My sweetheart is sick.

We slept a bit late Monday before eating our free breakfast.  The breakfast offered nearly anything that one could want. I didn’t have an omelet because I had those on the cruises.  Evelyn stuck with her cereal.  We then went across the highway to the birding center.  Many people come to the Valley to see rare birds, and this is where many of them migrate to.  It was sunny but quite windy.  We walked on the constructed boardwalks and saw some weird ducks out on the marshlands.  The highlight was sighting a 15 foot alligator and another only about 8 feet.  We tried to go to a Bagel shop that I had a coupon bought a month ago, but it is closed on Mondays.  We returned to our room and Evelyn assembled using the items we had brought along.  Bonny had brought some chips and vegetables from her garden. I provided the beverages, and we enjoyed the lunch.  We took a short nap afterward and then took our walk on the beach.  It was now cloudy and colder.  We were surprised to see a pile driver erecting a 20 foot pole.  He drove it into the sand until it was 10 feet high.  There were several that were cut to uniform size for making a level place to build a deck.  We walked the opposite way and then turned around and found a strange sight.  There was what appeared to be interior padded furniture outside.  We sat on it for a while and saw it was a special type of fabric that could withstand the weather.  a security guard told us we couldn’t sit there because we weren’t guests there.  We left willingly and returned to the room to change clothes.  We drove to Dirty Al’s other restaurant called Daddy’s.  It was a large restaurant on 2 floors.  There was a man singing throughout dinner.  We shared crawfish.  We returned to our room and played some more dominoes before retiring.  Evelyn began to get sick.

Tuesday She was coughing but went to breakfast after packing the suitcases and cooler.  We checked out around 10 and went to the Bagel shop to spend my coupon.  We bought sandwiches and some bagels to take with us.  We were at home by noon, shared the sandwiches and went inside to eat our lunch.  I pushed Evelyn to bed where she spent the rest of the day and evening.  I made some Ramen noodle soup for her and she ate the noodles.  I worked on the message during the evening.

Evelyn spent the night and all day Wednesday in bed.  I tried to help her all I could to relieve her.  She gets absolutely powerless when she gets a cold.  She slept all day except for lunch.  I went to the grocery to get some chicken broth for her lunch.  I also went to the Dairy Queen to get a buy one, get one Blizzard.  I brought them home so Evelyn could have one.  To my shock, she really ate only about 2 bites.  The woman, when well, covets ice cream—especially the candy shop Blizzard.  She did eat half of the soup and did sit up a while and watched some TV.  It wasn’t for long.  I watched Purdue get mopped up by IU in basketball. 

It was a nicer day, so I thought we might be able to play golf.  Armand had not been able to play yesterday, but it was too windy anyway—wind gusts to 40+ MPH.  Evelyn spent the day in bed again.  We may have to see the doctor if she doesn’t make any progress.  We ran into Lloyd, and he decided to go with us.  He is a very good golfer.  We went to our regular course where he had never played.  It was a gorgeous day, and we played well for a change.  I even shot a 48.  We came home and I fixed chicken soup for Evelyn and finished a leftover.  She lay on the couch and dozed while we watched TV and I wrote these entries.  I looked at our credit charges and found a charge from the hotel on South Padre Island that was not on our exit bill.  I will have to call them to discuss the charge. 

Off the the Forum and the Island

We spent some of Saturday morning packing our suitcases and bags for our trip to South Padre Island tomorrow afternoon.  After lunch we went to Ranchero Village to get John and Sue.  We drove to Nicki Rowe High School to see “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”.  We were just in time and had to sit to the right of center.  The play was very good and well acted by the students.  There was a professional orchestra playing probably because the timing was quite a challenge for students.  We went to Macaroni Grill for an early supper and then to KMart so John could buy a small TV that was on sale.  We were home by 7, giving me time to practice for tomorrow. 

We had a huge congregation for us: 44.  The Lord had a great message of forgiveness, and I was blessed to deliver it.  It was called “If God Really Knew Me” in which I tried to point out that God will forgive all our sins even though they are heinous.  We had lunch and finished packing the cooler before Joe and Bonny came to get us at 1:30.  We had a nice drive to the island and checked into our rooms.  At first they were 30 rooms apart, but I had the front desk change them to next door.  We took a walk on the beach after unpacking.  It was becoming cool and windy, but we walked about a mile before returning.  Our room was the largest we could ever remember having.  We went to Pelican Station for dinner and then returned to play 3 sections of a domino game.  We were in bed by 10:30.

