Unpublished old photos

 

Pictures from the Gideon pastors appreciation banquet.  Evelyn is in the bottom picture and the empty chair is mine.  This occurred February 6, 2014.

Evelyn and LuAnn Jones waiting for Tom and me in the “mess hall” at the Air Force Village.

The interior of the “Big House” at the Air Force Village

On the way home from San Antonio February 13, 2014, we stopped for lunch and saw this wagon train traveling from Corpus Christi.  We didn’t get to talk with them, but it was very authentic looking---except for the chase vehicles.

This is a Neil Diamond impersonator that appeared in our park.  We had volunteered to serve concessions for the event. 

This is Evelyn sitting in front of our mailboxes while listening to Neil Diamond sing—sort of.

Cold again

Monday we went to the Silver Sneakers to exercise and returned home to a pleasant surprise: our necessary document from our investment company so we could begin on our tax return.  I called John and he and Sue came to get them.  We also gave some of the vegetables Bonny had given us earlier.  She had called last night and asked us to take them while they went to New Mexico.  I also had John work on installing a new GFI socket because the other had malfunctioned again when I was cutting the grass before we went to SS.  I had to borrow the neighbor’s electric mower and that seems to do something to the outlet inside the house. I had just finished when the rain began. The Hamels left before lunch.  We had some more of our left over fish.  We must have done something the rest of the day but can’t remember what.  I just remember that I have been waking Evelyn when I came to bed causing her to be up much of the night.  She threatened me about doing it again so I went to spend the night in the guest bedroom.  It worked because she slept through the night.

Tuesday we were up and off to South Padre Island to ride with the bike club.  We had not been able to ride but once all season.  We always seem to have something else that supplants our ride.  It was a very foggy but warm day at the Island.  Since we hadn’t ridden much, we were both tired early but continued to the end.  The wind was southerly, so we had an easier ride going north on the return trip.  We helped load the bikes back onto the trailer to be hauled back to our park.  We had driven alone to the Island but went on to the Pelican Station restaurant for lunch.  The restaurants owned by “Dirty Al” serve the best shrimp we have had anywhere.  We even had a coupon that gave us $15 off our bill.  We were required, however, to spend $22.50, so we had to get a meal to carry out because we split one for lunch and hadn’t met our requirement.  We made arrangements with some friends to buy Hamel’s tickets for the Diamonds concert Friday.  We returned home to clean up after our sweaty ride and then Evelyn worked on her hair while I went to a “roast” for one of the popular couples in our park.  It was well done and attended by almost everyone that could fit into the hall.  We had fish again for supper and watched TV in the evening.

Wednesday, Evelyn went to SS while I went to another RV dealer to see if they would try to sell our mounting iron and tow bar for us.  They didn’t want to do it, but I was able to get another repair shop to put up a sign for me.  The iron is so heavy that I have to get rid of it somehow.  I was able to get back to pick up Evelyn on the way home.  The cold front had come through early this morning, making it 30 degrees colder than when we went to bed.  It was also misting heavily making it miserable.  We came home instead of shopping, and I worked on deleting emails.  I was still having trouble keeping the computer running until noon when it appeared to heal itself.  I ran well most of the afternoon.  We decided to go dancing around 3 and went to Snow to Sun, another RV park, where Ruthie was singing.  We danced only 45 minutes but were satisfied.  We went to Wal Mart on the way home for some few items including a sweet potato.  When we arrived home we found it to be unfit to eat.  I will return it tomorrow.  While shopping, the man from Air Force Village finally called us.  I couldn’t talk but expect him to call tomorrow afternoon.  John is to come in the morning to finish our tax return.  His pay is the XM radio from our Saturn.  He will likely bring the concert tickets with him. 

A visit with a very grateful Mexican student.

