Dancing and a Movie

We are enjoying some balmy weather, but a cold front is on the way. The wind has definitely picked up.

We danced this afternoon to Darryl at TVA. We missed our friends Jan and Steve, who have non-dancing company. We also missed Hardy and Judy. We were expecting to see them, but they no-showed. Judy sent an email explaining that they had called the tree trimmers and been surprised that they wanted to do the work today.

We stopped on the way home from the dance and ordered a spiral sliced ham to pick up on Friday. We'll take it over to Judy, who generously offered to cook it in her big roaster. We lucked out--HEB is having a sale this week, offering a $10 off coupon.

Tonight we went to the Cinema 6. Mondays are senior special days, and groups of three or more get in for 75 cents each. What a bargain! We saw Social Network. It won the Golden Globe award for best picture (drama) and has been nominated for a best picture Oscar. I found the movie a fascinating exploration of the ironic juxtaposition of online isolation and "social" networks, partially exemplified by the socially ambitious but inept main characters.

I could have done with a bit less of the sex/partying/loud music/drugs, but overall I found myself carried along by the high energy and tension of the conflicts among the characters. Ken and some of the others prefer more positive entertainment. Interestingly, several of us agreed that we had felt motivated to drop out of Facebook because we didn't want to be associated with the greed and deception and betrayal that are depicted as being at the heart of the Facebook phenomenon. Read more!

Hike and Walk

We started off this Sunday morning as usual, with breakfast at Angel's. Jean Ballinger joined us, and Steve and Jan brought their friends CE and Joannie, so we had nine today. After breakfast, Jean followed us back to the rig. We picked up our hats and water and headed over to the state park.

Jean and Lee checking out the resaca formation display. The resaca approaches are still closed off.

Lots of Chachalacas!

We walked parts of a couple of the trails that are open--most are still closed. One treat was seeing a couple of Vermilion Flycatchers, in addition to the usual Green Jays, Great Kiskadees, doves, grackles, and one Altamira Oriole.

Afterward we walked over to Retama Village for the Open House Walk Thru. We toured several of the RV site casitas. It's really amazing what people can do with a very limited space. Some were especially beautiful. We also walked through some homes. One included a bi-level home theater room with a full wall screen and carpeted walls. In another we saw a cabinet top that the owner had created out of a split hickory log slice. We really enjoy checking out the clever and creative things people have done--but we're not at all tempted to join the property owners club. We're enjoying the footloose life too much.
Read more!

Wildlife Photography

We got up early this morning. Well, actually, we set the alarm early, but then snoozed too long, so we had to rush to make it to the Wildlife Photography program at the state park. We arrived a couple of minutes late, so we had seats in the back of the room. A local photographer, Luciano Guerra, showed us his photos taken in the Rio Grande Valley with a slideshow titled "Birding Texas Style."  His website is called Bugs, Birds and Beyond. We enjoyed the photos but wished we could have seen them full screen. Each slide showed the photo off to the right and the name of the bird and location taken to the left. One interesting feature was that each bird's song or call was played during the slide.

Ken had also hoped to get more technical tips for taking bird photos. Mr. Guerra offered some basic suggestions, but nothing detailed or advanced. After we left the program, we spent a few minutes in the nearby exhibit room and then took a walk through the park. At the first feeding station, the chachalacas had taken over and were chasing other birds away. A docent standing there said that she was inclined to throw stones at them, but the new naturalist didn't think that was a great idea.

Tim and Rosie stopped by to chat. They've tried to find us a few times and we've looked for them, but both of us are out and about a lot. We're planning to get together Tuesday night to play games.
Read more!

A Night at the Movies

We had a quiet day today. The weather was mild, and we took our morning walk along the levee.

This evening we decided to go to the VSO concert, A Night at the Movies, since we had missed the open rehearsal last night. This time around we found lots of cars and people, plenty of bustle and excitement. We got seats in the back left of the auditorium, but the acoustics are fine, and we enjoyed the concert. It brought back memories of times past, with great theme songs by John Williams, Henry Mancini, and others, including

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Schindler's List

Star Wars

007

Mission Impossible

Pink Panther

Sound of Music

and more!

