More square dance moves

It was quite warm but cloudy this morning. We moved everything out of our screened porch and I hosed it down so Evelyn could brush it down. It is amazing how much dirt and grime blows around here all the time. I went to get Roger Pederson and drove to mid-valley to play 9 holes of golf. It was today than last week. I played well for the first 8 holes but the 9th was again my nemesis. By the time I arrived home it was after 2. We ate a quick lunch and left for the square dance lessons. I was hot and sweaty by now but couldn’t shower, making us late for the lessons. The teacher worked us pretty hard and we were both tired when we finished. We did make some progress in remembering the calls and learning the new ones. We stopped at Hamels on the way home. We will invite them to watch the Purdue/Wisconsin basketball game tomorrow night. I may play golf with Sue’s cousin tomorrow afternoon. I watched a movie I had missed years ago, Little Big Man. Stacy wants me go to a conference with Peter next summer. I think it will be a blessing to both of us.

Blessings and disappointments

We were blessed with 63 in attendance this morning. I am not sure how many more—if any—would fit into our small library space. I was really disappointed, however, because one of our favorite couples from last year has been attending a different park service. I do thank God for those who have been faithful all years and pray that others are being spiritually fed at other venues. We returned home and I fired up the barbecue because we have had some beef for some time and needed to cook it. I did a better job than last time when I burned up our country style ribs. I had to work furiously on some future services and did, but Evelyn wanted to go dancing. She found another couple and we went to Mission where we danced in the restored Riverside Club. It was 4 feet under water when the floods hit this past summer but is now very nice. We danced about 2 ½ hours and returned so Roger could serve ice cream. We just stayed here and ate popcorn and watched a movie produced by Hallmark. Before it was over, Emily called and we set up a date for Rosalie to visit us. We had talked with Stacy yesterday. She wants Emily’s boys to meet Peter at the Creation Museum this summer. Evidently, Emily seems reluctant for some reason. I may meet them there. The disconcerting news is that Pieder may have to find another job. If that is true, the Beelis may have to move again. We are praying for them to remain closer to us, but having a job is more important.

Saturday

I didn’t take time to get the VCR but will Monday. We slept until 8:30 because we must have been very tired. We left for Mexico around 9, got pedicures and haircuts and returned home before noon. After lunch I watched Purdue beat Minnesota. We rested in the afternoon and went to the chili supper at Immanuel around 6. We seem coldly received by many at that church. We would not worship there if it were not for Joe and Bonny. Joe and Bonny are most friendly, and we ate our chili with them. We discussed our trip next Wednesday and decided to go to Mimi’s for dinner before the concert. We came home and I worked on the message for tomorrow.

Friday is a busy day for us. I took the VCR back to the repair shop because the tracking doesn’t work. I think it did before I had the machine cleaned. I returned and dressed for our hospital tour. We took a piece of cake left from last night to Rose and Armand before riding our bicycles to the hospital. We were a shade early but worked all afternoon—I at the information desk and Evelyn in the Foundation. I called Hamels to see if they wanted to go to the Horseman for fish and they did. Due to John’s commitment to play at a jam session, we had to bring Sue and her cousin home so he could leave earlier than we wanted to. We brought them here for a piece of cake (again left from last night) and a visit. Evelyn had to take them home shortly after 7. Their park has a gate with an entry code, but Sue remembered it for entry. Evelyn returned and we balanced her checkbook before watching some episodes of CSI we hadn’t seen for several years. We didn’t remember them. Donna called and invited Evelyn to attend a prayer seminar tomorrow. She may go after we return from Mexico.

I shot 46!

I went to Jack-in-the Box again this morning for a breakfast bowl. I also cashed my check from Jackson National. It was for 12% of the contract value. I am allowed that much each year. I went to Big Lots to get some 20% off items and then to the Chamber of Commerce to get some small calendars for Evelyn before going to the Rehab center to perform with the kitchen band. Tom Kruse, our neighbor, is there for therapy. He was in front of our group because he used to be our leader. He was very emotional and happy to be singing with us. He is so weak that he can’t stand, so he has to be in bed or in a wheelchair. We came right home and waited for Armand to return from his softball game. When he did, we went to play golf again. It was a nice day and we won’t be able to play until next week. I did very well for me, but Armand had a horrible round. We went to Walgreen’s so Armand could get some Pepsi, and I could return some Pepsi Max I had bought a couple of days ago. When we went to get the mail, and I ran into a couple, Joe and Marlene Copp, who had been here a year ago. We had been pretty good friends then, and I hope we renew our relationship. We had supper and then Evelyn went off to lead the LWML Bible study. She said she really felt the leading of Christ when she couldn’t even look at her notes. He intense preparation is well used in the Lord’s service. I worked on making some invitations to a coffee she wants to have for the women who were in the evening Bible study the past 3 years. She is mostly computer illiterate, so I have bought her a laptop for Valentine’s Day.

