Last Sunday in February 2011

These are pictures of the angels to hang on houses.
We had another beautiful Holy Communion service this morning. Many people were moved by the message of trust in the Lord. There were 45 in attendance , including Joe and Marlene. We came home to change clothes and then they drove us to the Remington Steak House for the Sunday brunch. We had Bogo tickets and shared them with the Cops. We all enjoyed the offerings. It is a very classy place featuring an open area and atrium. It is one of the classiest restaurants in McAllen. We then proceeded to the big HEB store on north 10th street to shop for some supplies for our 2 upcoming parties. We were home in time to watch the Purdue game that I had taped on the DVR. Purdue won at East Lansing which is not an easy thing to do. We just had our usual popcorn for supper, and then I made a tee time for our friends and I to play tomorrow morning. Rose and Armand were gone for the evening so I couldn’t tell him of the plan. I left him a note. Evelyn talked with Stacy in the afternoon and I took pictures of the angels we had made for us to take north. I then took them to the trailer at Joe and Bonny’s. I watched the movie “2012” and worked on making a plan for the service to be held on April 10. It might be the last one for this season. I don’t believe the world will end in 2012 just because the Mayan calendar says so, but there are many signs of the end. Perhaps the Lord will bring this world of sin to an end—sometime soon. But Jesus said no one knows for sure. I just praise God that He has mercifully claimed all of our family for His own. There are other relatives that I pray will come to know His deep love for them too.

Pictures of Canadian friends

Two more pictures of Rose and Armand at the banquet for honorees, and one picture of Joe and Marlene Cop at the big HEB in McAllen.

more 50th pictures

An older couple sang a duet for the party. The couples are Roger (white hair) and Mitzi Pederson, the couple we ran the dances with last year, and Rose and Armand Okell, our wonderful neighbors from Grandview, Manitoba, Canada.

50th pictures

The couples provided pictures of their weddings and a current one. People liked to look at them. Evelyn directs people to sign the guest book. There is also a shot of most of the honorees at the special table.

Preparations for the 50th party

That long drawer is full of decoration supplies.

Celebrating 50 years together

The day we have been working toward has come and gone. I slept on the couch last night due to a high consumption of beans and beer. Evelyn had wakened during the night and taken a shower. She was worked up about the 50th anniversary party. We went to the hall to arrange the tables and decorate them. We took about an hour and a half to get things set up. We were then home for lunch and a short nap before dressing for the event. We dressed up because we were in charge of the guest book and opening the door for the honorees. Everything went as planned and about 200 attended to honor the 12 celebrating their 50th anniversary. The MC told about their meetings, families, and plans for celebration on the exact day. There was also a couple who sang 2 duets and a pianist who accompanied them. It was a very classy program. We stayed around and cleaned up the hall afterward. The entire committee was very good about cleaning. Everyone pitched in. We came home and took a short nap. I began work again before supper. We then took a walk so that we could confirm our plans for church and buffet with Cops. We found them walking and set things up with them. We had hoped to get Armand and Rose to church again before they leave in a week. She has been suffering with the same intestinal problems that she had last year. We had planned to go out for lunch after church but don’t think she can go with us for any food. We just spent the evening at home quietly working.

The long awaited barbecue dinner

Thursday was especially hot. After exercise, we met with the 50th wedding anniversary committee and learned that the self appointed leader of this committee has decided that a certain woman to be honored this year should be the leader of next year’s. This is disgraceful since the committee for next year should be capable of selecting their own leader. We left there and joined the kitchen band concert already in progress. We really have a lot of fun clowning around for those who aren’t able to leave the rehab/nursing institutions. Our leader from last year returned with his wife from a doctor’s appointment and joined us. He is a resident as is another woman from our park suffering from dementia. We left and came home for lunch and a nap. We picked up John and Sue, went to Mimi’s Café for dinner (we had the pistachio crusted salmon again), and went to the concert. We were rather late and didn’t get the best seats but were not concerned. We didn’t enjoy the Sinatra/Streisand impersonators as much as the other concerts from the past. We did buy tickets for next year even though the offerings were not as appealing as those in the past either. It does give us something to look forward to doing with Joe and Bonny each month. When we returned home, I made some invitations to give to our fellow hospital volunteers tomorrow. Paul wants the invitation in writing so he won’t forget it.

