Braving the cold, windy 40’s

Sunday we decided to go to the local Wisconsin Synod church to worship.  I had wanted to go to Church of The King again, but we had planned to go to Sharyland High School with John and Sue in the afternoon.  This meant we would have to drive because they had no heat in their car.  I would have to drive to McAllen twice in 1 day.  I was amazed that the pastor had printed copies of his sermon and had left them in the foyer.  That didn’t amaze me but his presenting it word for word did.  He  must have memorized all of it.  Obama would have had a teleprompter and not done as well.  We went to Dollar Tree on the way home for lunch.  We rested until 2:45 when we drove to pick them up, but visited Sally Erchinger on the way.  John and Sue were appreciative of the heat in our car.  We saw the play Footloose performed by high school students.  They choreographed, costumed and built the set.  It was well done and the acting was good by some, but the play is unentertaining.  They did the best they could with the material.  We went to Don Pepe’s Mexican restaurant because I had a coupon.  We all enjoyed the food again (we had been there last week) and had a pleasant ride home.  We were home before 9.

Monday we slept a bit late.  Evelyn had slept well through the night.  After breakfast we attended the park meeting, an event neither of us really enjoys.  We used to go to find things to do during the week.  Now we just went.  We saw John and Sue who arrived to give blood and we invited them to come for hot chocolate and the Scripture reading Sue will do next Sunday.  They wouldn’t come in because it was too cold.  We stayed in our warm house and took a nap after a lunch of some leftovers from last night.  We napped in the afternoon and entertained our new neighbors and Judy for dinner.  We served lasagna and visited for a while.  The new couple, Jack and Sue, are from far northern Canada.  They seem quite quiet but are reputed to be great partyers.  We watched the semi finals of DWTS and went to bed.

Evelyn didn’t get to sleep until 2 because she was in pain.  I got up and went to a meeting at 8 concerning an effort to combat some of the corruption in the city government.  There were about 20 in attendance.  The big concerns deal with harassment and intimidation of employees and teachers.  The education system seems to be controlled by the city government.  It is no surprise because all of the government, judges, and law enforcement are all corrupt in this area.  I went to talk with our friends, Joe and Randy Winston, and learned that they had been threatened by some of the influential people in town.  They don’t’ dare participate in the group this morning.  I returned home to find Evelyn up ready for lunch.  At 1 we went to John and Sue’s to play dominoes.  He had taken the car to have the heater repaired but found the dealership was too busy to work on it.  We enjoyed the game and a couple of beers before coming home for supper of popcorn and entertainment of watching the finals of DWTS.  We have to do some cleaning tomorrow.

It is cold here in the “warm” south.

Friday was an exciting day.  We finally go to pick up our car.  First we had a surprise.  One of the ladies who walks around the park early in the morning noticed the blinkers on the loaner car were blinking.  In fact they had been blinking since we came home last night, causing the battery to die.  I had to get the neighbor to use his jumper cables and car to get it started.  We drove to the grocery for something needed for Thanksgiving and charged the battery.   We then drove to the hospital to serve in the afternoon.  Evelyn’s boss had not come to work, so she worked with us.  I had expected a call to come after the car was finished, but I finally had to call them.  They said it would be there when we arrived after 5.  When we went to the hospital at noon, it was over 75.  When we left for San Juan, it was in the 50s and a heavy rain came down.  We drove all the way in a heavy rainstorm but arrived safely.  The tow package had been installed, and we were back on the road within 20 minutes.  We came directly home and enjoyed a bowl of the gumbo that Evelyn had prepared later this morning.