A normal Friday

Friday was usual.  We went with several others to sing and perform for the shut ins at the Valley Grande Manor.  It is called a rehab center but is little more than a nursing home.  We had more fun than usual.  One of the women with us got up and greeted many of the residents, 2 ladies sang a duet, Evelyn and I did a polka and I sang “Celito Lindo” in Spanish.  The audience seemed more lively today than usual.  We came home for lunch and went to the hospital for the afternoon.  I did something different today.  A woman came in complaining how far she had to walk from the parking lot.  She seemed to be genuinely struggling, so I went to get her car and drove it up to the door for her.  She had picked it up yesterday.  It was a Ram4 and smelled very new.  We planned to go to dinner at Applebee's in Harlingen with Paul and Donna Zopfi.  I wanted to go to a local restaurant called Pecker’s, but they had planned go to HRL before we worked.  We had a good meal and visit before coming home by 9.  Tomorrow we plan to SKYPE with Andrew.

Acting on my conscience

I wanted to take some items to be recycled Thursday (one of the two days the center is open), so I did around 10.  I also went to Lowes to pay for the other bag of mulch yesterday.  The young man thanked me for my honesty, but I told him Jesus kept poking me in the ribs or I would have just forgotten about it.  I don’t want to usurp undo credit.  I came home and worked a while before lunch.  John came to work on my amended tax return for 2010 since the preparer had made a mistake.  He worked for nearly 4 hours while I made copies for him and cleaned up my desk.  We had planned to go to the happy hour dance from 3-5, but he didn’t leave until 4:45.  I certainly wouldn’t complain.  He is wonderful to even do it.  We watched Special Report until supper time when we ate a small portion of leftover Subway sandwiches from Tuesday’s Bible study.  Evelyn left for the LWML meeting, leaving me alone to watch Purdue men lose to Michigan, Purdue women squeak past Northwestern and practice the message for next Sunday. 

Staying in the Word

Tuesday was a rush job.  We showed the final segment of our “Radical Islam on the March” DVD and introduced the leaders of the following Bible study.  We then rode our Bicycles to the winter luncheon at the hospital.  The event was partly to honor the retirement of the woman Evelyn works for most of the time in her service.  Our ride was made great because of the gorgeous weather we have had lately.  We then went to the doctor.  He claims that the Medicare program wants a geezer follow up program to see if we are falling or feeling depressed.  I like our doctor and have a good time joking with him.  He seems to enjoy it too.  I was surprised at some of the strange, if not silly, questions: Do you think everyone is better off than you? Are you happy?  I guess we passed.  We went to an initial Bible study with the members of Immanuel Lutheran. We had a carry in and met at Joe’s office.  The study was approved even though it was not led by a Lutheran.  The DVD featured  Ray VanderLann who led a small group through the area around Galilee where Jesus selected His disciples and challenged us to evaluate ourselves as disciples.  The key was to have a real fire to be like Jesus.  I was both delighted and ashamed that I once had that fire deep in my soul.  I don’t doubt my salvation but do wish I had that same intense fire.

Wednesday I called and set up my AARP driver safety class for February 26 in our park.  Rose and Armand had scheduled a lunch with Judy at Olive Garden.  They will be leaving for good shortly and wanted to take her to lunch.  She had given each of us couples a $20 gift certificate, so we spent it with her.  We went back to Lowe’s for more mulch.  I loaded 3 into the car while Evelyn went inside and  will either return the extra or pay for it later.  We had some time and a beautiful day, so Armand and I played 9 holes of golf.  I had one of my best days ever until hole 9.  I was satisfied.  I watered the plants for a friend on a cruise and then went to get another friend, Estella, and drove to Bibleville again to hear Woodrow Kroll.  She is interested in taking a trip to Israel with a Christian group.  His message dealt with the jealousy of God for us.  He wants us to have the best of everything.  We had a tough time getting from Estella’s to Bibleville but had started early enough to make it.