Thursday was the day for the annual Mabel’s breakfast.  It is always biscuits and gravy because they are easy to prepare and are quick to serve.  We think there may have been 600 people supporting the organization that provides dental care for the indigent in the Mexican state of Tamalipas.  Actually all the people there are indigent.  We will learn next Monday how much money was raised.  People from many parks come here to support the cause.  After making our donation, Evelyn seasoned and I prepared the smoker for cooking the ribs, Cornish hens and turkey breast we had bought earlier.  I had smoked them 3+ hours before John and Sue came to meet us to go to the the happy hour featuring Diego.  He has become a big favorite with winter Texans in the Valley.  He plays from 3-5 in the social halls in several parks.  His pay is normally made by passing the hat.  His wife was there with their 8 month old little girl.  We had a good time dancing but snacked most of the time there.  That would have been fine if we had not come home and eaten an appetizer of smoked salmon John had bought, followed by hamburger sandwiches I had barbecued earlier.  I had already removed the smoked meat and we finished wrapping it before we ate supper.  For the first time in quite a while, we did not play dominoes.  They left after supper.

Friday was usual in that we played with the kitchen band and went to the hospital to serve.  For the first time in 2 weeks, Evelyn was needed at what was called the Foundation.  She spent the day there while I was at the information desk as usual.  The excitement for the day was that a man working for a company came to the hospital.  He was 7 feet 2 We don’;tinches tall.  Wow!  It is difficult to imagine anyone that tall, but suffice it to say that he had duck his head at every doorway.  It was a lovely day as it has been for nearly a week now.  We came home and decided to to to a local restaurant for fish, so I printed a coupon for us to use.  It cost $3.60 and gave us $15 credit for our total bill.  We ended up paying $8 plus a tip for a $25 meal.  The meals are always too large requiring our carrying out at least 2 more meals to eat during the week.  We relaxed during the evening.

Saturday I had to get back to working on the sermon in the morning.  Things went well but I wasn’t very satisfied with the content.  I worked until 11 when we went to Mexico to meet the student we sponsor.  We don’t drive but park and walk across the bridge as usual.  But there is a bus that picks up the sponsors and takes them to a school where the students meet with their sponsors.  This time Josue was there with his mother and his sister.  They are very appreciative of the help we have given.  He is in fact scheduled to graduate from some university in December with a degree in Civil Engineering and has a job with a firm in Monterrey.  We thank God for the opportunity to have played a part in helping this young man become a success in his life.  We stayed with him for a lunch of square tamales.  Seriously.  They were 4X6 and were delicious.  They were a bit long on the masa but good.  We came home by 2, and rested until 3:30 when we began to leave.  Just then a couple came to look at our house for another couple who wants to move south for the winter.  The man does handyman work around our park and knows a lot about building.  They inspected our home thoroughly before we left for the winter Texan party for the members of Immanuel.  We were just a bit late to the Aloe field and building where we met.  There was a tour of the fields and inside the building was a man with a karaoke machine.  Many, myself included, used it to entertain the people who came to participate.  I sang alone and with 2 other men.  Evelyn sang with Blanca, a young teacher who wants to practice in leading our choir.  We had a very good time and enjoyed the pizza dinner.  We came home and I continued working on the message for tomorrow.  For some reason I was tired and went to bed early.  I usually stay up for the weather but thought I knew what it would be.

Sunday was a wonderful day.  The message I thought was disappointing was well received.  I know the power of prayer because I had been praying for God to help me and to open the hearts of the people who heard it.  We left and went to Immanuel to sing with 3 other choir members.  It seems to have been successful.  We came home and enjoyed one of the fish dinners we had brought from Friday night.  We rested until 5:30 when we went to our hall to serve ice cream.  While we scooped, the woman in charge kept micro managing me.  Finally I just traded jobs with her.  I don’t like to be assigned a job that someone else takes over.  When we finished serving, we stayed to work concessions for the Neil Diamond concert.  Of course it wasn’t really Neil but was a man singing his songs.  We had heard his show was not very good, but we thought it was better than we had expected.  We finished cleaning the kitchen after his intermission and were home by 8:30.  We didn’t stay until the concert was over.  Bonny called when we returned home and asked us to come and get some vegetables they can’t use because they will fly to New Mexico tomorrow for a ski vacation with one of their 6 children and their children.  We will go get them in the morning.  While Evelyn has been pain free for almost 3 weeks, she has a suspicious mole in her back that I want her to get an opinion about.  I want her to have someone at the hospital or her oncologist so she will have an idea whether to see a dermatologist.  She also needs to tell the neurosurgeon who referred her to the therapist that the treatment worked.  I need to cut the grass tomorrow morning before the rain begins tomorrow or Wednesday. 