We very much enjoyed the event. Most of our music is mp3's played on computer speakers, so a live symphony orchestra was a real treat. The maestro, Peter Dabrowski, is a real showman in addition to being a great conductor.
Read more!

This and That

We slept in this morning and didn't get up until 9:00 a.m. That definitely eats a hole in your day. On our walk this morning we headed over to the state park, where workers are continuing construction. We're not exactly sure what they're doing, but today at least several people appeared to be working. (Often it seems that most of the folks must be supervisors or something....)

Approaching from the north. Maybe the yellow part is a flood wall?

View from the south

We painted our hitch today. Once we get it back together, that chore is done for this year anyhow.

This evening we picked up Hardy and Judy to go to the open rehearsal of the Valley Symphony Orchestra performance of A Night at the Movies.  Unfortunately we couldn't find the rehearsal where it was supposed to be, at the McAllen Civic Center Auditorium. Jan and Steve called. They had been looking too and had gone to the Convention Center, where they reported finding nothing also. We ended up all going to the DQ. Steve and Jan and their friends CE and Joannie went fishing yesterday and again today. The guys caught lots of fish. CE and Joannie are in town until Tuesday. We're trying to convince them to move down here.
Read more!

Long Day

We had too much fun today. First we went to a potluck for our Escapees group. Somehow the time seems to get away from me, and I ended up fixing the Oh Yeah Baby Glazed Carrots at the last minute and throwing the salad stuff in the cooler. We had a good turnout--around 30 people--and some really good food. One guy fixed a P.F. Chang recipe of spicy chicken lettuce wraps that were delicious.

We stayed around after the meal and visited. We watched a water volleyball game and lounged around in the hot tub for a while, convincing ourselves that it really was warm in the sun.

This evening we went to Joe's C-1 workshop. As usual we had fun and learned a lot. One thing he called (from parallel waves) had the men doing an O circulate while the women did a butterfly circulate, ending up in blocks. Well, it was supposed to end up in blocks, but the first time he called this move, most of the squares ended up in muddle in the middles. Read more!

Sad Kindle

Well, tonight Ken's Kindle decided to darken the top half of the screen. Amazon has promised to ship a new one to arrive Thursday, but it's still sad...

Mark came over this morning to do more of our repairs. He rehung and straightened our cabinet doors and pulled a broken switch from our door assist light. He's hoping for warmer weather to do some of the outdoor repairs.

I had fun dancing with Jean at Joe Saltel's again this morning while Ken computed at Pharr Library. He says it's a very nice place. Then we ate our lunch at Jean's--a restful break--before dancing to Randy this afternoon.
Read more!

Shopping and Dancing

We got up early this morning to put out an empty propane tank to be refilled. Pony Express Propane comes every day to the park, but their schedule isn't regular. We've been trying to stay at the rig and watch for them so we could ask the driver to put the full tank back up in the compartment. Ken isn't allowed to lift that much weight, and I've had problems wrangling full propane tanks. Today, despite limiting our morning walk to inside our park, we missed the propane truck. We had put out the tank and an envelope with the payment, so the tank was filled and waiting for us when we got home. I decided to see if I could lift it. I must be growing some muscles! I got the tank in the compartment and Ken hooked it up.

This afternoon we danced to Darryl at TVA. We must have been anxious to dance, because we went over an hour early. Our other afternoon dances are at 1:00 p.m., and we lost track of the fact that this one starts at 2:00 p.m. Not to worry, though--we just took advantage of the time to go to Target.
Read more!

Hitch Work

This morning we decided to skip breakfast at Angel's. Steve and Jan have their friends, CE and Joannie, visiting, so they weren't sure if they'd be there or what time. Hardy was in Dallas at a meeting. We took the opportunity to sleep in a bit and have a home cooked breakfast of bread pudding made with fresh pineapple.

