Leap Day

Today is Leap Day--the last day of February. It is 48 days (and counting) until we plan to pull in to Junction City to see our new home. Our friends Gary and Judy pulled out this morning, headed for Kerrville. We miss them already. They will be going to Junction City this June for some warranty work on their air conditioners, but by then we'll be in California. We'll see them next January when they arrive for a two-month stay at Bentsen Palm Village again.

Gary and Judy's empty site

Wednesday night we usually attend Joe Saltel's dance, but tonight we went to UTPA instead, for the Distinguished Speaker Series. We met Hardy and Judy and John and Sandy there just after 6:00 p.m., although the talk wasn't scheduled to begin until 7:30. That's because students, faculty, and staff have first claim on the seats in the Fine Arts Auditorium. Community members line up in a separate line and are allowed in only if there are seats remaining. We wanted to be near the front of the line, and we were.

Ken, Lee, Judy, Sandy, John, and Hardy, waiting in the community line

That gave us a chance to chat with our friends and catch up on their lives. Walenters still don't have a rear window in their fifth wheel. It was broken out a month ago, and ever since there's been a comedy of errors. Replacement windows arrive either broken or the wrong size. Meanwhile, John finally replaced the plastic sheeting he had put in to keep the weather out with plexiglass cut to fit and seated properly in the hole. They're planning to wait until they're back home to have that window glazed.

The speaker tonight was Tom Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and the winner of five Pullitzer prizes. He talked about his recently published book (written with Michal Mandelbaum): That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back. Friedman definitely connected with his audience, which showed their appreciation by spontaneous applause. He got a standing ovation at the end of the talk. One of his main points is that we now live in a hyperconnected world, which offers us both challenges and opportunities.

Chris called tonight to let us know that Annie will be attending the Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women (and not Cleveland High School) next year. Chris and Annie went to an information night at the school tonight. Annie is very excited. The school is an all-girl school with an emphasis on math, science, and leadership.

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Windy Day

It was warm and sunny when we set out on our bikes for the state park, carrying Lee's bird spotting scope. We rode to the south end of the park and walked up to the hawk tower, which overlooks a resaca. We didn't see many water birds, but we did spot several ducks and a few others. We set the scope up, hoping to zoom in and check them out.

The wind blew much more fiercely on top of the tower than it had along the way. It was difficult--nearly impossible, actually--to stabilize the lens enough to see anything clearly. We did manage to check out a heron and several Greater Yellowlegs. Overhead, we saw some sort of hawk or falcon--it disappeared too quickly for us to identify it. All in all, this wasn't our best bird spotting excursion.

This evening we joined Gary and Judy and some friends for a game of Sequence. Bruce and Carole are the friends from Wisconsin that we've heard about. Donna and Dale made the oversize Sequence board we played on--senior size! The free spaces in the corners featured photos of the horses they used to own. We played two teams. The men took four to the women's three games. Dale doesn't exactly love the game, but he agreed to play. Toward the end, he was almost ready to cheat and show Gary the winning moves that he was missing. We were about ready to eat the cards--it was after 8:00 p.m. and we hadn't had supper yet.

Carole and Bruce consider their options

Donna and Dale
 
We wanted to spend this evening with Gary and Judy because they will be leaving tomorrow morning. We will keep in touch and hope to see them back here in the fall.
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Mr. Splashy Splashy!

We danced to Darryl this afternoon. The new graduates were there, and we had ten squares, plus three couples sitting out. In one tip, we danced with John and Carolyn, who were in our original C-1 class. We haven't seen them for quite a while.

On our bike ride this morning, we rode into the state park. The office was closed, but a ranger was waiting at the Nature Center. It turns out that on Mondays, you have to both fill out a form at the self-pay station and stop and talk with the ranger and fill out forms to get wristbands. Bureaucrats! The park was delightful, until we hit one spot where we were suddenly attacked by some kind of stinging critters. We were probably comical as we rode along trying to scratch our backs!

On our evening bike ride we passed Mr. Splashy Splashy. This is evidently part of an ongoing joke. Early on, someone asked if we were birders and then said there was an interesting bird ahead on the right. Yup, you guessed it. The "bird" was a rubber ducky floating in a water dish. Now it's been joined by a legion of friends.

