The Weekend

Friday we stayed home getting our plans for this week in order.  We ordered a cheese pizza for dinner and spent the evening in watching TV.

We talked to Kristin in Florida and arranged to spend a week with them and be there for Larry’s gall bladder surgery on May 3.  While I had the time, I got my clothes together and placed them on one of the twin beds.  Since we weren’t going to church Saturday evening we agreed to meet Tommy and Susan for dinner.  We went back to the campground and discussed some summer and fall plans once Susan retires.  I started yawning so we came home.

We had a leisurely Easter morning then went to the chapel of our local hospital for Mass at 11:30.  There were about two dozen people and it was an intimate service.  After church we met up with a dozen folks at the country club for brunch.  The food was delicious and was the only meal I ate all day.  We had forgotten Terry’s birthday present and I had purchased a jar of tomato preserves in Fredericksburg for Carol.  She loves them and they are hard to find.  So we went home, changed clothes, gathered the gifts and went to their house.  We visited and watched a TV documentary on Ireland.  I am more excited about the trip after seeing it.

We tied up loose ends so we could take off on Tuesday heading east.  We put Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in our rear view mirror before stopping for the night in Pensacola, FL.  Wednesday we made our way to Winter Springs by mid-afternoon.  Kristin and Larry were meeting
with the surgical team and didn’t arrive home until in the evening.

Thursday we took a two hour drive to Sebring to check out a motor home but it had about $10,000 worth of tires, batteries, carpeting, paint repair that we didn’t want to deal with.  However, my sister Laurie drove over to meet us for what turned out to be an early dinner and we had a great visit.  We don’t get to see each other too often.

They predicted rain for Friday but it never came.  Kristin and I did some decorating shopping on Friday and checked out an estate sale but there wasn’t anything there.  We are still moving things around and may need to return some things and try other things we didn’t buy.

We have started watching The Crown in Netflix and are enjoying it.  We fill Kristin in on events we remember starting in the early 50’s like Eisenhower.  We will recall more as the series continues.

There was a NAMI walk on Saturday and Kristin was scheduled to work at the booth passing out water.  I went with her and walked around the park looking at the vendors.  There was a silent auction and a raffle so I bought a few tickets but didn’t win anything, but it was for a good cause.  On her break she and I did one lap around the lake, a mile, but never did the other two to make 5K.  Ted was in the pool when we arrived home.

Church was at 5:00 and the priest who married them seems to remember us.  He is the one who asked me if I had been the Mother of the Bride at their rehearsal.  When I answered “Yes, twice” he pointed to the front row and said “Park it.”  Good thing I remembered what to do!

Falling Behind Again!

Jamie and I rode with Susan to some of the thrift stores in town on Friday.  This is not an activity everyone likes but we have always done this during our HH rally.  I had nothing in mind but actually bought some things.  One is a gift so I can’t tell you but it has to do with Christmas.  I also bought measuring cups and spoons since I always seem to be searching in the RV for them.  I bought a Chico’s blouse for $8 and a pair of Talbot’s slacks that fit perfectly (no hemming) for $7!  If you are familiar with these stores you will know they were good buys!  My mother managed  a Salvation Army thrift store in Florida so this kind of shopping is ok with me.  I also volunteer at one and see the really nice things that can come in.

After happy hour, Ted and I drove into Kerrville and had Golden Chick catfish dinners sitting on the patio next to the Guadalupe River.  It was pleasant out, quiet and peaceful.

Saturday we started getting things ready for our Sunday departure.  Since there was a 6 pm dinner planned, we drove to Comfort, TX to a 4 pm Mass to get back in time.  The dinner was prepared by the campground and was very good.  Afterwards we had a white elephant gift exchange.  We ended up with a collapsible trash container that comes in real handy for outside the RV.

Early Sunday morning we went to the clubhouse to say so long to everyone.  We stopped twice on our way home and pulled into the campground at 1:30 with Tommy waiting for us.  After setting up we took things home before returning to visit with Tommy and Susan.  On Monday, Tommy drove me home in his Tahoe because I underestimated what we had left to take home and in was too much for the back seat of the truck.  When we returned, Ted was hooked up and we drove to storage.

I was busy Monday and Tuesday, putting everything away, getting my desk cleared off and doing two weeks worth of laundry.  I received a comment in my blog from the gentleman whose wife had fallen.  He thanked me for calling him and said he has followed my blog for some time!  She had a broken nose and they both were sore because he had fallen too.  Thanks, Mike, for the shout out!  I hope you and Sandy are feeling better.

Wednesday was my gastro appointment.  I expected a colonoscopy appointment to be set up but instead he ordered lab tests on lots of specimens and ordered a Cologuard box to be sent to me.  To fulfill these requests we went to Sweet Tomatoes and I ate a huge salad.  It took only two hours for it to do its thing.