Italian dinner

Today was gorgeous. We went to Jack-in-the-Box for breakfast. Those breakfast sandwiches are really good. We left there and went to the square dance. We danced virtually every one despite being late. I began going to them because Evelyn wanted to but now really enjoy them. We were finished by noon and I was off to play golf by 12:30. Armand and I met a couple from Winnipeg and played with them. They were very nice and we played a bit better than recently. It was still a beautiful day with hardly any wind. It was in the low 70s and sunny. We came home because he had company coming, and we were going to dinner with Ed and Nona Drews. We rested and then picked them up, heading for Carino’s in McAllen. We had 2 coupons for free appetizers with the purchase of an entrée. We tried Italian nachos and were surprised that they were very good. The “chips” were made of pasta and covered with cheese, chicken, and sausage. We had a very good time with them although she can’t hear, and he doesn’t talk much. They appear slow but they aren’t. Evelyn worked on her Bible study for tomorrow night.

It was a gloomy day, so I stayed home to work on another sermon. After a couple of hours, Evelyn came home for breakfast, and then we went to the Bible study. It was very good again focusing on knowing who God is. Last week we looked at who we are. We finished and had a roast lunch of nilgi that had been given to us. It was good, but, since it was wild game, it tasted a bit “gamey”. Imagine that! I worked more on the sermon until it was time for Evelyn to leave for the movie. I then called to make an appointment for the massage I plan to give her for Valentine’s Day. I made it for February 12 in the morning. I then tried to print the Groupon I had bought but couldn’t. I will have to try to contact the company to see what is wrong. I then went to the golf net at our park and hit a few golf balls to work on my chipping. I think I made some progress. I also drove the golf cart 200 yards down the road to the other park to talk with Ed and Nona to see if they wanted to go to dinner tomorrow night. Ed loves spaghetti so I mentioned Italian. We will pick them up at 5:30 tomorrow. I came home and waited for John Hamel to get Armand and me to go to the Killer Bees hockey game. It was winter Texan night and hot dogs, popcorn, and sodas were $1. I paid for Dick Hiebert’s ticket because he had come to change some difficult washers in our bathroom sink. The cold water drips and won’t shut off without brute force. Unfortunately, even with the new washers, it still drips. Perhaps it will stop when the washers get seated. There were 10 of us to go to the game, so we went in 2 cars. The game was good because the Bees won 4-3 after scoring 4 goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. One was a power play goal, allowing people to buy small beers for $1. They didn’t score any more. We were home by 10. Evelyn had entertained the 3 women with coffee and some baked snacks after the movie. They must have had a good time together. I am glad to see her do that because she is stuck with me most of the time and needs other company. I get to play golf.

Rude geezers

Neither of us planned to attend the Monday park meeting, but Evelyn did. The woman who is the current activities director said she would not be back next year and some applauded. This was rude and was condemned by several people there. It is sad to think that kind of behavior would be seen from people our age. There are many things she does that we dispute, but there is no doubt that she works hard. One woman, who was director for one year, told about how she would not even come out of her house for fear of being accosted. Evelyn rested after exercising, and then went to the grocery and Walgreens for some things Evelyn needed. I also went to the bank to cash my AARP check. I ordered a gift at a spa in Brownsville for a Valentine’s Day gift. After lunch, I began working on another sermon for 3 weeks from now and made good progress. After lunch we went to the square dance lesson. There was someone there for the first time and that was a blessing because the caller had to start from scratch. We got to review the calls and get more experience. Evelyn rested again and after supper we watched part of 2 movies I had recorded. She didn’t like either. I didn’t think much of them either. I just finished this blog and went to bed after the news.

