Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is my dear Daddy's birthday. Love you so much, Dad. He would have been 92 years old today, but he is celebrating his birthday in Heaven. I know he is there and he is celebrating with my sister, Connie, who left us almost 40 years ago.

You left a big hold in our hearts as we now celebrate these special days without you, but we know you are whole again and not in any pain.

We love you Daddy!

Sadly missed and always in our thoughts and prayers.

More family time. . .

Jocelyn and the kids left just before the 4th because they wanted to spend the 4th watching fireworks from their favorite site in Charlottesville. I got the house cleaned and ready for the next "wave" of kids to come.

After they left we were able to squeeze in a closing on another duplex! Whoo hoo! Three down, one to go. The fourth is actually under contract and we have a closing date of September 14, so life is good. We are keeping the "storage condo" for now because it provides a nice place for the kids and their families to stay when they come to visit other family.

Thursday, July 9, we picked up Brandon, Megan, and Brynlee at the Fort Wayne Airport in the evening. We had a cup of coffee while waiting for their plane and once we retrieved their luggage, we headed for Goshen. We got them all situated in the house and then we left for the campground.

We spent the next few days visiting with them and helping Brynlee celebrate her birthday. Since her birthday is later in the month and we won't be able to be there, we decided to give her our gifts so we could watch her unwrap them. I got her quite a few clothes because I found some really cute things on sale and we also got her a kids' Kindle. It is quite versatile. . . not quite a I-pad, but much cheaper and is able to hold a lot of kids' movies and books and things that they like to look at. She is also quite adept at "2" at maneuvering her way around an I-phone, so the Kindle will be a breeze. Aenea is good at that too. Brandon had made the suggestion because when they travel, Brynlee is always wanting to use their devices, so now she will have her very own. I think she really liked it. Brandon showed her how to do some things on it and it didn't take long before she was using it on her own. We enjoyed getting to see her open her gifts.

We really enjoy having the little ones in the house, but the dogs seem to enjoy the peace and quiet of the motorhome after we leave the house! In some cases, Butterscotch can be found on somebody's lap, safely out of reach of toddler hands. Most often, Duchess is hiding under the desk in the kitchen!

The kids are here because cousin Kellie married Tommy on May 8 and is having a reception on Saturday the 11th. We are taking our little motorhome down to the woods at Nita's and staying there with our dogs. The kids got a hotel room. This one picture is of Mom, Dad, Brandon and Brad. They are the only grandsons and are 10 months apart in age.

They got to spend some time with Mom and Dad before and after the event and we got some great pictures. The kids have always enjoyed spending time with Mom and Dad and my parents appreciate the time the grandkids make to visit with them.

Here are a couple of pix with Mom and Brynlee, ages 90 and 2 and Dad and Brynlee, ages almost 91 and 2.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Some of my favorites!

As I reminisce on the last week and look back over pictures, I am enjoying the love and comfort my family gives me. Surround yourselves with your loved ones while you can.

Ronan and Grandma Dale going for a ride. His one word he used multiple times to describe the ride was "AWESOME!"

My 90 year old Mom and Aenea at 3, her great grandaughter, 87 years difference in their ages.

My Dad, also 90.

Butterscotch and Duchess, both 9 years old.

 

The love of my life, Terry.

 Till next time. . .

Dale

Leaving the Rio Grande Valley. . . 2015

Today is the day we left Mom and Dad and the valley. Sure hate to go, but it was another crappy winter here in the valley, so I am ready for a change. We went with Mom and Dad yesterday out to dinner one last time. We took them to Cheddar's and had another great meal. It was the first time Terry had gone with us there and he enjoyed it as well.

We had everything ready on the motorhome, jacks up, cleaned, etc. The Texas Room was closed up on Saturday, so we were ready to go and pulled out at 9 a.m. It was a clear day and we weren't anticipating any problems. We made it to the checkpoint at Falfurrias in good time, then traveled on to Victoria. We stayed in Victoria for the night.

From there, it was on to Houston and we stopped at Lakeview, where we lived while Terry was undergoing cancer treatment. My cousin, Jim, lives in Houston and has had some health challenges in the last couple years. He is doing well. He is by himself right now, but someone comes in every day to help with some things and there is a student living in his “maid's quarters” who sees that he has food, etc., and can drive him somewhere if he needs it. He has had surgery on one leg and when it heals, he will have surgery on the other. He is using a walker to get around now instead of the wheelchair. It is a long process. He had a “heart event” during the Tour deHouston a couple years ago and he is dealing with side effects from that. His spirits remain high and he is determined to get back into diving. It is good to have passion for something. His attitude is great!

We leave Houston tomorrow for Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. It's the heart of Cajun country and we hope to learn a little history!

Till next time. . . 

Dale

Getting ready to roll again. . .

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with Mom and Dad yesterday. I had fixed all my side dishes in disposable pans, so clean up would be quicker. We had turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green bean casserole, dressing and rolls. Then Mom brought cranberry salad, a relish tray and deviled eggs. We didn't make big portions of anything, so we wouldn't have so many leftovers to eat, but it was still a lot of food. It was all good, except the dressing was a flop. I pretty much know why. Next time I'll try my regular recipe. After dinner, we watched TV for awhile and just visited. It was a great meal and a great time with my parents. I really cherish these times with them.