We were up early and back to the dealership for a contest Evelyn was invited to participate in.  She was to guess the number of small footballs in a Smartcar.  There were about 18 people entered; the winner would have won the Smartcar.  Evelyn didn’t guess correctly the number of footballs: 582.  We left and returned to Weslaco to find a fruitcake Evelyn needs for a vintage Christmas party next Saturday.  We also bought some chicken sandwiches for lunch.  We ate while we watched some of the Purdue/Illinois football game.  Purdue lost.  It was not raining but cold—windy too.  It was uncomfortable, so we stayed indoors.  I was able to make sure that the electrical connection on the Cadillac matched with the trailer.  We had delicious gumbo for supper then bundled up for a walk around the park before packing in for the evening.

Trying to catch up for the week

We decided to go to Immanuel for worship.  We don’t admire the pastor’s style nor preparation, but today he gave tremendous message of how to show God’s love to others.  I was very moved and hope to follow through with his message.  We came home for a light lunch because we knew we would have a large meal before going to the concert in McAllen.  We both rested and napped in the afternoon.  Paul and Donna Zopfi arrived at 5, and we drove them to Chile’s in McAllen.  We enjoyed their special of the month: 2 for 20.  We both enjoyed our entrees and our visit with Paul and Donna.  They used Joe and Bonny’s tickets because they had family visiting through Thanksgiving.  The concert featured Pavlo, a Greek Canadian who was a masterful guitarist.  The problem was that many of the original compositions began to sound much alike.  They definitely had a Greek sound to them.  Regardless, the entire group were very accomplished.  We were home by 10 and were off to bed.

We missed the park meeting because I had to run some errands, and Evelyn worked on the curtains in the living room.  I am trying to contact NC to get the record that shows we have had our flu shot.  The hospital here needs to see it.  For lunch we finished off the meal from last night.  We both worked on the curtains because hanging them is much easier for 2.  Since we had missed it last night, I made popcorn for our supper.  We watched DWTS as we enjoyed the popcorn.

Tuesday I was off on more errands, making the calls I couldn’t make yesterday.  I had to make sure Jackson National Life reversed my annuity payout, register my final AARP Driver Safety class, and request our flu shot records.  I also had to pick up the trousers I had taken to the cleaner last week.  I praise God that each item was solved to my satisfaction.  We had expected a call from the dealership concerning the tow package and tire replacement.  When they didn’t call before noon, we arranged to go to the Mustang Lounge to dance to the singing or Ruthi.  We danced several times during the 2 hours we were there.  We both suffered a bit since Evelyn’s sciatica is always aching and my left knee responds negatively to many of our twists.  We left and went to get some cards and cupcake papers for baking.  Of course going to any store is dangerous for us.  We can’t just buy what we go for.  Actually we didn’t find one of our main items: a fruitcake.  Evelyn is supposed to take some traditional food item to one of the church women’s Christmas meeting.  We will try again later.  We then went to Whataburger to use another of our coupons before they expire.  We brought our supper home and watched the special on the assassination of President Kennedy 50 years ago.  We remember exactly where we were and what we were doing, just as everyone else old enough to recall the event. 

Wednesday we slept late but worked on more cleaning.  Evelyn cleaned the laundry area.  It is amazing how much dust blows into the unit.  She cleaned as much as possible during the early morning before going to the Christian Women’s connection in Harlingen.  I thought I might play golf while she was gone, but the man I thought might come didn’t show up.  I just decided to take her and bring her back.  I dropped her for the luncheon and went to a small Mexican restaurant for which I had a coupon.  It was a nice little place and I enjoyed an unusual enchilada for me.  It was called an enchilada ranchero.  The strange thing was that there was no cheese in it.  I returned right at 1 to get Evelyn.  I should testify about the Grace of God before going on.  I had thought one of our “keys” for the new car had fallen out of the car when I had dropped her off.  The blessing was that I found it under her back cushion and thank Him.  We went to the downtown Harlingen HEB to look for a special frozen dinner roll  for Thanksgiving dinner.  We found them and returned home to rest and have supper.  In the evening we took a walk around the park. 

