Saturday

We slept a bit later than other days. I thought Evelyn would want to go to one of the festivals in the area, but she didn’t. She talked about picking up some twigs in the yard but didn’t do that either. Instead she did some laundry and ironing while I tried to rearrange the office. I was able to make places for some of the items for the office and took some things to the trailer that we want to take back with us next fall. I also took some items to the recycle center because we wanted to mail some cards to Emily. While Evelyn made lunch, she talked with Stacy on the phone. She heard about the nightmare experience in trying to get Olivia a passport for her mission trip to Guatemala. I could have heard it too but can’t get her to put the conversations onto the speaker phone. We also received a surprise call from Armand and Rose, our neighbors while in Texas. They live in Manitoba and are experiencing a blizzard and low temperatures. It was really good to hear from them. The day was beautiful here. I also thought we might have dinner guests tonight but none of the neighbors could come. We stayed home and watched “The Notebook”, a movie based on a book Evelyn once read. We will be blessed by returning to worship with our NC friends tomorrow moning.

Thursday and Friday

We were up and removing more things from the trailer. It had rained during the night but not stormed much. We dodged a bullet. The storm we had been in front of came through Alabama and killed more than 200. We were in direct line with that storm but the mountains broke it up. One of the towns in Tennessee that we go through often was almost destroyed and another we travel through as we go to Stacy’s also had damage. We did finish unloading the trailer and putting much of it together into the house. We drove the trailer across the street to park it for the summer. We spent the evening at home but can go to the grocery tomorrow not that the trailer is unhitched.

We had to work at home until 10 because an appraiser was coming to look at our house. I had written a complaint about our new tax bill. We won’t know much about the outcome for a couple of weeks. I put several items under the house so we don’t have to put the things into the shed or the house. We then went to town. Evelyn made an appointment for a haircut, and we took clothes to give away to the Thrift Store. We also decided to work at the Open Door the first Monday and 3rd Wednesday of each month. We then began grocery hopping. First the GO grocery where we spent over $100. Then to BiLo for another $60. Finally to Food Lion for #30. We hope to not need another trip for a weed or more. It took some time to put the items into the cupboards. We had received the phone charger in the mail and a card telling me that my golf membership is good until May 6. I don’t think that is right but got ready and went to play some golf. I played only 6 holes and was disappointed in my play. I was also disappointed in my battery operated golf cart. It still won’t go straight and falls backward when going uphill. I will have to read the instructions again and learn how to correct the problem. Armand had helped me in Weslaco. We stayed home and watched some of the recap of the royal wedding.

Family dancers

We posed for this picture just before we danced our first, last and only dance together. The children were able to push us through the calls we had forgotten.

square dance fun

The students and their partners had 2 special dances. One was required to have baloons between the knees; the other required wearing shoe boxes. The kids had fun with the dances and welcomed the graduation certificates.

On the way to the squre dance graduation

Our 2 beautiful granddaughters and their mother. They are excited because of the new crenoline skirts grandma brought for them. Since it was Stephen's birthday, everyone made over him and the women all kissed him like his grandmother is doing.

Stephen is 8!

The hall is decorated when he comes out of the bedroom, he leads a devotion for the family, and enjoys the remote controlled helicopter gift we brought him.

Space exerimental displays

The saucer was a failure but seriously attempted. The girls dressed in their space suits, but later Elizabeth and Stephen did some virtual flying.

Presidential wing of Wright Patterson AFB

These are many older Air Force 1 planes. The silver one used by President Truman was nicknamed the Sacred Cow. We were able to walk through all of the planes. We were allowed only 45 minutes to see them all.

Air Force Museum

Evelyn, Emily, and Stephen viewing one of hundreds of planes at the museum. I liked the shot of the B-29 bomber because it reminded me of the Memphis Belle of WWII fame. We are waiting in the auditorium for our ride onto the AFB. The Grandma and younger children are the small heads in the background.

Time at duck park

Stephen and Elizabeth ride a "Ripstick" down a hill at the park. All the kids had to climb up the tube slide on the outside.

Back in stormy NC

We wakened before the alarm and went into the house to say goodbye. We had to waken the girls and Noah. I tried to waken Stephen but had to just kiss him while he slept. Emily came out to say goodbye but I missed her. We were on the road by just after 8. When we were 10 miles away, I remembered I had left the phone charger. I called back to ask them to mail it but got only a machine and left my message. We were near King’s Island Amusement Park when we spotted a Perkins. We barely got in the door when a torrential rain began. I enjoyed potato pancakes that were delicious. I stopped there because I remembered how good they were. Evelyn had a chicken breakfast bowl. The rain let up to just a downpour and we raced to the car. For the remainder of our trip we were just ahead of violent thunderstorms and tornado warnings. We could hear warnings on the radio going out to cities we had just passed. We were home around 5 after a stop at the Russell Stover outlet in Sevierville. We greeted the neighbors, handed out some onions and began to unpack the car. We didn’t get to much of the trailer because our neighbor told us that we were under a tornado watch until 11 and that places in Alabama had endured hail storms. I backed the car and trailer as far back into the carport as possible to protect as much of the exterior as possible. I also tried to hook up the Dish receiver but couldn’t get it to work. I called and was assured that the problem was heavy cloud cover. I will check again in the morning, but our neighbor, Marty, said her Direct TV was working fine.

