Fickle Finger of the Weather

 

Mi 

Here is what happened in a matter of days.  Unfortunately the aftermath of that 14 degrees coupled with 13 hours of no heat at our house, to days on end at others’ houses, has done billions of dollars in damage.  I am learning a lot about Texas energy and the idiots that run it.  Most do not live in Texas (one a resident of Germany) and half have no gas or oil background.  I am surprised Hunter Biden wasn’t on the board.  A half dozen have resigned.  Imagine that!

I can’t even remember anything about the days after the big freeze!  We have the water off into the house, faucets are open, the heat is on, the backflow for the sprinkler system had been drained and shut down before we left.  The plumber is set to meet us the morning after we arrive home,  we will stay in the motorhome until everything is squared away. Having the water off before the pipes froze would have been better but everyone was busy tending to their own affairs.  It was an acquaintance who is good friends with my friend who I asked to go to our house because she lived close.  God bless her and her husband for doing so.

I played and finally won at mahjong on Tuesday.  I had a very long dry spell.  On Wednesday Sue, Marissa and I went to the beauty school to get facials and then to lunch.  We sat outside on a beautiful patio in perfect weather.  Thursday was ladies’ breakfast and I picked up Marissa and Chris.  When turning off the feeder road to head north, my car shifted from D to 6!  I have told Ted repeatedly that the car changes gears usually from D to S (sports) or I (no idea) and today 6!  A new one!  

Chris said she heard and felt it change gears and saw my hands on the steering wheel, not near the console gear shifter.  It jerked enough to catch the curb at the edge of the rim but the car was driving ok.  Then the tire monitor came on showing my tire losing air.  I pulled into an Advanced Auto store parking lot and called Ted.  He came to give me his car while I got Coach Net on the phone and gave them all the info.  We left for the restaurant while he waited for the tire service.  We needed new tires on it so he just went to where he bought 4 new tires for the Expedition the day before and had 4 new ones put on the Jeep.

I Googled Jeep GC Summit gear issues and a whole lot of stuff came up!  It isn’t my imagination!  There is lots of info and recalls concerning this gear shifter.  So off to the Jeep dealer we will go.  This putting out fires crap is getting old!  Niles and Sue sold their coach house site across the street so everyone was over there helping clean out the storage area.  We decided to all gather for dinner on the patio at their new house.  It was a beautiful and fun evening.  

Friday was my third day in a row to get up early!  That hasn’t happened for a year.  We had 9 am appointments at the dentist in Mexico.  I requested a cleaning and exam, Ted went for a cleaning only.  I have a sensitive tooth I wanted her to look at.  From what she told me, it is a periodontal issue due mostly to nerve sensitivity from shrinking gums that comes with age and is not a tooth issue.  I haven’t been to the periodontist since we left Florida in 2001!  

Ted had his cleaning and a crown came off.  We didn’t even know he had a crown!  Since he has swallowed at least two teeth off his plate, we were glad it happened there.  They re-cemented it and no harm done. 

Ted went for his departure pedicure (as opposed to his arrival pedicure) while I finished up.  We met up and had coffee at Renee’s then headed to Jessica’s to get our last, maybe second last, trip to the drug store.  We had a few lists to fill.  By the time we started back across the bridge to Customs, it was 93 degrees!  

We chose to go to Southern Fried for dinner.  This restaurant has a very limited menu but what they have is very good.  Entrees are fish fillet, fried shrimp or chicken tenders.  They have about a half dozen sides.  No bread, no desserts!  We waited half an hour for a table, our drinks were brought and she announced they had no fish!  This is a Friday night in Lent in an 85% Catholic Hispanic area and you have no fish!?! I don’t like fried shrimp!  Shrimp cocktail and coconut shrimp are fine but not fried shrimp.  I couldn’t eat the chicken tenders so we got up and left.  Luby’s was closed so we ended up in the drive through at McDonald’s.  Whatever!  

We are down to two weeks before we leave.  It has been a different experience down here this year.  The stopping of the walls has left construction sites a mess.  The daily track meet sees up to 1000 people PER DAY coming across into the US in our sector.  The tent cities and “containers vs. cages” are back in style.  Same thing, different names.  Helicopters have been a daily occurrence.  We have had several nights of what we refer to as “the track meet.”  Our entertainment has been almost non existent.  We did see three shows but that was all.  Most entertainment was within our “bubble.”  The weather allowed lots of impromptu meetings in the street.  Everyone was so ready to communicate with others.  Ted had his shooting, I had my mahjong!  They were lifesavers for us.  Staying home probably wouldn’t have been much different.  However, we look forward to getting home and dealing with what awaits us!

Almost to 80!

How fickle our weather!  Just enough winter weather like Texas has not seen in 40 years and then quickly back to spring temperatures as if nothing had happened.  But oh so much did in those freezing hours.

Trucks were sidelined because of the roads and deliveries stopped.  Vaccinations were stopped.  Gas stations ran out of gas.  Supermarket shelves went bare.  Ceilings collapsed, pipes burst and the whole grapefruit harvest down here is ruined.  Sheltering in place meant no heat and no water for so many.

People in the next park got frustrated enough to get hooked up and move over here.  There are several empty spots where people have not come down so they made arrangements with the absentee owners.  Five days later, when their power and water returned, they moved back.

We never lost power or water so where unscathed by the predicament.  We could not get bananas or eggs.  A few days later we got both.  Eggs, bread, milk.  That’s what everyone was looking for.  Does everyone eat French toast during storms?

Our big concern is what has happened at home.  Pipes froze.  The water was turned off after the fact.  The faucets are now open.  When the thaw came we are hoping what water remained in the pipes between the shut off and faucets drained out.  We have decided to have a plumber meet us the morning after we arrive home to turn on the water.  If it is ok, great!  If not, he will be there to fix it before we get much damage.  We also want someone in the know to tend to the gas water heater.  Keeping our fingers crossed.

Ted is back to shooting and I am still playing mahjong.  We play 2-4 in the afternoon.  Those are the hours that can drag so it is a nice diversion.  Last night we attended Mass, ate out and then saw a family act at the park down the road.  They have a several hundred person clubhouse and I estimate about 100 were socially distanced inside.  Absolutely no food brought in or for sale.  Not sure that would be more of a super spreader than 100 bodies but I just put on my mask and eat before I go.  Whatever makes them happy.

In the meantime stay warm!  Stay healthy!

The laughable boil water notice!

My friends ceiling collapsed.

Worst Texas Weather in 40 Years

We have experienced weather you would never think you would find in Texas.  I am grateful that we have not lost power or water here in the RV.  We turned our hydroponic heater on, I laid towels, pillows and blankets along the bottom of the slides.  We never realized how much air came in at the floor but it was so cold you couldn’t ignore it.  Those two things kept us very comfortable.  We also have a generator we can use if power ever goes down.  Ted put diesel kleen in our tank to keep the fuel from gelling in the cold temps then ran the motor with a load on it and then through the generator too.  Next up was the water situation.  We get water in two ways.  First is a hose connection right to the faucets or a heated tank that is filled with a hose and is used with a built in pump.  We also use a pressure regulator between the faucet and hose.  