By Thursday morning I had done all he requested.  I put two in a cooler because one needed to be frozen, another refrigerated.  I dropped it all off at LabCorp bringing the two needing to be put away to the lady’s attention.  All she said was Hmph!

From there I went to WW and weighed in for April.  I am still 2.5# under goal.  It has been 8 months I have stayed below goal.  The doctor had noticed the 43# difference from last time I was there and was glad I had done it on purpose and did not indicate a medical condition.

My Hawaii photo book arrived and I sat it next to my new Poppy Plaque I bought in Fredericksburg.  I don’t want to lose important digital files by not having some printed.  Shutterfly and Mixbook do a nice job of making an event into a keepsake.

Fredericksburg TX

On Thursday, 8 of the ladies headed to Fredericksburg, about a half hour away from our campground.  This is in the Hill Country and birthplace of Admiral Nimitz, commander of the Southern fleet in WWII.  There is an impressive museum and occasional re-enactment of taking a pillbox.  But we have all been there so shopping and lunch were our objectives.

Our first stop was the Wildseed Farm with their gorgeous fields of flowers and a gift shop, lunch bar, specialty foods, equipment, etc.

We all went our own way and I bought two things for me - one for the house, one for the yard and two gifts. We eventually all came back together again and headed into town.

We wandered around checking out restaurants and decided on a deli/ice cream shop we had parked in front of to begin with.  There were lots of selections and the food was good.

We split into two groups and perused many shops.  I bought another gift and garlic powder!  We returned to the benches in front of the restaurant where most of the ladies had an ice cream (but not me).  Kristin had just called and as I answered a lady tripped and fell face down on the concrete behind my bench.  I hung up and went behind the bench to help her.  She had cut her nose very badly and was bleeding profusely.  The restaurant called 911 and brought ice.  I helped her to sit up and secured her purse and shopping bag.  Her friend was trying to call the woman’s husband but was having trouble.  I could see she was entering the number where the pass code belongs.  I asked the lady for her husband’s number and called myself.  Thank goodness he answered and I quickly explained what had happened.  He said he was on his way.

The EMTs put her on a stretcher and into the ambulance to attend to her face.  When her husband arrived, he fell in the very same place!  The sidewalk drops off about 6 inches to another height about 18 inches wide and then drops to the street.  There is no painted caution along that edge and a big chunk of concrete was missing right where her feet were.  I think the city may be hearing from someone shortly!

We saw all was being taken care of and headed home.  Happy hour was at 5:00 and it was almost 7:00 when we came back to have dinner.  Ted wanted Skyline chili and I made the spaghetti in the Instant Pot.  It only takes one minute.  Cover the spaghetti with water.  Pressurize, cook one minute, natural release for 5 minutes and manual release until you can open it.  It worked!

Bluebonnets

We are about an hour south of the Willow City Loop, famous for its wildflower display in spring.  Tuesday after lunch we chose to take a ride to see for ourselves.  When we returned it was time to go to the Mexican restaurant for dinner with 23 others.  The food was good, the company even better.  But the rest of this post is photos! Well it wasn’t showing but the first four so I tried again - and again.  Then when published they all appeared!  But in EDIT I can’t see them to delete them!  So enjoy them a second and third time!

Working Around the Problems

I couldn’t get this last picture to post nor was I able to delete the last comment I started so just bear with me.  This is a man made grotto with 10 evil faces and a waterfall.

If we hadn’t gotten off the bus we would have missed this!  They are expanding the Riverwalk by four miles and are having hotels and restaurants like the existing Riverwalk so maybe the boat ride will be lengthened.

We took the bus to the King William district and ate at the Guenther House restaurant.  This was the residence of the founder of the Pioneer Flour Company.  It has been sold to a conglomerate but Pioneer products are still sold in grocery stores.  I use their baking mix instead of  Bisquick.  It is just a Texas thing with me!

We headed back home to freshen up before church at the Cathedral where we were graced with a mariachi horn and choir.  Afterwards we walked back towards the hotel to find the restaurant we intended to eat at closed.  So we took the car and headed to Augie’s BBQ.  What a crowd!  By 7:30 when we were finished there was no line!  We actually had hit the dinner crowd that we expected to be there around 7 or so.

There were terrible thunderstorms through the night and we woke to pouring rain.  We decided to just ride past the Missions south if town.  We did that at Mission Concepción but at San Jose Mission there was a Mass going on so we braved the standing water and pouring rain to see the inside.  Then we returned to the hotel to check out after drying off.

I dropped Margaret off at the airport and headed for “home” arriving around 1:30.  Ted had the bed made and even vacuumed in my absence.