Final day with the Beelis

I arose at 7:30 and had decided to just change the tire with my own jack. Pieder and the boys are busy and didn’t get their pressure jack out, and I had never changed a tire on this car. I thought I should do that in a leisurely setting, so I did. It was a bit muddy, and I had to kneel several times but I got the flat tire off and the spare tire on. I drove to Xenia where I had the tire fixed at the Goodyear store. I had only a half hour to kill so I walked to the Taco Bell next door to get a sausage/egg wrap, they call it. The manager just gave me the $.99 item because we talked about my working at the Taco Bell in Waynesville. I drove back home and had oat flakes for breakfast with the family. Stephen opened his birthday presents and loved the remote control helicopter we had bought for him. We were impressed by how well it worked. Then Noah and I hooked up the trailer for a fast getaway tomorrow. We had a problem getting the hitch to drop down onto the ball but corrected that later. The family went to Young’s Ice Cream parlor while Noah and I went back to the college so he could practice his steel drum again. We returned home, ate our ice cream brought by the family and dressed to go to square dance. Emily had made some fantastic chili for the potluck dinner and took Stephen’s birthday cake. We ate the supper and then someone began to eat Stephen’s cake, making him very sad to tears. He wanted it all to himself, I guess. He got over it and joined in the square dance sets. The entire Beeli family is quite good and loved by all the other dancers, most of whom are in our age range. We joined them for the final dance as a family at the insistence of the other dancers. Andrew was the only one missing because he wanted to play basketball when there were players enough at the Y. We returned home, folded laundry and went to the motor home for the trip home tomorrow. We have had a fantastic time visiting here and are sad that they will probably be moving to Utah, making it nearly impossible to see them for a few years. We will say goodbye again in the morning. I still have to post several pictures but will wait until another day.

Our wonderful Air Force

I made an outstanding blooper in yesterday’s account of our lives. We had square danced with the Beelis in the afternoon. They are much better than we and plan to take us to their evaluation ceremony Tuesday night. The only problem with their dancing at home is that each of them wants to talk at the same time and, although they are much better than we, they have many disagreements about how the different calls go. We had a great time though after we caught on to what the caller was saying.
Monday was rainy again, but we went in for French toast that the girls had made for breakfast. We packed our lunches and I drove the Suburban to the Air Force Museum next to Wright Patterson Air Force Base. I can’t describe everything but can say there are 3 HUGE Quonset buildings that are full of airplanes from various eras in history. They begin with the Wright brothers and go up through the wars—WWI, WWII in Europe, WWII in the Pacific, Korea and Viet Nam—and through the space program and the cold war period. There were actual airplanes, many of them bombers and cargo planes, inside the hangars. There were displays and videos capturing the temper of the times. There was a huge display about Bob Hope and his many shows for the troops throughout times of conflict. I explained to the grandchildren that he was one of the greatest patriots we have ever had but was born in England. We were also able to go on to the AFB itself and see the presidential displays of several planes used by the presidents—many were Air Force 1 during their time. We were able to walk through the planes themselves. Most of us ate our packed lunch in a small sheltered pavilion on the grounds. It was replete with memorials to various air force wings throughout history. We opted against going to the IMAX theater because the shows were nearly an hour long and would have taken about 1/5 of the time we had to spend. We left in the rain and drove around Dayton looking for an Oriental market that had rice noodles. When we found it, I turned off the car while Emily shopped but couldn’t restart the car. We pushed the truck to a Firestone store closeby and found that the starter had to be replaced. This took time away from the plans we had for the evening. I took us out to Burger King for supper and then we came home. I learned that our front left tire was flat and will have to be removed tomorrow morning and taken for repair. Andrew went off to what I thought was debate practice, but Noah had to forego his 4-H meeting to do some sanding on the windows in the kitchen. I found our spare tire and will be ready to change the tire when the proper jack is brought out from the barn. I tried to clean out the back of the Saturn but don’t have the proper tool. I came into the motor home, removed the heater we no longer need and worked on the computer until Evelyn returned. Andrew had not debated but looked for a basketball game. Finding none, he crawled off into a dark gym and went to sleep.

HE IS RISEN!

What a glorious Resurrection Day. The service was tremendous with the brass prelude and accompaniment of the first hymn. We were personally blessed that the entire Beeli family went with us to worship. The service was called a praise service, and the music was geared toward that. One of the songs was included in our Via de Cristo weekend. I was especially moved by the music and the message: Surprise! He is Risen! I had thought the children would stay for the Easter egg hunt but the parents didn’t want to. We returned home by 11:30 and continued lunch preparation. The meal was delicious featuring spiral cut ham that we had bought. Pieder has been enjoying the tequila I had bought for him in Mexico. He has offered some to me several times but I prefer to abstain. After dinner we had some of the frozen margarita mix Evelyn had brought from our trip, so I tried some tequila in it. It was good but better without the tequila. We helped clean up and then went to the motor home for a nap. After that we took some onions to the neighbors who had loaned us their motor home. They were napping too so we didn’t get to talk with them. We then went to a local park where the younger children rode their ripsticks around on the concrete paths. Emily and the boys came later but didn’t get to play long because it began to rain. While throwing a Frisbee around, Andrew misjudged Noah’s throw and fell into the pond. Of course he went home soaked. We had hotdogs for supper, and Emily made sandwiches we will take to the Air Force Museum tomorrow. We played more cards in the evening after trying a bit of a movie, Man on Fire. Most of us didn’t like it and gave up after about half an hour of it. We broke up our party around 10.