Thursday we slept late again.  I had made a plan to go to San Juan to get the loaner car at 10, but the salesman called and suggested a later arrival.  We worked on cleaning the window in the front bedroom in the extra time.  I took our recyclable paper to the site on my way to the dealership.  I got some more instruction on using the bells and whistles before driving home in our borrowed Volkswagen Jetta.  After lunch, Evelyn rested and then went with me to pick up the paper container I had left at the dealership.  I learned that the manager of the used car division had bought our Saturn for his teenage daughter.  I miss it already.  We returned home and decided to forego supper.  I took Evelyn to the Mary/Martha women’s meeting at the church.  I just used the time in an effort to catch up on reading in my Through the Bible in a Year.  I am only 4 days behind now.  Evelyn talked with Emily about a Rolfing therapist and with Stephen about his studies of history.  We are preparing for a very cold and probably rainy weekend.  Evelyn’s sciatica still comes and goes.  When it comes, it is very painful.  We wonder how the cold weather will affect her.  Thanksgiving is a week away and my preaching begins the Sunday after.  My vacation is nearly over.

Trying to get back to normal.

It is difficult relearning how to drive a car.  This one is bigger and contains many things we don’t understand and likely won’t.  We returned to the dealership to sign some corrected paperwork.  The papers we signed yesterday was for more than we had agreed to.  They graciously agreed to the change without any persuasion from me, although I had been awake from 2 to 4 again last night.  We also spent about an hour with a young man trying to explain the electronics to us.  It will take some time before we can remember all of it.  We went out for lunch and then went to shop for a few things.  We then spent some time trying some of the electronics on our own.  We were tired and didn’t go to the Gideon Thanksgiving party. 

Friday was our day at the hospital.  We renewed our acquaintances with our colleagues from last year.  Things were very different since many of the older team leaders were gone.  Lynn Carter, the former director of volunteer services, was no longer there.  Evelyn returned to the Foundation but found her leader (who had never done anything) had been riffed as well.  It is a different place.  There was not very much to do.  The doctors in the area don’t seem to send their patients to this hospital.  We didn’t have many things to do, but that may just mean that not many people were sick.  I did take one girl up to Labor and Delivery, but she looked to be only 12 or so.  Her record showed her as 22, but she neither looked nor acted that old.  It makes me wonder if her identity hadn’t been switched.  I went back to the Elks to get one of their catfish and shrimp combo dinners for our supper.  We often do that but may not much anymore.  The fish was not very fresh and the French fries seemed a bit stale.  It just didn’t seem as good as it was last year.   Janice called during the evening because they had been watching a football game in Weslaco.  Their team, Los Fresnos, had beaten Weslaco High.  We thought they might drop in on their way home but they had a long drive and went on home.

I am delighted to write that I slept through the night for the first time this week.  In fact I slept until after 8.  I rose rather quickly because I wanted to cut the grass before it became too hot.  Glenn had brought the mower from their new home and left it for me.  When they moved in next door 6 years ago, we made an agreement that I would mow the grass in the winter while he would mow in the summer.  It was a great deal for me because we used his mower.  We didn’t have a place to store one.  Now that they have moved to the adjoining park, he has to bring his mower to me in his truck.  I mowed and finished about 10.  I then sprayed RoundUp on the weeds in places the mower can’t reach.  It has always worked before, and I hope it will work again.  I took a shower and then watched Purdue play Penn State.  They lost again, but I was encouraged by the way they played.  I think their freshmen will mature and become competitors.  Next week they play Illinois to see who remains on the bottom of their division.  We took a nap and then took a bike ride around our park and the neighboring park.  We stopped there to visit a woman who has had some serious illness and can’t do much.  She appreciated out visit and prayer with her.  We went to Whataburger for another Green Chile Burger and went from there to Jack in the Box for an eggnog milkshake.  We also stopped at CVS to get some toothpaste and use my 25% off coupon.  We came home and I wrote this.

