Saturday 1-30 Girl Power Dance

 

Awesome day

We had an awesome day. In the morning it was overcast and misted a little bit. But once the clouds went away it was a gorgeous windy day with the temperature in the mid 70s. At the house it got up to 75. Our Echo Show showed it was 82 degrees.

We started the day out by going to town. We stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things for our trip. Next stop was the UPS Store to pick up the mail. On the way home we stopped and bought a few donuts at the new shop by the house.

I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Easy Street Easy of 5 games. It took me 9 minutes to complete, which put me in 17th place in my group. I did some Mahjong games.

Larry wrote reviews for the three Home Depot Seeds Program items he received. He got three different mats (garage rug, workout mat and rubber flooring). The garage rug fit perfectly under the car. Larry put the workout rug in his workroom and he can now get rid of the throw rugs he has in the room. The rubber flooring will probably go under the boat. 

 

 

Garage rug

 

Workout rug

Rubber flooring

We attended two virtual dances. The first was Don Moger and Ross Howell's C1/C2 at 12:00 for an hour and a half. Don and Ross called three tips of C1 and three tips of C2. We attended the C1 session with 66 participants. Ross called two tips and Don called one. It was challenging and I made a few mistakes but we had a great time.

The second one was Girl Power Plus at 1:00 for two hours. Ett McAtee and Di Green called the dance and Amy Shotting cued the round dancing. The first hour we had 121 participants and the second hour we had 123. Ett and Di called three tips with singing calls and Amy cued two rounds in between the tips. I attended this dance by my self because I have fun doing singing calls. Some of the guys dressed up like girls with square dancing outfits. It was an awesome dance. Everyone laughed and danced.

 

While I danced the Girl Power Dance Larry called Louise. After the dance we watched YouTube videos. I barbecued some seasoned pork and Italian sausage.

In the evening we watched two documentaries on Amazon. The first one was Very Senior, which was about living in Sun City, Arizona. It was a great documentary. The second one was Winona: A Copper Mining Ghost Town. It was about a copper mining town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and on how it went from a population of 1000+ to 19. It interviewed people, who lived in Winona. It was very well done. Then I finished watching the second season of 19-2. I ended up doing 28,500 steps, which put me in third place in my group with 164,312 steps.      

  

Friday 1-29 We're Home

 

Home Sweet Home

After three wonderful days of camping at Meridian State Park we are home. It's always good to get away from the everyday routine. But it's also nice to come home.

We left Meridian State Park at 8:30 and arrived home about 10:30. When we got home we unloaded the Minnie and put things away. Once we were done it was time for lunch, we had soup.

On the way to Meridian park one of Larry's crowns came off so this afternoon he went to his appointment and they glued it back on. Then they made impressions for a new crown on a crown they removed Monday. He'll have to go back in three weeks to get the crown put on.

While Larry was at the dentist I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Free Cell Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 3 minutes and 49 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group.

We attended Di Green's Weekly C1 Workshop at 2:00 for an hour and a half. We had 39 participants. Di worked on Alter the Wave, Pass the Axle, The Axle and Percolate. We had a super time.

After the dance we watched YouTube videos. 

In the evening we watched two documentaries on Amazon. The first one was Realty of Van Life. It was about an ex van dwellers journey as he seeks to dispel the myths about living in a van. It was good. The second one was Losing The Way, it was about two adventurers who take a 32,00 miles of dirt roads from the Arizona border to Canada using The Great Western Trail. It was interesting. Then I started watching the second season of 19-2. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in second place in my group. 

Thursday 1-28 Beautiful Day at Meridian Park

 Meridian State Park

We had a beautiful day. It started out at 28 degrees but there was no wind, it got up to the high 40s. By lunchtime the sun went away because the clouds rolled in.

