7-30 It's Hot!!!!!

It's Hot!!!

It's the end of July and yesterday it finally got officially to 100 degrees, normally our first 100 degree day is around July 4th. Today it got to 102 degrees. We try to beat the heat by doing whatever we want to in the morning and staying inside under the air conditioner during the hottest part of the day. This morning Larry and I went to Rogers Park to launch the boat before it got too hot. There was no wind so the lake was calm enough for us to water ski, wake board and float. As we were leaving the dock we saw something big floating in lake so we slowly went towards the object. When we got close enough to see what it was we were surprised to see a nice size buck deer floating on the lake. We didn't want to hit it so when we did our watersports we avoided it. When we were pulling the boat out our truck was the only vehicle in the parking lot. When I was putting the boat on the trailer there was no wind and I missed the trailer so Larry had to get in the lake and guide the boat on the trailer. I can't believe I did that!!! Even though I missed the trailer we still had a great day on the water.

wake boarding

jumping the wake

starting a turn

In the afternoon Larry had a follow up appointment with his chiropractor, we left Flo at home because it was too hot. He was told his right leg was shorter than the left leg and his back was out of alignment which caused the nerves to be inflamed. The chiropractor recommended him to come in three times a week to get his back adjusted and he has to do some stretches twice a day for months to see if this will help his feet. We hope this will do the trick.

This is the fifth Thursday of the month and there was no square dancing so we stayed home this evening and watched a couple of documentaries A Clown's Recovery and Lipstick & Liquor. A Clown's Recovery was about a circus clown recovering after being burned in a fire and the love and support he got during the recovery. Lipstick & Liquor was about women alcoholics and their struggle with liquor. Both documentaries were good.

  

7-29 Summer Fun with Louise & Autumn

Louise Water Skiing

In a normal summer we go boating many days, this summer boating has been a challenge, Belton Lake parks were closed due to high lake levels caused by all the rain we had this year, when the parks finally opened the wind came up so we haven't been on the lake much. Louise was off yesterday and today so Larry invited her out to go boating. She was thrilled to death considering she hasn't been out all summer. She and her dog Autumn showed up about 9:00 with blueberry muffins from 7-11, they were delicious. After saying hi to Louise and Autumn we put Autumn in the kennel and said our good-byes to her and Flo and we headed towards Rogers Park to launch the boat. At first when we were on the lake the wind was blowing a little but we found some decent water. Louise, Larry and I all water skied. This was the second time this year that Larry and I had water good enough to ski. When everyone finished skiing we floated. We were at the lake for an hour and a half and we had a great time.

Video of Louise

Louise water skiing

Good-bye into the water I go

Larry and Louise floating

Autumn and Louise walking at Temple Lake Park

Flo and Autumn swimming

Flo and Autumn wading in the lake

After we played on the lake we put stuff together for a picnic and then we put it in Louise's car. We loaded both Autumn and Flo into the car and headed to Temple Lake Park for a picnic. Once at the park Flo and Autumn were so excited it didn't take them too long to go swimming. Louise was surprised that Autumn went into the lake and swam because she had never seen Autumn swim. Autumn is a great swimmer and so is Flo. While the girls were swimming Larry tried to light the charcoal but it wouldn't light, it was suppose to be the instant lite charcoal but maybe it had been around too long, I think we bought it last summer. He tried a few times but he was unsuccessful so we loaded back into the car and went back to the house. Once we were back home I barbecued lunch, which was HEB Hatch Green Chiles Sausages. We also had potato salad and for dessert Jell-O No Bake Cherry Cheesecake. Everything was delicious. After lunch we said good-bye to Louise and Autumn. We had a super visit with Louise and Autumn.

Susan and Matt Barnes

In the evening Larry and I met up with Jan, Skip and Belinda to go square dancing at Shirts 'n' Skirts for their weekly dance. The dance was Dog Day of Summer and the club brought hot dogs and all the trimmings and desserts. They also had a special caller, Matt Barnes, who is out of Bryan/College Station. There were six squares for mainstream and four squares for plus. Matt is a super caller and everyone seemed to have a great time. There was a lot of delicious food.             

