Jewish and wanted to make the sale, so he met my price of $25. We also found some vinyl that we can make into a Tripoli board. We returned to the hotel, finished packing and went to the pier In a limo at noon. We were in our stateroom by 1:30. We ate lunch on the ship and sat on our balcony for a while. We also took a picture of the Statue of Liberty for Rosalie. We then dressed for dinner because I had to wear long pants to the restaurant. I wore them to the first night’s show at 7 before going to dinner. The first night is an introduction of the performers who will be entertaining on the ship the rest of the week. We ate dinner with a younger couple from NY state. We had a great conversation with them about motor home experiences and problems with vertigo. We went to the Dazzles lounge for 1 dance. The floor is too small to really dance, so everyone just rocks back and forth. We came back and went to bed.

Getting ready for square dance lessons

Chestnut festival

These are pictures of the rain soaked Chestnut festival. A gentleman planted the grove of trees and held this festival to raise money to sustain them. Evelyn is talking to the lady from church who gave us our tickets. There were 2 wolf cubs there too. I think they were friendly but appreciated the leashes.

Roomette

Thes are pictures of the neatly designed potty in our Amtrak roomette. It is useable as a step to get to the upper berth when closed. The sink opens abive it and drains the excess water when closed. I have my dop kit on top of the stool.

NYC

The sleeping was only fair for me, but Evelyn slept well, praise God. She slept so well that she wanted to get up at 6:45. So off to breakfast we went. We are traveling first class, so our meals are included. We returned to our compartment to clean up a bit and rearrange the suitcase. It was then that I remembered I had forgotten to bring our hanging bag with our dress clothes in it. We may have to buy some clothes when we get back to the states. Canadian goods are too expensive. We made a 20 minute stop in DC, so we exited and walked up and down the platform for exercise. We played a few games of kings on the corner until we got to Baltimore. We were both getting sleepy but didn’t want to sleep until we got to our hotel. There is a tremendous problem with bedbugs. We don’t know what tragedy we will experience. We arrived in NYC right on time but had trouble finding the luggage retrieval location. We walked around Penn Station quite a while. After finding the location, we caught a taxi that brought us to our hotel room. It was a small room but clean. We inspected but found no bedbugs. We walked around the immediate neighborhood for much of the afternoon. We came back and heated last night’s calzone and Stromboli. We wrapped up the rest and part of the hamburger we ate at noon and took it out on the street. When a man asked for change we gave him the meals. We continued walking and went to McDonalds for a yogurt cup before returning to the room. We were tired and went to bed while watching Notre Dame play Michigan State.

On the way to NYC

Evelyn had been up until 2, so we slept in. I got up and, thinking it would be too late to walk, took a shower and went out to eat some oatmeal. Evelyn got up, showered, and took me to walk. Of course, it was warmer by then, so I began to sweat. When we finished our walk, it would have been nice to take another shower, but I didn’t. We dressed and went to the hospital for lunch and work. There was a muscular man recovering from arm surgery drank about 6 small cans of Sprite. That was a first for us. We did our tour and left around 3 to prepare for our trip to Greenville. We took a nap before leaving. I took the trash on the way to Asheville where we went to have our book of E. A. Poe poems evaluated. We waited for more than an hour to see the evaluator and learned that he didn’t know much about books but did give me a number in Florida to call for some help. We also learned that some of our coins were only worth what we had paid for them. I was not surprised. We had a coupon for Frank’s pizza so we went to Tunnel Road to have a calzone and Stromboli. They were huge, so we shared half of each and took the remainder to eat when we arrive in NYC. Gas is cheaper in SC (actually, aside from CA and NY it is more expensive in NC) so I always say I want to cross the state line on fumes. Well, we did. What I didn’t know was that the first gas station was 20+ miles from the line. With the Grace of God, we made it to the station. We then went on to Greenville. We were an hour early as planned. We checked our bags and waited for the train. We boarded and went to our sleeper which was different from any we have had previously. It was a roomette as before but had a stool and small sink in it. I will try to publish pictures at the hotel. We dressed for bed and began our jostled sleeping night, Evelyn in the upper and I in the lower berth.

Folkmoot volunteer dinner

Thursday we couldn’t walk because Evelyn had a Bible study. I just stayed home and continued working on our packing. I also thought Phil might call to play some golf and thought he might come to get me. He called, however, to say he wasn’t coming. I just waited for Evelyn and ate lunch with her. She rested a short while and then went with me while I played the back 9 at Lake Junaluska. I didn’t play too badly and finished with a 49. It is too exerting for Evelyn to walk 18 holes. It isn’t even easy for me. We came home and waited until 5 to go to the Folkmoot volunteer dinner. It was a good dinner but featured no program. We came home and Evelyn colored her hair before going to bed. I won a prize again at the dinner—the same type of note cards I won last year. Evelyn also lost an earring. We don’t know exactly where. We went to Belk after the dinner, so it could be anywhere. I learned the addresses of both the Bloom market and the Amtrak station in Greenville, so we are almost good to go.