Hectic days in the Valley

Monday We got up and went to Silver Sneakers to work out.  It was a much warmer day, so I stopped on the way home to wash the car with a power washer wand.  It really doesn’t do very well because it is black.  Nothing seems to get it very clean.  I also used a brush when we returned home but the creases in the design make it almost impossible to reach with anything. I also went to Tierra Santa golf course to apply for a job being a starter.  The director said he would call me about working Thursday afternoons and would call me to let me know.   We had bought some hamburger last week, so I readied the grill with charcoal while Evelyn made the patties.  She mixed an egg into the meat and had to add some crumbs to prevent their falling through the grill top.  I did barbecue them and they were good.  I began working on the sermon for the Sunday that Wayne was to preach.  It was also time I could watch some of the Olympics with one eye.  Evelyn called Hamel’s and invited them to come to dance to Diego Thursday and hamburgers afterward.  We watched more Olympics in the evening.

Tuesday was errand day.  I began by sending a fax from Joe’s office.  I had to apply for a refund from our former car insurance company.  We are now with Geico again.  We went on to the recycle center and discovered that the place I need to go to renew my driver license is near there.  I also went to cash the check from Llano Grande because yesterday the bank had been closed for President’s Day.  We went on to get my suit from the cleaners and leaving 3 more pairs of trousers there.  We also did some shopping at Wal-Mart and bought some a turkey breast, country style ribs and 2 rock Cornish hens that I will smoke this week.  I love smoked food—especially when I don’t drop it into the boiling water and scald myself.  We came home for lunch, and I continued working on the sermon.  I also finished making orders of service for the remainder of the season.  That gives me a great deal more free time.  Perhaps I will play a round of golf before we go back north.  More Olympics.  I went to get the mail and discovered a soup supper in the hall that we had forgotten.  We have developed the habit of not doing much in the park this season.  I just don’t think we had the ability to make many friends here and have stopped trying.  We have more friends outside the park than here.  We did have a Canadian couple come to look at our house but don’t think they will be back.  There are many for sale at much lower prices.  I don’t blame Canadian’s for not wanting to invest too much in a home here because most of them can’t stay more than 90 days because they must pay for out of country insurance.  We would sell if it is the Lord’s will but don’t know exactly where we would go.  We still mull the idea of the Air Force. 

Wednesday we had thought we would SKYPE with Andrew, but he was busy preparing for a project due Thursday.  We dressed and went to La Feria so I could see if I could put our mounting iron and tow bar on sale at the Texas Trader.  I have little hope for that to be successful but always trust in the Lord’s will.  We were headed to Harlingen for a Christian Women’s luncheon but were early enough to stop a Target to buy some items for a baby shower coming up.  We thought we would meet Janice at the event but learned she was sick and couldn’t come.  We stayed, of course, for the dinner and program.  The beef was horribly tough, so neither of us could eat it.  The program was a witness of Christ’s power in changing a man’s life.  His testimony was peppered with irrelevant details, making it too long.  There were 2 highlights: Vance Greek sang 4 songs and I won the prize of one of his CDs.  Evelyn decided we should go to visit Janice, so we drove to her home in Rio Hondo.  She was much better than I thought she would be.  It had been thought she had suffered vertigo, and I remember how I felt when I had it.  She had caught it early by taking some medicine, so she was in pretty good shape.  We visited and prayed with her for a while before driving home.  I had thought we would go to a party for the bike club.  We have not been able to go on more than one trip and couldn’t even make this one.  We stayed home until time for choir practice.  Despite having only 5 there, we planned to sing Sunday morning.