Today I decided to get the Christmas tree put up. I was worried about whether or not I had enough time to decorate since it was already 1:30. By the time I finished the tree I looked at the clock and it was 2:30. Hahahaha. So I got more decorating done inside the Texas Room, but didn't put anything outside yet.

On Saturday we are heading back to Houston because Terry has to have his incision checked for his ICD and at the followup they we check to make sure the device is continuing to deliver the proper treatment for him. We are taking Phaeton Place and stopping in Victoria on the way up for a night and then will drive on in to Houston on Sunday. We will be staying at Lakeview this time. We will head back down to Victoria on Tuesday and will stay the night there. We will be meeting up with some friends who have to be in Victoria for a doctor's appointment, so we invited them to lunch at Mumphord's BBQ. Can't wait!

Once we get back down here, things will pretty much be back to normal which means relaxing for the next couple of months. We didn't get our "bling" out yet because we knew we would be leaving to go back to Houston. So we will be doing that when we return. The weather has been pretty good since we arrived. We have some cool nights, but it is warm during the day and coats have not been required.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Merry Christmas!

The holidays are here. Things start ramping up after Thanksgiving with people putting up Christmas decorations in the parks. Where we live we have five parks in close enough proximity to take the golf cart and go to each of them. The other night Mom and I rode through all five parks to look at the decorations. Some parks that had a lot of decorations in years past, have very little this year. But one park which normally doesn't do much really has a lot of decorations this year. It was fun to visit all of them and see the different displays.

Most of my Christmas shopping this year has all been on line. Even having stuff giftwrapped, I think I still spend less than if I got in the car and went shopping. And it's a great time saver, that's for sure. I used to like to shop just to get into the Christmas spirit, but I don't seem to get that down here in Texas. I used to love shopping in my hometown when the stores would be open in the evening and snow would be falling. It seemed like a magical time. But I don't really care to be out in that cold air anymore. We actually had some cold weather in Indiana before we left and we really were so not used to it that we were both quite uncomfortable.

Our days are spent doing what we want, which isn't much. . . retirement is great! We do some walking the dogs and that is several times a day. When they get back from their walk, they always want to go visit Mom and Dad. They love going over there and checking under the table for any scraps that may be left over from supper. LOL On the way back tonight, there was a piece of red tinsel that blew in off somebody's display and the dogs thought it was alive! Haha. What a sight. They both barked at it and pounced on it. Course it was moving because the wind was breezy at the back of the pad and it would sorta swirl. They got all excited and pounced on it and observed it growling and barking. Those were some brave Scotties, I tell you. I took some pictures and a movie, but failed to get the movie transferred. I really have to work on that skill. Since I always delete the pictures after transferring them, I deleted the movie before I realized I didn't have it.

I have mentioned my cactus before and I have some April pictures and some December pictures. We still can't believe it. We trimmed one of the bushes and are waiting to see how it handles being whacked on before doing more. We have taken some seed pods from Spike, my golden barrel cactus and are going to try and start some. We've had a lot of people ask where I got him and it was in Phoenix, so they can't go right out and buy one. I haven't seen another in the park.

Today I made fruitcakes. Before you groan, this was Terry's Uncle Bill's recipe and is all fruit and nuts with no flour and it is totally gluten free! It uses coconut and sweetened condensed milk as a binder and it is a fruitcake for those who don't like fruitcake. . . like me. Then later I made divinity. Never have made it before and always wanted to. I think it is a very festive candy and I love seeing it, but I'm not much for eating it, but it is good. Mom said it was very good.

I have been starting on my sewing. I got two pairs of jeans shortened and have a couple more pants to do as well as some shirts. When you're short, you have to do that. Tomorrow I will probably do laundry. It's a snap in the new Texas Room, but I still do a load every week in my motorhome washer/dryer. That will keep the seals from drying out, etc. While I'm out there in the Texas Room I will get things straightened up so we can have Christmas out there Wednesday morning. I still have the table set up for wrapping, etc., but we're all finished with that.

We've had a couple golf cart parades through the park. That's always fun to watch. They decorate their golf carts and some are pretty ingenious. They put lights and other decorations on them.

Earlier this week, Dad decided he wanted a bicycle. He thought he would be able to ride a trike. Since his knee surgery three years ago, he hasn't gotten much exercise and he decided he needed to do

something. Walking is difficult for him with his back problems, so we went looking for a bike. We found one and they bought it and we brought it home. I have to say, he has ridden it every single day. He has ridden around the block which is a big thing for him. It doesn't seem to make him winded either, like walking does. I am so glad to see him up and doing something like this. Even if he just rides around the block once, it's good for him. On really windy days, he has been doing laps in his driveway. He actually can do that and spin it around on both ends. 

Wednesday we go to the hall for Christmas dinner. They will have ham and turkey and then everyone brings a dish. It's always a feast, like Thanksgiving and we always look forward to do.

I have some pictures of my beautiful grandchildren. Ronan and Aenea got to open a gift from me the other night. I think they enjoyed them. I got Aenea a baby doll and Ronan a Mike the Knight castle playset. The last is a Christmas picture of Brynlee, our newest granddaughter.

Till next time. . .

Dale