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Razz-Ma-Tazz

As usual, we went out to breakfast with our friends this morning. Judy mentioned that Razz-Ma-Tazz was performing at Green Gate Grove this afternoon, and we decided to go. We've heard good things about the group but never seen them in performance.

Razz-Ma-Tazz is the show choir of Nikki Rowe High School in nearby McAllen. They are all talented singers and very personable. One young man in particular did a solo of As Time Goes By that was reminiscent of Frank Sinatra's cover of the song. We enjoyed the show.

(Photo is blurry because it was taken with a cellphone and we weren't in the best position to take photos.)

We stopped by to see Gary and Judy while we were out biking. Gary was walking around the park, but Judy is still nursing a sprained ankle. They'll be leaving on Wednesday, and we'll sure miss them. Judy says they are planning to spend March next year at the KOA on South Padre Island.
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The Muppets

Well, I finally made it to a Muppets movie. We went to the Movies 6 matinee at 2:00 p.m., so lots of kids around. Most of them were probably there for the Chipmunks movie or Tintin. I love the Muppets, and especially Kermit, so I was happy to spend the hour and a half with them. Ken wasn't as entertained. The movie did suffer a bit from the incongruity of mixing Muppets with people, especially in the case of Walter (a Muppet) and his brother Gary (a real live person). The Muppets reprise the Rainbow Connection, bringing back lots of memories of innocence and the unaffected joy of childhood. The movie's new song, Life's a Happy Song, is equally catchy and appealing.

On the way home we stopped at Burlington Coat Factory, where Ken found a really nice new black jacket. I was looking for a similar jacket, but all the women's lightweight jackets were very long, and most required both buttoning and zipping. I ended up adopting Ken's old black jacket. We also found some gloves for him--preparing for our Alaska cruise this summer.
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One More Step

After breakfast, we heard a knock at the door. It was a couple inquiring about the table we had for sale. They decided to buy it. We've really enjoyed the Miller's Amazing Magic Table since we bought it a couple of years ago from a friend. We're hoping the new owners will enjoy it as much. Selling the table feels like one more step towards moving to our new home.

Ken wasn't feeling well when we got up this morning, and the weather wasn't very inviting, so we didn't get much exercise today. We did go out shopping, including a stop at Burlington Coat Factory, where Ken found a nice jacket and a pair of gloves that will keep his hands warm when we visit Alaska this summer.
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Laundry, Fish, and Dancing

As usual on Thursday, we did our laundry this morning, walking while the clothes were in the washer and dryer, which works really well for us.

We're still trying to sell our coffee table and our cell data antenna. Today a couple of guys stopped by to talk with us about the antenna, but clearly they had little idea what was involved. Another person stopped us to ask if the antenna would help bring in wi-fi. So far, no luck.

For dinner tonight we had the rest of the fresh fish from our fishing trip Wednesday, along with some really good cornbread. It was made with Bob's Red Mill whole grain corn meal.

Tonight we went to Darryl's dance, hoping to see Hardy and Judy and Steve and Jan. Neither couple was there. Judy posted on Facebook that Hardy had eaten something that disagreed with him, so we're hoping that he'll be back to dancing soon. We're not sure why Steve and Jan weren't dancing, but we're surmising that perhaps Steve's foot is bothering him more.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse, but by Sunday it will be more pleasant again. Read more!

Fishing Trip

We got up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready and meet Hardy and Judy at 6:00 a.m. at Green Gate. Judy drove us to South Padre Island. Steve and Jan picked up Jean and met us at Dolphin Docks for our 8:00 a.m. fishing trip. It was foggy and the seas were a bit rough, especially when we first reached the spot our captain had chosen, beyond the breakers. Steve, Hardy, and I were fishing, while Ken, Judy, Jan, and Jean were on the top deck to watch for dolphins and sightsee. We spotted some dolphins off the rear of the boat right away, along with lots of pelicans and even some jellies floating in the water.

Well, as you can probably imagine, the top of the little craft swung back and forth in a larger arc than the bottom, so the spectators felt the rough seas even more than the anglers. One woman was acutely ill the entire trip. Ken was pretty miserable until he came downstairs and discovered that he could lie down on the padded benches in the cabin.