A long ordeal

After shopping all day Tuesday and spending all day yesterday closing the deal, we drove home in our 2012 Cadillac SRX.  We had spent all day waiting for the closing activities and much of the evening cleaning out the Saturn before coming home.  We had originally kept a different car of the same model overnight but decided on one with lower miles.  The staff at Mercedes Benz of San Juan were unbelievably gracious and honest.  Yesterday I had agreed to pay$31,000 and our car but noticed the charge was 966 more on the final papers we signed.  Today the dealership corrected the mistake before I could voice my opinion.  I was delighted, of course.  I haven’t retrieved everything as yet but am working on it.  We will miss our Saturn but couldn’t risk having to replace the transmission.  We only got $3000 for our car but would have had to pay about half of that if we had replaced the transmission.  The new car is black, and I will post a picture soon.  The deal included their adding a towing package and 4 new tires to our car.  There are other things we need to become familiar with on the car.  It will likely be a long time until we conquer the electronic instruments on the car.  What a nightmare!  We also have the task of finding places in the the car to store all the stuff we took from the other one.  Change is uncomfortable.

Searching for a treatment for Evelyn

Monday is the day for our park meeting.  Neither of us wanted to go, but I had the better excuse.  I went to check on the rotor turning machine. It is still broken.  I also went to the bank to get some cash because Bhudda showed up to wash the outside of our unit.  I remembered that the banks were closed for Veteran’s Day.  Bhudda doesn’t take anything but cash for his work,  The Lord in His mercy had some money from last week.  I went to Lowe’s to exchange a light bulb and return some plastic wood.  From there I went to drop off some trousers at the dry cleaner.  I had a coupon deal on 3 pair for $6.99.  I added this pair to the 2 I had brought to them last week.  When I returned home, Bhudda was finished, and I rode my bike to find and pay him.  I came home and continued working on cleaning up the back patio.  I borrowed Judy’s push broom to sweep the pavers.  I took the leaves Bhudda had trimmed for me to the dumpster on our golf cart.  Evelyn had spent the morning cooking some pork chops using a new recipe.  It was delicious.  After lunch we rode our bikes to the doctor so Evelyn could consult with him as to what she Among other things might do to get relief from her leg pain.  He will refer her to a neurosurgeon.  Otherwise she is quite healthy for a woman her age.  Don’t you hate that phrase?  I had  to make another trip to the dumpster with more leaf scraps.  After Evelyn rested, we went to Whataburger and shared a green chile burger and a DQ blizzard.  We watched DWTS and received a call from Emily.  She had called last night with an idea that we (or Evelyn) should fly to Utah once a week for 12 weeks to have a deep tissue massage.  We decided to try to find one locally.  We are really blessed to have daughters still interested in our welfare.  I will try to find one online when I finish this entry.  Good night.

A productive weekend

Friday we went to Jack in the Box for breakfast after going to get a smoked turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner.  We had asked the HEB meat market to save a turkey weighing between 12 and 14 pounds.  I guess she read that that weight has a better meat to bone ratio. Or something like that.  We each had a croissant sandwich before coming home.  It was a temperate day, so I continued working at cleaning the vine from the back of the house.  I also went to the equipment shed to pump up the tires on our bicycle.  I walked them up and rode them back.  Last year the tires on each bike rubbed on something like the fender.  After I inflated them, there was no rub.  Weird. I offered to go to the Elks to get us some catfish for supper, but Evelyn just wanted to eat at home.  I have begun to print some things for our worship services that begin December 1.  I completed some of tasks and am very pleased to be started early.

Saturday was the park garage sale.  We had some things to put in it but not enough to have a table of our own.  I would have joined with someone else but will wait until Hamels have theirs later in the month.  The rest of the day was a do nothing day.  We did talk to a friend whose husband is having sciatica problems.  She said his doctor had recommended he should sit in the hot tub twice each day.  During the early afternoon we went to the pool so Evelyn could sit there for a while but found it to be lukewarm at best.  No one I talked with had any explanation as to why.  She didn’t stay in the tub long.  We came home and took some pants to the dry cleaner and went to Carl’s Jr. to share a chicken sandwich for supper.  On the way home, we stopped at Sally Beauty Supply so Evelyn could buy a curling iron.  She has had problems with hers for several years and had a !5% coupon for one.I also worked some more on my service materials.