Great worship service

We were blessed with 53 in attendance at worship. It was a chilly but bright morning. I thought that it was one of the best services I have ever led here. The readings, hymns, message and prayers blended together by the Grace of God. I really felt blessed and humbled that He would honor me like that. We stopped on our way home to visit Tom, our neighbor, in the rehab center. He has been able to walk short distances with a walker. We really never expected him to be released but perhaps God will permit that in the near future. We returned home and after lunch I watched the Packers beat the Bears. As a joke, Evelyn and I called some rabid Packer fans and just howled into the phone when they answered and hung up. The woman called back soon after and asked who we were, but I just hung up. They will stew about that all week, but we will tell them at worship next Sunday. We took a short walk because it was so lovely and then returned home. We watched one of the episodes of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” that we had missed earlier. We also received a call from Emily, and we agreed that Rosalie could come to visit in March. We will begin praying for safety on the flights because she will be traveling alone. We have also made arrangements for Tuesday. Several of us men are going to the hockey game, and our wives will go to a movie.

Saturday

Saturday was a lovely day, but I worked on the service for tomorrow. About 3 we went around our park on our bikes with the bike club for the annual poker run. We didn’t have hands good enough to win anything. By belonging to the club, we were able to have pizza afterward. It was a good but early supper for us. At 8 the Purdue/ Michigan State game began. It was a good game and Purdue won this time. They had lost 2 close games in a row but had won the previous game on a last second shot. This time they won more convincingly. I still worked on the service for tomorrow and was in bed by 10:30.

Dinner guests

It was much colder this morning but things went on as usual. Evelyn exercised and I cleaned much of the house because we had Bonny and Joe coming for dinner. We dressed for the hospital, and I rode my bike because the wind wasn’t too strong and it was a tolerable temperature. Evelyn drove because she had to go with Bonny to an antique show. We both went to the hospital luncheon but didn’t stay for the program. Evelyn went off with Bonny, and I went to the information desk to work my normal shift. Lionel didn’t go to the lunch for some reason. The meal was very good as usual. We had a good time serving the Lord while enjoying the camaraderie and fun we usually have. I visited Jack Head, a friend from the park, who had been there overnight. He had heart surgery last winter and wonders what else might be wrong. The non medical people at the information desk have decided it is gall bladder problems. I rode home and helped set up for our meal. We had hors d’oerves while listening to the tape we watched as part of our Bible class from a month ago. I say watched because I could not set the tracking on our VCR. I was disappointed because we had just had it repaired earlier this season. I will have to take it back to see what is wrong. We finished the evening with a small serving of Bailey’s while playing a short game of Phase 10. We only played 3 hands because Joe was tired. We get to sleep in tomorrow morning.

dinner with friends

We played with the kitchen band this morning. We were at Valley Grande Manor. We always pass out around 20 maracas to the patients that are brought to see us. Many of the patients enjoy playing and singing with us. One lady in particular was really into it. She jumped and sang with us as we played the Beer Barrel Polka. She was so excited we could hardly persuade her to give up the maraca at the end. Another lady in a wheelchair stood and moved her body as well as she could. She couldn’t move her feet but undulated in place. Some of us go and move their wheelchairs in a dance motion. One of the patients was a woman we used to visit through Immanuel Church. We came home and rested during the afternoon until 4:30 at which time we picked up the Bruhns, people from our worship service. We went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in McAllen . It is called Costa Messa [sic]. We always enjoy the food and the ambiance. The waiters wear black bow ties and are very attentive to our needs. It is not a high dollar restaurant but provides high dollar service. Evelyn had a sweater bought for her by Janice a week ago. It was a shade too big so we went to Dillards to exchange it for the correct size. They had no such thing and nothing else the color she needed, so she just had the $25 put back on her gift card. We will have to look at another Dillards at a later date. We were home by 10. Jim has been trying to get a builder to come to our home and make a shelter for out golf cart. He is busy and very independent. He thought he might make it next week. We don’t believe he will.

