Monday 5-30 Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day. I'd like to say thanks to all the people who have served and defended the U.S.

We started the day by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 at 9:00. Today dancers wore red, white and blue for Memorial Day and Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee. England is celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 70th anniversary of Accession. Di called five tips and had 25 participants. Di got her television to work with Zoom and now she can see all of us. She walked us through a few moves that the dancers had trouble with. We had a great time.

Terry and Di 

 

Outfits we wore

 

Memorial dance participants

 

Celebrating Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee

After the dance Larry continued crafting. I worked on my annual book.

Before I went to bed last night I did my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. I did the event yesterday. I ended up coming in 3rd place in my group.

In the evening we watched a movie on IMDb TV. It was about a veteran hunter, who helps an FBI agent solve a murder of a young woman on on a Native American reservation. It was a slow moving movie but ok. Afterwards we watched an episode of Death In Paradise. Then started watching the 15th season of Murdock Mysteries. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group. 

 

Sunday 5-29 Beautiful Sunday

 

We didn't do too much today. It was a beautiful windy day with a lot of sunshine. The high was in the 90s.

I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event is a two day event called Solitaire World Tour of 30 games. It took me 3 hours, 19 minutes and 9 seconds, which put me in 2nd place today. I won't know where I really come in for another day. Then I did some Sudoku games.

Larry started a new paper crafting project.

In the evening we watched another Amazon movie called The War Bride. It was a romantic movie during World War II. It was about a guy from Canada, who meets and fall in love with a girl in England. I liked the movie. Then we watched an episode of Death In Paradise. Afterwards I continued watching the fourth season of Agatha Raisin on Acorn. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group. For the week I did 193,626 for the week. 

Saturday 5-28 Router Project & Relaxing

 

Happy Saturday

Larry made pancakes for breakfast. He used a cast iron skillet to make them and they came out outstanding. The skillet he used is quite old. It is a square Wagner Ware skillet that originally belonged to his mother. At some point the handle got broke and his dad welded it back on. There are a large number of folks who seek out vintage skillets and lots of information is available via the web. Using the markings on the bottom Larry found out this skillet was produced in Sidney Ohio sometime between 1935 and 1959. We love using things that we have owned for many years. We have had this skillet for more than 40 years and have no idea how long his mother had it. She might even remember where she got it.

Wagner Ware Square Skillet

Markings on Bottom

Larry is going to upgrade our security camera system. Today he updated our router with the newest code. He spent most of the day working on this project. Everytime he does this it takes longer than expected because we have a lot of devices and he has to make sure everything works. 

While Larry worked on the router I finished reading the last book of Guido Brunetti series we have. Then I played a few Sudoku games.

Reading is fun

I did my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire & Mahjong and the Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Klondike and 3 Free Cell). It took 12 minutes and 58 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group.  

The other day when we went grocery shopping we picked up something different to try, a seasoned pork loin with bacon & jalapeno. Today for dinner we barbecued it on the gas grill. The directions didn't say how long to cook it. It took about 50 minutes. It came out delicious.

Before the pork was sliced

After it was sliced

In the evening we watched a movie on Amazon called The Grand Seduction. It was a cute comedy about a small village in Canada and how the locals worked on saving it. I enjoyed the movie. Afterwards we watched an episode of Death In Paradise. When Larry went to bed I started watching the fourth season of Agatha Raisin on Acorn. It's a series about a female private detective. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.

 

  

Friday 5-27 It Doen't Suck and Crafting Projects

 

Doing the happy dance

It's Friday have a wonderful Memorial weekend.

I slept in until 8:30. When I finally showed my face Larry was working on his crafting.

I did my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong and Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Spider and 3 Tri Peaks). It took me 13 minutes and 2 seconds, which put me in 20th place in my group.

Afterwards I continued reading my book.

Almost a year ago Larry bought me a battery powered vacuum. We have all hard surfaced floors and it has been wonderful. It would not work well on carpet. Today Larry noticed it was not sucking, even when he removed the attachments it would not suck against his hand. He took it apart and discovered that the dust filter was clogged with dirt. After cleaning the filter it was back to working like new. I guess I need to clean that filter every once in awhile.

My Battery Powered Vacuum

It took Larry a few days to complete his mine truck, it was very difficult to build. It came out awesome. Below are pictures of vehicles Larry has been working on lately. Before doing the vehicles he resized them.

Mine Truck

 

Green Truck

 

Flat Bed Truck

 

Ice Cream Truck

 

Orange Truck

 

Train

 

Double Decker Bus

We watched the YouTube videos we follow and some music YouTube videos. I went outside and checked on my flowers. I have a couple new daisies.