7-28 Just Another Day

Just another day -- Life is Good

I forgot to mention in my append for Sunday that in the evening we watched a few documentaries The 9/11 Faker, Victori The Truth Just Can't Be One Thing and A Small Section of the World. The 9/11 Faker was about a lady that showed up to the survivors support group and told everyone her tragic story of that day, she ended up heading up the entire group and representing them to everyone, unfortunately her story was not true. It was a very interesting documentary. Victori The Truth Can't Be One Thing was about an artist Victor Victori who's career was painting portraits and how his son Ed tries to manage his work. Victor is a very gifted artist. A Small Section of the World was about a group of women in a remote farming region in Costa Rico and how they started their own company to grow coffee and sell it. It was a great documentary showing the struggle the women had and how they got through the struggles.

Tuesday is normally a day off from square dancing. We went to The Home Depot and a Lumber yard shopping for a door for Louise's house. Larry also checked the battery in the boat and found it was discharged again so we bought a new battery and he installed it, sure hope that fixes it. In the evening we watched our PBS shows from Sunday night The Crimson Field and Last Tango in Halifax.    

7-27 Gaming on the Raspberry PI

Starting New Puzzle

I finished reading Scott Turow's Pleading Guilty Saturday. I thought the book was very well written but it had too many characters and it was hard to keep track of them. Today I started another puzzle called Grandpa's Potting Shed, it has 2000 pieces and is made by Buffalo (they are my favorite). While I was working on the puzzle Larry played with his Raspberry PI, he started working on a new project last week that has proven to be very challenging, he is trying to make a Retro Game Console. He got it working today, he has Pac Man and Donkey Kong on the console. You might remember the games from years ago. After he got them to work we played them for a short while. There are other classic games available, some of them old action games I used to play, Larry got two of them to work, Duke Nukem and Doom, I could spend many hours playing these games again. Of course it might be better to wait for him to finish the project, maybe I won't have to sit on a stool in his workroom.

Pac Man

Donkey Kong

Playing Pac Man

Larry playing a game

In the evening we went to Sun City with Jan, Skip and Belinda to dance with the Sundancers. There were 9 mainstream squares and 6 plus squares. Larry was tired from the weekend so he sat out a couple of tips to rest his feet and I danced one tip with Skip and the other one with Jim a friend from Killeen Kickers. We had a great time.

Our friends square dancing to Brad's calling

Brad getting ready to call a tip

Dancing with Skip

 

7-26 27th Stagecoach Roundup

We're back from a fantastic weekend at the 27th Stagecoach Roundup in Waco, this was a High Energy Plus and DBD Concepts square dancing event. This has been held at the Stagecoach Inn in Salado for the past 26 years but the inn closed for remodeling so they relocated to Allemande Hall in Waco. Allemande Hall is a terrific place to dance, it was built by square dancers for square dancing and is only used for square dancing. The hall is large, has a great wood dance floor, huge air conditioning system and ceiling fans that cover the entire floor. It was close to 100 outside but nice and cool inside. When the event was in Salado we could easily drive from home in about 30 minutes so we did not have to find a place to stay, driving to Waco takes about an hour so we would not have time between sessions to drive home, instead we camped at Quail Crossing RV Park. It was a nice park with full hookups, restrooms with showers, laundry, fishing pond and WIFI (did not work). The park was real close to the hall, which made it very convenient for us to rest between sessions, take care of Flo and eat a meal.

Scott Bennett caller from Lawton, OK

Concentrating hard during the workshop on Saturday

Brad Caldwell caller from Georgetown, TX

Square Dancing during the Saturday Dance

Some of our friends dancing

Friday was the opening night and we had six squares. On Saturday there was a workshop during the morning and another in the afternoon and then a dance in the evening. There were seven squares during the day and at night we had eight squares. Sunday mornings dance had five squares. Brad Caldwell and Scott Bennett did the calling all weekend. They taught us how to do a few plus moves in different positions, which made the whole experience challenging and fun. Everywhere you looked people were smiling and having a great time. We had a super time dancing with some of our friends from the local clubs plus other square dancers from around Texas, one couple even drove down from Kansas.