Sunday was a wonderful day.  We wakened early and drove to McAllen to worship at Church of the King.  The pastor there is a very conservative oriented Biblical scholar.  He really applies Biblical principles to political issues.  It was a very uplifting sermon and Bible study.  We then looked for a restaurant for lunch.  I had 3 coupons but found 2 of them weren’t open on Sunday and the third is likely out of business.  After spending nearly an hour trying to find the restaurants, we ended up at a Chinese restaurant.  We enjoyed the lunch, but I complained to the owner about some of the items being stale.  He is a nice guy, and I thought it was only courteous to tell him.  We weren’t home until almost 2 and rested most of the day.  I did continue to work on my services with success.  I have almost all of the things done that are necessary for the Advent season.  We watched our favorite football player, Drew Brees, beat Dallas handily on Sunday night football.

The promise of salvation won on the Cross

Wednesday we did more shopping but more importantly, we were able to take many clothing items to donate to the Salvation Army.  We weren’t sure they were able to take items at this site.  When we returned home, I continued thinning out the plant growing up our pergola and back of our house.  This has been quite a laborious task.  The blessing is that I didn’t have to work in the afternoon because has been too hot.  I could wash some of the items taken from our trailer.  I also used a broom to sweep significant piles of dust on our screened porch.  Evelyn is good sometimes but still suffers from the sciatic pain.  She is not able to help much outdoors, but, being strong willed, she has helped clean the interior.  We just pray she would be able to have sustained periods of pain free living.  Our friend Janice calls almost every day to see how she is doing.

Thursday we took some of the toiletries that I take from the motels to John and Sue because a woman in their park makes packages to give to the needy for their hygiene.  I was surprised to come home to find the huge pile of trimmings I had stacked in the corner of our lot.  It had cooled down some overnight, making me agreeable to wear jeans.  The highlight of the day was Billy Graham’s farewell message to the nation.  He emphasize the hope we have in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  The comfort we got from watching and hearing that message of hope was very moving for both of us.  It is just humbling and thrilling to know that we will join Him for eternity just because He loved us to die to pay the price for our sin.  We were both moved to tears of joy during the program.

Clearing things out

Tuesday I worked outside for a while and then Janice came to visit and bring Evelyn some oil treatment that was to help her back.  I had cut and pulled more of the vine from our pergola and trimmed 2 Sega Palms that line the west side of our trailer.  Like almost everything in Texas, the palm fronds have stickers on them.  I did not get finished when she arrived.  I rubbed the oil on Evelyn’s back and leg before we left for Whataburger for lunch.  They have a new sandwich called green chillie.  They are big and we shared one and the French fries and drink we had to buy to get the sandwich free.  Janice has a big Toyota SUV, and I thought Evelyn might be interested in driving it to see if she would like to trade our Saturn for it.  She was too nervous to drive it, so I still don’t know.  Janice left for home around 2, and Evelyn lay down to rest.  Unfortunately, that caused the pain to return, so I rubbed more oil on her.  I went to Bud Petz, a former barber from Kansas, and lives in our park.  He still does a good job.  Evelyn didn’t get much better during the rest of the day.  No matter what position she was in, she was in pain, but she did some ironing and sewing anyway.   We just stayed in for the rest of the day.  I was able to finish unloading the trailer except for the hanging clothes.  We carry the things from NC in plastic tubs, and I emptied most of them.  It had rained some during the afternoon but really poured all evening and night.  It was pleasure to go to bed. 