After breakfast we went on a five mile hike for two and a half hours. We started at the CCC Refectory going south on the Bosque Trail over the dam. Then we walked the main road because we wanted to see the CCC Stone Grill. From there we continued to the tent campground and finally we again used the main road to get to the Shinnery Ridge Trail, it is an easy 1.5 mile loop. We walked through trees and over rocks but mainly it was pretty flat. The beginning of the trail was paved for about .25 mile. As we hiked this nature trail we saw some benches to rest on. After completing the trail we walked back to the tent campground via the road and took a rest. While we were there our neighbor with the two Weimaraners came by to visit and we met her dogs. She said she has another two Weimaraners at home. One of the dogs was a long hair Weimaraner. After our visit we continued hiking the Bosque Trail in the opposite direction as yesterday. The trail looked different coming from the opposite direction which is cool to me because you see it differently. We climbed down the step hill by using the cable we saw yesterday. We also saw a beautiful bird watching blind. As you look out the slits there was a pool of water for the birds to use so you can watch them. By the end of the hike we had hiked part of all the trails in the park. On the way back to the Minnie we met another neighbor, the couple had a cute little black dog, that was very friendly. Even though it was about 10 degrees cooler today it didn't feel like it until we got to the lake. We had another super hike.

Bird watching blind

 

The CCC Stone Grill

One of the benches to use while you hike the Shinnery Trail

In the afternoon I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango Mini (3 Klondike and 3 Pyramid). It took me 19 minutes and 23 seconds to complete. Then I played Mahjong games.

Around 3:30 I did a 45 minute walk around the park. I took the road to the day area and then picked up the trail and walked almost to the tent campground and turned around. As I was walking I saw an armadillo but I couldn't get the camera out in time to take a picture. I had a nice walk I ended up walking a little over 2 miles. 

 

Meridian Lake

The CCC Refectory from the dam

For dinner Larry barbecued Italian sausage links. After dinner we hiked the Little Spring Trail, which was .7 mile loop. Larry went back to the Minnie while I continued walking. I was only going to walk another half hour but I ended up walking 45 minutes. I walked the same way as I did last night but I missed my turn off so I ended up walking the Little Forest Trail, which was .8 mile loop. When I got to the Bee Ledge Overview I realized I was going the wrong way, that was ok since I remembered walking this section of the trails just this morning. I got back to Larry just in time because it was starting to get dark. I ended up doing a little over 3 miles.

 

Sunset on Meridian Lake

 

In the evening we relaxed. Larry finished reading another book and I did my Sudoku games. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in first place in my group with 108,612 steps for this week so far. We had a wonderful day.   

 

           

Wednesday 1-27 Camping at Meridian State Park

 

Camping at Meridian State Park

Today started out brisk with a temperature of 41, it got into the high 50s. The wind was out of the north which made it cold all day. At times the wind blew hard but it didn't stop us from having an awesome day.

About 8:30 am we headed out on a hike. We hiked two of the four trails: Bosque and Little Forest, by the end of the hike we had hiked two hours for a little over 4 miles. The Bosque Trail was 2.2 miles and challenging. It goes around Meridian Lake, through trees, up and down the countryside and over rocks. Along the trail we saw a lot of beautiful scenery and rock formations. At one point we used a cable to get us partly up a steep hill. We crossed over a creek via a wooden bridge. Occasionally we used steps made by the CCC. Partway into the hike we picked up the Little Forest Trail, which was a .8 mile nature trail. During the springtime you can enjoy wildflowers like bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush and firewheels. It was an easy trail because it was flat. After walking the short loop we were back on the Bosque trail. As we hiked the trail we saw Bee Ledge, where people had carved their names in the limestone. There was a beautiful view of the lake. When we got to the tent campground we took a break. From this campground you can get on the Bosque Trail going either way. When we got close to the dam we met up with three people and a couple of dogs. We said our hellos and continued onward. We cross the Meridian dam and got back to the CCC Refectory, which was built between 1933-1935 using limestone from the local area. It was handcrafted and is still being used. According to Wikipedia a Refectory is a dining hall. Then we walked back to the Minnie. We were tired but had an outstanding hike.