Worship in the evening

Monday was the day Armand finally made it to a deep sea fishing venture.  That meant we could not play golf.  Evelyn and I went to Silver Sneakers and then went to buy mulch for our back yard area.  As I unloaded them at home, Evelyn heated some leftovers for lunch.  I then went to play golf alone.  Since I was alone, I exercised my free cart option and played the back 9.  I had to begin on hole 11 so I could keep ahead of everyone being alone.  I played somewhat better than last time.  I know my problem is standing too close to the ball, causing me to top it.  I didn’t do that too much today.  I returned home, showered, and took a nap.  We had planned to go to an afternoon dance where John Hamel was playing at the same park as last week.  We learned that we were not supposed to be there because we don’t live in that park.  We didn’t realize that.  We left and went to the Pollito restaurant we went to last week.  We then went to Bibleville, a Christian RV park that has worship services most nights.  Tonight’s speaker was Woodrow Crowel.  Our friends the Reddels went to Israel with him a couple of years ago.  He was pushing next year’s trip, and we might go again.  His message dealt with the power of God.  One impressive thought was that God’s power is the only thing that sustains the earth.  What a powerful God we serve.

A beautiful weekend

Friday Evelyn and Bonny went to an Antique show in Harlingen.  she found an antique table that she wanted to buy for our Texas room.  She sold our card table and chairs and now wants to replace them.  I won’t pay $360 for a table without chairs.  I went to perform with the kitchen band and ate lunch at home before driving to the hospital.  Bonny brought Evelyn who ate lunch and then worked with us at the information desk.  We learned that Mr. Somerset, former CEO, is no longer with the hospital, and Debbie Rektorik, Evelyn’s boss where she normally works was retiring that day.  Most of the women who worked in the foundation were invited to lunch with her, but Evelyn had not been informed in time to go.  She was unhappy to say the least.  There may be many more changes since the new owners are trimming employees.  We had a busy day handing out passes for visits to patients.  Rose Okell had invited us to her house for pizza.  She wanted to do that before they leave for home on Valentine’s day.  She also invited Judy.  We had a nice visit and planned to go to lunch together next Monday or Tuesday.

Saturday we went out for breakfast around 10.  I have always liked a small restaurant named Pimento’s but will not likely return.  There was a limited menu, poor service and no others there.  We went on to an antique store where I found a drop leaf table for $160 and 4 chairs for $100 that were acceptable for our house.  We loaded everything into our SUV and drove home.  Armand helped me carry it in because it was a bit heavier than I wanted Evelyn to lift.  He also helped me repair the trim on our credenza before going home to watch the hockey game.  The NHL players just accepted the offer from the owners, enabling the season to begin.  We decided to invite them to play dominos for an hour and a half.  I have invited them to come to worship with us, but they are just not interested in being exposed to the Gospel.  That is a really sad situation for both Evelyn and me.  We have learned to love them and hate to see them leave us forever still lost for eternity.  We can only pray that we are wrong about their faith. 

We had 39 in our worship service Sunday.  We had Holy Communion and had exactly enough servings of Christ’s blood for the congregation. We came home and finished dinner preparations for Roger and Judy Nickerson.  She has been diagnosed with leukemia, and we want to support both of them.  Evelyn was concerned about the meal, but it was delicious as usual.  I watched both of the football games off and on.  It was such a gorgeous day that we took a bike ride around both parks here.  We had hoped to find someone to play a table game and eat popcorn with us, but no one wanted to come.  We have a very busy week ahead, especially on Tuesday.

Better weather to be busy in

Monday began with exercise, proceeded to attending a dance in the evening, finishing with a late supper.  Our friend John was asked to play the keyboard for a dance at Palm Shadows, an RV park in Donna.  We were able to dance several numbers and have a free drink.  Sue had wanted us to go with them so she wouldn’t be a band widow.  It finished at 8, and we went to a nice little fast food restaurant, Pollito (chicken in Spanish).  Evelyn was really impressed with the quality of the chicken and salsa.  I had coupons for each of us.  We were home by 10.

Tuesday we held our session on Radical Islam on the March.  We had a better crowd and some good discussion.  Next week we will have some suggestions as to how to stop the onslaught of Islam.  We rested until 2 when we attended the bike club party.  Normally we have a poker run type bike ride, but the weather and wind were too much for us to tolerate.  We had a dice game to simulate the poker run and a sub sandwich meal.  It was too early for us to eat, so we took ours home and ate them after my news show at 6. 

Wednesday morning we went to the square dance at 10.  I was surprised at how well we did, not that we didn’t make mistakes.  We did learn a couple of new calls.  We were at home eating lunch by 12:30 and rested until 3:30 when we left for the welcome back dinner.  The first hour was a happy hour and the dinner was at 4:30.  The meal is served by numbering the tables and calling numbers at random.  We rarely sit with the same people we ate with at previous meals.  We don’t have any close friends in this park.  Many people eat with the same people every time.  We meet more people but rarely develop close friends.  We came home and watched the Purdue Basketball game with Nebraska.