Last collection

Stephen got a pellet rifle and pistol. Elizabeth stands in a "poster" they made to illustrate the theme of the day: I am crucified with Christ. If you look very closely, you will see a pencil sketch of Christ to the right of the smiling face.

More gifts

Rosalie got an organizer and the family got a "Ripstick" that Andrew is holding.

Gift day

The pictures of the gift exchange follow for a while.

Holy Saturday fun

We could have slept later, but the telephone alarm woke us. Evelyn dressed and went into the house but I stayed outside to send some Easter cards via email. I went in around 9:30 but no one was up then. When the gang arose, the girls made scrambled eggs. Noah had to go to see the goat he will show in the 4-H fair next fall, so they made us a sandwich to take. What a problem! When we reached the farm we ate them with the innards falling onto the plates. I will have to tell them how to make an egg sandwich. Noah held, petted and familiarized the goat with him to calm him when the showing takes place. It will take a couple of months of working with the goat. We then met Emily and the rest save Pieder at the college where the kids take music lessons. They each get half an hour, but Noah wanted to stay and practice his steel drums some more because he has a recital in May. Andrew plays guitar, Rosalie sings, Stephen plays drums, and Elizabeth piano. We then went to the Y to work out, walk, and shoot baskets. I thought they wanted to swim but there were no takers. Andrew finally got into a game of sorts while the kids and I hit some racquetballs around. We were home around 2 and ate snacks left from yesterday. Most of us worked for a few hours in the afternoon, and the girls made lasagna for supper. Pieder has a true infatuation with tequila, so I tried some. I don’t like the stuff. We had a good time and then cleaned up before the ladies dressed in their new outfits and led us in square dancing. Noah is the best in the bunch but gets discouraged with the rest of us. The caller on their CD calls too quickly for us, and we don’t quite understand the calls. We were a spectacle to behold. Evelyn and the kids started making the dinner for tomorrow. She wants to make pineapple fluff like her Aunt Vera used to make for their family reunions. We will also have ham and some potato dish. We took showers tonight to avoid the congestion that could occur in the morning as we ready ourselves for the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.

Good Friday at home

It rained during the night, so it was cold and damp this morning. We were asked to get into the house around 8 for the distribution of presents. They have a gift exchange on Good Friday since Pieder views it as the day of spiritual rebirth. Since it was the day Christ died in our place and took our sin to Hell, we should rejoice instead of mourn. There is much to that but ignores the contrition we should feel since it was our sin that caused the need for the crucifixion in the first place. Be that as it may the celebration was exactly like the traditional Christmas one without the tree and Christmas carols. We then enjoyed pancakes for brunch. We finally got to take showers and clean up properly before the afternoon party commenced. There were 17 of us plus the Beelis. Emily and the girls had developed a follow the clues hunt, but it had to be done virtually since the grass was wet. It was fun anyway. Then Pieder gave a “sermon” on the mistranslations of the scriptural references of “sin”. His theory is that Christians cannot sin or at least are not under the jurisdiction of the law which outlines what sin is. It was well done and followed by Emily’s playing the guitar and leading a song about being dead to sin but alive in Christ. We then enjoyed grazing around the kitchen island filled with snack foods. I forgot to learn the time of the worship service tonight but believe it will be at 7 just as the Maundy Thursday service was. We played some card games with the kids after the guests had gone and began going on line to find more information about churches in the area. We were surprised to find the church we had attended and planned to attend to be “gay accommodating” along with some other churches in town. Since it was too late to make it to another church, we just stayed home. I don’t remember the last time we failed to go to an evening worship service on Good Friday, but we had been to one here. We continued the game and then watched a movie, “Babe” with the younger kids. We will go to the Y tomorrow after the kids have music lessons.

