better golf

After exercise Evelyn went to shop for some Christmas trinkets. I went to the park meeting. A near fight broke out over where the card players were going to be housed. Many want to play in the main hall, but the activity director wants them to play on the outback so she can have the hall for entertainment and dances. There were several complainers. I came home and took some of the Christmas lights out of the shed. Evelyn returned and we had lunch before Armand and I went to play golf. It was quite warm but breezy, keeping the real feel tolerable. While we were gone, Evelyn trimmed the tree inside and the one outside. I played a better game of golf today. I parred 2 of the first 4 holes and was chipping and putting especially well. I didn’t do well on the final holes, especially the final one. It is very difficult for everyone. Armand didn’t fare as well. I shot 50, he 61. We had a beer at home, and I came in to shower. I left my hearing aids in and pray that I didn’t get them too wet. They were very expensive. I also called a man to come to look at the heating part of the heat pump. The air conditioning works but the heat doesn’t. We watched the CMA Christmas show, and Evelyn worked on her hair some of the time. Armand and Rose may not come back next year. They had made a 5 year commitment to the Valley and aren’t sure they want to return. We seem to get along quite well with them and will miss them if they don’t return. We have to clean some more tomorrow because we will have company to play Tripoley in the evening. It is the Schwinghammers and Nickersons. I am not particularly happy with them. They rarely seem interested in us. I guess I will have a good time anyway.

My first worship service of the season

We wakened before the alarm sounded. This was ironic because my message was entitled “Wake Up”. I began with an illustration about alarm clocks. We need Advent season to wake us to the fact that Jesus is coming. Despite being up early, we were nearly late for church. There were 25 in attendance. This is still early in the season and many aren’t here yet. Unfortunately, all in attendance were people we knew from last season. We need new people to replace those who will not be returning. We went to visit our neighbor, Tom Kruse, in his new rehabilitation center. He is in good spirits but still can’t swallow anything. He will have therapy that will teach him to relearn that bodily function. We were home at about 11, and Evelyn went to walk on the treadmill while I made some records and began organizing for next week. After lunch, I watched some football before getting drowsy. We took a short nap. I heard Armand mowing, so I asked him if I could repair my electric grill. He took it apart and gave me the heating element. I will take it to Borderland hardware to see if I can buy another. We also made plans to play golf at 1 tomorrow. We began getting our Christmas decorations out. We learned that our fiber optic tree doesn’t work. We put up the yard Nativity scene but not the star nor the lights. We put up our larger Christmas tree but not any ornaments nor the lights. We had popcorn for supper and ice cream for dessert. We watched the 3rd episode of Saran Palin’s Alaska. We love the scenery and the emphasis on family. We watched the Colts lose too. If The Saints hadn’t won Thursday, we would have had a tragic football weekend.

Football sadness

We didn’t sleep late even though we could have. Evelyn worked on the snacks for the party, and I worked on tomorrow’s message until the pregame talks began. The company arrived at 11 and the game began. We had some split pea soup at half time and then continued watching. The game lived up to my expectations: it was great but Purdue lost in overtime. The guests left at 2:30. The men and I had looked at our heat pump system. The heat doesn’t work but the A/C does. We couldn’t find any reset button, so I will have to call a repair man Monday. In fact I tried a number that Delbert Frazier gave us to call a repair man but got no answer. We rested after they left until 5 when we went to Joe and Bonny’s for dinner. They had quite a bit of food leftover from their family Thanksgiving and shared it with us. She had made a delicious dressing and several pies. Her gravy was good too but not quite as good as Lloyd’s was at the hall. We always have a good time with them. We were home by 9 in time for me to practice the message again after we took a walk around the park. It had been a cool sunny day and was a very pleasant evening to walk. The wind was calm, making the temperature quite pleasant.

Coooold!