We have had some issues with our PullRight fifth wheel hitch. It's a great hitch, but ours evidently had a manufacturing defect. After we had to disassemble and fix it twice, we called the company and they sent out a replacement part. This was in August 2009. We decided to wait until it malfunctioned again before going to the trouble of installing the new part. It worked fine for over a year, but when we tried to trip the latch after we arrived here, it refused to close, so we knew the time had come. Today we finally fixed it.

That involved taking the hitch apart so we could work on the underside. The thing is solid steel, so it's darned heavy! Then we had to pry off a pressure fit retainer holding a lock washer in place. Unfortunately we didn't receive any instructions explaining how to install the part, so we just had to wing it. I nearly lost a finger when the latch suddenly sprang shut--we hadn't thought it could do that while the parts we were replacing weren't installed.... Fortunately all went well and we got the hitch back together and functioning smoothly.

While we have the hitch apart we're planning to remove rust and repaint. We steel brushed the rust and applied Bull Frog Rust Remover, but it's going to take more work before it's ready to repaint.

We happily left that job behind when it was time to leave for Randy's C-1 dance at La Hacienda at 4:00 p.m. We don't usually attend that dance, but this week we'll be going to a potluck on Wednesday and will miss Jerry's workshop. Read more!

Lovely Day

Beautiful day today--sunny and mild--great weather for walking. Not much going on. We "fixed" our Fantastic Vent again. The dome has been opening, but the fan wouldn't start. We took the screen down and wiggled wires, and I climbed on the roof to work the interlock switch that keeps the fan off when the dome is closed. Didn't find any problems. Then Ken decided to play with the controls and discovered that the In-Out switch was in the neutral position. Oops. Now all is well again. Read more!

The Pelletier Family!

What a treat we had tonight! We've been looking forward to seeing Freddie and Sheila Pelletier and Freddie's son Clint again. We saw them in January 2009 and fell in love with their music and the energy and genuine feeling of their performance. In January of 2010 we unfortunately missed their show because Ken was recovering from his back surgery. We bought one of their CDs, Old Fashioned Songs in 2009, and we play it regularly.

The show tonight was very different from the one we saw in 2009, but even better. They are head and shoulders above the other music groups we've seen. Clint and Freddie are guitar virtuosos. Tonight they performed a variety of musical styles, including some Les Paul and Mary Ford numbers, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, flamenco, country, bluegrass.... Sheila and Thea (Clint's girlfriend) provided the vocals, and both have strong and interesting voices. It's clear that this group of people really enjoy each other and their music, and that Freddie and Sheila and Clint and Thea take delight in their relationships. The audience loved them. We loved them. We bought two more CDs....

Clinton Pelletier

Sheila and Freddie

Sheila

Thea Neumann

Mark came over today and replaced our broken step. It's as solid as a rock now and looks much better than when we first got the rig. Mark always does a conscientious job and turns out beautiful work.

Poor workmanship led to the failure of the step. No bracing at all supported the front of the step.

Good workmanship restored it better than new. You can see three of the new supports Mark put in.
Read more!

Happy Birthday, Edward!

Today is Ed's 43rd birthday. What do you get for the guy who has everything? Starbucks gift cards! He's a real Starbucks fan.

Tonight we attended a comedy called "Late Bloomers" with our CARE volunteer friends. It's a riff on life in a Winter Texan RV park in the Rio Grande Valley written by a prof at UTPA. We arrived quite early, but not before a crowd had gathered. We picked up all the tickets and waited in line for the doors to open. By the time we got in, it was difficult to find ten seats together, but we managed. The others joined us later.

We waited a long time for the play to begin at 8:00 p.m. It had funny moments, but overall was not one of our favorites. The young woman who played Lupita turned in the best performance and was the most empathetic character. Otherwise it seemed a bit overacted, but the plot was so outrageous that the actors in all fairness didn't have much to work with in creating believable characters.