The night of betrayal

Today was one of the gorgeous spring days that we remember from the many years we spent in the Midwest. The recent rains have made the grass green and the flowers bloom. The sun shines on the damp leaves, making things have a sheen. We slept until almost 9 and never did get to take a shower. We had a breakfast with the family and then went to unload the trailer so we could get the tequila that Pieder wanted out to give him. He had ordered 4 bottles and Emily wanted some vanilla and Kahula. We had to almost unload the back end because the liquor was toward the front, being one of the heavier items. We also want to leave some onions with them. The weather was beautiful for working outdoors, but the prediction is for rain the next few days, making it even more enticing to get things out today. I guess we will be staying through Easter even though I offered the suggestion that we might consider going to Waynesville on Saturday. After that work I went to the motor home to write blog entries from 2 days back and post some pictures. We went back for lunch around 2, and then Noah mowed the lawn on the riding mower. There is a very large yard here. Emily and Evelyn began cleaning and preparing for tomorrow’s substitute for Christmas party. They do the Christmas stuff on Good Friday. The younger children and I went to Lowes and WalMart for some supplies, but I forgot one. My bottom lip has been peeling and stinging for about 3 days. I have some lip balm but don’t have anything that has any medication in it. It is Maudy Thursday and I called to learn when the evening service was. I had hoped some of the family would attend with us, but they were busy cleaning the house for tomorrow’s party. We went and were the only ones in the sanctuary at 6:47. I went to check on the service time when the other 10-15 attendees came in. There were 2 women pastors officiating and, I must admit, were quite a blessing. During Communion distribution, the pastor made the meal quite personal, just like I try to do. I was blessed by the worship. We returned, played half a game of Phase 10 and went to bed. It was not quite as cold as last night.

Rejoining part of the extended family

This was the shortest travel day of the trip. We slept in and missed breakfast. We went to the area at what we thought to be 9 but was actually 10. The items had been available until 9:30. Not that we needed food, but we had muffins, granola and yogurt from previous motels for our breakfast. We packed up and headed south. There is no direct minor highway across to Xenia, so we had to drive down to Cincinnati to catch I-71 north. We drove to Mason, OH and stopped at a local Pizza Tower restaurant to have a Calzone, salad and soup. The waitress told us they served diet Pepsi, but I suspected she had been misleading when I tasted it. I was right; it was Coke. We traveled on and arrived at the Beeli’s around 2. It happened to be Emily and Pieder’s 20th anniversary, and Rosalie and Stephen had set up a special table with candles in their bedroom for seclusion. The rest of us ate pizza from Aldi. We began to speak Italian. It was an extreme blessing to be with them for perhaps the final time in the Midwest since Pieder is seeking employment and will have to go wherever he finds it. But this family is incredible. They work together, the children are by and large cooperative, and sing while involved in almost any task. They each have regular responsibilities and seldom argue about who is to do what. They are joys to be with and are genuinely thrilled to have us visit. The neighbors, once again, allowed us to use their motor home, so we don’t have to stay 10+ miles away in motel. We park right in the Beeli’s circle drive. Noah took a heater to the coach so we would have heat. The big downside is that the neighbors don’t want us to use the bathrooms, so we have to take a bucket rather than run to the house several times each night.

These are pictures of the elegant dinner presented by Rosalie and Stephen who did the majority of the work on this celebration. What a thrill it was for the parents and even the grandparents.

Back home again--in Pizza King country

Bill Shirley and Evelyn as we are about to indulge in the wonderful pizza. It is obvious we did a good job. Even more disappeared after this photo was taken.

What a blessing! I was off on my estimated travel time again. We left in good time after breakfast and drove in slightly overcast weather for most of the morning. We drove until we got hungry and stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. I rarely enjoy stopping at those for some reason. We shared a bowl of soup, and then I remembered why I avoid these places. I found Evelyn wandering around their “gift shop”, buying knick knacks for the grandchildren. We drove on through KY where I expected the telephone to change time zones. It did not. I had to change it manually. This was disappointing to me because I had gone to an ATT store in the Valley and had that done, or so I thought. We crossed into IN and saw that it had rained in that area for several days and looked like it would again. We arrived at Shelbyville, checked in for our free night (we had not paid for any night’s lodging the entire journey) and called Bill and Shirley Oefinger. They picked us up and took us to the local Pizza King. We had both looked forward to this meal all day but were disappointed. They had no Italian sausage and the crust was somewhat soggy. We enjoyed renewing our friendship with our company. We had met them years ago at the Purdue football games and had parked our motor homes together for many years until his Parkinson’s disease got worse, and we stopped buying season tickets. We went to their house and visited for a while before having them return us to the motel. It stormed through the night causing many flood watches to be issued for the area.

Hotel confusion

Since we had retired early, I had thought we would waken early, but we slept until 7. After breakfast we set out for Memphis. We had a nice drive, stopping for lunch at a KFC in Jackson, MS. We had put the address of the La Quinta where we had reservations—I thought. As it developed, I learned I had entered the wrong address. We arrived at a La Quinta but the wrong one. The desk clerk gave me directions but they were flawed. She said to go to Germantown but must have meant Germantown Rd. When we ended up in Germantown, I went to a Kroger store to look up the address but didn’t find it in the yellow pages. As a blessing, the woman at the service desk lived in the general area we were seeking and told me how to get there but not to the hotel. We drove on Germantown Road for a while but finally stopped at a Baptist Church, got on the computer, found the correct address through looking at the confirmation email, and drove to the hotel. We checked in and walked across the street to a Texas Roadhouse and shared a meal. This La Quinta opened last August and is very up scale. We had a 20X16 room with a king bed and a love seat. The one disadvantage was that we could not put our frozen Cajun food into a freezer, so we had to use ice cubes in a plastic bag. We were able to freeze our plastic ice packs. We will have another long drive tomorrow, and I hope I am as far off on the travel time as I have been. We arrived before 7 despite all the mistakes in our travel.

An invitation to dance.

