Time with the kids!

On Wednesday, May 7, Brandon, Megan and the baby Brynlee arrived via plane in Indianapolis. They drove on up to Goshen, stopping on the way up to see Mom and Dad. They enjoyed seeing the baby, as they had not seen her yet and she is almost 10 months old.

They arrived in Goshen in the evening and we were ready for them. I had some new toys out and planned to spend as much time as I could with the baby. I knew I wouldn't see her again for awhile, so I want her to remember me when she goes back home.

We had a fun filled few days with them and the baby seemed to enjoy the dogs and vice versa. They were very tolerate of her and when she got just close enough, they would get up and move. Hah. On Saturday we had all the cousins in. Brandon got to see cousins he hadn't seen in years. Also there were aunts and uncles there he hadn't seen for awhile either. We invited George and Dorothy, our managers and Aaron, Brandon's friend from high school and also Dave and Jenna, friends from Purdue. It was quite the time, with about 30 people there. Fortunately the kids headed for the basement and played games down there. Occasionally a couple of the guys would go down there and torment them. I had bought food for the day and got most things already prepared and just set it out and let people eat. Fortunately they were hungry and I got rid of a bunch of the food I had bought. It was an easy food day for me and that meant I got to spend more time visiting with everyone. We started at 2 and the last ones left around 9 p.m. It was a great time and I'm so glad everyone could come. We had two babies. . . Bella, who is my niece Staci's 6 month old and Brynlee who is almost 10 months. They are second cousins and were really cute together and I have a picture of them with my Mom who would be great-grandma.

The next day which was Mother's Day we had dinner down at the Honeywell Center in Wabash. We have been joining Mom and Dad and my sister and family for several years. It was a special treat for me to have Brandon, Megan and Brynlee there. Thanks so much for coming kids and being a part of our celebration.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Busy time. . .

It's been a busy time for us the past month. After leaving the kids in Virginia, we headed to Indiana and our doctor appointments. We camped in our usual spot in New Lisbon and got everything done and the dogs even got to see their vet. We ate dinner with friends while we were in the area as well.

Once we left there, we headed to the Goshen/Elkhart area. We arrived the last week in April and we have been busy since.

We made arrangements for the big motorhome to go in to Hill's Truck Service for its 100,000 mile service. We wanted to get the valves adjusted, etc., and we also had to have some exhaust work done. There was a hole in part of the exhaust system and it was creating fumes in the back of the motorhome. They got the service done in one day, but then they had to order parts. Terry told them he would pay for overnight delivery and the parts came in the next day, except that the parts department had ordered the wrong parts. So the parts were reordered. . . some came in 2 days later and some came in 3 days later. So it was 9 p.m. on Saturday night when we picked Phaeton Place up. Unfortunately, something didn't get tightened down and there is a knocking in the back, but she is running well. So we have to take her back in to get that checked out.

In the meantime the little B+ had to go in because the new AGM Decca batteries we had put in last May (less than a year ago) are shot. They look as though someone stuck a straw in them and sucked them dry. The battery supplier ran several tests and could not come up with an answer or a cause so they determined we were at fault. I will never buy another battery from Mullet's in Goshen. The total cost of replacement was on us.

The little truck has been in the shop a couple times as well. Gaskets seemed to be failing on her and when one gets replaced, another goes. Hopefully when she goes in on Monday that will be the end of it for awhile.

We also had an apartment come up empty in March. We are starting on that on Monday, getting it ready to rent. Just needs a major cleanup and we are good to go.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Grandkid Time!

We made it across country to Virginia stopping at Dandridge, Tennessee, for a relaxing time along the French Broad River. The camp there is a COE park so we were able to camp for half price, $11/night. We had water and electric. The camp was crowded when we arrived but people soon started leaving and soon there were just a few of us in camp. Even the camp host went home at night. The fishing in the river was pretty good because a camper came down to fish in front of our space and he caught a huge walleye. Terry said it was about 30 inches long. He promptly carried it off and when he returned he said it was already filleted and ready for the supper skillet!