Playing in the mud

It was another beautiful day. I checked with Armand about playing golf, so he, Jarl and I went to play around 10:30. We thought it would be a good day for golf, and it was in the air. We discovered that the course had not dried out very much since the rain Saturday. We were all walking and the wheels on our golf cart were shortly caked with mud as were our shoes. We didn’t play too badly but not well. On hole 7, there was huge water puddle in front of the green. Jarl and I both put our balls in to the water. Since it was very large, we just tried to play through it. Have you ever hit a ball out of a puddle? The water was relatively clear so the shower we got from hitting the ball was not unpleasant. I did hit one good shot using a submerged ball. Our final score was quite horrible, but we did have fun. The downside in addition to the mud was that we were stuck behind a foursome that moved like they were in their low 90s. I don’t begrudge anyone taking time to get shots off or putts lined up, but when they don’t seem to know where to park their carts, or which way to go and then stroll along to the next tee, I get frustrated. Of course it does little good to get upset. We cleaned our wheels and boots as well as we could and left so Armand and Jarl (Canadians) could get to their reunion party. Canadians as well as people from various states have dinners to which any resident of the named area are invited to a dinner. The Canadians have the best one because they play games as well. Evelyn and I ate a late lunch she had prepared. We just rested the remainder of the afternoon until the Purdue/Penn State basketball game began. We ate some peanuts while the game went on and Purdue was ahead by 13 for a while and managed to win by 1 on a last minute shot. To bed early

Afternoon dancing

The day was very pleasant giving us an opportunity to be outside a bit. We went to the Bible study at 10 and were very blessed with the examination of where evil come from. We knew much of it because the Bible tells us it is from the heart of man. But it was good to see what non believers do to explain the origin. We spent the afternoon working until around 2.30. We then went to CVS, the bank and Lowes to make a return. I wanted to get some larger denominations of bills because I have trouble closing my wallet. We then met John and Sue at the Mustang Lounge to dance to Ruthie. We went to the Paradise Roadhouse next door for a steak dinner. We split it. We came home and watched a movie on the Hallmark channel. It is supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow. I will try to play golf.

Not enough clubs

Monday morning began with a dense fog that got more dense by 10. Evelyn went to the park meeting alone. I went to line up a golf date with Armand. We went to The Palms a bit after 10 to find them closed because it was too muddy. Armand was interested in food so we went to La Gloria restaurant, met Tom and Diesta Crouch and had a breakfast taco. Armand is very generous and bought the breakfast (that I didn’t especially want). We came home and had the idea to go to the close par 3 course to see if we could play a short round there. We did. We both played about normal but I had an excuse. I have a small bag of clubs that I carry around that course but don’t have the correct clubs. I had 5 “woods”, 2 high elevation irons and a putter. That made it difficult to play. Armand did have an extra 7 iron that helped me. I also saw a couple that comes to our dance lessons who said the lessons had been cancelled. I told Evelyn so we went for a drive. We stopped at the grocery and then went to see True Grit, the remake version. I still like to older version better but was satisfied with the new one. We came home for supper and watched Meet the Fockers, a movie I had recorded.

Double sermons

We had 47 in attendance for Holy Communion. That was a blessing but we learned that one of our precious accompanists is leaving the park and is not coming back next season. We will sorely miss them. We went to Llano Grande where we had 295 in attendance. We are blessed by being able to serve in each place. We visited with some of our friends who live there and then returned home to finish our carry out from yesterday afternoon. I then watched the Purdue/West Virginia game. Purdue lost for the second time in succession. We then rested for a while before I rode to visit Tom Kruse. I pushed him around the rehab center. I think he enjoyed it. I rode my bike home and invited Lloyd and Marilyn and their friends Ken and Dale (sic) for popcorn and Phase 10. We had a good time with them and met new friends. It was a beautiful day after the 3 inch rain that fell over the past 26 hours. We thanked God for His mercy.

Life without electricity

It has finally rained a significant amount. It has rained all day and accumulated over an inch. It will probably continue raining through the night. We slept until 9 this morning. Evelyn had trouble sleeping last night but I didn’t. Shortly after 10, we lost power in both our park and the one next door. It was off for an hour, so I couldn’t do any printing. The power came on around 11 and we invited the Okells to come to help us crack pecans. We had a large bag that our dear friends, Don and Janice, had given us Thursday. We really can’t use all of them, so we shared them with our cracking partners. We finished the entire 5 pound bag in about half an hour. Unfortunately, the power went down again. We had eaten only cold cereal in the morning and were hungry for something hot by 3:30. We drove to Chilis for a salad and some fajitas. We then went to Big Lots to see what kind of cereal they had. While there, I met a man from Canada that I had played softball with. He lives in our sister park and told me that the power was still down half an hour earlier. We were disappointed and went to see if there was a movie we wanted to see. There was but not until we waited an hour. We came home expecting to light some candles but were blessed to see the lights on in the park. I quickly printed my sermon in case it went down again. It did but for only a few moments. I did the blogging while Evelyn assembled some pictures Tom had sent into the collage of our extended family. I practiced the service again as the rain continued. Praise our gracious God.