7-23 Boating on Belton Lake

Water Skiing

 What a great day we had!!!! In the morning Larry and I went to the lake at Rogers Park. Yesterday our truck was the only vehicle in the parking lot and today there were six vehicles besides ours. The wind was blowing but we found some decent water to do a little wake surfing and air chairing. While flying a gentleman thought it looked so cool to do so when we were wiping down the boat he stopped by to talk about the Air Chair. We were at the lake for about an hour

Getting the Minnie Ready to go

This weekend Larry and I are going square dancing in Waco at Allemande Hall for the 27th Stagecoach Roundup. When we got back from the lake we loaded Flo up into the car and headed to get the Minnie out of storage so we can get it ready for the weekend. It didn't take too long since we had taken it to the State Festival in June and a lot of stuff was already in the Minnie. 

This evening we met up with Jan, Skip, Louis and Belinda to go square dancing in Gatesville with the Coryell County Squares. The dance was very nice, we had four mainstream squares and three plus squares. There was a lot of delicious food. I danced all the square dancing tips and a line dance. We had a great time dancing with our friends.

Line Dancing with friends

Doing a special movement the Grand Colonel Spin with friends

7-22 Back in Business!!!!

Boating on Belton Lake

We got up this morning the wind was blowing but we didn't think it was that bad. Before going to the lake Larry started the boat up to make sure it was charged and it started right up. So off to Rogers Park we went. We launched the boat Larry made sure that the boat started before parking the trailer. It started right up but I turned it off in order to get the Perfect Pass to turn on. Once again we were in business. The wind came up so the lake was rough. We drove around to find smoother water but we were out of luck. We went back by Rogers ramp and floated for about an hour and then went home. We didn't do any of our water sports but we still had fun.

 

Lucy Pate cuing

In the evening we met up with Jan, Skip and Belinda to go to Georgetown to square dance with the Shirts 'n' Skirts. There were enough people for four squares of mainstream and three for plus. During the square dancing tips Lucy and Jerry Pate cued for round dancing. Every week we're surprised by Jim Hayes because he keeps you thinking and you never know what he's going to call. We had a super night of dancing.

Getting Ready to Round Dance

Round Dancing to Lucy Pate cuing

7-21 Flo Swimming in Belton Lake

Fishing off the dock

The wind was down so Larry and I loaded up the boat and headed to Rogers Park. As we were launching the boat I tried to start the boat but it wouldn't turn over a low battery again. This time I hadn't left it on. Larry had to get into the lake to put the boat back on the trailer. At least this time the boat hadn't floated too far. Once back on the trailer we headed back home. Larry put the battery back on the charger and maybe tomorrow we'll try again.

It's been hot, I haven't taken Flo for a swim for a week and she's been wanting to go. So I loaded her into the car and took her to the boat ramp. The lake is still going down slowly but now the walkway to the dock is out of the water. While there she did a lot of swimming and exploring. The lake is higher than usual so she had problems finding a place to get out of the lake. She finally found a place but as she was climbing over the boulders she kept slipping and her back legs were giving out. I tried to help her the best I could. She got almost to the top of the hill when she was too tired to go any farther so she laid down to rest. I thought if I got a towel I could put it on the rocks and this would make it easier for her. While she was resting I went to the car and got a towel. This helped her a lot she made it all the way up the hill to the ramp before she had to rest. I drove the car to her and then I helped her in the car. Poor girl, the next time I take her to the lake I'll have to be more careful.

Swimming in Belton Lake

The walkway to the dock

We don't square dance on Tuesdays so in the evening we watched our PBS shows from Sunday, The Crimson Field and Last Tango in Halifax.