We did a little driving around Pigeon Forge, checking out landmarks we knew from years ago. For many years this was our "go to" spot for fall break from school and even spring break. It was far enough away we felt we were really "getting away" and close enough we could drive it easily without stopping. We used to camp at "The Smokies" but the campground is no longer there. We had heard for years the property had been sold, but sadly, nothing has been done with the property. It's too bad it couldn't continue to be a viable business until the owners decided what to do with it.

We even drove on over to Gatlinburg. Nothing has really changed there. There are hundreds of shops which have all kinds of junk for sale. The real draw for me to this area is the location and the scenery. So we decided to drive up to Ober Gatlinburg. Here on top of the mountain is an ice skating rink, a mountain slide and some shops. It hasn't changed much over the years and it is probably really hopping in the winter, but during the warmer weather, there isn't much here. But NOW, they charge you $5 to park! What a ripoff. We won't be back up there. I always thought it was a lot of hype for what was there and that's when it was FREE! It was overcast when we were there, but we could still see town, but no flowers or trees had bloomed. We did spend some time at the factory shops, but didn't buy much. Terry bought some tools. . . . now what surprises me about that?

Once we left there, we traveled on to Virginia, spending another night on the road before coming into Charlottesville. Since then it's been the grandkids every day! We gave Aenea her birthday presents since her birthday was last month. She seemed to like everything and it's now probably just a memory! LOL She is the sweetest little girl. Hard to believe how she started out this life at 28 weeks gestation and 2 lb. 12 oz. She is doing great, perfectly developed and chattering a lot. She picks up words easily and although she doesn't say a lot, she communicates very well. She knows some sign language which I am learning as well. It's not hard to figure out what she wants.

Ronan is a typical almost 7 year old. We celebrated his birthday a couple days ago since we won't be here for that either. We have to be back in Indiana for Terry's doctor appointments, so his other grandparents will be here. We bought him several things including a new bike. We actually bought two. The first one was defective when we got it home. He did get to ride it a bit before we returned it. Fortunately we found a bit better bike when we went to a different store and he now has a very nice new bike which should last him several years.

 

We have been here a week and will leave tomorrow. It will be hard to leave the wee ones and their parents. Jocelyn is sporting a lovely purple cast on her right hand. She had a stener lesion from a fall last year. Nothing seemed to help it, so they did surgery in March. Once she gets the cast off she will have a splint and some therapy. It does handicap her a bit. She cannot drive or use her right hand for anything. Hopefully it will heal properly and she will regain full use of her thumb/hand.

We will be heading to Indiana tomorrow. It is raining here today, but I must say I prefer it over the snow they just had in the Indianapolis area. When will it stop?

The girls are doing very well. They now seem excited when we stop because they have learned it will mean all new smells and discoveries to make. There is one disappointment here in the camp at Charlottesville. This is a very wooded camp in an area of Virginia that is wooded and hilly and remote. We always had hundreds of squirrels in the park and the girls know that. There is not ONE squirrel here. My son-in-law says the decline of the squirrel population has been a topic of discussion. It was a very hard winter for them, longer and colder than normal and their food supply was depleted. They either starved or were killed on the road racing around trying to find more food. He said they seemed to be acting crazy in their quest for food and more than usual ended up dead on the road. It's strange to walk through the woods and not see one.

Today is our last day to see the kids. It is also Terry's birthday! I am so lucky to have him here with me considering his health problems that started 16 years ago. Happy Birthday to the love of my life!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Marking time. . .

Tuesday we drove through Houston and up to Nacogdoches, Texas, where Foretravel Motorhomes are built. We have been interested in looking at what late model used coaches might be available at Motorhomes of Texas. They had several we looked at, but nothing that I liked well enough to give up what I had. They had a selection of Foretravel and Newell coaches. The Newells are really nice, but they tend to have an almost "gaudy" interior. They just don't look like something to be lived in. . . very pristine and a lot of white with gold trim and accents. I sure don't want to have to keep that all clean. But there surely are coaches that have different interiors, so we have to look. We like the bigger engines in these coaches, but one would have to have amenities like we are used to in order for us to trade. We have lived in ours for eight years and the interior is in better shape than many of the coaches we looked at. It makes one think the quality of the interior fit and finish is no better or in some cases substandard to our Tiffin. So, we are hanging on to Phaeton Place for the present.