Sharon, Jacolyn, Brad, and Bob

Mark came over to check out our broken step and figure out what materials he'll need to fix it. He pulled the remaining staples holding the carpet under the lip of the step to reveal a shattered 3/8" plywood step. He removed the large vent cover on the front of the step so he could get to the under side. Apparently the 2 x 2 brace just came completely detached from the left side framework, allowing the step to cave in. He'll be back tomorrow afternoon to work on it.
Read more!

Ken's Kindle Arrives

This afternoon we went, as usual, to Jerry Story's C-1 workshop, and as usual had a lot of fun dancing with our friends. When we got home, Ken's Kindle had been delivered by UPS. He had a couple of hours to get started with it before we went out again.

This evening we decided to try attending Joe's C-1 dance. We had been told early on that it is a high level dance and that the C-2 and C-3 dancers attend, so we were a bit uncertain how things would go. I had talked to Joe on Tuesday, and he had encouraged us to try.

We hitched a ride with Hardy and Judy, so at least for the first time we'd be with someone who knew the way. There were eight squares at one point, but then someone had to leave, so we had seven squares and three couples out. We were lucky to get in squares with experienced dancers who graciously helped us out. Our squares danced well, so we're feeling reasonably confident about going back.

After the dance we stopped at the DQ, along with John and Sandy and Tom and Marsha. This time we decided to get small vanilla cones, but next time we'll go back to the fudge bars. We hadn't realized that the DQ does not have chocolate soft serve. When you order chocolate cones, they just dip the vanilla in chocolate coating.

I finished reading Matterhorn tonight. It's the kind of book that sticks with you. The subject is the Vietnam War, but it's really about life and death, love and loss, and creating meaning in the face of an indifferent universe.
Read more!

Back at Joe's

We haven't been dancing to Joe Saltel on Tuesday mornings, but Jean asked me to be her partner at that dance this week and next. Ken was gracious enough to drop me off at the dance and go to the library to work on his computer while I danced. Jean and I had fun, as usual, and especially the hot hash tip, which we danced with Linda and Hugh, Bob and Marilyn,and Harlan and Jean.

After the dance Jean had invited us over to her place to eat our packed lunch. She's renting in Pharr South, which is where Randy's afternoon dance is held. Jean has a spacious, cheery mobile home with lots of light. Outside she has a grapefruit tree and an orange tree--handy for breakfast fruit.

Randy's workshop was challenging as usual. I mostly enjoy his direct, "get it right" attitude. He keeps it fun. However sometimes he uses the dancers to go through patterns he has invented--mainly at his "Wacky Wednesday" dances, but today he had us doing some of those patterns too. They're the kind of thing that will never be called at a dance, and we really need practice on the basic C-1 calls.... He also played around with the challenges involved in doing a call twice in a row. Getting oriented for the second call can be problematic.
Read more!

Party Planning

It was definitely not as sunny and warm today as forecast, though still mild and dry, so thank goodness. We couldn't walk through the park or on the levee today, so we walked around and on the bike path to the back of Retama and then through the neighborhood and out the front. It was a nice change.

This afternoon we danced to Darryl and then went over to C.B. and Nancy's to make plans for the Super Bowl party. We were very impressed with their home. It will make a great place for the party and is really lovely. When we got there, the AT&T repair guy was trying to get their internet to work. He finally decided that they have a bad modem, so they're going to get a new one. Meanwhile, they are out of email communication.

On our walk tonight we met John and Marsha and their two dachshunds. They are fellow Excel owners--for the moment. They are planning to make an offer on a house tomorrow, so they'll be putting their Excel RT up for sale. They're from Minnesota and don't plan to move down to the Valley--just stay here for the winter. Marsha has a dozen organic apple trees. John does some tour bus driving. They seemed like a very nice couple. We couldn't talk them into coming to the Excel luncheon, though. Tim drove by in the Smart Car and invited them also, but no dice. We have an invitation to come to the 300 circle where both of the other two Excels in the park are located...
Read more!