Another concert with friends

Thursday was especially hot. After exercise, we met with the 50th wedding anniversary committee and learned that the self appointed leader of this committee has decided that a certain woman to be honored this year should be the leader of next year’s. This is disgraceful since the committee for next year should be capable of selecting their own leader. We left there and joined the kitchen band concert already in progress. We really have a lot of fun clowning around for those who aren’t able to leave the rehab/nursing institutions. Our leader from last year returned with his wife from a doctor’s appointment and joined us. He is a resident as is another woman from our park suffering from dementia. We left and came home for lunch and a nap. We picked up John and Sue, went to Mimi’s Café for dinner (we had the pistachio crusted salmon again), and went to the concert. We were rather late and didn’t get the best seats but were not concerned. We didn’t enjoy the Sinatra/Streisand impersonators as much as the other concerts from the past. We did buy tickets for next year even though the offerings were not as appealing as those in the past either. It does give us something to look forward to doing with Joe and Bonny each month. When we returned home, I made some invitations to give to our fellow hospital volunteers tomorrow. Paul wants the invitation in writing so he won’t forget it.

Dominating Indiana University

We were up at the same time, but I didn’t walk. Instead I cleaned up and set up breakfast. Evelyn returned and we ate after we did our devotion. Then it was off to the square dance. We seem to be doing better according to those we dance with. We still make our share of mistakes but so do others. I think we will continue for the final 3 lessons because it is not only physically but also mentally. It is especially frustrating to Evelyn to make mistakes, but just the process of thinking and recognizing the calls is mentally beneficial. Today Evelyn was laughing so hard at our mistakes that I thought she might be unable to stand up. She really doubles over when laughing hard. We did finish. We left a bit early and came home for a quick lunch because I was to play golf at 12:30. Joe, Roger and I played with another Canadian named Morris Cahut. He was quite nice but quiet. We all played about normal. I was better than Monday and had a better time. It is better for my flexibility to walk the 9 holes than to ride, but I might ride to play 18 next week. Joe Cop is leaving next Thursday and Armand will leave the following week. I really enjoy playing with those guys. We came back by 3:30 and had a couple of beers before I came home. We watched some of Glenn Beck and Bret Bair before the Purdue/IU game came on the air. They won for the 23rd time this year.

hockey night

I walked this morning before we went to Bible study. We were blessed again with the message about God’s plan for order in all things, even social and ethical institutions. We had planned to join the bike club on their ride to lunch, but Evelyn didn’t want to go. We had lunch at home instead. I had hoped that a friend would come to help me with an income tax question but he didn’t. We took a nap and were wakened by a call from Elizabeth. We decided to go to the Mustang Lounge to dance for an hour and then came home so I could go to the hockey game. I picked up Armand and Joe and drove to the State Farm Arena. The Killer Bees lost but played a good game. We were home by 10. Armand will arise at 4:45 tomorrow morning to go deep sea fishing. I am glad I will not be going.

bad golf

We were up before the alarm went off and went walking. I made a little more than a mile. When Evelyn came home we had breakfast, and then I went with Joe, Roger, and Armand to play golf. It was windy but quite warm. I played very poorly as did most of the others. We were done in time to get home, have a beer and go to square dance lessons. I was tired and sweaty but went anyway. We learned a couple of new calls but got even more tired. Strangely enough, Evelyn talks as though she wants to quit. I think she gets a bit discouraged when we make mistakes. There are seasoned people there called angels who are supposed to help guide us, but they get tangled up as well. We came home and I rinsed off before going to Rose and Armand’s for pizza. Judy Kruse was invited also. We visited and learned that Tom is now able to eat solid food once each day. We as well as many doctors and nurses never expected him to get out the hospital. What a miracle! Rose had made a pizza for us that was delicious. I was very tired so we came home about 7:30 and went to bed shortly thereafter.