The temperature dropped dramatically overnight. It was 75 when we went to bed and 47 when we wakened. I put on a heavy sweatshirt and went for a walk. I didn’t go as far as usual because I should have worn a jacket. I returned home and loaded the hatch with the battery operated cart and other items I want to take back to NC. After breakfast I took them to the trailer. I returned, showered and dressed for the hospital. We were ready an hour early, so I made some changes in the sermon before we ate lunch. We went to the hospital and joined the other volunteers for a slow day. Evelyn worked on doing some mailings for the foundation, the arm of the hospital that tries to get contributions and services for the hospital. Evelyn went to a baby shower for the daughter of Ken and Debbie Eilers. She returned for me around 5 and brought me home. We didn’t go out for dinner but did go to the grocery for some final snacks for tomorrow’s football party. It should be a great game.

More geezers

Evelyn was in the kitchen getting water, causing her to miss the first table picture. Evelyn and Rose before eating.

Thanksgiving dinner 2010

Geezers having fun before dinner. Our table featuring our next door neighbors from Canada, Armond and Rose Okell from Grandview Manitoba.

We got up at the usual time even though Evelyn didn’t lead exercise on Thanksgiving Day. We needed to spread the lava rock, making sure it was over the plastic we are using as weed barrier. We wanted to do it before it got too hot. We did a good job but need another bag of rock. We were finished by 9 and returned to our air conditioning. I showered while Evelyn finished with the cooking. We had to take our table service to the hall and help with the arrangement of tables. Armond and Rose went with us. We drove our expensive golf cart to aid in transporting our food, etc. We dressed and went to eat around 11:30. This was for an opportunity to imbibe and kibitz. Our dinners have always begun at 1 in the past but this one was scheduled for noon. As a result, at least 8 couples came late. We did have a great meal and thanked God for it and our freedom. We returned home and watched Drew Brees engineer a victory over the Cowboys. We watched what we had missed of the recent episode of Sarah Palin’s Alaska. It is good at revealing what it is like to live there. She is quite a value oriented woman and would likely make a good President. She should certainly be better than the current “leader”. We have a busy day tomorrow: I at the hospital; she at the baby shower.

Thanks be to God

We both did our normal morning routine. We had a light breakfast, and I worked on some of the service for this coming Sunday. Evelyn worked on both lunch and her contribution to tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner. I had tried to barbecue our hamburgers but was disappointed that the heating element in our electric grill had died. I don’t know whether I can replace it or have to replace it. We cleaned the kitchen and did more laundry. I am amazed at the amount of laundry we have to do. I just don’t know how we (I) get so many things dirty. It seems that it is almost a daily activity. We rested after lunch but continued to work on our projects. Emily had tried to SKYPE us this morning from the library but couldn’t find a room to go on line. We still have daytime minutes left on our phone that will expire Friday, so she said she would call later this afternoon but didn’t. She did call after we returned from worship but wasn’t finished and must talk again tomorrow. The girls took all the time this evening. I had assembled my push cart from NC. I will use it and load the mechanical battery operated cart into the trailer to take back to the mountains. I don’t know if it has enough power to get up the hills but will find out next summer. The violence in Mexico is getting worse and will possibly drift up here. One Mexican rancher tried to fight them off when they tried to take over his ranch. He killed 4, wounded 2, but was finally killed. We offered thanks to our God for the health, safety, wealth and the Christian family we have.

Hot day, cold golf

It was quite warm all day and even more so during the morning. I walked around the park while Evelyn exercised. We returned home and got ready for the Bible study. There was one more person there making 3 besides Evelyn and me. I must not sell it very well. The talk has been very interesting to those of us there but would be only interesting to Christians familiar with the Bible. We had planned to ride our bikes to Terra Santa to meet the other members of the bike club afterward, but the wind was too strong for Evelyn. Instead, we wore our bike helmets and drove to meet them for a hamburger lunch. We shared one. We were almost unobserved when we entered despite our costumes. We did get some laughs as we walked to our car. We came home and I spread some of the lava rock we had bought yesterday before going to play golf with Armond. I took my battery operated walking cart to try operating it more efficiently. He drove so Evelyn could go to Big Lots for some snacks we can serve at our football party on Saturday—if we have one. It was so windy at the golf course that it was not so beastly hot despite the temperature. We played very poorly and I strained my upper back trying to control the cart. It kept pulling to the left so I couldn’t get much advantage from the remote control. We returned home for our beer and worked on making an adjustment on the cart. Armond is good at mechanical things and worked very hard, but, each time he made the adjustment, the cart was worse. Then I suggested that we might need to put the golf clubs back on for weight. That was the right move. Things got better. Evelyn had made a salad for supper. She has done a pretty well at trying to hold to the Weight Watcher program. We watched the finale of Dancing with the Stars and enjoyed it. Bristol Palin didn’t win. I am glad because this country full of liberals would have a great time attacking their family. They love attacking her mother anyway. They will probably find some way to attack even though she lost.

