7-30 Fund Raising Dance

We had a fun day. During the day we hung around the house. Larry did some little things around the house. I read and worked out a half hour with Just Dance and a half hour with Wii Fit.

The square dancing clubs in the area are struggling to survive. We have only been dancing a couple of years and we have seen three clubs close and two are now only dancing once a month, the club we were a member of closed its doors last December. With clubs closing and fewer folks dancing Allemande Hall is also close to having financial problems. This is a gorgeous dance hall in Waco that was built around 40 years ago by square dancers. Tonight there was a benefit dance to raise money for the hall, they raised $1,024. Dancers donated what they wanted at the door to dance. People bought split the pot tickets, this is where people buy tickets and half the money went to the hall and the other half goes to the winner. The gentleman that won donated it back to the hall. People donated items for a brown bag auction, people bought tickets for items they wanted and put the tickets in a paper bag next to the item, one ticket was drawn per item and the winner gets the item. The money that people gave towards the ticket for the item stayed in the hall. The callers from the Heart of Texas Square and Round Association (Wendell Moore, Dale Smith, Dennis Camp, Charlie Martin and Ed Larder) called the dance. There were enough people for three squares but most of the time there were only two squares dancing. The callers called seven tips and did an excellent job. We had a great time dancing with friends and visiting with them. 

Charlie Martin and his wife Sue

Dancing with friends

Friends enjoying the dance

More friends visiting during the dance

Everyone getting ready to dance

7-29 Happy Friday!!!

Happy Friday!!!! This morning was a day of errands. We loaded Flo into the car and off to town we went. First stop was Walmart to pickup a couple of things. Then we stopped at The Home Depot to pickup another plastic container for my sewing stuff. We were going to go to the library to return a book we finished reading but decided to wait. Flo hasn't been swimming for a couple of days so we went to Nolan Creek to let her swim. We were the only ones at the creek. Flo did her normal sniffing and swimming. When she swims she usually get out about halfway to the restaurant but today she swam all the way there. Once in awhile she rested by standing on the bottom of the creek. By the time she got out she was exhausted but she kept on moving considering she had to go back to the car. We were almost back to the car when she got back into the water and swam some more. This time when she got out she rolled in the grass. While rolling she slid down to some dirt so she was filthy. Larry brought me a towel to wipe her down but she was too dirty so I made her go back into the water. After she swam a bit more Larry told her it was time to go. It was a slow walk to the car considering she was really exhausted. When we got to the car I wiped her down and put her in the car. Once she hit the seat with her head she was out like a light. The next stop was HEB to do our weekly grocery shopping. Flo didn't even know we went shopping she was sound asleep. The last stop was The UPS Store to get our mail. By the time we got home Flo woke up and she slowly got out of the car with help from her dad. I put the groceries away and then I made lunch. After lunch I laid down for a couple of hours. Today Flo let me take a nap because she was too tired to bark. Larry read while I napped. When I woke up I worked out for a half hour with Just Dance. 

In the evening we stayed around the house, we didn't have a dance to attend. We watched a few YouTube videos, I worked on my puzzle for an hour, we watched a movie and we read. The movie we watched was on Amazon called Good Night and Good Luck, it was about Edward R. Murrow, a CBS newscaster who took on Joseph McCarthy. It was very slow moving and could have been better considering the it was loaded with big stars. After the movie we read until it was time to go to bed.      

7-28 Boating and Dancing

Boating

This morning we returned to Lake Stillhouse Hollow for another day of boating. While at the lake Larry and I floated in the boat and water-skied. This was the first time this season so we didn't ski too hard. We saw a few fishermen and a family pulling a tube behind their boat. We were at the lake for about an hour and a half. We had a nice time.

After putting the boat in the garage and hanging the towels, gloves and vests out to dry we went inside the house where Flo was waiting at the door. After lunch I took a nap while Larry read. Then I worked out for a bit on the Wii Fit and Larry repaired one of our water-ski bindings, a strap had broken this morning while skiing. I finished reading The Innocent so I started the next book in the series called The Doll.

