Saturday 12-30 Pre New Year's Eve Dance

Have a wonderful day!!!!

The weatherman missed the forecast. It was suppose to be partly cloudy and in the 70s but it was overcast and didn't get out of the 60s, along with that it drizzled on and off all day.

Another overcast day

  

We started the day off by going to the J5 club house for donuts and coffee along with socializing with the J5 residents. During the get together they gave out door prizes and made announcements to remind people of things that are going on in the park.

We have a very small drawer in the RV that we use as a junk drawer, in this drawer we also keep a few tools like screw drivers and pliers. The other day Larry needed a small phillips screwdriver and since we didn't have one in the junk drawer we had to dig the toolbox out which is a bit of a pain. This morning our first stop was at Northern Tool, at home we don't have a Northern Tool and Larry loves walking through these types of stores to see what they have. We looked at the screwdrivers but they werer not what he wanted. The next stop was Harbor Freight. He found a screwdriver that he liked and bought it. The next stop was McAllen Library. Last year when we were here we went to the library to watch our YouTube videos so that's what we did today. We were there for about an hour. On the way home we stopped by Wendy's for lunch. Larry and I shared a Chicken Pecan Salad. Last year when we were here we had donated $2.00 dollars to Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and they gave us a key tag and everytime you visit a Wendy's during 2017 you can get a free Jr. Frosty. So we had one for dessert.

During the afternoon we hung around the Minnie, Larry read and I worked on my annual book. 

In the evening we went to Tropic Star to attend Joe Saltel's Pre New Year's Eve Dance. There were Pre Rounds 7:00 to 7:30, the dance was 7:30 to 9:30. In between each square dancing tip one round was cued. It was a black and white dance and most people wore black and white attire. Our friends Glen and Char always wear tie dyed shirts that are very colorful and tonight they showed up with black and white tie dyed shirts. Glen usually wears shorts but it was cold so he surprised us by wearing long pants. We hadn't seen them in a long time so it was nice to see them. Before attending the dance you had to buy tickets so Joe and his wife, Chris would know about how many people were attending. When you bought the tickets you were assigned a table. On each table they had hats, tiaras, horns and a small bag of candy. There were eight people at each table. At 9:00 pizza was served, each table got two pizzas so everyone could have two pieces of pizza. While we ate Joe entertained us by singing. There were almost 21 squares and a few round dancers. After we ate pizza we welcomed in a new year with horns and singing. Then we had the first tip of year. We had an outstanding time. 

Joe Saltel entertaining while we ate pizza

Round dancing during the Pre New Year's Eve Dance

On the way home we stopped for a cone at McDonald's. We had a great day.            

Friday 12-29 Freaky Friday with Randy Dougherty

Keep warm it's cold outside

Today it drizzled on and off all day and never got out of the 40's.

We spent the day dancing with Randy Dougherty at Mission 1st Methodist Church. The first dance was a two hour DBD Dance at 10. We had two squares and as always Randy made it very challenging and fun. At times the squares broke down so Randy would walk us through the move. We danced seven tips, in between the tips Randy went around and visited with the dancers. I danced every tip so I didn't take pictures.

We broke for lunch at noon. We only had an hour before our next dance so we decided to go out for lunch. We ate at El Pollo Loco. This was our first time to eat at one. Larry and I split the double chicken fajita salad. It was delicious.

  

The afternoon dance was at 1:00, it was called Freaky Friday A Dance. The dance was once again very challenging, that's why it's called Freaky Friday. Randy got us in positions we're not used to being in. When the squares broke down Randy would walk us through the moves. We had enough people for three squares and an extra lady so when a couple was out the man would dance with her. We danced seven tips and had a great time.

Waiting for the next move to be called

Larry having fun dancing with friends

Randy Dougherty

On the way home we stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things and a chicken for dinner. By the time everything was put away it was time for dinner.

After dinner I walked around the park for forty-five minutes. I was going to go to the club house and play games but when it was time to go I looked down the street towards the club house and saw that no one was there.  I worked on my annual book and Larry read. We had a fabulous day even though it was nasty outside.