Mexico after dark

I walked to the hall while Evelyn exercised. I took the computer to use the Wifi before the meeting started. Each Monday many of the park members meet to learn what will be happening during the week. We are also given a chance to talk about committees we are in charge of. I talked about the AARP driving class and the Bible study. After that we went to Lowes for some red lava rock for the font circle and then to ‘’the new recycling center to deposit things. It is worse than the one that was closed. It was supposed to be closed, but we had things to deposit and did. We went to WalMart to shop for groceries and then went home for lunch. We decided to go to Mexico after we rested. We went to one dentist to have our teeth cleaned but learned he had room for only 1 of us. I went to our original dentist, Veronica Munoz. She gave me to her hygienist and promised to work on my dental tooth. Before I was finished, she went out to the town. I never got to see her. I was a bit miffed at this because we have been good to her. She did do my cleaning for $25, a reduction of $10. Evelyn was waiting for me, and we went to have our pedicures. We went to our usual place and had at least 45 minutes of work done on our feet. My last mission was to get 2 cases of Negra Modelo cerveza. The place offering the best price had only 1. It was dark by the time we left Mexico. We were among the last to leave. Evelyn had been uneasy most of the day while it was light and suffered even more anxiety in the dark. In all we had accomplished most of our objectives. We had nothing ready for supper, so we stopped at a small restaurant in a home for some lonches. That is spelled right. They are ground beef and veggies in a delicious bun. They were as good as last year’s. We were tired and went to bed after the news.

My last Sunday off

We were up and off to the 10:30 worship service. It was our last Sunday morning service for the season because I begin my services next Sunday. The service featured a change in the music of the liturgy. I didn’t especially like it but will get used to it. It is not always easy to adjust from what one is accustomed to. We came home and had leftovers for lunch and then watched some of the football game. At least I did. Evelyn read in the swing on the porch. I also went through many of the papers and folders we had not put back yesterday. We had a nice long talk with Emily about our family heirloom list and the proposed trip for the boys in March. We will finalize things later. We rode our bikes around the park to dispose of some of the trash. We had planned to ride longer, but the wind was so strong that Evelyn couldn’t ride comfortably. We saw a couple of pad parties as we rode but didn’t find the couples we wanted to see. We did find one other Purdue fans and invited them to a party next week when Purdue plays IU, but they have plans to go to Austin for Thanksgiving with some family. We will try the other couple we know in the park. We came home, and Evelyn watched some TV while I went to the hall to use the Wifi. I am concerned that I will use more mega bytes than my contract allows. I only have 6 more days on this month and will start over. I must begin to work hard on my worship services this week.

Another great concert

We didn’t have to get up as early this morning. Evelyn made pumpkin pancakes and bacon strips for breakfast. We don’t do that very often. Estella, the park cleaning lady, came to help us clean the Texas room as she does each year. This year she took 4 hours and discovered some very moldy spots. This was no surprise to us because we had found mold in several other places. We gave her lunch, but I went to watch the Purdue football game. It really looked like they would win but didn’t. I would have been really stunned had they pulled it off because they have had so many injuries. I am very optimistic about next year. We didn’t have much time in the afternoon before being picked up by Joe and Bonny to go to dinner and the concert series. We had just enough time to have a drink with our neighbors that had arrived today. We really like them. We left and ate at Tony Roma’s again and made it to the auditorium. We don’t have reserved seats and have to arrive before 7 to get decent seats for the 7:30 performance. Tonight was the Dallas Brass. They featured 5 brass instruments and a percussionist. They were quite good showmen and instrumentalists. There were 3 trumpets of various tones, a French horn, a trombone, and a tuba. We all enjoyed the show a great deal. On the way home we saw a huge billboard with a figure of Christ on the Cross with a caption: Live for me because I died for you. You don’t find many areas of the country where people would be bold enough to put that up.