Evelyn had a good night of sleep but still wakened early.  She awoke me, but I didn’t mind because I wanted to run some errands.  Evelyn made some oatmeal for our breakfast and then we got ready to go out.  I loaded the recyclable materials into the car.  We stopped at a muffler shop to see if they could turn the rotors on my brakes.  I was blessed to learn the man was a Christian and we talked a bit about our faith.  He also said he might be able to do the work on Saturday.  Ironically, the machine he uses to turn the rotors is broken and is away being repaired!  We went on to recycle and met our friend Mario who works there.  We thought it would be a good idea to see if Evelyn could make an appointment with Dr. McDougal so she might have an MRI.  We were blessed that she could see him at 2 this afternoon.  We then went on to HEB to buy some things for our Thanksgiving Day dinner with Don and Janice.  We spent about an hour there and got a lot done.  We went to Jack in the Box and brought 2 chicken sandwiches home for lunch.  After unloading the groceries, we ate lunch before going back to the doctor.  She had a blood test and bone density test before coming home.  She has to return Monday to see about having the MRI.  We had discussed our overabundance of clothes earlier, so I began looking at my collection, trying things on and making selections to keep and give away.  After packing a carryon size suitcase with my clothes, I can’t see any reduction in the clutter in the closet.  Perhaps we will have to go through again.

Attending the Wurstfest 2013.

This is the entry scene as we walked into the Wurstfest grounds.  This is John and Sue Hamel and us.  They are from Wisconsin.

Alex Meikstner is one of the big draws at the festival.  He has long hair and shakes it aggressively while playing his accordion.   The young man with the other accordion is the 21 year old Canadian champion.

John and Sue are enthralled by the performance.

Evelyn in the orange top and Sue in the dark polka dot top went to the crowded floor to join in the famous chicken dance.  They began the dance together, but the crowd separated them.

The sign gives the dates for next year’s Wurstfest.  Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and allow us to attend again.

Lafayette, LA

This was an attractive street that had a canopy of live oak trees.  We got to this street looking for the house we had rented in 1969.  That neighborhood was so run down now that we didn’t take a picture of it.

Vicksburg, MS, site of a decisive Civil War battle.

Several types and sizes of cannon used during the siege.

A redoubt meant to defend the city.

One monument to a regiment from Indiana

This house remained throughout the sieve although the Shirley family was finally forced to move out to avoid being collateral damage.  The property was sold to the government by a granddaughter on the condition that the original owners would be buried on the site.  This was back in the days when the government kept its promises.  The number coincided with a phone number that, when dialed, gave an account of what happened at that site.  We only made 7 of the 15 before the park closed for the night.

Under this canopy is the remains of the one Union ship that was sunk while sailing down the Mississippi River to cut off the supply line to Vicksburg.  4 ships made it.

On the way to Louisiana we tried to tour Jefferson Davis’ plantation but found it closed.  It is just east of Natchez.

Hard work.

Tuesday was hot, even in the morning.  We ate cereal at home and then went to work.  Evelyn washed the bedroom furniture and the master bathroom.  I went out and learned how hot working can be.  I began by cutting almost all of the bougainvillea that grows in the back.  I cut 3 wheelbarrows full of thorny limbs.  I am going to try to kill all of it when I have time.  I will likely need a chain saw to do it.  The vine pictured yesterday was entwined in it.  It was also entwined in the pergola, so I had to cut and pull it off of everything it had infested.  I worked in the heat for an hour and rolled the vine to the curb where the park workers pick it up a couple of times each week.  I stopped working at 11 and took my second shower.  I called John and Sue and asked them to meet us for lunch.  I had bought 3 coupons for Pete’s Barbecue 2 weeks ago.  I bought one for Marilyn and her husband, John and Sue, and us.  I had given Marilyn hers when she tried to hook up our TV.  We had some errands to run after lunch but met John and Sue at 12:30 first.  We had tried to vote in the local election for mayor but couldn’t wait for the line to slack off before lunch.  We had heard that the food was very good at Pete’s.  We all liked it but had to take much home.  We left there and went to the bank to get some cash.  We then went to pay for our power cord.  Monday I had gone looking for a power cord, the first problem with the TV, at pawn shops but found one at an electronic store where we had done business since we had moved here.  He sold me one that fit the receiver perfectly.  We paid him the $2 we owed and went back to vote.  While there, Joe Winston came to vote.  We talked with him and learned that they are going to Maryland to visit one of their sons and family.  I also need to have the drums turned on our brakes but couldn’t find the muffler shop that was recommended by a park resident.  I will try to find it later.  We came home and pretty much rested a while.  I opened the stacked up mail while Evelyn ironed some of the clothes she had laundered.  I also wrote some checks to donate to some charities we support.  I am always glad to catch up on this blogging.  I get so far behind that I can’t remember what we did some days.