Loss of my back up

Saturday I did my practice for tomorrow in the morning because we our annual barbecue dinner in the evening.  I don’t remember its being on a Saturday before.   I was curious as to whether it would be as effective as doing it in the evening, so close to when we had the service.  I watched the Purdue/IU basketball game.  Purdue surprised me by trouncing the Hoosiers.  Purdue is not very good nor consistent.  I got a call from Sharon Merryfield during the game.  She said things were not good at Trail’s End.  Several people are disenchanted with Wayne, my substitute preacher.  They threatened to attend somewhere else if he peaches again.  I had to go to his park model and tell him I didn’t want to have our worship group destroyed, so I had to remove him from his final scheduled Sunday.  He seemed to take the information quite well.  I respect his deep Christianity and will miss hearing him preach.  I will also miss having someone to replace me once in a while.   I am getting the point that God either wants me to stay here to preach or doesn’t want our worship to continue.  We rode with Ray and Irene Mintenko, the same couple we went with last year.  I had to curtail my beer consumption to not suffer from any adverse effects during tomorrow’s services.  The dinner was exactly the same as last year, served by the same catering service, and was just as good.  I had decided to eat less this year as well.  We were home early, and I was able to practice again.

Sunday was a beautiful day.  We were early so I could talk with the “elders” of our services about Wayne’s not returning again.  I tried to softly explain to the congregation about how dangerous it was, Spiritually, to rely on just the messenger bringing God’s word.  I delivered the message and Communion to Trail’s End and was thankful to God that it seemed to be successful.  I went on to Llano Grande, the other job I had today.  I am invited to preach there 2 times each season.  There was a good reception.  One couple asked about where they could have Holy Communion served, so I invited them to Trail’s End.  We went to Olive Garden for a soup and salad lunch before coming home.  We dozed while watching some more of the Olympics.  I also printed some prayers from Synod to use in our services and found a sermon I can use on the date Wayne would have preached.  We took a long walk in the afternoon and would have ridden our bikes if it hadn’t been so windy.  We were both ready to retire after the news.

Looking for long term care.

We were up and off to San Antonio early in the morning.  It was an ugly, misty day spraying mud all over our black car.  It was also cold, but we had a good trip.  Yesterday at noon gas was 2.96; this morning it was 3.05 at its cheapest.  We arrived at Air Force Village 2 around 2:30 and were in our residence in time for a nap.  We met at Tom and LuAnn’s for a surprise cocktail party with 2 other couples.  Tom is an amateur cook and had made Cajun hors d’oerves for us.  One of the new couples were raised in western Indiana and the other was a chaplain.  We had a lot to talk about.  From there we went to the “big house mess hall” for a dinner.  Since we had a meal voucher, we had the most expensive items on the menu.  I think my steak rivaled the one we  had at Ruth’s Chris Steak House.  We had a great time and everyone all invited us to move into the living complex.  Tom and LuAnn are some of the best friends we have.  Tom is also planning a cruise through the Panama Canal in September and has invited us.  We will likely go.

We spent most of the day with Richard Bardon after having breakfast in the mess hall with Tom and Luann.  He was a chubby older man (younger than I) who treated us very well.  He explained the program of the living costs to us, but of course we can’t remember several of the statistics.  He also showed us many of the different styles of structures.  We learned that when someone moves out, nothing is done to the home until it is sold.  This is so that the new occupants can design it to their taste.  We saw one with the same floor plan as Tom and LuAnn’s but had been changed to the point that I could hardly recognize it.  He also showed us some homes that were bigger than ours in Indiana.  We will have no use for it.  We were finished around noon, bought lunch and took a nap before dressing for the dinner dance.  We joined Tom and LuAnn for the cocktail hour and then dinner.  It was not as good as last night’s but was very good.  The highlight was the dessert cake.  The band, ironically, was the same one that played for the same type of dinner 3 years ago.  They were excellent, but the crowd, being older, were all gone from the floor by 8:15.  We left before 8:30, but the band was still playing when we cleared the floor.  We went to Tom and LuAnn’s for a nightcap and discussion about our situation.  We explained that we were able to pay the entrance fee of $200k plus but were concerned about 2 things;  First our money is all sheltered and would require we pay all the taxes at once; Second, we are concerned about being able to maintain the $35k that we would have to pay per year.  That sounds high but doesn’t reflect the beautiful campus and many amenities. We will have to look into how we can delay paying the taxes . We went home and had a good night’s sleep.