We were up, finished with breakfast, and on our way to Bible study by 9. We were a bit disappointed in the study but not the worship. The congregation lined up outside holding palm branches and were led into the sanctuary in song. We were blessed with Holy Communion and then were invited to go to lunch and dancing at Mulates. There is a couple in this congregation that have danced at Randols on nights we were there. After worshipping with them for 2 Sundays over the past year, they invited us to go to lunch and dancing with them. The dance was a graduation of some couples from a beginning Cajun dance class. It was much like the graduation from our square dance class. We enjoyed the dancing but Evelyn was able to eat only a salad because she was having some stomach problems. We left there around 2 and drove to downtown Breaux Bridge. We had hoped to find a flower show, Blooming on the Bayou, but learned it was for only 1 day—yesterday. We changed from church clothes at a filling station and then walked around the small town for about an hour. We looked in several antique stored for something to hang on our wall in NC but found nothing we liked. We returned to the hotel, and Evelyn went down for a nap. I went to the Best Stop and bought some smoked boudin, andouille and 1 pound of frozen crawfish tails. I gave them to the desk clerk to put into the motel freezer over night. We talked with the Beelis, and I hooked up the car so we could leave early in the morning. We watched TV for a while before going to bed. We didn’t have any supper as such. I had thought we would go dancing, but Evelyn wasn’t feeling much better. We will have a long day of driving tomorrow.

Reunion with a Cajun friend.

We were only about 131 miles from Lafayette, so we slept a bit later than usual. It was a bright day and a bit warmer than it had been. Stacy called and gave us good news about her kids for which we thank God. We also called Simon and planned to meet him at a Cuban restaurant which turned out to be closed on Saturday. Go figure. I also found a gas station selling for $3.65. I hadn’t seen a price that low for 6 weeks. We checked in around 12:30 while talking with Emily. She thinks they will be moving to Utah. We are praying for God to intervene so they can stay in the Midwest. We met Simon at 1 and ate lunch at the restaurant we had used for several years. He is quite a liberal Democrat, so we don’t discuss anything political. We are good friends, however. We left him, has an ice cream cone, and went shopping for a dress for Easter. We spent 2 hours running up and down a local mall without success. Evelyn wants a dress with some sort of sleeves, but they are not to be found. We came back to the motel to rest a while before going to Mulatte’s to dance. We decided to forego dinner and just ate some catfish nuggets between dances. We thought the band was poor but had the dance floor virtually to ourselves. We will go to worship on Palm Sunday tomorrow.

Al Ts sampler plate

The menu lists the items shown in the accompanying pictures. Can you find the items? It was another delicious meal but enough to satisfy 3 people. The boudin was not very good.

Family

My cousin Don, his wife Nadine and us looking over a bay at Marble Falls, TX, sitting in their living room and leaving a nice restaurant after having dinner together.

Obscene shirt purchase

We left about 7:30.
Deanie had offered to fix us biscuits and gravy, but we like to drive a while before eating. Of course we can’t do that while staying in motels because the breakfast is free where we stay. We drove to Austin before finding a Jack in the Box to have a breakfast biscuit. We then drove on to San Marcos where we stopped at the outlet mall. Evelyn learned that Liz Claiborne has drawn out of all malls and is exclusively sold at JC Penney. I did find an Izod store that had 70% markdowns and 20% on top of that. We were delighted to find polo shirts that had pockets. They were quite attractive and we bought 7 of them, a belt and a blouse for Evelyn. We also looked around for an Easter dress without success. I bought yet another drill at Black and Decker. We didn’t leave there until almost 2 but drove straight to Winnie after making a stop at Buccees to look around. We had to have a snack but did make it to Al Ts and enjoyed our usual sampler plate. I was disappointed with the link of boudin. It was nothing but rice without much flavor. I would be ashamed to call that Cajun. It is more than enough for 2 people. We were checked in to La Quinta downtown Beaumont by 7:30. It was a bright, sunny but cool day especially in the morning. The wind sent a chill into both of us. We learned of bad weather in the Atlanta area. We are praying for the Georges’ to be safe.

The day with the Brumleve's

I must have been very tired because I went to sleep immediately last night. We wakened at 7:30 and showered for the day. We didn’t eat breakfast until around 10, giving us time to rearrange the items in the car. We cleaned out the cooler and brought many drinks into the refrigerator. We visited until around 1 and then left for a trip around the area. Don drove us to several elegant housing developments on both the lake they live on and others near Marble Falls. We went to see a golf course designed by Jack Nicholas being built in the rocky land of the hill country. I had brought a coupon for a restaurant called Russo’s. Like many, this restaurant is dropping out of the program but honored our coupons. We enjoyed the Italian food we ate between 3 and 4. We went to get some ice cream and a Take and Bake pizza for later this evening. We came home and rested for a couple of hours while watching the news and some educational programs on TV. We then took a walk around the neighborhood and returned home. We listened to Don tell more about his time refereeing basketball games in college and in the NBA. We enjoyed the pizza and the blueberry/pomegranate ice cream we had bought before going to bed.

