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.