Our pressure regulator froze so Ted unhooked it and brought it in to defrost.  He also took the hose off the bib.  We had to use bottled water to drink and cook and the water pump with the filled tank for other tasks.  It worked fine.  There is a pump switch at every sink so it is easy to flip the switch to wash your hands or fill the sink to wash dishes.  Flushing is a little more thought provoking in that you have to remember to push the switch to flush and it might be a bit out of reach from your seat!  

We have a weather station so watched it religiously.  We had no precipitation so no ice or slippery steps.  But we couldn’t put the hose back on until the temp was above 32 degrees.  Ted did not get to shoot due to the weather but we continued to play mahjong in the clubhouse  

Things had gotten worse at home and I was monitoring our thermostat there.  I knew the power was on as long as I could get the temperature.  Then the inevitable happened, the app went off line.  It took 13 hours before the heat came back on.  Now we were concerned about what had happened over those 13 hours.  The streets were too bad to ask anyone to drive far so I called a friend across the highway.  She and her husband went over the following morning.  It was determined we had no water coming in.  Something was frozen somewhere and it seemed to be stopping all water flow.  Ted asked them to turn off the main water valve in the garage.  We had two outside faucets opened a tiny bit to deal with pressure, vacuum, and thawing.  The jury was still out.

Our clubhouse was offered up as a warming spot or overnight shelter to the folks next door in the park with no power or water.  So we moved our mahjong to Sue’s house.  We are not prepared to go in there for awhile until it has been thoroughly cleaned.  Our bubble is very careful and unknown people sleeping and using the bathrooms just didn’t sit well with our plans.

On Tuesday morning when I knew we had power I asked a friend close by to go over.  She and her husband went in and checked our water.  Nothing coming through.  Ted told them to turn the water off at the main valve in the garage and open a faucet a bit.  On Wednesday Nancy went over and checked for stained ceilings and walls, water on the floor or sounds indicating running water.  Nothing at all was found. But still nothing came out of the faucet.  Both she and my friend from Tuesday had burst water pipes so I am hoping if there was any water languishing in the pipes for two months, perhaps it had “disappeared.”   We will keep an eye on it.  If a pipe bursts it can’t be too much water left in there.  

Out temp went to 57 today so we walked to the mailbox and then stopped at Marissa and Steve’s to ask a question.  We ended up staying with another couple for a visit.  Everyone is starved for social contact.  Ted’s gun guys and my mahjong ladies have been our life savers.  

A bright spot was a photo and short video of CeCe helping Kelly make breakfast.  She spent the weekend with Grammie so her parents could have a Valentine’s weekend.  In the video she stirs, then applauds her effort, picks up the spoon and flips Bisquick into her hair.  Kelly could not contain her laughter and neither could we.  

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I hope everyone is weathering this storm.  The stories we are hearing are heartbreaking.  I guess it isn’t nice to fool Mother Nature whether it be a virus or a storm.  

And the Cold Has Arrived

Not too much is going on.  Between covid and such cold temps, everyone is pretty much just hibernating. Tuesday and Thursday I played mahjong and said goodbye to Tom and Eileen.  They planned to leave on Valentine’s Day but with the weather moving in they decided to get in front of it and make it home to Florida.  They should be home now.

In honor of our cold weather we had tortellini soup from the freezer one night and chili another night.  Just to get out we went to Southern Fried for fish and chicken tenders.  Saturday was Mass, Cracker Barrel and then disappointment.  We went to a park that had advertised a show featuring a hypnotist plus dinner.  It said $20, $8 for only the show.  Not true!  It was a dinner and show package for only park residents.  No $8 show tickets.  Since we all live and die by The Winter Texan newspaper, it would be nice if the park social directors checked their write up on Thursday when the paper comes out.  Corrections could then be put on their Facebook page!  The lady apologized and we came home.  I will call parks from now on since this is the third thing that was canceled or advertised incorrectly.  First year this has ever happened.

We are, of course, concerned about these frigid temps both here and at home.  We shut the sprinkler system down and drained the backflow before we left.  Ted covered the outside faucets.  I can control the thermostat from here so I put the temp up just to be a little more careful.  We have Nancy and our friend Barry watching it all, meanwhile we are praying nothing bad happens.

We will have to drop our hose overnight and maybe even longer.  We are watching our weather station. Ted put water in our fresh water tank which is heated.  We will use that with the water pump to shower, do dishes, laundry and flush.  The rest will be bottled water.  Our furnace has been running constantly.  We stopped at Auto Supply to get diesel additive to keep the fuel from gelling during these freezing temps.  Now all we can do is wait and hope we don’t lose power.  We have a generator though if that happens.  

Just a touch of humor over all the concern about China.  I learned my first mandarin word!

Running Out of Things To Do

Thursday was our biweekly breakfast out.  There were 16 ladies present.  We had a good meal and a great visit.  There was time between returning home and leaving for mahjong.  Then there was a little time before we had our pizza in the coach house, taking advantage of a sale of $8 for a large one topping pizza.  

We just hung out on Friday, playing Mexican Train in the evening.  And I won!  Saturday we went to Mass and then to the Mexican restaurant.  The show we had planned to see was cancelled.  One of the 4 ladies in the group had lost a son in a truck accident and the show was cancelled.  I don’t know if the 2/20 show will go on or not.  Such a terrible thing for a mother to bear.  

Sunday was the normal shooting for Ted, mahjong in the afternoon for me.  Our biggest decision each day is “what should we have for dinner?”  An extra tray of lasagna that I put in the freezer filled in on Sunday along with Texas garlic toast.  We have a tabletop oven we keep in the coach house so Ted tended the lasagna and toast out there.  I carried our plates and drinks out and we ate at the table. Makes for easy clean up.  

I decided on Monday to work on our summer trip.  Using RV Wizard I plotted our course for 5,000 miles over 68 days.  It will take us to the west coast of Florida, then the east coast of Florida and up through the Carolinas, into Virginia and then Pennsylvania with a week at Gettysburg and another week at Raystown Lake for my family reunion.  Once that is over we will travel across Ohio, into Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and home.  I sent the info to Ted and Eileen telling them now is the time to speak up.  So far, no comments!  

That afternoon, the four of us decided to do the hamburger night drive thru at Mission West park for dinner, followed by more Mexican Train.  I did not win!

We are due for some very cold weather this coming weekend.  It has been such a beautiful 7 weeks that I guess we shouldn’t complain but I am dreading the cold temps!

I did get our March wedding trip all set up too.  We will fly on a Thursday, arriving late so we will stay at the airport Hilton.  Then we have a 110 mile drive to the wedding venue the next day.  As godparents of the groom we are invited to the rehearsal dinner and because I will be a Communion Minister I will have to attend the rehearsal to know how I am to carry out my duties.  A dinner will follow.  