Great Purdue victory in basketball

We had 39 at worship this morning. We always like more but know there are many and perhaps better places to worship on Sunday. We had a sound system today and hope to have it from now on. We hope the people who like it will donate money so we can buy our own rather than borrow one each Sunday. We stopped to see our neighbor, Tom, on the way home. His wife, Judy, was there on her way to church and told us that Belvia Lemke might be having health problems. Tom is doing much better, gaining strength, walking the halls with a regular walker, and eating food. He had been unable to swallow, but therapy is helping him. We came home and prepared for the “east of Illinois dinner. Many people come to the Valley from the Midwest and have state dinners. Few people come to Texas from the east. Most go to Florida. Therefore, we usually have a small crowd but from many states. Today there were only Michigan, Indiana and North Carolina. The food was delicious, as usual, but there was really no program, so we just ate from noon to 1 and then basically left. We cleaned up our dishes and then brought Donna Reddel over to use our sewing machine. At 4 Cops came to watch the game. I had taped it because it was being played while we were at the dinner. We made a party of it any way. Marlene had brought chicken fingers to add to our peanuts for snacks. We watched the first half snacking. I didn’t tell our guests that I had pre recorded the game, but they wanted to visit through the halftime instead of fast forwarding. We finished the game and Purdue beat the former number 1 Ohio State. Joe and I went to Pizza Hut for pizza and visited until 7:30. They left and we finished up the evening. We had talked with Stacy and Olivia this afternoon. Olivia is excited about her mission trip to Guatemala in July. We are praying for her to be successful and remember who she is serving.

dinner with friends

I slept late Saturday. So did Evelyn but because she had been up much of the night. She is still a bit sick but still functions. I went to invite Cops to watch the basketball game Sunday. We didn’t do much during the day but did cut down many of our dead plants from the back yard. We won’t put them out front until tomorrow afternoon because that is when the park workers will pick them up. Besides, the wind would just blow them down the street. Bonny had called and invited us for dinner at her house. We wanted to see the Bible study DVD we had missed yesterday, so we borrowed it from Reddels and took it along. We know she and Joe are dedicated Christians and liked to see and hear explorations of God’s Word too. They did like it even though they enjoy playing games with us. We were disappointed to learn that they will not go with us to the concert Thursday. One of their plethora of grandchildren will have a birthday, and they want to go. I really admire the closeness of their families. We are close with ours too but can’t afford to fly home for each birthday. Besides that, we would have to spend the entire month of February in Ohio or most of the month in an airport. In fact most of our birthdays would run from January 20 through April 26. We seem to be busy during that time period. We had a great evening and left at 9 because both of us need to get up early on Sunday mornings.

The wind doth blow

Friday was windy again. I went to look at the Rialta but couldn’t get into the compound. Mr. Wright was not at the garage either. I did get some stamps for use with the AARP classes and sent the receipt for reimbursement. We had lunch and rode our bikes with the wind to the hospital. Evelyn worked in the foundation and I at the information desk. I was surprised to learn that Paul and Donna with their usual Friday night friends were willing to go to the Horseman with us for their fish special. Paul didn’t think the fish was a good as we did. He was kind enough to drive 6 of us but didn’t really need to. Parking is usually a problem there but wasn’t tonight. We returned home, changed clothes, and went to work at the dance. We changed from next week to tonight because of the stock show barbecue. We had a fair crowd for Ron O’Neil, the Party of One. We were home by 10:30, tired and ready for bed.

Our best Valley friends

Joe and Bonny await the start of our game of hand and foot last Saturday evening. They are very good friends who go to the concerts in McAllen with us. They are the only reason we belong to Immanuel Lutheran in Mercedes.

AARP class

These are driver safety students laboring over one of the many questions found in the half day course.


I had to arise at 6 to prepare for my trip to Trail’s End. I was there much before the room was set up. The contact lady came with the monitor and DVD player. She also brought coffee and some snacks. We began our class on time with 12 people and an additional man from Canada. He was with my contact lady. I was home shortly after noon. Despite being sick, Evelyn had prepared a delicious lunch of tilapia and veggies. After we finished, she went back to bed while I did some of my paperwork for AARP. I soon got tired too and joined her for a nap. When we wakened, I went to Okells and chatted for a while. I returned home and tried to organize my AARP briefcase for next time. We just stayed home in the evening alone because Evelyn didn’t want to infect anyone else. I would have played golf, but it was too windy. I doubt that we could have ridden our bikes around the park despite it is protected by the trailers.