We were up leaving for home by 9.  That was later than we had planned.  I turned in our keys and got 2 breakfast tacos for us and left.  We followed our GPS all the way home.  We listened to our Steve Brown Bible study CDs on both of our trips.  We are blessed by those teachings.  We didn’t stop for lunch but did share a blizzard.  We were home earlier than we had ever imagined.  We were able to relax before Joe And Bonny picked us up at 5 to go to dinner and our McAllen Concert series performance.  We went to a different restaurant as normal. This was almost a sports bar but had good food.  We shared a dinner as usual and used my coupons for a reduction in cost.  Winston’s seem to always want an appetizer and bought one for us.  The concert starred Hal Linden, star of the Barney Miller TV show of years back.  He was tremendous!  At 82, he had stronger lungs than men half his age.  He sang some original songs and played a clarinet. He also reminisced about his life and career.  He also had a marvelous band with him.  They played mostly big band sounds.  We all thought it was the best of the 4 we have had this season.  We were home a bit early because he had not taken an intermission.

We did our usual Friday activities: kitchen band and hospital service.  It was Valentine’s Day, but we really didn’t observe it.  We seem to be uninterested in celebrating preplanned holidays.  We came home for a simple supper, although I thought Evelyn wanted to go out.  She must have changed her mind.  We did go to Joe and Bonny’s for cake and Irish Cream.  We listened to their episodes with their Sprinter motor home and then came home.  Evelyn really likes to be home more than she used to.  She is willing to go out and enjoys those forays but is very happy to just snuggle into the couch.  We have a great thanks to God.  It has been 10 days since Evelyn has had any sciatic pain.  It always amazes us at God’s faithfulness and mercy.  We are more indebted to Him each day.  It has been nice to have a vacation from preaching, but I am humbled that God would call me back to preaching His mercy and forgiveness to even our small congregation.  I spent some of the evening preparing for my 2 engagements Sunday.  We also watched some of the Olympics as we have much of the past 2 weeks.  We haven’t watched them wall to wall but have enjoyed the parts we have seen.

Will it warm up before we leave the Valley?

Thursday was still cold today.  There was also a heavy mist most of the day making it even more miserable.  We thought we might receive a call from the stock show regarding our passport pictures but heard nothing.  I spent most of the day working on sermons.  I am trying to get ahead of the curve in sermon preparation before the beginning of Lent.  I also vacuumed the carpets as Evelyn did some cooking.  We took a nap and dressed for the Gideon’s Pastor Appreciation Banquet.  As usual, the speakers were quite good and inspirational.  It is very good to hear how God’s Word changes the lives of people who read it.  I was not invited to the banquet as a pastor as I was last year but was asked to give the closing benediction,  It was cold walking to and form the car but quite comfortable sitting on the heated seats. 

Friday was regular: kitchen band and hospital volunteering.  We went to the nearest nursing home where a young man named Eric sang Cielito Lindo in my place.  He is Hispanic and knows how to make the lyrics fit the music much better than I do.  I normally play a “bass” with our band.  It is a large dowel rod attached to an upside down five gallon bucket by a thick string that makes a good sound when tightened by my pushing on the attached dowel.  Today, however, it broke while I was leaning on it.  I was blessed to not fall forward when it broke.  We came home ate lunch and drove to the hospital.  In the past we were able to ride our bicycles, but this winter has been too cold and windy.  Today was no exception.  Emily called during the afternoon to talk about a program that offers discounted cruises and vacations.  It is complicated but research has shown that the company is not trustworthy.  That is if the company is the same one evaluated by several groups and condemned by past and current customers.  The confusion is in the name’s being close to the program but not exact.  We will continue searching for information.