 

Carving your name at Bee Ledge

Crossing a wooden bridge

Cable to help get up the hill

Larry resting at a tent site

The CCC Refectory from the dam of Meridian Lake

A waterfall

 

We spent the afternoon relaxing. Larry read and I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Klondike and 10 Spider). It took me 4 hours, 9 minutes and 15 seconds, which put me in 18th place. Today any Solitaire game you completed your points are doubled.

About 3:30 we went on a 40 minute walk. Yesterday, when we hiked the Little Spring Trail Larry saw that there was a cutoff. He was wondering if it joined into the Bosque Trail. He was right. Now he knows, where to go tomorrow when we go hiking.

When we got home Larry barbecued sausage patties for dinner. After dinner I went on a walk for about 40 minutes. I walked the road to the day area and continued past it towards the tent campground. I saw the stone grill built by the CCC but I forgot my camera so I couldn't take a picture of it, maybe tomorrow. I had walked about a mile when I saw the campground but decided to go back to the Minnie. I climbed down some steps made from the limestone to get on the Bosque Trail, that took me back to the CCC Refectory. I continued walking the trail to the CCC bridge and across the park road. I walked the Bosque Trail and joined the Little Springs Trail to get back to the campground. It was a great walk.

Once back home I rested. Then I finished doing my 28,000 steps.

 

Tuesday 1-26 Where are we?

 

Where are we?

Where are we? We're not dancing in our living room. We're not working in the yard. We're at Meridian State Park. 

Meridian State Park is located a couple of miles outside of Meridian, Texas. The park is 67 miles from our house. We wonder why we never visited this park before. 

I woke up early, 7:15. While I was showering Larry went to town to pick up a few things for our trip. I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Two game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Pyramid and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 1 hour, 29 minutes and 23 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. 

Next up was finishing loading the Minnie. We left about noon. Check in is 2:00, but if you arrive early and no one is in your spot you can check in early. It took us about an hour and a half because we had a couple of delays due to road construction. We usually don't make reservations but because of Coronavirus it is required. When we got to Meridian State Park check in was easy. Larry walked to the building but couldn't go inside, he had to do everything through a window. This was ok. Texas State Parks require a mask in all of their buildings, this includes the bathrooms which was a little bit of a surprise but it wasn't a problem.

 

Camping at Meridian State Park

After setting up we walked around the park. We walked around for 45 minutes because we wanted to locate where the hiking trails were. When Larry checked in he was given a hiking trails map and a campground map. Meridian State Park was built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and structures built by them are still in use. The map had six points of interest: 1) CCC Refectory, 2) CCC stone grill, 3) Bee Ledge a nature overlook, 4) Fern Ledge, 5) Wildflower Field and 6) CCC Bridge. The trail map is great, it shows how long each trail is and how difficult it is (easy, moderate and challenging). We hiked the Little Springs Trail, a moderate .7 mile loop. The terrain of the trail went up and down but not very steep. The trail went through trees and you had to hike over tree roots. The trail was very well maintained. We walked the main road to find another trail called Bosque, which we'll hike tomorrow. As we walked around we saw the CCC Refectory and the CCC Bridge. We had a very nice walk.

 

Hiking trail

 

CCC Bridge

 

CCC Refectory

For rest of the day we relaxed. Larry barbecued sausage patties for dinner. Then he started reading a novel on his Kindle. I finished doing my steps, which were 28,000. This put me in fourth place in my group. We had a super day.    

He also picked up a state park book, which has a list of all the state parks. The parks are divided into seven regions: Big Bend County, Gulf Coast, Hill Country, Panhandle Plains, Pinewoods, Prairies and Lakes and South Texas Plains. Each region has a section in the book and the section has all the parks in that region and a small summary of each park. The book is excellent. When we first got into camping we camped in a lot of Texas State Parks. The parks we camped in were the parks that had hiking trails because we love to hike. Some state parks are day use only.      

Monday 1-25 Doing This and That

Beautiful Day

 

It rained a little in the morning but the sun came out. We had a beautiful day with the temperatures in the low 70s.

I started the day off by doing the Daily Challenges and the Event: Hard Road Mini of 10 games. It took me 44 minutes and 27 seconds, which put me in 6th place in my group. Then I did a few Sudoku games.