Meanwhile, we had baited our hooks with cut up bits of squid and dropped them to the bottom, heavily weighted with lead, to wait for fish to bite. Steve didn't have long to wait. He pulled in the first fish caught after just a few moments, and then he went on to catch three more in fairly rapid succession, while Hardy and I waited. Some of the others started to pull in wriggling whitefish too.

Finally, Hardy caught a couple, and I was the only one left skunked. I was beginning to wonder if I'd lost my touch, but then I started catching fish too. We ended up with a stringer full of fish for the Spauldings' annual fish fry.

After the successful fishing trip, we all headed next door to Pelican Landing for lunch. We had a great waterfront table and some delicious seafood.  By this time, Ken was feeling fine. Steve had some problems earlier, probably because he hadn't eaten enough and had taken his pain pills for his foot on an empty stomach. Lunch was just the ticket for that, and he started to feel better, but still let Jan drive home.

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Mardi Gras and New Friends

Well, our new neighbors, Lee and Beth and their little Schnauzer Obi, are finally settled in enough to have their portrait made. We enjoyed sitting on their patio and chatting with them. They are fellow Excel owners and also full timers, like us. They have traveled all over the U.S., except that Beth has yet to visit Hawaii. Of course it's hard to travel to Hawaii in an RV!

Their spot, #606, is two over from ours. They're enjoying the convenience of being near the exercise room and laundry, and Obi is glad that the dog run is nearby. They are planning to make a reservation for next year here. Of course we are too. Reservations for next season will be open starting next week.

This evening when we headed out for a bike ride we happened upon a Mardi Gras parade, complete with beads and coins and candy thrown to parade watchers like us.

Take a closer look and you'll see that even the little dogs are gussied up for the occasion.

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Out and About

We biked again this morning. Just for a change we biked through Tanglewood, a nearby Bentsen Palm Development neighborhood. We were surprised and glad to see that workers are actually building a new home there. The economy has been so depressed that building and lot sales have all but ground to a halt over the last three years.

We are still trying to decide what exterior color scheme to choose for our new home. Here are two takes on the popular Champagne color scheme. The first is Gary and Judy's, and the second is Stuart and Lynn's. We are definitely leaning towards some version of Champagne. When Phil and Karen get back from California, they'll take a photo of the company F450, which is pale adobe like our new one will be, with the Caram coach. It's a variation on the Champagne, but with a more gold toned color on the top and bottom. 

We danced this afternoon at Darryl's. We had eleven squares. The new C-1 dancers who just graduated from their lessons joined us, so we had lots of new faces. They all seemed to be doing quite well.

Steve and Jan were there, despite Steve's having a foot problem. The doc says possibly plantar fascitis or gout or an inflamed tendon. Steve took some pain pills and decided to dance anyhow. He and Jan have been stuck home sick for too long. Meanwhile, part way through the dance, Ken's foot really started to hurt, so he sat out the last two tips while I danced with Quiz, a single. He's a caller friend of Darryl's who has been visiting for the last couple of weeks.
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Sunday Again

From only five of us last Sunday morning at breakfast, we went to eleven this week. Our regulars were back (even though Jan is still fighting a cough). Our friends George and Zeta joined us too. The gang has decided to go this Wednesday to South Padre to go bay fishing. Spauldings and Pottingers have done this often before, but it will be the first time for Jean and Ken and me. We're looking forward to the day, but not to the prospect of having to be on the road by 6:00 a.m.!

We biked the state park again today. Ken didn't want to stress his foot, but he's generally improving. We got ambitious and cleaned the truck and the front and rear caps of Venture. Ken said he didn't think he had ever seen the truck so dirty. The combination of lots of rain and dusty/muddy roads really left everyone's vehicles a mess. Lots of folks were out taking advantage of the sunshine to wash trucks and cars today.

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New Neighbors

Lee and Beth and their little schnauzer, Obi, moved into site #606 today. We're in site #608, so very close. We walked over to welcome them when they had set up. They invited us in to see their home. It is a 2005 36RDO Excel, which has a separate living room in the rear, similar to our friends Gary and Mary Ann's layout. One thing that struck me was the crocheted remote holder that Beth had made, with individual pockets for each of six remotes--plus they have a wooden remote holder with a few more. We've begun to wonder how we're going to deal with the plethora of remotes we'll have in our new coach (three Maxxair vents, one ceiling fan, TV, amplifier/blu-ray play, fireplace, TV lift, motorized shade, and key fob control for the Bigfoot leveling system).