  

Thursday 12-28 A Cold Day

It's cold outside

We woke up to another cold morning and it was cold all day, it never got out of the 40s.

This morning we had an A workshop with Joe Saltel at Tropic Star. When there is a morning dance its called a Donut Dance and the caller brings donuts but when it's  a workshop there are no donuts. Before going to the workshop we had a mini waffle for breakfast. After breakfast we had a couple hours to kill so we read. 

There were nine couples for the workshop, we sat out the last tip. Joe went over a few moves people were having trouble with. We had a fun time.

Tropic Star Hall's Christmas Tree

In the afternoon we went to the Peppermint Palace at EL Valle Del Sol in Mission to dance A with Bronc Wise. There were exactly enough people for six squares. Bronc called a lot of DBD moves which made the dance challenging. We had a great time dancing with friends.

Yasuko Anderson and me at the Peppermint Palace

Every evening  at 7:00 J-5 RV Park has an activity going on in their club house. A group gets together to play games, bingo or card bingo. Tonight the calendar had games scheduled so I went down to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised that they were doing card bingo. It cost $2.00 to play. There were thirteen people and we played twelve rounds. I won two of the rounds. I shared my first bingo with another lady so I won $1 but the second bingo I won $3. I ended up winning $4, which paid for my entry fee plus $2. I had a lot of fun playing with the group. While I was playing bingo Larry stayed home and read. We had a super day.

Playing Bingo

Wednesday 12-27 First Day in The Valley

Meeting up with Friends

Today it drizzled all day and was cold. The temperature dropped as the day went on. It didn't get out of the 40s but it didn't stop us from having fun.

We started the day off by going to the club house at J 5 for coffee and donuts. Every Wednesday and Saturday morning people from the park get together to find out whats happening in the park and to socialize. This morning we and another couple were welcomed back. After going through the different activities names are drawn and door prizes are given out. We enjoy attending these get together's, it gives us a chance to visit and sign up to participate in an event if we're available.

Our first dance was at 10:00 at the Pharr South RV Park. It was an A dance with Darryl Lipscomb. When you sign in for the dance, Decah, Darryl's wife gives you a porker chip that has a number on it. The number is your number through out the dance. The dance is computer operated so before each tip you check your number on the screen to see what square you're in. We had enough people for five squares plus three couples sitting out. Karen Tripp did a couple of line dances in between the square dancing tips. We ended up sitting out the last tip so that I could take pictures. We had a fun time dancing and visiting with people we hadn't seen in about a year.

Karen Tripp cuing the line dancing

Line dancing with friends

Friends square dancing to Darryl

Darryl Lipscomb calling the A dance

Bronc Wise has a DBD dance scheduled for Wednesday's at 4:00 but when we showed up no one was there. When we got back to the Minnie Larry checked the schedule and discovered it wasn't being held this week.  For dinner I heated up some shredded pork from Aldi and we had pork wraps for dinner.

After dinner I walked around the park for an hour to get my steps. Before my walk I put on a jacket because the wind was blowing and it was drizzling. After I walked around for an hour I still hadn't gotten to my goal so I stepped in place. While I was doing this Larry came back from taking a shower, he said the shower felt great considering the water was nice and hot. After I finished doing my steps I walked down to the hall to play games but no one showed up, I figure it was because of the weather. We spent the rest of the night.relaxing, I worked on Sudoku and Larry read. We had a great day with friends.   

 

Tuesday 12-26 Arrived at the Rio Grande Valley

Gone Camping

Last night I went to bed earlier then usual, 10:30 instead of 1:00. I couldn't keep my eyes open.

We had a good nights sleep even though it was at a truck stop. It is a fairly new and small truck stop, we heard a few trucks come in but that's ok. We woke up to fog, you could barely see the convenience store. I was out of bed by 7:00. Larry and I put things away then we walked over to the store and bought a couple of sausage Kolachis for breakfast. They were delicious. We hoped the fog would lift but it didn't. We were back on the road by 8:00.