The wedding is at 1:30 pm on Saturday, followed by a gathering at a local brewery, followed by a cocktail hour at the event center, followed by dinner, then dancing!  No wedding is complete in our family without a Proud Mary moment complete will “rolling on the river” (floor)!  We are a bit long in the tooth to be rolling around on the floor so we will just clap and cheer.  

We will return to Cincinnati on Sunday, returning to the airport Hilton where we will spend 2 nights.  It just makes sense to not check in a hotel Sunday night and check into a new one on Monday.  We have an early morning flight on Tuesday.  I have contacted Ted’s family and we will have lunch on Monday.  I will make time to visit my family that did not attend the wedding.  I hope to see a few friends too if we can work it out.  We stay busy when we go “home.”

Still Summer!

Ted went to Mission Skeet Club on Sunday and I played mahjong, still not winning!  I had put the tough brisket in the crockpot before I left, along with with onion soup and liquid.  Several hours later it was eatable.  We had open faced roast beef sandwiches for dinner and they weren’t bad.

Monday was another beautiful day.  We took advantage of the sunshine and went to Mexico.  

We did some shopping and then availed ourselves of the beautiful new restaurant on the second floor of the new Canada store.  There were only four other customers and yet there was lovely live music.  Food was good and very reasonable.  It was a pleasure to leave a nice tip for both the waiter and musicians.  

Here are a few photos of the restaurant and the plaza where our dentist is.  We have our teeth cleaned once a year here and then another time at home.  

After eating a late lunch we didn’t really want another meal so we used our BOGOF sundae at Star’s drive in that evening.  They were small and the ice cream grainy, not nearly as good as the shakes the week before.  There is a coupon in the Winter Texan weekly newspaper.

Tuesday, Ted shot clay birds from our gun range and I went to the clubhouse to play mahjong.  I not only won, but won three games!  Kathy won one and the rest went to the wall (no winner).  Tough crowd.

Wednesday was an unplanned day where I had no specific plans but Ted went back to Mission Skeet Club.  He usually shoots three times a week and I play mahjong three times so our time apart and together really evens out.

My friend Marissa and her husband Steve arrived from Nebraska.  They were held up having endoscopies for Barrett’s.  They had stopped by on Tuesday and visited with Ted so I walked over to welcome them.  I was so happy to hear the same halo ablation that helped Ted, helped Steve too.

Sue wrote and asked if I wanted to play Rummikub with her and Kathy at Kathy’s coach house in the afternoon.  I was finished with my “housework” so said yes, even though I didn’t know how to play!  We sat outside in the drive because it was so nice out.  We didn’t keep score but I did fine.  It involves a lot of observant strategy. 

Neither of us took anything out for dinner so we decided to use our free Whataburger coupons.  Then Ted wanted to use his 50 cent cone coupon on the back of our old Star receipt from last week.  I told him I didn’t want one.  I didn’t think the ice cream was that good and thought he would get a kid sized cone of mediocre ice cream.  Wrong!  I should have taken a photo.  It was about 6 swirls around the top of the cone.  It was a good 5 inch high!  He gave me a bite and oh what a difference!  Rich and creamy!  We must have gone to the wrong Star last time!  On Thursday there will be a new coupon!

Tomorrow will be busy.  I am picking up three ladies to join the group at a restaurant for our bi-weekly breakfast.  In the afternoon, we will play mahjong, and dinner on Niles’ patio is scheduled!  

Summertime!

 It hit 90 degrees on Saturday!  We gave in and turned the AC back on.  

I have a new pink sequin sheath to wear to the 3/20 wedding.  Since I, as godmother of the groom, have been asked to be a Communion Minister, I felt a dressy pink mask was in order.  At the butcher shop,  a lady behind us at checkout had a black sparkly mask on. When I pointed to it and asked where she got it, I received a mostly Spanish explanation.  I determined it was from the flea market area near the Hidalgo bridge and cost $3!  Our cashier further translated and told us the Chinese store next to the money exchange store.  

So Saturday off we went to find this place.  Ted and I both asked at the flea market.  My lady just shook her head no, which probably meant she didn’t sell them.  Ted hit pay dirt!  His lady pointed to the strip mall right behind us.  She said to walk around to the front and the store is there.  Sure enough I got a pink sparkly one and a black sparkly one for the rehearsal dinner.  I bought Ted a black silk one.  

She was right about the “Chinese” store.  Virtually everything was Made in China.  It was Dollar General on steroids.  With my mission accomplished, we headed back home. 

Church was a bit chaotic!  A wedding was just coming out.  So there were lots of people still there and their cars take all the parking spots!  Tom dropped us off to get seats while he parked the car.  Then a young girl, beautifully dressed in a red gown, and her family came in.  She was celebrating her Quincentara (15th birthday).  This is as important to an Hispanic girl as a Bar Mitzvah is to a young Jewish boy.  A reception at an event center would surely follow.

Mass started 10 minutes late.  Father kept his talk condensed but it was Blessing of the throats (St. Blasé feast day) and I wondered how this would work.  He couldn’t put the candles repeatedly against individuals’ throats.  He said it would be a blanket blessing but then he couldn’t get the second candle of the X to light.  An usher finally got it lit and he held it up while reciting the blessing.  He said Ash Wednesday will be very different in that each family will receive a small bag of ashes to take home and have a family blessing and placing of the ashes.  I sat there thinking “is this the nose of the camel under the tent” in trying to destroy our religious freedoms and tradition or simply the sign of the pandemic times.    If I knew for sure the virus wasn’t deliberately set upon the world, I would go with the latter.  

Our stop at Cheddar’s proved too long a wait so we went next door to BJ’s and got right in.  From there we went back to Mission West, hopeful this show had not been cancelled.  The show did go on and was very good.  There was probably 75-100 people, masked and socially distanced, in a hall that could hold several hundred.  From there we came home from what had been a beautiful, fun filled day.  

Our time here is a bit different this year but we are making the best of it.  In all honesty it wouldn’t be much different at home. 

I Am Surviving

Wednesday I stayed close to home.  I had a 2.5# brisket and used a recipe Ted had emailed me to fix it versus my normal one.  It was like shoe leather!  We sliced it, put it in the refrigerator and ate leftovers.  It has good flavor but you would get old trying to chew it.  On Sunday I will put it in the crockpot with some beef broth and let it cook on low for a couple of hours.  I have little to lose!  

We took a ride to check out the wall to see if they had indeed stopped working.  No one was, and all the supplies, machinery, concrete processing equipment, barracks and at least 50 trucks are just sitting there.  This has to be a $2 million campus erected just for building the wall.  It will be interesting to see what happens to minimize the financial loss, not to mention what breaking contracts will involve.  There is a campground called Chimney Rock that sits right on the river.  They rerouted a road, took down a spillway, cut a new road and have concrete poured for the wall but the steel ballards are not set.  If they don’t finish this work, I think the owner will have to sue somebody to save his park.  

Thursday I was still not feeling up to snuff and began to worry that maybe I had more than an intestinal uproar.  I hesitated going to play mahjong if there was a possibility I could have something more.  So I went for a covid test.  It was negative.  I started feeling better and determined that stress has a definite impact on my digestive system.  I felt comfortable going to mahjong but didn’t win any games.