We mostly relaxed on Saturday.  It was a milder day than had been expected.  We went to Big Lots looking for some imported bread and spaetzle, but there was none to be found.  It seems as though whatever we discover and like sells out never to returned.  I did work on the sermon until late afternoon when we trimmed our double hibiscus plant that had grown quite large over the summer.  This was one of the few days we have had fit for working outside.  Earlier I had tried to resize Evelyn’s picture for her passport since the first one was rejected.  I had no success, so I asked Marilyn and Lloyd to come to try their skills.  We had a drink together and some snacks while she worked but had no success.  She has helped us in other electronic situations.  There was a dance in our hall, but we didn’t go.  Evelyn had said she wanted to go out for dinner but didn’t do that either.

Sunday was almost non stop.  We began with worship at Trail’s End followed by our singing in the choir at Immanuel.  We took our car to Winston’s and rode with them to Harlingen where we had lunch at Jason’s Deli.  We went on to Port Isabel to hear a talk by Pastor Ken Klaus, the former speaker on the Lutheran Hour and currently the man who delivers the daily devotion for the LHM.  He had a very interesting presentation about how the perception of Christ has changed over the centuries.  His point was that young men are looking for a Jesus who is more active, and they want to serve with Him.  We went on to Pelican Landing for a shrimp dinner.  It was a very inspiring day for us.  We watched more of the winter Olympics during the later evening.

Monday we packed for our trip.  We have to take more hanging bags than usual because we have a formal dinner/dance to attend while in San Antonio.  It was also Sue Hamel’s birthday, and they arrived around 11 to talk about my XM radio.  We found that I was paying for the old one and the new one in the car.  They enjoyed the banana cream pie Evelyn had made for her.  After lunch we rested a while and then went to Snow to Sun to meet them and dance to Diego.  The large hall was packed almost to capacity.  He is a very popular entertainer here in the Valley.  John and Sue went to the Longhorn Steak House for supper.  We were both surprised and disappointing that they didn’t ask us to join them.  We came home for leftovers and watched the Olympic downhill skiing for a while before retiring early.  We get tired from driving long distances more than we did in the past.  We will see Tom and LuAnn and are trying to think of something to take to them even though we will not be staying with them.  We may find something for them along the way tomorrow.  WE took a walk around 7:30 and had just started when a cold front hit us in the back.  This was the second time within the past 2 weeks that I have been outside to experience a drop of temperature about 20-30 degrees in a matter of seconds.  Earlier in the morning I had taken the broken bucket bass that I use in the kitchen band to the director of the wood shop.  He glued it back together and returned is to our house.  It will have plenty of time to season and set up before I have to use it next Friday. 

Cold days continue

Wednesday I took Evelyn to Bonny’s at 12:30 so they could go to lunch with another woman in Harlingen.  I left her and went to the stock yard to see if I could get our pictures from yesterday to send in for our renewed passports.  The woman in charge was at the doctor and would not be back until tomorrow.  I just came home and worked on sermons until Evelyn returned from lunch.  John and Sue had come in the morning to invite us for dinner Sunday, but we have planned to go to Port Isabel to hear Pastor Ken Klaus, speaker emeritus on the Lutheran Hour.  They had come to our park to participate in our shuffle tournament.  They had lost both of their games.  While here, I had John look at the GFI socket.  When we tripped the breaker, it worked.  I had done that yesterday without success.  I wonder if my pulling out of the wall hadn’t done something to tighten a connection. They didn’t stay long because Evelyn had to leave.  It was very cold again today so it was great to stay inside. As the Lord would have it, we had to go to choir practice.  It was warmer in the church tonight than last week and more tolerable.  We returned to our park and caught the final half hour of a show by CrossStrung, a family group from Logan, Utah, a small town not far from Emily.  I was too curious and asked the father, “Does your church have a cross on top?”  When he replied no, I confirmed what I suspected—they were LDS or Mormons.  Regardless, Christ had blessed each of them with a great deal of talent.