The fog we woke up to

We drove 170 miles and arrived at the J-5 RV Park in Mission. The drive was foggy most of the way and at times the visibility wasn't too good. Larry is a great driver so he just took his time. We got there at noon. Donna was in the office and was happy to see us return. She took Larry around in the golf cart to choose a spot for us. We were hoping to get the same spot as last year but it wasn't available. He found one that was just across the street from last year's spot. We have neighbors this year, the neighbors are two ladies with a chihuahua and poodle. 

The welcome sign by the office

J-5 office

While Larry plugged the Minnie into power and connected it to water and sewage I made lunch. The Equinox was filthy due to the fog and the road grunge so down to the car wash we went. The car wash did a super job of cleaning most of the grunge off. We wiped the car down and got the rest off. We vacuumed the car out. Afterwards we drove around to see if anything as changed. We saw a few new stores have opened up and others had gone under.

Getting the Equinox a bath

For dinner I made HEB poppers and green beans. After dinner I walked around the park to get some steps in. While walking around I took pictures of the Christmas decorations. Then at 7:00 I walked down to the hall and played Bingo. There were 12 of us playing. It cost $1.20 per card and I got three cards. The cards were cool, when your number was called you just move a slot over and it turns the number red. I had bingo one time but I didn't realize until it was too late, but a couple rounds later I won $1.35 for a bingo. A few ladies brought snacks; cupcakes, peanut butter marshmallow bars and cookies and coffee was served. I don't drink coffee so I bought a diet coke. Everyone was happy to see me again and welcomed Larry and I back. I had a great time. When I got back I finished getting my steps, I ended up with 15,000. While I was playing bingo Larry stayed home and read. We had a super day.

Our neighbors trailer decorated for Christmas

 

Card we used for bingo

          

Monday 12-25 Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. We celebrated Christmas last Thursday with Louise so our Christmas was pretty quiet. 

In the morning we finished loading up the Minnie for our trip to the Rio Grande Valley. After lunch we put the car on the dolly. Lastly, Larry turned off the water and locked up the house. We were on the road at noon.

Ready to go

We drove about 200 miles before calling it a day. The drive was very nice and the traffic was light but there was still more folks traveling than I would have thought. As we were driving down I35 the IHOP and Jack-In-The-Box restaurants were open and very busy.We traveled I35 to San Marcos, then we took Hwy 123. While driving we saw a few hawks hunting. I was dosing off when Larry woke me to tell me to look out the window. When I did I saw a bison, cow and a calf, I'm not sure if the calf was a bison or cow, either way it was chasing the bison and was very cute. I was glad Larry woke me. We were going to stop in Kenedy but decided to continue on down the road. Thirty miles later we stopped at a truck stop in Three Rivers that we knew was pretty nice. 

As we were driving through the parking lot we noticed that the Subway was open. After setting up for the night we walked over and had dinner there. When we got back I walked around parking lot to get some of my steps in. When I finished I walked over to the Corner Store and got dessert, which was a brownie and a Pumpkin Spice Whoopee Pie. This was our first Pumpkin Spice Whoopee pie and it was delicious.

A Pumpkin Whoopee Pie

The rest of the evening I finished doing my steps, Larry read. As Larry was going to bed his mother, Shirley returned his call. He had called to wish her a Merry Christmas. We had a great day.

Sunday 12-24 Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve

We woke up to another chilly morning and it stayed in the 40s all day.

We spent the day hanging around the house finishing up getting the Minnie ready for our trip. I loaded the refrigerator and freezer and our remaining clothes. The only thing left to do tomorrow is put in a few electronics. Larry backed up our computer to GoDaddy. 

In the afternoon I worked out for an hour with Wii Fit and Just Dance. I vacuumed the house. Then we watched the GizWiz. 

Working Out

For our Christmas Eve dinner we had HEB poppers, they are jalapenos and sausages wrapped with bacon. Along with the poppers we had hash browns and corn. In the evening we watched The Poplar Express on dvd, every Christmas we watch this. Before I went to bed I watched both episodes of The Last Tango in Halifax holiday special. We had a super day.    

Saturday 12-23 Getting ready for the Valley

Getting ready for the Valley

We woke up to 34 degrees and it didn't get out of low 50s. To top it off there was a wind so it was cold.