We were going to the clubhouse to play Mexican Train so decided to go to Southern Fried for a chicken tenders basket.  There were not many people there because it was a little before 5.  We ate our food which is always good.  Our waitress asked if we wanted anything else and Ted said just the check.  She said “well the gentleman who was in the booth behind you already took care of it.”  We have never had that happen.  We gave the waitress a $5 tip and promised her we would pay it forward.  We have no idea who he was.

We played Mexican Train at the clubhouse with Eileen, Tom and their new friends Sharon and Everett.  I did not win!  

Friday we were scheduled to have “pizza on the patio” at Sue and Niles along with Tom and Eileen for dinner.  I offered to have it in our coach house but we settled on maintaining the patio at Sue’s location.  Ted and I went to the butcher and grocery.  I also did laundry and then gathered our drinks, paper plates, napkins, forks, small plates and a lemon meringue pie to take with me to Sue’s.  Everyone orders what they want from The Pizzaria and brings their own drinks.  I just chose to also bring dessert and the utensils and things.  This is not how I normally entertain but “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”  

Not My Favorite Week

Things got a bit stressful and disappointing this week and that was by Tuesday!  

We went to church after the gun shoot and then to a new to us Mexican restaurant.  It turned out to be a winner.  I had chalupas and Ted had beef fajitas.  He had a huge plate of meat that I thought he would be unable to finish but he did!  Tom and Eileen liked theirs too.  Then we went to Mission West for a show. We parked and waited for the hall to be opened when a lady knocked on the window to tell us there was no show (despite it being advertised two weeks in a row in the paper).  So we came home and played Mexican Train.

On Sunday I woke up with my tummy keeping me close to the bathroom.  I took my probiotics and pepto  but I didn’t feel good enough to play cards.  I don’t know exactly what happened but one lady said something that another one took personally.  They said the comment was about the game, and one we all say, so I think it was more of someone being too sensitive and reading something into an innocent comment.  I wasn’t there so I can’t comment further.  But I hate that it happened.

Monday we had to go to the post office and Walmart pharmacy.  I told Ted to drop me off because I needed to give them my prescriptions that needed to be transferred, and my new insurance.  I got Trainee 1 and Trainee 2.  It took T1 quite awhile to do whatever she was doing, then got T2 who took over.  After awhile she said they would have to wait for the transfer and the pills to be brought to the store.  They would be there after three on Tuesday.  I said OK.  She said she had everything and handed me my cards back.  I walked away and here comes T1 after me.  She had not put the new insurance in and needed my cards back.  So back I went.  It was at last 11:45 when she confirmed I did not have Humana and now had Aetna.  Yes!   

We did some grocery shopping, checked out, and drove home.  My phone had been in my purse so I took it out.  There was a text message at 12:15, my two prescriptions were ready!  

The food truck came back Monday afternoon but the crowd was smaller and the food not as good.  We sat 6 to a table and ate our food.  There were three other groups but had about a dozen people.  Someone had a birthday and the cake was shared with everyone.  I went to the kitchen for a wet paper towel and cleaned our table before we left.  I am not sure what the naysayers will say about “gathering” but we followed CDC guidelines and we were outside, socially distanced.

During this whole time my daughter, son in law and granddaughter all tested positive for covid.  They had mild cases but the disturbing thing was Pat’s mother (91) was in the hospital with a bowel blockage from a mass that has not been determined if it is malignant.  No one could be with her.  She was all alone!  She was in excellent health and lived on her own, continued to drive, takes Tai Chi, not your ordinary 91 year old.  The surgery is over but I have no more news.  

By Tuesday I decided to push myself to play mahjong.  I was feeling better.  Just before I left, I received a text that the Andre Rieu concert in Orlando was rescheduled to March 22, 2022.  Bummer!  When I read that Biden was stopping travelers from Europe I thought this was a good possibility.  The entire orchestra is from Europe!  

I had a great day at mahjong winning 3 of 5 games we played.  Ted had made BBQ so we ate dinner shortly after I got home.  Then I had to cancel my Orlando flight, I used my credit to buy tickets to Cincinnati for a March wedding.  While I was at it, I rented a car and reserved an airport Hilton for our late arrival the first night and the last night of the trip due to an early morning flight.  In between we will be in a hotel in Celina OH, about 120 miles away, where the wedding will occur.  But I do have a credit remaining so I may go to Kristin’s in FL after Easter.  

Tomorrow is Wednesday.  I can hardly wait!!

Some Photos Didn’t Post

Apparently these photos did not post in my blog that contained Ted and Tom’s not excellent adventure to see President Trump when he came to the RGV to dedicate part of the wall.  They were unable to park so could not get close to the festivities.  This is Sally, my neighbor, in the second photo.

We have had lots of rain so we don’t know if that has stopped work on the wall near us or if they just stopped because frankly, no one knows what to do.  A whole campus complex was built and staffed on Conway, the exit we take off I-2 to come home.  Between the breach of contract payments and removal of abandonment of these types of sites, lots of money will be lost.  With an average of 580 individuals being caught PER DAY right now along the 100 mile stretch from Brownsville to Rio Grande City, I can only imagine what is coming.  When we went to the gun range yesterday, Border Patrol had 3 young men in handcuffs.  

My oil business friend said the oil companies are in a similar mode.  They don’t know what they can and cannot do.  She handled leasing and placing wells in the gulf but now they sit and wait at millions of dollars a day in non production.  She said the only thing they know for sure, $5 a gallon will be back.  

Only time will tell.  The only thing I personally know for sure is I am glad to be as old as I am!

A New Administration

I had plans for Monday that didn’t happen.  We had an emergency.  Tom and Ted could not find Turtle Wax Hard Shell Liquid.  They use it in a special recipe for a cleaner for the cars and motorhome.  There is none to be found anywhere!  So we went on a road trip and finally found 3 bottles at an auto parts store.  Amazon had some at about 5 times the old cost but they refused to spend that. Turned out they really didn’t have it either.  There was Turtle Wax Everything Else at Walmart but not the one they needed.  I can’t believe we spent a whole day hunting.

Tuesday I finally got my nails done and played mahjong in the afternoon.  Peg won every game!  Kathy and I were shut out.  I saw one joker all day.  

We had a meeting afterwards about preparing signs for the Food Truck next Monday.  We need to tell people to Social Distance 6 feet apart while ordering and there would be no music or tables cleaned and spaced as it was before.

Apparently some complained last time that the Village was sponsoring a group gathering so now they are on their own.  It is a community patio and people can choose to take their food home or sit on the patio.  I think we will come back to our coach house and eat there.   

Then we had “bring your own pizza to the patio” for dinner at Niles’ and Sue’s.  Ted stopped by for me when he and Niles returned with the pizza.

