Travel Planning

We managed to do some travel planning today.  Some of what we learned was where we didn't want to go. That includes steep and winding mountain roads and long stretches with no towns or places to overnight. We have decided that Google Maps needs to add more options to its routing. For example, to limit grades, avoid low clearances, or stay on US highways or interstates.

We had been thinking of taking an inland route from Las Vegas to Portland and possibly going via Lake Tahoe. However, all our research led us to the conclusion that we would find ourselves in the mountains on smaller roads and that we would have a very difficult time finding places to stay. So it looks like we'll use the tried and true route up I-5.

Today was a lovely warm sunny day, but the wind turbine icons on the weather forecast didn't lie. It was very breezy. Read more!

Exile

Steve and Jan picked us up this evening to go to the Community Concert featuring Exile, a group of aging rockers who have reincarnated themselves as a country band. They are also songwriters and have written all their own material. They played some number one hits that they wrote but other groups made into hits. The final song of the concert, "I Want to Kiss You All Over," brought the house to its feet.

This afternoon we went to Randy's C-2 class. Hardy and Judy came to fill in if needed, but we actually had two squares of students, so they weren't needed. Randy reviewed some of the calls Darryl taught last Saturday, and then he added several new calls. We're up to twenty-six C-2 calls now. We've been reviewing our flash cards, which helps, but floor time helps more.

Today the sky was blue again, and the sun warmed us. The high was 67°, much better than the last few days. The other good thing that happened is that we actually got our Amazon Prime order on the guaranteed date.

The sad thing that happened today is that I was informed by a customer service rep of AT&T that there is no DSL service possible at our address. He said that it's not a matter of all the lines being in use but instead of our being "too far from the hub." How that can be true when we know several other people in the park have DSL, I don't know. We are looking into buying a cellular booster similar to one that Steve and Jan have. Read more!

Mall Again and Dancing

We woke up to another cold and dreary looking day, so we went to the mall again to walk. We got there around 9:20 a.m., so part of our walking was done as the stores and kiosks opened for the day and folks began gathering to shop.

We picked up Steve and Jan for Jerry's dance. Steve's knee is doing very well, but his left hand where he had a skin cancer removed yesterday was definitely causing him pain. He had it well bandaged and asked everyone in the squares to be careful of it. Jerry had ten squares! That's definitely the most we've seen there.

After the dance we stopped at Steve and Jan's to check out their Wilson cell signal booster. We need to do something about the very weak Verizon signal in our home. Right now we're taking turns using the modem--which is not a great solution.

This evening we went to Joe's dance. He's back from his visit to his daughter and family, including a brand new grandbaby. Her name is Shania, and she's the cutest thing. He had his iPad set up with a photo slide show.

We had nine squares (after Mike graciously came over to help fill that last square). As usual, we had lots of fun. We did learn some distressing news. Marion and Velma were in San Antonio on the freeway, on their way to the Valley, when someone jumped the median and hit them head on. Very fortunately they are doing well, although the other driver was killed and their vehicle was totaled.

We made reservations at the Trailer Village at the Grand Canyon today. We couldn't get in the days we wanted, so we had to shift to five days earlier, which we have enough flexibility to do. We also called Sandy Riverfront in Portland and made reservations for July 15 for a month, exactly the same as our stay in 2012 (after the Alaska cruise). Read more!

Busy Nothing Day

We woke up as expected to cold weather this morning, so we went to the mall to walk. We're becoming familiar with the layout and glad to have a warm indoor place to walk.

From there we went to Dr. George's office for followup appointments. It was another one of those hurry-up-and-wait experiences. We got to spend plenty of time sitting in various waiting rooms and exam rooms before finally seeing the doc. By the time that was done we were very glad we had packed a lunch, which we ate in the outer waiting room.

Next we went to Walmart to check out the possibility of getting an oil change. It turned out that the wait was an hour and a half. Also, we had been hoping that someone would have come out with a compatible oil filter, but no such luck. So next we went to Spikes Ford and bought an oil filter. We asked there how much an oil change would cost. We had seen a sign offering every other oil change for free. The fine print turned out to be that you had to have all your maintenance done at Spikes, which doesn't work so well for travelers like us. And by the way, the oil change would cost $125.