Fourteen for Breakfast

The Sunday morning breakfast at Angel's Restaurant group is growing. Today we had fourteen, including four CARE volunteer couples besides us, plus of course Hardy and Judy and Steve and Jan. Vern and Mary Miller and Bob and Sharon Vogler attended for the first time. Ken forgot the camera, so we didn't memorialize the event. We were at a long table in the back room, so our chatter didn't disturb the other patrons too much. The restaurant was very busy this morning, so the wait staff were really running, but as usual they provided good service and tasty food.

After breakfast we went over to Brad and Jacolyn's place at Circle T to see their new dog, Ian, who is a real cutie. He got a clean bill of health from the vet and has settled right in to his new home. Of course the fact that he has a doting mom helps!

Read more!

Cocooning

Drip, drip, drip! We still have the chilly, drizzly weather. Today we started out along the levee for our morning walk, but shortly found our feet getting heavier and heavier. Our shoes were picking up a thick layer of muck (yuck!). We decided to reroute and walk through the park instead, after spending some time trying to scrape the stuff off so we could walk. We found out that the park will be closed Monday because of the construction work on the levee.

We spent some time trip planning for this summer. As usual we found that we won't have as much time as we'd like, so we have to remind ourselves that "you can't do everything" and we'll have more chances in the future to revisit places like the Richmond area. We have some specific dates to be places, so we have to work around those.
Read more!

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?

We dropped off one of our day/night shades at Weiss Blinds this morning. They work out of their house, which turned out to be on the way to our Friday morning Darryl Lipscomb dance. After the dance we ate our packed lunch and then went to the HEB on Trenton before stopping back by to pick up our shade. It was all restrung and ready to go for $30. We actually managed to work together pretty amicably to get the valence and shade reinstalled--yay!

This evening we picked up Hardy and Judy and headed to Nikki Rowe High School for a performance of the musical, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?

A group of impressively talented young people put on an entertaining show. We heard some great voices and saw some great performances. Since I went to Catholic elementary and high school, a lot of the references were very familiar, but the one that unexpectedly moved me the most was the singing of the chorus from the song "Bring Flowers of the Rarest" that was sung at May crownings. I had a hard time stopping myself from singing along: "Oh Mary we crown thee with blossoms today...." Memories of grade school innocence just welled up inside me.

After the performance and the applause and bows, the students asked everyone to stay while they gave a tribute to their drama teacher, who is retiring after this year. The students gave heartfelt speeches of praise and gratitude that seemed quite mature. It's clear that we have young people here who are going far--and who give us cause for hope for the future.

Tribute to a wonderful teacher (photo is out of focus--taken with my cell phone from high up in the auditorium)
Read more!

Another Cold, Drippy Day....

Our "morning walk" ended up being some time in the workout room after lunch. We kept hoping the weather would improve.... One of the treadmills is out of order, so Ken walked the treadmill while I was on one of the exercise bikes. Not nearly as much fun as walking out in the sunny blue sky world we're used to!

We got our mail today--yea! How many people get Christmas cards in the middle of January? Unfortunately we also got the usual assortment of unresolved issues to untangle--like why we got a Medicare bill when they're supposed to be automatically deducting.

Tonight I danced with Jean at Darryl's. Hardy and Judy picked me up. I usually meet them at the gate, but they insisted on coming to the rig because of the cold, rainy weather. Linda actually wore long pants and tennies with socks (shock!). That's the first time I've seen her dancing in something other than shorts and sandals.
Read more!

Blogging Fun

Another chilly day--but less wind, so for our morning walk we took our usual route along the levee over to NABA and back along the Old Military Highway. This afternoon we danced to Jerry Story. He played around with phantoms and t-bones, but kept it fun even when it was a bit frustrating. Hardy and Judy weren't there--they were home waiting for their new washer and dryer to be delivered.

This evening I went over to Jan and Steve's. Steve was at a softball meeting, so Jan and I took advantage of the time to set up a new blog for them and check out some of the possibilities for customizing it. I learned as much as Jan did, since I almost never look at all the customizing controls. By trial and error we found most of what we needed to get started.
Read more!