Hawaiian theme dance.

Geezers drinking out 2010, in 2011

Big buffet

This Friday was different. Rose and Armand wanted to take us to the seafood buffet in McAllen. We also wanted to run some other errands there. We went to get some hazelnuts but didn’t. Instead Armand bought us a piece of fudge that I didn’t eat because we were headed to a huge buffet. We picked up a form at Time/Warner cable for them and proceeded to Sun Harvest. There is always a good selection of meat and bulk foods like wheat bran, steel cut oatmeal, etc. We bought some filets and country style ribs too. Then on to the buffet. The offerings included 2 kinds of shrimp, spicy linguini, mixed vegetables, and a made to order stir fry. Of course there is also a wide selection of desserts. We saw 6 others from our park but didn’t sit with them. We really enjoy the buffets there but eat far more than we should. We left there and stopped at an RV sales lot looking for a RoadTrek or another small RV. I was blessed to talk with a Christian young man and we exchanged testimonies. We came directly home and took a nap. We were to work at the dance with a Hawaiian theme. I dressed in the clothes I had bought in Hawaii 25 years ago. I could wear them! Well, I could get them on but looked like 10 pounds of flour in a 5 pound bag. It was a weird outfit had it fit. We didn’t have many in attendance even though a very popular woman singer was the band. She draws large crowds at the Mustang Lounge on Tuesdays. I didn’t eat any popcorn or anything else since I had eaten so much at noon. We cleaned up the hall and were in bed by 11.

Dinner with the Waters

We were up and beginning the morning ritual as usual. We were a bit late in getting to the hall to leave for the kitchen band performance. Because of that we missed seeing the 50th anniversary party planning meeting in the hall. One of us would have gone but we didn’t see them because we didn’t go inside. We just followed everyone to the Ratama Manor. We had a good performance. We are encouraged to do unusual things, so Evelyn and I danced a waltz while the others sang. Afterward we returned a faucet set that wouldn’t work for us to Lowes. We looked for different handles without success. We were waiting around after lunch but received a call from Janice that she was waiting for us at Kohl’s. She was half an hour early. We left immediately to meet her. She had given Evelyn a $50 gift certificate for Christmas and wanted to shop with her. I left them and drove to her house to meet Don. We drove around and visited his workmen so he could look after them. They were cooking some deer meat on an open fire as they worked on the tractors. We ate a few pieces and continued driving around his property, looking for wild hogs. They have escaped from some farms and moved into the brush around the farm. We didn’t see any or he would have shot one. He gives what he kills to his workers. We returned home and waited for the ladies. When they came home, they worked on some enchiladas for supper. Evelyn had bought Don’s favorite pie at Luby’s cafeteria. We watched the Purdue/Minnesota basketball game while enjoying the cherry pie. We were home by 9.

Wednesday

I called Mr. Garza to apologize. I then looked at the email and found one from Stacy saying she would not come to visit because she would have to tolerate my barbs. I would like her to come and said I wouldn’t mistreat her. I hope she answers positively. We would like to see her. We went to the square dance at Leisure World, but I was not very good. In fact I was a detriment to the squares I was in. I was blessed with advice from many other dancers. I wonder if they will be glad to see me next time. It was cold and windy again, so we didn’t play golf. We waited most of the afternoon for a call from Emily. After that we just stayed inside. We did talk with both neighbors. Judy was out leaving to visit Tom. She said she was recovering from her cold but was still tired. Rose came over to invite us to go to the seafood buffet Friday. They wanted to buy us one since we had bought them one last year. We went to bed before the news was on.