We biked through the park today. It was a lovely sunny day, despite weather forecasts that warned of severe storms. It was definitely windy. In fact, a palm tree on a neighbor's site blew down, narrowly missing their truck. The trees in the park provide shelter from the wind, and usually we get to see lots of colorful birds. Maybe they were hunkered down today on account of the wind. We did happen upon John Walenter and a couple of friends. They had come to the park for the morning nature photography program.
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One Week

Today is the one week mark in the construction of our new Majestic. Of course we're excited and wish we could see the progress, but we'll have to wait until April. Meanwhile today we stopped at Tuesday Morning and found a rug for the entry. The floor will be Permastone, and the makers warn that rubber or latex backing on rugs can discolor the floor. It's not that easy to find small rugs that don't have the latex backing.

We biked again today to avoid stressing Ken's foot. It's getting better, but hurts if he walks too much.

We've had lots of birds around, mainly red-winged blackbirds and more recently broad-tailed grackles. Today Ken spotted this interesting bird posing in the bushes next to our patio.

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Drip, Drip, Drip....

All night last night it rained lightly, but let up during the day. We got our laundry done and walked around the park. We're still walking slowly since Ken's foot is still hurting.

We had visitors today. A couple stopped by and introduced themselves: Lee and Beth are fellow Excel owners and will soon be our neighbors in site #606. They have a schnauzer named Obi. They had been to the Excel luncheon and wondered why we hadn't been there. We had to admit that we're in the process of becoming New Horizons owners. They're interested in seeing one, so we promised to take them to see one of the Majestics in Bentsen Palm or Retama when they are moved in here.

We grilled a whole chicken in our little Weber grill today. I had to split it open and spread it out to fit under the lid--which just closed. The chicken came out delicious--but the top center of the breast wasn't browned. That's the part that was pressing against the lid. All in all it was a successful experiment. It sure keeps from heating the kitchen up.

Tonight we went to Darryl's dance. Ken danced all but two tips. I got other dancers to fill in for him, so it all worked well.
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Escape Day--Four Years and Counting

Four years ago today, we left our temporary parking spot in Midway City, CA, to head out on our great adventure. We celebrate the day every year as "Escape Day." Our last day at work was February 14, and the next morning we headed out to Buellton to stay at the Flying Flags RV Resort there and attend Romney's square dance weekend in Solvang. We are still very happy to be vagabonds and plan to be on the road for many more years.

Wednesday is usually our day to dance, but not today. Ken woke up this morning with a swollen foot. He fell a couple of days ago, and one of his toes was painful, but we figured it would probably heal by itself. Since it hasn't, Ken had Dr. George look at it. He ordered an x-ray of the foot, which showed a very small chip which has already begun to heal. Dr. George said that it required no treatment except maybe ibuprofen and keeping his feet elevated.

We decided to ride our bikes for exercise today rather than walking, with the thought that this would stress the foot less. We biked about nine miles on the hike and bike trail, over to the Conway trail head and back to the park. Along the way we saw this sign. We googled "Champain Trail" in Mission and found some references to a mountain bike trail.

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Happy Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day--a time to remember all the people we care about. Ken and I sent e-cards to our grandchildren--no paper valentines in the mail.

Our Valentine's celebration was a Town Band concert titled "Hollywood Goes to War." We went over to Green Gate Grove at 6:30 p.m. to pick up Hardy and Judy, but it turned out that Hardy felt like he was coming down with something, so he stayed home. Jan and Steve are both still sick too. Concert 3, illness 3. The odds aren't good.

The selections were arrangements for symphonic band of movie music. The selection we enjoyed the most was a soprano saxophone solo of "What a Wonderful World." What does this have to do with war? It turns out that it was included in the soundtrack for the film Good Morning, Vietnam in 1987.

Intermission at Trinity Worship Center

We sat with Sandy and John and some other square dance friends.

Pete and Judie. Notice Pete's shirt (Shalom, y'all).

This morning we walked through Retama Vilage again, taking special note of what people were using under their Bigfoot leveling system feet. Choices included nothing, plywood squares, glued together 2 x 4's, orange jack pads from Camping World, and Dica pads (available online for $52 each). We're going to start out with the less expensive Camping World type.

Here are some real characters we spotted by one motor home. Definitely easy-care pets!