Thursday I wanted to play golf because the weather was much more temperate than it has been, but Armand could not play until after 1.  That was too late because I had to grill meat for our supper.  We had Joe and Bonny come to eat with us.  She brought many items from her garden—some cooked and some raw while we provided the meat and dessert pears.  Joe doesn’t drink but Bonny is my beer drinking buddy when we are together.  We have some plans with them for the future and tried to firm some of them up.  We always have a good time when with them.  I had cut the grass this late morning or at least thought I should.  Something is killing our grass and it doesn’t grow enough to cut very often.  Today was a waste of fuel.

Professional football frenzy.

Thursday morning we left with the bike club for South Padre Island.  We have a large flatbed trailer that holds 40 bicycles, and it is towed wherever we are planning to ride.  Evelyn always loves to go on the SPI ride.  It was a breezy day and especially difficult riding back north.  The sun made it somewhat warm until we rode into the wind.  We finished the ride around noon and went to the Pelican Station Restaurant.  It serves large delicious shrimp, and Evelyn loves shrimp.  We finished lunch and left for the park because we were scheduled to serve at the happy hour.  That is a dance during the afternoon that lasts 2 hours.  We geezers love this because we can still get to bed early yet have fun.  Everyone brings drinks, and we serve sodas, popcorn and ice.  Diego is a young man that is extremely popular at these events.  He plays a computerized keyboard and includes a great variety of music.  He just passes the “hat” for pay.  He got $275 this afternoon.  We enjoyed serving and got to dance a few numbers as well.  We spent the evening at home.

Friday afternoon is our time to serve at the hospital, and we went to dinner with the Zopfis.  I had a coupon for a Mexican seafood restaurant named Gambas which is shrimp in Spanish.  This was the second time in 2 days that we had shrimp.  I am only tolerant of shrimp but shared a dinner with Evelyn.  It was interesting in that it was grilled with peppers and onions then covered with melted cheese.  I enjoyed it somewhat but would not return because the interior was unappealing.  Paul and Donna came to our house for a beer and Baileys before we went to bed. 

Saturday is practice the worship service and watch sports.  Today was the second round of the NFL playoff.  The 2 games were the best pair I have ever seen.  Nearly both went into overtime and were very close throughout.  We had thought to go dancing, but the Hamels were sick and we didn’t want to go alone.  We just watched a movie.  While we were gone Thursday, Armand worked at removing the viney growth from our pergola.  I had asked him to help me on Saturday, but he went ahead by himself.  All left for me to do was to drag the vines to the cub where the park workers pick it up.  The residue was so thick that I could get it to the curb quite easily.  It did take 4 trips.  We had to cut it down because our neighbor who has had the vine for several years warned us that spiders would invade and take over the entire nest.  The sad part of the day was that the Packers lost their game.  We have several friends that are from Wisconsin and love the Packers.  Their season is now over.

Sunday was worship.  We have a nice core group, but it doesn’t seem to grow as much as last year.  Perhaps this is because there aren’t as many people in the Valley this year.  Those that do attend seem to be blessed by the messages the Lord Jesus gives me.  This morning was especially powerful dealing with the Holy Spirit.  We came home and called to invite Joe Winston for lunch because Bonny is in central Texas with their grandchildren, one of whom is quite ill and recovering from some sort of gastrointestinal problem.  Joe had not listened to his messages and was driving another couple to McAllen for lunch.  We ate a delicious casserole Evelyn had made.  I usually begin preparations for next week’s message and found that I can use the message from several years ago almost without much change.  I usually have to tweak them to bring them up to date.  This gave me time to take a long walk and watch more football games.  The first was good but the second was an overmatch.  We then watched the 70s movie “Airplane”.  That is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.  We loved it and laughed our way through it.  I also recorded the sequel knowing it will not be nearly as good but will watch it during the coming week. 

Thank God for rain

Saturday was a day for telephone calls that we had been intending to make.  We got them done, and I practiced for Sunday. 

We had a good worship, and the pastor and his wife came to be with us.  He has agreed to replace me if we sell our house.  They came for dinner, and we had a good talk about our pasts.  They seem to be very congenial.  We had our popcorn supper and watched TV. 