Paradise Lost?

So much for beautiful days! Today it was cold, dreary, windy, overcast--altogether very un-paradisaical. We walked into the park mainly so that we could have the shelter of the trees and avoid some of the wind. Afterward we went over to Circle T to see our friends and fellow volunteers, Vern and Mary. They arrived in the Valley Sunday and spent their first day here trying to find out what was causing Mary's back pain and get it treated. Kidney stones? Aortic aneurysm? After all the tests, doctors suggested that she had probably just strained some back muscles and sent her home with muscle relaxers.

When we stopped by, Patti dropped in with Hippo, who immediately got some Cheerios from his "Grandma Mary." Vern and Mary told us all about the doings at CARE since we left. We got our jackets and fleeces that we accidentally left at CARE--just in the nick of time to wear them for the cold spell for the next few days.

Tonight we attended a concert at the clubhouse again. This one featured the Goldwing Express--another family act, but this one featured Dad and three sons, cracking jokes and playing some smoking guitar, banjo, mandolin, and bass. The bass player was also a bass singer who did a creditable job of some Conway Twitty songs. The boys told us their mom (now deceased) was a full-blooded Creek Indian from Oklahoma. Their dad, on the other hand, was a "full-blooded white guy."

The boys wear headdresses in a tribute to their mom.
Read more!

Another Beautiful Day in Paradise

We've had several occasions recently to think of the Southern California mantra: ABDIP ("Another beautiful day in paradise" as we walk under blue skies in warm sunny weather. But we're not in California, as this sign by one of our neighbors' rigs makes clear:

We walked into the state park this morning with our new park pass in hand. It's way less convenient now than it was when they weren't charging for entry because the park was only partially open. Now we have to go into the gift shop, show our card, wait while the computer verifies it, and get wristbands to wear into the park. It's still a beautiful place to walk, and lots of birders are showing up. The tram is running again, although it's starting from the Nature Center stop rather than the headquarters. That's because the road and bridge into the park over the canals are under construction.

This afternoon we danced at Darryl's C-1 workshop, along with lots of our friends and fellow dancers--nine squares plus three people, or 75 dancers. You can tell it's past the holidays and more folks have found their way to the Valley.
Read more!

Breakfast with Friends

We went to Angel's for Sunday breakfast again. Greg and Patti joined the group, making ten at the table. Jacolyn told us all the saga of Ian's travels across the country, with the assistance of friends and pilots, most of whom she had never met. Greg and Hardy discovered their mutual interest in genealogy. Next week we expect Vern and Mary to join the group. They were due to arrive at Circle T this evening.

On the left: Jan, Brad, Jacolyn, Patti, Greg. On the right, Steve, Lee, Judy and Hardy. Ken took the photo.

Jan and Steve decided that they'd take a trip to the Don Wes Flea Market (so called because it's between Donna and Weslaco). I've been wanting to go to look for one of the dressy cardigans with a rhinestone zipper like Mary Ann has been wearing, so I hitched a ride with them. (Ken went home to get some down time and work on his photos.) I didn't find a cardigan that fit, but I did find a studded shirt/jacket in red like Judy wore for the New Year's Eve dance, so I'm a happy shopper.

Soon after we got to Don Wes, we bumped into Hardy and Judy. They had decided that shopping sounded like a good idea. Later we also ran into Jean. Lots of Winter Texans, including square dancers, crowded the market today.
Read more!

Bentsen Rio Grande Park Reopens

The park has officially reopened (as of January 6), with all the main roads open. Hardy and Judy rode their bikes around the day it opened. We decided to bike in this morning and walk the Reseca Vieja Trail. It was open up to the bridge and made a very peaceful walk in a different world, one belonging to the birds and other critters. We heard a lot of them and saw a few, including chacalacas and Great Kiskadees.