Hitting the road, Jack--and other things

Wednesday found us awake around 6, so we got up and prepared ourselves to leave. I drove to the outback and loaded our frozen goods into the cooler. We could not get it closed because of the bags of ice. We had 2 Klondike bars left, so we ate them for breakfast. We were able to leave around 7:30. Before leaving I put a picture of Jesus above the many baskets of plastic eggs. I had previously put up a small note asking, “Does Jesus have anything to do with Easter?” I wanted to add a picture for those who might not know who He is. I had planned to go to Jack-in-the –Box for a breakfast sandwich but Evelyn wanted to wait until later. Of course when later arrived, we were not near a Jack. We ate some of the sandwiches made for our lunch at around 10:30. We had chosen to take a more scenic route, avoiding San Antonio where a festival was had drawn around 70,000 people. We had hoped to see some wildflowers, but the drought has retarded them. The scenic drive took us into the hill country, preparing us for mountain driving in NC. I had decided to begin using our Shell credit card again while we use much gasoline to drive north. We went to a small town called Llano to get some delicious barbecue sauce called Absolutely Mild. I was driving a bit too fast on a county road and clipped a fence with our passenger side mirror beside a cattle guard. We then arrived at Kingsland and were greeted by my cousin, Don Brumleve and his wife Nadine. They had supper of a ham, potato and onion casserole. It was good to see them for perhaps the last time. We went to bed after watching the Cubs/Astros game. Don pitched on the AAA level for the Yankees back in the 50s and knows a lot about baseball and I learn a lot from him. This will likely be the last time we see each other since he is 82. We went to bed at 10.

Finishing touches

Tuesday was our final packing day. Evelyn went to lunch with Judy Nickerson, but I stayed home and ate up some more leftovers. We are getting things disposed of very well. I gave some things to Lemkes and Kruses. I also remembered that Glenn had an air compressor, so I had him pump our trailer tires. I bought our car to the trailer and hooked up for tomorrow’s trip. I hanged our bicycles in the shed and left a check with Judy to give to the exterminators due to come Friday afternoon. I asked Kruses to drive us to the Dairy Queen to avoid having to haul the trailer downtown. I offered to buy them a blizzard, but they refused. I packed the last minute items—Dish receiver, computer, etc. before going to bed.

One more to go

Evelyn exercised again this morning. I rode my bike to Leisure World park to make the payment on our Mexican Refuge account. We support a Mexican student who is in his second year at the university. We don’t know what he is studying. When Evelyn came home we went to Mexico again to get some things for the Brumleves and Rosalie. She wanted a souvenir gift for a friend in CA. She wanted to spend under $10, but Evelyn spent 16. I will let her explain that. The humidity was dropping but the wind was still blowing the dust around quite a bit. We came home for lunch and then the man who was supposed to bring onions for us finally arrived. He had told me $7 per 50 pounds but said the price had gone up so he wanted $10. I don’t believe him but had already sold 2 bags to friends. I finally got 3 for $28. Evelyn took a nap while I went to deliver onions to Bonny and have the tires on the car rotated. I came home to be here when the painter, Miguel Mindeola arrived to talk about painting the interior of our house. He and Evelyn talked for an hour and then we had supper. We watched Dancing with the Stars, Evelyn’s favorite show until 9. Then she tried to call Janice without success. It was hot but not humid so we had a pleasant day weatherwise. We are almost ready to go but can’t avoid the last minute flurry.

Goodbye to good friends.

16 of us worshipped together for the final time this season. We parted after sharing the Lord’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion. I finished all but 2 of the sermons on the ironies found during the Passion entries. One of the elderly ladies from our park came to worship with us again and told Evelyn that ours was the best service that she has been to. She has been to at least 3 so this was a wonderful comment. I hope those who come each week feel the same way. We came directly home from worship and Evelyn worked on cleaning things out of the freezer. I took the items that need to remain frozen to the freezer in the outback building. She made some sandwiches for us to eat as we drive to Kingsland on Wednesday. She fixed lunch of leftovers and then went to bed. She had been unable to sleep last night until 4 A M. I continued to work on small items to pack. We are far ahead of schedule. I also watched parts of the Master’s tournament and the Cubs game. I was pleased that Tiger Woods was unable to win the game. He is such a sick individual for what he did to his small children, yet the crowds continue to cheer for him. I pray for him to realize the forgiveness Christ offers but can’t pray for his success. But I can’t understand the naiveté of the crowds of fans. Evelyn walked on the treadmill and I uploaded pictures before we went to Joe and Bonny’s for supper. They are such good Christian friends and will be missed. I wish they would come to visit us during the summer. We played a game of Sequence until about 9 and then came home. I will take her some onions in the morning. I have some other errands to run also, and we might even be able to go to Mexico to get some more things for friends in the north.

More Relay

This is a panoramic view of the Relay and a portrait of the many survivors from our RV park.

Relay for Life

Evelyn registers for the Relay and walks while talking with a woman who didn't speak English. They had a very indepth conversation. Evelyn also volunteered to be a support person for women with cancer for next year.