This morning Ken ran the new compressor for 10 minutes with no load to break it in gently, as per the manual. It definitely made more noise than our smaller one, but Ken hopes that once we put a hose on it, the noise level with subside a bit.

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Sunshine, Friends, Dancing

Well, it wasn't raining this morning, but it was overcast and windy, so we walked around the park. We decided to stop and chat with Gary and Judy--and before we knew it, we were almost late for Darryl's dance. We scurried home and ate a quick sandwich.

Hardy and Judy showed up at the dance, back from Gun Barrel City. This was Judy's first dance since her surgery, and she seemed to be feeling just fine. In fact, they planned to go to a C-2 dance this evening. The party for Hardy's mom's birthday was a success. They're very happy that his mom and pop have agreed to move to Paducah, TX, to live with Hardy's sister. But that means they'll be leaving the Valley early to help with the move in mid-March.

When we left the dance, everyone was exclaiming at the SUNSHINE! It was almost 70 degrees and lovely for our afternoon walk.

Jan and Steve are both still on the sick list, darn it. Hope they're feeling better soon.
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Another Dreary Day

This morning we got up early and headed over to Angel's Restaurant for breakfast with friends. Usually there are nine of us, but today our little band was only five: Bob and Pat, Jean, and Ken and I. Hardy and Judy were off to Gun Barrel City this last week for Hardy's mom's 90th birthday. Jan has been nursing Steve through some respiratory gunk. He's improving, but not ready for prime time.

We were hoping the weather would improve a bit, but it was after 2:00 p.m. and still chilly, rainy, and windy. We decided to walk on the treadmills. This is definitely a better option than not walking at all, but nothing like as refreshing as being in the outdoors and enjoying nature.

We made ads to put on the bulletin boards in our laundry rooms for some of the items we're hoping to sell. We made some to take to the other parks we dance at too. We're especially hoping someone will want our Honda eu2000i generator.
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Sunshine!

The sun was actually out this morning. We took advantage of the opportunity and walked through the state park. The parking lot was full, so we weren't surprised to see the park full of birders. Everyone was just so glad to see the sunshine, including the birds, I guess. We saw Altamira orioles and green jays and great kiskadees and red winged blackbirds and chakalakas and more, all color aflash on the wing.

This afternoon the sky clouded over and a cold wind was blowing again. We're lucky we got a little respite.

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Unremarkable Day

Not much happening around here. It's been raining for days, mostly rather lightly. We've been hoping that we wouldn't have any leaks, but that was not to be. This morning there was a telltale residue behind the sink that looks like the coffeemaker overflowed. Only it hadn't. We have water coming in through the light switches by the door again. So we sent Mark an email, but we saw him before he'd read it and flagged him down. I'm soooo tired of leaks! This one isn't major, and it obviously took several days of rain before it showed up. We'll see what Mark comes up with this time.

Today we were hoping for at least partial sunshine in the afternoon. The sun did break through--for about five minutes!

We went out to do some shopping. Our first destination was Sears, to return some Land's End bedding that turned out to be a color that won't coordinate and that we didn't care for. We've decided to wait until we're in the new rig before doing any more shopping for bedding. That way we'll be more likely to find coordinating colors.

While we were at Sears, Ken went to check out the shirts on sale. He actually found a couple of blue and white knits that he liked. We've been looking for some to replace the ones that wore out. Both of us like blue--partly because it brings out the blue in his eyes.

I checked over the clearance clothing too, but didn't find anything that I liked that fit right.

Ken ordered a Husky air compressor to be delivered to our nearby Home Depot this morning. While we were out, he got an email message that it was available for pickup. Nifty way to shop. This compressor is quite a bit larger than the small one we've been using, which was a gift from our friends Dennis and Cheryl. Ken figures we'll need the larger unit to fill the larger, higher psi tires on our new truck and trailer.

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Cold and Rainy--Repeated Daily

It's been cold and rainy every day this week, with more to come, unfortunately. Clouds and fog have darkened our days. We are definitely ready for some sunshine!

Not much going on today. We got our laundry done, but we still have some damp things hanging around to dry. Somehow the $1.25 dryers don't always dry everything well. We wish they'd put in some of the type that you can add a quarter to add some time rather than requiring an additonal $1.25 for a second complete drying cycle.

