Wednesday 6-24-26 75th National Square Dancing Convention Begins

 

I'm so excited!

We had a exciting day! Today started the 75th National Square Dancing Convention in Waco. This is the first time we have been to a National Square Dancing Convention so this is exciting. 

We got up at our normal times, Larry at 5:45 and me at 7:30, not normal but close 8:00. We didn't leave the house to go to Waco until noon because check-in time at the hotel isn't until 3:00. 

When I got up Larry was crafting. He wanted to assemble the Jack-O-Lantern he cut yesterday. The new Jack-O-Lantern is huge, it just fits Larry's cutting board. It looks great.

New Jack-O-Lantern on the left and old one on the right

The finished Jack-O-Lantern

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Klondike and 3 Spider). It took me 15 minutes and 39 seconds to complete, which put me in 12th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

We were going to attend Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus at 10:00 but Di wrote and said the dance won't start until 10:30. We were busy getting things ready so we decided to pass.

I vacuumed the house and put things together to take with us on our road trip to Waco.

We were on the road by noon and arrived at Waco about 1:00. Waco is about 46 miles away from Belton. The main route takes you on I35. The interstate was busy. We got road construction in Waco, where they had some exits closed. Our exit wasn't affected by the closures but it did slow down the flow of traffic.

We're staying at the Residence Inn, which is three blocks from the Waco Convention Center. When we arrived we were too early to check-in. 

So we drove to the Waco Convention Center. We have been here back in 2015 for the 53rd Annual Texas State Federation Festival. The convention center is a beautiful facility. There's a gorgeous fountain in front of the main entrance. We weren't pre-registered so we had to go to the walk-in table to register. The lady, who helped us was very friendly. Larry filled out the registration form and we were assigned a number. They have a super phone app where you can schedule your dances and where to go. Larry had already downloaded the application so we just had to put in our number. The lady gave us a badge but before doing so she asked if we wanted to write our names on the badge or get the names printed on it. We decided to get them printed. She said we could pick them up at the registration window in an hour. She also said to ask for Maria because we got a door price. We walked around and talked to people we know until it was time to pick up our badges. Our number was 1836 and Maria asked if I know what happened in the year 1836. I told her no. She said it was the Battle of the Alamo and we got an American flag. She also said there were two battles within a couple of weeks of each other. The first battle the Unites States won and the second battle was won by Mexico. Mexico won the second battle because the Unites States fighters were celebrating their victory. The government couldn't get the fighters back to fight.

Our Badges

The flag we got

After getting our badges we returned to the hotel. We had a few hours to kill because the Opening Ceremony was at 7:00 and it was only 3:00. 

For dinner we tried something new. The other day when we went grocery shopping at Aldi we picked up a couple of pasta salads. We tried the Chipotle Pasta Salad. I made the pasta last night and today I made the dressing. The dressing was very easy, the kit had the Chipotle seasoning, you just had to add 3 tbsp of water and 3/4 cup of mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip). I used about half of the dressing because it was too much dressing. The salad was good. 

Chipotle Pasta Kit

 

About 6:45 we walked over to the convention center for the opening ceremony, that was at 7:00. It took place in a big room but they didn't have enough chairs to sit on and you couldn't hear the speaker. It really wasn't what we thought it would be. We thought it was going to be a grand march with a dance. We didn't stay long. We went downstairs to where the C1 and A2 halls were and relaxed at a table. We met up with Dawn and Charles from Florida (Zoom friends). We danced with Dawn and Charles most of the two hour dance. The room wasn't big enough for the amount of square dancers we had. It was very hot. Everyone was hot and sweaty. They brought in a couple of fans for the last half of the dance. We were elbow to elbow dancing. We danced to 10 different callers. They had different photo shoot areas all over the place. We did very well. The last big convention we attended was in San Francisco last July. We had to take a few breaks just to rest and cool off. We had a great time.

Dancing A2

The Alamo Mission in San Antonio (Photo Shot)

  

Texas Barn Scene (Photo Shot)

By the end of the night I had done 9,000 steps for the day. 

   

          

  

Tuesday 6-23-26 Trip Preparation, Dancing, Mowing & More

 

We had a very nice Tuesday.

Larry started the day off doing a little crafting. His next crafting project is enlarging the Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. He resized the design and decided to use the same colors he previously used. He made the patterned paper. Next he cutout the pieces. He still needs to assemble it.

The Jack-O-Lantern Larry made in 2021

We attended Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 dance at 10:00 for an hour and fifteen minutes. Di called five tips to 13 participants. Terry danced with Di for part of the dance. Larry danced four of the tips with me. Di walked us through moves we were having problems with. We had a great time dancing with friend and to Di and Terry.

Get a partner and dance

After lunch we went to town to do a few errands. First stop was at Today's Car Wash to get the car a bath. We were shocked to see the basis car wash had gone up from $7 last year to $11. But the car needed a bath. Next we stopped at the credit union to get some cash for our trip. Last was Walmart to do a little grocery shopping for our trip. 