Evelyn has caught my cold

Evelyn went to exercise but returned home immediately. I walked around the park because the ride yesterday had no doubt stirred up the lactic acid, causing possible pain if not worked out. I remember the week of misery when I finished the marathon in Fort Wayne in 1983. We had breakfast and then went to the HEB for some supplies. We stopped at the square dance place to explain why we weren’t coming to the dance and came on home. We unpacked the car, and I made Evelyn go to bed. I tried to contact Emily on SKYPE without success. I don’t quite know how we continue to miss each other. I also don’t know why I was able to get on SKYPE several times and can’t do it again. We did talk a bit on the MagicJack before I heated our lunch. We lay down for a while after and then went to the wellness fair at our park hall. It was a huge disappointment in that there were 3 tables or booths offering services like home health care. We had hoped there would at least be someone taking blood pressure. We came right home. I put Evelyn back in bed for a nap and worked on our taxes a short while. Then I watched the Purdue/Wisconsin basketball game. Purdue won at home just as Wisconsin had last week. The game was very good. Then we started a movie but gave it up because I thought I should go to bed early since I must get up at 6 and go to Trail’s End for my AARP class. I invited a neighbor because one of the couples had to drop out for health reasons. We waited for a call from Emily but it never came. She is very busy with her family.

I am exhausted

We were up and loading our bikes by 8:15. We were unable to have our weekly Bible study in the Outback, so we signed to go with the bike club to the Palo Alto battlefield. We rode with Dan Servais and Bob Breseman in Dan’s car. It was a pleasant cloudy day, but the wind was blowing from the southeast at 10-15 miles an hour. While in the national historic site, we were fine. We had ridden there a few years ago and knew some things about the battle. We needed a refresher, however. Then for the torture. The ride in the park was OK but the ride to the restaurant—7 miles one way—was into the aforementioned wind. We first had to ride up an extremely steep overpass and then 6 ½ more miles. Evelyn couldn’t even make it up the bridge and returned to the park. She caught a ride with some others and we both praised God she hadn’t continued. Those of us who rode took more than an hour to get there. The surprise for me was that Evelyn had ordered lunch for us, and it had been served moments before. I walked in and began eating. The rest of the 33 riders had to put their orders in and wait for them. I thought I would ride back to the park in a car, but ended up riding my bike back—with the wind most of the way. To my surprise, I had to ride back up the overpass. We had ridden to the park with 2 other guys, so we loaded our bikes onto the trailer made for that purpose. We returned and I began to work on arrangements for tonight’s hockey game. I had to send Armand to get the tickets and then call to make connections with John Hamel. He decided to ride with 2 Canadians from another park. Armand drove Joe Cop and me. We met them and traded the unused tickets for tickets good for tonight. We saw a good hockey game and the home team Killer Bees won 7-6, beating the team leading the league. We were home shortly before 10:30. Evelyn had read all evening but had developed a sore throat. Bonny had called on our way home and invited E and I to go to the Vipers basketball game tomorrow night. We will decide tomorrow after Evelyn learns whether she is getting sick or not.

Golf with a cold

I arose with the alarm and went to put the bougainvillea trimmings out on the curb. This kind of residue is picked up by the park maintenance on Mondays and Fridays. I called Clayton to learn the exact procedure to follow on the transfer of money. I also called Gerry Bower to learn how to get his tickets for tomorrow’s hockey game. He will return a call tomorrow with instruction. I arranged to play golf with Roger Pederson, Joe Cop and Armand. We had to wait until almost noon to tee off. We all played at about our average. Joe, who is a BIG man can really hit a long drive but has trouble with the short game. It was a beautiful day but the wind picked up a great deal when we were playing into it. I birdied another hole, but still scored 10 on hole 9. That sure ruins my game. I was home in time to go to square dance lessons. I didn’t dance because of the possibility of passing germs from my hands to theirs. I didn’t want to go but knew Evelyn wouldn’t go unless I took her. I would have preferred to stay at home. But I went for her. We returned home for supper and a short evening awake. We are going on a ride with the bike club tomorrow.

Sunday

Attendance this morning was somewhat improved over last week, but some of the former loyal attendees are still going elsewhere. Bonny had told of the flautist’s intention to play at this morning’s service at Immanuel, so we went there. He added to the service. We returned home and talked about going to Riverside to dance but didn’t. I worked some but then talked with the Hispanic neighbor, Joe Llamas. I had loaned him our Amtrak book and he returned it. He teaches at 3 different schools around the Valley. He also has a young turtle in the small zone between our fences. I decided to finish trimming the remainder of the bougainvillea that has been killed during the recent cold weather. Have you ever examined bougainvillea? It is full of thorns. I had to be careful moving it from the bucket it grows in. I returned to the house and made popcorn for supper. I had not taken a nap, so I was very tired and went to bed at 8:30. Evelyn soon followed. Around midnight I began coughing and move to the couch in the Texas room so Evelyn could sleep.