Serving the Lord

Tuesday we went to Edinburg so Evelyn could help the Gideon Auxiliary distribute Bibles to some of the doctor’s offices in that city.  I went to a nearby McDonalds to read my Bible and use their internet.  I didn’t get as much done as I had hoped but was able to pick her up at 11 when she finished.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants called Pollito (poyeto) phonetically speaking.  We shared an order of Alhambra, a Tex-Mex chicken and cheese dish.  Despite sharing, we brought some home.  After stopping at the grocery, Evelyn went to her final therapy session.  She had received a call asking her to come in the morning to see Dennis the therapist.  Of course it was too late to do that.  She came home and we went to have our pictures taken for our ID cards for the Stock Show and went to Borderland Hardware to get a GFI outlet.  As I was mowing the lawn, I discovered that something wasn’t working and guess it to be the outlet.  I will wait until tomorrow to install it when I have more light.  We walked to the hall and found the mail box loaded with information including a noticed that Evelyn’s picture she tried to use to renew her passport was not of the quality they needed.  I will try to get a copy of the one taken today to use in the process.  We must mail it back or not get the passport nor the money back.

Trouble with cats

Monday was still cold as expected.  I had arranged for the exterminator to come in the morning, so I couldn’t go with Evelyn to Silver Sneakers.  Instead I worked on the sermon for February 23.  I was disappointed that the bug killer did not come until nearly noon.  We were just beginning lunch when he arrived.  He worked inside first and then outside as we ate.  After lunch he wanted to show me that we have some cats living under our trailer.  The  entered through a hole I had not noticed.  I will have to get a live trap many have used to trap opossums around our park.  While I was finishing with his explanation, I noticed our neighbor cleaning his shed because they had moved over to the next park.  His mower had stopped working a couple of weeks ago and was to be repaired.  He told me that a part had been broken off the mower as I brought it to our house by pulling it behind my golf car.  He expected me to pay the entire bill of $ 57+.  I don’t think it was quite fair but paid him $60 because he had to pick up the mower.  This is always the Christian way to avoid conflict.  I will be curious to see if he brings it for me to use on both our yards.  Evelyn went to therapy again this afternoon, and I continued to work.  I couldn’t get the live trap today but did talk to the park handyman about fixing the duct where the cats are living.  This will be a long struggle for us.

Busy and blessed all day long.

We were up and off to worship at Trail's End this morning.  Pastor Wayne Wilken and his wife Jean are pictured above while attending an afternoon event.  He presented a very moving message this morning before we had to leave for Immanuel to sing in the choir.  Our Lord has drawn un in to the choir against my will, but He hardly checks with me about what I think He should do.  We were invited to go to Cortino’s restaurant but declined because we had volunteered to serve concessions at our hall during our afternoon entertainment—the Goldwing Express pictured below.

The man on the right is the father of the 3 brothers.  They play bluegrass and country in Branson, MO during the summer.  They were only fair.  The father, playing the mandolin was supposedly the winner of some contests in the past, but we have heard teenagers play better in NC than he played.  We came home for Evelyn to rest before going to our hall for a brisket sandwich supper before the Super Bowl.  The game was so poor that even I didn’t want to stay even until halftime.  We did come home and I watched more of the misery there.  I had been outside leaving a message for Emily in the afternoon when a sharp cold front came in.  I have never experienced one like that.  I really believe the temperature instantly dropped over 10 degrees and the humidity dropped 30%.  It was just a great testimony to God’s majesty.  Evelyn has been hurting all day but not too badly.  But it is at night that she is worst. She is not able to sleep at night due to the pain, so when she sleeps during the day, I let her continue even thought she may not be able to sleep at  night.  She probably won’t sleep anyway. 