Dead trees along the Resaca Vieja Trail

We haven't spotted any javelinas, but it looks like they're still around.

 

Floodwaters ran deep here!

We met a man with an interesting hobby a couple of days ago on our morning walk. He was working near the trash and recycling area. He makes glasses from wine bottles. He mentioned dumpster diving, but in our park, it's easier--the wine bottles are mainly in the glass recycling bin. He soaks them to remove the labels and clean them up. Then he uses a bottle cutter, which leaves a rough edge. Next he smooths the edge using fine grinding compound and sandpaper. He was making a set of lovely blue glasses from blue wine bottles (Blue Nun?).

Read more!

Bluegrass and Family Ties

Tonight we attending a show at the clubhouse featuring the Link Family. Mom, Dad, and the five kids along with other family members put on a straight from the Ozarks musical show, featuring guitars, mandolin, banjo, and bass (and occasionally a penny whistle) along with wonderful vocal harmonies.



The group reminded us of the Redhead Express, another acoustic family group we enjoyed last year--lots of musical talent, high energy, and joking around. It definitely seems that this is a very close family who have a lot of fun with what they do.

This morning we danced at Darryl's A-2 concept dance and had fun seeing friends. We packed a lunch and joined the group who stay afterward to attend a C-2 session--but of course we didn't stay for the dance. Instead we went to the big HEB store at Trenton and 10th St. in McAllen. We had been told they have the best selection of organic produce in the area, and we weren't disappointed. They have a great selection of other organic products and international foods too. We'll be back.

Next we went to CVS Pharmacy to get our passport photos made. We found an online coupon for $2 off, which is why we chose CVS. We were very happy with the friendly service, and the photos were ready pretty quickly. We tucked them into the envelopes with our applications, checks, and old passports and headed to the nearby post office. It was a very small post office given the populous area. There was no wait and again friendly service.
Read more!

Dancing Tonight

We had a quiet day today, starting with a walk on our usual loop along the levee to NABA and back along the Old Military Highway. That makes two miles of peaceful scenery.

We filled out our applications to renew our passports. They expire next month, which means it's been ten years since our trip to Germany and France. That's really hard to believe and must mean it's time to plan another trip! At this point our international travel plans are limited to going to Mexico for lunch.

On our walk tonight we got a really good view of the oriole on the coral bean tree. It really seems to love those red flowers. We watched it for a few minutes before it flew away.

Tonight Hardy and Judy picked me up and we went to Tropic Valley for Darryl's C-1 workshop. Marion and Velma came--they arrived in the Valley yesterday. We're seeing lots of new faces since the new year started.
Read more!

Happy Birthday, Terri!

Today is Terri's birthday. I talked with her this evening, and she sounded happy--so I guess it's a happy birthday! Moms have a different experience than their children when each birthday comes around: wonder at the growth and development of their child and recollections of the day of that child's birth. It's awesome to remember the tiny creature and to see the wonderful person she has become.

Today is a red letter day for another reason too: Ken ordered a new Kindle! After checking out ebook readers for the last couple of years, we agreed that the new Kindle 3 would be a good choice. We still think that ebook readers will continue to develop in the next few years--so maybe at some point we'll want to upgrade. Meanwhile I'm waiting to see how Ken likes the Kindle before deciding whether or not to get one for myself.

We danced to Jerry Story this afternoon. As usual we had lots of fun and learned a lot. We also had some confused moments, but that's par for the course.

After the dance we walked over to Retama Village next door to the RV park. Some people had reported that the new model home was definitely worth a view, and we always enjoy touring model homes, even though we're not planning to buy any time soon. The new model features a large, inviting courtyard, with lots of room for outdoor living. Although it's not clear from the floor plan, the courtyard is completely enclosed, so it provides a light and airy private space.

Read more!

Oriole News

The oriole has drawn a crowd of onlookers to our resort, since the fact that it's been showing up in the coral bean tree was posted online. This evening when we got back from dancing, several vehicles were parked along the road outside the park, so we suspected the bird was in the area. On our walk, we almost caught a glimpse of it, but it flew off before we could locate it. Easy to see where to look, since three long lenses were pointed up in a tree!