Monday Armand and I played golf.  We took another friend with us.  I played the worst round I have ever played.  I wonder what happens to cause me to drop from acceptable to pathetic.  This is unrelated, but we received sad news:  Rose and Armand have sold their house and are returning to Canada in the middle of February.  They have been the best friends and neighbors anyone could ever have.  We will probably cry when they leave.  We have blessed by having them sent  to us by God.  Besides missing them, I will feel like I have failed.  They are not practicing Christians, and we have not been vey successful at introducing them to their Savior. 

We tried to have our DVD about Radical Islam, but few came because it was not announced at the park meeting on Monday.  We will have it next Tuesday.  It had begun raining last night and we had accumulated a quarter inch of rain the had been desperately.  Added to the quarter inch we had last week, we had been blessed.  We came home and prepared to be picked up by John and Sue.  Their shuffling had been canceled, so they wanted to go to the travel show in McAllen.  I had a couple of errands to complete in McAllen so we left  here at 2.  John had brought 3 tubs that Evelyn thinks we need for storing our Christmas items, so we unloaded them.  I went to KMart and Target.  When I finished, we went to the convention center only to find the show was not until Wednesday.  We went back to the shopping area and bought some snack items.  We went on to the restaurant where we had agreed to eat supper.  I had a coupon for Peppers Uptown.  We had a great hamburger and then a Blizzard because Sue had a BOGO coupon at Dairy Queen.  We arrived at the concert center early and got very good seats.  Some good friends normally save seats for us but didn’t need them this time.  The show was the Abrams Brothers from Canada.  They played Bluegrass as well as the natives of NC.  It rained as we left the theater and throughout the night giving us another inch of rain.  There had been violent storms predicted, but they never developed, praise God.

Wednesday we went to exercise and then to square dance lessons.  There are not many people attending the dances, of course we are not attending regularly either.  We went to the jeweler to get the earrings we had left last week and then went to a barbecue restaurant for lunch.  We brought half of the sandwiches home and ate them for supper.  We had invited Judy to share it with us.  We had arrived home in mid afternoon giving me time to work on making more orders of service for the remainder of the year.  We also have to remove our plants growing on our pergola.  It will be a difficult job but hope that Armand can help me.  It is very thick and has large vines that are 3/4 inch in diameter.  They were very pretty but will be a great challenge to remove.

A miserable day

When we got up this morning, we saw the major mist blowing down the street from the west.  When we went outside, we felt the sting of the light rain on our faces.  It wasn’t sleet but it did remind us of how uncomfortable that feels.  We were going to perform at a local nursing home with our kitchen band.  We went to our neighbor’s but couldn’t get an answer at her door.  We were worried, but relaxed when the activity director brought her back from a trip to the grocery.  We picked up the others at the hall and proceeded to Ratama Manor.  The residents there are very unresponsive compared to the other homes but probably need the entertainment more than many.  I sang Celito Lindo once again but can’t the synchronize the notes with the lyrics well enough yet.  We came home for lunch and went to the hospital to serve.  We had another good day there.  We then went to the Elks to get our carry out fish dinner.  We also bought one for the Winstons because Joe was sick and couldn’t come here for supper.  We also brought their concert tickets home because they can’t go with us next Tuesday.  We will find another couple from our park to go with us.  We spent the evening at home where it is warm.  Evelyn is especially sensitive to the cold.  She spends her time wrapped in our blanket, sitting in the upstairs living room, reading.  The cold weather saps our energy, so we often go to bed early.  We heard from Stacy and Tom and will talk with them tomorrow.  They have some reports from Olivia’s counselor; we are excited to hear them.  They will go to see her during the next week and will stay at our home in NC.  We thank God for His care for them and pray that He will continue to heal her spirit.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Sunday we had a good worship service.  There were 35 worshipping with us.  We have a couple from Wisconsin and another from Minnesota.  They have quite a good time jousting with each other.  The Packer fan wore a serape with a large Packer symbol on it, and the Vikings fan wore a “cheese head” with the Vikings symbol painted on it.  Those 2 teams played later in the day.  We watched as the Vikings won and make the playoffs.  The Packers were already qualified.  We stayed home during the evening.

