Thursday 12-30 Laid Back Day

Laid Back Day

We just hung around the house relaxing.

Larry read. I played my Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Easy Street Mini of 5 games. It took me 8 minutes and 34 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group.

We're going on a week long camping trip with the Minnie on Sunday. I started getting the Minnie ready. I swept the Minnie out and wiped down the insides. Then I made the bed, which always takes an hour or so because it's above the cab. I loaded some of the food. I will continue tomorrow.

 

Getting the Minnie ready

In the evening we continued watching the 5th season of Shetland. Then I continued watching the 5th season of Republic of Doyle. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

 

Wednesday 12-29 Dancing and a Surprise Gift

Smile and have fun

We had a super day. 

We started the day out by going to town to do our weekly grocery shopping. First we stopped at the Goodwill Store to drop off a donation. We were surprised that no one was there but the workers. Next we stopped at Dollar Tree, which is now $1.25. We picked up a few items. Then we went across the street to Walmart to finish up our shopping. The final stop was the UPS Store to pick up our mail. On the way home we stopped by Top Donuts to buy donuts for breakfast. 

 

Grocery shopping

While I was putting the groceries away I realized I forgot the hamburger we bought at the store. Larry went back to the store and retrieved the bag I forgot. 

I played the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: Solitaire World Tour. It was a two day event of 30 games. I finished the last game. It took me 8 hours, 6 minutes and 55 seconds to complete the 30 games, which put me in 18th place in my group. 

We attended three virtual square dances. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus at 10:00. I attended the dance by myself. Di and Terry took turns calling the five tips and we had 21 participants. Di and Terry did a great job of calling. I had a lot of fun.

Second was Ett McAtee's Weekly C1 at 1:00. I attended this dance by myself. Ett called five tips with 22 participants. I had a great time.

Third was Dave Eno and Dave Hutchinson's Weekly C1/A2 at 6:30. The dance format was 2 C1 tips with 13 participants, 5 A2 tips with 17 participants and 1 C1 tips with 11 participants. The Daves took turns calling the tips and the last A2 tip and last C1 tip they called together. Larry danced the C1 tips with me. In between the tips we did Trivia questions. We had a super evening of dancing.

 

Get a partner and dance

While we were relaxing in between the dances we received a text from our neighbor Jason. He asked if we liked pecan pie. Larry texted him back and said "we love pecan pie". After dinner we had a knock on the front door. It was Jason's son delivering a pecan pie to us. The pie was made in Texas and came in a beautiful wooden box. When we received the text we thought they had some leftover pie, we had no idea they would send over an entire pie. What a surprise. Thank you Jason and family.

 

Wooden Pie Box

 

Pecan pie

After the last dance we watched an episode of the 5th season of Shetland. Then I watched two Christmas movies on Amazon. They were The Christmas Dance and Snowbound Christmas. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

     

Tuesday 12-28 Dancing to Di Green & Crafting

 

We had a terrific Tuesday. It got to 79 degrees with a cloud covering.

We attended two virtual square dances with Di Green as the caller. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 at 10:00. They had 20 participants. They took turns calling five tips. Larry attended the dance with me. We had a great time.

Second was a special C1 Review at 2:30 for an hour and 45 minutes. I attended it by myself. We had 23 participants. Di called 9 tips. She reviewed all the C1 moves that Loren Smith from Canada had taught during his Sunday evening dances. Loren attended the dance and danced with us. I had a super time dancing to Di and with friends.

I played my Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: Solitaire World Tour of 30 games. I only did 29 of them and ended up being in 15th place in my group.

While I was dancing and playing games Larry did a little crafting. He made me glasses for the New Year, they came out cute.

 

 

Modeling the New Year glasses

Larry has been cutting his crafting scraps with a straight edge and cutting mat for a long time. He finally broke down and bought a paper cutter. He loves it. He wished he had bought it at the beginning. It's so much easier. It's small, light weight, has simple guides to align your paper and the blade is replaceable. The blade glides across very easily and the cuts are really clean.

 

Paper cutter

In the evening we watched Call The Midwife Christmas special. Then I watched a couple more Christmas movies. They were The Christmas Edition and A Winter Romance. The first one was about an upcoming journalist Jackie finds her life at a crossroads. She finds a small town newspaper in Alaska, that is struggling to survive and decides to help save it. The second one was about Taylor Harris a librarian, who loses her job and moves back to her small hometown in Montana. She helps save her brothers hotel from being sold. While watching television I did my steps. I ended up doing 27,500, which put me in 4th place in my group.      

    

Monday 12-27 Dancing, Washing the RV and Bike Ride

We had a wonderful Monday. We had a cloud covering, which made it humid. It got up to 77 degrees.