Valentine gift

Evelyn waits for her massage appointment and then went into the massage room with the masseuse. She was delighted with the Valentine's Day gift. I had scheduled it several weeks ago, and many men were begging for an appointment, according to the Carriage House owner. Thanks be to God that I was early for a change. One doctor came in to pick up his wife's reservation and said, "This will be the biggest shock she ever had!"


We weren’t able to sleep in this morning, but that was a good thing. I didn’t sleep very soundly because I am fighting the onset of a cold. I have used Zicam in 3 forms now and pray it works. We had breakfast and then left for Brownsville. We called Shirley Pierce as we passed through Harlingen, thinking we could meet her for lunch. Oddly enough, she was headed for Mercedes. We arrived at the SAS shoe outlet as it opened at 9. Evelyn needed some shoes for everyday wearing, and I bought some lightweight loafers (stop laughing) to wear while dancing. I was concerned we would be late for the massage but weren’t. I followed the GPS up to the last turn. I turned too soon and drove about 3 blocks the wrong way on a one way street. Evelyn was just delighted with the hour long massage. The place was in an old stone house converted into a warm “serene” atmosphere. She was so relaxed when she came out, I wondered if she could make it to the car and stay awake on the ride home. We didn’t eat lunch out even though we passed a restaurant I really like. We went past Juan’s Welding where we saw a Winnebago on a rack last week. I stopped and found it was for sale, but David Garza (Juan) didn’t know how much the seller wanted. I will find out next week. We would use it in NC to take short trips. After lunch Evelyn made me take a nap after which she took one. While she slept I wakened and rode the bike about a mile to the CVS to buy more Zicam. I rode home and then washed the car for the first time for more than a month. Evelyn talked with Emily for a long time, and I called Bonny on the MagicJack and invited them to play cards this evening. We had a good time until 9.

Possible onset of a cold

Friday morning was pretty much usual. After breakfast, I was just beginning to go to work when Armand came in. I had invited Rose and him to go with us tomorrow to Brownsville, but they had a big day planned. She wanted to go to get some SAS shoes at the discount mall we will go to in the morning. Armand is such a nice guy and I didn’t want to offend him. When he left it was time for lunch and then our trip to the hospital. We were not too busy, but I didn’t do much because I think I am catching cold. I have taken some Zicam as a precaution. I am trying to plan a short party for those we work with for March 4 after our shift. I hope it comes off. Evelyn stuffed bags to give away from the hospital at the Stock Show, Onion festival and golf outing. We left the hospital and drove to LaFeria for a fish supper. It had been recommended by some friends who, we determined, don’t have the same taste as ours. There was a good variety but the food was not displayed well and was not especially well prepared. We don’t expect to return. We came home and had a long talk with Emily about their house in California and Pieder’s job status. We have to drive to Brownsville tomorrow morning. I had to tell Evelyn about the massage plan because I thought she might need to have some special clothes needs.

faith filled day.

I was up early and took the key to the exercise room to Therese could open the cabinet. I also brought a heater in from the library. I grabbed Armand and took him to a new restaurant to buy him some breakfast tacos. I returned home and dressed to go play with the kitchen band. There were not many in the kitchen but we had a great time. One woman who was new to us came in and joined our shenanigans. I danced with her, she played some of our “instruments” and even sang “Celito Lindo with me. I had asked her in Spanish if she could read. She said yes so I ventured forth with her and we were a hit. I came home and quietly went to the computer to work on the message while Evelyn entertained the ladies. The theme was “what are you doing to strengthen your faith?” She served many lovely fattening candies to them. When they left we had lunch, and then I showered for the day. We took a nap for an hour and left to meet Hamels for Sue’s birthday. We met them at the Paradise Roadhouse because someone from their park was playing in a band. We danced until 6 and went to the Palm Aire restaurant for dinner with the Gideons. I had not drunk any beer out of respect for them. We had an inspirational meeting and a huge meal. We packed up some of the food and took it home. We drove to Hamel’s park, Ranchero Village, and met them at a dance. We danced and visited until about 9:30 and came home.