Trip to McAllen in the heat

We slept a bit later this morning. I had turned off the alarms last night. It feels cooler in the mornings here because the wind blows and the humidity is somewhat lower. I went out to cut the grass for the final time this season. I forgot to mention yesterday that I had noticed a small plant growing from our gutter spouting and had to get the ladder to climb up and pull them out before they clogged the downspouts. We have had no rain so there was no reason to notice any plug, but surely the Lord will send some this summer. In fact, the hot weather may be heating up the Gulf of Mexico, possibly increasing the possibility of hurricanes. Evelyn finished cleaning the floor mats in the car after I vacuumed the floor interior. We talked with the Kruse’s for a while and returned to packing. I called the man from whom we bought our onions last week and made arrangements for him to deliver some to the location where we bought the others. One for Bonny, Kruses and us should be there Monday morning. Evelyn wanted to go to Sahadi, a Geek/Lebanese restaurant in McAllen, so we went there for lunch. We also found some mailing labels we need for forwarding our mail and a drill. We didn’t go to Sun Harvest or the HEB mega store this time because we don’t need any more things to get rid of. I did use some of the half dozen eggs this morning for breakfast and some skirt steak for supper. We went to the swimming pool for the first time in 3 years. Evelyn wanted to sit in the hot tub to massage her butt muscles. We went across the street to play Phase 10 with Tom and Judy but were home by 9. I finished the prayers for tomorrow.

Breast cancer issues

Evelyn had an appointment for a mammogram at Knapp hospital but learned that Medicare would not pay for it until after April 22. We leave here on the 13th. This means she will have to get it in NC. Unfortunately, our oncologist is here in Weslaco. The problem is that the date in April has been pushed back for several years and we don’t stay in the heated Valley much past the middle of April. This year has been especially hot. I saw the doctor later in the afternoon, and he said she should have it done somewhere but not skip this year. We are to take a CD of last year’s mammogram with us. I then took her to Pimiento’s to meet with some ladies for lunch. I came home and worked on assembling things to pack. When she returned, we gave Bonny some of the things from our cupboard and freezer then she napped a bit. We will go to Joe and Bonny’s Sunday evening for some of the shrimp and boudin we gave them today. We went to the local Relay for Life at the high school immediately behind our park and walked the first mile, the survivor’s lap. The Relay team then served enchiladas for our supper. It was very windy, and some things were blowing around. We think 57 mph gusts had been predicted. We believe they were correct. A baby stroller blew off the bleacher at the high school track, and one woman we recognized from Immanuel took her tent home because she could not set it up in the wind. Many people were successful and the event was a success. We went to John and Sue’s to give them a small flag Evelyn had fixed for them, hoping they would invite us to play games with them and their “son”, Dick Hiebert, but they were having a late supper and we weren’t hungry. We came home and watched some replay of the Master’s tournament and went to bed.

Goodbye Mexico

We went to get some new dollar bills for Stephen’s birthday later in the month and then went to pay our homeowner’s insurance. I had them raise our deductible to lower the premium but learned that the deductible would be nearly $3000 in the event of hurricane damage. So I thought $950 was all I needed to pay for. We continued to Walgreen’s to get the deal on diet Pepsi. We went on to CVS to buy a knee brace for Evelyn. We came home to find that the couple we had planned to have lunch with couldn’t go. She has cancer and was feeling bad today, so after lunch we went to Mexico. We wanted pedicures before leaving and some liquor and vanilla. We got these things and a couple of dresses for the daughters and some hair trinkets for the granddaughters. We were home by 3 and I loaded the beverages into the trailer because they are the heaviest items. At 8, Joe and Bonny picked us up and took us to Arturo’s for a snack and music. A man and wife, both English teachers, sang quite beautifully. He is an excellent guitarist and she accompanies on bongo drums. Both are excellent singers. I got to talk a bit with him because he specializes in British literature. We were home by 10. I was happy because I had wakened at 4:30 and was unable to get back to sleep.

"Breakfast" at Pimiento's

Wednesday we took friends, Tom and Diesta Crouch out for what we thought would be breakfast. They sleep late and we arrived at the restaurant, Pimiento’s, at 11. Unfortunately, they stop serving breakfast at 10. We enjoyed their lunch menu. Tom has been ill and in fact almost died this winter. He has done several jobs for us, and we want to repay him somewhat. We returned to continue packing and a nap. We went to worship at 7, and our friend, Joe, read the sermon for the evening. The pastor was off to a conference. We went with him and Bonny to Jack in the Box to share a milk shake. They make very good ones. It has been pleasant the past few days. The humidity has been low but the temperature is scheduled to be 90 for most of the days until we leave. Worse is that there is still no rain in sight. There has been 2 ½ inches (all at once) since we arrived in November. The onions are great, but I don’t know why without any rain. We have to find another place to buy some because we want to take some north.

Dinner and games

Tuesday we had planned to meet Hamels at the Mustang Lounge but decided that we wouldn’t because we didn’t know if Ruthie would be singing since it is late in the season. At 10, I played golf again with Glenn Combs and another man from Trail’s End. I played a bit better but not much. We continued packing until 6 when Hamels came for dinner and some games. Evelyn had made jambalaya and I had served boudin. They had never eaten either and enjoyed both. Their friend, Dick, showed up for the game so we had to play dominoes because that game permits an odd number of players. He did join us for dessert.