Ashville adventures

We walked again Wednesday and came home to get dressed to serve at the Open Door. Normally, we don’t dress much but had to go to the doctor in Asheville in the afternoon. We left the soup kitchen early and went to Belk to buy some clothes for Evelyn, and I went to the bank for cash. I took $500—much of it in $5 so we can give tips on the trip. We then drove to Asheville and went to the Comfort Suites where there is supposed to be an Antiques Road Show type event. I took a book of Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry that Aunt Lois had given me. I waited a short time to have it evaluated but decided to leave. We went to the doctor appointment that was supposed to be at 3:45. We left at 5:15. Evelyn had blood drawn and may be able to discontinue her Tapozol. We left and went to Papas and Beer for dinner. We had been told by many friends that it was a great restaurant. We enjoyed it. We spent some time looking for a spongy mat for Emily to stand on while working in her kitchen but found none we thought worth the money. The ones we really liked were in the laboratory at the Endocrinologist’s office. We came home and finished some packing.

More exercise opportunities.

We were up walking by 8. We finished, came home for breakfast, grabbed our swimwear and went to the Recreation center. We found that the water in the pool was cooler than we wanted to be in, so we skipped the water aerobics. Instead we used the exercise equipment available until 11:30. We came home and had lunch. Despite the morning filled with exercise, Evelyn agreed to walk around the golf course with me. It was a warm day so she was unable to make it more than 6 holes. I played well, especially when she left. I birdied hole 8 and pared hole 9. We came home and showered for the day. After supper Evelyn walked with the ladies in the loop. When she returned, we tried to make a dry run with the things we had packed for our cruise trip that begins this coming Friday night. I am a bit concerned that we might be affected by hurricane Igor that is headed toward the coast. We spent over an hour watching a video by Ken Hovind, a Christian scientist who is entertaining. We went to bed early due to some tired bodies.

A new membership and dancing

Evelyn couldn’t sleep last night so she slept late, and then we walked. We returned home for lunch and she rested some more. We then dressed and went to town to look for a cushion mat for Evelyn to stand on at her sink. We went to several places and found some things that she might like. We will ask her. We also went to the Recreation Center and learned that our insurance will cover our membership to the “Silver Sneakers” program. That means we will likely walk AND go to the center for some other activities. We came home for supper and then returned to town for our square dance lesson. We took them last year but haven’t been involved since last fall. We had a good time but won’t be able to attend next week because we will be on our cruise. We will also miss an anniversary dance honoring the 40th year of the Pisgah Promenaders square dance club. They conduct the dance lessons. We came home and went to bed after the early news.

Engaging dinner guests

We wakened around 6. We don’t understand why this would happen. Evelyn had been up at 5. She often gets anxious when we have company coming but has had everything ready for 2 days. We went to church and heard another great sermon and sang praises to God with the choir. We did not stay for the voter’s meeting because we wanted to finish some last minute items. Our guests arrived at 12:30. Darrell Schaller had been a professor and researcher for Kellogg in Battle Creek, MI for several years. He had just finished leading our Bible study about Islam. He knows a great deal about the lifestyle. We had a delightful visit with them until about 3. We cleaned up the kitchen before Evelyn went to lie down. She still couldn’t sleep any. I watched some NFL football and did fall asleep for awhile. We really didn’t do much the rest of the afternoon, but in the evening Evelyn browned some ground beef for the chili we plan to serve at the Ohio State/Purdue game in October. Gary and Linda brought some swizzle sticks to us as a gift for being invited to our previous party. We talked with Stacy and Tom about our departure date in the fall. Tom agreed that we should not stay around unless they tell us of a party Stacy is throwing for his birthday. We also talked with Noah and Rosalie for a while before retiring. I also watched some more of “Hamlet”, a production set in modern NYC. The dialogue was true but weird set in a modern setting.