Tonight we danced to Darryl at Tropical Valley Acres.  Steve is still on the sick list, and Hardy and Judy are out of town. We're missing them and hope everyone gets well at one time and back to dancing. Jan says that Steve probably has what she just got over--after weeks of coughing and hacking and no energy.
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Double Dancing

As usual today we danced twice, once in the afternoon to Jerry Story at the Peppermint Palace and once in the evening to Joe Saltel at Texas Trails. Lots of the dancers come to both dances, but we have some higher level dancers who come to C-1 only on Wednesday nights to dance to Joe's very challenging, interesting calling. We see John and Sandy there.

Today we missed Steve and Jan again. According to Jan's FB posting, Steve still isn't feeling well at all. Hope he's back on his feet with his dancing shoes on soon. Hardy and Judy are going to Gunbarrel City for his dad's 90th birthday party. It's just as well it's this week, since Judy won't be released to dance until next week. The good news is that her surgeon is happy with her healing and has cut her loose.
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Checkups

This morning we both had appointments with Dr. George to follow up on our tests. The best news is that Ken's MRI was normal, and his headaches are continuing to improve. All our blood work tested normal too, so we're suppposed to come in only on an "as needed" basis.

We felt like kids playing hooky from school today. For the first time in weeks, we didn't feel like we had to spend every spare minute working on the plans for our new home. We actually watched an episode of the new season of Downton Abbey. We've been recording it and looking forward to following the further adventures of the aristocratic Crawley family and their downstairs supporting cast.

We spent some time on planning our itinerary and schedule for this summer, with contingencies in case the production schedule slips at New Horizons. One thing we discovered is that we will be in Southern California just in time to attend Romney's Memorial Day weekend at Golden Village Palms in Hemet. After that, we'll have a week to dance with our Rogues buddies, Romney's workshops, and Trailblazers. Should be a great time--if the schedule holds.
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Final Go Ahead!

Today we got the final drawings of our new home for approval, with all the changes we have requested. We gave the go-ahead for construction to begin, so now we are counting the days until we can move in. From this point on, changes may still be possible, but they would require approval and incur an administrative change fee. So of course we're hoping that we won't feel a need to make any changes.

When we stopped to see Gary and Judy this morning, we heard some rather alarming news. Judy had a pretty scary experience of finding her heart racing and skipping beats. They went to the ER, where she was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

This afternoon we missed Steve and Jan at the dance. At first we thought maybe Jan had gone to the eye doctor to have her bruised eye checked out. Instead we found out that Steve was definitely not feeling well and has abdominal pain, so they're planning to call Dr. Alhalel, the gastroenterologist that they referred Ken to. We are sure hoping that all is well and that Steve will be back on his feet and on the dance floor soon.

Judy had a follow-up consultation with a cardiologist this afternoon. We stopped on the way home to check on her, and it seems the news is pretty good. She'll be taking some medication (to prevent blood clots), but no restrictions on her activity. Next week she has a heart catherization and stress test scheduled, just to be sure there are no physical changes detected in her heart. We ended up spending an informal happy hour celebrating the good news with Gary and Judy and neighbors Ron and Marie.
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Super Bowl Party!

We started the day with breakfast at Angel's with our usual gang of friends. Afterward we went grocery shopping to pick up fruits and veggies to make party trays for the Super Bowl party this evening.

It rained last night, a good solid rain, so now we know that the bedroom slideout we had rebuilt last November actually doesn't leak--yay. It was cold and overcast today, so we took our "walk" on the treadmills in the exercise room. Ken was reading on his tablet, and I was reading on my Droid. It's not nearly as much fun as walking outdoors and talking together, but at least we get the exercise we need.

The Super Bowl XLVI party was at Hardy and Judy's house, co-hosted by them and John and Sandy. The breakfast group was joined by three more couples to make a total of 15. Everyone brought food, so there was no shortage of great things to eat. Jean even brought some of her son Bill's John Wayne Pudding (wonderful stout).

Pottinger's TV in the living room was supplemented by Walenter's TV in the dining area, so everyone had a good view of the Super Bowl ads--and of whatever part of the game and halftime show we wanted to watch, in between talking and eating. Pat knitted one of her nice dish cloths for Jean while we were sitting there, using a multicolor cotton yarn called "Peach Tea."