More flowers

In the evening we watched Matrix Resurrections a second time. It is a good movie and very complex. It had a lot to take in just like the first one. Then I finished watching Tin Star. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

Thursday 5-26 Appointments & Dancing

 

We had a wonderful day.

We started the day out by going to town for a follow up doctor appointment for Larry to finish his wellness exam. 

On the way home we stopped by Walmart and did our weekly grocery shopping.

Grocery shopping

We got back just in time to attend Dayle Hodge's Weekly C1 dance at 11:00 for an hour. He called four two couple tips with 13 participants and one four couple tip with 12. Dayle helped getting me in the correct spot a few times by cueing the moves and saying what direction to go. Our friends from Fort Worth Ken and Susan showed up to dance. It was great to see them considering we don't see them often. Larry and I had a great time dancing with friends and to Dayle calling.

After lunch we went to Salado for my doctor appointment, I had to finish up my welcome to Medicare and to meet my doctor. The doctor went over my lab work and said everything looked good. I'm all caught up for a year. 

Meeting a new doctor

We got home and rested about an hour. Then we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers A2/C1 tape group at 5:00. For a C1 session we had four couples plus an extra dancer. We did some complex dancing and had a lot of fun. The A2 session had six couples and an extra dancer so we decided not to stay for it. Before leaving we said hi to everyone and a lot of the dancers we hadn't seen in over a year or more. It was nice to see them. 

When we got home we watched a couple of episodes of Death In Paradise. Then I finished watching the second season of Tin Star and started watching the third and final season. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.

After I finished my steps I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenge of Solitaire and Mahjong before I went to bed last night. I did the Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games (10 Spider and 10 Pyramid). It took me 1 hour, 40 minutes and 35 seconds, which put me in 5th place in my group.

 We had a busy day.

 

 

Wednesday 5-25 Crafting & Dance Day

 

Beautiful Sunny Day

By the time we got up this morning the rain had stopped. The rain left us with a brisk day with the high of 77 degrees. The sun came out and we had blue skies.

I attended four virtual square dances. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus at 10:00 for an hour. They started a little late because they were having technical problems but once they got started they called a great dance of five tips with 14 participants. They usually have a big screen television showing them everyone on a screen but they couldn't get it to work. They had to rely on their computer screen to see the dancers. Di asked if Larry was crafting and I said yes. She asked if they could see what he crafted. We showed his  Valentine clock and the Double Decker London bus. Everyone was impressed. I had a super time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

Valentine clock

 

London bus

Second was Dayle Hodge's Weekly A1/A2 at 11:00. Dayle called two tips of two couple A1 and A2 with 11 participants and one tip of four couple A2 with 9 participants. Larry danced with me and we were the only couple so we were pinned by the dancers. We had great time dancing with friends.

Third was Ett McAtee's Weekly C1 at 1:00 for an hour. This week she called four tips and had 12 participants. She walked us through moves, that we were having problems with. I had fun dancing to Ett and with friends. I didn't pin anyone because there were no couples. I had fun.

Fourth was Dave Eno's Weekly C1/A2 at 6:30 for two hours. This week he invited Karen Rabe and Greg Moore to come and help him call the dance. The format was two C1 tips, five A2 tips and one C1 tip at the end. Dave Hutchinson's dance was cancelled so he showed up and helped Dave Eno call the C1 tips. They both called one tip a piece and the last tip they called together. Karen and Greg called two A2 tips together and Dave Eno called two A2 tips and the five tip Karen and Greg called together with Dave Eno. The A2 tips had 11 participants and the first two C1 tips had 8 participants and the last one had 10 participants. I danced by myself and had a great time.

Get a partner and dance

In the afternoon I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong and the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 24 minutes and 27 seconds, which put me in 15th place in my group. I read a bit.

Relax with a good book

Larry spent the day working on his mining dump truck project. He was not happy with the design of the tires so he created his own design. The new design worked better.

After the last dance we finished watching The Good Karma Hospital. Then I continued watching the second season of Tin Star. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.        

Tuesday 5-24 Dancing, Crafting & Rain

 

We had a terrific day. We hung around the house. 

The weatherman has been saying we're going to get rain for awhile and it finally came around 9:00 pm and stayed through the night.

Enjoying the rain

We started the day by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 dance at 10:00. They had 14 participants. They took turns calling five tips. Larry danced with me. We had fun dancing with friends and to Di and Terry.