Doing Errands

For 75 years there has been a National Square Dancing Convention. This year it's going to be in Waco. We have never been to one but with it so close we decided it was time. It starts Wednesday 6/24/26 and runs through Saturday 6/27/26. I spent part of the afternoon packing clothes for this adventure. This will be the first National Square Dancing Convention we have been to so it should be fun. We dance virtually on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with Dawn and Charles from Florida, they will be there and after dancing with them for 6 years we will finally meet them. We'll see other square dancers we haven't seen in a long time.

Larry mowed the frontyard because our mowers aren't going to mow this week and the grass is growing fast. 

Then he setup a couple of sprinklers to water part of the frontyard that the other sprinklers can't reach. He does this every year. It takes a little time to do so. While checking out the rest of the sprinklers he found one of the heads was broken so he replaced it. 

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Free Cell and 10 Tri Peaks). It took me 2 hours, 1 minute and 33 seconds to complete, which put me in 14th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

I worked out with the Synth Riders for 30 minutes to four songs two times. The songs were Delight, Hard To Love, New Comedown and Never Gonna Die. I didn't get any outstanding scores or new high scores but I had a great workout.

Delight

Hard To Love

Never Gonna Die

New Comedown

I played Monster Manor for 15 minutes on the Bounce Arcade. I played it twice and didn't play too well but had fun. I played Monster Manor two times. The first game was the best game. I earned a bronze trophy by Awoken the Manor once, Stunned the Manor once, became the Banister Buster. 

Monster Manor

I played eight games of pinball. I played four games on the mini cabinet, which were Guardians of the Galaxy, Medieval Madness, Red & Ted's Road Show and The Goonies. While I was playing Guardians of the Galaxy I became high score #2 and The Goonies I became high score #1. I played four games on the big cabinet, which were 24, The Beach Boys, The Godfather and Superman. I didn't get on the on the big cabinet but had fun.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Medieval Mafness

Red & Ted Road Show

The Goonies

24

Superman

The Beach Boys

The Godfather

We watched YouTube videos.

In the evening we finished watching the second season of Patience on PBS. When Larry went to bed I watched Superman from our collection of movies. I ended up doing 5,500 steps. 

 

   

Monday 6-22-26 Dancing to Di, Projects, Workout & Games

 

Awesome Monday

We had an awesome Monday. The morning temperature was 80 degrees and the high was 95 degrees. 

We started the day out by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 dance at 9:00 for an hour and fifteen minutes. Terry danced a little bit with Di as she called five tips to 14 participants. Larry danced four of the five tips with me. Di does an excellent job of calling while she dances. She walked us through moves we were struggling with. We had a super time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

Get a partner and dance

Larry bought a couple of DVDs, which were Dune and Dune Part Two. He took a breather from crafting to work on the DVDs. He copied them into our movies collection. After doing this he inserted subtitles to the movies.

After doing this project he moved onto a computer project. Larry works with two computers while doing his projects. They both don't work the same and this bugged him. He worked on making them work the same.

While Larry worked on his projects I played games and worked out.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 33 minutes and 51 seconds to complete, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

I worked out for an hour and a half.

I worked out on the Wii Fit for 30 minutes. I did two exercises off the Aerobics menu for 15 minutes (Hula Hoop for 2 minutes and Rhythm Boxing for 13 minutes) and three games off the Training Plus menu for 15 minutes ( Balance Bubble Plus once for 2 minutes, Obstacle Course two times for 6 minutes and Table Tilt Plus two times for 7 minutes). It was a great workout.

Hula Hoop (Aerobics)

Rhythm Boxing (Aerobics)

Balance Bubble Plus (Training Plus)

Obstacle Course (Training Plus)

Table Tilt Plus (Training Plus)

I worked out with Just Dance for 30 minutes with Just Dance 2018 for 10 minutes and Just Dance 2019 for 20 minutes. The songs I danced to on Just Dance 2018 were Blue, Bubble Pop! and Despacito. I earned three new avatars. The songs I danced to on Just Dance 2019 were Mad Love, Water Me, Finesse, One Kiss, A Little Party Never Killed No Body and Sweet Little Unforgettable Thing. I earned three new avatars. It was a good workout.

  

Songs from Just Dance 2018

Songs from Just Dance 2019

I worked out with Synth Riders for 30 minutes with three songs two times. The songs were A Matter of Time, Interstellar and Sledge. I didn't earn any outstanding scores or high scores but it was a great workout.

A Matter Of Time

Interstellar

Sledge

I played 10 games of pinball. I played five games on the mini cabinet, which were 60th Anniversary, Great Houdini, Jaws, Medieval Madness and Michael Jackson. While playing 60th Anniversary I became high score #3, Great Houdini I became high score #2 and Michael Jackson high score #3. I played five games on the big cabinet, which were 24, Big Bang Bar, Elvira Scared Stiff, The Beach Boys and The Big LeBowski. While playing 24 I got a new high score for the weekly challenge of pinball, which was 28,148,580. I became # 29 out of 44 participants. I had a fun time playing pinball.