We've been seeing news stories and photos about the winter weather tie-ups all across the south. Our thoughts go out to all our friends and relatives who are suffering from the chill. Ed has been delayed in New Orleans at the NADA convention. Julie says he's warm and dry in a nice hotel, rubbing shoulders with auto folks who are in the same boat. Julie and the kids are fine in Atlanta. The kids had only a half day of school today because of the weather. It's been snowing there and will probably ice over tonight.

Weather isn't so great here, either: cold and rainy. Glad we're inside. Ken went out and disconnected the water hose because of the possible freeze tonight. Good thing we have water in the fresh water tank.

P.S. How sad to hear of Pete Seeger's passing. He's got to be one of the most talented, decent human beings we've had the privilege to share the earth with. How inspiring!
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Lovely Day (But Watch Out for Tomorrow)

We had a beautiful warm sunny day today, with blue skies and lots of people outdoors and smiling. The high was 84°. A cold front is swooping down on us from the frigid north. Tomorrow's high is forecast to be 46°. Brrrr! Nearly a 40° difference.

Steve and Jan picked us up this afternoon to go to Darryl's dance. We had eleven squares, the most yet this season. Many of the couples were ones we have never seen before. I talked with some of them and found out that they are here for only a week or two, checking out the RGV.

Darryl called a class level C2 tip after the dance. Fortunately Jean and David were in our square and were a big help.

We did some travel planning today. We made a reservation at Lake Park in Lewisville and were lucky to get the only open space that would fit us, even though we called two months in advance. We also reserved spots in Tyler and Abiquiu, NM.

We didn't hear from the AT&T customer service rep today. I'm hoping that's not a bad sign and that she'll call tomorrow. Read more!

Happy Unbirthday to Us!

Today we had an “Unbirthday Party”! Lots of our friends we share our winter home in the RGV with have birthdays during other parts of the year. We don’t want them to feel left out, and hey! any excuse for a party, right?

One of the nice things about hosting a party is that it pretty much forces us to clean up the patio and the Texas room, which we’ve been meaning to do for a while, but we always seem too busy having fun. We put the lasagnas in the oven and the drinks in the cooler, and by 2:00 p.m. we were ready for the party to start.

As usual, our friends arrived bringing good cheer and good food, and a good time was had by all. We missed Sandy, who was feeling under the weather and figured the best thing to do was sit on the couch and do nothing. After dinner we sang a happy unbirthday song to ourselves and had our cake.

At 6:00 p.m. some of us went over to the hall to save some seats for the Redhead Express gospel concert. It was lucky we went early, because the hall filled up quickly. The group is popular, and this was their last appearance in the Valley. They are in Nashville now and have spent the last few months in studio with Paul Worley, who is producing their debut album. He also produced the Dixie Chicks and Lady Antebellum, and hopes are high that we’ll soon be able to say we knew them when!

The concert was high energy and lots of fun. The whole family is very talented. We saw them in February 2010, four years ago, and the little boys have definitely grown up and are contributing their musical talent to the show.

 

On our walks around the park we regularly pass one house that must have some whimsy in it. They always have a display of "pigs," and each time we pass, the group has moved around. It always makes me smile.

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Jesse Is Four!

 Today is the fourth birthday of my youngest grandchild. His mother says that he's lucky to have made it, especially since she got a message yesterday morning informing her that he had bought $100 worth of "gems" in an online video game! (Fortunately she was able to have the charges removed later.) Jesse is very proud that he is four years old now.

This morning we headed to La Hacienda for our next C-2 lesson with Darryl. Steve has been sidelined for the last few days because of his knee surgery, but today he put on a brace and danced with Jan. Well, actually after a bit he took the brace off because it was too hot. He seemed to be doing okay, but I suspect he may have some repercussions later.

We learned several new calls, including Chain the Square, Swap the Wave, Swing Along, and my favorite: Shazam. We also reviewed and extended the calls Randy had taught Thursday. We're now up to twenty one calls/concepts that we more or less have learned.

After class we went shopping for things we needed for the party tomorrow. We spent the evening (and into the wee hours of Sunday) making lasagna and baking a German chocolate cake, following the recipe Chris gave me for his birthday cake. It was so good that I was glad of an excuse to make it again. Of course it's quite decadent and very yummy, but we're waiting for the party tomorrow to taste it. Read more!

Dermatology

Ken rescheduled his dermatology appointment for today to allow plenty of time for the stitches to settle before he started dancing again. The doctor explained that since the problem was caught so early, she only had to remove one centimeter margin. He has to return in a couple of weeks to get the stitches removed. Meanwhile we'll await the results of the biopsy of the tissue removed today. We're expecting it to be negative, of course.