Wednesday I chose to be gone all day away from all electronics.  I picked up Patty, Eileen, and Mimi and headed to Texas Thrift and Thrift Town to shop.  It is a favorite thing for us to do.  We were disappointed at Texas Thrift when the fitting rooms had been shut down.  I did find a new Christmas scarf and a new curling iron.  I forgot to bring mine so now I have one I can just leave in here. 

We  moved to the next store and it was organized even better.  Slacks, capris, jeans, etc. all by rack, by size, by color.  I found a Tommy Hilfiger knit top and a few things for CeCe.  By summer she will need size 24 months and I bought three cute rompers and a bathing suit.  Then I found a turquoise crocheted swimsuit cover up for me.  We may get to go to Cancun at some point!  

We went to lunch and it took forever!  We spent two hours waiting to give our order, get our food, then pay our check.  But it gave us lots of times for chatting and laughing.  It was a miserably cold and rainy day so we decided the time was better spent than sitting inside reading a book like we have done so many days already this year.   

Ted decided to go to Golden Chicken and bring dinner home.  I was all for that.  Baked chicken and green beans for me and tenders and fries for Ted.  

Thursday was cool and dreary.  I had a carful for our bi-weekly breakfast picking up Cathy, Jo, Coco and Eileen.  There were over a dozen ladies and many new ones I met for the first time.  I intended to go to the post office but just never got around to it, they have a long lunch period and I can never remember when it starts.  Ted went to Edinburg to shoot sporting clays and I eventually went to play mahjong.  And I won the first three games with Gayle and Kathy each winning one.  

When I arrived home, Tom and Eileen were here and stayed for a visit.  I had got nothing out for dinner and neither had Ted.  There was a knock at the door and Steve, our next door neighbor, brought a big chunk of a freshly smoked meatloaf he made in his new pellet smoker.  A lifesaver!  With a loaf of bread and bottle of ketchup, dinner was served!

Friday we needed to be at the gun range at 10 to do a scoring dry run for Saturday’s Rimfire competition.  There are 25 targets per shooter and unlike last time, this is the lowest of the score.  Hit a line between 100 and 50, you get 50.  So 4 shooters shot and we scored them.  We did okay!  I have to be there Saturday at 1:00 for the real competition.  Ted is not shooting this time.  He is a shotgun shooter and doesn’t have one of these huge rifles with scopes and doesn’t like borrowing one.  They are highly sensitive in their settings.

We had to go right to the self car wash to get two inches of mud off our tires and undercarriage.  What a mess.  Thankfully it has stopped raining and maybe it will be less messy tomorrow.  Then we went to Bunz for protein donuts.  These were described to me by a WW friend.  The “naked” donuts are full of protein from using almond flour, low carbs and sugar.  We bought blueberry, strawberry and two chocolate.  Oh my!  Are they good!  Like wonderful wedding cake!  You can up the points with glaze, icing, sprinkles, etc. but naked at one point works for me!  

I had taken the last of the Christmas ham bean soup out of the freezer for dinner.  So I made corn bread, made Ted a sandwich with the last piece of meatloaf, served up two bowls of soup and once again, dinner was served.

Work on the border walls has stopped. We don’t know if it is the weather or the new administration.  Our oil company friends say they are in limbo about what they are and are not allowed to do.  I guess we’ll all find out together at some point.   

Sad Week for Our Country

 It has been a sad, sad week for our country.  I wish we could wipe out the whole sordid mess and start over with all new people.  I am glad I am as old as I am.  The future of the USA looks so rocky and heading in a direction that doesn’t suit me.  I admit I cling to my gun and my Bible.  Enough on that.

It has been cold here so the little we can do isn’t being done except for mahjong.  Somehow the residents we play with received permission for us to play in the clubhouse, no more than 5 to a room.  Only four players can play so we just use two rooms!  We can play with 3 or 4, but not 5.  It is working out.

We visited in Eileen’s motorhome one afternoon when it was warm enough to walk down.  I fixed smoked sausage and sauerkraut one night for dinner and lasagna another.  Other than people stopping to chat while taking walks, not much else goes on.  

Many are getting their first vaccine shots.  We are in no hurry.  I will wait patiently to see if any side effects crop up.  I remember too well the thalidomide babies and see the commercials on lawsuits for so many prescription meds.  Ted could have so easily been prescribed Zantac for his Barrett’s but thank God he was not.  We also still think we had the virus early last February and just happened to take Z PAC, zinc and Vitamin D for two weeks.  After Ted’s two weeks, I started and had it for two weeks.  Our thoughts were reinforced when donated blood November a year ago has shown antibodies.  One of the states where this was found was Michigan where we spent Thanksgiving that year.  So who knows?  All of life is a crap shoot.  

Our weather is finally returning to normal.  They are washing and waxing our MH and Ted’s Expedition.  It needs it whereas my Jeep Summit has hardly been out of the drive since I haven’t gone hardly anywhere without Ted.  

Our vehicles are all nice and clean and shiny.  Tom had his done on Friday while we all went to Mexico.  With the caravans heading this way, we wanted to be sure to not face the border shutting down before we had all the meds we need for this year.  Ted needed some more eyedrops and the analgesic cream he puts on his back and hands.  We haven’t spent anytime drinking or dancing so if things go well, we will try to get a few fun trips in.

Saturday we went to church as usual, visited a food truck venue but ended up at Ranch Burgers for dinner.  We finished off the evening playing Mexican Train and I lost!  

Ted went to Mission Skeet Club Sunday and I played mahjong where I won two games.  Ted had the grill going when I got home so he put the steaks from Aguilar Meats on while I baked potatoes, Texas Toast and sliced cucumbers.  Tom and Eileen brought pork chops and salad down and we all ate out in the coach house.  The steaks were very good.  We have been pleased with the meat market buys.  

I had ordered a runner to put in front of the couch to pull the LR together. My biggest hang up with finding a motorhome was the blending of areas. I wanted a LR, kitchen, BR plus bath and a half.  So many have table and chairs in the LR and an L couch where you have to sit next to each other vs. facing each other enough to look at people while visiting.  I think it looks good.

We have the captain chairs turned around so we have comfortable seating for 6.  The two kitchen chairs can be set at the other end to seat 2 more. Our big TV is behind the couch and stores down behind it on a televator.  We both can sit in our Barco Loungers and watch it.  But if I want to lay on the couch and watch I can turn on the TV above the captain chairs.  Some evenings we both watch the same thing on different TVs!  

I hope everyone is staying warm and well.  If you are anxious to get the vaccine, I hope you are successful.  People over 65 are getting it down here with a fair amount of ease.  I have read of others at home who have gotten the first one also!  Good luck!  

Things Are Opening Up A Bit

Tuesday I was a little busy having received an email from one of our credit card banks saying a purchase was made without our card present for some Ninja Juicer or some such thing and to accept or reject.  It was midnight!  This card is used for recurring charges - EZ Tag, internet, water bill, etc.  I don’t carry this card, it has never been used for anything else and never on the computer.  I couldn’t even tell the bank people the number.  They said they had to cancel that card and send me a new one but they could only send it home.  I needed to get these accounts set back up so I told them just to cancel the card and not renew it.  So Tuesday I was on line and on the phone getting all that straightened out!  