This afternoon we went to Randy's C-1 workshop. When he says workshop, he means that he's going to throw novel and challenging formations at the dancers and then work through them some. Today we worked on Plenty from some odd starting formations and even tried a concentric Cut the Diamond--the sort of thing that leaves me trying to visualize the formation at the end of the tip. Jerry Story is starting a C-1 workshop on Tuesday evenings, and Hardy and Judy were planning to go. Jan and Steve decided that three sessions in one day would be a bit too much.
Read more!

Black-Vented Oriole Sighting

We finally got a look at the black-vented oriole that has been drawing so much attention from serious birders. We walked up to get our mail and saw folks pointing up into the coral bean tree by the mailboxes. The bird was evidently attracted by the colorful red blooms of the tree. We didn't get any photos--the bird flew away after a few minutes, so these photos are from the web. This oriole is generally found in Mexico and has been seen in Texas only a few times.

Coral Bean flower

Black-Vented Oriole

We went to Darryl's workshop this afternoon. When we walked into the hall, Hardy motioned me to the table where they were sitting and pointed to Jan's Kindle 3, which they had brought along for us to check out. Jan has a lovely red leather cover with built in book light and we had a grand old time investigating all the features.
Read more!

Fire

We started our Sunday morning as usual, at Angel's Restaurant having breakfast with friends. Steve and Jan were gracious enough to agree to meet at 9:00 a.m.--but they couldn't resist a comment about late sleepers....  They've been regaling Hardy and Judy and us with tales of their workamping adventures at the Campbellsville, Kentucky, Amazon.com warehouse.

After breakfast we went to Best Buy to try out eBook readers. After an hour checking out the Sony eReader, Kindle 3, and Nook and Nook Color, we came away as undecided as when we started. They all have pluses and minuses.

As we neared home, we saw a plume of black smoke in the sky. That's not unusual around here. We attributed it to a burning cane field. When we got to Bentsen Palm, we saw fire engines and police cars surrounding a burning Class C in the World Birding Center parking lot, adjacent to the RV resort.
 We heard that the unit was a 2011 model, only four months old. The owners had just arrived from British Columbia. They turned on their refrigerator and started to walk into the state park, when suddenly they heard their RV burst into flames. It took the fire fighters a long time to quell the flames. Apparently the RV was engulfed, and we doubted that anything was salvageable.

Read more!

Off to Fly a Kite

Today is the first Saturday of the month, which is when the SPIKE (South Padre Island Kite Enthusiasts) usually gather on the Flats to fly their kites. Hardy suggested a trip to the Island, and Jan and Steve, Pat and Bob, and Ken and I thought that flying kites would be a good way to see in the new year. We rode with Hardy and Judy. It's an 86-mile trip that takes nearly two hours, so we were glad to have the company.

When we met the others at the Flats, we tried to park so as to create a wind break. The wind was whipping up white caps on the ocean and blowing sheets of sand along the beach. We saw a couple of windsurfers, and one quad in the air briefly when we arrived--but no more SPIKE members were on the beach.

Jan got a little kite with a twirling tail up quickly. Steve commented, "Low tech!"

Hardy and Judy launched their kite with its humongous tail into the air, and it rode the wind steadily.

In fact, Hardy and Bob flew it from their chairs on the beach.

Steve got another kite up with Judy's help.

Ken managed to launch his dual line kite with the ribbon tail attached and fly it briefly. It danced and swooped in the air.

Unfortunately, the heavy winds were too much for it, and it crashed, breaking a couple of the fiberglass spars.

Judy and I walked over to a restroom, and along the way, I spotted a couple of butterflies.

We went to Daddy's Seafood and Cajun Kitchen for lunch.

Lee, Judy, (Hardy), Steve, Jan, Pat, and Bob perusing the menu

Hardy showed up in this photo

Read more!