This evening we went to a concert here at Green Gate Grove by a group called the Senior Ambassadors. It's a Winter Texan volunteer men's chorus. Their motto is “Loving Life-Making Music.” They have a lot of fun performing.

One of their songs tonight was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It was interrupted by a visit from "Dorothy," who insisted that "she" be allowed to sing. Their repertoire includes such classics as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (complete with jungle catcalls1!). These folks aren't professional singers, but their singing is heartfelt, and the audience enjoyed the concert.

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Happy Birthday, Kelley! and More C-2

Today is Kelley's 26th birthday. It's hard to imagine that it was that many years ago that she came into our lives.

We went to Randy's C-2 lesson this afternoon. We were surprised to have three squares on the floor. Many of the dancers were angels (experienced C-2 dancers who graciously came to help out). Hardy and Judy were there, and they had brought Sandy. Jean was there to dance with Jan. We had a new couple of students: David and Sue Steiner. They have taken C-2 lessons before, but have not been dancing C-2. We're hoping to have enough dancers to keep Randy's class afloat.

Steve dropped Jan off at the lesson. He had multiple needle biopsies and was in pain, so probably not a good time to try to watch a C-2 lesson. We gave Jan a ride home and stopped at Walgreens so Jan could pick up Steve's pain prescription. We're hoping he'll get some relief and a good night's sleep tonight.

This evening we went to Darryl's C-1 dance. It was a mild, nice day today, but when we arrived at the dance and opened the truck doors, we were nearly blown away. A very chilly norther is blowing in.

We talked with another person at AT&T today about high speed internet. This person was very positive and said that she was submitting a case to have our address added to their system. She is supposed to call Monday morning with an update. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high.

A disappointment today: my Otterbox Defender case, which was projected to arrive today, was delayed. It was just finally shipped today, and the new estimated arrival is next Monday. I sure hope I don't manage to damage my iPhone before the case arrives. Read more!

Propane Problem?

This morning we were cold so we turned on the blue flame propane heater in addition to the two furnaces. The heater came on fine, but would not stay lit. We had a similar problem recently when neither the blue flame heater nor the furnaces would stay on.

That time we noticed the propane tank we were using was low. When we turned on the other propane tank, the heaters worked with no problem. Today the furnaces and other propane appliances were working fine. We turned on the second propane tank, and the blue flame heater worked perfectly. We can't figure out why the stove, water heater, and furnaces all seemed to have plenty of propane, but the blue flame heater did not. It's on a propane line at the kitchen island, and we haven't had any problems with it until recently. One of life's little mysteries. We decided to give up and refill the tank that was low.

We danced to Jerry Story this afternoon. When the dance was over, I said something to Harlan about going to Joe's dance tonight. He said there wasn't any dance tonight, which had been announced last Wednesday at Joe's dance. We weren't there because of Ken's colonoscopy that morning. Good thing I talked with Harlan. Otherwise we'd have driven to Tropic Star only to find an empty hall! It turns out that Joe was flying to Washington state today to see his new little granddaughter. Guess he's got a good excuse for not calling a dance tonight. Read more!

Mammogram

Ken got his new Otterbox Defender case for his new phone today. It had been delivered later in the day Friday, and for some reason the mail carrier put it in the slot in the office wall where usually only prescription drugs are put. All's well that ends well. Now his Galaxy S4 is protected. My new case is scheduled to arrive Thursday.

The highlight of my day today was getting my regular screening mammogram. Not fun, but important.

Ken got some unwelcome news: the biopsy on a spot on his chest turned up positive for melanoma in situ. Now he has an appointment for Thursday morning to have a chunk taken out to verify clean margins. We're agreeing with our friends that getting older isn't much fun!

Today we had another beautiful day, but cooler. The flags indicated a shift to north winds, and the forecast is for even cooler weather for the next couple of days. Read more!

Balmy Day

We had a perfectly lovely balmy day today, the kind of summer day that we really enjoy. Only it's not summer, and Mother Nature is planning to rudely remind us of that fact. On Friday the high in Mission is forecast to be 49º--brrrrr!!! I know, I know, all you northerners are right now snidely saying "wimps!" But we Winter Texans can't help it. We're spoiled.