Welcoming an old friend

I walked while Evelyn exercised. We then had breakfast and dressed for our hospital tour. She also made a chicken salad for tomorrow when we have Estella come to help us clean. I had pulled the chicken breast off the bone for her last night. We were delighted to see that our friend, Lionel Moore from Canada, was back. He hadn’t been able to come last season because he had almost died from a heart valve procedure. He had lost about 30 pounds but looked and felt great. We had a good time at the information desk. Evelyn had brought some cookies and had been assigned to work at the Foundation. She did some filing and delivering all afternoon. I know Evelyn likes to have fish on Friday, so I suggested that I go to the Elks and get a carryout fish dinner. We enjoyed it and didn’t over eat since we shared it. She is trying to lose a couple of pounds and didn’t want to eat an entire meal. We were both satisfied. I finished the sermon for the 3rd Advent Sunday and watched some of the Purdue programs that lead up to the game tomorrow. Evelyn talked with Janice who has been trying to reach us for a couple of days. She wanted a recipe.

Golf #1

I went to the hall to use the Wifi there. I wanted to conserve my air card minutes. Evelyn returned from exercise and worked on lunch while I typed another page of the sermon. I tried to get Fox to play golf but he had hurt his arm. I assembled the motorized cart and asked Evelyn to accompany me at the Executive golf course. She went with me. It is a short par 3 course and we had a beautiful day to play. I didn’t begin well but did finish well. We returned and I went to a weekly party open to anyone in a nice couples garage. There were 10 couples there, the men on 1 side and women on the other. I stayed until I had drunk the 1 beer I had taken and left. The couples had brought finger food. Evelyn didn’t want to go because she doesn’t really like that kind of party. As it turned out, I didn’t either. I usually do but just didn’t feel right there. I came home and continued working until Evelyn had to leave for her LWML meeting. I watched some football while she was gone. Her meeting featured a woman who takes charge of everything whether she is supposed to be or not. This really turns Evelyn off. She goes because of her faith and Bonny’s friendship. She rarely returns happy. She went to bed immediately and I followed after the news. The weather will be pleasant but dry for the next week, but the Valley really needs rain. We pray the Lord will send some around Thanksgiving.

SKYPE

While Evelyn exercised, I rode my bike around the park, stopping to call AARP to change the date of the class. I then rode down 18th street hoping I could receive the blessing of finding our alternate set of car keys. I didn’t receive it. I also looked for a single man to go to lunch with, but he had planned to go to McAllen all morning, more time than I wanted to donate. The Beelis called us on SKYPE from the library in Xenia. We had a nice conversation albeit difficult to understand due to the breaking up that goes with computer conversations. Evelyn then left for the Christian Women’s Conference luncheon in Harlingen. I finished a sermon and printed it off. I ate lunch at home, alone and then took a nap waiting for Evelyn’s return. She wasn’t here by 5, so I went to the hall for the mail that wasn’t distributed and then to Bob Schwinghammers for a beer. We may play golf next Monday. I also may play with Leo Fox tomorrow afternoon. I came home and found Evelyn. I set the recorder so I could see the Purdue basketball game, and we went off to IHOP for dinner. It was not a very good meal but was expensive. We will not return there. We came home for the final 4 minutes of the game. It wasn’t much of a contest. I finished this and went to bed after the news. My cold has changed. I no longer have the dry cough I had. Since I have been taking the Coricidin, my sinus has been looser, and, although I clear my throat more I don’t cough as much. That is until today. This evening I took some Robitussin DM. My volunteer medical advisors have taken my case. I am certain things will be perfect soon.