We started the day by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 dance at 9:00. They are in the U.K. Di called five tips. Even with it being the holidays they still had 19 folks attend. Di workshopped Relay the Shadow and Relay the Top. Both moves are four couple moves and we had to keep track of six other people. We were thankful that we pinned Di and Terry and we could follow them when necessary. We had a wonderful time dancing with friends.

After the dance I played my games. I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Pyramid Mini of 5 games. It took me 11 minutes and 29 seconds, which put me in 24th place.

While I played games Larry worked on a paper project.

After lunch we went outside and washed the Minnie. During our last trip we drove through rain so it was dirty with road grime. The could covering and a slight breeze made It a perfect day to clean it up. It didn't take as long because Larry did a super job of waxing and polishing last month. It took us about an hour. With the two of us working together it goes a lot faster.

 

Washing the Minnie

After washing the Minnie we took the motorcycle for a ride. It hadn't been run in a about a month. We drove it to Rogers Park and back. At the beginning Larry had to warm it up because it's cold-blooded. Once it was warmed up it ran great.

In the evening we relaxed in front of the television. We started the fourth season of Shetland. Then I watched two Christmas movies on Amazon. They were Christmas In Mississippi and Signed Sealed and Delivered For Christmas. The first one was about a photographer Holly Logan returns to her hometown in Mississippi for Christmas. The second was about four postal detectives discover an urgent letter written to God on Christmas Eve, they delayed their plans to help a little girl. I ended up doing 28,500 steps, which put me in fourth place in my group.

 

 

 

 

Sunday 12-26 Windy Day and Crafting

Windy day

We had another windy day with sunshine. I can't believe that it's December and we're having temperatures in the 70s. 

We spent the day hanging around the house. 

Larry did some crafting and I played games. I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: Mini Spider of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 40 minutes and 36 seconds, which put me in 27th place in my group. I did some Sudoku games.

We watched an episode of the GizWiz.

In the evening we finished the third season of Shetland. I watched a Christmas Special of Death In Paradise. I continued watching the third season of Father Brown. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in first place in my group.

Saturday 12-25 Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope everyone had a great Christmas. 

We opened our presents last night and invited Louise and Alice over for lunch today. I put a relish tray together with cheese, olives, sweet pickles and sausage. Louise brought snacks and dessert (peanut butter, cookies, fudge, haystacks and cheese cake). For dinner we had ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, dinner rolls and deviled eggs. We had a super visit with Louise and Alice.

 

Christmas lunch

I did my Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Spider). It took me 46 minutes and 54 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group.

We relaxed the rest of the day in front of the television. We finished seasons 1-2 of Shetland and started the third season. Then I watched the last Jess Stone movie called Lost In Paradise. I watched a couple of episodes of Father Brown. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group. 

Friday 12-24 Christmas Celebration

Christmas Celebration

We had a great day with sunshine and wind. The high was in the mid 70s.

I started the day out by playing my games. I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: World Tour Mini of 7 games. It took 13 minutes and 2 seconds to complete, which put me in 10th place in my group.

We loaded the truck with our Christmas gifts and Larry's tool box. At 1:30 we headed to Round Rock to celebrate Christmas with Louise and Alice. On the way we stopped by the UPS Store to pick up our mail.

Before dinner Larry did a few small projects for Louise. First he worked on her old computer. The mouse wasn't working so we brought a mouse with us. He installed the mouse and it still didn't work. He figured out that the it was the computer port so she will need to install a hub to fix the problem. Next he moved on to caulking her bathroom sink. Earlier in the week Louise removed the old caulk that was coming loose so all he had to do was apply some new caulk. Next was reprogramming a couple of commands on her Alexa device. Final project was to make a couple of changes to her security cameras.

For dinner Louise made chili and put a relish tray together with cheese, sweet pickles, olives and pepperoni. Along with the chili we had Frito Scoops and cornbread. For dessert Louise made two types of fudge (one with walnut and one without), brownies, haystacks and peanut butter cookies. Everything was delicious. After dinner we opened our gifts. We received a lot of wonderful gifts. We had a super Christmas celebration.

 

Christmas snacks Louise made

Opening my gifts

 

Louise having fun

Alice 

Larry opening his gifts

 

Showing off my Christmas socks

Christmas ornaments Larry made for Louise

When we got home I finished my 27,500 steps. This put me in 2nd place in my group. Larry read his e-mails and went to bed. I watched two more Jesse Stone movies, Innocents Lost and Benefit of the Doubt.

 

 

Thursday 12-23 Maintenance on the Minnie

Minnie Project

It was a beautiful cool day with blue skies and a south wind. Normally when we have a south wind it is warm so it was a surprise that it was cool. It got up to 70 degrees.