The weather is suppose to be great for a few days so we decided to go get the Minnie out of storage. When we got home I cleaned the house and did the laundry.

 

It's time to clean the house

Doing laundry

We attended two virtual square dances. First was Joachim Ruehenbeck's Bi-Monthly A1/A2 two dance with a half hour in between each session. We attended the A2 session at 2:00. Joachim had 36 participants. Larry danced with me for three of the five tips. He had to leave early because he had to go to the dentist. We had a super time dancing to Joachim.

The second one was Daryl Murphy's Weekly A2/C1 at 5:45 for two hours with a fifteen minutes break in between each session. During the A2 hour we had 11 participants and the C1 hour we had 10 participants. Each session Daryl called four tips and the fourth tips were full square calls. We had an outstanding time dancing with Daryl.

After Joachim's dance Larry did some maintenance on the Batteries in the Minnie. While Larry did this I vacuumed it out and got it ready for a short camping trip. 

Since it was such a beautiful day Larry also took the motorcycle out for its monthly ride.

After the last dance we watched YouTube videos. Then I finished watching the first season of 12-9. I ended up doing 24,500 steps.

Sunday 1-24 Damp Foggy Day

 

Foggy Day

It was foggy all day. As the day went on the fog got thicker. 

Because of the fog everything was wet, even the floor of our covered back porch was wet. We had three squirrels taking turns eating from the two bowls that Larry put out. About lunchtime I hung the birdfeeder and put a bowl under the tree. It didn't take long before the birds showed up. Wildlife can be cute to watch. We watched a squirrel under the tree chase off some big black birds that wanted the food.

I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 38 minutes and 19 seconds, which put me in 21st place in my group. I played some Mahjong and Sudoku games. Larry continued playing with his Cameo.

We attended two virtual dances. The first was Crossfires Bi-Monthly DBD with Doren McBroom calling at 1:30 for an hour and a half. We had 24 participants. Doren called five tips. We had fun dancing with him and our virtual friends.

The second was Loren Smith's Weekly A2/C1 at 7:30 for an hour and a half. This week Loren invited Barry Clasper to help call the dance. Loren and Barry switched off calling the three tips of A2, one tip of C1 learn and two tips of C1. During the A2 tips we had 39 participants and the C1 tips we had 34 participants. We had a great evening of dancing to Loren and Barry.

 

In between the dances we watched YouTube videos and as episode of GizWiz (electronic weekly show). After the last dance we finished watching Miss Scarlet and The Duke. It was a very good series and I hope it comes back for another season. Then I started watching a new series on Acorn called 19-2. It's about two unwilling partners day to day beat on the streets of Montreal. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in fourth place for the week in my group with 186,035 steps.   

Saturday 1-23 Overcast Day, No Square Dancing

 

Overcast Day

Where is the sun? It was an overcast day which kept the temperature in the high 50s. Occasionally, it sprinkled but we had no wind.

Due to allergies I didn't feel well all day, I think it is caused by the cedar pollen being very high. Larry continued working on his paper projects. He finished one project and started another. Everytime he works on a project he modifies the project to suit what he wants to do. Usually it's changing the size. When he uses a project from Dreaming Tree he watches the video before starting, then he decides on what colors he wants to use. When we're not square dancing Larry is having fun doing projects on his Silhouette Cameo machine.

 

Cameo Silhouette and its cabinet

I did my Daily Challenges and Event: Spider Mini of 5 games. It took me 11 minutes and 47 seconds, which put me in 15th place in my group. I did some Sudoku games and Mahjong games. 

We try not to square dance on Saturdays but we are not always successful, sometimes there is a special dance that we really want to attend. Today we were able to take the day off.