We did some more summer travel planning today, trying to block in time slots for our stays in some places where we anticipate needing reservations. We hate to be pinned down, but some of the places we'd like to stay are very popular during the summer, so we are trying to plan ahead. Read more!

Annie Get Your Gun

We went to breakfast at MiChallitas this morning as usual, except that Judy didn't come. She and Sandy have started a new gluten free diet, so they went for a walk in the park instead. After breakfast we walked the park with Jean. It was still a bit foggy, and Jean was stopped on the way to the park for speeding. Luckily, the officer ended up not even writing her a warning ticket, on the basis that as a Winter Texan she wasn't familiar with the speed limit, which is 45 mpg on a wide open highway.

We got home just over a hour before we had to leave to go to the Nikki Rowe musical, Annie Get Your Gun. This is the show that we queued up very early on a December morning to buy tickets for our group.

We got to the school parking lot just in time to walk in with John and Sandy, and we found Bob and Pat just in front of us in the line in the cafeteria. Eerily, this same thing happened in 2013, the last show we attended here. We must be really predictable!

The Nikki Rowe choir is a bunch of very talented kids. They put on a wonderful spring musical every year. We've seen a couple: A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum in 2013 and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? in 2011.

This year's performance was enjoyable, and the kids were singing and acting their hearts out, but the show was plagued by technical difficulties with the sound system. It also seemed to us that the sound mixer needed to give the voices more volume, especially on the softer songs. We were surprised to find that some of the classic songs actually come from the musical, songs like "There's No Business Like Show Business" and "Anything You Can Do."




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Dancing and Party

We had our second C-2 lesson with Darryl today. We picked up Jan and Steve for the ride to TVA. Steve had the front passenger seat pushed all the way back to accommodate his recently operated knee, still in its dressing and wrapping. He reported that it was no problem to walk, but that bending the knee or twisting was still painful, so he watched the lesson from the sidelines, imagining himself in the position of one of the dancers in a square near him.

Meanwhile, Jan danced with Hal, who had volunteered to step in for Steve. We learned six new calls/concepts to add to the six from last week, so we’re now at twelve out of seventy-two on the C-2 list. Two concepts that I’m still having to concentrate to see are the once-removed and cross concentric. I’m mainly able to recall the definitions, but it’s still difficult sometimes to get my body to actually carry them out.

This evening Jean had an “International Party” at her house. We picked up Jan and Steve again. Following the international theme, everyone brought a dish or two from around the world. We had Greek and Portuguese and mock-Polynesian and Mexican and Swedish and Polish and Indian food. It was all delicious. I especially liked the rumaki spread that G.W. and David brought. Its main ingredient is chicken livers, and it reminded me of braunschweiger, a childhood favorite. My dad liked it a lot, and he brought me some in the hospital after Chris was born. Good memories.

I made stuffed cabbage, a dish I'm really partial to but haven't made in some time. Stuffed cabbages were often served at weddings I attended in the Cleveland area. A friend's mother taught me how to make it. Yesterday I googled it and found that several countries claim some version of the dish. It goes by all different names: the Polish version is called golabki. Read more!

Oranges and Grapefruits, Oh My!

We decided to strip some of the fruit off our trees today. Ken did the picking, and I moved the fruit to the picnic table and sorted through it. Some of the oranges went in the fridge in the Texas room. Some went into plastic grocery sacks.  Some fruit is still in boxes and pails.

We're hoping our friends will take some off our hands. Whatever is surplus we'll try setting out on the side of the road leading to the nearby colonia, in hopes that the residents will eat or juice the fruit.


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Doctors and Dancing

We're getting old and joining the rest of the Winter Texans in scheduling our days around our doctors' appointments! Today we both had two. In the morning we went to a dermatologist. Her name is Dr. Norma Magee, and she is and M.D. and board certified. Also, she is highly rated by her patients.

We liked her and thought she seemed competent, friendly, and communicative. She froze several spots on Ken and biopsied one. We'll hear the results of that in a week or so. She called in a prescription for me for the rash around my eyebrows. Unfortunately Caremark refused to authorize it, so we'll have to try again.

This afternoon we had our annual eye exams by Dr. Fuentes. We went to her last year also and like her. She said that our eyes are about the same, so that's done for another year. I need to make an appointment with a retinal specialist to follow up on my macular degeneration.

On the way home we stopped at the new 99 Cents Only store. It was mainly a disappointment. It's no longer actually 99 cents only--many items were higher priced, including some that weren't marked. Darn!