Larry started a new paper crafting project, a mining dump truck. He worked most of the day resizing the truck. Then he decided on what color to make it and cut the pieces out. Before he cut the pieces he changed out his cutting pad and blade.

I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire & Mahjong and the Event: Tri Peaks Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 15 minutes and 28 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. Then I played a few games of Jewel.

While Larry worked on his paper project I read.

For dinner I made Empandas. I hadn't made them in a long time and they were delicious. 

Years ago Larry read on More Golden Years blog about making empanadas using Goya dough discs and disc presses from Amazon. The presses were inexpensive and came in a set of three different sizes. They are easy to use and work terrific. Normally Walmart has the Goya dough in the frozen food section but finding them can be difficult. Being able to use the Walmart app to locate things in the store can help but even then they are not always easy to locate.

Empanda Press

 

Empanadas

In the evening we started to watching the fourth season of The Good Karma Hospital on Acorn. Then I finished watching the first season of Tin Star and started watching the second season. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.

 

Relaxing in front of the television

Monday 5-23 Just Another Monday

 

Just having fun

We had a great day. Smile and have fun.

We started the day off by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 dance at 9:00. Di called five tips with 21 participants. She work shopped Motivate from Lines, Make Magic and Magic Concepts. These moves are difficult with live dancers and when working with phantoms it's even more difficult. Make Magic and Magic Concepts are very hard because you can't see what direction the phantoms you're working with is facing so you don't know where to go. Larry danced with me and Di was excited he was there. The single dancers like it when couples show up that way they can pin multiple people and follow them. The other couples like it for the same reason. Di and Terry dance with their backs to us while they call so we pin them to see where we should be. We had a super time dancing with friends.

After the dance Larry went back crafting. He made another Pac Man machine but he modified the project.

 Modified Pac Man

 

Side panel of new Pac Man

 

 

Two Machine

I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong before going to bed. I also played the Solitaire games and earned the gold ticket to get double the points through out the week. I played 12 games to earn the ticket. Today I did the Event: Easy Street Mini of five games. It took me 7 minutes and 7 seconds, which put me in 3rd place in my group. I did a few Jewel games.

After lunch I started reading the 26th book of Guido Brunetti. 

Relax with a book

While I was relaxing I noticed I had a few more flowers growing so I went outside and took pictures. When I was walking back to the steps I saw a doe next door in the empty lots. She stood there and looked at me. So cool. A little later I saw her walking down by the tree line at the back of our yard with her young fawn. The fawn was spooked and ran very fast. It looked like a cotton tail running because it was so small.

Daisy

Doe

We watched two episodes of the GizWiz and now we're all caught up. We continued watching YouTube videos.

I'm very excited. My new hiking boots have arrived. I tried them on and it looks like they're going to work out great.

New hiking boots

In the evening we finished watching Night Sky. It was a good series until the end, it didn't really have a conclusion, left a couple of stories kind of hanging. Then I continued watching the first season of Tin Star. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

Sunday 5-22 Crafting, Reading & Dancing

 

Laid Back Day

Another laid back day.

We had a lot of hummingbirds visiting the feeders.

Afternoon visitor

I finished reading Guido Brunetti 23rd book by Donna Leon called By Its Cover. I will start the 26th tomorrow called Earthly Remains. I really enjoy reading detective series. Donna Leon does an excellent job of writing Guido Brunetti, she doesn't change the main characters personality and relationships. 

Reading is fun

After lunch I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. I did the Event: National Solitaire Day, where every games you solve will double your points. In the event I played 10 games. It took me 22 minutes and 53 seconds, which put me in 18th place in my group. I did a few Jewel.

While I read Larry started another paper craft, a Pac-Man machine. He has built multiple things from the same designer, her designs are free and normally unique. If you like the designs she asks you to donate however much you want. As is normal he made chances to the design to make it work the way he wanted. Before assembling the project he had to choose the colors he wanted and cut the pieces out using his Cameo.

Pac-Man machine finished

The sides
 

We watched an episode of GizWiz and YouTube videos.

In the evening we attended Loren Smith's Weekly A2/C1 dance. He called 3 A2 tips with 14 participants, 2 C1 teach and review tips with 14 participants and 2 C1 tips with 9 participants. During the teach and review tips Loren worked on Regroup and Swing the Fractions. During the C1 tips Loren worked on Relay the Top. Larry and I had a great evening dancing to Loren and with friends.

After the dance we watched two episodes of Night Sky. I have previously watched the first two seasons of Tin Star and the third season is now available. I don't remember the series so I started to watch the first season again. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group for the week with 194,849 steps.