Monday morning we went to Mexico with John and Sue.  He needed to have a temporary crown put in, and I needed to have my teeth cleaned. We found the Senorial  hotel that served breakfast and we ate before our dentist appointments.  Sue and Evelyn shopped around while waiting and found some things for the granddaughters.  We were home around 2.  We parted ways and planned to attend our own NYE parties in our parks.  We took a short nap.  We went to the hall around 8:30 and found seats with a couple from MN that we had not met before.  The hall filled pretty well for the DJ dance.  The DJ was a performer as well and serenaded several women with Elvis songs.  We left at 11:45 following the lunch before the midnight marauders  (drunk men and women wanting to kiss and hug people) began their attack.  We have not stayed for the midnight celebration for more than 20 years.  We wanted to sleep because we had a big football party scheduled tomorrow.

We were up early Tuesday morning baking the ham, putting potato salad in bowls, placing the relish on trays, heating the boudin and cheese dip, loading beer and sodas into our coolers, etc.  The first visitors arrived right on time at 11 AM when the “game” began.  It was virtually over in 10 minutes, and Purdue went on to lose 58-15.  We had a good group of Christians attending.  Ron and Linda Town are mission builders, Norm and Deb Roesner are fellow Cursistas, Paul and Donna Zopfi, Roger and Mitzi Pederson, John and Sue Hamel function in church services.  Only Armand and Rose don’t worship at all.  We had a good time and delicious food during and after the game.  Our discussions centered around Christ and the work we were all doing.  It was really encouraging to meet and fellowship with them.  After the Purdue debacle, most people left but 2 stayed for the Rose Bowl.  Unfortunately the woman was feeling bad and had to go home.  We spent a couple of hours cleaning up the kitchen and other rooms. 

Some good news is that I think I have found a man who might replace me in preaching at Trail’s End.  He was an AALC pastor and is very personable.  I described our service to him, and he affirmed that he could work within our framework.  He even said he would substitute for me if needed.  It is great to know that I don’t have to leave the wonderful people at Trail’s End should the Lord bless my leaving and brings someone to buy our house at our price.  Praise Him.

Wednesday was a cold rainy day.  I had wanted to go to McAllen to look for some after Christmas items, especially an outdoor timer.  One of ours has stopped working, and I think we had just bought it in December.  I want to exchange it for one that works.  It was so cold and rainy that Evelyn didn’t want to go.  Instead I worked on finishing the message for Sunday.  I also needed to work on replacing one of the GFCI outlets in our main bathroom.  It had stopped working Christmas morning but had no time to work on it.  I also thought no stores would be open to offer a replacement.  We usually run our space heater in the bathroom for heat rather than operate the furnace and heat the entire house.  I thought of working on it, but, just as we had begun lunch, Ed and Nona Drews showed up for a visit or something.  I thought they needed something but never figured out what it was.  We finished lunch and then began watching a video from the Men’s Network from LHM.  That took an hour.  Then Evelyn began showing our album of pictures from Israel, taking another 45 minutes.  I took Ed to the kitchen and served left over boudin and wine.  Evelyn and Nona joined us and we finished it off.  Around 4:45 they left.  We had thought of inviting them for supper one evening but determined we had visited enough.  I watched Special Report, and then we struggled about what to do in the evening.  Finally I remembered that Purdue played Illinois in basketball, so we watched that until bedtime.  We also learned that Joe and Bonny could not go to our next community concert next Tuesday.  They have missed others and give us their tickets to sell.  We will do the same for that concert when we decide who we would like to offer them to.

Thursday Evelyn went off to Silver Sneakers while Armand and I began looking for the cause of the outlet’s malfunction.  We couldn’t pinpoint the problem and went to get Lloyd who worked with that stuff in Canada.  He found the problem: the replacement outlet I had bought yesterday was defective.  Armand and I drove to Ace Hardware to return it for another.  We came home and found that was indeed the problem.  Everything is now working.  I learned that our 2 bathrooms 60 feet apart are on the same GFCI circuit.  Who would have thunk it?  Evelyn and I had lunch before I returned to computer work.  She began reading a book by Dr. Paul Maier, a renown Lutheran historian/professor, Nona had brought to us yesterday.  I also had to empty the cooler I had served beer from on NYD.  I will have to screen the invitees more thoroughly since they didn’t drink as much beer as I thought they would.  I was also sleepy and took an afternoon nap.  We took a walk in the cold air around 6.  The wind was light so the real feel was not as cold as it could have been.  When I think about how fresh the air feels, it reminds me of the crisp days in Indiana where we lived for 60 years.  While I like the feel here after the hot days we had in mid December, I will not be disappointed when the warm weather returns.  We watched some TV during the remainder of the evening.