Larry wanted to change the oil in the Minnie. So we started the day out by taking it for a ride to heat up the oil. 

When we got home Larry backed the Minnie beside the house. He did this just in case he dripped oil and it's better in the gravel and not on the driveway. He changed the oil and filter.

While he was under to hood he checked the belts and hoses, they appear fine. He keeps records of all the maintenance on the Minnie so he went back through them and found it was ten years ago that he replaced both the belts and hoses. Even though they appear fine he will probably go ahead and order new ones. When we travel with the Minnie we are normally in the middle of nowhere and we like to know we have done everything we can to ensure it is mechanically sound.

While Larry changed the oil in the Minnie I wrapped Christmas gifts. I played Solitaire and the Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 50 minutes, which put me in 20th place in my group.

In the evening we continued watching the 1st season of Shetland. Then I watched two Jesse Stone movies (Thin Ice and No Remorse). I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group. 

Wednesday 12-22 Doing This and That

Day of having fun

We had a wonderful day with sunshine. The high for today was in the low 70s.

I attended three virtual dances. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Christmas Plus at 10:00. They had 21 participants. Di and Terry took turns calling five tips. Once again Susan wore a different hat for each tip. Someone asked how many hats she has and she said over 100. Di wore reindeer glasses in between the tips. She said she couldn't call with the glasses on because of her microphone. I had a great time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

Participants in the dance

 

Di dressed with her reindeer glasses

 

Susan wearing her green Christmas tree hat

 

Susan wearing her Jester hat of red and white and bells

 

Susan wearing her black and white Jester hat with bells

 

Susan wearing her orange reef hat

Second was Ett McAtee's C1 Christmas dance at 1:00 with 18 participants. Ett did a good job of calling and I had fun. Some dancers I hadn't seen in a month and I was glad to see them and dance with them.

Third was Dave Eno and Dave Hutchinson's C1/A2 Christmas dance at 6:30 for two hours. The format was 2 tips of C1, 5 tips of A2 and 1 tip of C1. In between the tips we played Trivia. During the C1 tips we had 10 participants and A2 had 14 participants. In between the tips we had Trivia questions. I had a great evening dancing to the two Daves and friends.  

While I danced to Di, Terry and Ett Larry did a few projects. He did some paper crafting, replaced the license tags on the truck and RV, sprayed weeds in the gravel, mowed and trimmed the weeds on the side of the house and ran the generator in the Minnie.

I played games. I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Medium Mayhem of 27 games. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes, which put me in 16th place in my group. Afterwards I vacuumed and cleaned the house.

Smile and have fun

After the last dance we started to watch the 1st season of Shetland on Amazon. It's a detective series and is still running. I watched a couple more Jesse Stone movies, Death In Paradise and Sea Change. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

 

 

Tuesday 12-21 Back to Dancing & Crafting

Wow, only four days until Christmas. We had another cool day with the high of 62 degrees. We had a great day.

After breakfast we went to town. First stop was The Home Depot to buy a cover for the water faucets outside and some caulk. Next we went to Michael's to buy some paper Larry was getting low on. Last stop was at Top Donuts. 

We attended Di Green and Terry McCann's weekly A2 Christmas dance at 10:00. This was the first virtual square dance this month for us. Before our trip Larry wrote the callers we dance to and told them we were going camping. Everyone was happy to see us back. Di and Terry took turns calling five tips and had 22 participants. One of the dancers, Susan from the UK wore a different hat for Christmas for each tip. Other dancers were dressed up for Christmas. After taking about a month off we were a little rusty but we had a great time. Di and Terry dance with their back to the dancers and call at the same time. This helps a lot. It's always a pleasure to dance with Di and Terry and our virtual square dance friends.

 

Di Green in her Christmas outfit

 

Susan from Ohio dressed in her Christmas outfit

 

Susan wearing her Christmas hat

 

Susan in her Ho Ho Christmas hat

 

Susan in her holly hat

 

Susan in her reindeer hat

I played my games. I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Hard Road Mini of 10 games. It took me 46 minutes and 14 seconds, which put me in 5th place in my group. 

Then I worked out with my Gold's Gym program for the Wii Fit for a half hour. Before I worked out I told Larry that the picture wasn't perfect. So he restarted the Wii Fit and checked the connections, he thought that might help. The picture still wasn't perfect but I can still workout with it.

While I played games and worked out Larry finished his Christmas paper projects.

After my workout I laid down a couple of hours because my allergies were acting up.

In the evening we finished watching the 1st season of Broadchurch. I watched the first two Jesse Stone movies on PLEX. They were Stone Cold and Night Passage. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.  

