Holy Week 2014

Actually Holy Week began yesterday, but Tuesday came after that. Today was both Passover and Federal tax day.  We had filed our tax return some time ago and await a huge refund.  I hate any refund because the crooks (both parties) have used that money much of the year for nothing.   Alas!  So goes living.  We continued packing things into our plastic tubs and suitcases but didn’t get much loaded into the trailer.  Evelyn has many spices and other things to take from the kitchen and bathroom and seems to always find more.  It is difficult to get them from the trailer when needed.  For example, she needed some shoes that had previously been packed and had to dig them out.  We have been walking in the evenings when it is cool and enjoy that. 

Wednesday of Holy week does not feature a Lenten service because we worship and commune on Maundy Thursday.  We also had no choir rehearsal this week—at least on Wednesday.  Evelyn has been slow to recover from her cold.  She seems to be hit much harder than I do, causing her to be slow to recover.  She has been coughing up phlegm for more than 2 weeks.  She is improving but frustrated at the slow progress.  We are trying to consume the food in the refrigerator before we leave.  We know that we will have to give some items away but sometimes have trouble finding someone to take them.  Most of our neighbors have left for their summer homes already.  We seem to gather up more leftovers due to my interest in eating out but are chipping away.  We went to Silver Sneakers this morning and then to the Christian Women’s Connection luncheon at noon.  I take Evelyn and then go to a small restaurant for lunch.  I have a coupon requiring I spend $15 and requires I bring some home as a carry out.  We ate some of that for supper.  You see, I keep adding leftovers to an already full refrigerator.  On the way home we stopped at Bonny and Joe’s to invite them to our hall for Easter dinner.  They agreed to come because their family has other commitments.  Later in the week, their daughter asked to come from Austin, so they had to cancel.

Thursday was the Maundy Thursday service.  It was a very moving service and featured a very good sermon.  I have discovered a listen device that makes it possible for me to hear more clearly while sitting in the balcony where we sing.  We sang 2 numbers before the Holy Communion supper.  Reflecting on the terrible agony of Jesus in Gethsemane always is quite emotional for me.  He had a huge burden to carry knowing the horrible suffering He would endure tomorrow.  After the service we had to stay and rehearse more for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.  We can’t practice after the Good Friday service because we close the service in silence as we leave.  Therefore, we had to rehearse for an hour or more on Thursday. 

Friday was worship again.  I don’t want to sound bored or abused here.  It is a real privilege and delight for both Evelyn and me to be able to worship and praise our King.  It does take some additional commitment on our part,  but Christ had a big commitment to us and fulfilled it by going to the Cross to remove our sin.  We are blessed by the week of worship.  We went to Chili’s for a late supper that we should not have had.  We are both overweight and had many leftovers at home.  Even though we normally split a meal, we still have more leftovers.  I guess I just like to take my sweetheart out so she doesn’t have to cook as much.  We had originally planned to take Don and Janice to Good Friday worship and dinner afterward, but Janice called and said they couldn’t come because Don had a problem with his pacemaker and would have to have it replaced Monday morning.  We prayed for both of them.

Saturday was a cloudy but pleasant day.  We accomplished much in our packing but had little that made it into the trailer.  We have tubs sitting in almost every room.  We continue eating left overs.  Evelyn did a lot of baking and delivered some pineapple fluff and pie for them to share with Cathy and her family on Easter dinner.  It was a warm cloudy day, so we decided to wash the car.  It is impossible to wash a car using this water in the sun here if it is bright.  The water is so full of salt, it leaves a residue when it dries.  The brighter the sun, the faster it dries.  I have bought a chamois to dry things faster but have to beat the sun.  We waited all day for a call from Sylvia asking us to take her to worship tomorrow, but she didn’t call.  We also decided we would not attend a sunrise service tomorrow.  We took a walk around our park and were invited in to a park model for a drink and visited with them a short while.  We have very few people here who ever invite us to do anything, so we were very blessed by them.  We also made plan to play golf on Monday morning.

Resurrection Day was beautiful.  We were blessed by singing during the celebration.  We had a French horn, trombone and trumpet to celebrate the overcoming of death and the grave by Jesus.  The service was at 9:30 so we were able to be home by 11.  We took our dishes to share to our hall along with our table service.  We still had 2 hours before dinner, so we came home to rest a while.  We were back there by 12:30 and circulated visiting many people.  A couple prepared the ham, we paid $2 each for it and enjoyed the dishes the women brought to share.  We sat with the couple, Ray and Mary Burchill, that we visited yesterday evening.  We had a very good time but were tired when we came home.  We both took a nap until Joe and Bonny came to play cards and eat popcorn.  We will have dinner at their house on Tuesday before we leave Wednesday morning. 

Monday Ray, Mary, and I went to The Palms at Mid Valley to play 9 holes of golf.  Armand and I used to play there often when he lived next door.  The weather was slightly warmer and more humid than yesterday.  We had a good round, but the Burchill’s didn’t like the course.  I don’t either but it is cheap, close and flat.  It is easier to walk than some of the other courses around here.  I was surprised to shoot 0nly 49 for the 9 holes.  We had a beer afterward, and I was surprised to see Dan, Ginger and Harry from our church at Trail’s End come to play.  I was home by noon and had lunch.  After showering, we took a nap.  I had been up since shortly after 5 and was very tired.  After supper we drove to Harlingen to visit Don and Janice in the Harlingen Medical Center.  He seemed to be doing well and we left them with the hope that they will visit us again in NC this summer.