60th Anniversary (Mini)

Great Houdini (Mini)

Jaws (Mini)

Medieval Madness (Mini)

Michael Jackson (Mini)

24 (Big)

Big Bang Bar (Big)

Elvira Scared Stiff (Big)

The Beach Boys (Big)

The Big LeBowski (Big)

We watched YouTube videos.

In the evening we continued watching the second season of Patience on PBS. When Larry went to bed I watched the last Transformers movie #7, which was Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts and Frozen 2 from our collection of movies. I ended up doing 4,000 steps.

Relaxing in front of the television

   

       

Sunday 6-21-26 Hello Summer, Crafting, Project & More

 

Hello Summer

Today was the first day of summer. 

The weather was hot and humid. The morning temperature was 73 degrees and partly cloudy. It got to 93 degrees at 4:40 pm. The web said, that at 4:40 it felt like 106 degrees because of the humidity. 

Temperature at our house at 4:40

Larry kept busy all day. 

He started the day out by doing some crafting. Yesterday, he crafted Mr. Scarecrow and today he crafted Mrs. Scarecrow. He resized it to be the same size as Mr. Scarecrow. Then he decided on what color of paper he wanted to use and made the pattern paper. Then he cutout the pieces for Mrs. Scarecrow using his Cameo. Next he assembled Mrs. Scarecrow. It came out super.

Mrs. Scarecrow

New one on the left and the old one on the right

Mrs. and Mr. Scarecrow

After crafting Larry moved on to a security camera project. He decided to install the second Tapo Indoor/Outdoor WIFI Security Camera to replace an old garage camera. In order to install the camera he had to rewire the power. He installed a bracket to hold the camera on the eaves at the garage. Then he had to program the camera so it works with our security system. Both of the Tapo Indoor/Outdoor WIFI Security Cameras work excellent. He replaced an old Wise Security Camera and a EZViz camera with the new Tapo Indoor/Outdoor WIFI Security Cameras.

Tapo Indoor/Outdoor WIFI Security Camera on the porch

 

Tapo Indoor/Outdoor WIFI Security Camera on the garage

While Larry did his crafting and security camera project I played games, worked out and housework.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 57 minutes and 43 seconds to complete, which put me in 15th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2. 

I spent an hour in the morning doing housework. I cleaned the bathrooms, dusted the house and vacuumed the house. Yesterday, I did the laundry. 

  Housework

 I worked out for an hour. 

I worked out for 30 minutes on the Wii Fit. I did one exercise from the Aerobic menu for 8 minutes (Rhythm Boxing), two games from the Balance Games menu for 7 minutes (Ski Jump three times for 3 minutes and Soccer Heading two times for 4 minutes), three exercises from the Strength Training menu for 7 minutes (Sideways Leg Lift 20 reps for 2 minutes, Single-Leg Extension 20 reps for 3 minutes and Single-Leg Twist 20 reps for 2 minutes) and four exercises from the Yoga menu for 8 minutes (Chair for 2 minutes, Palm Tree for 2 minutes, Triangle for 2 minutes and Warrior for 2 minutes). Great Workout!

Aerobic

Rhythm Boxing

Balance Games

Ski Jump

Soccer Heading

Strength Training

Sideways Leg Lift

Single-Leg Extension

Single-Leg Twist

Yoga

Chair

Palm Tree

Triangle

Warrior

I worked out on the Synth Riders for 30 minutes with three songs twice. The songs were Rendezvous, Sledge and We Were Young. I didn't earn any new high scores or outstanding scores but I had a great workout. 

Rendezvous

Sledge

We Were Young

Today is a beginning of a new week so I got a new weekly challenge in pinball. This week the challenge is 24. We didn't have this pinball installed so Larry downloaded the game. Then he installed the game on the big cabinet in both 2D and VR. Then he played the game to make sure it worked correctly. It has a super VR Room. 24 was created from the 24 series, that ran from November 6, 2001 to July 14, 2014. Below are pictures of the room.

Conference Room 

Pinball Playfield in the Office

24 Team

Office used by the team

Jack entering the conference room

Door to the conference room

I played 10 pinball games. 

I played five games on the big cabinet. I played last week's challenge of World Cup Soccer for a half hour to try to get a new high score for the week before the challenge was over at 2:00 pm. I failed but had fun. My final score was 2,795,141,800, which put me in 25th place out of 114 participants. Later on when the new challenge 24 began I played it a few times to get my first high score for the week, which was 11,853,480. This score put me in 16th place out of 18 participants so far this week. Then I played three other games, which were Indianapolis 500, JP Viper Night Driver and Mustang. I didn't get on the board on the games but I played well.

World Cup Soccer

24

Indianapolis 500

JP Viper Night Driver

Mustang

I played five games of pinball on the mini cabinet, which were Batman Forever, No Good Goffers!, JP Space Cadet, The Godfather and Theatre of Magic. I didn't get on the board playing the games but had fun.

Batman Forever

JP Space Cadet

No Good Goffers!

The Godfather

Theatre of Magic

We watched YouTube videos.

In the evening we continued watching the second season of Patience on PBS. After Larry went to bed I watched the sixth Transformers movie, which was Bumblebee and Frozen from our movies collection. I ended up doing 3,000 steps.

Relaxing in front of the television