Monday 12-20 Hair Cut, Crafting & More

 We had a great day. It was warmer then yesterday and got into the mid 50s. At the house it got to 57. 

Larry started the day out by setting an appointment for me to get a Wellness checkup at Baylor Scott and White. He did it online. He said it was a pain but he was successful. Thank you, honey.

After breakfast we went to town. Larry needed a haircut because his hair was getting out of control. First stop was at Great Cuts. While Larry was doing that I walked next door to The UPS Store to pick up our mail. There were about six customers standing in line to mail things out. I went to the mail box and we only had a couple of items. They did have four employees taking care of customers so they didn't have to wait too long. After Larry was finished we went to Walmart to get some oil and an oil filter for the Minnie. They didn't have the oil filter he wanted but we did buy the oil and a few other items. Next stop was Dollar Tree to pick up a couple of items. On the way home we decided to stop by the Walmart in Temple to see if it had the filter, we were in luck, they had one.

Before going to the second Walmart Larry went online to check if he could get it elsewhere. He could get it at Auto Zone but they were about $10.00 verses $5.00 at Walmart. He also found it on Amazon for the same price as Auto Zone. He checked the inventory at Walmart and they didn't have it listed. So we were pleasantly surprised to see they had one. It's always amazing that Walmart can sell a product so much cheaper and make money. 

After we had lunch Larry worked on paper projects.

I played the games Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 10 games. It took me 34 minutes and 38 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. 

Then I worked out for a half hour on my Wii Fit. It had been 27 days since I did this. Whenever I workout with the Wii I have fun and it's not hard to do. It's just motivating myself to get up and do so.

 

Working out

In evening we continued watching the 1st season of Broadchurch. Then I started the 3rd season of Father Brown. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.

  

 

Sunday 12-19 Hanging Around the House

Just hanging around

Today was another cold day. It didn't officially get out of the high 40s but at the house it got to 52 degrees.

Yesterday Larry did not feel well but today he felt great. Not sure if it was caused by the booster shot or not but it probably was.

I played my games. I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Free Cell). It took me 49 minutes and 40 seconds, which put me in 20th place in my group. I did some Sudoku games.

I'm all caught up writing my annual book.

Larry's sister called and they decided to celebrate Christmas eve at her house in Round Rock and then we will do Christmas dinner here at our house.

We watched a couple episodes of The GizWiz.

I barbecued hamburgers on the charcoal grill. I don't even know how long it has been. They came out delicious. We always liked how the burger taste off a charcoal grill but it takes more time to barbecue. The gas grill is more convenient.

 

Charcoal ready to go

Burgers on the grill

Finished product

In the evening we finished watching the 11th season of Vera. We started the 1st season of a series on PBS called Broadchurch. It's a detective series that has a case that goes on the whole season. Then I finished watching the 2nd season of Father Brown. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group for the week with 197,302 steps.

  

 

Saturday 12-18 Christmas Crafting & Cold Front

Wee, hold on

A cold front with strong winds blew in early this morning. When Larry woke up the temperature was 67 degrees, which was the high for the day. By 5:00 it was 52 degrees. 

We spent the day indoors and kept warm.

Don't know if it caused it or not but yesterday we got our booster shots and today Larry did not feel well, he had aches all over his body. Spent a good part of the day on the couch and still did not feel well when he went to bed.

I played my games the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Spider and 5 Tri Peaks). It took me 2 hours, 20 seconds and 25 minutes, which put me in 21st place in my group. I worked on my annual book.

I have been writing that Larry has been working on Christmas paper projects. He made cards, ornaments and treat box. The Christmas cards were an angel, Joy, Penguin, Reindeer, Penguins, Santa Claus and three Snowmen. The gift cardholders were Penguin and Winter scene. Christmas ornaments were 3 different Drops, 4 different Gnomes, 3 Holly and 4 Nutcrackers. He also made a Googly Penguin treat box.

 

Angel Card

 

Joy card

 

Inside of the Joy

 

Penguin card

 

Four penguins card

 

Santa Claus card

 

Three snowmen carolers

 

Reindeer card

 

Three drop ornaments

 

Four gnomes

 

Holly ornament

 

Holly ornament

 

 

Holly ornament

Holly ornament

 

Four nutcrackers

 

Penguin gift card holder

 

Winter scene gift card holder

 

Seasonal gift card holder

 

Googly Penguin treat box

 

After dinner I went out on the porch to collect the bowls and blow it off when I saw a gorgeous moon. It looked like a bright light in the sky.

 

Moon over the neighbor's house

In the evening we finished watching the 10th season of Vera and started the 11th season. I started watching the 2nd season of Father Brown. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.