Welcome home

Monday found us doing more of the same. I called a different homeowner’s insurance company but learned that they had all the exposure they could allow in this area. This is a place where hurricanes can and have struck. We will have to stay with Foremost at a higher rate. I made several plans for lunches throughout the week. I also played 9 holes of golf with Glenn Combs and stunk up the course. We played early and finished about the same time others from our park did. I had virtually begged one of the 5 players to let me play with them several times throughout the season to no avail. Our neighbor, Tom, came home after being in rehab hospitals and hospitals for 7 months. He has had Parkinson’s disease for as long as we have known him but had suffered septic shock that nearly killed him. His wife, Judy, has been run ragged during that time visiting him. But now she will have him at home taking care of him by herself. Hamels had given us a skirt steak, one cut of meat we had never dealt with. I barbecued it but didn’t realize it was 3 steaks rolled together, so I cooked most of it as a roast and then separated them. We invited Tom and Judy for dinner so she wouldn’t have to cook. She had to bring him across our street (without traffic) and then into our house with a walker. We made the steaks into fajitas and served them in flour tortillas. They left around 7 when the men’s NCAA basketball finals began. We had thought Butler might win this year, but UCON did.

Preparing for the trip north.

We were blessed to have 16 worship with us Sunday. Next Sunday will be the final Sunday on which I preach this year. We spent most of the day at home packing after I brought the trailer from Winston’s. I must load the heavy items toward the front but can’t do all of that until later in the week. There are several frustrating aspects of packing. The major one is the amount of knick knacks that must be packed into some plastic tubs. Our problem is that our tubs are all different sizes, making it hard to pack so they won’t all slide all over the trailer. We didn’t do too much in packing things into the trailer but did assemble many things in the house. The hanging clothes must hang in the front of the trailer where the hanging bar is.

Working in the heat

We rode our bikes to Piemento’s for a breakfast taco. We enjoy that little restaurant and it is only about a mile from here through neighborhoods. We rode back before it got too hot but worked outside cleaning some of the brush from the back. We cleared off the garden despite the presence of some small green tomatoes that might have matured for the neighbors. Evelyn also touched up the grey siding that had been nicked some. While we were sweaty and hot, John and Sue showed up with a paper I need to review our homeowners insurance here. I tried to persuade them to stay for lunch since Lionel had copped out, but they wouldn’t. We finished our labors and then showered for the day. We had our lunch and then began to work with the skirt steak John and Sue had given us. We had never fixed it before, so we went on line to get instructions. We were successful and thawed the steak. We can’t eat it for a day because we have to leave it in a marinade for 12-24 hours. Evelyn was fixing dinner when a woman from the park came and gave her several dresses for wearing at square dances. I didn’t want to take lessons years ago because I didn’t want to buy a bunch of clothes just for that and now we have been given a complete wardrobe. We watched some of the final four basket ball tournament, but stopped after Butler won. We watched some of a movie I had recorded. It had not been formatted properly and we could not see both the actors on screen at once. Technology fails!

Finishing our volunteer service

Evelyn had to miss exercise so we could pick up her Xray from last week and take it to the Orthopod for her appointment. It was at 9 and he came to see us at 10:45. He said he recommended Aleve instead of an injection or knee replacement. It seems that she has some arthritic swelling in her right knee and doesn’t need drastic treatment yet. We had to rush home, change clothes and return to the hospital for our free birthday lunch. We both get one each year and share it. This was our final day of service for this year. It was a normal day. Evelyn had to collate papers for the Foundation and was tired. I received a call from Lionel saying he didn’t want to come for lunch tomorrow, so we had the tacos ourselves. After supper we washed the car and the golf cart. We waited until late because it had been very hot during the day but was quite pleasant in the evening. We asked a couple from Alaska to come to play games with us, but they didn’t want to. We watched a movie, Letters to Juliet, alone and enjoyed it. Hamels had loaned us 6 movies but only 3 were worth watching. This was one of them.

Looking at RVs

Thursday was a day to cut the grass again. I also cut Glenn’s mother’s grass too. After lunch we went to Harlingen for my appointment with the dermatologist. We got in very close to the scheduled time. I was very blessed with this doctor. We joked back and forth while he shot many of my precancerous spots. I had gone because I was concerned about the spot on my left forearm. He confirmed that it was the most dangerous spot, remarking that I should have done what I did in coming to see him. I thank God for His provision. We went to visit with Shirley Pierce for a while. She and Byron were the ones who had drawn us to this area more than 15 years ago. She is doing quite well despite his death last year. We drove toward Weslaco and stopped at the Texas Trader. We looked at some consigned smaller motor homes. The one I liked was a converted van, but Evelyn seemed drawn to a larger mini motor home. We may return and look at it again. One of our problems will be in getting it back north. Evelyn will have to drive it or the Saturn, perhaps while towing the trailer. But perhaps the unit she likes has a sleeve for a trailer hitch. We will let the Lord decide whether we should buy it. We stopped at the grocery for items for Saturday’s lunch with Lionel and a sheet of mailing labels for forwarding our mail this summer. We watched another movie, Country Strong, and thought it to be lame.