This evening we went to Darryl's C-1 dance, where we had nine squares on the floor and one couple out. Jan and Steve weren't there because of his knee surgery yesterday. We missed seeing Jean and Hardy and Judy and G.W. and David. Bob was there without Pat: she had her chemo today, but has only one more week of one especially toxic component. We did see Harlan and Jean, who are newly arrived in the Valley.

After the dance Darryl called a class level C-2 tip. This time some C-2 dancers stayed around to help out, so we had three squares dancing. We did pretty well (with a little help from our friends). Read more!

One of Those Days

Any day that starts with a colonoscopy is going to rate as "one of those days" in my book. This time it was Ken having the procedure done, and I was the designated driver. Most of the rest of the day was spent in recuperation. We missed both dances today, but tomorrow we should be back on track.

I'm sending my new iPhone case back. It turned out to be the one for the iPhone 5 and not the 5s as advertized. Bummer.


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Jello, Broth, and Sparkling Cider

Hey, why not have some sparkling when you're on a liquid diet? Ken's colonoscopy is scheduled for tomorrow morning, so today is his prep day--no one's favorite!

We did get a chance to spend some time trip planning for the summer. I picked some oranges and Ken cut them up to put in the fridge, but we have tons of extra citrus fruit we have to figure out what to do with.

My new iPhone case arrived today. It's an Otterbox Defender, and now that my iPhone is safely ensconced in it, I feel much better. Having a naked iPhone really made me nervous! The only teensy problem is that the cover makes it very difficult to access the fingerprint ID (and impossible for the thumb). Hey, that was the coolest feature of the iPhone 5S! Read more!

Today

Today was foggy early. Ken went to get his lab work done. Then he dropped some things off at UPS and stopped at the Ford quick lane where he found out there was a three hour wait to have the coolant additive checked, so he came home.

We went for a walk around the park, seeing lots of new folks and enjoying the sunshine. Our north neighbors have finally arrived.

We went to Darryl's C1 dance this afternoon. There were lots of new people there, which always leads to a somewhat lower-level floor because people haven't done much C-1 dancing over the summer, but everyone had fun. We did a lot of laughing.

After the dance Darryl called a class level C2 tip. We got through it, but I'm still mostly floundering. This evening we printed cards for all the C2 calls. That will help us review what we have "learned" more easily.

On the way home from the dance we stopped at the Ford quick lane again and waited a while only to find that the young man assigned us as a mechanic didn't know how to check the coolant additive and said he didn't have what he needed to do the check.

However a woman came out with the materials needed. She tried to convince us that at 30,000 miles we needed to flush and replace our coolant. This was ridiculous since the manual suggests that this needs to be done at 105,000 miles. We left and decided that we would do some further research. Maybe we'll find a better equipped Ford dealer in Lewisville.

Tomorrow is Ken's colonoscopy prep day. This evening I made some Jell-O and found the broth and apple juice for him.

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Sunday Hike

We had a crowd for breakfast this morning (all the regulars plus Sue and Arnie, who are new regulars). We weren't the only large table. Mi Challitas was full and the wait staff were running. After breakfast some of us went to walk in the park as usual. Jean and Judy stopped to pick up Sandy. We met them and Arnie and Sue at the park.

It was sprinkling as we drove south, but stopped by the time we got to the parking lot, so we had a nice day for a hike. We walked down to the Hawk Tower.  People started out wearing jackets, but they came off pretty quickly, so our new fashion statement was jackets around the waist.

Judy and Jean decided to walk down to the river with Arnie and Sue, who had never been there. Ken's back was beginning to bother him, so we walked out with Sandy and gave her a ride home--very easy since they are renting at Green Gate Grove this year.

We finally got all the Christmas stuff packed up and put away. That led to my cleaning and reorganizing the shed....

Chris called. They have a new dog, Talulah. She's a rescue dog, a two-year old Treeing Walker Coonhound, a breed I had never heard of before. They went to Seattle to pick her up and are very excited to have a new family member.

I made a reservation to fly to Atlanta to visit Ed and family during their spring break week, the first week of April.

We're continuing to play with our new phones, figuring out how they work. It's an ongoing project.

We are getting slow but more reliable internet now. Ken moved our router into the Texas room, where it presumably will be less affected by the canopy or whatever may be interfering with the cell signal in the rig.

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