My day alone--hers too

Up to exercise again. She rode her bike because the bike club and trailer would leave around 9. I got up later and went to the Outback for the Bible study. I also called AARP to schedule the class I will lead in December. Only 1 woman showed up for the study, but she went across the street and got another. I am not sure how well the program will go over, but it is quite informative and will be used for the next 3 weeks. I had driven the car because I wanted to run errands. I went to the Texas Trader to have them look for a vehicle, got gasoline, learned that I didn’t need to have the tires rotated for 4,000 more miles, got a couple of breakfast tacos for lunch, got $10 worth of pennies for Tripoley games, and renewed our car license. I had the time because Evelyn was riding with the club on South Padre Island. The day was very pleasant, but the wind was so strong that it wore her out. She did get to have a nice shrimp lunch and brought some home for her supper. Meantime, I assembled the motorized golf cart and charged the battery. I also made 2 gallons of distilled water so I could refresh the water in the batteries in the riding golf cart. This took quite a while. Evelyn returned home and began baking cookies. I received a call from a woman who wanted to take the driving class, so I went to the hall to add her name when I discovered that I had registered December 17 with the national office instead of the 10th. I will have to call to change the date on the website tomorrow morning. I took a nap on the couch while Evelyn went to Weight Watchers. We both knew she would never make her target weight and were right. She was not over as much as I expected her to be but has declared to return to the point counting program. We enjoyed a light supper, and then she ironed while I typed another page of the 2nd Advent sermon. We were in bed by 11.

Getting better all the time

Evelyn has decided to lead exercise again this year, so she was off a bit before 8. I slept until around 8:30 but got up and went to the town meeting. We both had to talk, and I asked about interest in an AARP driving class. To my surprise, several people were interested, so I made a date for the morning of December 10. I also talked about the Bible study tomorrow morning. I then had to go to the Outback to watch the VHS tape we will use. I also asked Jeannete to make copies of the study guide for me. I returned home for lunch and then took a nap with E. Later I had to go confirm the December date with Bev. Afterward, I asked Sharon Newcomer a simple question but got a very snotty response. I wish I could like her. We were once friends but no longer. I dread even talking with her. We are both Christians but unfriendly. I returned home and went on a bike ride with Evelyn who is going with the bike club to South Padre Island tomorrow while I lead the Bible study. We had a birthday beer with Wynn Jones, the computer guy in the park, and then I went to Winston’s to get the helmets we had left in the trailer. I watched some MNF and recorded Sarah Palin’s Alaska to watch later.

Literary tragedy

I slept late and didn’t attend worship for the first time in many months. I didn’t sleep badly last night but was still tired. I have taken my temperature over the past few days and never have had a fever. We had lunch and then I watched football while finishing my first sermon. Then, as I was copying it into my flash drive, I deleted it. That was about 5 hours of work lost in cyberspace. Perhaps the Lord didn’t like it. I will have to try again this week. We took a bike ride around both of our parks in the warm, pleasant afternoon. We then spread some mulch in the back before coming in to make popcorn for supper. Of course we had to take a nap before that. Evelyn talked with Emily for a while, but the phone went dead while she was talking. I tried to watch the VHS of the Bible study we plan to use Tuesday, but our VCR doesn’t work. I tried cleaning the heads but couldn’t get any results. I really missed worshipping this morning.

A good night's sleep--NOT

I had a terrible night, causing Evelyn to have a terrible night. I had been coughing during dinner and continued until 2:30. I had taken all the medicine we had at our disposal but seemed to get no help. I moved to the Texas room couch. I was able to sleep for about 2 hours but began coughing about 4. It was then that Evelyn was finished sleeping for the night. I took some more Nyquil and went back to sleep until after 9. Evelyn went to Frank’s to tell him I wouldn’t be going to Gideon’s. She dressed and waited for Bonny to pick her up to go to a farmer’ s market. I continued to sleep untilt the Purdue game began. They didn’t win, but I am impressed with the coach who is doing the best he can with the injuries on the team. He is very optimistic about the future and so am I. Evelyn returned around noon. She made some soup out of the vegetables she had brought home. I ate and returned to the couch for the day. She went to bed because she was very tired from having a little sleep last night as I did. I dozed off and on throughout the day but did get some of my first sermon put into the computer. I also got some bill payments scheduled but didn’t get this blog written. I finished the soup for supper and watched some more football until after the local news. Evelyn needed some things from the grocery so she went shopping and bought some medicine for me on the advice of the pharmacist. I researched whooping cough and think I might have it. I have been coughing since October 23. I plan to try to see the doctor Monday. I slept on the couch and took some Corcidin she had brought home.