In the evening we continued watching Miss Scarlet and The Duke. Then I watched two movies. The first one was Robin Hood on Peacock. It wasn't the normal Robin Hood. It was about Robin of Loxley returns to England after fighting a war for the Sheriff of Nottingham to find that his love Marian was now with the sheriff. He joins forces with oppressed rebels to rob the sheriff and take away his power. The movie starred Taron Egerton (Robin Hood), Jamie Foxx (John), Ben Mendelsohn (Sheriff of Nottingham) and Eve Hewson (Marian). It was a good movie. The second movie was Herself on Amazon. It was about a single mother who breaks away from an abusive husband and starts a new life. She builds her own house with volunteers and friends. It started out slow moving but ended up being a good movie. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in sixth place in my group with 158,500 steps.  

Relaxing in front of the television

 

Friday 1-22 Fun Day

It's Friday and we had a fun day. It was another deary day but we kept entertained by watching the birds and squirrels on the back porch.

I slept in until 8:30. I started the day out by doing the Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Free Cell and 10 Tri Peak). It took me 1 hour, 48 minutes and 16 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. I also did some Sudoku games and Mahjong games.

Larry continued working on paper crafts. 

We attended two virtual square dances. First was Di Green's Weekly C1 Workshop at 2:00 for an hour and a half. We had 36 participants. She went over All Eight Circulate, Tally Ho, Vertical Tag, Relay The Shadow and Swing The Fractions. She put us in full squares with phantoms and put us in the outside and center positions of the moves. She first walked us through the moves and then we danced the moves while she cued. We had a fun afternoon of dancing.

The second one was Ett McAtee"s Weekly A2/C1 at 6:30 for an hour and a half. We danced the A2 session for an hour with 34 participants. The second tip was a workshop where Ett walked us through Transfer The Column. We had a nice time dancing to her.

 

 

After the last dance we started watching a new series on PBS called Miss Scarlet and The Duke. It's about Eliza Scarlet, who takes over her fathers private detective practice after his death. She becomes the first female private detective in London in the 19th century. She works with her childhood friend, who works for Scotland Yard to solve crimes. Then I finished watching the last season of Unforgettable. I also watched a movie called Sylvia Love on Amazon. It was about a young  woman who falls in love  with an saxophonist in her father's record shop in the 1950s. It was slow a moving movie but ok. I ended up doing 25,000 steps, which put me in sixth place in my group with 130,494 steps.

  

Relaxing in front of the television 

Thursday 1-21 Just Another Day

 

Smile and have fun

We had a great day. The day was overcast and in the afternoon we had a little rain. The temperature got up into the low 60s.

I started the day out by playing Solitaire. I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: Pyramid Mini of 10 games. It took me 30 minutes and 38 seconds, which put me in 21st place in my group. Then I did some Sudoku games and Mahjong games.

Larry worked on a paper project on his Cameo.

We attended three virtual dances. First was Dayle Hodge's Weekly C1 at 11:00 for an hour. We had 31 participants. Dayle called four tips. We brokedown a few times but we had a fun dancing to Dayle. 

The second one was Joachim Ruehenbeck's Bi-Monthly C1 at 12:30 for an hour. We had 34 participants. Joachim called five tips. We got confused once in awhile because we thought we did the moves he was calling but when we looked at the screen we were in the wrong place. Joachim and his wife dance with their backs to us so we can get back where we belong. We had a great hour of dancing to Joachim.

The third one was Jeremy Butler's Weekly A2/C1 at 7:00 for an hour. Jeremy called four A2 tips with 19 participants. He called one tip of C1 with 16 participants. He called some four couple moves in the C1 tip, which made it challenging and fun.

After the last dance we watched two documentaries on Amazon. The first one was Don't Flush Your Freedom. A group of students were followed for a year while they built Earthship communities in the US, the Philippines and Malawi. It was very interesting. The second was Unbound. It was a about a group of four inexperienced hikers who tackled the most rural and inaccessible natural area in Chile. It was a good documentary. Then I continued watching the fourth season of Unforgettable. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in third place in my group. 