First golf of the winter

We were up early and driving to Donna for the Gideon prayer breakfast.  We had 20 men attending and the women had 12.  Evelyn normally doesn’t attend (neither do I) but wanted to help with the Bible distribution next week.  Our meeting ended earlier than hers, and Glenn Combs met me at the church.  We loaded my golf clubs into his car and we went off to the Lutheran golf tournament that I thought was in Pharr.  We learned it was at Palmview south of McAllen.  We arrived just before the T off time of 9 AM.  Glenn has a bad back and played only the first 9.  I played all of the holes.  I did much better than I expected on the back 9—45.  The downside was that we played select drive.  We all T off but hit our second shot from the spot of the best drive or best lie.  I didn’t always have to best and don’t know what I would have shot had I played just mine.  We were home by 3.  I hadn’t had any lunch, so Evelyn prepared a small lunch for me.  I was quite tired and napped much of what was left of the afternoon.  Evelyn read.  In the evening we watched “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”.  Neither of us like much violence but liked this movie.  We have a busy day ahead tomorrow.  I will tell about it then.

The final cold snap of the season?

Wednesday morning was fraught with surprises.  First it was only in the upper 30s.  Second it had rained about 3/4 inches during the early morning.  Third, there were small icicles hanging from the wires behind our house.  And last as I went to our park resident barber for a haircut, ice particles were falling from the high palm trees, reminding me of some sleet storms we have memories of when we lived in Indiana.  The height of the trees made the ice particles painful if they fell on my head.  I dodged most of them.  Evelyn got the day off from therapy.  We did miss a call from the spinal doctor during the day.  It happened that our friends, John and Sue, lived in a park that was without electric power and came here to get warm.  Our park had been without power last week but only for a couple of hours.  Theirs lasted about 8 hours during a period of lower temperatures.  We were blessed to be able to offer them some comfort.  We stayed indoors until the time for choir practice in the evening.  It was still cold.

Thursday Evelyn and Sue went to the $5 jewelry sale at the hospital to look for some birthday gifts for the granddaughters born in February.  She didn’t find all of the things she wanted.  She came home before lunch but then had to return for therapy at 1.  While she was gone and I was working on my next sermon, the doctor called and prescribed a muscle relaxer for Evelyn.  She picked it up on the way home.  I have never met anyone who garnered much relief from them, but they may be better than what she has been taking.  Joe and Bonny picked us up to go to dinner at Don Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant.  We had been there 2 times before and used our price reduction certificates both times.  When I tried to use a third, it was refused.  We paid full price, and I later found that I had used the refused certificate before.  I have another.  We attended our 3rd in the concert series in McAllen.  The performers were Exile, a group we had never heard of from Richmond, KY.  They sang many songs we had didn’t remember even though they claimed they had written them and had reached number 1 but recorded by other artists including Janie Fricke and Alabama.  They only recorded 1 hit, and we had never heard it either.  We did agree that it was the best of the series so far.

Friday is nearly always a kitchen band day.  Today we went to Valley Grande Manor and had a great time.  There must have been over 30 residents there, many in wheelchairs, and they were quite active while we performed.  I have never had so much fun performing to a nursing home since in my early 20s.  We have been in this band for around 10 years, but this was the best.  After lunch we went to serve at the hospital.  I always enjoy Friday afternoons but Evelyn often has to chase down her supervisor to get directions.  Today she felt pretty good and was without much pain in her leg.  She was hurt as usual yesterday after therapy.  I am sad to report that I have alienated one of the men I work with.  I didn’t understand what he said to me a few weeks ago, but after a few weeks, he acts different from the way he did before the incident.  I think we will be able to continue working with each other but not as before.  Our other male partner has been gone for the past 3 Fridays and had to miss today because of a dental problem.  Evelyn made Carmel corn in the evening, but he recipe wasn’t as good as the one she normally makes.  We must arise earlier than usual because of commitments tomorrow.  More on this later.