Concert #3 for the season

It was much colder this morning. Tuesday is recycle day, so I took our things to the site. The man there seemed to know what he was doing because he told me they would only accept 1s and 2s from now on. I knew that those were the only plastics recyclable years ago but the previous people didn’t. Much of the items and containers were blowing over and away. I then went to Lowes to get the overcharge from Sunday straightened out. As we suspected, we had been charged for the faucet twice. The refund was made and then the young man in charge of the plumbing gave me another he said would fit our 1 hole sink. I brought it home and found it wouldn’t. I should have checked it there, but it seemed safe to trust the manager of the department. I came home and made reservations at Papadoux for this evening. I really didn’t have time to get to the Bible study, so I worked at home. We rested after lunch. I tried to think of some way to circumvent needing to buy a new faucet set since I can’t seem to find one. Joe and Bonny drove us to Papadoux for dinner. We enjoyed our catfish dinner and brought half of it home for tomorrow. The concert was somewhat a disappointment. Buddy Jewel was accompanied by another guitarist and fiddler while he sang. We think they were good musicians but didn’t perform much. They just sat and sang mostly country songs. We were home by 10 and went to bed after the news. I did set up the AARP class for February 17 by calling the national office to register it. I also got a call from the zone coordinator and got rather curt with him because he had not sent me the email he had promised. I checked when we arrived home but still no email. I will call him tomorrow to apologize.

Illness attacks golfer

It was a lovely crisp morning, but I didn’t walk. Instead I began work on the sermon for January 30. I had arranged to play golf with Armand at 11. I got the sermon all finished before we left. We drove to the course and found many people ahead of us. We decided to play any way. I had thought we might take a motor cart but decided to walk. We got to the first hole and both parred it. That is I parred it. Armand got stomach cramps and had to run for the arroyo next to the course. I putted for him, making a par for both of us and then went to see how he was. He had made a mess and wanted me to go on and play while he sat in the car. Of course I didn’t. We both walked back to the club house and were given a “sickcheck” to return to finish the round another day. While I was doing that, he loaded his clubs and vomited. We drove home and he went immediately home. I came in and Evelyn and I ate lunch. Armand’s wife, Rose, was at the hall, so Evelyn went to let her know he was sick at home. We saw him later in the afternoon and he was much improved. We went to the square dance lessons and had a good time. We were home at 5, and I worked on the order of service. Now I have almost everything for the 30th. We finished watching “True Grit” and then some of the BCS championship football game. We have a possible conflict with our weekly Skype visit with Emily. I did get a call from Stacy about the snow in Atlanta. The schools were closed and the kids and mom were playing in the snow.

Our worship was better attended this week. We had 46, up 10 from the previous 2 weeks. I received a couple of thanks for the content of the message. One was especially warming since it was a from a man who had lost his wife to cancer during the past summer. It is a blessing to me to be able to bring the Lord’s peace and comfort to one of His children. We left and took one of Tom Kruse’s friends to visit him in the rehab center. He was quite emotional when reminiscing with them. His brother was there again to shave him, so we all had a nice visit. Tom’s wife Judy is still recovering from her cold. We came home and Evelyn went to see if she wanted lunch. She did so we took her some chicken because we wanted some too. That was our lunch. I was also able to watch Purdue beat Iowa in basketball. They have been very successful but haven’t played any of the top teams yet. I then watched some of the NFL playoffs but am not very interested since both the Saints and Colts have been eliminated. Many of our regular worshippers are from Wisconsin, making them Green Bay Packers fans. They won and will move on in the tournament. We went to return the faucet we bought yesterday because it was for a 2 hole sink. Lowes didn’t have any so we supposedly had the price returned to our credit card. I will watch closely during the next few days to make sure it did. We also went to CVS and Walgreen for some pills and supplements. We returned home, and I washed the car before making popcorn. W and watched the war for the Falkland Islands before Sarah Palin’s Alaska. Evelyn talked with Helen Fisher. We also received a call from Bill Oefinger telling us that Shirley had needed a kidney removed. We didn’t get the entire story because the phone battery died for a second time.