Because of the recent rains the Equinox was filthy so we went to the car wash. Larry usually does the least expensive car wash but today he spent a bit more to get wax sprayed on. After the car went through the wash we wiped it down and vacuumed it out. It looks a lot better now. 

The Equinox

We're leaving for The Rio Grande Valley on Christmas Day and it's only a couple of days away so our next stop was the storage center to get the Minnie and the car dolly.  When we got home I helped Larry put the dolly in the garage. He then plugged the Minnie in to power, checked the air in the tires and air bags of the Minnie and the dolly. He figured since he had the air hose out and the compressor running he might as well include the truck tires. After this he put bleach in the septic system. When he was finished it was time for lunch.

After lunch I started to load the Minnie with clothes and food. I didn't load as much food as we usually take on our trips considering there are plenty of readily available stores where we are going. I also did a few loads of laundry. 

We decided that we're going to take the Google Mini with us so it can play our music, answer our questions and even turn on the fan. It took Larry awhile to get it configured to work with the Mobley (our mobile internet device). 

In the evening we watched YouTube videos and the dvd, The Guardians of the Galaxy. Then I worked out for an hour with Gold's Gym and Just Dance. We had a very productive day.

The Guardians of the Galaxy

  

Friday 12-22 Another Nasty Day

The rain came back early in the morning and stayed in all day.

In preparing for out trip to the Rio Grande Valley we needed to do a bit of grocery shopping. We went to town around 9:00 to avoid the mad rush of people who will be grocery shopping for the holiday. HEB had done a great job of staffing, they had a lot of cashiers open so the lines were very short. Then we went across the street to the UPS Store to tell them to hold our mail while we're gone. 

Grocery Shopping

 On the way home we stopped at the Goodwill Store and The Hospice Thrift Store to see what they had. We had not been in either in a very long time. We looked at shirts and blouses but we didn't find anything we wanted. Didn't really need anything, just looking.

We spent the rest of the day at home. I finished reading Vagabond written by Bernard Cornwell. There's one more book in the series but we're going to wait until we get back from our trip to order it. The series takes place in the 1400s and it follows one character through that time period. Bernard Cornwell is a good writer and keeps your interest throughout the books. 

Are you tried of having a messy microwave everytime you heat up leftover? A couple of weeks ago on the GizWiz Chad did a review on a product called the Hover Cover. Chad had bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond. Larry found them online at Walmart and placed an order for two of them, one for me and one for Louise. The next time we went to Walmart they were waiting for us. It's easy to use, all you have to do is put the Hover Cover over whatever you are cooking and cook it. When the food item starts to splatter the mess stays inside the Hover Cover and the only area you have to clean is the area under the Hover Cover and the Hover Cover. It has magnets on the top and to store it you simply stick it to the inside top of the microwave. That way you don't have to hunt around looking for it. I use it when I cook anything in the microwave and it works excellent.

Storing the Hover Cover

Using the Hover Cover

 In the afternoon I read and Larry played with Alexa. The project he's working on is to get Alexa to play all of our music that's in the cloud. He's not done but he likes challenges. He will continue plugging along and he will get it to work.

In the evening Larry went back to his Alexa project and I worked out for an hour. We had a nasty cold day but tomorrow is suppose to be nicer. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!       

Thursday 12-21 First Day of Winter and Christmas

Winter is here!!!!

Today was the first day of winter. It was another beautiful cool sunny day. The temperature stayed in the high 60s.

I got up a little earlier than normal, 7:00 instead of 8:00. Larry had a follow up appointment at 8:30 with the dentist to see when he could get the crown for his implant. When we showed up Larry saw a truck that looked like our friend Louis's but when we got in the waiting room he wasn't there. We were a little early but they took Larry right in. The dentist said everything looks great and the implant was ready to get a crown. As he was leaving he saw Louis in a dental chair and stopped to say hi to him. He made an appointment in February for the crown.