Huge patio sale

We were up earlier than usual, ate some pumpkin oatmeal, and went to Hamel’s to help them set up. It was warm and had rained before we got there. We have never seen such an accumulation of items for sale outside of a large flea market. They spend the summer gathering items from yard sales in Wisconsin and load them into a trailer and their van to bring here especially for this sale. We worked until 10:45 when Evelyn had to leave to go to a ladies lunch at a new restaurant. I continued unpacking goods from the 12+ tubs they had brought. Around 12 I went in and heated the soup Evelyn had made for our lunch. John and I ate together and Sue came in later. Evelyn returned at 1:30 and helped a bit more. A woman had a motorized remote golf cart for sale at $250. I offered her $200 and she took it. We loaded it into our car from her shed. I plan to take it to NC next spring and use it in the mountains. Perhaps I will be able to walk the hills without the pressure of the golf cart. I won’t know for a while. We came home and took a nap before dressing to meet Don and Janice at the Lone Star restaurant in Harlingen. We always have a good time with them. My meal was so big that I brought half of it home. We had a long discussion about whether a person can lose his faith. She had brought us some delicious, healthful, oatmeal cookies she had made. I plan to go to the Gideon prayer breakfast tomorrow morning, and Evelyn will go to a farmer’s market.

Passing things on

I have been very unfaithful in these entries of late. Thursday was quite warm again and we spent most of the morning inside gathering things to take to Hamels for their patio sale tomorrow and Saturday. We have only a few items but want to get rid of them. At 11 we went to the hall for the Veteran’s Day ceremony. We have around 60 veterans represented in the 2 parks right here. They are introduced and we are encouraged to thank each. We got to around 10. We ate the finger food for lunch at the hall. Then we took our things to Hamel’s, but they weren’t there. We left our things and visited our neighbor, Tom Kruse, in the rehab center. He is really weak but mentally alert. His condition really bothered Evelyn who sees herself in a similar situation in the future. I hate to see her worry like that. The Lord still knows what he is doing. We came home and took a nap before the evening. I made popcorn for supper. I had learned of our friend, Tom Crouch’s, serious health problems. He almost died last week with an infection. I stopped to see him but no one was there. We finally typed a list of things the girls might want after we are in Heaven. I emailed the list to them, asking that they rate the items 1-10. The lower the number, the more appealing it is to them.

Dirty teeth

I had planned to go to Mexico this morning to get my teeth cleaned, but Evelyn wouldn’t go. She is concerned for her safety. I didn’t go because I will just have to go again when she decides it is safe enough. Instead, I trimmed our remaining Segas and carried the trimmings to the curb. Then I poured out one bag of sand on the pavers and brushed it into the cracks. We had bought 2 yesterday but 1 was enough. Bob Schwinghammer came to talk for a while. Evelyn worked around in cleaning up. We had washed the car and the golf cart yesterday, so she just cleaned the inside. We ate lunch and then I tried to work on my sermons but couldn’t find the proper disc. I will continue to look tomorrow. We napped again in the afternoon and then went to Dairy Queen, hoping to play bingo there but had to settle for a hunger buster special. We went to Big Lots for some shopping and then came home for the evening.

Renewing friendship

We went to meet the Lehfeldts but went to Lowes for some sand and mulch. We need to put sand over the pavers because it is all gone from pulling weeds. We met at noon and had a nice visit with them. He was the pastor that gave me the opportunity to serve the Lord here in the Valley. We both agreed that they look and act just like they did when they left here 8 years ago. We reminisced until 2 and then parted with hugs. We came home and gook a nap for quite a while. We then wakened and ate snacks for dinner while watching some football and some “Dancing with the Stars.” I have been taking Nyquil and spraying my throat each evening. I have not been coughing, allowing both of us to sleep more soundly.