Epiphany

What have I been doing? It certainly hasn’t been making blog entries. Thursday was Epiphany, so Christmas is over. We spent much of the day dismantling the Christmas trees and packing away the ornaments. Bonny and Joe had invited us to come and watch a DVD, “Bethlehem’s Star”, so we went and took a dessert and some Bailey’s Irish Crème. The DVD was made by a professor from A&M who told how the Planets of Jupiter and Venus passed close enough with another star to form the star that led the Magi to where Jesus was living 2 years after His birth. It was fascinating, but I was quite drowsy during the story. It was a fitting ending to the Christmas season.
Friday morning was enough time to cut the grass and remove the Nativity scene and star we have in our front yard. We didn’t decorate with as many lights this year,, but the message comes through the Holy Spirit giving the message. We had not cleaned our shed since we arrived and could hardly enter with all the storage boxes in the center of the floor. We took everything out and swept up many chameleon turds and dust. Evelyn worked hard with me, and we cleaned it more thoroughly than ever. We put the Christmas trees into boxes and a big bag along with the Nativity display. We worked at the hospital as usual. Evelyn worked on some applications while I worked at the information desk. We came home, rested, and went to the Friday dance. The band was “Party of One”, a man who played the keyboard, saxophone, trumpet and sang. He was very good, but we spent too much time talking to a nice couple from Canada. We were home earlier than usual.
We slept a bit later on Saturday morning. I immediately called son-in-law Tom for help in printing some pictures he had sent via email so we could put them into a collage of our extended family. He did a good job, but my phone battery died after about 20 minutes. I went ahead and sent them to the local CVS drug store. We should be able to bring them home some time next week. I began familiarizing myself more deeply with the message for tomorrow morning. I usually practice the entire service several times on Saturday. After lunch, we took a nap and then received a call from the man we will have replace the faucets in the master bathroom. We then went to select the new faucets and go to the grocery for some supplies. We returned home with some gas to use for cutting the grass. I went to the neighbor’s to see how his deep sea fishing trip had gone. There were 18 on his boat, and everyone had the limit within 1 hour. We had a good laugh because I had taken crackers and canola oil to we could fry the fish. They may have a red snapper fish fry later because he plans 3 more trips to the ocean.

I walked in the morning and found Jarl walking too. I asked him to play golf because Armand couldn’t go. He agreed. I returned to take Evelyn to square dance lessons. Actually it was a regular mainstream dance. Mainstream is the lowest grade. We danced several dances and took a long time to recall some of the calls, but the others pushed and pulled us around. We did learn that the lessons are next Monday afternoon. We plan to attend. After lunch I went to pick up Jarl, but he wouldn’t go. Someone from Mission had called to say they were coming to visit. I went to play by myself. I had to buy another 10 play card and decided to take a drive cart and play the back 9. I started off very poorly. When I went to look for a ball, I drove the cart into a bog. I wasn’t watching where I was going, and, since it has not rained more than 1 tenth of an inch since September, the last thing I expected was a boggy mire. I pushed and pulled without success. I saw a man in a front loader moving dirt, so I walked to ask for help. He came and pushed me out. I played the hole out and went on to 11. I began to play better as I went. I eventually parred 2 holes and bogeyed another. I was doing well until hole 18. It and hole 9 are the hardest. I lost 4 balls and eventually scored 15 on the hole. I was disappointed in the round, so I returned to hole 10 and replayed it. This time I got a 7. I also returned and replayed 18. This time I got a 6. My final score was still 50. I also played 9 just for fun and got a 7 without losing a ball. I left and went to see if George had an element for my electric grill, but he didn’t. I came home for the delicious super Evelyn had prepared. First, however, I had to clean my very muddy shoes. During the evening we picked the final bunch of nutmeats out while we watched Purdue beat Penn State.