There was a Happy Hour at 4:30 but dinner was delayed until 7:00 because some of the food was delayed in arriving.  Ted helped cook the burgers.

There are close to 50 people here with 10-15 having to cancel in the last week.  Health, distance, vehicle issues, etc. can crop up at any time.

🎶 On The Road Again 🎶

We spent the night in the RV and left around 8:45 the next morning,  We made two pit stops and arrived in Ingram about 2:30.  We got set up and headed into town to get my rental car for the weekend.  When we returned, I served the meatballs and spaghetti that was in the crockpot.  Eventually I packed my suitcase for the weekend in San Antonio and went to bed.

I was up long before the alarm went off and got everything together I was going to need.  Ted was up by the time I left.  I stopped once at a rest area and then continued on to the airport.  I was in dire need of a pit stop again but knew the cellphone lot was next to a Burger King so I waited until I arrived there.  Flyaware notified me the plane was going to be 25 minutes late so I pulled up to the gas pumps and filled the car.  I had a short wait until Margaret called to say she was at the curb.

We checked into the hotel and then walked to visit the San Fernando Cathedral before dropping down to the Riverwalk where we ate lunch and then took the boat ride.

We visited the Buckhorn Saloon where I couldn’t resist the shooting gallery where I scored an impressive 264,000 points!

We continued on our walking tour eventually ending up at The Alamo where I was disappointed to find the Long Barracks Museum closed for renovation.  We did arrive just as a talk was given in the courtyard about the battle which gave everyone some information on the importance San Antonio, Gonzales, Goliad and San Jacinto played in the creation of the Republic of Texas.

We then walked to The Mercado where we had dinner at La Margarita restaurant before heading home for the night.

Saturday weather had been predicted at 90% rain but we lucked out and it was a nice day.  We caught the Hop On Hop Off bus right in front of our hotel and started the days journey.  We intended to stay on for the entire loop taking one hour then circling back to The Pearl, a shopping/apartment/restaurant venue where the old Pearl brewery was.  The buildings have been blended into the new with a great effect.

Our driver was so loud and borderline obnoxious we got off at the next stop, the Art Museum and chose to walk back to The Pearl. We had no idea the Riverwalk continued until we followed the stairs down.  What a pleasant surprise!  If you think the boat ride in town is the Riverwalk you are missing many of the greatest parts.  I am having trouble loading the next photos so I will start a new post.

After pursuing the stores and vendors where I bought a Christmas guftwe caught the bus and rode it to

Weekend Before We Head Out Again

Saturday was quiet.  Ted went to Sam’s and I did laundry.  I also made reservations in Williamstown KY, Celina OH and Leonard, MI.  I am awaiting for a return call from the Cincinnati park.  We went to church and then to Joe’s for dinner since we missed last week before the play.

Sunday was a bit better.  Ted had to work a father/daughter shoot at the club and I met Irene to shop for a blue chair.  We never found one but we did get some blue and white jars for her new decor, a slip for me for under my Easter dress, had lunch and did not get to see Unplanned because it was sold out!

I started a pot of chili before Ted got home and he finished it up for our dinner.  Not a real exciting weekend but we will gear up to head out this week.

Monday Ted called Jim in Cincinnati and confirmed our two weeks reservation in Cincinnati so our plans through the end of July are in place!  Not sure where we will go when we finish up in Shipshewana, IN.  That’s the beauty of being retired with an RV.

Tuesday I had an appointment with my hematologist who released me back to my primary doctor.  He said Dr. C can order the blood tests and prescribe the Eliquis and he will only want to see me if I develop pain, swelling, bruising or scheduled surgery.  I anticipate sort of the same thing from the cardiologist in June.  One more ultrasound for confirmation the old DVT is done for and I should be good to go from there too!  Hooray!

From there I went to play Shanghai.  The night before Irene agreed to play cards because the group was a person short.  We stop in the middle to eat lunch and then finish up.  I came in third.  Irene was second.  From there we went to do a little shopping before going to see Unplanned.  We talked of going to dinner afterward but ended up buying huge boxes of popcorn and drinks.  This was my first time in a movie recliner with a tray and drink holder!  Nice!

We both “enjoyed” the movie but of course we found the subject disturbing.  Irene is going to our church Thursday night to see Gosnell where it is being presented for free.  She has asked others to attend with her.

Wednesday we loaded up the trailer again.  I tried to pack only what I needed for this short trip, unlike going away for 2-3 months.  While I was doing that, Ted took the trailer to the campground.  Once he was set up I brought the food and clothes over with his help.  We had bought a new valve for the toilet hoping someone in Ingram could get down and replace it since no water was coming in.  There isn’t much room to work down there so Ted was delighted when Camperland Mobile techs were installing an AC next door to us.  The guy came over and for $20 we were back in business.