A day in the rain

We both wakened early and finished our walk around 8:30. It was fortuitous because it began pouring rain about 9. We thought we might cancel our outing, but Jo called and said everyone wanted to go anyway. We picked her up and drove up to Cataloochee Ranch. It was raining hard there as we expected. By now it was nearly noon so Everyone went to enjoy the buffet of chicken and dumplings, etc. We don’t especially like that, so I went outside and got a barbecue plate for us to share. When I returned to the dining area, I found that Evelyn had ordered a bowl of soup. We shared the barbecue anyway. The rain eased up and nearly stopped for a while. I went out to listen to Balsam Range for a while and then we both went to the craft booths to explore. It was nearly 1 when we decided to leave. We left Jo to ride with Floyd, Kathleen, and Kay and went home. It was raining hard at the bottom of the mountain so we drove on home and came in to watch the 2nd half of the Purdue/Illinois State game. I was tired and took a nap during some of it. When the game ended, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. We took Doris and went to the fish dinner at the Waynesville UMC. It was still delightful so Evelyn and Doris walked around the loop. I tried watching some of the other football games but grew tired of them. I tried to find other hotels in NYC but couldn’t navigate the website. I gave up wrote this and went to bed. Just before I began, the lightning flashed and the rains came again. We surely need it.

Big dinner preparations

We walked quite early and were very comfortable. We came home and dressed for our shift at the hospital. We were a bit early and stopped at the fitness center to inquire as to whether our insurance covers a membership there. It didn’t. We went on to the hospital and lunch. We were at our station early but were busy early too. But we still were able to leave early and were home by 3. Evelyn is in one of her periods of not being able to sleep well at night, so she took a nap. We began working on meal preparation for Sunday’s guests. I did much of the chopping while Evelyn worked on the actual cooking. She also baked a pie and some white chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious. She also walked with the neighbor ladies as usual. Then I watched the Cubs/Brewers game. I am pleased to report that the water heater produced great hot water. Hopefully, it will continue. Also Nick, our lawn care young man stopped to report that his boss was looking for a crepe myrtle tree that will only get 8-10 feet tall. She will also look for some shrubs that will produce more color during the months we are here. Most of those we have bloom before we arrive in the spring. A woman from church called and gave us tickets for a chestnut festival tomorrow morning. I will miss most of the Purdue football game but will record it.

Water heater repair

Evelyn went off to walk by herself because I wanted to be at home when the electrician came to repair the water heater. He came around 8 and replaced the upper heating element. I had him hit the reset button for what I hope is the last time. We will know tomorrow morning. Evelyn returned and then went off to the LWML meeting at 10. I cleaned up the email, showered and prepared the lunch while she was gone. I also talked with Marty, our neighbor, about playing golf this afternoon. She agreed to go with me at 3. We ate lunch, cleaned up the kitchen, and lay down to nap. We don’t know how long we slept, but Marty came shortly after 2 and wakened us. We loaded our clubs and went to the golf course. We rented a cart because she was tired from playing pickle ball this morning. I learned she had been quite a good player some years ago but hadn’t played much lately. She shot 100 and I shot 98. Evelyn made a baklava type dessert with apples. It was very good. We ate some no nuthin soup for supper, and then Evelyn walked with Doris. I watched some of the Saints/Vikings football game. We have been somewhat loyal to Drew Brees since we saw him play every home game he played at Purdue. He has written a book, “Coming Back Stronger”, that we hope to read someday. The temperature here has cooled down and has become quite pleasant. Autumn is almost here and brings pleasant weather. Evelyn talked with Carrie Dell, her cousin from near Seattle. She is the one relative that we stay somewhat close to, having lost the interest of our brothers and other extended family members.

A rush to pack

We walked even earlier today. We came home and had to work on distributing medicine for the week and the trip to Canada. Then we worked on packing my clothes and our things for overnight on our cruise. We seem to be packed very early since we don’t have to leave for Greenville until a week from Friday. After lunch we went to the audiologist for a follow up on my hearing aids. The main sales rep adjusted them again and discovered I had excessive wax build up in my right ear. I don’t know how that was possible, but I saw it when she pulled it out. Unfortunately the right hearing aid still doesn’t work properly. I will have to return tomorrow to have it checked again. We went to town looking for a hooded sweatshirt to no avail. I did find some board games—Backgammon and Rummicube. We came home and prepared for choir practice. We still have a problem with the water heater. I called an electrician but he never returned the call. I called his wife again and she promised to call him to give him my number.

Getting ready for the cruise.

Walking again in the cool of the morning. It is a real blessing to have the strength to walk and a beautiful place to do it. We enjoy each other’s company as well. We came home and Evelyn prepared some no nuthin soup while I went under the house for some Rotel and a quart of green beans to add to it. I never did shower because I hadn’t done anything to work up a sweat. I did wash my hair and shave later in the day. Evelyn packed many of the things in a suitcase for our cruise next week. I haven’t packed much yet but will do more tomorrow. I talked with the young man, Nick, about getting a crepe myrtle tree from a place called Carolna Tree Form. He said they were going out of business, so I called them but they left a message that they were on vacation until yesterday. I left a message and hope they will call tomorrow. Evelyn had invited Bill and Dianne Williams for a dinner of etouffee that we had left from Saturday. Bill is a Cajun and likes boudin and crawfish. We had a nice visit with them. He is a WWII veteran and is around 84. He has some health problems but functions fairly well. Evelyn walked around the loop alone and then came in to watch “Bonnie and Clyde”. We went to bed to be ready for tomorrow.