severe temperature plummet

We wakened and Evelyn was off to exercise in upper 60 degree weather. I stayed home and prepared breakfast for her. She returned and showered to prepare for the square dance. We arrived a bit late but were the couple who made 2 squares. I forgot to mention that around 9:30 the flood that was supposed to arrive around 3 had arrived. It even rained a bit as we went into the dance. We danced for the remainder of the 2 hours and then went home for lunch. At 1 the other women on the decoration committee took her to look for decorations. She didn’t return until 3, giving her just enough time to relax before going to the first of the 2 parties we were invited to. We just visited a bit for an hour before leaving for the 2nd. We wanted to have the good meal at Lloyd and Marilyn’s because they are excellent cooks and were planning to serve famous fish dishes they make. They bring pickerel (walleye) from Canada each year and serve it to many friends. This was their 3rd party this past 8 days. The appetizer was fantastic as was the main entrée of deep fried fish. The dessert was ice cream covered with raisin sauce. Lloyd makes his own Irish crème and we enjoyed a small bit of that. We came home and Evelyn began preparing for her brunch party tomorrow morning. The temperature had dropped 20 degrees in about 20 minutes this morning and another 10 by the time we got home this evening. It is now 44 headed for 30.

What have I been doing!!?

We had a great worship service and were treated to a report from the Gideon’s International. We were back down to 42 attenders from last week’s 63. I am always concerned that it was something I said that pushed them away, but God is the One who draws people to where He wants them. We came home and relaxed a while before meeting Don and Janice in Harlingen for lunch. We enjoyed visiting with them at Logan’s Roadhouse but were disappointed with the service. Evidently the manager did too because he gave us 2 dinners and a beer for $11.67. I questioned him but he said he had purposely undercharged us. We didn’t get home until nearly 4 and took a nap before the Super Bowl began. We just stayed here and watched it alone even though there was a big party in our recreation hall.
We began our week in the usual way. Evelyn exercised and I worked on some worship services. At around 11 Roger drove Armand and I to the golf course for a nine hole game. It was very windy as is often the case. I had 2 terrible holes but birdied a par 3 with 1 great shot off the tee and a great 40 foot putt. We came home in time to have a late lunch and go to square dance lessons. We are getting better but still have women pushing me around. I guess I need a stronger hand. We returned home after 5 and ate a light supper. The park has a big bingo game in the hall, but we never go. Evelyn had gone to the park meeting, but I have stopped going. She brings home the information on what was said.
Tuesday had a usual morning. I was windier than yesterday so no one wanted to play golf. Of course I mean after our Bible study. The DVD showed the contemporary scientific discoveries that disprove Darwin’s theories. Both the fossil record and microbiological research show that creation of the earth was obviously done by an “an intelligent design”. Of course, this is the scientific way of avoiding admission of the existence of God. I am considering the purchase of that DVD. I would let my brother see it, but he too wants to trade “the truth of God for a lie”. I spent some time looking for someone to go dancing with us at the Mustang Lounge. No one we wanted to go with could go, so we went alone. We got there at 4:15 and could hardly find a seat. I had to get my own beer and there was no popcorn available until almost time to leave. Evelyn had forgotten to take a Pepsi and doesn’t like Coke. We only stayed for an hour and then went to the HEB to buy a birthday cake for Thursday. We then came home to watch the Purdue/IU basketball game. We had invited a couple from Indiana who are Purdue fans but had no response. For some reason I get tired early, so we went to bed at 9 and slept the entire night.

Maury and Mim Musselman from Indiana

Joe and Marlene Cop now from Brandon, MB

50s dance and some twisters

We did sleep in. It was 8:30 before we first wakened and nearly 10 when we finally crawled out of bed. I went right to work on the service for tomorrow because we will go to a 50s dance tonight. Since I had worked hard on this week’s service, I began working on one for February 27. After working a while, I took Evelyn for a walk around the park. The weather was very nice although it was a bit chilly. The sun was bright, a welcome change from the past 2 days. We were home and I was back to work. After a short stint, I got sleepy and took a nap. We didn’t eat supper because we were told pizza would be served at the dance. We took some snacks and drinks and went off to the dance. We arrived just before 7 but the hall was nearly full. We saw Joe and Marlene Cop and sat with them. They had both gained a great deal of weight since we had seen them 3 seasons ago. We had (especially me) enjoyed partying with them while drinking beer. The dance always has a juke box to play songs from the 50s and 60s. We danced until around 9, enjoyed our sloppy Joe sandwich (no pizza! Bummer!) and came home to go over the service once more. I took some pictures but not very good ones. There were some very authentic costumes, but I didn’t get a shot of many of them.