Going to the dentsit

On the way home we stopped by Harbor Freight. Larry had received a book of coupons in the mail and he found a couple of things he wanted, blue gloves and a plastic case. He has a Genesis Impact Driver that did not come with a case, he measured the driver and the advertisement indicated it would fit inside their small case. He found the gloves but when he saw the case he thought it looked too small. He picked up the case, took it where the power tools were and tried a similar driver in the case, the case was too small. He's going to continue looking for a case. But at least he got the gloves he wanted.

The next stop was Mister Car Wash to wash the truck.

We're plan to leave for the Rio Grande Valley on Monday so the last stop was at the post office to stop our mail. When we got in the parking lot it looked busy but Larry wasn't gone long, he said there were only a couple people besides him in the post office.

Louise has been on vacation for the past two weeks and she has to go back to work tomorrow. She has to work on Christmas so we had decided to celebrate Christmas today. Larry needed to do a couple of things for her while we were at her house so we went over around 2:00. First he installed a light switch for the kitchen light so her Alexa could turn it on and off. It took longer than he expected considering the electrical box wouldn't let him put the switch in. He had to modify the switch to get it to fit. Now her Alexa can turn on and off most of the lights in the house. The next project was to install a water filter in her kitchen, that didn't take long at all.

After Larry finished the projects we celebrated Christmas. Louise made a relish tray with cheese, pepperoni, ham, sweet pickles and olives and deviled eggs for appetizers. She also made fudge, raisin cookies and peanut brittle to snack on while waiting for dinner. For dinner we had chili, Fritos and brown and serve rolls. We waited until later for dessert. Yesterday afternoon I made some apple fritter cupcakes for dessert and Louise bought a pecan pie. It took us a couple of hours to open all our gifts. We received a lot of wonderful gifts. We gave Louise a new electronic thermostat that will also work with Alexa so before we left Larry installed it. We had a super evening celebrating Christmas with Louise and Alice.

Christmas celebration with Louise

Christmas Dinner

Larry having fun opening his gifts

Louise with one of her gifts

Alice in her beautiful Christmas collar

     

Having fun opening Christmas gifts

Louise and Alice

Wednesday 12-20 Beautiful Sunny Day

I'm back!!!!!

After a few days of nasty rainy weather the clouds went away and the sun came out. It got up to 69 degrees at our house.

Larry took me to the new Stars Wars Movie: The Last Jedi. Normally when we go to movies we go to one of the theaters in Temple but they didn't have an early showing of this movie, Harker Heights is only about 20 minutes away and their first show was at 9:00. The movie was about 2 and a half hours. We liked the movie a lot.

Let's go to the movies

After the movie we went back to the house where I heated up leftovers for lunch. During the afternoon I read and worked on my book. Larry played with the Alexa and the Mini.

When it was time for dinner I decided to barbecue hamburgers on the charcoal grill. They came out delicious. Along with the hamburgers we had corn. During the evening we watched YouTube videos and a movie off of Amazon called The Magnificent Seven. It was an action western starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke. We enjoyed the movie. We had a great day.

   

Tuesday 12-19 Rain, Rain, Go Away

Another rainy day

Early in the morning the rain came down pretty hard and we had light rain most of  the day.

Another lazy day. Larry and I read and I worked on my book. 

Google Play had a special going on where you could rent any movie for $1.99 so we rented Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We saw it in the theater when it came out 2015 and I think we rented it once before.  After the movie I worked out for an hour with Gold's Gym and Just Dance. Then I read until it was time to go to bed. 

We had a wet day but tomorrow the rain is suppose to be gone. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!   

Monday 12-18Foggy Day

A foggy day

A foggy day

We woke up to fog, it was a light fog that stayed around the entire day, made things damp and cold. I used most of the day working on my annual book and doing a bit of reading.

In the afternoon I took a breather from reading and worked out for an hour with Wii Fit and Gold's Gym. When it was time for dinner I went outside to barbecue sausages. While I was barbecuing I ran out of propane so Larry replaced the tank. When he tried to put the replacement tank on the grill it wouldn't go on. He found out that the handle was bent outward, he had to bend it in. Then it worked great.

In the evening we watched YouTube videos and Rouge One, a Star War's dvd we own.