C.B., G.W., David, Jean, Jan, Pat, and Judy

Since Green Bay wasn't playing, no one was too concerned with who might win. It was beginning to look like the Patriots might pull it off, and they could have won on the final play even, so there was plenty of suspense. At halftime I was winning the pool, but on the final score, David won. That's good, because he and G.W. have a great party house for Super Bowl XLVII next February.

G.W., David, Jean, Pat, Ken, Judy John, Steve, Nancy (taken with my Droid, so not the best, but Ken forgot the camera....)

Lee (mouth open, munching cake), Sandy, and Jean (taken by Judy)

Hardy, Bob, and C.B. (taken by Judy)

One of our own has been published by the Wordsmith in this week's AWADmail! Last week's words were all Dickens characters that have become English words. Hardy wrote in to comment on the word "fagin" (after the character in Oliver Twist):

From: Hardy J Pottinger (hardyp3 yahoo.com)
Subject: Fagin

We had a fagin in our neighborhood last year. There had been a rash of break-ins into storage sheds with the theft of a number of tool boxes, lawn mowers, golf carts, bicycles, and the like. Turns out one of the older residents was hiring local kids to steal stuff and storing it in a trailer which he would periodically haul to San Antonio to fence. Thanks for the reminder about a good name for him!

Hardy Pottinger, Rolla, Missouri

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Changing Weather

When we took our morning walk along the levee, it was a very warm, muggy 76 degrees. Now it's 58 degrees and not likely to be much warmer for several days--and the weather forecast icons are uniformly gloomy, with precipitation likely for the whole week.

I finally got around to defrosting the freezer. I've been working at reducing the amount of food I keep on hand, which definitely makes it easier to empty the freezer. Now there's even more room, since I removed some large chunks of ice. Not my favorite part of the RV lifestyle!
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Getting Closer

We expected today to be able to give final approval to the drawings and order for our new Majestic. We did get close, but there are always more issues. Now Phil is talking about moving the generator out of the front compartment to give more cargo space. It will ride back under the coach by the rear axles. They're done this for two or three people now, and it seems to work well. It will actually improve the balance by moving the heavy generator over the axles instead of near the kingpin. We should get new drawings on Monday incorporating this and a few other changes. Once we approve everything, our build can begin. We're hoping to get it all wrapped up Monday, since Phil and Karen will be heading west with the show model on Tuesday.

We spent some more time today with Gary and Judy, and as usual Judy pointed out some important issues to consider with window sizing and outlet placement. We are really benefiting from their experience.

Tonight Ken had to run the little propane tank up to Pony Express to be refilled. We grilled chicken breast for dinner, and it turned out delicious. I'm a bit reluctant to use the grill just because it's such a bear to clean, but the flavor is worth it.
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Oops!

We've been so tied up with working on the plans for our new Majestic that we seldom come up for air. This afternoon, Ken suggested a bike ride to the park. When we stepped out the door, we suddenly realized that our 600 circle was having a party, and we had totally forgotten about it! The get together was scheduled from 3:00 to 5:00 and invited people to bring a dish to share. It was 4:00 p.m., and we didn't have anything prepared. We decided to go ahead a take the bike ride, but definitely with some serious disappointment that we'd missed such a good opportunity to meet people and make friends.

We've been noticing that quite a few people in the park have Weber Baby Q grills. We're tempted to get one, but we actually have a Weber grill already--but it's a smaller, lighter model. We decided to make an effort to use it to see how much we actually like it. Tonight we grilled some turkey burgers.

We went to Darryl's dance. Steve and Jan were there. We had eight squares plus two couples dancing. Some short timers will be leaving soon.
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Drawings!

Today we got the detailed drawings of our new Majestic for final review and approval. We immediately had lots of questions, so of course we stopped by Gary and Judy's for answers--and for some hand holding. The drawings are extremely detailed. We have drawings with all the lights and switches and cabinets and drawers and windows and vents--and just about everything else. It's a bit overwhelming.

The dimensions on this drawing don't seem to match those on the generic 37' RETSS. We're going to have to figure out what's going on and talk to Phil.

We missed Jerry's dance this afternoon. We were too busy with reviewing the paperwork and checking with Selfs. We did go to Joe Saltel's dance tonight at Texas Trails. We had a great time, but missed Hardy and Judy. She's still recuperating from her surgery.
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