After leaving Nacogdoches, we drove on to Henderson where a friend and fellow cancer survivor we met in Houston lives. We set up camp, then drove over to their house. We visited a bit, then Dave and Reba took us to the "Cotton Patch" restaurant where we were able to order just about anything we wanted. They had a great menu and we all ended up getting really large salads. They were so good and we enjoyed them. After dinner we returned to their home and visited till 9:30. Since they both had to work the next day, we didn't want to keep them up too late.

We left Henderson Wednesday morning and drove across the rest of Texas and Louisiana. We ended up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, for the night, camping at Rivertown Campground, south of town. We did go visit the two casinos closest to the camp. It was the strangest experience we have ever had in a casino. The parking lots were virtually empty and so few people were in the place. We got $5 in free play money and that is all we spent. We left there and went to the other casino across the parking lot and it was a little bit busier. But the slots were just as tight. We spent a couple dollars then left. It doesn't make sense. They won't get people in if they don't let them win a bit. Seems to me someone would wisen up and let people win. Then the parking lot would be full, the hotel full, the restaurants full and people spending money. But I won't be back if they don't loosen the slots. Apparently we aren't the only ones who feel that way.

Yesterday we drove on across Mississippi and into Alabama. There was the threat of severe weather later in the day and into Friday, so we wanted to get to our next mark.We are camped at Tannehill Iron Works State Historical Park. It was a bit of a trick getting in here, but we made it. Tannehill was and iron forge active during the Civil War, producing ordinance and other items for the Confederacy. It was destroyed when Wilson and his men burned it to the ground just before the end of the War. It has been partially restored and the furnace actually blasted once again in a historical reinactment witnessed by thousands of people. There is a museum on the grounds and many cabins and other structures of the period have been moved here to form a very informative historical park. We visited the museum and other structures on the grounds today, including a grist mill, church, school, and pioneer farm.

Tomorrow we once again hit the road on our way to see our kids and grandkids!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Heading out. . . and more family time!

Saturday morning we said goodbye to Mom and Dad and our other neighbors and friends and headed north from the valley. Our plan was to stop in Sinton at a different campground and then head into Houston and Lakeview on Sunday. The camp, however, turned out to be "less than advertised" which is almost the norm, sad to say, and we took a run through the park and back out onto the highway. What were supposed to be "pull-through" sites were actually "back-to-back" and not really useable for big rigs. So we drove on to Victoria to our favorite camp there, Gateway to the Gulf. We got a back-in site and after wrestling the "spotter" duties from the park person, I got Terry in there first try. I don't understand parks which insist that they spot campers into spots. I know they are worried about their pipes, hookups, etc., but in addition to my being concerned about those things, I am also worried about the four corners of the rig as well as what's over the top of us. They try to use the same instructions for everyone weather they are in a small trailer or a big Class A. I am going to start having a "release" they have to sign saying if they mess up and we end up with damage, they will be responsible for it. Nobody does my rig better than me. Period.

After getting set up, we took off to Mumphford's Place BBQ, our favorite in the area. We hadn't planned it, but since we drove further, it was handy. LOL We got up on Sunday morning and drove into Houston and into our spot in Lakeview.

Sunday evening we drove over to my cousin Jim's house. He is recovering from a heart event from last year and his sister Pat is helping out. She lives in Oregon and is a retired registered nurse, so he has some good help. He is making good progress and when his brother was here a few weeks ago, they both rode in the Tour deHouston, which is what Jim was doing last year when he was stricken. Jim rode his recumbent trike while Rick rode one of Jim's other bikes. They rode 20 miles which is a remarkable feat for most anyone!

Pat and Jim hosted a dinner party Sunday night and we had lasagne, bread, salad, and apple cake and ice cream for dessert. Yum yum. Even got to bring home some lasagne and salad to eat on the road. There were other guests, all people we had met when we were living in Houston for Terry's cancer treatment. We were often invited to Jim's home to share with other friends and we have come to know these people well. Such a great time and we all enjoyed the company and the visit with friends and family.

We returned this morning and visited one last time with Jim and Pat over lunch. Pat will be there probably another month, then head back to her home. It has been great that Jim has had family to help him and we were glad we got the chance to see his sisters while they have been here.