 

Relaxing in front of the television 

Wednesday 1-20 Virtual Square Dancing and Back to the Dentist

 Overcast Day

 

Last year when Coronavirus hit live square dancing stopped, our last live dance was March 12th. In June we started dancing virtually. While it was different than dancing live we enjoyed it and it has helped to keep our skills up. In 2020 we attended 357 virtual dances to callers from the United States, Canada, Germany and the U.K. and dancers from Australia, Germany, England, Canada, Sweden, Japan and Russia. Due to the different time zones some dancers will get up at 2:00 am to dance. We have gotten the opportunity to dance to lots of callers we would not have otherwise. We can dance Mainstream, Plus, DBD, Advanced and Challenge 1 (C1), primarily we dance Advanced and C1. We dance six days a week and occasionally on Saturdays, each day we dance two to four times a day. The dances are between one and two hours long. 

 

Lets dance

We had a dreary day with rain now and then. There was a little wind. The rain didn't keep the birds or squirrels from visiting us.

Larry has been having a problem with a back tooth that can be painful when he eats, he is not sure which one is causing the problem. He went to the dentist today and she couldn't find which tooth it was. The dentist was able to get him in to see our oral surgeon, he couldn't figure it out either. The oral surgeon called the dentist and they have decided on what to try next. Larry has an appointment for Monday. 

While we were in town we stopped by the UPS Store to pick up our mail. We had a couple of packages from the Home Depot Seeds program. 

I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 15 games. It took me 52 minutes and 26 seconds to complete. Then I did some Sudoku games.

We attended two virtual square dances. First was Dayle Hodge's Weekly A2 at 11:00 for an hour. This week Dayle started fifteen minutes later because he wanted everyone to be able to watch the inauguration of Joe Biden. After Joe Biden's speech we continued our dance. The dancers didn't mind because it was an important day in the United States. I attended the dance by myself because Larry was at the dentist. Dayle called three tips. We had 31 participants. Dayle did a super job of calling and was very helpful by cueing the moves.

The second dance was Dick Otis's Weekly A2 at 7:00 for an hour and fifteen minutes. We had 44 participants. Dick invited Buddy Weaver to help him call the dance. They called five tips. Buddy called two of the tips and did a singing call after each tip. We had a great night of dancing. Buddy Weaver has a great voice.

After the last dance we watched a documentary on Amazon called Figure It Out On The Hayduke Trail. This trail isn't marked well but it goes for 800 miles across Utah and Arizona. It is very challenging. It goes through Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and numerous National Forest, BLM Districts, Primitive Areas, Wilderness Area and Wilderness Study Areas. When the hikers hike the trail they have to figure out where to go. Afterwards I continued watching the fourth season of Unforgettable. I ended up doing 24,000 steps, which put me in fourth place in my group.   

 

 

Tuesday 1-19 Wet Front

 

Rainy Day

We had a nasty rainy day with no sunshine. The day started out at 64 degrees, by 5:00 pm the temperature had dropped to 48 degrees. Brr, it's chilly.

We're going to have new neighbors and they're putting in a pool. Yesterday and half of today there was a crew of six guys working hard on the pool. What a mess, they were using a machine to spray the inside of the pool with concrete and it created a lot of dust. Today it wasn't that bad because we had light rain. Today they stopped right in time because as soon as the crew was gone the rain came down hard. This front is suppose to stay around for a few days.

 

The formation of the pool

The finished job

More finished work

 

This morning I went back to the Oral Surgeon for a check up to make sure my implant is healing properly. Larry drove me. The waiting room was very busy so the assistant took me back to a room. The doctor came in and said it was healing perfectly, it only took five minutes. My next appointment is in three months to get a cap on the implant.

I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 5 games. It took me 15 minutes and 12 seconds. I didn't do too well I came in 45th place in my group. Today every Solitaire game that is solved your points are doubled. I did some Sudoku games and Mahjong games. 

While I played my games Larry cleaned up his mess from doing his paper project so he can start on a new project. Yesterday Larry made Sunny and layered her. Then he built her a frame. She came out beautiful.

Sunny framed

We attended three virtual square dances. The first one was Dayle Hodge's Weekly Plus at 11:00 for an hour. Dayle called four tips and did an outstanding job. We had 39 participants.