Family CD

I didn’t attend the park meeting because I wanted to start on a future sermon. I walked while Evelyn exercised but worked afterward. Armand and I played golf alone although we looked for Jarl. He was busy. We began well in the game, but things soon fell apart. We were both about usual. We came home and continued with our separate work. He likes to pitch horseshoes at 3, necessitating our being home by then. Evelyn did some cleaning while I was off playing. We continued picking nutmeats out of the pecan shells we had. So far we have more than 2 cups. We watched TV while doing the picking. We also continued talking with the Beelis. We have a pretty good communication with them.
Tuesday found me continuing the work on the sermon after taking my morning walk. Evelyn came home, and we left for the new Bible study led by the Reddels. There were around 15 people in attendance. We had only 4 or 5 when we were in charge. I think that leading the study here is not something the Lord is calling me to do. I will not lead the study next year. The study was very good, and Don and Donna did a great job of preparing for the class, and we were blessed by it. We returned home for lunch, and I finished the sermon and order of service. That means I select the hymns and responsive readings for the day. I give one copy to the accompanist so they can practice the songs. Evelyn wanted to go dancing at the Mustang Lounge again. I looked around the park for someone to go with us, but everyone was busy. We went alone and had a good time. The place was packed with even more people than were there last week. They serve delicious free popcorn and delicious Shiner Bock. We left there and went to Burger King for a mustard burger. We tried to return a gift I had bought for Evelyn, but we had no receipt. I guess we will give it away. We came home and watched some of the programs I had recorded. The real highlight of the day was receiving a CD from the Beelis showing the kids playing music, singing and giving speeches. We will watch it many times.

First worship of the year.

We were up and off to worship at the usual time. We had only 36 in attendance but were blessed by Holy Communion. One of the dear men who is on our church board wanted to speak. He pleaded with the congregation to reach out to the people in the park and ask them to church. I was moved by his concern. It is, however, God’s business to draw people to His house. It is our job to invite them. We came home and planned to go to Church’s Chicken for lunch and stop at an older gentlemen’s house to ask about his making a carved angel for us to give to the girl’s for their houses. As it turned out, the man also attends worship at Immanuel. Evelyn went to see him while I stayed home to watch the Saints play Tampa Bay. They eventually lost. Evelyn had forgotten to take money, so she decided to just fix lunch for us here. I worked on printing scriptures for the people who are kind enough to read during our services. I got all of them done until the middle of April. We had some pecans bought from a friend this morning, so we cracked and picked them after I went to the hall to serve ice cream as we watched some programs I had recorded in the past week. We have had several talks with both the girls today. Evelyn enjoys talking with the grandkids.

New Years Day

We slept late as to be expected since we don’t often get the opportunity. We did work on the dinner we had planned with the neighbors. We cooked the spiral cut ham and the other sides. The guests offered to bring something as well. Rose and Armand brought a dessert, Judy Kruse brought a green bean casserole, and Sharon Lemke and her mother-in-law brought pumpkin bread. Glen couldn’t come because he had to work at the flea market. I was disappointed because we could have eaten at 4 or 5 after he was finished. I just never thought of his working. The AARP certificates had arrived, so I rode my bike around getting them filled out. It took more than half an hour even though everyone was at home. I have to get information from the woman who came from outside the park. I came home and we had a light supper before I began working on the worship service for tomorrow. I was still able to go to bed by 11.

We don’t do much on Friday mornings because we have go to the hospital in the afternoon. I did eat lunch before riding my bike. Evelyn didn’t go with me because there was no one in the Foundation department. I went to the information desk again, and we had a relatively slow day. The most engaging part of the day was the presence of a man who had been shot in the head Thursday evening. He had a police guard all day and no one could visit him. We did bring down several babies from the post partum area. I rode home and we dressed for church. We wore the same things we wore to the dance later. The service was almost depressing. I am not sure why we worship there on any days we don’t have to sing with the choir. We did give some money to the family that has adopted the 3 children without parents. We returned home and drove the cart to the dance hall. We sat with some friends and enjoyed a good band. We had taken snacks and drinks even though there was a light lunch served about half way through the evening. I was really wild even though I had little to drink. We left before midnight as we always do and were in bed by 12:30.

New Years Eve

We don’t do much on Friday mornings because we have go to the hospital in the afternoon. I did eat lunch before riding my bike. Evelyn didn’t go with me because there was no one in the Foundation department. I went to the information desk again, and we had a relatively slow day. The most engaging part of the day was the presence of a man who had been shot in the head Thursday evening. He had a police guard all day and no one could visit him. We did bring down several babies from the post partum area. I rode home and we dressed for church. We wore the same things we wore to the dance later. The service was almost depressing. I am not sure why we worship there on any days we don’t have to sing with the choir. We did give some money to the family that has adopted the 3 children without parents. We returned home and drove the cart to the dance hall. We sat with some friends and enjoyed a good band. We had taken snacks and drinks even though there was a light lunch served about half way through the evening. I was really wild even though I had little to drink. We left before midnight as we always do and were in bed by 12:30.