Tomorrow we head north looking to stop at Motorhomes of Texas to look at Foretravel coaches. They have some sharp ones listed on their website. Just gonna look at what they have. Then it's on to Henderson to see some friends.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Bittersweet!

Leaving the RGV is always bittersweet. We left Mom and Dad after sitting behind them all winter, but they have guests arriving in a few days, so they won't be alone. Her brother and his wife are going to be arriving in another week or so and then after they leave, my sister and her husband will be flying in and getting ready for the big drive home.
 
I took pictures of what my cactus looked like when we left. They don't grow much in the winter. One would think with all the rain, they would grow quickly, but they wait and grow best in the scorching heat of the summer. Go figure. The flat paddle cactus have been trimmed greatly. We are trying to get them to grow up "tree-like."

We had planned on leaving Sunday, today, but decided to skip out a day early. We are anxious to see my cousins in Houston and arriving there earlier in the day would be a big plus. It is a 7 hour journey in the motorhome and unless you leave at the crack of dawn, arriving early afternoon is not gonna happen. We had planned to stop at a park in Sinton, but we drove in and it wasn't "as advertised," and we decided to move on down the road. So we stopped at our regular stop in Victoria, Gateway to the Gulf RV Park. This is a nice park, but we weren't able to snag one of the pull throughs, so we had to unhook the toad. No problem, and while we were unhooked, decided to run into town to Mumphford's Place BBQ once again for a great dinner.

While we were driving through Kingsville, we saw some really outrageous traffic. Really, I didn't know there were that many cars in that part of Texas. Fortunately they were all getting off the expressway and heading east, so it didn't create a bottleneck for us, but there were miles of cars waiting to exit down the ramp. We had no idea what the attraction was until it appeared we were going to get strafed by. . . MIGS! Yes, MIGS! I said, "What kind of plane is that anyway, Terry?" He looked up and said, "It's a MIG!" Wow. It WAS A MIG! We knew then it must be an airshow and the cars were all headed to the airport. I looked it up and it is the "Wings Over South Texas" airshow this weekend at Kingsville. And they mention on their website the Migs they have in the show. We saw two flying over us. That way quite a thrill, but it was too late to get any kind of picture.

Our drive was easy and uneventful. . . the best kind. For once, all our monitors worked without error. Terry's new Silverleaf diagnostic program was flawless. We had trouble with it before and at one point it even caused a "check engine light" to come one. That seemed to be remedied with the physically installation of the software that came with it. . . duh. . . found when Terry was putting it back in the box. LOL Since the install, it runs perfectly. The new TPMS, tire pressure monitoring system, a series of 10 sensors on all the motorhome and truck tires worked perfectly for the first time. Out of 10 sensors, one was bad out of the box. The company replaced it and now all 10 are working. Man, I love it when a plan comes together.

We are spending 2 nights in Houston starting tonight and visiting with Jim and Pat, then on to Nacogdoches, Texas. We are going to Foretravel and look at their coaches. Just browsing, but who knows. . . ????? Then we are off to Henderson to visit with friends we met while we were in Houston for Terry's cancer treatment. It's been awhile since we've seen them. Our trips back to Houston never seemed to coincide, but we like to touch base now and then.

From there we will cut across country to Virginia to see our grandones. We will be arriving between their birthdays, so it will be a double celebration! So anxious to see them. They change so quickly when they are that little. Course, we come bearing gifts, so that should endear us to them.

I hope we don't hit any bad weather on our travels. It was a miserable winter as winters go in the valley, but much, much worse in other parts of the country, so we try not to complain. Last year we had a snowstorm while we were camped in Richmond, Virginia, and hoping that doesn't happen again.

The girls are doing well and enjoy getting out and sniffing new territory daily. If they are confused, they don't show it. They did love having Grandma and Grandpa around. Yesterday they took care of the girls while we were getting Phaeton Place ready to roll. They certainly don't lack for attention. It's hard to tell from the picture, but Duchess has her head resting on Butterscotch. LOL

Today starts as a lazy day. We are further toward Houston than we had planned with a fairly short drive today, so don't need to be in a hurry.