Arriving to a real mess

We got up early, ate breakfast, and packed the final items.  I had to get our freezer packs from the hotel freezer where I had placed them to refreeze.  We had put our drinks in the refrigerator in the room.  When our cars were completely loaded, we drove off to the local Lutheran church to worship at 8:30.  It was strange because there was a recommitment of a baby that had been baptized back in May, but the grandparents couldn’t attend at that time.  It was an interesting service.  The pastor gave a good sermon on Heaven, and, to my surprise, he remembered that I had been there 2 years ago.  We left for the Valley around 10 with John and Sue following us in case any problem developed in our transmission.  None did all the way home.  We did stop periodically to let the car cool a bit.  We bought dinner for them at a small truck stop.  We all liked the food served in generous portions.  We were pulling to our trailer by 4 and beginning to unpack.  We had to stop when we saw a great deal of mold on the furniture and other spots in the house.  I also took a look at the back yard and saw the vine cover that had taken over all the back yard.

I will have to take most of this down and will take several days.  Evelyn started cleaning the mold in the kitchen.  I unloaded things from the trailer including the DirectTV receiver but couldn’t get it to work.  I called Marilyn, our Canadian neighbor who is an electronic wizard, but she couldn’t make it work.  I will call for technical help tomorrow.  I went to the CVS to get some cleaner that would help kill the mold.  We worked until around 9 and went to bed. 

Monday we got up and went to Carl’s Jr. for breakfast so Evelyn wouldn’t have to cook.  Besides, we didn’t have any food.  We really like the biscuits served at Carl’s Jr.  We left there and went for some cereal, milk and fruit.  We will have a light pantry.  I thought it would be nice to have easy to fix soup for our meals, so we bought some.  We returned home and I began to wash some of the furniture in the office area.  It was really hard work but no harder than the kitchen and living room that Evelyn was working on.  When we wanted a break, I went to the car and bought in some clothes to launder.  We also unloaded the plants from the trailer and a tub of items to put away.  In all the day was busy.  I had hoped I could get the TV to work before Dancing with the Stars came on but couldn’t.  I thought Evelyn would go to our other neighbor, Judy, and watch her program on the TV, but she wouldn’t ask.  After 9, I called and got tech help that was very easy for the tech on the phone.  I watched some TV and wrote yesterday’s blog.

The last night of dancing.