At 6:00 we met up with Louis and Diane at Walmart to go dancing with the Coryell County Squares Club. We got there early enough for the plus workshop. There were two squares throughout the dance with Ed Larder and Wendell Moore calling. They did six tips and I danced all of them. Larry sat out a couple because there were three men that didn't have a partner so I danced with them. We had a nice time dancing with friends. We had a very good day.   

7-27 Hurray, I'm so excited!!!!!!

I'm so excited!!!!

This morning was exciting, we put our boat in the lake for the first time this summer. Usually by the end of May we have been on the water but the last two years the boat ramps have been closed due to flooding. After breakfast Larry and I trailered the boat to Lake Stillhouse Hollow. We were there for an hour and a half. While there we air chaired and wake surfed. It was overcast and had a little breeze but it was very pleasant. My equilibrium has been a little off for a couple of days but once I was in the water it seemed to clear up. We didn't see anyone on the lake but we did hear a fishing boat. and there were a few boat trailers in the parking lot. We had a very pleasant day on the lake. 

Larry having fun air chairing down the lake

Saying hi while air chairing

Larry surfing behind the boat

Having fun surfing

In the afternoon Larry and I read. After dinner Larry and I went to Georgetown to dance with the Shirts 'n' Skirts Club. They had six squares and about a dozen round dance couples. Jim Hayes called the dance and Lucy and Jerry Pate cued the rounds. One of our friends, Steve asked me to dance with him during one of the rounds. He knows I don't round dance but he insisted that I danced so I did. After the round Lucy and Jerry were impressed and said I should get up and dance more often. Jerry even said he should ask me to dance and he would cue me. We had a fabulous time dancing with friends. 

Larry enjoying the dance

Steve and Suzy round dancing to Jerry cuing

Promenading home

Lucy and Jerry having fun square dancing with friends

Sue and Jennifer having fun during the dance

Jim Hayes calling the dance

Round dancing with Steve

  

7-26 The Boat is Ready

Getting Ready for the Lake

We have had a lot a rain this year, the lakes in the area were over flowing so the ramps have been closed. The ramps are still closed on Lake Belton but the ramps on Lake Stillhouse Hollow are now open. This morning Larry dewinterized the boat to get it ready for boating. This is the first time in 11 months that the boat has been out of the garage. Won't get a lot of boating done this year. After he got it ready he pulled it down the road to test out the new master cylinder he had installed in the spring. I stayed home with Flo. When he returned he said it worked perfect. Before putting the boat in the garage Larry blew out the garage.

I finished reading the first book of the Vanessa Michael Munroe by Taylor Stevens and we wanted to return it to the library. It was too early to go to the library so we took Flo swimming. We drove to Lake Stillhouse Hollow to check it out, it looked fine, we didn't see anything floating in it. We were going to let Flo swim but the lake smelled, I think it is the stuff dying and drying up on the banks that was smelling. We took Flo to Nolan Creek to swim. We were at the creek for about a half hour. While I walked the banks Flo swam, explored and ate grass. We met a girl and a man weedeating around the banks. The worker said he wished he could join Flo in the creek. We had a wonderful time at the creek. The next stop was the library where we returned The Informationist and picked up a couple more books. Afterwards we headed home.

Blowing out the garage

Swimming in Nolan Creek

Installing the Gladiator Gear Track

The Gladiator Gear Track once it was installed

The finished product with tools on it

Wildlife in our backyard - fawn by the big tree

It did not get to 100 today so Larry decided to work on The Home Depot Seeds Program item we received yesterday. The product is called Gladiator Gear Track, it is a rack that holds yard tools. After helping Larry I took an hour nap. We read in the afternoon and Flo slept considering she was exhausted from her swim. I'm still tired from square dancing last weekend so I didn't workout. I worked on my puzzle for a half hour. In the evening we watched a documentary on Amazon about folk singers in the 60's called For The Love Of The Music- The Club 47 Folk Revival. The documentary talked about the folk music at The Club 47 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was very well done. Afterwards Larry and I read until it was time to go to bed.           