All you snowbirds and fulltimers out there hitting the road, be safe and take care on the roads.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Final full day with friends

Today we took Jim and Luanne to the Pulga, which is the Mexican flea market across the expressway from us. What a hoot. They actually enjoyed it and we all bought a few things. Not a lot, but it was fun and we got in a good walk.

From there we took them to the 492 BBQ which is fairly close to the park and in a two-story house. It was actually built that way, so it has small rooms. I guess if the restaurant ever fails, they will just live in it. LOL

We spent more time in the afternoon taking them on golf cart tours of the remaining Martin Parks, there are eight I think. We played some more cards and sat out in the warm air again.

Saturday we plan to all go to Pleasant Valley for their breakfast. They have the best breakfast around us, we think, all for $3. Then they will be leaving to go back to Falfurrias to visit their friends and then head back to Indiana in the middle of the week.

Safe travel dear friends. It was great having you here!

Till next time. . .

Dale

More museums. . .

We headed out Thursday to Hidalgo to tour the Hidalgo Pumphouse. The pumphouse was built to draw water off the Rio Grande River for irrigating the valley. Without irrigation, they would not be able to grow the crops they do. Cotton was actually grown in large quantities down here. I don't think they grow it anymore, but they grow a lot of citrus and sugar cane now. Irrigation is still very important and the museum showed the pumps and other machinery used to pump the water and disperse it through the irrigation system. It's another place we had always planned to visit and never did. Quite interested.

The pumphouse sits right inside the levee where the fence is situated. There is actually a gate there, but obviously it wasn't open. I think the gates are for the border patrol and in some areas, I think farmers actually use them to access their farm land on the other side. We were able to walk right up to the fence and take pictures. There were some makeshift ladders laying on the ground and we are sure they were from illegals making attempts to get across.

We headed back toward Mission and visited the La Lomita Mission, which is the mission that Mission, Texas, was named after. It is always an interesting stop and we were able to go inside and take some pictures as well as some outside. Then we drove down the levee and stopped at The Riverside SupperClub to try out their tenderloins. We have had them before and they are very good. After lunch we able to walk out onto the deck of the restaurant right on the river and watch the river a bit.

Once we had our fill, we traveled on to the Bentsen State Park and World Birding Center. We walked into the park and then sat at one of the bird feeding areas while we waited for the tram. We were rewarded with several birds including the Chachalacas which I had told Jim about. They are large birds and make a lot of noise, but they were quiet when we saw them. We did see the elusive green jay, but no javelinas. They say that in the flooding of 2010, those animals were all swept away and haven't repopulated yet. There is a bobcat we just missed seeing that seems to stay and live in the park. The park is all wild now and nothing like it was when we stayed there and camped. They said that because of the flooding, much of the landscape has changed and even the vegetation is different than just a few years ago.

We headed back to the house and rested a bit before having a light supper. Then we went over to the jam. Fortunately for Jim and Luanne, it was better than usual. LOL They have been having some problems with the jams with personalities and egos getting too large and affected the music and participants in general. But things were better than what we have seen this year.

We spent more time outside as the weather started warming up and we were able to visit outside under the canopy.

Till next time. . .

Dale

More fun in the valley!

Today we started out in the rain/mist. Another cold, wet day. It sure has been a bad winter weather-wise for us down here in the valley, but we cannot complain, when Jim and Luanne came from 90 inches of snow with the promise of more snow and sub-zero temperatures before they get home.

We took them on a tour of the newer Martin parks so they could see how those looked. Then we headed toward Edinburg to the Museum of South Texas. We spent a couple hours there. It was one place we had always thought about going to, but had never gone. It was really good. It's not real big, but it is laid out well in chronological order and just enough reading to lay out the history without bogging you down. There were many rooms and lots of displays as well as the timeline of how the Rio Grande Valley was developed and populated. I would recommend it to anyone here in the RGV who would like to learn a bit about the area.

Once we left there, we went to Rudy's BBQ for lunch. It was very good and we all enjoyed our meal and conversation. Once we got back to the park, we visited more, then we played some cards.

Another great day!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Friends have arrived!