We were up for breakfast and had agreed to separate until lunch time.  They went in their car and we went in ours.  Evelyn wanted to go to a consignment boutique looking for a costume for our Mardi Gras party in February.  The first one was closed, but I noticed a community thrift store across the street.  We went there and the Lord blessed us—as usual.  There was a perky, lovely young lady that looked 20 but was 36.  She was an avid costume planner.  The theme of this year’s party is movie characters and the young lady found and assembled a costume from the movie Aladdin.  She will be princess Jasmine.  I will be Harpo Marx thanks to my Cajun friend, Roland.  We went back to meet John and Sue.  We have to always carry them because their car is full.  We piled into hours and drove to the Friesenhaus for lunch.  We split an dinner of Jaeger schnitzel, a dish we love.  It was plenty for us.  John and Sue shared a lunch as well.  We finished and went back for a nap.  We went to the festival around 2.  It was another beautiful day but was packed again.  We went to the newest dance venue first so they could experience it.  We went from there to the grosse zelt to be entertained.  The tent was packed but we found some seats because someone got tired of sitting on the hard wood picnic table benches.  We sat through one group of entertainers so we could be there for Alex Meixner.  Sue got tired and left us.  Evelyn followed soon after.  Both due to painful seating.  John and I stayed through Alex’s show.  I liked it but found it very loud.  Besides that, people gather around the stage, making it difficult to see the antics.  We left and found the girls.  We had thought we would have another beer, but we were all tired and wanted to go back.  I sold our remaining tickets to a woman in line to buy some.  We left there and went to Wendy’s for a light supper.  I didn’t eat anything there because I was miffed at Sue for trying to run the evening—even where I should park.  I went back to the motel and ate some bean dip we had left over from yesterday.  We also packed much of our clothes because we planned to go to worship early tomorrow and then leave for home.  I was disappointed that John and Sue didn’t seem to have a very good time.  They danced little and didn’t seem to enjoy the performers.  It was the night to set our clocks back so we will get needed rest.

Ein Prosit!

Friday was knock around day.  John and Sue arrived, and we met them in our room for some snacks and drinks.  The Wurstfest began tonight featuring free entry before 7.  Our normal parking places had been taken over by another church that was charging to park in order to make money for something.  We parked in a different place and had to walk about a block farther than before.  The festival was packed and we fought our way into the Wursthall for the opening ceremonies.  Alex Meinster, one of the popular performers, opened the festival backed up by a full orchestra.  After that the place seemed to clear out enough that we could find a seat.  We saw Bob and Thersa Schwinghammer and sat with them for a while.  They moved on to the grosse zelt to no sadness of mine.  We went to the dance floor in this huge old cotton warehouse but found the floor too slick from the dust applied.  We came close to falling a couple of times.  John and Sue danced a little also.  John bought the beer tickets and we had 2 each while the wives had 1 diet Coke each.  It was a pleasant evening, and we walked to all 3 venues where music was being played.  At the kleine zelt, we danced outside because it was too hot under the canvass.  Some of the musicians are very good and all are entertaining as well.  I remember a great pianist, Ahmad Jamal, who came to play at Ball State when we were there.  The piano selections were beautiful, but all he did was play.  He was a poor entertainer.  We left around 9 but many others were just coming in.

What a day!

After breakfast we drove to the local Chevrolet dealer to have our car evaluated.  We left it there and were taken back to our motel by a shuttle.  He was very kind and took us to the Wurstfest office where we bought tickets at a discounted price.  We returned to the motel where we spent most of the day.  When we were called, we were told that a part for the transmission was needed that had to be shipped from Jackson, MI.  We thought that was too long for us to sit in our motel.  Another shuttle driver came to take us to the dealership.  I immediately looked under the hood and saw that the small tube had not been crimped as before.  The technician came and talked to me about how the tube should be open to make the transmission work properly.  I kept trying to understand why the car ran so well with the tube crimped.  I still don’t understand the situation.  We just paid an outrageous diagnostic fee and returned to the motel.  We had walked to a nearby Taco Bell for lunch and ate what we had left over for supper.  We stayed in and played kings on the corner during the evening.  I offered to take Evelyn out for the evening but she just wanted to stay home.  We have to trust God to get us home to the Valley.  We hope our friends will follow us all the way to the Valley incase we have trouble.  When we get there we have to decide whether to have the transmission replaced or just buy another car.  This poses another problem:  new or “pre owned”?  I looked on line and saw that a new transmission costs over $1000.  That is not considering the labor costs.  We aren’t complaining, however.  God has been good to us for many years and has provided us with finances to allow us to do whatever He leads us to do.  Our friends and Wurstfest will be here tomorrow.