100 years of preaching the Word.

When we wakened on time, we heard Victor power washing the back patio. We went to the morning worship service that was packed because of the 100th anniversary. The president of the Texas district, Ken Hennings, brought the message of salvation and thanksgiving to us. We saw many people who had been missing for many years. We came home and had a light lunch while watching Drew Brees play football with the Saints. We had to be back to church to practice with the brass instruments at 2:45. We started a bit later than that but had a good rehearsal. We waited until 4 for the service to begin. Again the church was packed. Bonny’s son, Chris, played the organ for all but the choir hymn. The brass really made the place full of the sound of God’s love for us. The choir sounded very good, but the sound system had a loud malfunction in the very beginning and the pulpit mike wouldn’t work well. Former President of the Synod brought the message of the call to evangelize the world for Christ. There was a nice celebration dinner served at the local bank banquet hall. The meal was very generous. We sat with a wonderful Hispanic family with 3 boys. We marvel at how well mannered and quiet the boys are. They are a great testimony of a Christian family, much like our girl’s families. We made plans to meet the pastor who called me to the Valley for lunch tomorrow. Our first choice restaurant is closed Mondays, so we will meet at a Chinese restaurant at noon.

A clean back yard.

Saturday morning we were wakened by Victor working outside in the back. He began removing the weeds that covered the back patio. We had to go to choir practice at 9:30. We are singing for the 100th anniversary service Sunday afternoon. We are only singing one song in unison, but we practiced for over an hour. We arrived home to find Victor ready to take the refuse to Winston’s. I was surprised and disappointed to have to go with him because I wanted to watch the Purdue/Wisconsin football game. We rushed there, unloaded, and rushed back home. The first half was great with Purdue leading into the locker room. Unfortunately, the second half was different. Wisconsin is highly rated and very good while Purdue is playing with a 5th string freshman quarterback. The game was over by 3 so I walked up to get the mail. We rested a while before our friends picked us up to go to the first in the season concert series. We went to Tony Romo’s for dinner and then on to the Civic center. The performer was John Davidson. He was great and funnier than I remembered his being. He had some very creative songs and acts, appealing to the older crowd. He went to the front row and picked out people he didn’t even know to introduce them as former teachers and classmates. It was really funny when we figured out that it was all a ruse. We were home by 10:30, set the clocks back for the cancellation of daylight saving time, and went to bed.

Finishing the trailer cleaning

We were startled by the knock of the DISH Network technician. We was here before 8, even though we were told he would arrive between 8 and 12. They usually come much closer to the late time. He worked much longer than I had anticipated but couldn’t get our VCR to work. Perhaps we have to clean the heads. Victor, the man who washed our unit, came to wash our screen porch. He does marvelous work because he is very thorough and conscientious. He was finished just after the DISH tech left. He is so good that I am going to hire him to clean up our weed mess in the back. See the previous pictures. Evelyn made a good lunch for us and then went to the hall to talk to Estella who helps us clean the Texas room each fall. She will come next week. We came home after I called George to see if I could change my oil this afternoon instead of tomorrow morning. Purdue plays at 11, and I would like to watch the game even though they will be pummeled again. The Big Ten has just too many powerhouses this season. I went to his house to use the pit in his garage. He had a large socket wrench that gave me enough torque to get the plug to the oil pan loose. The idiots at Kia of Asheville had tightened it with an impact wench. I plan to let them know how I felt about the event when we return to NC next summer. I planned to take cardboard for recycling, but the site was closed. I also went to a boot manufacturer to see if they knew how to remove mold from my boots without harming the leather too much. They were no help. I came home and, after a light supper, washed the boots with some Clorox water. We watched 3 programs about Purdue in the evening and went to bed early.

Living in the jungle

These are pictures of our back patio when we got back home Wednesday.