Monday afternoon Jim and Luanne pulled in. They had spent the night with friends in Falfurrias and plans were to stay a few days there. But they were having car trouble and decided to try to get into the Kia dealer here in town for repairs. They were having heat/AC problem. They had heat, but couldn't control it and no A/C. Hmmmm. That's a problem down here because it is starting to warm up. We took them in the golf cart and showed them some of the parks in our system here. With the extra seat on the golf cart we added, we were all able to go. It was fun.

They were able to get an appointment for Tuesday morning. Once they got here we just sat outside enjoying the nice weather and visited. I thought after two hard days driving down here from Indiana, they might welcome a break and we got them settled in the Texas Room.

Tuesday morning we took their car to the Kia dealer and took off west. it turned out to be not so nice a day with misting and cool temperatures. So we decided not to do anything outside. Our destination was the Los Ebanos Ferry and it has been so long since we have been there, we missed the road. We ended up in Rio Grande City. We took them to the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto at the Immaculate Conception Church. The mist held off so we could walk around and take some pictures.

We headed back to Mission and found the road to the ferry. We were so shocked when we got there. It has been several years since we have visited and they have put in a border checkpoint. It is a large building with driving lanes and all kinds of security. I always wondered why there wasn't a more secure checkpoint here. There used to be just a kiosk. We walked up to the little building in front of the fenced in walkway which was part of the new structure. The guy there charged us $1 to walk to the bridge and told us we only needed our drivers license. I wasn't sure why we needed that to go look at the ferry. But SURPRISE! You go past the border checkpoint, so you actually need a passport. After taking pictures of the ferry, which hasn't changed much, except they've added a checkpoint on the Mexico side as well, we walked back up to the building to go back to the car. We were stopped and asked for our passports or a birth certificate. Well, now, I know we need our passport to go to Mexico. But we didn't leave the U.S. But they wanted them. In the end, they took our drivers licenses which they used to call up our passports. Luanne, however, doesn't have a passport. We really didn't want to leave her there, but they allowed us all to move on, reminded us next time to have our passports. Nuff said.

On the way back to Mission, Kia called and said the car was done. All they had to do was reprogram the computer and all is well. Covered under warranty. I was so glad they were able to get it in quickly and fixed it. Hope they don't have any trouble on the way home.

Later in the evening, Luanne and I went over to the hall to play Bingo. The guys hung out and rested up from their day!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Busy, busy, busy. . .

This retirement stuff is so overrated! We have really been busy, but things are slowing down for now.

Last week we had the Birch Street Dinner on Wednesday. All the streets in the park put on a dinner and sell tickets to the park residents and anyone else who wants to come. The dinners have been very popular. . . one is a meatloaf dinner, another is spaghetti, ham balls, lasagne, roast beef, baked ham, and ours which is a pork loin dinner. We serve it with real mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, roll, applesauce or jello, coffee, tea, and cake for dessert.

We start with a meeting about a week before and assign all the duties. Hopefully everyone on the street participates and our street is very good with lots of help. Not too much for any one person when everyone chips in. We start at 9 a.m. on our day and peel potatoes. Then they are placed in pots and turned on later. We unwrap the loins and they are rinsed and placed on foil on large baking pans. Then each gets mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix and rosemary on top, then it is wrapped up. Later, all the pans are stacked in the convection ovens and they are slow roasted. The tables are set up, washed, salt and pepper put out. The coffee/tea tables are set up and the cake tables are set up and plates and knives for cutting are set out. The rolls are put in airtight boxes and set in place and the applesauce is put into serving cups.

Once the preliminaries are done, we get to go home and relax and have lunch. We return at 1 p.m. and mash potatoes and check on the meat. We put the green beans and corn and potatoes in the roasters. Once that is done and everything else is checked again, we get to go home. First shift starts at 3:30 and serving starts at 4 p.m. People are always waiting to eat. Mom and Dad went over early and since Terry and I worked second shift, we caught up with Mom and Dad and we ate a leisurely dinner with them. After we were done and saw them home, we took our turn. Terry was serving. The men always serve. I think it's because the counters are tall and the guys can easily serve from the roasters. I had cake detail so I was on the other end of the hall and cutting up cakes and seeing that everyone got what they wanted. We had cake left over, but no whole cakes, so we figured it out pretty good.

When we are done serving at 6, cleanup begins. I cleaned up the cake area with the help of the other gals working. We are a great group and everyone helps. By 7 p.m. everything is cleaned up and everything back in place.