Ice in the Valley

These are pictures of ice this morning. The ice on the street where Evelyn is walking has dropped from the palm tree fronds. The purple flower is in our back yard.

Everything had a coat of ice this morning. I had Evelyn pose near several ice covered items before she went to exercise. I worked on the service for Sunday before she returned. We ate breakfast and I continued working. I called the hospital but was told there were no volunteers on the morning shift. I didn’t go in the afternoon; Evelyn had been told to stay home earlier. We invited a widow to eat lunch with us and served nilgi barbecue sandwiches. She and her deceased husband were good friends with an elderly lady from the Mercedes church. I picked her up and took her home in our golf cart. The first time I had to scrape the windshield. I went to the electronic repair shop that had worked on our VHS before. It still doesn’t work in our home but does in his store. I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong. I also went to CVS and surprised Evelyn with an 8X10 picture of the family from the summer. We took a nap and walked around the park. We had a very light supper and waited for Rose and Armand to come for cards. We played Phase 10 and had pizza for a snack. Armand tried to order tickets for a performance at State Farm Arena but was unsuccessful. We will sleep in tomorrow morning. The temperature is to be in the mid 20s again tonight.

28 degrees in south Texas!

It was still colder this morning. While Evelyn did Yoga, I showered, loaded the car and went to the hall. She attended a meeting of people in charge of the 50th anniversary party. We then went to John Knox Village to perform with the kitchen band and entertain the residents. I had a great time and so did the residents. Most of them were in wheelchairs and quite elderly. I always try to ham it up for them and they love it. We went from there to the Texas Road House where we planned to meet Maury and Mim for lunch. We learned that it doesn’t open until 3 PM. They arrived and we went to Red Robin Gourmet Hamburgers instead. We had a wonderful visit and tried to catch up to the information about each other’s families. We talked for almost 2 hours before praying with them and leaving for home. The predicted freezing rain began to fall. It was very light on our way home but did begin to freeze on the windshield. We got home but learned shortly thereafter that the expressway from here to Harlingen had been closed. The natives here have no idea how to drive on ice. Of course we haven’t driven on ice for years, so we stayed home. It got colder and I had to check on the covering on our garden plants. There was a thin layer of ice on our chain link fence back of our unit. We don’t make our house very hot and use space heaters to heat the area where we are at the time. We talked with Emily for a while and watched some programs I had recorded. We had some snow again as well but very little. Earlier this morning, I made a date with Don and Janice Waters after church on Sunday.

2 daysof cold--and more to cme

It was still bright on Tuesday but rapidly getting colder. We went to the Bible study and covered our little garden when we returned home. After lunch we just stayed in. I worked on the sermon for the 20th. We had invited John, Sue and Marilyn to watch the basketball game, but Sue was too tired from shuffling all day. We had eaten a large meal at noon, so we just had snacks while watching the ball game. Purdue lost, but it is very hard to win on the road in the Big Ten.
We ate breakfast Wednesday and then I called Bonny to make arrangements for going to the concert. She said that Joe had a bad cold and couldn’t go. We debated who to give their tickets to and chose Gordy and Judy Pinner from Canada. She plays piano for our kitchen band, and the concert tonight was a tribute to the great pianist, Floyd Cramer. His grandson, Jason Floyd Coleman, played many of the songs his granddad made famous. In the morning we went to the square dance and learned a few new calls. It was bitter cold and windy. That is strange to say about the Valley but true this time. Usually it is with tongue in cheek that we talk about how cold it is, but not this time. It certainly isn’t as cold as it is in the Midwest where the storm is coming from. We left and went to the flea market to get some 50th anniversary cards to give at the celebration later this month. The Pinners enjoyed the concert as did we. The young man was very talented and entertaining in his playing. We usually enjoy the concerts and did this one as well. We went to Mimi’s Café and enjoyed a great pistachio crusted salmon for dinner.