7-25 No A1 Lessons

No A1 Lessons

This morning we took the Minnie and car dolly back to storage. Before doing this Larry emptied the tanks and I loaded Flo into the car. Once this was done off to the storage center we went. Next we went to get a couple of parts for another small project Larry is working on. While we were at The Home Depot we looked at their supply of plastic storage boxes and bought one I thought would work for my sewing stuff. Larry found one of the parts he needed but they were out of the other part. The next stop was at Don Winkler Chevrolet, the other day Larry noticed that one of the front fender inner liners was loose, one of the plastic retainers was missing. The last time we were there looking for a similar retainer the parts person said it was $7.50 per retainer. He thought the guy was crazy but today another salesman said they were $7.50, he didn't buy it. The next stop was O'Reilly Auto Parts where we paid $2.49 for a two pack. On to Ace Hardware where we bought the part we could not get at The Home Depot. Afterwards we went by The UPS Store to get our mail and a package that was waiting for us. The last stop was Walmart to pickup a couple of things we needed. When we got home I put some of my sewing stuff in the container. The container has individual plastic tub that are removable. It works perfect. Now we need another one for the rest of my stuff. Wow, what a busy morning.

New container for my sewing stuff

In the afternoon we hung around the house. Larry and I both finished reading a book. I did some laundry. After dinner we met up with Louis and headed for our Monday night A1 lessons. We were almost to Allemande Hall when Larry got a phone call to tell him that there was no power in the hall so the lessons were cancelled, we turned around and headed home. We were disappointed considering we're almost finished with the A1 moves. After dropping Louis off we went to Freddy's for a sundae. Larry and I shared a Hawaiian Delight. Then we went home. When we walked in the door Flo had just gotten on the couch and was getting comfortable. When she saw us she got off and came to say hi to us. Afterwards we watched our Sunday shows Dancing on the Edge and Tunnel through the ROKU. We had a nice evening.

      

7-24 Sunday Morning Dance

 

Dancing with friends

Wow, what a fabulous weekend of dancing. Before heading back to the house we attended the last dance of this years Stagecoach Round-Up. It started at 9 and was over at 11. We had four squares. Some folks had a ways to go to get home and others were simply too tired. The people that were there were tired but they still wanted to dance. Brad and Scott put on another great weekend. The dancing was challenging with new moves and moves in different positions and formations. After the dance we went back to the Minnie and loaded the car on the dolly, then we finished getting ready to go home. We got home around 1:15. We unloaded the Minnie and then had lunch. We’re tired so the rest of the day we relaxed. We streamed YouTube videos and watched a movie on Amazon. The movie was Signs of Life. It was a 1989 drama starring Beau Bridges, Vincent D’Onofrio and Arthur Kennedy (his last movie). It wasn’t that good of a movie. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!! 

7-23 Saturday Workshops and Dance

 

Scott and Brad calling the Saturday Night Dance

We had a very fun day of high energy dbd plus dancing. We started the day out with a two hour morning workshop, then we broke for lunch. After a couple of hours we returned to the hall for a two hour afternoon workshop. During both workshops we had five squares. Some people left after the morning workshop but other people came to the afternoon so we still had five squares. Every year Scott and Brad make the workshops interesting by introducing the dancers to moves that usually aren’t called such as scoot back and peel. Where the two center people scoot back while the other two peel off. We were glad we had brought the Minnie with us because in between each workshop we could rest. By the end of the workshop we were happy to have a three and a half hour break to rest before the dance. During the dance we had six squares. We had a super day dancing and visiting with friends.