Happy Labor Day

Back to walking on Monday. We returned home and watered the plants. I quickly showered and off we went to the Open door. The vagrants were slow in coming in, reinforcing my belief that they have caught on to the fact that they can miss the devotion yet get the meal anyway. I am becoming very cynical about them. I see the same people every time we go and realize that, even though some are destitute, many of them aren’t. Some drive in in nice cars and talk on their cell phones while there. I try to remember that they are children of the Father and saved by the blood of Christ as I am, but don’t serve them with love in my heart. I pray for forgiveness but still sometimes don’t serve them with humility. I don't begudge the ones that obviously need the free meal but do the others. I think we might not serve there next year. We went to Belk on the way home to look for a hooded sweatshirt for Evelyn, to 2 drug stores for some tooth brushes, and to Kmart for more of the same. We came home and I took my extra golf bag and cart to store under the house. We just tried to rest during the afternoon while watching the Cubs play. I also worked on the computer and made some phone calls and then watched some of my Monday shows but then got hooked on the Boise State/Virginia Tech football game. I didn’t stay until the finish but enjoyed the game.

Lunch at Frank Sinatra's

We went to church, and Evelyn went to the study on Islam while I went to the lectern to practice the reading I made during the service. We sang in the choir and were blessed with Holy Communion. We love Holy Communion. We came home, changed clothes and drove to Asheville for Evelyn’s free birthday meal at Frankie Bones restaurant. We have had several meetings with the restaurant manager and got him to take an additional coupon for our dinner. He did it because Evelyn’s poached eggs were not hard as she had ordered. We also had a wonderful young man as our waiter. He had grown up in India, son of Assembly of God missionaries. We enjoyed talking with him as much as we could. We then drove to Hendersonville to get some shoes and purse for Evelyn. We also found a blanket for Noah. We drove back home and stopped at Ingall’s for some Malbec wine from Argentina. We spent some time resting before our traditional popcorn supper. Our neighbor, Doris, returned from her mystery trip but was too tired to tell us about it. We will talk about it with her next week.
Well, I guess my brother has disowned me. I was offended when he made a comment that my beliefs in the Constitution, freedom, and Christian values, so I discontinued sending him factual emails. Then the Lord convicted me that he is still my brother, so I sent him birthday and anniversary emails and a couple of devotions. He has not responded at all, so I guess I can’t continue to actively keep the promise I made to mother that I should not let anything come between us. I will still do what I can.

Big football party.

After walking early, Emily called and talked with Evelyn for half an hour. We learned about their weekend plans. I went outside and watered the plants before washing the car. Evelyn came out and cut the remaining black-eyed susans from our sloping area. I also had to dig up the roots of a plant she wanted removed. We dumped our clippings behind Doris’ house. We came home and Evelyn made cornbread for tonight. We both showered and then cleaned some parsley. We ate some leftovers from last night (the tilapia had improved overnight) for lunch and began cooking the etouffee and artichoke dip. I finally got Evelyn to lie down to rest around 2. The guests arrived around 3:15 and we chatted and drank beer. The football game began and Purdue lost even though they didn’t play too badly on offense. I was disappointed, thinking they had a chance to beat ND. We had eaten hors d’oerves all afternoon but ate the etouffee after the game. The ladies had been playing phase 10 outside on the deck. It was a gorgeous day with a slight breeze and a temperature in the high 60s. Everyone really enjoyed the supper and the “Fire and Ice” dessert we had been given the recipe for by some Canadian friends. It was similar to bananas foster. All of our guests were Christians and we were blessed to have them. They left around 8 and we cleaned up the kitchen before settling down to rest. We went to bed early.

Cuban restaurant

We didn’t walk until around 9 this morning. We finished and came home to dress for our stint at the hospital. We ate our complimentary lunch and then went to the floor. I peeled the tabs from all the aluminum cans I could find and then went to the waiting area to work on the computer. Before I could get much done, Evelyn came and said the nurse said we could go home because there was hardly anyone on the floor. We did leave and went to fill up with gas before coming home to take a nap. We had made plans to go to Asheville for dinner at a restaurant featuring Cuban food. They were offering a special for labor day and we had coupons for $25 that I had bought for $3. I had given 2 to Phil so he and Joan went with us. He hasn’t offered to pay me for them. We had a delicious dinner and dessert before walking around downtown Asheville. There were many partiers and amateur musicians to entertain. We enjoyed our walk. We were home around 10.

Noah beating the snow queen's leige.