I had to take Sandy’s meds to the post office and on my way home stopped by Dollar General for butter, bread and cards.  By then it was time to play mahjong.  I won a game and the 5-6 of us are having fun all by ourselves in the clubhouse. Ted grilled steaks, I made baked potatoes and used the Instant Pot to cook asparagus.  It was all great after a rather aggravating start to the day.

I stayed in all day Wednesday.  There was no particular reason, there was just no reason to go out.  I am reading books, something I enjoy but don’t do too much at home.  The Border Patrol helicopter landed in the field across from our gate but we don’t know who they were after.  It is such a common occurrence.

Thursday was Ladies Breakfast so I picked up Mimi and Marilyn and met another group at Danny’s for breakfast.  It was a good group and I got to see a few people I had not seen yet.  

I laundered the bedclothes and remade the bed and eventually left for mahjong.  When I came home I took this photo of our sunset.  They are just spectacular down here and we take them for granted. 

Friday was a regular day but we did go to Mission West for their fish fry that we would normally attend inside.  It was a bit of a wait in line but the good part was the fish and fries were crispy and hot, right out of the fryers.  We took our dinners home and ate in our kitchen.

Our outing Saturday was to a meat market we had heard a lot about.  It was fantastic and we hope what we bought is as good as everyone says and how it looked.  The rest of the day always revolves around being ready to leave for church before 4 pm.  Crowds are still distanced and staying about the same in number.  We tried Cracker Barrel to eat afterwards but it was a 40 minute wait.  Since we intended to go to a 7 pm show we didn’t have that much time.  Every restaurant was crowded so we ended up back home eating leftovers.  Then we attended the show at the park next door.  They really had seats far apart. Mostly sets of two, a few fours for those attending with friends, but certainly socially distanced.  It was just an ok show, certainly not something I would see again but entertainment is in short supply this year.  Afterwards we took advantage of a BOGOF shake coupon at Stars (like Sonic) to make up for our leftover dinner!

Sunday Ted did not go shooting because it was rainy and cold.  I cleaned and then went to play mahjong.  When I arrived home, Tom and Eileen had arrived and we ordered pizza for dinner. We ate inside our rig because it was so cold out that even our tower heater could not get the coach house up past 60.

On Monday we all went to a couple different stores looking for some refrigerator storage things for Eileen.  We struck out but of course found a few things to buy along the way.  We agreed to go back to Mission West for their hamburger night and this time it was warm enough to eat at the table in the coach house.  When we finished we played several games of Horse Race.  

Tomorrow will bring what tomorrow brings! I will leave one statement I think speaks volumes.  

Days Are Running Together

 Here it is, the last day of this awful year.  Someone pointed out that phonetically the new year is "2020 won!"  (2021).  A really awful thought.  But on to a brand new bright year where we will make the best of it again but let’s hope the vaccine helps get a handle on the situation.

The highlight of my week is usually playing mahjong in my small group of 5.  I have been doing really well for not playing since last March and with a new card besides.  Each year a new card is made and you have to learn the new hands.  Some can memorize it.  I have to keep looking at the hand I am playing to be sure I get it right!  

We were invited to Sue’s again for a "bring your own pizza" dinner on their patio.  With no large gatherings and most entertainment cancelled, these small outside groups spring up a lot.  We have been mostly eating at home but tonight we have invited Jay & Stella and neighbors Steve & Patty for a light supper and then a crack at my new horse race game.  It will be fun but I bet we are in bed long before midnight.  

Well ... Our company enjoyed our light dinner and then proceeded to win all the money in our horse race game.  It was about 12:30 am before they left!  It has been several years since we stayed up for midnight.  

New Year’s Day we went to the only Mass, at noon.  If we did anything exciting, neither of us remembers what it was!

We went over to Mexico on Saturday.  It was business as usual.  We got many of the meds we will need and wanted to get them before the border closes down again.  It is hard to know what can happen quickly.  Other than wearing masks, everything was in full swing.  We walked the street one block over to avoid the crowded sidewalks.  No one was walking there.  

We did go to church on Saturday when we returned.  Four Masses in 10 days was a little much but when the holidays fall near weekends it just turns out that way.  We had no trouble parking but church was fuller than it had been but still social distanced.  

Ted went shooting and I played mahjong on Sunday.  I didn’t win any games!  We used our Christmas gift of pure maple syrup and Stonewall pancake mix to have breakfast for dinner.  We added goetta that we bought in Cincinnati last summer.  It sure was tasty!  In the evening we had scorer training for a shooting competition that would take place Monday.  

We left for the gun range about 9 am.  I was assigned to the swinging targets that had 2 inch buttons decreasing  in size in a series of 8.  It looked like a tiny swing set with 8 hanging rods with metal buttons on the end.  When struck, the target would spin over the top rail and spin.  It wasn’t too hard because most shooters were able to get them all. One or two missed were the worst scores.  They are so small that you can’t take your eyes off them because you have to call hit or miss.  If they miss they have to stay on that rod until they get it before proceeding.  Sometimes they lose their spot and you have to be able to tell them what they need to shoot.  Ted was shooting in the competition using Nile’s gun.  Ted is a shotgun shooter and has not had much experience with these rifles with high powered scopes but he came in third!  

Our day continued with an AC repair man telling us our front AC was shot.  It runs fine but has lost Freon.  They are closed systems and cannot be refilled.  So ... we are fortunate he located the only one Dometic had available and it was in Texas and has a black shroud.  He bought it on the spot and will install it on Friday morning.  We had the same thing happen in our Mobile Suites.  

And then ... we went to the large patio outside the clubhouse for the taco truck.  It was an attempt to allow people to social distance outside at tables of six.  There was a huge pent up demand because people lined up for over two hours time to get food and drinks and join a table.  We met a new couple who have a Newmar Dutch Star and a lady from Michigan who lived and worked right in the area we did.  There were 9 of us at the end, with a few standing, and we closed down the patio.  Dee and I went into the clubhouse to turn out the lights and lock the doors.  And we called it a night!  

Christmas 2020 Was Different

We had no special plans for Christmas Eve except to decipher about church.  Ted stopped by and saw Fr. Roy who told him there was a communion service at midnight and a noon Mass Christmas Day.  Neither one suited us.  Then we received notice from our home church that one of the priests who lives in the rectory tested positive and now all are quarantined!  There were 10 Masses scheduled and they found priests to cover them all.  So we decided to live stream their afternoon Mass like we did at home last spring.  But it wouldn’t work!  I quickly Googled Catholic Mass 12/24/2020 and found one in Cincinnati, our hometown, so we switched to it.  But we never did identify the church.  It was sparsely attended but a nice service.  

Ted asked where I wanted to go eat and I chose to get a pizza from our favorite Pizzeria down here.  I didn’t want to get dressed up.  They send me emails all the time with specials so we ordered our pizza but ended up with it, garlic knots and an 8 inch brownie because of their specials.  It was all excellent!