Back to the choir

We didn’t rush out of bed today. A volunteer luncheon had been scheduled for noon, so we just skipped breakfast. I went out and pulled a few weeds from the back and saw that our neighbor had put our golf cart out to be driven. I went to the hall and paid our $.77 water bill and then returned to work on the trailer again. We had paid to have our unit cleaned but had not he had not cleaned the porch. I tried but couldn’t get hold of him. We showered and went to the luncheon, only to find that one of our friends, the volunteer coordinator had quit yesterday. She had been divorced during the summer and must have been quite upset over it. We both won door prizes of a fall table decoration. We went to the grocery and bought staples that we hadn’t brought with us. We came back home to continue unloading the trailer and are almost finished. We went to choir practice at 6:15. The church is celebrating its 100th anniversary next Sunday and will have a big choir and trumpet celebration followed by a big dinner. We went to Dairy Queen for a blizzard and stopped at Winston’s to pick up tickets for Saturday’s John Davidson’s concert in McAllen. The Hamel’s will go with us instead of them. We came home and watched the same movie we had watched last night. It was “Fool’s Gold”. I think I will hire my Hispanic friend to clean the back yard He will probably do a better job but will charge a great deal. He will come tomorrow morning to finish the cleaning.

Home in a Texas jungle

We wakened late because I had stuffed the phone into the suitcase to prevent our being wakened by the alarm. We were delighted with the election results except that both Harry Reid and Nancy Polisi were reelected, but they will not have the power they had before. We pray that the Lord leads the President to hear the message his people sent to him regarding his policies. We ate breakfast, went to a meat market for supplies, got gasoline and went off to Seguin to get pecans. We couldn’t find the place, and Evelyn decided to just skip the purchase. She will be whining around Christmas because she has none to use for candy, etc. We had good, cool weather all the way to the Valley. We were back home by 4:30 and preparing the house. We had to do some cleaning before bringing things in from the trailer. We did eventually bring some things in but have much more to do. The real shock was the way the weeds have overgrown the back yard area. We will be a long time cleaning up that area. I will try to take a picture. We had trouble hooking up the satellite receiver but were able to watch a movie I had recorded. I had to call DISH and schedule an appointment to have the receiver hooked up. It won’t happen until Friday morning. I just want it before the Purdue game on Saturday.

disenfranchised in Texas

We slept a bit late and went to see if we could vote. I was told that we could vote for the state offices at any post office in Texas. After being run around, we learned that we couldn’t. We had applied for absentee ballots but never got them. After discussion with friends, we thought it was because we were registered Republicans causing our applications to be misplaced. It is amazing how much misinformation is distributed by government workers. What is more amazing is that people are fool enough to be willing to let these same people control their lives. We met Tom and Luann for lunch and they had BOGO coupons for the Smokehouse restaurant. We enjoyed the lunch and then returned to our room to rest. They had to feed their dogs. Around 4, they and Schwinghammers came to our room for some beer, snacks and conversation. From there we went to the Wurstfest again. We heard Alex Meixner again and then went to the big hall to dance. We didn’t eat much but did have a lot of beer. We were home by 10 (the place closes down at 9:30) and learned about the predictions on the elections. Things were looking good.

The longest drive.

We were wakened at 6, showered and ate breakfast. We went to the Best Stop for Boudin and turkey tasso. We then went to Early’s market for some crawfish tails. Then we were on our way by around 8. We had been anticipating our lunch at Al T’s and arrived at 11:30. We had a huge Cajun lunch as we always do when there. We had enough left over to take it to the motel for our supper. We drove to the Texas welcome center and saw a resident alligator in the swamp. The rest of the trip was uneventful until we got to Seguin. Evelyn wanted to get some pecans but couldn’t remember where the place was. We came on to the motel instead. We got a room and changed to another because of the design. We wanted a king bed. We ate and then went to the Wurstfest to meet Bob and Theresa Schwinghammer. We danced a few polkas and then went to listen to Alex Meixster play the polkas on his accordion. It was a very warm evening, and we were tired. We left shortly after 9 and called Tom and Luann to arrange to meet them tomorrow for lunch and the day.