The dinners are one of the ways our park earns money. By raising money we are able to keep our assessments down to a manageable amount and the common areas like the clubhouse and pool are maintained.

On Saturday after our street dinner we had the Ladies' Luncheon. The theme this year was "Bal en Blanc." I think I spelled that right. It was all done by our French Canadian ladies and the theme was a "white ball." Everything was white and everyone was supposed to wear white. Hard to believe how that theme was so interesting, but something about everything being white was quite refreshing. They decorated the entire hall in white and covered the backs of the chairs in white and covered other visible furniture and items in the room with white coverings. It was really pretty cool. We all pitch in with salads and eat lunch. Then there is entertainment and this year several women from the park sang and some line danced. Awards were given for the white outfits that seemed to capture the essence of the theme. It was a wonderful afternoon and our French Canadians ladies outdid themselves with their preparation. Thank you Ladies!

Today I spent getting ready for our first visitors down here! Yes! Luanne, my high school friend, and her husband Jim are due in sometime tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing them and the weather is supposed to be pretty good. Not too terribly hot, but was enough for shorts and it will be a nice diversion from Luanne and Jim and all that snow they have had this winter.

So, until next time. . .

Dale

Cousins!

Last Thursday, we took Mom and Dad to Houston in Phaeton Place to visit some family. We left around 8:15 a.m. in the misting and cold wet weather and made it to our planned stop in Victoria. Once we got there, we unhooked the truck and we all went to Mumphford's BBQ. I had taken them and Nita there for lunch when we brought Mom and Dad down in October and they really loved it. It was just as good this time and since we went in the early afternoon, there weren't many people there. There were customers, but it wasn't crowded, so that worked out great. Afterwards we went back to the motorhome and turned up the heat. We had finally run out of the rain/mist and we were hoping that was it. We stayed in the rest of the evening and went to bed early.

Mom and Dad were in the bedroom, so we put an air mattress in the living room. Some time during the night, the air started leaking out and we suspect the valve wasn't tightened. We didn't want to use the pump at 2 a.m. fearing we would wake up Mom and Dad, so we opened the couch and slept there the rest of the night. We were able to get out the backup air mattress for the second night out and that worked great.  On Friday we drove 115 miles on to Houston and parked Phaeton Place at Lakeview RV Resort, where we had spent three months when Terry was undergoing cancer treatment. We had lunch and then we headed out. We took Mom and Dad to see where Terry's treatment had been and also past the Astrodome and the Reliant Stadium. We also passed by the main hospitals in the area which have changed a lot since their last visit.

We then went to visit my cousin Jim. He is having some health challenges and his two sisters have been taking turns spending time away from their homes in Oregon to help him here in Houston. I haven't seen the girls in over 40 years and we planned our visit when they would both be there.  It was so good to see them all. Jim and his wife Lillian you may remember from my blog of a couple years ago did a good job of keeping us entertained when we were here for Terry's treatments. They invited us to dinner parties frequently, a Super Bowl party, and gave us lots of information on where to go and what to do to keep us busy. We will always be grateful for that time. Jim's wife died suddenly about 14 months ago and he was stricken four months later. But he is back on the road to recovery and is making good progress. 
 
We visited all afternoon, then headed back to the motorhome. Mom and I had made a couple casseroles that were ready to pop in the oven, so we had a good dinner waiting on us. It was still cold and wet out, but the wind had died down, so it was easier staying warm. We spent the night there, then headed back home to the valley Saturday morning. We are back home now in Mission and it was a bit warmer yesterday and today.

I hope it won't be as long before we see each other again, Cousins

. We had a lot of fun talking and did a bit of catching up, but we have lots more to talk about!

Till next time. . . 

Dale

Shed's finished!

Mom and Dad's shed is finished and John did a great job on it as usual. Mom and Dad are very happy with it and it no longer looks like the eyesore that it was. It isn't totally maintenance free, as the trim requires some painting. John did paint that though, so it will be several years before that will have to be done again. So now they are pretty much maintenance free on their place. That is good.

Here are some more pictures of the various stages and the finished shed.

 

  Till next time. . .

Dale