7-20 Interesting Day

Autumn's New Haircut

Autumn before her haircut

 Yesterday I started another novel by Scott Turow called Pleading Guilty and worked on some Sudoku. One of our square dancing friends has been thinking about buying a r.v. and she found one that she was interested in. She asked Larry if he would meet her in Elroy to look at it before she made up her mind about buying it. In the afternoon Larry and I loaded up into the car and headed to Elroy, which was 85 miles from our house. As we were leaving I gave Flo a snack and told her we would see her later. After looking at the r.v. we stopped and visited Autumn and Louise. When we got to Louise's house they were waiting for us outside. The first thing we noticed was that Autumn had a haircut. Louise thought that the groomer trimmed her too short but we thought she looked great. We go square dancing with the Sundancers in Georgetown every Monday night so we only visited with Louise for about an hour. We had a very nice visit.

Sundancers Square Dancing Workshop before the dance

Round Dancing in between Square Dancing tips

The Sundancers had nine mainstream squares and six plus squares. When we're dancing with the Sundancers we usually don't have snacks but tonight Angie brought dessert to celebrate her father's birthday. She made lemon cake, strawberry shortcake, strawberry tarts, chocolate cake and yellow cake with chocolate icing. They were all delicious. By the time we got home we had left Flo by herself for nine hours so she was very excited to see us. We had a great time at the dance.

7-19 TIPS Red White and Blue Dance

TIPS Red, White and Blue Dance

We went to the lake again this morning. There were a few more vehicles in the parking lot than yesterday and the wind wasn't quite as strong so we wake surfed along with air chairing and floating. While we were at the lake we saw people fishing from their boats and on the banks. On the way home we filled the boat with gas, amazing here it is July 19th and we hadn't gotten any gas in the boat since August of last year, 11 months, seems impossible. In all the years we have been boating we have never gone this long without getting gas.

The ladies from the club working in the kitchen

Wendell Moore and Ed Larder setting up to call

This afternoon we went to Waco and danced with the TIPS Club for their Red, White and Blue Dance. We had three squares. Wendell Moore was the caller for the dance and between the tips he played a couple of songs. Ed Larder, the Coryell County Squares caller treated us by calling the last tip. We had a great time.

On the way home from the dance we stopped by and bought a Papa Murphy's pepperoni pizza for dinner. After dinner we watched a couple more documentaries, Pretty Old and Falling Up. Pretty Old was a cute documentary about 30 women aged 67-84 from across America and around the world descending on Fall River, Massachusetts to participate in the 30th anniversary of the Ms. Senior Sweetheart Pageant. It was very refreshing to see the great attitude towards life and how talented these ladies are. Falling Up was a documentary about a homeless Vietnam Veteran (Johnny Popp) in Michigan. It was a very good documentary showing why Johnny was on the streets and how he found happiness and got off the streets.  

7-18 Back on the Lake

Flying on Belton Lake

We woke up this morning the sun was shining and the wind was blowing but we decided to go to lake anyways. The ramp at Rogers Park is now open and this is the ramp we prefer, we were surprised that there were only a few vehicles in the parking lot. Once the boat was launched I was able to pick Larry up on the dock, this is the first time the dock has been floating since we have lived here. We drove around by Pier 36 Marina and checked out Cedar Ridge Park. We were at the lake for about an hour and half. The lake was too rough to do anything other than ride around, swim and fly the Air Chair. We saw a few fishermen and kyackers. We had a great time. It was fantastic to be able to launch the boat at Rogers Park.

A boat on the banks at Cedar Ridge Park, bet he had one too many

Swimming to the Air Chair

Soaking up the sun

We spent the rest of the day at the house. In the evening we watched a couple of documentaries Art and Craft and Thin. Art and Craft was about Mark Landis, who is one of the most prolific art forgers. Mark is a very interesting person and we enjoyed watching the documentary. Thin was about The Renfrew Center in Coconut Creek, Florida, where they help women with eating disorders. This was a good documentary. After watching the documentaries I finished my puzzle Vintage America. It took me ten days to assemble the puzzle and I had a great time.

Vintage America Puzzle when assembled

The puzzle box