The second one was Di Green and Terry's Weekly A1/A2 Workshop at 1:30 for two hours. Each session was an hour long and there was a fifteen minutes break in between the sessions. During the A1 session we had 45 participants and the A2 session we had 47 participants. Each session Di and Terry called five tips. We had a great time.

The third one was Don Moger's Weekly A2 at 6:00 for an hour and a half. Don called 5 A2 tips and 1 C1 class level tip. During the A2 tips we had 47 participants and the C1 tips we had 41 participants. The fourth tip Don did full square material moves to introduce dancers to phantoms. We had a great evening dancing to Don.

In the evening we watched a documentary called Gordon Lightfoot: If You Can Read My Mind. It was about Gordon Lightfoot's musical life. They interviewed different musicians and Gordon Lightfoot. It was well done. I finished the third season of Unforgettable and started the fourth and final season. I ended up doing 28,000 steps.

 

Monday 1-18 New Caller

Beautiful day 

 

The day started out overcast by afternoon the sun was shining. The day turned out to be very beautiful.

When I woke up Larry had gone to town, he went to Walmart for a couple of things and then across the street to Dollar Tree. He also picked up our mail.

While he was gone I boiled some eggs using the Perfect Egg Timer. You put the timer in pan with the eggs and it will tell us when the eggs are done. The timer has three different settings: soft, medium and hard. The timer is red when it starts and by the time the egg is done how you want it the timer will be a darker red. It works great.

 

Perfect egg timer

 

The timer after 10 minutes is at medium

The timer turning dark red when the eggs were finished

I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 4 minutes and 57 seconds, which put me in 8th place in my group.

Last week Larry found out that a caller by the name of Daryl Murphy was having virtual Zoom dances on Monday evenings. He sent Daryl an email and Daryl added us to his distribution list. Tonight was our first time dancing to him, he dances A2 & C1, A2 starts at 5:45, goes for an hour, then there is a 15 minute break, at 7:00 C1 starts. A2 had 12 participants and C1 had 10. Each session Daryl called four tips, the first three tips were two couple moves and the fourth was four couple moves. Daryl cued when necessary and walked us through moves we were having problem with. Daryl did a super job. 

After the dance we watched The Unruly Mystic: John Muir, it was a documentary about John Muir. It was very good. Then I continued watching the third season of Unforgettable. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in fifth place in my group.

 

Sunday 1-17 Another Beautiful Day

 

Wow, what a beautiful day

Wow we had another beautiful cool day with a lot of sunshine. There was a little breeze and the high was 60. My allergies have been bugging me the last few days because cedar pollen is very high. 

 

Allergies are terrible

  

Larry worked on a small Cameo project. I did the Microsoft Solitaire Daily Challenges and the Event: Klondike Mini of 10 games. It took me 31 minutes and 58 seconds to complete the event. I did some Sudoku games and Mahjong games. 

We watched a couple episodes of GizWiz and watched other YouTube videos.

We attended two virtual dances. The first one was Dixie Cups Bi-Monthly Plus DBD at 1:30 for an hour and a half. This week the club invited Dick Otis to call. He called five tips of DBD and one tip of A2. During the DBD tips we has 17 participants and the A2 tip had 14 participants. Dick did a great job of calling and we had a lot of fun.

The second one was Loren Smith's A2/C1 at 7:30 for an hour and fifteen minutes. This week he invited Di Green to attend the dance and help him call. We danced to three A2 tips, a C1 introduction tip and two C1 tips. During the A2 tips we had 35 participants and the C1 tips we had 32 participants. Loren asked Terry if he wanted to call one of the A2 tips and he said sure. Both Di and Terry were very pleased that Loren had asked Terry to call. All three called an A2 tip. Then Loren did the intro tip, where he went through the Vertical move. Then Loren and Di called a C1 tip. We had a super evening dancing to Di, Terry and Loren.

After the last dance we watched an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Then I started watching the third season of Unforgettable. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in third place in my group with 186,147 steps for the week. We had a super day.