Our neighbors from next door came over and ended up spending the evening.  I wish we had had more room to ask them to Christmas dinner but I am equipped for only six in the coach house and we also are trying to limit contact numbers.  But we certainly enjoyed the evening.

We were able to social distance outside for appetizers using our new chairs from Kristin and Kara.

I spent a good bit of the morning preparing for dinner.  I set the table as nicely as I could with what we have in the MH but I did bring a Christmas tablecloth and napkins.  And we used real plates and silverware but I didn’t have 6 matching glasses so we went with red solo cups.  

We had ham, sweet potatoes, broccoli, Waldorf salad, rolls and pecan pie.  While I was getting dressed, Peg stopped by with fudge.  I am going to have to walk back to Houston!  Everyone was a member of the clean plate club so I guess they liked it.  Kathy and Bob across the street will not socialize yet so I sent two plates over for them.  They were very appreciative and pronounced the meal excellent.  After the four of them left, Patty and Steve brought over some homemade monkey bread (!) and I may have to walk beyond Houston!

Kelly Face Timed us so CeCe can see Lolly and Pop who I imagine she thinks are tiny people who live in the black box!  She waved to us though.  Kara sent photos of their Christmas.  Larry and Kristin are in the Keys but no photos came yesterday!  

So Christmas 2020 is a wrap.  I am sure it was equally different for most people.  We made the best of it and I hope everyone else was able to celebrate in spite of the absence of loved ones, smaller church services but still plenty of calories!  

Now on to New Years!  

Settling In

We got things all where it belonged and Ted started cleaning up the coach house.  Dust was covering everything!  He went to get the garbage can from the fenced area behind the coach house and two bushes  had grown into trees!  He couldn’t even begin to enter the area.  The fellows that do the landscaping were two doors down so he went and asked one if he could cut it all down and haul it away.  He did and Ted gave him $20.  He didn’t want to take it but Ted insisted.  We had no tools and no way to dispose of it so we were happy.  

I putzed around inside and got our shrimp ready for our evening at the gun range.  We went down to the range and visited with folks while enjoying burgers and hot dogs until it got dark.  We all oohed and aahed over Saturn and Jupiter being closer than they have been in 800 years!  Some terrific photos have showed up on the internet, much better than anything we had seen because of the clouds passing by.  After a time, everyone started leaving and then came back.  The Border Patrol had apprehended 6 illegals and had the road block and needed about 15 minutes more to process them before we could get through.  Ted helped Niles load up the generator so by the time we left the road was open.  Such is life here on the border.    I can’t even fathom what it will be like if Biden actually opens the border to every Tom, Dick, Harry and family.  Just come on in.  No means of support, most cannot speak English, but they are welcome.  Whatever!

Tuesday Ted went to Mission Skeet Club to shoot and I played mahjong for the first time since last March.  It is the 2020 card that I ordered last March to have but it was my first time playing with it.  Out of four games, I won two!  Who knew?  

We ate dinner in the coach house because Ted has been messing with lighting and wanted to see what it looked like after dark.  It is getting there!

Wednesday it reached 90 degrees and we think our front AC isn’t’t functioning properly.  The AC runs, cycles, but the air feels warm and it never gets to 72 to shut off!  The back one works fine but it doesn’t have the sun beating in on a huge windshield.  We will probably deal with it after the holidays unless we can get Matt here sooner.  

Tonight we went to Niles and Sue’s house where they were having a fish grill.  I made smoked sausage and 4 color peppers because Ted isn’t a big fish eater.  Turns out he ate both and all was left in my casserole dish was a few peppers.  It was a great dinner finished off with peach cobbler and Blue Bell.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we haven’t decided if or where we will attend church.  Christmas is always so busy so social distancing is going to be difficult.  I won’t go into a crowded church disregarding the distancing and masks. But there is no way to know so stay tuned to see how this turns out!

We Have Arrived!

 Let’s hear it for the old lady!  I drove 400 miles through Houston, skirted Corpus Christi and traversed I-2  west to Mission.  I just followed Ted.  We stopped twice for fuel.  He wanted to be full when we parked and I put in $8 worth at the first stop, just in case one tankful wouldn’t do it.  We had no difficulties, at least not any that held us up.  

When we arrived, Kay and Norm saw us and came running out, soon to be joined by Steve and Patty next door.  For some reason they all thought we weren’t coming for a couple of weeks.  Norm helped me spot Ted while he backed in and then I moved both cars from other’s drives to ours.  My Summit is parked in front of the motorhome and the Expedition is backed up in front of the coach house. 

Niles stopped by to welcome us and invite us to a Star of Bethlehem gathering at the gun range Monday  night.  We will share appetizers and visit, then turn off the lights to see Saturn and Jupiter closer than they have been since the 1200s.  People are calling it the Christmas Star and their pastor will give a reflection on it.  Since we are not sure if we will be able to find a church socially distanced on Christmas Eve, this may be our best shot at a homily.  

Wednesday we are invited for grilled tilapia at Sue and Niles’and I have them and Karen and Jim for Christmas dinner.  It is going to be a busy week.  

I will be playing mahjong on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.  So that fills up the week.  

Just wanted you all to know we made it safely and to wish you all a very Merry Christmas however you have chosen to spend it!  

We Have A Departure Date

We wanted to leave 12/20 or 12/27, both Sundays.   We have three ways to go.  Head west and drop down to I-10 way west of Houston but it adds about an hour to the trip.  Or we can take the new circle freeway but paying tolls for all three vehicles gets a bit pricey.  On Sunday morning, Houston traffic is light and we can zoom right through town and head down 59 in about an hour’s time.  So we try to travel on Sunday.  

We told Terry and Carol if they chose to cancel their Chicago plans we would stay to be here for Christmas.  When Ted talked to Terry he said to not do that, just go when we wanted.  There was a spot open at the campground on 12/19 so we could get the car attached to the MH and be all set up, sleep there and hit the road by 8 am.  I hope they choose to visit with their daughter and her family.  They already have the tickets.  

We met Jay, Stella, Tommy and Susan for a late lunch on Monday.  I had my package ready for the post office so we dropped that off right before meeting them.  We had a good time catching up and just visiting.  

We came home for awhile before heading to church for the holyday that honors Mary as the mother of Jesus.  I was trying to get one more tag for a teenager gift because I ordered a basketball and a football so I need a second tag to help the packers identify where it goes.  They were not out so I will try again next  Saturday.  

Tuesday five of us played cards and Helene won.  She wins a lot!  It was a fun afternoon and I always enjoy playing.  Lots of fun for $1!  We have lunch in the middle of the game.  I stopped for two presents on the way home.

More eating on Wednesday.  It was a very scaled back neighborhood birthday group Christmas luncheon.  Our usual group of at least a dozen dwindled down to four!  Some were sick, some do not come out yet, two have husbands that cannot be left alone and one is quarantined before minor surgery.  But we had a nice lunch, lots of talking on a more intimate level than with 12 present and a very small gift exchange.  One lady is a card designer and her gift was a box of her cards!  I was very pleased with that gift.  The others appeared to enjoy theirs too.  I had put a small bag of Lindt’s peppermint chocolate balls at each place and decided to pay the bill since there were just four of us.  The others were pleased and the waitress made out with a $45 tip from what we all put in.  