    

Friends having fun doing the  morning workshop

Dancing with friends during the evening dance

7-22 Stagecoach Round Up Weekend

 

Quail Crossing RV Park

Friday 7/22/16

We started the day off by finishing up getting ready to go on our trip. After putting a few things in the Minnie we went to town to pickup a package at the UPS Store. While we were in town Larry and I went to Walmart to look for a sewing kit for me. We still didn’t find anything that we really liked so we’re going to continue to look. Next stop was at the Dollar Store for bleach for the septic system. When we got home I vacuumed out the car while Larry put the dolly on the Minnie. When I finished we loaded the car on the dolly and got it all hooked up for the trip. Then I vacuumed the house. I always clean the house before we leave on a trip so we can come back to a clean house. Our trip was only 41 miles away so we didn’t leave the the house until a little after 1:00.

Scott and Brad having fun calling

The Stagecoach Round-Up is at Allemande Hall and Larry had made reservation at Quail Crossing RV Park for two nights. It is down the road from the hall so it’s ideal. We arrived at the park at 2:15 and checked in. It took Larry a little while because the lady at the desk couldn’t find our reservation. It was really hot so as soon as Larry parked the Minnie he plugged it in to power to get the air condition going. While it was cooling off we took the car off the dolly. Every time we unload the car it’s getting easier. When we finished we plugged in a few fans and got them moving the air around. Then we pulled down the blinds on the windows and put the curtains up between the cab and the living area so the air condition didn’t have to cool off the cab. Once everything was plugged in and running the Minnie cooled down quickly. The event didn’t start until 7:30 so we had a few hours to relax. Larry and I read.

Opening Dance of the Stagecoach Round-Up

When it was time for dinner I heated up the noodle casserole I had made yesterday. The dancing this weekend is very casual so we didn’t dress up. Larry and I wore blue jeans, blue shirt and a blue hat. We got to the hall early but that was ok, it gave us time to visit with people we hadn’t seen for a while. There were six squares for the dance. We had a super night of dancing to Brad Caldwell and Scott Bennett calling and visiting with friends.  

7-21 Getting Ready For Our Weekend Trip

Weekend Trip

In the morning Larry installed the air bag gauges on the Minnie. Larry usually starts a project and finishes it in a day or two but this time he did it in intervals. First he designed what he wanted, then he started the project by building a plate for the air gauges. He used an old piece of aluminum he had laying around, he cut it the size he wanted, bent up a side and drilled holes for mounting and to hold the gauges in place. Using this he tested that everything would work the way he wanted and then he ordered all the pieces he would need. Once the gauges, air connectors and aluminum piece arrived he went to work on the final project. When he finished building the plate and assembling the gauges on it he waited for us to get the Minnie to install them. Yesterday we brought the Minnie home and this morning he installed the plate. It worked perfect and looks super.

Making the plate for the air gauges

The finished product

Drilling holes in the Minnie to install the new plate

What it looks like when Larry finished

The next thing we did this morning was take Flo for a swim at Nolan Creek. We took her a little later than usual because we had a package that was going to be delivered to the UPS Store. There were a lot of people there today, families were swimming, floating down the creek on tubes and fishing on the banks. Some kids had big tubes, one looked like a swan. A couple of weeks ago when we were walking around I found a bag with a small tackle kit, I had put it in the car so today I gave it to a family that was fishing. One of the boys was very excited to see what I gave to his dad. A little while later I noticed the little boy that was so excited was in charge of carrying it. Flo did a lot of sniffing, eating grass and swimming. We had a super time. On the way home we stopped by and picked up our packages and mail at the UPS Store.

Square Dancing with friends

Passing Thru

Waiting for the next call

Wendell checking the tempo

In the afternoon we were busy getting the Minnie ready for our weekend trip. I loaded it up with clothing and food. I did laundry, cooked bacon and made a noodle casserole to take with us. I kept myself busy all afternoon. Larry finished reading another book. After dinner we met up with Louis and went to the TIPS Ice Cream Social Dance. There were enough people for two squares and Wendell Moore called the dance. They had three different flavors of home made ice cream (chocolate, vanilla and peach). Louis baked a cobbler, I took a bag of Mother's Taffy cookies and Patrica baked some homemade wedding cookies. Everything was delicious and we had a great evening.