Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving Day with some of our square dancing friends. Steve and Jan picked us up, and we headed over to the "Party Palace" aka Jean's place. Bob and Pat filled out our table of seven. Everyone made some dishes to share, so of course we all had plenty of delicious food.

We are very grateful for our wonderful family and friends. Terri called from Singapore. She said the embassy had put on a Thanksgiving feast a few days ago.

Chris and Anara called from Portland, but the connection was poor so we didn't talk long. They were having friends over. Ed and Julie and the kids are in Lufkin at the Shaffers' house.

Today would have been my mom's 89th birthday. She was 80 when she died in May 2007. Of course I miss her always, but even more at special times like this. The joy of celebration this time of year is mixed with sorrow as we remember our family members who have passed on.

We have some other special days to celebrate around this time of year too. Yesterday was Ed and Julie's 15th anniversary and Debbie Frith's birthday (my goddaughter). Today is Bill Jameson's birthday, and next Monday will be Julie's birthday. Read more!

Happy Ending to an Ordeal

On Monday Ken went to open the door--and it wouldn't open. Despite all our efforts it remained stubbornly stuck. What to do? We called our friend Steve. He lives close by and has a collection of tools and lots of determination. Still no luck opening the door. We called a locksmith, who arrived, looked at the door and said he wasn't familiar with anything like that and left. Meanwhile we had called Ken Ullmer, service manager at New Horizons. He was very helpful. After we had talked and explained what we were seeing and he had sent some pics of the insides of the lock, he decided that he knew just what was wrong.

Meanwhile Steve had come back with his pry bar and later with his drill and saber saw. After hours of work and passing tools through our emergency escape window. Steve finally managed to cut the lock in enough small pieces that it gave way. We were free!

Meanwhile Ken Ullmer had been talking with Challenger Door and arranged for them to ship a new (and different) lock out on Tuesday next day air. It arrived on Wednesday, but it was quite difficult to install. Steve and we spent some hours on Wednesday trying to get it in and finally had to put it off until today. Several hours of work later, it was finally in and working properly.

Thanks to our extremely helpful, ingenious, and persistent helper, Steve! We literally don't know what we would have done without him. In case you're wondering, we did go out to dance and to a concert while our door was held shut with a bungee cord. Fortunately we live in a relatively quiet gated community, so all was well.
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The Diamonds present BANDSTAND BOOGIE

We attended the first McAllen Community Concert of the season tonight. We rode with Steve and Jan, and we saw lots of our friends among the audience.

The Diamonds lit up the stage and had everyone entertained and clapping along to the music of the 50s and 60s--a time when we and rock and roll were young. We enjoyed the vocal harmonies, the infectious energy and humor, and the stroll down memory lane.

Duke of Earl--or does he look like the Monopoly guy?


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Back at Green Gate Grove

We are back at our winter home, enjoying the palm trees and sunshine.

I had been worried about  backing into our space, but it actually went pretty smoothly. Read more!

More Celebration!

The Party Queen has arrived in the Valley. Let the parties begin!

Jan and Steve celebrated Jean's arrival with an informal get together at their place. Jean came with a crowler of John Wayne Pudding Stout from her son's Daredevil Brewery. Jean missed most of the season last year because she was recovering from complications of a broken ankle. So now she has some catching up to do. We are all very happy to have her back with us.

Today is Hardy's actual birthday, so Judy brought a luscious turtle caramel ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

Pat's birthday is a week from now, but we figure she can celebrate her whole birthday month.

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Celebrating Birthdays in Mexico

We made our first trip to Nuevo Progreso today. We were celebrating two birthdays: Hardy Pottinger and Pat Boyink. We went to Pancho's Bar first and then on to Rancho Grande. We had a large group (I didn't count, but I heard 29), so everyone didn't sit at the same tables, but everyone enjoyed the party.

Birthday cake (actually assorted delicious cupcakes, so no cutting, no plates, no forks needed)

Cute couple!

Finger lickin' good! Read more!

New Slide Topper and Dancing to Darryl

The guys from RV Shade Shack came today to install our new living slide topper. We had been having problems with the old one for a while. It had developed a tear along the front edge, and we discovered that it no longer rolled up as expected when we brought the slide in.

The diagnosis: lots of trash gumming up the works, including small nuts, pine needles, etc. Both ends of the roller tube were jammed, plus we needed new fabric.

Shade Shack to the rescue! Alex and Ramiro brought out our brand new topper and installed it professionally.

The end result: a nice, taut, clean topper that rolls and unrolls neatly, just as it should.

This evening we went to our first Darryl dance of the season. We saw lots of familiar faces and were happy to dance with our friends. We needed a bit of help along the way. Even though we've been reviewing the definitions, we're both just a bit rusty still. Read more!