I was glad to have Thursday to stay home after such a whirlwind week.  I was supposed to accompany the CWJF Sustainers to the Houstonian Hotel on Friday for a Christmas lunch but I woke up with my stomach in turmoil.  I had to cancel and was very disappointed.  I spent most of the day on the couch with no more incidents but it just wasn’t worth stressing out on an hour’s bus ride into and out of Houston.  It rained most of  Friday so we just hunkered down and Ted got a pizza for dinner.

College football has filled our Saturdays since we don’t watch the NFL on Sunday but late in the afternoon we gathered our gift card for a senior, football and basketball for our church giving tree and headed to church.  I had made taco soup in the crockpot so it was ready when we came home and we stayed in for the evening.  

Sunday we were invited to the only Christmas festivity that was taking place with friends.  A private room was reserved at the same restaurant I was at on Wednesday.  There were 10 couples in a room that can hold twice that.  We played cards with men and women mixed up and spouses at different tables. In the middle of the six sets we all stopped for dinner, presented Irene with a birthday cake and then continued on.  Dan at our table had only two points as we went into the 6th game.  I got a Shanghai, caught everyone with their entire hand unplayed, and WON!  

Irene had a gift bag for everyone and I got a bonus Santa candy jar for having a Shanghai.  She is the hostess with the mostess.

Other than getting things ready to leave, our only other outing was a dinner invitation to the country club on Wednesday evening with Terry and Carol.  We exchanged our gifts, had a terrific dinner, and I saw a friend there I hadn’t seen in quite awhile.  

Friday was some back and forth to the MH to put away what we could.  Ted still wanted to open it all up so we moved it to the campground Saturday in pouring rain.  At least we learned the window unit replacement doesn’t leak.  We are taking both cars.  He is towing the Summit and I am driving what is now his Expedition.  We have both loaded down and thank God for the coach house.  We can put my Instant Pot, tabletop oven, Ted’s ammo, two chaise gravity free chairs and a Dish portable satellite receiver that will be in the garage sale down there, all on the shelves in the coach house.  We have a patio set in the middle of the room that we will use for our Christmas dinner with Sue, Niles, Karen and Jim that we have invited.  I even packed a Christmas tablecloth and napkins!

After we had taken out most of what we needed, we went back home to shower and get ready for church.  From there we checked back home one more time, gave Nancy her instructions and headed back to the MH.  We will leave in the morning and we are promised dry weather.  I am holding them to that!

Oh no! Christmas is Bearing Down!

We had an easy trip home.  Buying the early boarding snagged us Row 4 aisle and window.  The middle seat was not guaranteed to be empty but no one tried to claim it.  The flight was just like going over, uneventful.  

I had Wednesday to get unpacked and do laundry.  Thursday I signed up to work at The Hand Me Up Shop.   I didn’t have to be there until 11:00 so I had my morning free.  I stopped afterwards to pick up a few things from Walgreen’s and then made my way home.

We decided to use our season tickets at Owen Theater on Friday evening.  Imagine our surprise when Holiday Inn was not playing but instead a Chorale performance.  What a wonderful show they put on.  We were socially distanced in a less than half full theater and everyone wore masks.  I guess they did what they could to carry on.  It’s been a tough year for them.

The singers were all wonderful.  They sang Grinch to O Holy Night with lots of jesting going on in between.  It was just what I needed to spark a Christmas spirit.  I am still not sure it will flame but it is a start!  

Our camping club, Texas Boomers, was having a Christmas rally up in Conroe so we made a point of going up for a visit on Saturday.  Unfortunately there were only 8 people we knew.  It has been 5 years since we attended a rally and people do move on and get replaced by new ones.  But their motto is “Once a Boomer, always a Boomer.”  We are still Haulin’ HitchHikers and DOGs (DRV Owners Group).  You make friends that stay friends for life.  Sandy, who I visited with in New Braunfels and has lost her husband, was there in her new Jayco motorhome.  The DRV was just too much for her to handle.  She has a great unit, very suitable for her and easy to manage.  

We visited with Pat and Don from Killeen TX.  They have been members since it started.  There were three other couples there but one was masked up, staying away from everyone and only dropped a quilt off to Sandy.  They couldn’t wait to get away!  The other four visited with us and we talked about the Karavan  to the Keys rally next year.  It is about 16 rigs all making their way together down to the Keys and then everyone heads out to wherever.  Many musicians are in the group so “concerts” happen most evenings.  It is a pretty hard drinking group and that isn’t us so we will proceed with caution.  We told them we will think about it.  

We went to Mass and came home after stopping for a late lunch.  Everyone had invited us to dinner at the rally hall but they were eating at 5:00 and we thanked them but said we were attending church at that time.

We met our friends Tommy and Susan and Jay and Stella way back in 2005 at a Boomer rally  and they are some of our best friends now.  In fact, we are having lunch with them on Monday. 

We were both home all day on Sunday.  I did some deep cleaning and then dragged out the few gifts I had to wrap.  There was more check writing than wrapping but eventually I got it all done and am ready to hit the post office.  Ted fixed dinner and we settled in for the Dolly Parton special.

Last Weekend in Florida

Saturday was a lazy day.  We went to church at 5 pm and saw Fr. John.  He is the priest who at the wedding rehearsal asked me who I was.  When I told him mother of the bride, he responded, have you done this before?  When I answered yes, he pointed to the front pew and told me to “park it.”  He always remembers us.

We went to Culver’s for dinner so we could have ice cream afterwards.  Only Ted and Kristin did though, Larry and I did not.

We took a break from all the togetherness and headed out on our own Sunday to check out nearby campgrounds.  A city park was beautiful with a nice campground but it was 40 minutes away over all toll roads.  So we moved on to the ones closest to Kristin and where we used to live.   They were crammed in like sardines and many were just living there, not traveling.  A touch of Tobacco Road!  So we ventured up I-4 to Daytona Beach.  There are two campgrounds and either one would be acceptable as far as roominess and utilities.  We will stay at one in June when we leave Sanibel Island.

Larry wanted to eat at the New York family pizzeria so that’s where we went for dinner.  It was really good!  A few Thanksgiving stragglers were walking down the street when we came home.

Kristin wanted to do the ice sculpture display on Sunday at Gaylord Hotel but when we checked they weren’t having it.  Apparently the sculptors are all foreign and could not travel here.  I thought maybe it was the coats they provide because of the cold.  A bit unsanitary in the middle of a pandemic.  So we looked into Give a Child the World.  This is a village where folks stay with Make A Wish.  The entire place is lit up.  To be socially distant, your ticket was only good for two hours and they were all sold out.  

So Ted sat by the pool while Kristin and I shopped for a family room rug.  She found one but had to go back with Larry’s car the next day after we left.   It was a good week in the sunshine.